The dizzying lights pulsed as horns blared harshly in my ears, sounds of Jubilee and celebration. Women and men dancing with smiles on their faces and laughing to tears.

“Praise be to the king!”

“He who banished all evils and kept us safe!” they chanted tearfully, looking to my right. I saw the said King with a flattered and bashful smile, pulling his daughter and his wife close in embrace. Soon enough, the younger of the three, his daughter, rushed up to me, taking my hands in her tan brown ones.

“Come and dance with me, Lila!” She laughed carelessly as she attempted to tug me to the dance floor with those laughing dancers. I usually loved dancing, but I didn’t want to tonight.

 I wouldn’t admit that their blissful laughs slowly started to sound suspiciously close to sobs as they danced round and round until they dropped, or that if left on the floor for long enough, their smell would invite vultures that were usually spotted in the forbidden kingdom.

looked over to the king, seeing him nod his head in the dance floor's direction. 

Steeling myself and repeating words I needed to tell myself to make myself feel better, they all deserved it.

 If they cannot defend themselves, how can they defend this beautiful kingdom?

 Besides, they are happy here. They are grateful the king was merciful enough to spare them banishment to the forbidden kingdom. They are nothing but entertainment, props. Dance with them.

“Okay.”

I let the princess drag me to dance; the soulless music thrums through my ears. I pulled a pocket watch out of the pocket of my dress and monitored the time briefly, an hour left of this torture.

Thump.

I flinched and looked down. On the floor, a man was slumped over, tired and broken. His eyes were glazed over in fatigue and resignation, his feet were broken, and blood spilled from his lips. Shivers ran up my spine, and Mallory, the princess, grimaced in disgust, pushing her foot into his face as he lay unfazed.

“Is he dead?” she scoffed, “Guards!” The music stopped and people turned curious, probing murmurs and pitying looks were given to the corpse on the floor, but the guards were there in an instant and hauling the body away, the silence lingered, but only for a moment longer before the music resumed and the same people casting pity glances at the overworked man were now smiling, laughing, spinning around. 

My hand dug into my pocket, feeling the cold metal of the patterned watch beneath my thumb, circling it clockwise as if it would help speed time and those around me, it didn’t. The people around me moved at the same slow and graceful pace they always did and after an hour of pretending someone didn’t drop dead in front of me finally it was over.

“Everyone, clear the floor, the dealer has arrived!” Someone announced, and everyone did, and Mallory and I returned to our respective places near the throne. Shoes clicked against the marble floor as an older-looking man with a veil appeared through the makeshift tunnel of people and stopped closely in front of the king.

“Praise to the king.” He bowed, “--blessings to the queen.” He kissed the back of her hand and looked up at her, causing the queen smile and look away. Walking over to Mallory, he smiled, “And longevity and luck to her highness, may the cards be forever in your favor.” 

Then he turned to the crowd with an enigmatic smile, “As you all know, it is the start of the new year!” Cheers erupted in the crowd, and he waited until they died down to continue, “This is a grand occasion, but we must never forget why we are here! It is time for the drafting of our newest recruits into the Hearts Kingdom military!”

This was the part everyone stayed quiet for either in excitement or terror, the dealer pulled out a deck of cards and soon they rose on their own with a strange aura about them, they began orbiting him, like tiny compressed planets, the room went dark before the cards themselves glowed a neon red color lighting the room up again, suddenly one of the ones circling him shot up into the air before coming back down into his palm.

“Three of hearts!” He shouted. I could always tell who was a part of said group because they would flinch or cower. I was never interested in events like this. I didn’t like how their faces always looked so uncanny when they cried. 

Unlike Mallory, these were like dramas for her; she always soaked up every reaction she could get. It scared me a little. 

Looking over, I only disappointed myself. Mallory bounced on her heels, and her glimmering eyes shook my forearm.

“Look, Lila! That man looks like he wants to cry!” The boy she pointed to was hardly a man; in fact, he looked her age, 16.

“I can see that...” I replied boredly.