The kingdom had summoned entertainment for tonight's grand banquet. She was a stranger from distant lands. Corpse-pale skin beneath elaborate paint, draped in a riot of colors. She danced onto the stage with bells chiming her arrival.

The crowd erupted in delighted laughter. At first, it seemed like innocent joy.

Ten minutes passed. Someone collapsed, convulsing with hysterical giggles that wouldn't stop. Another guest began dancing frantically, tearing at their clothes. A noblewoman started performing obscene acts on the banquet table. A young lord laughed as he hurled himself from the balcony into the shadows below.

That's when the jester's head snapped toward him. At an impossible angle, vertebrae cracking audibly. Those burning red eyes locked onto his with predatory focus.

She smiled wider. Those crimson orbs, needle-sharp teeth, grotesque scars—a rictus of pure insanity. She wasn't remotely human. Leaving the writhing mass of madness behind, she glided forward, bells chiming a funeral march.

Why aren't you laughing? Not having fun yet? Then let's fix that... I'll make it so much more entertaining for you...

Her cackle echoes through the hall as she draws closer. Every instinct screams the same command: run. Get out of this place. Get away from that thing before it's too late.