Each month I will introduce a new character from my work-in-progress, Heartless Hette, a retelling of The Princess who never laughed. I’ve already introduced Princess Hette and Friedrich the Sorcerer.
Today I’d like to introduce you to Konrad the Court Fool
Ringing bells echoed across the throne room. The court fool strode through the arched door way, the bells jingling at the ends of the two pointed cap. His motley costume was a clash of stripes, diamonds, reds, whites, and greens, made all the more ridiculous by his overly tall and lean body—part giant and part scarecrow. Curly reddish-blond hair sprung from under his cap. Even his mouth was too wide for his narrow face; stretching in grimaces or grins like a puppet. Probably the first reason why my father brought him in as a fool. His very appearance caused laughter.
But laugher was not what I needed.
Half way across the room he stumbled forward, caught himself on his hands, and sprang from a handstand into a flip. He flipped thrice, launching off the ground with his hands each time, and landed on his feet for a moment before dropping to a knee and sweeping off his belled cap. “My lady.”
“I did not call you.”
He lifted his head and winked. “Nor have you ever, my lady. You have no need for fools when the court surrounds you with them. And none of them have ever made you laugh. So what hope had I?”
M. L. Farb - Author 