And so the gossip goes

In the territory of hearts, there were a select few individuals that the people knew, if ever to be encountered, were a sure sign that the chances of leaving their company with a functioning clock were close to none.

First was the prime minister, whose fair features and piercing red eyes haunted all those he shot dead. Nothing seemed to please the role holder, but rumors recently spread that he seemed to be more lively because of a certain foreigner that wandered about these days.

(But of course, those were only rumors. The trigger happy rabbit would never change for a mere Outsider…

…would he?)

Then there was the knave of hearts, who despite appearing to be the kindest of these individuals was anything but. His bright smile never reached his eyes, and his clothes were always caked in fresh blood. The fact that he was always found wandering about left the people on edge, never knowing when the knight would wander out of a bush, sword ready to strike.

(However, he seemed to be finding his way around these days, his smile warming ever so slightly. The people wondered if these changes were also connected to the foreigner, who seemed to care about their lives, as if all were created equal.

How naive the thought was, but nonetheless it made the people find her presence all the more pleasant.)

And last, but certainly not least, was the infamous queen of hearts, who sat in her red throne in a big red castle, and loved nothing more than to execute people by screaming, “Off with their heads!”

Her temper inspired fear, while her beauty brought about envy in their clocks. A goddess is what their children would call her in the privacy of their homes.

And how funny that was, because when one called to the gods and goddesses, wasn’t it usually to beg for mercy and forgiveness? Both which the people had never seen the queen even think about possessing.

And yet…

The rumor these days began to tell a different tale.

The queen had stopped executing people over the simplest of things, even began to pardon some who were foolish enough to slip up twice.

What absurdity! Surely hell must have frozen over!

But the rumors insisted, claiming that these once dangerous individuals were beginning to have a change of clock.

And at the source of all these changes…

…was the foreigner who cherished them all with a kind heart.