Villainess Of Hearts

The Castle of Hearts, the Gardens

The freedom of no longer entertaining guests—at least not as difficult with having three other Royal Kingdoms—its allure would soon prove to fade away quickly. The Queen of Hearts did not have any break in regard to her original work, and neither did she get the chance to focus on her other essential tasks.

Essential, that is to say, tasks that could possibly ensure that she lived far longer than what may have been originally intended in the past. Each day was a trouble of its own, and though she may have wanted to always be one step ahead and plan for the morrow, today's tasks also had a habit of putting itself in front of her and demanding her full attention.

"Ah, I know it's a little petty of me to say this, but I hope that Lord Duke gives me more time after his day with work—he's always tired when he gets to our room." Catherine Duke sighed as she sipped her tea. "I'm not expecting that much, but he doesn't even have the time except to squeeze in a quick goodnight and then passing out."

Whether it had arrived in the Lady's mind that the work currently occupying the man was the attempted assassination on Rosalyn or it hadn't come across her at all. The Queen of Hearts simply sipped the freshly brewed tea that the Lady had made for her. She initially stiffened and balked at the offer, but once she actually took a tiny sip.

It wasn't bad.

Catherine Duke was capable of listening to advice when one gave it to her. Rosalyn Lockhart couldn't deny it—even though most of the time, the woman can be quite ditzy and an airhead. The woman wasn't actually that terrible company. The Queen of Hearts could hear about the latest gossip and rumors going around the Kingdom of Hearts.

"Your Majesty?"

Rosalyn Lockhart blinked and managed a smile instead, "Ah, my apologies, Lady Catherine—I'm the one surprised that the two of you are sharing a room instead of accepting the two rooms we've initially provided." The couple decided to stay here, or rather the Lord Duke was asked to stay and the Lady insisted on staying here as well.

Catherine Duke's face tinged red as she waved a hand, "Ah, I do not wish to seem indecent or not appearing in proper conduct, but it's always… the Queen and King's chambers are separated, aren't they?"

"Yes. It's a safety precaution. They're on opposite parts of the Castle in order to prevent people being able to attack the two at the same time, or at least do it with more difficulty."

Rosalyn Lockhart plucked out a tart from the pastry dish and brought it to her lips, chewing slowly.

It would give at least her some reprieve from answering all at once.

"I understand…" Catherine Duke sighed and placed her teacup down. The woman rested a hand underneath her cheek. It seemed to be one of the moments that the woman got introspective, and it was also where she could get strikingly perceptive. "It's a little too early to start considering heirs now, is it?"

Rosalyn Lockhart choked on a tart for a solid minute—she had nearly spewed them out. Only the tea was able to make her swallow and gave a narrowed eye look at the woman in front of her. It had never crossed her mind. Well, that was wrong either. But from the past years that they've been together, the occasion had never risen at all.

And someone else had met her needs.

Julius Ginellevé was surely not within hearing distance now is he? The man stood around five feet away from them, and Catherine Duke had said it in a hushed voice now. Thank the four stars that the man didn't step any closer when she choked as Catherine Duke apologized. "Are you alright, Your Majesty? Forgive me for asking." The Lady had an awkward look on her face.

The Queen of Hearts straightened up from her chair and shook her head. She tried to ignore the sun's rays lighting on her face and sighed inwardly. "It's not a problem, Lady Duke. It has not come across my current plans at all." The current King of Hearts being a victor from the Card Trials surely spoke volumes in the chronology of the Royal line.

One moment it might have been this House and Family that continued to reign over this particular Kingdom, but if the Joker made a verdict—then it would be changed. The entire regime would be upturned at their word. Even if it hadn't happened in years didn't mean it wouldn't happen and the people had forgotten about it.

She herself had hardly known of it.

The title of Joker was thought of as something ceremonial in name. Not that her own family had spoken of it. She hadn't heard of the Card Trial victors from her parents at all in the past—they were the ones who had never considered the chance that it was in this age and time that a victor and new Ruler would be found. It still left a bitter smile on her face.

An uncomfortable and dull ache in her chest that couldn't seem to ease despite the years.

"Ah, I believe it's time to change topics, is there anything that you would like to talk about, Your Majesty of Hearts?" Catherine Duke gave her a sheepish smile. Somewhat cloying and hoping that she would be able to clear the tense atmosphere between them.

Once again, another inward sigh escaped from the Queen of Hearts, but there was something else that formed in her mind. "... The Blue Forest, it's under your jurisdiction, isn't it?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. Do you have a wish to visit it?" Catherine Duke's eyes widened slightly. The expression morphed into excitement as light reflected in her eyes and she perked up, "It'll take a few days to visit it, but I assure you that it's a sight in and of itself, a beauty that many other people should visit. I had actually tried to convince the other Royals to visit it. Its flora and fauna are splendid."

Perhaps someone was truly entranced by the wonder of such a place, but she was only interested in one resident of it.

Rosalyn Lockhart folded her hands together and bit back her sigh, "I have no idea how someone like… the Chesire could have come from it, is all. And though I have not seen their presence at all recently, doesn't mean that they're no longer here? Sometimes I feel like there are someone's eyes on me, but I could never be so sure that it was them." It could have been her Knight for all she knew. It was probably Gine now that she thought of it, but that didn't change the fact that she was interested more on Chesire's possible whereabouts.

The Queen of Hearts could not visit the Hatter.

Well, she could if she actually wanted to—but that wasn't the point. The Delegate of Clovers had tasked the man to make a bulk order of hats, and she did not wish to interrupt the man. Not only because it would affect the business and her Kingdom's relation to the Clover Kingdom, but because she felt that she may have been intruding on him too much if she were to visit.

Nicholas Hatter getting jailed once was already too much.

"Ah, the Chesire. Have they been annoying you, Your Majesty?" The Lady's brows knitted together, the woman leaning a bit closer to her. A sheepish smile curled on her lips, "I… my husband always has trouble trying to capture Chesire, but I can talk to him if you'd like."

Rosalyn Lockhart's brows furrowed, "The two of you are in speaking terms?" She didn't wish to sound upset, and yet Catherine Duke stiffened at her voice. She wasn't upset at all! But she had assumed that she was the only one who had garnered some respect from the mysterious and laid back cat person.

"A-ah, not exactly, Your Majesty." Catherine Duke waved a hand, "But if need be, perhaps I can urge them to not disturb you, Ro—Your Majesty, I know you have a lot on your plate."

The Queen of Hearts glanced at the dish in front of her and noticed that she did in actuality have more tarts than she ought to in her own plate and cleared her throat, "No. I just find them interesting… as a person. What else could be possibly there in your lands, Lady Duke?"

The Chesire and the Hatter weren't her only targets, not at all.

Two of them were great allies and friends to Alice, add Harold and Mallory more if need be, but she was positive that there were other more allies to the woman. And regardless of whether or not she could remember them due to their insignificant presence or how her memories weren't actually complete—it simply meant she couldn't rest at ease.

Who were the other people that she needed to find and befriend? Were they Hearts citizens? She'd like to believe that they were, but there were also cases of some like Chesire who weren't typical commoners under her reign. How would she approach them? How would she even find them?

They had no map or path at all to lead to the others at all.

And though perhaps having the closest right-hand man of Alice at her side and an informant could change the playing ground that she would meet with the woman in the future—if she could seize all the chess pieces on the board, wouldn't that be much better? Much better. Much safer.. The reasons for Ginellevé's own previous beheading of her were beyond her current knowledge, and so there was a lot more reason to be careful.