THE JOKER

The baker; Pa Simon had already come out with the bread Micheal had ordered. He met Annabelle and Micheal discussing.

"Here you go joker" he said as he gave Micheal his loaf of bread.

"Joker?" Annabelle asked confused.

"You don't know who this young fella is? The man who claimed to be the late King Micheal during King Tobias's coronation" Pa Simon said laughing at Micheal.

"It was a mistake sir if you would excuse me" Micheal said sternly and then he walked away with the bread. Annabelle felt for him so she decided to chase after him.

"That was very bad of you to laugh Mr baker man. I'll have one loaf of bread please" Annabelle said reprimanding Pa Simon and then she ran after Micheal.

"Micheal! Micheal!" Annabelle called out but he ignored her. Annabelle decided not to run after him again so she went to the baker's shop and collected her bread.

"Is the young man upset?" Pa Simon asked.

"Indeed sir. I knew he was familiar to me and when I figured it out, I kept my mouth shut because I knew how traumatising his experience with King Tobias" Annabelle said worriedly.

"You have to make it up to him" Annabelle insisted.

"Make it up to him? That's what everyone calls the young bloke!" Pa Simon stressed.

"I do not care, we are making it up to him" Annabelle said sternly. Pa Simon was a bit annoyed but he couldn't turn down a pretty lady's request.

"So how do you propose we make it up to him?" Pa Simon asked. Annabelle thought hard and then she came to a conclusion.

"Is he a regular?" She asked.

"He lives with Ole the preacher and boy does Ole like his bread. So I guess he might be a regular" Pa Simon said.

"Fine. I shall be here before he arrives tomorrow because by then, you will grant him a free loaf of bread" Annabelle declared.

"Free? Courtesy of you right?" Pa Simon asked confused.

"No, because I begged you to kind sir. Do not forget by tomorrow. Goodbye" Annabelle said as she took her bread and then set in motion.

"Free bread?" Pa Simon asked himself in disbelief.

Micheal got home and then gave Ole the loaf of bread. Ole sat on his chair and began to eat the bread with some berry jam. He asked Micheal to join him but Micheal refused. Micheal laid on the bed upset and Ole noticed it.

"What thoughts have captured the mind of this young bloke?" Ole asked concerned about Micheal. Micheal hesitated to answer. He sighed and then spoke.

"I should have listened to you Ole. I should have never gone up to King Tobias with such claims" Micheal confessed.

"That was very ignorant of Micheal and I warned you about it. Why do you so much insist that you're the late King Micheal?" Ole asked annoyed.

"I do not know. But what I know is that I shall never again claim to be the wicked man everyone forgot so easily" Micheal said.

"Do not despair Micheal. Now, join me" Ole said and then Micheal began eating the bread with him.

It was the next day and just as Pa Simon predicted, Micheal was there again to get some bread for Ole. Annabelle was already at Pa Simon's bakery waiting for the time she was going to surprise Micheal.

"Good day sir, I would like two loaves of bread and please, do refrain from calling me the joker" Micheal requested.

"My apologies young lad. Umm...here you go. Since you would like two loaves of bread here is one free. Now you have three loaves of bread" Pa Simon said with a smile as he gave confused Micheal the loaves of bread.

"I am quite lost" Micheal said confused and then Annabelle came out and surprised him.

"Good day, Micheal!" She screamed.

"Oh my God!" Micheal said frightened by her surprise.

"I am so sorry. Did I scare you?" Annabelle asked worriedly as she goes to meet him.

"Just a little. What is going on?" Micheal asked panting.

"Well, Pa Simon and I decided to apologise for yesterday by giving you a free loaf of bread" Annabelle said with a smile that later turned upside down when she realised that Micheal wasn't happy with the gift.

"If you don't want the free loaf you're free to return it" Pa Simon suggested with a smile.

"Pa Simon" Annabelle stressed with clenched teeth.

"I like the gift, don't get me wrong but you both didn't have to" Micheal said.

"You are going to reject an offer from an old man and a pretty peasant lady. How shameful of you kind sir" Annabelle jeered.

"Old? I'm 75!" Pa Simon stressed but Annabelle ignored him.

"You commoners dare insult me and yet you expect to have my forgiveness with just a loaf of bread?!" Micheal jeered and Annabelle laughed.

"No wonder you claim to be late King Micheal. You sound just like a tyrant" Annabelle said with a smile.

"Why do you despise him, Maria?" Micheal asked concerned. His question jolted Annabelle into memory lane...

FLASHBACK

"What a beautiful dress my lady" the maid; Isabel said smiling

"A beautiful dress for an ugly occasion" Annabelle retorted. This made the maid quite astounded and she asked why Annabelle would make such a statement.

"I don't mean to cringe Isabel but marriage isn't just something you jump into. There are rules. This is all so sudden and worse of all I'm getting married to an arrogant fool. Where's the beauty in that¿" Annabelle asked hypothetically.

*************************

Annabelle wanted to tell him the truth about who she was but she couldn't so she had to look for a lie.

"It is the news around here Micheal. Everyone despises him isn't that right Pa Simon?" Annabelle asked Pa Simon nervously.

"Indeed Maria. Late King Micheal treated us commoners like we were animals. His father, King George abolished the serfdom policy but after his death, Micheal brought it back and then he increased the tax rate. My wife is a royal household staff. She worked there since King Goerge's reign. The royal family then is not the same now and I do not think it will ever be" Pa Simon declared sadly.

"You see Micheal. I do not know why you claimed to be him. He was a bad man, a tyrannical imbecile" Annabelle said angrily and Pa Simon agreed with her.

"So young bloke, are you taking our gift?" Pa Simon asked impatiently.

"Of course" Micheal said with a smile as he took the three loaves of bread back to Ole but before he left, he requested that he walked Annabelle home and she agreed. When they left, Pa Simon made a bet with a customer; Elliot, who was watching Annabelle and Micheal leave the bakery that they were going to fall in love.

"10 shillings for those two to fall in love" Pa Simon said.

"Make it 20 Simon, this is real life, not some princess fairytale" Elliot said with a grin and then they shook on it.