white Queen's A Royal Tribute

The stifling air inside finally drove me out to the city avenue, where the sunlit display ledge of an antique boutique held a delightful diversion. A vintage carved boxwood king of hearts playing piece stood stiffly on guard beside an open velvet case, his painted moustache and wooden sceptre clenched in stern defiance. Holding my red vintage steady in my left palm, I brushed my gloved fingertips against his chiseled crown, purring a wicked whisper into his hollow ear. With a languid nudge of my heel, his weighted sceptre dipped, yielding his sovereign pride in humble salute at my feet.