The Name's Oliver - Ben Oliver. Ch. 159: Duty vs Ethics, Pt. II

[Magz from Oz]

This is fantastic!  I thank the Lady Elaine for throwing Ben the lifeline.  Ben as a Jester should be interesting. 

[RaiaDraconis]

Oooh, fascinating.

[chetanhaobijam]

Oh oh. Poor Ben, now he have to act as the fool to prevent his barbeque. Thanks to Lady Elaine, Ben got a life-line. Can't wait for next chapter.

[simaholic^]

Ben in Medieval times will be interesting to say the least.

[Schipperke]

Lost!, Part III

Diary Entry

I held my breath, waiting to see if Mordred would accept me as this Giacomo.  He stood glaring at me.



Lady Elaine laughed gaily, exclaiming, “There!  You see, Sire!  Giacomo is renowned for being the most original of jesters!  Hearing of your majesty's great wit, the fool devised a very special form of arrival just for you!  Truly, people will come from afar to see this fool perform!  His tricks will add to the splendour of your great court!”



I thought that was laying it on a bit thick, but Lady Elaine seemed to be a good judge of Mordred's character.  The flattery worked.  Mordred stopped scowling and made a small noise that I think was supposed to be a chuckle.  “Yes ...” he said.  “Very clever, fool.  It seems the stories we have heard about you are correct.  Perhaps we have finally found a jester worthy of our court.”  I breathed a sigh of relief.  Then Mordred added, “We say Perhaps.  The magically appearing box is clever, but what else can you do?  We will have to see you perform.  You shall perform for the court this evening.  Now, where is Sir Percy with our horse?”

“Here, my lord!” a red-haired man walked over, leading two horses.  Mordred mounted one and rode off, followed by Sir Percy.



Griselda gave me one last suspicious glare and strode off, leaving me alone with Lady Elaine.

I was full of questions, but Elaine said, “Hush!  Not here!  Wait until we're indoors.”  Raising her voice, she said, “Good Giacomo, allow me to show you to your quarters.  Your trunk arrived yesterday.  No doubt you will wish to unpack and rest up for your performance this evening.”  I followed her around to the front of the building and gaped at the sight of an old-fashioned castle, complete with moat and turrets.*



“The servants' quarters are below stairs,” Lady Elaine told me as she led the way across the bridge and into the castle.



I followed her down to the basement.  “This is your room,” she said, opening the door to a small dark room containing a bed and nothing else.  “And here is your trunk.”



“And now, sirrah,” Lady Elaine said, looking at me closely, “I have saved you from the witch's pyre and from Mordred's wrath, so perhaps you'll be kind enough to tell me who you really are.  Magic box aside, we both know you're not Giacomo.  I think it's time for you to tell me the identity of the man for whom I've just lied to my fiance the King. Well?”



Diary Entry Ends.

*The splendid castle is the creation of Grimsoul, who kindly gave permission for me to use it in this story.  The “Bucket of Blood” Vampire Lounge can be found in the Swap Shop, here.  I made a few small modifications to turn the Vampire Lounge into an old-fashioned castle.  Thanks very much, Grimsoul, for allowing me to use your wonderful building!

[Gwendy]

But she continued speaking, “Sire, methinks your new fool has arrived!”  she gestured at me.  “Giacomo the Great, King of Jesters and Jester of Kings.  Surely yon garment is part of his fool's costume!  And as for the box, no doubt good Giacomo wanted to entertain you with this singular mode of arrival.”  She turned and looked meaningfully at me.

I think I love you now. 

[Schipperke]

I think I love you now. 

Why, thank you very much, Gwendy!  What a lovely thing to say.  Especially because I have a feeling that Ben might be a wee bit unhappy with me just now.  Not for the first time, either, poor lad. 

[Magz from Oz]

I wonder if it's my age or are you using one of my favourite old Danny Kaye movie as your inspiration?  I'm loving this by the way.

[Schipperke]

I wonder if it's my age or are you using one of my favourite old Danny Kaye movie as your inspiration?  I'm loving this by the way.

Yes!  I'm glad you picked up on that, Magz!  I've always liked Danny Kaye's movies, and so naturally when I was trying to come up with a name for the jester that Ben has been mistaken for, Giacomo came to mind.  Other than the name and the mistaken identity, this story really doesn't bear too much resemblance to the movie, however. 

[Schipperke]

Lost!, Part IV

Diary Entry

So if Elaine knew I wasn't the real Giacomo, why had she convinced the King that I was the new jester?  I wondered, as I told her my name.



“Ben Oliver,” she said.  “And just who are you, Ben Oliver?  Where are you from, and why came you here?”

