Villainess Of Hearts

"Ah, forgive me—I didn't see you there, Mister Rosswall, is it?" Lord Reinhard addressed the Joker with a calm, but otherwise neutral tone. Compared to her who was always getting ruffled by the slightest things, he was the epitome of what a Royal was supposed to be.

It elicited a sigh from the Joker who waved a hand, "It truly is utterly boring to converse with you and if I had to pick between the blondie boy as King or you all over again—I'd choose him every day and that's saying something." he laughed and tossed his hair behind him. "No offense, since my hair is similar to yours and Gine's."

Rosalyn Lockhart frowned, "If you will excuse us, Mister Joker. But the Lord Lockhart and I have matters to attend to—if you wish to join the King for lunch, then please do so." She then glanced at her brother… 'brother' came out naturally even in her mind despite her pounding chest. She moved past the Joker and made her way down the hallway. She parted with him with a few words. "Have a good time."

Soon enough, she felt two presences near her. One appeared beside her and the other just behind them, and it was her brother and Gine respectively… and the latter's presence provided some comfort.

Now that it was only the three of them, it truly felt like she was back to when she was but a small child chasing after her brother. She glanced at him from the corner of her vision, and he soon returned her look. "Is there something wrong, Your Majesty?"

Thump. Thump.

Her heart felt like it was being placed in a freezing chest of ice—and she shook her head. "No, not at all bro… Lord Lockhart." The man was acting civilized and polite, even distant. It had always been like that between her, him and the rest of the family. But now it was only the two of them, and they still regarded each one as alien to the other?

What did he even want to tell her in private?

Her pulse raced, and she tried to keep her footsteps light and keep her thoughts from floating away, and soon they reached the drawing room. Her Knight opened the door, threw her a look that probably was one trying to understand what she wanted... but both her and her brother entered the room.

Before Gine could come in, however, she closed it.

There were times where it was important and even necessary to have the Knight with her, but then sometimes she had to deal with this situation all on her own. In this scenario, there was a necessity for her to talk with Lord Reinhard Lockhart alone. This was a long overdue talk—

"Your Majesty, would it be possible for me to take a seat?" he asked.

She blinked and threw a look at him, "Of course, my apologies... Lord Lockhart. Please take a seat." There were lights inside of the drawing room, but the fireplace was untouched. The Queen of Hearts should have probably requested her Knight to start a fire, but now she had to do it on her own.

Rosalyn Lockhart stepped towards the logs in the fireplace, wood cut off from the nearby forest if she could remember. Before she could pick one up, another interruption occurred.

The Lord cleared his throat, "That isn't befitting your station, Your Majesty. Would you like me to do it for you?" He stood up from his seat.

Her fingers clutched her dress, and she shook her head, "I couldn't ask a guest to do such a thing... I was simply concerned that the weather might be rather too cold." She felt as if her palms were cold and surely the reason for that was the temperature.

"If I were allowed to be frank, it's not really cold enough for a fireplace, Your Majesty. This much is fine." he said and glanced out the window. "I do pay compliments to the decorations of this room, it is quite well-designed."

The red-wine wallpapers mixed with the white couches did indeed give a certain luxurious but latest feel to it, and yet somehow she still felt hollow even while she was about to take her seat—and then looked up, "Your Maj—ah, Lord Lockhart, would you care for some refreshments?" A memory of her younger self that once managed to involve her brother in a tea party sprang back into her mind.

He was the King, and she was his sister, essentially a 'Princess' in her eyes.

"Thank you, but I have to decline. We've just finished lunch, Your Majesty." A minuscule smile formed on his face, and yet it didn't really reach his eyes that much. "There is no need to fuss over me this much, please take a seat. It has been some time, Your Majesty."

If anything, there was a slight touch of irritation.

Once again she was too slow to keep up with him and that had once plagued her childhood life—keeping up with him to become a necessary support. Now that the roles were reversed, it didn't exactly occur that he now helped her… but she overlooked it. Both for the sake of what he had lost and their parents.

The Queen of Hearts finally forced herself down and sighed. She stared into red eyes that matched her own. "Now that we are the only ones here, I believe we can do away with the formalities, Lord Lockhart." Even while she said that, she still held onto the title of the Lord and the word 'brother' did not feel tangible enough and even felt inconceivable to pronounce.

She hated this feeling. It was even worse than what she felt when she was compared with the current King. Any hints of weakness would be pointed out—and it somehow felt like she was giving some part of her away if she were to utter her brother's name even.

"Very well, Rosalyn." Reinhard nodded. He adjusted quickly and without any trouble. His own gaze studied hers, and it was scrutinizing enough that it felt like she was being placed under some sort of magnifying glass. Was he looking at her posture, demeanor, and even appearance to see what his younger sister was like as the Queen? Did it even live up to what ought to be?

"It seems that you are doing well, time has been kind to you, Rosalyn."

His words were enough to make her pause.

But those words didn't exactly mean anything beyond that of an expression. There was no look in his eyes, and so she was the one overreacting over it. Instead, the Queen of Hearts inclined her head, "To you as well, brother. You are looking good."

"Is that so?" he raised a brow. "I suppose I have adjusted well to my position after our father and mother died. It is good to hear those words from you."

The man's voice was cool enough to make her flinch—she couldn't even tell if it was sarcasm or genuine words. One could even say that he was cold, if she were to be honest. And yet, was that really the case? He was the one who had to bury them while she was away trying to fight for a crown. Perhaps if she wasn't the Queen now then they might have been alive, but what would have come on their family?

Branded as traitors.

Each one sentenced to death.

The Joker smiled at them now, but he was also brutal. Not that she would accept anything less when it came to the same rebels in their own current reign, and so she couldn't say anything about the man's methods. But either way, now that Reinhard brought up the topic, mentioned them, even in passing, then it had to be addressed now. She parted her lips and tried to look at him in the eye.

"About that, brother..."

"I will not prolong you too much, Rosalyn," he said. The Lord rested a hand underneath his chin and gazed at her. "I only came here to inquire about the King of Spades arrival—you have not informed me if he still actually plans to come at all or not. Did we lose them to the Monique House of the Diamonds Kingdom?"

She stared at him and found herself rendered speechless at this hour.

But whether he actually noticed it or not, the man continued with his words. "The sword production in our estate is of valuable importance to that of our family, a tradition of producing both strength and steel."

He spoke of both the Knights and every weapon and armor production.

His red eyes flashed, the very beginnings of emotions flickering in his eyes. "But it seems like the King, His Majesty Alfred Villeuce, himself is not interested. It's a little affronting, but if you have the answers for his absence right now. When you had originally mentioned him visiting soon, then I'll overlook it."

He didn't come here to talk about the past, nor the passing of their parents at all... he came here to talk about swords and business. He spoke a lot about it, and yet each word was able to cut and strike through her with extreme precision.

Reinhard called her by name, but any sort of familial relationship and kinship between the two of them were non existing. Their parents' death only furthered the void that was in between them that it was as if nothing connected them at all except for their names.

She should have known that this was the case, but it still made her eyes sting. A grown woman like her shouldn't cry at all, and so she tried to bear it in.

A futile attempt.

".... What's wrong?"