Choice

He ran the stone down along the blade of his sword, narrowing his eyes on the edge he made with each pass. The scraping was doing its part to keep him focused on the idle task. It was just barely enough to keep his mind off of anything and everything that had sharpened his mood more than the blade.
He hadn't heard the door open, but the Jester was in the room with him now.
Face masked by the strange cloak he always seemed to wear, his head tilted oddly to one side, and he purred, "I see you had fun in town the other day."
The Knight felt, rather than saw the wicked grin that was pointed his way, and only offered a grunt in response.
"I guess that explains your mood now. I won't even bother asking."
"You never do." At least his reply had included words this time.
The Jester laughed. "Yes, well maybe you're just a little too predictable after all these years. You hold on way too tightly to hope."
The Knight sighed, and decided he wouldn't even grace that comment with an answer. He didn't have the energy to fight right now.
As he reached for the door to leave once again, the Jester paused, turning back. "So what will you do now?"
The Knight paused, using the back of his hand to wipe the gathering sweat from his brow, and turned to focus cold, determined eyes on the hooded oddity at his door. "What else can I do? Try harder, and keep trying until something happens." The last part of that sentence hung in the air and he tried not wince. It had sounded grim, even to his ears.
The Jester hadn't said anything, and strangely enough, didn't even smile- on the contrary, he looked stunned for a moment before turning back to walk out the door.
The Knight closed his eyes, setting aside his weapon and tools, and exhaling slowly, trying to calm his heart and nerves. "A candle in the breeze either flickers and gets brighter, or just goes out. That's the choice I'll have to make."