The Jester of OZ

Chapter Eight

The Jester had never felt so accomplished once she agreed. "Atta girl!" He clapped his hands twice. Behind him, she could see the velvet red curtain close. The human-sized glass cases were covered once again, which was nice since it seemed to lift the eeriness of the room towards a bearable minimum. Amber had tears behind her eyes, degrading herself for what she had just said. Of course, she hid her emotions as best as she could, only raising an eyebrow at the Jester's new giddy behavior. Approaching her again, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, turning her around towards a direction he decided he wanted to walk with her. Turning his head, his expression of excitement almost stunned her. "Oh there's so much to do, where do we begin? As much as I'd love to free your friend right this second- I'm a bit of a procrastinator." He laughed whilst leading her down the corridor. That made her mentally freeze, heart plummeting into the pit of her chest. "What?!" She exclaimed, thinking to herself how foolish she was to agree, to make a deal, to assign herself permanently to this-... this lunatic! Only for him to flip a reverse card on her! It made smoke come out of her ears. As for the Jester, he allowed them to pause in their steps. Gazing at her, he mimicked her tone, "What? Surely you didn't think I would just immediately release the Scarecrow from his curse without showing my honored guest just how amusing a Jester such as myself can really be! I'm not a rude host, I'll have you know."

"Don't touch me." Amber hissed, swatting his hand away from hers. He only laughed, "Alright, alright, you're scared, confused, and stubborn. But don't worry! I'll make you open up somehow." He reasoned. "If you think for one second that I'll spill my life story to a stranger like you, then you really are a fool." Amber asserted.

The Jester stopped in his tracks, inhaling deeply as he gripped both of Amber's shoulders. Not harshly, if anything, he touched her as if he was afraid. Then again, his expression said otherwise. "Careful, puppet... I'd hate to change my mind. We wouldn't want you to become an actual puppet now would we?" He whispered, anger seeping through his teeth. Amber froze at the threat, only looking at him with a blank, fearful stare. A few moments of silence passed, but it was enough time for him to regain his smile again. With a triumphant grin, he chuckled, "I didn't think so." Amber hated that she had said nothing. She wished she could go back in time to tell him again that he wasn't making himself appear any better now that he was leading her aimlessly though the halls. When they began to walk again, they did so in the same manner. The Jester, for some reason, kept holding onto either her hand or her arm. She found it annoying at first, but later just accepted the fact that he wasn't going to let go. It was extremely awkward at first, all she could do was try to ease her heartbeat. Amber didn't know how to describe the feeling. Sure she had crushes in the past, usually on guys that were way out of her reach and only saw her as an object, a nobody. But the Jester wasn't a crush, he was an enemy. She kept reminding herself why she was here. She wanted to find out where she belonged... but what if he was right? What if the slippers had already done her job for her? It hurt her head to think about it.

"Now, where was I? That's right! I need to make you drop those walls you put around yourself!" The Jester said, as if he had just made some amazing discovery. They continued down the corridor to a much larger flight of stairs. "Where are we going?" Amber asked, not afraid of speaking again. "That's for me to know and for you to find out. I love having important guests! Maybe I could hang you upside down- or show you this new magic trick I've been working on that doesn't allow people to lie..." He rambled on and on, causing her to grow even more nervous as they progressed up the stairs. "Has anyone survived a day here with you?" She ended up asking. The Jester looked over at her, shrugging with his signature smile, "If you're referring to my guests that belong to the collection, they deserved it. One by one, they were lured here, and one by one I transformed them into my marionettes. Not to worry, dollface, as long as you do what I say... you'll be just fine." His words caused her internally fume. Do what he says? Who did he think he was? "You don't own me." Amber said firmly.