To Fare as a Fool

Early morn', the cold stone walls of the keep bathe in the red sunlight that leak through the shutters of a stained-glass window. All the royal family -- but the king -- had long since been asleep, and presumably longer still, their slumber continues.
The king was seated, lone, at the table's head in the dining room, a large, seemingly heavy book placed on the dark wood in front of him. He appeared somewhat entranced, his eyes flickering across the page, then stopping, then flickering again.