Towers [BOOK ONE]

Chapter Thirty-Four

Melody dismissed me some time later, and I left, planning to check the library for Kaera and Ash. I hadn't gotten far when a sudden voice stopped me.

"There she is."

I turned and froze. Two guards were walking briskly towards me.

My heart skipped.

"You'll come with us," said the taller one. He had kind blue eyes and short hair. "The Queen has summoned you."

I tentatively followed them back the way they'd come. "Have I done something wrong?"

The shorter guard shook his head. "The Queen has asked that her jester be present at tonight's banquet. You'll need to get into costume and come straight away. We'll escort you."

I went pale.

Jester? I'm supposed to be a jester?

I can't do this.

I was beginning to panic.

The hall warped around me. She had the last jester beheaded.

I'm not funny. Not even a little bit. I never really have been.

Focus, Bird. You can do anything you set your mind to.

But could I? Could I really? Lately I'd been doubting my mother's words more and more, an at that moment, I had no confidence whatsoever that I'd survive this.

"I don't want to," I murmured.

The guards shared a sympathetic look with one another, before continuing on in silence.

~~~                                      

Time slipped through my fingers. It felt like only moments before I was dressed in a hideous jester's costume and standing before the large doors of the banquet hall, dreading what awaited me on the other side.

"Bring in the jester!" someone exclaimed, and the doors creaked open.

I took a deep breath and stepped forward, into the light. All eyes were on me. I felt trapped—unable to move, unable to escape.

I searched for sympathy among the sea of people seated at the long banquet table, and was surprised to find it nearly everywhere I looked. Each pair of eyes held compassion, not amusement. They'd seen others suffer the same fate before.

The music silenced, and I stood stiffly, unsure of what to say.

The Queen clapped her hands loudly, giving me a prompting look. "Well, child?" she said petulantly. "Do something!"

I cleared my throat. "Um—" The doors groaned loudly as they were shut again, and I cringed, holding my breath until the loud, wooden moaning had stopped. The tension was terrifying. "Um, hello there. I'm the jester."

No one laughed. I wasn't surprised.

Should I tell a joke? Do a little dance? I shuffled my feet a bit, but I was too scared to force myself to move any more than that. "Uh." I coughed. "Sorry, I'm, I'm not very good at this."

Again. Nothing.

It was then that I gave up. I'm not funny, I thought, my mouth a grim line. But if I'm anything at all, it's a singer of songs. And that's all that I can ever hope to do.

I took a deep breath—and sang, my voice ringing clearly from the floor to the rafters, pure as spring water.

I'm as small as a wildflower
I'm as short as half an hour
I'm as tiny as a butterfly
But my heart's as big as the morning sky

I let the last note tremble into oblivion. I tried to begin again, but I couldn't, and so I just stood there. Surrounded by the ghost of my music and the empty stares of the nobles.

Then someone began to clap.

Surprised, I looked towards the source of the sound, and my jaw dropped. No. It couldn't be. But it was.

Jasper?

He held my gaze, a slight smile on his lips, not faltering as he applauded. Swiftly, others joined him from all up and down the table. Even the Queen, looking like a confused but happy child, began to clap.

Encouraged, I smiled breathlessly. That... worked out better than I thought it would. I began again, and this time, the musicians joined in.

I'm as distant as yesterday
I'm as lost as a drifting stray
I'm as far as the murmuring moon
But my heart's as close as a dream to you

This time, there were cheers.

The Queen stood abruptly in her throne, grabbing a drinking glass and rapping it with a small silver spoon. The glass shattered in her hands, cutting her, and I winced with concern at the sight of blood. But she didn't even falter.

"Attention!" the Queen declared. "From this moment on, Lady Songbird of the High North shall retire from her position as jester and take the place of court songstress. Thus says the Queen!"

The applause this time was beautiful to my ears. I'd never been more relieved.

You can do anything you set your mind to, whispered my mother's voice, and I smiled.

I'll never doubt it again.