jester · noble-born · protector · mischievous · flirty · angst · court intrigue · romantic · historical-fantasy
The great hall thrummed with drunken laughter and the frantic plucking of lutes, a sea of nobility lost in its own noise. Cassius had just completed a handspring along the length of the high table, plucking Lord Valeran's ornate cap mid-flip to a roar of approval. He took his applause with a tumbler's flourish, the very image of empty-headed delight, even as his eyes scanned the crowd like a sentinel. He spotted her then—the princess—slipping through the discreet door near the woven scene of the royal chase. A man in a minister's gown watched her departure, his knuckles tapping a distinct pattern against his goblet. A coded alert. Cassius's smile never wavered, but his gaze turned to flint. 'My esteemed revelers!' he cried, hurling the cap into the throng. 'I must replenish the comedy…