She watched the scaffolding as the evening crowd passed by it. Her guards stood close by.

“You lied.” She said sternly. Alya eyed the Jester.

The jester bowed, “My lady even if he were here, you would have been too late.”

“So what are you saying? That you would have happily killed him even though I was promised to see him? Why did I even come here!” Alya’s voice echoed across the streets. Her guards reached for their blades.

Alya rose her hand, “Speak Jester, what have you to say about this?”

“My lady,” he started, “I am jester, I do not hold the power to decide such things. What we promised you however, was that you would see him. Dead or alive, that was never clarified.”

Alya’s breathed outwards, “Yet you broke that promise. And now only I can keep my word. That is promised to your prince. Was this part of your plan to? Or should I say your master’s?”

“My lady, you confuse me with someone more devious. I only wish for the wellbeing of his highness and his kingdom. Besides, whether we kept our word or not, this marriage is in your best interest.” He bowed again, “My lady.”

“You are a terrible jester.” She spun to her guards, “Take me back to the palace. I am done here. And Jester.”

She looked at the pale man, her face held the diligence of a practiced noble. Yet the Jester knew full well that she was in a bout of fury.

“If I find even the slightest evidence tying you to this deal. I will have your head.”

The jester bowed, perhaps his last time. “I look forward to it. Whether on this body or otherwise.”

Alya did not wait another second, her leave was a spiteful one. As she left, her escort, the tall one, glanced at the Jester.

“What do you want?” posed the Jester.

It said nothing, it only stared at him with silver piercing eyes.

The Jester looked at it more. He took one step towards it, “I know you.” He hushed.

“Leave the fool alone!” cried Alya, her escort nodded at its princess, turning back once to look at the Jester. A moment later it left with the princess.

The Jester stood there, eyes glued on the hulking figure. Now he was curious and that was a dangerous thing.

“Jester.” echoed a voice from the alley, “Come here.”

Jester straddled towards the shaded figure, his bells jingling all the while.

“I see your people let Captain prince escape.” Sneered the Jester, “I expected so much more from you. Especially as my enemy.”

With a tilt of his heels, the Jester twirled and slammed his palm against a wall. The one who had called him out shook as his back met that wall.

The Jester eyed him from top to bottom. “You blood scarves tend to lurk more than you act.”

A few more blood scarves stepped in from the shadows.

The Jester spied at all of them, “And you never settle for fair fights.” He lowered his arms and rose them well above his hat. “I submit! I submit, oh fools in red clothing. What? Are you to kill me now? No worse make wear some of those awful scarves?”

The Blood scarves did not make any further movements they stood as the jester continued his rant, “Why do you even call yourselves ‘the blood scarves’ it is really not as threatening as you might think. Maybe ‘Crimson Scarves’ or ‘Red Cloaks’, or even ‘Slightly Darker Variants of Pink Marauders’. Ooh ‘The Pink Marauders’ I like that.”

“Jester,” Spoke the first man, “we are not here to kill you. We are here to inform you.”

“Of what? That you failed to carry out your end of the deal? I had to call upon lord Grangovich just to hold the execution, and your target, your only target, escaped!”

The man’s expression remained blank. Instead he untied the scarf around his neck and wiped his hands clean. He tossed his scarf to one of his associates.

“Do you,” he started, “assume that your end of the deal was held to? Mind you, we risked our lives just to go after that man.”

Jester looked confused, “You did not find it? I was very clear, it was the tomb with the apple-”

“We were not expecting company.” Snapped the man. He circled the Jester, his figure falling and rising out of the shadows. “By the time our men got to the treasure you promised, it was at least a league below the earth.”

The Jester’s left eye twitched and he rose his shoulders to sway the other man. “A mere coincidence I assure you.”

The other man laughed, “So was the prince’s escape. I’m not a fan of coincidences, you cannot stab them. Unless of course the coincidence was that our enemy planned it all along. Now wouldn’t that be nice?”

Footsteps sounded before the Jester could talk, a low baritone entered with it, “Gregor, leave the clown be.”

“Why now aren’t I just the luckiest?” cried the Jester. He pranced from foot to foot, until a fourth blood scarf entered the light.

