Of Jesters and Kings

Part 10- A Walk Through The Woods

There were a couple stars shining in the sky already. The twilight caused by the setting sun encased the landscape in a shroud of darkness.

A stream of red warm blood crept down the side of the Jester's head. The bite on his right shoulder and lower arm bled profusely; his back was covered in claw marks and bruises. The black blood on the short sword gleamed in the moonlight, he'd wasn't going to submit that easily. Twigs and fallen leaves cracked and crunched under his once colorful jester shoes, as the injured Prince limped through the forest.

He was safe for now. The creatures had fallen upon him, biting and clawing with their disturbingly long fingers and human teeth. The prince thrashed his way through the beast, hacking at what ever he could with his shot sword. A beast had his head in between is jaws and the Jester had stabbed it in the eye to scramble free.

He believed he had lost them. If he hadn't then he was screwed. All his energy and adrenaline had been used to flee the clearing. George slowly slumped against a tree and slid down it into a sitting position. A small breeze swept through the forest, rustling the over hanging leaves.

The Horse Prince tried to block out the pain. His mind screamed and the flesh around his wounds were now becoming swollen and red. He sliced off the sleeves of his tunic and wrapped one around the bite on his arm and the other around his forehead. The rag quickly soaked a sizable amount of blood and stained the lower half of his Jester's hat. The bells tinkled slightly as another breeze blew by.

A couple minutes passed and the Jester found that he couldn't keep his eyes open anymore. His eyelids felt heavy. A nap would be nice. The creatures would catch him off guard while he slept, and he would find himself dead in the morning. George bowed his head and crossed his arms across his chest. The Jester drifted off to sleep. He would take his chances.

***

When he woke up, his entire body ached. The let out a loud yawn and stretched. A flash of pain shot through his right arm and he clenched his teeth. He had forgotten about the bites. George got up, his unharmed left hand grabbing the trunk for support. The Prince straightened himself with a grunt. Lucky sonuvabitch. He had lived after all.

Where to now?

His pack was still on him. It had taken a real beating. Some straps and buckles were torn off and had been subjected to countless slashes and bites.

George lifted it with his left arm and hung it on a low hanging branch. Rummaging through he pulled out a variety of odds and ends. The young man then took inventory of his supplies.

One canteen of water.

One bag of magical playing pieces.

One small flask of Apcola, and one medium flask of gin.

A packet of jerky, a box of matches, some gold coins, and a deck of playing cards.

A candy wrapper and a bottle cap.

One short sword and scabbard to go with it.

One red magical notebook.

One Horse Jester Prince.

And some lint in his pocket.

Lukas had said that hunger has never been an issue in this world, because hunger doesn't exist. George was keeping the jerky anyway. Hated to see wasted food. The Jester opened the flask of Apcola and took a heavy swig.

He felt much better. His energy came back and the wound on his shoulder closed alittle. If only he had more; he could heal all his wounds. The boy took a deep breath, which kind of hurt because his chest region was badly bruised.

The crisp morning air filled his lungs. It was time to get going. He didn't;t want to stay in the Otherworld for any longer than he'd have too. Lukas had said one hundred and one days? Well he had arrived in the Otherworld around noon... so the Jester had spent half a day already.

The Otherworld was what George called this weird bleak land. It was an other world right? So why not call it just that.

The Prince started walking through the woods. He passed many strange things.

There was a clock growing out of the side of a tree.

A deer had approached him and asked if he wanted sing with it. The Jester quickened his pace until the deer was out of site. Luckily, it hadn't followed him.

Later, he came across an enormous skeleton of some sort of giant was sprawled along the trees. Small fairy like creatures fluttered around its hollow skull. They snapped at George's fingers when he tried to touch them.

From time to time he glanced at the map in his notebook to check his position. He was getting closer to the Otherworld's Angel's Cup. The Jester didn't bother to read more in the notebook. He wanted to stay moving, who knew what would happen to him if he wasn't to his path and was caught venerable while reading.

After a good while of walking George stopped. He stood in the woods and listened. He swore to god something was following him. He couldn't shake the feeling something was watching him from a distance. There was a creature in this part of the woods. He felt it. But when he looked around there was nothing. He hadn't spotted anything unusual for a while after the giant skeleton.

He turned his head and listened again. Was that panting? No. Just to sound of rustling leaves. The sun was out and its rays broke through the leaves. Patches of sunlight were scattered on the forest floor.

George shivered. This place was getting to his head. He started walking again, fallen branches snapping under his feet. He came across a large oval mirror standing upright a little distance away. It was propped against a fallen tree.

Walking over the prince stood next to it. It was elaborately ornate. The rim was gold and multiple designs were etched into the soft metal. He looked himself in the mirror. Wow he was dirty.

The Jester leaned in and inspected his face. He'd wash himself at the nearest river maybe. He brushed himself off and was about to walk off when he saw something move in the corner of his eye.

George turned back to the mirror. Maybe he could us the reflection to see what was behind him. He rubbed his eyes and stared hard into the mirror.

He saw his reflection blink.

The startled Jester jumped back and swung out his short sword.

The boy in the mirror grinned. The reflection's eyes suddenly turned black and it disappeared.

Signing off, Gin