Villainess Of Hearts

He was captivated by the Queen, and he soon found the courage to kiss her. Maybe it was because she finally knew his secret, the torment he experienced and accepted him all the same. That she had walked with him twice now and showed a kindness before, that there might actually be a chance. Maybe he was just losing his mind to this delusion. Alexander rested his fingers underneath her chin and leaned down—his eyes were on hers for the entire time. Hoping for some conviction in her sharp gaze and that she wanted this as much as he did.

That this wasn't some game for her or something to put him to some torture.

He was only looking for a single drop of love and affection that could ease the sea of heartache and yearning he felt. There were no more pretenses of saving her through mouth to mouth resuscitation or anything like that. Whatever it was that happened before? None of it mattered. He didn't care about that anymore; he wanted to feel her tenderly once again. 

But then she turned her head away from him.

The King of Hearts blinked, confused, hurt and pained all the same. Until he then followed her line of sight—it was the moment that Alexander Hartsmichdt's eyes laid on the girl in the labyrinth. His chest convulsed and there he knew that she was the one he had been looking for all throughout the years. When he had seen the servant of the Queen of Hearts, there was a familiarity to it that brought him nearly to the edge of what surely was important to him.

It was like opening a box that had come from the attic in his mind. Something dusty. It pulled to him so hard. Then he saw her, and then he understood that there was something to her—something so important that he had forgotten about. And it was something or someone that felt like 'home' to him.

And yet the young woman took a step back and began to run—

Alexander chased down after her. The name was on the tip of his tongue. Yes, when he looked at her and took in her appearance. When he gazed at the familiar blonde hair and blue eyes, he knew he had to hold her closer and jog his memory. It might be the thing that could help him finally grasp whatever it was that was happening.

The beckoning was too strong.

He chased after the girl who looked so much like him.

But right before he could corner and pin her against one of the hedges, heat began to sweep all over around him despite what should have been the unforgiving coldness of the night. Alex didn't pay attention to anything except her, "Who are you?" he asked.

She hesitated for a moment, biting on her lip, and then she opened her mouth. "I'm Al—"

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When the brilliant lights waned and finally disappeared—the Queen of Hearts was in another world. That was what the woman understood from the moment she stared at the tall buildings that reached far above and into the clouds. It didn't take her to put two and two together to comprehend what was happening. Was this the world that Alexander claimed to be?

If she were to base it on his descriptions, then it was a solid fit. The enormous heights were skyscrapers, the four-wheeled creatures that pulled along like carriages were vehicles made from machines? She had managed to absorb it before when he had excitedly explained it to her and proposed ideas that it could be made in her world, but that didn't stop her from finding herself paralyzed on the spot.

Her eyes flitted and found a multitude of people in strange attire, in clothes that were a complete cry from her own. Some were busy and bustled along and spared no glances, but to those who stopped and paused.

Their gazes were on her.

Snippets of conversation trailed in her ear, and then another flash appeared. She winced and raised her hand to cover her eyes. She then saw something in a person's hand—a weird portable metallic shape in their hands. "A magical artifact?" Rosalyn Lockhart whispered to herself.

"Miss? Who are you cosplaying as?" Another person spoke up, seizing the courage to approach her. "Some sort of Princess? Or is this a random film shooting? The crown looks really pretty."

The Queen of Hearts recoiled and then glanced around more fervently. She grasped the edges of her gown and clutched it tightly. It was too crowded and she couldn't even find anyone familiar when she was positive that she… she hadn't been the only one in the labyrinth at that time, right? "Have you seen the King of Hearts? Alexander… that's his name."

"Er…" Two people looked at each other and shook their heads.

"Do you mean someone dressed like you?" Someone else offered.

She nodded and fought the urge to harrumph. "Yes. We've… parted somewhat in this immense sea of people. I have to return to him." And then get herself out of this mess? She had seen him follow after Alice without any hesitation.

Why would she even look for him?

It was because this was his world.

"Ah yeah—go in that direction." Somebody pointed. "Thought I saw some two other cosplayers doing a chase scene."

The Queen of Hearts blinked, "Thank you…" She quickly ran off into the direction—knowing fully well that this might be the only chance she had. The immensity of the situation happening now and the possibility of traveling to another world would be held back and pushed in the back of her mind.

For now, she needed to find him.

And then return back?

The Queen wasn't so sure, but she would figure this out—and yet it was so difficult when other people weren't parting themselves at her sight alone. What kind of world had he even been living in? This was pure torture.

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He'd like to think of himself as an Alex. His full name was Alexander, though, and he was an ordinary young man. He had a father, mother, and a younger sister. There wasn't anything special about him until he looked at the mirror one day and realized that he had a weird birthmark on his shoulder. He was checking himself out of the mirror and trying to see if he was actually gaining a toned body when he saw it. He rubbed it with a finger and found it really was on his body.

How he never saw it before?

It beat him.

But the strangest thing out of all this was it looked like a heart. Not the heart that was inside of the body, but the heart-shape… which was pretty inaccurate for an actual heart. And he would know of it when he was an aspiring medical student, or any actual student would know about it even from elementary. But, if there was anything he would say that was special, it was just that birthmark.

Not that it really mattered. He had great friends and a loving family, and his life was pretty much set out. There were just some things that threw him in for a surprise, like heart-shaped birthmarks that popped out of nowhere.

He was coming home after a late night excursion, meeting up with some of his friends like Sarah and Felix when he saw her.

Alex forgot to breathe.

Some strange woman in the night wearing a puffy and royal gown—but she was the most beautiful person he had ever met. There was a skip in his heartbeat. He blinked and held a hand over his chest, "Weird." He knew he should go home now, and yet he couldn't pull his eyes away from her.

And it wasn't just because she was beautiful or anything like that. He really didn't believe in first loves either, because it was a childish notion… but she had a distressed look on her face that he couldn't just ignore. The young man navigated to the crowd and raised a hand, "Miss!"

What should he call her?

Surely she had a name, but he didn't know how to keep her from moving away and getting lost.

Until their eyes finally met, and she had sharp blood-red eyes. Something like contact lenses, no doubt. Unless she was an albino. Her hair was pale blonde enough for it… and yet all it did was accentuate her features, and wait one moment was there a fleck of gold in her eyes--

She threw herself at him, and his eyes widened. He caught the woman in his arms and struggled to not drop the two of them onto the pavement and ignored the heat that rushed to his face. What the heck was happening right now?

This wasn't someone literally falling in love now with him, was it? That would just be too much, albeit some girl had confessed to him in university just today too… so he really wasn't sure if this was his popular time. 

"I found you." She said, and there was a panting to her breath.

Alexander blinked at the sudden familiarity, "Huh…? I uh… don't exactly know you, Miss?"

The woman quickly pulled away from him and rubbed her eyes, "When did you get so young and how did you manage to change clothes so… no. I got the wrong one, didn't I?" Her gaze settled on to the sky. "Are you also involved in this, Time Man?!" She shouted out loudly and stomped her foot on the pavement.

He grimaced and wondered if he accidentally met a mad woman. 

What had he got himself into?