Jack of Hearts by Marina Tsvetaeva. Short summary

5 seconds

The King goes off to war, and his wife, the Queen of Hearts, falls in love with the King of Spades. A plot matures in the palace against him, of which the Lady is warned by Jack. She and her lover leave, and Valet is murdered.

1 minute

The old Worm King is going to war. He instructs the Wormwood Lady to guard herself. When he leaves, the woman complains to her page, the Black Jack, about being bored, and she lays out the cards. There she sees the Black King and death.

Taking advantage of the old king’s absence, cavaliers begin to visit the Queen of Diamonds. The Jack of Diamonds and his master seem too frivolous to her, while the Jack of Clubs and his King are boring.

But when the enigmatic King of Spades appears, the Queen surrenders to him.

A rebellion breaks out in the castle — the Jacks of Spades, Three of Diamonds and Diamonds want to kill the King of Spades. The Black Jack discovers this and tells the Queen.

The Queen and the King of Spades leave and the Black Jack is killed by other pages.