King Jester
“My feet,” groaned Georgi.
“Are about half as cold as mine,” said Mina. “I can’t decide if they’re feet anymore or ice blocks.” She frowned. “Father’s not here. He promised he’d be back for Christmas Eve, and there’s no sight of him.” She knew he’d be back, but no doubt long after she’d begun to snore. For all her bravado, sometimes she just wanted to be a little kid and not to have to make all the decisions. Her eyes threatened tears again, and she blinked them away crossly, changing the subject. “So what did you bring for the King?”
“Nothing.”
“What do you mean, nothing? Touissant said that we must…” She paused and adopted her most mayoral tone, “bring our most prized gift for His Majesty.”
“No, he said all who are worthy must bring their gift. If I’m not good enough for the King just like I am, then he can just sit his royal bottom somewhere else!”
Mina giggled. “I’ve never thought about where the King’s bottom would like to sit.” She laughed again, ignoring the glares from the people in front of her.
After an eternity of Georgi complaining about being starving, only a handful of people stood between them and mayor Touissant. He was bundled up in an ankle-length fur jacket that seemed to shrink his head to half its size. Georgi pointed to the mayor and giggled. “If you crossed a snowman and a grizzly bear, that’s what you’d get.”
As each guest reached the front of the line, the mayor greeted them by name, received their gift, and ushered them inside. Mina put her hand inside of her coat, nervously running her fingers over her own offering. She was sure the King wouldn’t even notice her, let alone have any interest in what she’d bought, but she’d felt strangely compelled to bring it.
“So what did you bring, Mina?” asked Georgi as they reached the front of the line.
“Yes, what did you bring, girl?” The mayor spat the words through his teeth, and Mina stared down at her shoes. “After all,” he continued, “what on earth would the King want with a homeless boy and a gypsy girl?”