With his chin cupped in the palm of his hand, King GarGar watched as Queen Pirouette and her two daughters danced for him and the entire court. He tried to smile, but he could not. Gone were the care-free days of youth when he had just been le comte des deux chats. Now that he wore the crown imperial, all the cares of the world seemed to rest on his shoulders. He appreciated his wife and children and their efforts to cheer him, but he remained morose. Rarely speaking unless required by duty to do so, he had become taciturn, remote.
