The Laughing King: Fantasy

[penthius]

The jester capered, and the king laughed. The jester flipped, and the queen smiled. The jester left, and the animation drained from their faces as if they were nothing more than wooden statues. "We don't dare kill him," the Arms-Commandant murmured to his assistant. "They become themselves again briefly when he is here, entertaining them. Serious business is nearly impossible, but they will sign papers and issue judgments in the intervals between laughter. Sometimes. When we removed him from their presence and buried him deep in a dungeon room designed to hold fearfully powerful wizards, they did not recover. They wasted away so much we feared they would die. And so we are stuck with royalty who only become themselves while he is present. He himself claims he does not know why this is so, and it is true that the King and Queen's malady first occurred while--"

Inspiration: ChaoticShiny - "The heroes must discover the story behind the ship without the jester killing them."
Story potential: Medium.
Notes: Whatsit--the floating princess. Or the one who would not stop crying. Also, a ship is definitely involved. And the King and Queen are still enough themselves that they will not lie together while another person is in the room, so it's no heir coming soon, either.