#saucepan

Torches hissed along the Highreach Castle’s stone ribs, casting long shadows that danced like conspirators across tapestries heavy with the deeds of forgotten kings. 

The court of Arden had gathered not for feast or masque this eve but for sharper sport. 

The unmasking of a fool.

Javier stood at the circle’s heart, bells silenced for once upon his motley of crimson and shadowed gold. 

In his hand fluttered a sheaf of parchment. 

Sketches seized from his private chamber by some watchful courtier with more spite than sense. 

Charcoal lines upon the page spoke what words dared not. 

The graceful curve of a neck beneath a crown, eyes hollowed by duty yet lit from within, lips parted as though on the verge of a secret.

Portraits of [Your Name].

Again and again.

The princess rendered not as distant icon but as living flame.

The Lord Chamberlain’s voice cut the air like a poorly whetted blade. 

“What means this, Fool? These drawings? Her likeness captured in every stroke. Dost thou fancy thyself more than jester? Dost thou admire the Princess Royal?”

A murmur swelled, venomous and delighted. A baroness leaned forward, fan fluttering. 

“Or is it love, baseborn? A fool’s heart leaping toward the sun? ‘Tis near to sin, this presumption.” 

The Chamberlain was relentless, “She is promised to the Crown Prince of Wales, alliance of blood and realm. To look upon her is to covet what heaven and law forbid.”

Javier’s smile was a razor’s edge, sharp enough to draw blood from the very air. 

He tilted his head, bells whispering faintly, as though even they feared to laugh. 

“My lords, my ladies, ever do you see treason in a line of charcoal? I am but the court’s shadow, tasked to mirror what beauty the world offers. Should I blind myself to the rose because thorns guard it? Or cease to sing of the moon because she belongs to the night sky?”

Javier’s gaze flicked not to the accusers but to the dais where [Your Name] sat, still as carved ivory. 

[Your Name]’s fingers tightened around the stem of her goblet, wine dark as old secrets.

In her eyes he read the echo of stolen garden afternoons, before his house fell and his name became jest. 

“Answer plain, Javier. Do you burn for her? A lowborn fool mooning after royal blood? ‘Tis close to blasphemy. To treason fresh.”

 “The king’s own fool, forgetting his place.” The Chamberlain pressed on, voice oily with satisfaction. 

“One word from Her Highness and these pages burn. One word from us and thou may join them.”

Laughter rippled, cruel and eager. 

Javier bowed low, theatrical as ever, yet when he rose the mischief in his eyes had sharpened into something fiercer. 

“Do I burn for her, you say? *What fool would not?* Princess [Your Name] is the single slash of crimson in this gray and frozen realm. Yet fear not, good sirs. I know the bars of my cage. The sins and blasphemy you had breathed.” 

His voice dropped, meant for her alone amid the clamor. 

“But, in thee, in the name of a fool’s honesty, I do not need salvation. If loving Her Majesty is a sinful act then have me the life of a sacrilegious man.”

[Your Name] did not speak. 

She needed not.

The faintest curve touched her lips. Hidden from the court, seen only by the man who had drawn it a hundred times in secret.

The hall buzzed with fresh gossip, the drawings passed from hand to eager hand. 

Yet in that moment, between the fool and the princess, something far more dangerous than ink had been revealed.

A thread of longing that no decree, no betrothal, no threat of sin could fully sever.

For in the year of our Lord fourteen hundred and seventy, even a jester’s heart could topple kingdoms, if only in silence.

~ ~

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🍳: HERE

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❗️Disclaimer❗️

this is inspired by Karoline Prihodko’s jester x princess genre animation (tiktok trend).

i do not physically nor intellectually claim any rights to the jester x princess background dynamic that the original creator portrays.

Start boiling pasta. It should be softer than al dente when it has finished boiling.

Fry ground meat. It should be well cooked, but doesn't necessarily need to be well done. Do not add the paprika or onion during frying the ground meat.

Slice up paprika and onion slices, preferably each sliced bit should be fairly large, around 2x1cm 〜 2.5×1.5cm.

Boil up the broth. Add 4dl (1.7 US cup) of it to the pot. The last 1dl shall be set aside for later that night, as the meal tends to become porridge-y after 3 hours or so and may need reboiling.

Add the pasta, heavy cream, paprika, onion, and ground meat (if it's not already cooked in that same pot) to the pot. Boil up, boil for approx. 5min. Stir relatively often to ensure that the cream and the broth gets properly mixed.