To have a friend Part 1
SUMMARY: In this touching story, Jester learns about friendship.
DISCLAIMER: The characters of Hercules and Iolaus belong to Renaissance pictures. The character of Monica, the Guardian Angel belongs to the producers of the hit TV show “Touched by an Angel”. No money is being made from this story. This story is being written for entertainment purposes only.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: This story takes place right after Hercules rescues the Jester from the Other World and before Iolaus comes back to life.
CHAPTER 1
The Jester could see that the Sovereign was not in a good mood. The Jester did his best to please the Sovereign to get the Sovereign out of his foul mood. He tried his best jokes but to no avail. In a rush of anger, the Sovereign throws the Jester into prison. The same prison he always put the Jester whenever the Sovereign wanted to punish the Jester.
“Your jokes are not THAT funny..I am NOT pleased” bellows the Sovereign..his cold steel eyes cruel and unfeeling.
“I can try again..please Master..don’t throw me into that dark dungeon..I’m afraid of being alone in the dark..please” Jester pleads with his cerulean blue eyes looking into the cold azure eyes of his Master.
“You are nothing but a coward..it’s either the dungeon..” The Sovereign makes a dramatic pause as he considers the now quaking Jester “Or your head..so which is it?”
The Jester trembles with fear as he quickly studies the ground and says in a low tremulous voice “..the dungeon..”
“WHAT I can’t hear you!” the Sovereign bellows.
“The dungeon..master” quivers the Jester.
Laughing out loud, the Sovereign says “Now that’s the best joke I’ve had all day..you know Jester YOU are the joke!” Sovereign walks out of the throne room shaking his chestnut blond head in laughter “Guard..send Jester to the dungeon..but KEEP his head..I need a good laugh now and then..”
Accustomed to this embarrassing treatment, the Jester offers no resistance as he is led to the dark dank dungeon. The guards shackle the Jester in chains. The Jester with his head down in shame accompanies the guards to the dungeon. Tears of fear, anger and betrayal run down Jester’s cheeks. The Sovereign used to be Jester’s friend..the Jester used to protect the Sovereign when he was a little boy but now the Sovereign sends him to the dungeon to face his worst fears—the fear of the being alone in the dark—the worst punishment next to beheading that the Sovereign could bestow upon his slave.
The guards throw the shackled Jester into the dark dank dungeon. The Jester crinkles his nose at the stench of his cell; the smell of dried human blood; smell of human sweat that hangs like musk in the air; the smell of human urine leaving a sticky feel to the walls and floor of the dungeon..What really pains the Jester’s heart is not the stench of human suffering in this cell..no it is the thought of having to spend time alone..all alone..how he hated to be alone..without a soul in the world to care about him..Oh Hercules..please rescue me soon..I don’t know how much more of this I can handle..this loneliness is killing me..Hercules..if you can hear me..help..cries torn straight from the Jester’s heart and soul..as his one last hope lies with Hercules..
“Jester..Jester wake up..you’re having a nightmare..” Hercules tries to shake the sleeping Jester up as the Jester lies tossing and turning in his bedroll crying heartwrenching cries..”Help me Hercules..get me out of this dungeon..Hercules where are you?”
“Jester, I’m right here buddy..Jester please wake up..it’s not real…I’ve rescued you already please wake up..” It seems no amount of shaking even with Hercules’ monumental Olympian strength can break the grips of the Jester’s nightmare. With a frown, Hercules wonders if this nightmare is induced by one of the Gods. Oh well..thinks Hercules..no time to consider this now. Hercules takes his waterskin pouch and goes to a nearby stream to fill the waterskin with water. He then pours the water onto the tossing and turning Jester. The cold water has the desired effect as the Jester sputters awake and sits bolt upright. Jester’s unfocused cerulean blue eyes focus on the kind compassionate face of his friend, Hercules.
“Hercules..it’s really you..you’ve rescued me..” Jester says as he shakes the remnants of the nightmare from his head.
“Jester, are you alright? Do you want to talk about the nightmare?” Jester’s cries for help had torn Hercules heart. Hercules feels pangs of guilt because he feels responsible for Jester’s past suffering and abuse at the hands of the Sovereign. After all, the Sovereign was just another version of Hercules.
Jester sees Hercules’ guilt ridden face as he knows what Hercules is thinking. Even after all these days by Hercules’ side, Jester can’t believe the difference between Hercules’ kindness and the Sovereign’s cruelty. Hercules uses his god-given strengths to help people while the Sovereign uses his god-given strength to hurt, abuse and kill people. Jester shakes his head as he feels as he has no right to compare Hercules to the Sovereign..after all reasons the Jester..Hercules is NOT the Sovereign..
“Look Hercules..it was just a nightmare..I’m fine…” Jester refuses to discuss any of his nightmares for fear that Hercules would feel guilty about having caused him any abuse.
