The Jester

After what had happened, Seren thought she was alone. Someone attacked her, and no one cared. It seemed it was only her, like she was the target, and she had to deal with it alone as well.

Frustrated and disappointed by Hatter and her father, she went alone to check on the hostages, but there were none; all of the hostages, injured, healthy, and even the dead ones, were gone.

Seren's eyes shook and her hands trembled, her kneecaps weakened, running from cage to cage, the air was sharp as inhaled it, everything was filled with nothing but dust. She leaned on one of the cages and fell onto her knees, panting, gripping her hair, biting on her cheek till it bled.

“How!” She yelled.

“How did this happen!?”

Her eyes were overflowing, defeating and fighting back the oceans with all her might, she ran to her comfort corner of the palace, breathing through her mouth, to the abandoned swing that she used to swing on with her mother when she was younger, there she sat in front of the swing and started to cry.

On the other side, Owen walked around the town before going back to Seren,thinking of his actions.

“What does she know…”

“She keeps getting more and more confusing.”

This is the first time Owen had disobeyed the king. To Owen, the king was a place of safety. Owen chose to be by this king's side and chose unconditional loyalty to the king, and to lose his autonomy in the name of the king. This was the first time ever wanting more, questioning, wondering, wanting his own life.

Owen finally returned to the palace. He searched for Seren till he found Bala, and asked her where Seren was; she told him that she went around the castle. Owen thanked Bala and went by his way searching for Seren.

He found her sitting on the ground in front of the abandoned swing, her arms and head resting on her knees.

He crouched, sitting next to her,” I am back!” He said, tilting his head.

His pupil expanded, reflecting her flushed faces, her eyes had gone red, her eyes were shimmering with sparkles like the stars, she had been crying, to his surprise she didn't turn away to hide her tears but instead she looked at him with a knot on her eyebrows, frowning.

“You are late,” she said.

“Very… late,”

Owen was perplexed, words stuck in his throat.

“You are right…” she mumbled.

“Eh? What's the matter?”

“About Hatter, you were right,”

“He misunderstood everything, thought I was this vendetta,”

“But…” she cried, her throat sore, and she coughed.

“What can I do…” she said, looking at him.

While she was crying, she could hear a snobbish laugh, and remembered that some nobles were going to welcome her.

She panicked not knowing where to hide her face.

Seeing her looking around and hearing the snobs, Owen took off his hat and effortlessly put it on Seren’s head, since his head was big, the hat slid onto Seren's face.

“There you can cry now…”.

“No one will see you,” Owen said, patting the hat that was on her head.

Her pulse increased, making her face flush more, and the faucet in her eyes opened; she gripped the hat as she cried.

After some time, Owen suggested playing the flute, but by then she had calmed down, “No.”

she said, pulling up the hat of her eyes, and for a few seconds she could glance his silky ginger hair, at the same time, Owen thundered to him the fact that she would see his hair, he pulled down the hat.

“Hey!”

“Sorry, I have seen someone pass by,” he lied.

“I used the dagger you gave me,” she said while still trying to take his hat off,

“Close your eyes,” Owen took his hat back and put it on. “How come?” He asked, in a calm tone, that made Seren's ear ting with deja vu but she ignored it.

She then explained how when he was not present, she and her crew were attacked, but the attack failed, and Seren abducted them as hostages; however, when she checked on them, she was surprised to see that they had escaped one way or another.

Owen tilted his head listening to her and thinking about them, it would have been impossible to escape without anyone noticing and there would be no way that someone came to free them because they would have noticed or at least he would since he was guarding the castle for the past few days near the hostages as well.

After they talked, a comfort silence followed, with Owen looking at the tree, and Seren looking at him, her face feeling numb, she wanted to open up but her throat are catching all the words, she inhaled deeply, but because her nose was a bit stuffy from all the crying, she coughed. Instinctively Owen reached out and pulled out the same handkerchief he had previously wiped her face with, and offered it to her.

That gesture was enough to make Seren finally open up to him without details about her situation, and that her father wanted her to marry the duke of the neighbouring country, and that the Duke was a scammer.

Owen listened to her patiently, with a sudden feeling of rush. He realised that he had accidentally framed her, but he didn't know what to do.

When she finished, his feelings rolled off his tongue disguised as a joke, “if you hate it, I could kidnap you and we along Bala and Lotus could live away from everything,” he said, shaking his head and shrugging.

But Seren jumped with eagerness, “Will you!?”

Owen blinked one then twice as he carved out a smile, then he noticed the seriousness in Seren's eyes, “Huh?”

“Yeah!” she smiled with her eyes.

He stood, looking away, “I will… see,” he turned and left with roses growing on his ears.

Seren stood, “Where are you–” something sparkled from the grass from where Owen was sitting, she bent and fetched it. It was a girl's hairpin. Her face fell, she didn't understand why she was so upset.