I was afraid that if I told her I was there because of a time machine malfunction, she might decide Griselda was right about me being a witch and start lighting the bonfire.  So instead of answering her questions, I asked, “What is this place?”



She looked at me incredulously.  “Why, 'tis the Kingdom of Dominus, of course!  This -” she gestured at the room - “is Darktonian Castle.  You've met King Mordred and his sister, Princess Griselda, and I am Princess Elaine, betrothed to the King.”

“What year is this?” I blurted.



Princess Elaine exclaimed, “What year is it?  Nay, sir, you can't be serious!”  She peered at me.  “I see that you are.  How is it that you don't know where you are or what year it is?”

“I must have bumped my head in that infernal magic box!” I exclaimed, which was true enough.  I groaned dramatically.

Princess Elaine said, “Oh, a bump on the head!  Yes, that would explain your strangeness.  One of our grooms was kicked by a horse and hit his head in falling.  The poor fellow became convinced that he was a teapot.  For weeks after, he went around singing 'I'm a little teapot' and offering people cups of Lapsang Souchong.  Do you think you're a teapot?”



I told her I definitely didn't believe myself to be a teapot, which seemed to reassure her.  “I'm sure I'll be fine in a day or two,” I said.

“I hope so!” she exclaimed, “For you're no use to me as a teapot.  The real Giacomo will be here in a few days, so we don't have much time.”

Time for what, I asked.

“Why, to plan our escape, of course!” she said.

Our escape?

[Magz from Oz]

Ah... rescuing a maiden in distress.  This is more Ben's forte.  But if he has to play up the Giacomo side too, hilarity will ensue. 

[chetanhaobijam]

Can't wait to see how he perform the 'escape' with her.

[Schipperke]

Lost!, Part V

Diary Entry

I stood staring at Princess Elaine, wondering what she was talking about. 



“Well?” she exclaimed impatiently.  “Why are you gawping like that?  Are you sure you don't think you're a teapot?  Bless my soul!  Don't tell me – are you simple?  It would be just my luck if my rescuer turned out to be a simpleton.”

“I'm no simpleton!” I replied irritably.  “And I'm not a teapot, either.  I just don't know what you're talking about.  'Our escape'?  Why should you wish to escape?  Escape from what?”

“Why, from this wedding, of course!” she seemed surprised I had to ask.  “I am expected to marry King Mordred in just a few days.  That's why the real Giacomo is arriving, to perform at the wedding feast.”



I asked why she didn't just tell the king the wedding was off.

“Surely you jest!” she exclaimed.  “This marriage was arranged by my father, Monarch of the neighbouring kingdom of  -” (She named some place I had never heard of and wouldn't know how to spell.)  “Our kingdom is impoverished, thanks to many years of poor harvests.  It must be said, my father's habit of gambling for high stakes also contributed to the poverty of our kingdom.  The situation was becoming desperate.  Even my father began to realize that we were near ruin.  Then,” she said bitterly, “along came King Mordred, looking for a suitable wife to bear him heirs.  He offered to settle all my father's debts and paid him a tidy sum on top of that.  And so my father sold me to pay his debts.  So, you see, King Mordred owns me.  He will never release me from this marriage.  I have been praying for a means of escape, and here you are.  You shall be my knight in shining armour and rescue me from this repugnant marriage!”



“So you want me to take you back to your father's kingdom?” I asked.

“No, no, of course not!  What a ridiculous suggestion!” she scoffed.  “My father would only send me back to Mordred.”

Then where did she want me to take her?

“Why, sir, I leave the details of our escape up to you!  I am but a poor helpless female, what do I know of such things?”  She leaned in close and batted her eyelashes at me.  “You are my brave rescuer.  You'll think of something.  But it must be soon!  We have two days at the most to make our escape.”



I could just picture me and Princess Elaine fleeing across country, King Mordred in hot pursuit.  I shook my head, trying to clear it. 

“Is your head bothering you?” she asked.

I agreed that I had a bit of a headache and suggested that I should lie down for a while. 

“Yes, you must rest before your performance this evening,” she said.  “Mordred will be expecting something special from you.”



She continued, “Do not fail me.  I would not want to have to tell Mordred that you are an imposter.  He would be very angry with you for having tricked him.”

She swept off up the stairs, and I was left alone to try to think what to do.

[RaiaDraconis]

Oooh, interesting development here. There seems to be more to this than meets the eye...hopefully Ben can keep thinking with his head rather than his heart.

[simaholic^]

I can't wait to see his performance. The part about the teapot make me giggle.