Hercules looks helplessly as the Jester turns in his bedroll to go back to sleep only to know that once the Jester falls back asleep, he would once again be in the throes of another nightmare. Hercules sincerely wants to help the Jester adjust to this new world and to get the Jester to trust him..Hercules bashes a stone with his bare hands as he contemplates what a bastard the Sovereign was and how cruelly he treated Jester. I swear..I will make it up to you, Jester..
In a concerned voice, Hercules asks gently “If you don’t mind telling me what the nightmare is about..I can help you..Please let me in..trust me..I am not going to hurt you Jester..I am your friend..that’s what friends are for..they help each other..you cried out for me..please let me help you..tell me what happened..?
The Jester is touched by Hercules’ concern and love. Jester turns around from his bedroom to look into Hercules’ eyes..to see nothing but unconditional love and acceptance. Jester looks down to the ground in shame.
“Honestly Hercules..I’ll don’t know..I don’t want to depress you..it’s not pretty..” Jester feels like such a coward having shown such fear and fright in front of Hercules…Jester worries that Hercules will feel guilty about his past suffering..The Jester is reluctant to talk about his nightmares..
“Listen, Jester..I’m your friend..what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t care about you and your welfare..I just want you to be happy in this world. Personally I think it took a lot of guts for you to start all over again in a new world..to leave everything familiar behind to come here…”
“Okay Hercules..I’ll tell you about my nightmare but only if you promise not to feel responsible for my pain..remember the Sovereign is NOT you..”
Hercules looks down at the ground sheepishly for the Jester, like Iolaus has the uncanny ability to read his mind as Hercules adds “Alright..I’ll try..now tell me how I can help you..keeping your feelings in only makes it worse..”
Jester closes his eyes as he brings himself to tell Hercules, his friend about his nightmare. “In the nightmare, I was thrown shackled into a deep dark dungeon. Sometimes when the Sovereign or the Empress was in a bad mood..they’d punish me..the Sovereign knew about my fear of the dark and most of all my fear of being all alone…” Jester opens his eyes to look at Hercules’ face and the emotions running on Hercules’ handsome features runs the gamut of unconditional love, concern…and yes..guilt.
“Listen, Jester..I care about you..tell me the rest..what scared you? Maybe we can fight your inner demons together..”Hercules jests slightly with a sardonic smile..
“To be honest, Hercules..I hated the dungeon punishment more than being beaten or whipped…it’s just the loneliness..Hercules..that’s what I hated the most..being alone..with no friends..no one to talk to..no one to share my thoughts with..no one to trust..always being afraid all the time..jumping every time the Sovereign or anyone else for that matter talked to me..but in the darkness of that dungeon..I felt all alone..like there was no one in the world who cared for me..that I didn’t matter at all..that if I died at that moment..no one would remember me..I..Oh Hercules..this is too difficult to talk about..Jester can feel himself breaking down.
Hercules wraps his arms around the crying Jester in a gesture of comfort as he whispers nonsense comfort words into the Jester’s ear. Hercules cradles his precious bundle carefully much as he had held Iolaus’ body just before he died. The guilt of not being able to save Iolaus from Dahak still haunts Hercules and he was not about to let the evil ghost of the Sovereign take possession of Jester’s soul the way Dahak had tortured Iolaus’ soul. “Jester..tell me about the nightmare..if you don’t it’ll continue to haunt you..let it out..so you can let your past go..allow me to share your pain..We can fight the Sovereign’s ghost together..back to back..”
“Share..that’s such a lovely word..Hercules..no one has ever offered to share anything with me before..first time anyone has..tried to “share” my pain..you are a good friend..Hercules..I don’t deserve you..” Jester looks away in shame as he thinks that Hercules deserves to have a hero for a friend, not a quivering coward like himself who dissolves into tears like a small child over a “trivial” nightmare.
“Jester..it is I who doesn’t deserve a friend like you. You have suffered such evils at the hands of that bastard and for so many years and yet you still retained your spirit..your heart and your goodness..you are the bravest man I’ve ever known..besides..you’ve got to trust someone in this world..trust me..with your heart..I promise not to break it..so tell me more..I don’t know how you’ve remained intact..any other man would have gone insane!”
CHAPTER 2
“Like I was telling you..the worst thing about the dungeon was the loneliness..the feeling that I had nobody in the world..the feeling that I was the world’s joke..that my whole life was a joke..the Sovereign told me on many occasions that I was a joke..he has no idea how much that comment hurt me..I hated solitary because I knew that no one could hear my cries for help..but you know what gave me hope..despite all the pain..I knew that you were going to rescue me..that you, Hercules, were going to come to my world and lead me to a better life..”
Hercules looks astonished by this turn of events “Me? How did you know I was coming to your world to rescue the Gods?”
“I had a vision of the future..thanks to a Guardian Angel named Monica..I saw us being friends..walking the road of life together..I saw that I was not alone..I saw that you truly cared for me..that’s what gave me hope..Hercules..YOU were my hope..Hercules, you have no idea how much your friendship means to me..I mean I know I’m not Iolaus..I’m not half the hero he was..I know I don’t deserve to have..”
