The Jester

Chapter 4

The castle door closes shut behind me. There's a long hallway, dark but lit with candles. This is a bit...creepy. I walk slowly towards the end of the hall.

I walk to the right of the hallway, where a set of doors stand. I raise my hand to knock but the doors open before I could. The room inside is grand, and was possibly a ballroom in the past.

"Welcome." I hadn't noticed the woman sitting in a throne in the back of the room. She had gray clothes matching with the castle and a bun on the top of her head.

I hesitate. "Hello. Um, are you the one who brought me here? May I ask why I'm here...?". I'm assuming she's in charge...

She narrowed her eyes. "You may not." The woman claps her hands twice and suddenly, music plays out of somewhere in the room. What-

Someone grabs my hand and spins me around violently. I look and see people dancing all around me. But when I look closer, I realized they weren't people, they were puppets.  Ugh, this world is creeping me out more and more!

The human-looking puppets took turns dancing with me as if they were playing a game. I start getting dizzy when a gloved hand grabs my hand.

"Who would've thought dancing with puppets would be fun?", The Jester giggles.

"Jester? You're here!", I say, surprised.

"Of course I am. You needed my help, didn't you?", he says, while spinning me.

Before I could respond, the music stops and the dancing puppets did the same.

"Is that the Jester I see...? What a nice surprise.", the woman says softly.

The Jester looks towards me. "Time to go.", he says smiling.

He quickly grabs my hand and runs out and towards the castle door.

"I don't think this is a good idea!", I yell.

I look back and see the woman walking toward us slowly and calmly.
I've got a bad feeling...

We finally burst out of the castle and into the forest. I inhale.

"Finally, some fresh air. That place was suffocating...", I say. I look over to Jester but realize he isn't there.

"Jester?", I look around and see that it's dark and foggy all around me. "Where did you go...?"

Someone snickers.

"I don't date girls with...that type of body."

Giggles all around me.

"Who said that...?", I ask aloud.

"Get away from me, you creep. I don't even know you."

This is..

"I'M THE BOSS HERE, SO WATCH YOUR WORDS."

I cover my ears. "Stop, please stop."

"You're a little too...big to participate in dance class."

"Ew, she probably broke the seat! Hahaha!"

"Stop, stop, stop.", I say. Words keep surrounding me around and around.

"Elise!" I suddenly open my eyes.

Jester is sitting over me, with a curious face.

"Jester? Was I...asleep just now?", I ask, looking around.

"You were under some type of spell. That woman was controlling what you were seeing. Possibly to keep us stuck here forever.", he replied. I sit up and notice my face was wet with tears. I wipe them quickly.

The Jester tilts his head. "Are you alright now?"

I nod."I'm fine."

I pause and see the Jester's face is also wet with tears. I start to ask him about what he saw but decide not to.