He was a bulky man, with pitch white skin and a greyed flock of hair. He was dressed in a black overcoat, a single bright red scarf the only colour amongst the checkerboard figure.

He cleared his throat and stopped before the Jester, “Jester, you are a fool, but you are a clever one. If this princess does marry the prince then any hope of revolution is lost. Not to mention you tricked us into bringing it about. Though I know you Jester, what you do is what you think is best for the country.” He clasped the Jester by the shoulders, “We are two of the same person. We share the same goal.”

The Jester cocked his head, “Revolution is not my goal.”

“Revolution is not a goal, it is a means. But now I see another way.” The large man closed his eyes, “All we need is the money and we will leave this kingdom be.”

“Oh?” questioned the Jester.

“Look around you.” The man opened his dark age worn eyes “The people are poor, they are starving, they are angry! They suffer not because of their own folly, but because of your fool-hearted king, nay the monarchy! The people do not have a choice! With the money, my followers and I can create a new society outside of this land! Can you see the beauty of it, a portrait of free-will! All we need is one third of the treasury.”

“What of the families of those you killed?”

“Necessary victims, those lost under the monarchy. In my new order murder will not even exist!”

The Jester stood still as the man huffed ahead of him, “So you want me to undermine my king and give you what money you need? All for a promise that you and your fanatics will leave?”

The preacher grinned, “I know you do not believe me, but plea-”

“I trust you Ivan, though the rest of your Scarves I would not so easily see leaving.” The Jester scanned the other three men.

“To address me by my first name, you are quite rash.” Said Ivan at last

“Call it a talent.” The Jester sighed, stuffing his hands in his oversized pockets, “I would really love to talk, though I do not have the time. That said, I must warn you. While those easterners are here, you best keep your kind in check. As for your offer.” He turned, staring at the sky, “I will consider it.”

--

The princess was well on her to the palace, walking her company of guards when a ragged looking approached man her.

The guards drew their blades and once again the princess stopped them, “Hold.” She said, raising her hand.

Alya studied the man from top to bottom, he was old, dirty and smelled of dried fish.

“You’re an easterner aren’t ye? I saw the bounty on the eastern prince, I be here to claim the money.”

Alya was speechless for all but a second, “You know where he is?”

“I do not hold him, but I have seen him. I could tell ye, but it will cost ye.” The strange man smiled, revealing a smile missing two front teeth.

Alya reached in her sleeve and withdrew one golden coin, she tossed it to the man who rose both hands to catch it. “That is one half of the reward, the other is for telling me what you know.”

The man glared at the coin, smiling incessantly. One of the guards stomped the ground to remove the man from his fantasy, the man shook his head almost embarrassed, “Yes, yes of course. I saw prince leave on a boat east with a short brown haired lass, and another man. Strange that one, tall to. I swear I saw branch sticking out of him! From where I saw the man, he looked like a tree. Though ah” he started rubbing the back of his head, “he could have been woodsmen.”

Alya considered whether the man was lying, in all honesty, Bilal heading east did seem like him. It was not much information, but at least it meant her brother had left this spirit forsaken country.

She reached for her other coin.

“Oi miss!” cried a women’s voice.

The ragged man shot back, “Not now Hilda!” He snapped to Alya, “I told ye what ya need to know, now give me the reward!”

“Not your reward old man.” The women looked to Alya, “I saw those three, last night I did- at the bar. I am a bar maiden. You listen closely to strangers in my line of business. You never know what they can reveal once they down a drink or two.”

Alya held her coin, “What did you hear?”

“The man, the man from the poster, he said he was headed for the tomb of Arami.”

Now Alya could only grit her teeth, she never understood why her brother chose to steal as he did, and now from one of their own family? She let out a breath of frustration. At once tossing two coins to the woman who informed her.

“Thank you.” Said Alya as the woman jumped for the coins, “Hafiz, send a message to Admiral Almas, tell him Bilal is headed home, most likely through Arami’s Cane. If I know my brother, he is stupid enough to take the direct route.”

“I will at once, princess,” bowed Hafiz.

Alya let her head fall back, as she breathed in once more, a single thought filled her head. A question she asked Bilal on countless occasions since he ran away. A question he never answered. Why?