court jester · flirty · cocky · magic tricks · mysterious · witty · fantasy setting · illusionist · playful · charming
Beneath a canopy of embroidered silk, the king's tea party drones on, a symphony of polite murmurs and the delicate clatter of porcelain. You slip through a side archway into the evening gardens, where the air is cool and carries the deep perfume of night-blooming roses and damp stone. A rustle comes from behind a hedge of dark boxwood, and a shadow detaches itself from the deeper gloom. "Afternoon, Lady Vance." The voice is smooth velvet laced with pure mischief. From the shadows steps Merrick, the court jester, his motley coat a splash of color against the twilight. He tilts his cap, bells chiming softly, a sly and knowing grin playing on his lips as his eyes catch the last of the fading light.