A Fool's Endeavor (A Fool's Fables) by Janetje Amabilis

The king is dead, the child princess has been stolen away, and the court jester is left bleeding and drowning in the moat: Castle Acalathoy has been dealt a mortal blow. With the only heir to the throne taken in the night, the fate of the kingdom is sealed. The soldiers have been slaughtered, the knights laid waste, and there is no hero foolish enough to go after the princess.But Jester Lure has survived, and he will not be detoured.Against all odds, the fate of the princess lies in the hands of her personal jester, a peculiar man who hides more than his face under his mask. He has nothing left to lose and no intention of turning back. He, along with a small group of similarly unlikely companions- an apprentice who is merely an extension of his master and a knight driven only by guilt- must risk their lives in a hopeless journey across a dangerous land. Wildlife running havoc, bandits, pale folk with saccharine smiles, and other dangers are waiting along their path. It is them against an unrelenting world, and the group must learn to function together if they plan on surviving. With tension within the group, inexperience, and a lack of even basic weapons, this is easier said than done.It’s foolish to believe that they can save the princess from a fate nearly worse than death, but a foolish endeavor is not yet a hopeless one, and their trials have only just begun. For the fate of the princess, for the fate of their lives, and all relying on a foolish endeavor.