Hercules interrupts Jester in mid-speech “Wait just a moment there..you are every bit a friend to me as Iolaus was. I loved Iolaus like my brother..I love you like my best friend..I know that Iolaus himself would have been proud to be your brother too..” Pain and grief creeps into Hercules’ voice as he misses Iolaus by his side and feels the guilt of Sumeria wash over him all over again. Hercules looks at Jester’s worried face and some of the loneliness caused by Iolaus’ absence goes away.
“Jester..you’ve no idea what your friendship has meant to me. If you weren’t here, I would have been driven mad by my loneliness for Iolaus’ company..but you Jester..you’ve given my life purpose and meaning again..you are my friend in the truest sense of the word..there’s no need for you to ever be lonely again. Together we can fight against the Sovereign..Jester..he’s the past..the future is us..”
“You really think of me as your friend? I never have to be alone again?” Jester asks incredulously “You really need me that much?”
“Jester, you’ve helped me cope with Iolaus’ death..you let me talk about Iolaus openly..you’ve let me rant and rave and feel sorry for myself about my loss..about my guilt..you’ve never once complained or tried to walk away from me..you’ve helped me heal the wounds of my heart with your quick smile..kind heart and of course your great cooking..boy can you cook!”
Jester blushes to his hairline at the compliments that Hercules is throwing his way. “Never in my whole life has anyone been so nice to me as you have. You make me feel special and important. I never had a friend before Hercules, until I met you. Iolaus was a really lucky man to have a friend like you.”
Hercules gives Jester a bear hug “Just promise me that whenever you have a problem..don’t be afraid to talk to me about it..I’ll always be there for you..to help you forget about that bastard..and think about the future..I want you well and happy..Jester..”
“You know Hercules..I don’t think I’ll be having those nightmares anymore..”
“Why not?”
“Because I know I am no longer alone…I am honored and privileged to have you as my friend”
“No, Jester, it is I who feel honored and privileged to have you as my friend.”
Hercules slaps a friendly arm around Jester’s shoulders and suggests something fun to do.
“Let’s go fishing. I know the best fishing hole in all of Greece!” Hercules enthuses.
“Hercules..I’m not Iolaus..I know you and Iolaus used to love to go fishing..camping outdoors..sleeping on the hard ground..”
Hercules blushes as he realizes his mistake. “I’m sorry, Jester..what do YOU want to do?”
“Wow! No one has ever asked me that before. It was always Jester do this..Jester do that or else..the dungeon..a whipping..a beating.. or a beheading” as the Jester babbles on.
Hercules knits his brows and puts both of his large hands on his chest as he looks down at the Jester “Jester, I am NOT the Sovereign!”
“Oh yeah..sorry about that!” Jester hangs his head down in embarrassment.
“Well to answer your question..I want to go to Aphrodite’s temple!”
“Why?”
“I miss Nautica and want Aphrodite to say hello to her for me! Nautica is the most beautiful mermaid in the world..I think I’m in love with her, Hercules..” as the Jester’s eyes glaze over as he remembers the charming Nautica.
Hercules laughs and says “You are definitely not the love them and leave them Iolaus..Come on..I’m sure Dite will be more than glad to help you..!”
“You know Jester, I am glad you are my friend!” Both Hercules and Jester give each other a warrior handshake as they walk down the road towards Aphrodite’s temple.
“Thank you Hercules..for the best gift a guy could ever receive!” the Jester adds.
“What gift is that Jester?” Hercules asks his handsome brows rise quizzically.
“The gift of your friendship, Hercules, the unconditional love of your friendship..thank you!” Jester gives a surprised Hercules a big bear hug.
From the heavens above, Iolaus watches as Hercules walks down the road of life with the Jester.
“You know Monica, I’m glad Herc isn’t alone and that he has Jester to keep him company..and that he has somebody to talk to. I know he still feels guilty about Sumeria. I know Herc thinks he failed me. This Jester fellow is just the second chance Herc needs right now to get over his silly guilt complex”
Monica walks over to Iolaus “I know how much Hercules means to you, but you’ve got to let him go..he’s on the mortal plane and you’re not anymore…”
Iolaus stubbornly shakes his head “Friendship just doesn’t end with death, Monica..I still worry about his happiness..his welfare..and his safety..”
“Iolaus, don’t..I know what you’re thinking. As a Guardian of the Light, you can’t warn Hercules about the Four Horsemen..”
“Monica, Herc is still my best friend.. I can’t just stand by and let him get hurt. Without me at his side, he’s going to be slaughtered..We promised each other back to back..I can’t back out on that now! I’m sorry Monica..I’ve got to go back to warn Herc..I have to save Herc..he needs me by his side..”
“Wait Iolaus..Wait”
In a flash of light, Iolaus disappears.
And of course watch out for my sequel..To have a friend, Part II where this time, it’s Jester who helps Hercules with his issues….