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The King of Faces

I work in the stables of King Ludovico, where I tend to his prized horses as well as whatever other creature he decides to bring in. This includes the King's beloved cow, Fifi. The King had brought in Fifi and she has been his prized pet ever since. She gets the royal treatment which includes fancy baths, special outfits, hoof polish, and so on and so on. It sounds ridiculous treating a cow like some sort of show cat, but if you ever saw how the King doted on Fifi and loved her, I think you would understand.

I took over this job from my parents. I had grown up on palace grounds, tending to the smaller animals, which is now the job of my little sister. The King has always had a fondness for animals, so there are many on the grounds. Some say the King is a little nuts for turning a part of the royal grounds into something like a zoo or farm. I know, though, why the King does it. Having grown up here, I have seen and heard things and due to the closeness to his beloved animals, I was privy to things. I know that King Ludovico is very lonely.

Being the child of the infamous Red King & White King, Ludovico wasn't short on parental affection. His mother, Primrose, was an excellent queen and an outstanding mother. His fathers fought over who got to dote on him more. Even when his little sister was adopted into the family, the two of them were inseparable. But as Ludovico grew up, it was discovered that there was a duplicity to him.

His faces changed. Quite possibly the result of his fathers' differing personalities and outlook, poor Ludovico's face changed into different personalities when his moods were at their peak. This made Ludovico feel alienated compared to everyone else around him. He didn't want to be treated differently or handled with kitten gloves to assure that he wouldn't snap on a whim. That wasn't even the case. Moods can change everybody, but because poor Ludovico's could be seen at first glance, people tended to treat him differently for it.

This is why he keeps so many animals on the grounds, each one loved and cherished as much as the next. Aside from Fifi, his favorites were the rabbits. He had one family of them that had started ages ago when his mother bought him a black bunny for his birthday. It had not been long after the discovery of his affliction and he had been in a rut for weeks. The black rabbit, which he named Bianca, had truly helped him discover a passion, as well as a way to cope with the new discovery. Bianca the Twenty-Sixth was alive and well, followed by Twenty-Seven, Twenty-Eight, and Twenty-Nine. Ludovico said once Thirty was born, he would hold a celebration of the first Bianca.

Growing up in the one place Ludovico loved more than by his family's side, I often got to see him up close. In fact, during our youths, Ludovico and I were great friends. I suppose he liked me because of my resemblance to a cat. I was a Cheshire, after all. He told me he admired my calico coat and fluffy tail. He gave me my nickname as well, Lewis, instead of the long name I was given at birth.

We played together often and I showed him all the care tips for his animals. He spent much of his time in the stables, where he often read to his animals at night and tucked them in. It was something my sister did with her stuffed animals.

As Ludovico grew up, he started to take more responsibility in the court, as well as taking more classes to prepare for his role as King. He started visiting the animals less and less, but when he did, it was a big production. For Ludovico, spending time with his beloved pets was his stress relief. It kept the pressure of his face switching down, which kept his stress levels down.

His little sister was a much loved singer in the land, so Ludovico often played her records to the animals. Her voice was rich and beautiful, and on more than one occasion, I had fallen asleep in the stables with Fifi listening to them. There was one morning I arose, finding myself entangled next to Ludovico himself. He had come to the stables to check on Fifi and I suppose he had fallen asleep beside me.