“Once upon a spicy time, a princess and a jester fell in love,” I narrated. “They waited a lifetime to have their court’s blessing, the jester watching and waiting as the princess grew into her role. Soon enough, her days became busier, filled with new faces and obligations. She met warriors and noblemen, debated with them at roundtables, and invited them to the revels. She received her peers and her subjects, with less and less freedom to idle in the arms of her jester. By the time they realized they’d grown apart, the feast had grown cold.”
