Midnight
Midnight
By Hannah Rae Tuimala
The day had come and gone. The big dogs had been put in their kennel and the little one was sleeping quietly in her bed. One by one the lights in the brick house with red siding had gone out. All the humans were asleep.
The jester emerged first. She was never really gone, because she was rarely out of the humans’ presence. She was lying in her tent, her special tent, with the crinkle paper and the ribbons that she loved to bat for hours. Her tiny black and brown frame crawled from the hole in the tent and her stunning turquoise eyes glanced around, looking to see who was available to play. She sauntered over to the little dog’s bed and peeked over the edge to see if the dog was interested in being entertained, or at least interested in being bugged. All the jester got was a slight growl, followed by a view of the dog’s back. The jester looked around again. She spotted one of her balls with the little bell in it. In typical jester fashion, she lay on her haunches, wheezing, trying to catch her breath, her tail twitching before she made her attack. In a sudden burst of energy she leapt toward the ball, catching it with her outstretched claws. The sound of the bell delighted her and she held the ball in her front paws as she kicked with her back. Then the princess appeared.
The princess was elegant, not clumsy like the jester. Her moves were smooth and deliberate, with grace in every step. Her beautiful black and brown striped tail stood tall and flowed behind her as she strode into the living room. When the jester spotted her, she immediately abandoned her ball and charged the princess. The princess let out a whiney “whoa” and ran as quickly as she could into the kitchen. She wasn’t fast enough and the jester easily caught her, grabbed her by the neck, and tackled her to the ground. The princess was not happy. She growled in annoyance, but lay still, hoping that the jester would soon get bored and go away. Instead, the jester, still holding the princess by the neck, began to lick the princess’s face. The princess lay still, groaning and growling to show her disapproval.
The prince’s appearance was subtle, but clearly noticed by both of the girls. He was much larger than they were, and his long, flowing, black and white fur was hard to miss. He casually strolled into the kitchen, went over to the little dog’s water dish and took a few laps. The jester saw his moment of weakness and took full advantage. She left the whining princess and charged toward the prince. He saw her out of the corner of his eye and evasively ran through the dining room and behind the couch.
The prince waited for the jester, his tail twitched and his rear was tilted up, wiggling back and forth, ready to pounce the moment she appeared. The jester knew he was hiding behind the couch, but instead of meeting him head on, she jumped on top of the couch and dangled her spotted paw down the back. He spotted it and lay on his back to extend his fuzzy, six toed paw back up to her. As they franticly bat at each other, the princess snuck up along the side of the couch and swatted the prince’s butt. He immediately leapt into action, chasing the princess around the living room. The jester was waiting all night for a moment like this, and followed the prince in pursuit.
The princess ran as fast as her delicate legs could take her. Taking the princess’s lead the three leapt up onto the couch, dashed around the kitchen table, and cascaded brick wall. They ran across the fireplace mantle, somehow avoiding knocking over the oil burner, and down the other side. The jester encroached the prince’s back legs and made a leap for it. Her tiny body barely slowed him down as she landed on his back. He turned belly up and wrapped his enormous white paws around her head and playfully bit her neck. She easily slipped out of his hold and ran into the living room, and casually lay on the cushy white carpet and licked her paw. It was the prince’s turn to do the chasing. He galloped across the living room and lay on his back next to her. He extended his clawless white paws toward her face. She barely noticed, and continued to groom between her toes. He continued to bat at her, getting a little more aggressive, and making nibbling motions toward her ear. Without a sound she batted back, closing her eyes, meeting his paws stroke for stroke.
The princess, feeling left out, pounced from on top of the couch and bit the prince’s neck, holding him in a classic head lock. As big as the prince was, he couldn’t shake the petite brown calico, and it wasn’t long before he submitted to the delicate princess. Her biting soon turned to licking, and she very carefully, lovingly began to groom his long fur, under his neck, and even inside his ears.
The jester went back to licking her paws. After a few moments, she made her way over to her orange and red tent, curled up on the fleece covered crinkle blanket, and dozed off, wheezing with every breath.
The prince lay on his back, enjoying the loving attention from the princess. When she felt she had done an adequate job of making him handsome, she simply got up, trotted away, and found some secret, quiet place to nap.
The prince lay on his back a few more moments before making his way to the spare bedroom to make him self comfortable on the guest bed. He turned around a few times and ran his paws across the comforter to smooth any wrinkles. He casually plopped down and fell fast asleep. The romping was done for now, after all, the sun would be up soon.
