Villainess Of Hearts

The air was cool and a soft breeze blew through the garden in the Castle of Hearts. A man and woman walked together, alone and unaccompanied, only having each other. Not exactly knowing how the two of them ended up together. Lit lanterns decorated wooden posts and bathed their surroundings in a warm glow. Shadows flickered and danced. The aroma of flowers hung with the wind as leaves took their dive.

The Queen of Hearts treaded on the grounds, quiet and silent as ever. She gazed at her surroundings, tried not to look at the blonde man that accompanied her and sighed. It was a chance to cool her head.

And so she took it.

Regardless of the King of Hearts' actual relationship with the Queen of Clovers... the Queen of Hearts was still inclined to portray her and his relationship as nothing but the best. Even if the incident at the court trial was enough to spread rumor and gossip.

Well look at them now, wasn't this romantic?

A walk through the gardens, a couple together. Hadn't she once dreamed of something like this when she was younger? Wasn't this enough to form butterflies in her stomach, did she feel like she was walking on the clouds? The Queen of Hearts gazed at the flowers and sighed aloud, "Does the King of Hearts not consider that a time like this is dangerous?"

"Do you not trust the soldiers you've stationed to guard the castle? We have multiple men on the perimeter."

She eyed him, her lips curling down into a small frown. "And yet assassins were still able to arrive here and nearly killed me, if that doesn't speak of some kind of leak of information or some traitors—I do not not know what is." She was not upset, perhaps a tad annoyed but not mad. She was only pointing out facts.

The Queen of Hearts glared at the man.

"Then Her Majesty will just have to trust me, I'll protect you." He gave her a smile—one that spoke of a boyish nature. A roguish one, not the tight-lipped princely, or regal and gentle smile he gave. There was a light in his eyes as he spoke it.

Did he simply brush things over with those words of his?

Rosalyn Lockhart averted her gaze, stepping over stones, not skipping but she moved past them with a small hop. "Is this what they call the haughtiness of Kings? I am talking about a serious situation and yet you speak about this protection as if you are a capable man."

Even her Knight wasn't here.

"There is a reason why I won the Trial—and though it may have been a few years, that's not enough for me to lose my spirit." The King of Hearts explained. "Now I don't want to say that I'm invincible—I'm not, but I'll do my best and I have gotten out of tricky situations. It's not being haughty or arrogant, it's knowing what I'm capable of."

She pursed her lips. Trial this. Trial that. The man was beloved when he had arrived, the commoners loved him—called him a man of the people and even the nobles, a vast majority were willing to accept the ruling. "How impressive is this Trial truly?" Rosalyn Lockhart folded her hands together and turned to the right, the Gazebo of Dreams, a place which the King had constructed.

"There's an exact replica of that in the Card's Manor."

"...Card's Manor?"

"The Joker's residence where he conducts it, Your Majesty." A soft sigh escaped the lips of the King, "Nobody expected to survive, and yet here I am. That's how dangerous it was supposed to be. The Gazebo overlooking this lake might be pretty, its waters shimmer and glimmer under the moonlight but there—it was much more deadly. Hasn't the Queen of Hearts also participated in some sort of Trial?"

The Queen of Hearts frowned, taking all the information in and dissecting which was important. "So you knew? Based on what I've heard… it's not as deadly as yours, but it was cutthroat nonetheless. Perhaps not as ruthless as one may expect, it was easy to determine that I was the most eligible candidate, Your Majesty." She gazed at him in the corner of her vision. "But one truly had expected that we'd see you there."

"Some kind of selection-style coronation style eh?" The King of Hearts coughed, "I think I was in the process of recovery that time. Winning the Card Trial did not mean that I escaped uninjured. I may have been stuck in a coma for a time."

"Coma?"

"I was unconscious for a great period of time… and a lot of things happened during that time, I believe." The King of Hearts stretched and then let out a sigh, "Still, can you imagine that I'm discussing this with you now? I didn't think it was possible at all. but here we are. Thank you for accepting the dinner invitation and for this as well."

Her lips tugged down into a small frown, eyeing the King's bad posture and mannerism before shaking her head, "You do not need to thank me. This is the only possible way to maintain the appearance of us being suitable partners in the Kingdom, even if it was only the Kingdom of Clover, it's much better for them to understand that the...incident at the court trial was but one incident."

He nodded, his voice firm. "It'll be the only incident."

Where did his confidence stem from? From whence did he get his assurance in it? Perhaps it was all a front he showed to her. A mask on his face, and yet she hoped that the trial with the King of Spades would be the only incident where she would lay a hand on the King.

They couldn't do this in public.

And neither was she doing this in private—it was unbecoming. A failure on her part.

"I do hope that you keep your words, Your Majesty." The Queen gazed at the Gazebo and then into the lake, the King's description fit it perfectly.

A shimmering and beautiful lake, its waters that glistened in the moonlight.

But a deceptive look, she turned to him. "If you said that the lake in the Card Manor was dangerous, I do not understand your desire to recreate it here." The King was odd in his own way, it couldn't be denied… but if she wished to maintain their position, understanding how the man thought of things was appropriate. If not necessary.

"It's a good reminder."

That was all he was going to say about it? Rosalyn Lockhart felt one of her eyes twitch. She could surmise reasons from it, but the man had been chatty and now he speaks little? It was the same way that her parents brushed over things and matters. A short and curt answer was all it took.

In this manner, the King acted accordingly.

When the Queen of Hearts gazed back into the water, a shudder ran down her spine. Even if she said and thought of her desires for rest, to wish to cease living… she should be more careful about it. Experiencing death already, she glided her fingers over her throat and remembered the sensation of dark water all around her.

Beheading was worse than drowning.

"...I do regret that we had to place the Gazebo near the lake, your necklace would have been easier to retrieve if it had landed among the grass, Your Majesty. The water was freezing—but then again, it might… no, it was still a stupid thing." The King of Hearts rubbed his face and sighed. "I'm glad I was able to save you. Did you not know how to swim?"

His way of questioning still spoke of unclass.

He had a long way to go, and yet it was enough to make her annoyed.

She gave him a smile, "Oh I did, I planned to sink and drown, Your Majesty—of course I did not learn how to swim." The Queen of Hearts shook her head and a frown curled on her lips, "It had no… purpose in regards to becoming a Queen, why would I need to learn it? Even a Lady did not need to know of it, you don't need to know it."

Even Rosalyn noticed that she was repeating it too much, she stared at the lake and narrowed her eyes. It was the lake's fault for being there.

"Unless you were drow—but, for someone like Her Majesty, you've been training to become a Queen since long ago, did you not?"

And his question was stupid, but it still made her pause. Hadn't he actually learned everything in regards to the Queen's selection? She pursed her lips and sighed. If she were to be fair, she hadn't completely learned about the Card Trial either—accepting what little she had already known.

Rosalyn Lockhart thought it was enough.

"Nobody was prepared to become a Queen, Your Majesty." She glanced at him. "Nobody expected that you were to become King—surely it makes sense that no one was preparing prior to your success in the Card Trial." She kept her voice low and yet she hated this. Speaking about this subject, it took effort not to let her emotions get the better of her.

"Then you must simply be amazing then."

"Pardon?"

"If no one was expecting that a Queen was needed—and yet you still manage to do the responsibilities necessary in becoming one. Then it's a testimony to your skills then, Your Majesty of Hearts. You truly fit the position to become the Queen."

"...No amount of flattery will get you anywhere with me, Your Majesty."

"I was simply being honest."

"So you say."