King of Hearts

I am ready. My heart is in my sleeve, lined up next to the cards. Pinstripe pants, white dress shirt, tuxedo jacket, magicians hat.

It's almost too easy. I feel like a Venus fly trap.

I sit here. I sit in my throne, alone; a king with no disciples; a ruler of time rather than people, a keeper of hearts, a thief of dreams and lives.

I wait. I wait like a killer waits for the next victim, like a beast waits for the next prey.

Like a liar waits for a lover.

The cards are on the table, the setting is right. The moon is high. Now all I need is a foolish person to seek shelter in my mansion.

There's bound to be one out in the woods tonight, someone unlucky enough to step into my world.

My world of games. My world of chance. The gamble of love, quite literally.

My name is Peter. I call myself the King of Hearts.