Villainess Of Hearts

Rosalyn Lockhart opened the doors to her room and strode out—alone. The cat had fled its master's house, but that much was an intention on her part. The silly kitten was shy when it was asked something and could not offer superfluous answers.

It was an interesting break from her schedule.

As she stepped out, she'd see her Knight waiting by underneath the painting and his image was much more riveting than those on stilted portraits. Dutiful as ever and patient, a rose in his hand. A deadly beauty like no other. He bowed his head and greeted her, looking up with a smile on his face. "Good morning, Rosalyn."

But this was all routinary.

Perhaps it would bore others, endless and repeating events that often occurred saved for the occasional change in pace—but she found herself relieved by rhythm. Order. Organization. Paced. The Queen of Hearts lived by the rules and regulations she'd instill in herself and she accepted the rose from his hand, plucked it without no hesitation.

Compared to the King of Heart's description.

The rose offered to her had a lack of thorns to prick her fingers, each one pulled out and picked out carefully by her Knight—devoted and concerned. She brought it to her nose and took a whiff, the subtle fragrance calming her nerves. "Thank you for the rose, Gine. I think I'll be heading to my office immediately."

When it came to discipline, she could be a slave to it.

"Then I shall be getting one's breakfast at your servant's kitchen then." Julius Ginellevé answered without a waver in his tone. 

Perhaps she should be afraid of the multiple encounters that her Knight had with Mary Ann, but after the incident with the Court Trial and the King of Spades—the Queen of Hearts had settled into this routine, it was the most efficient one that she could muster. If anything was to be feared, it was her Knight getting envious of Mary Ann and not the other way around. 

"Thank you."

Her Knight was a little willing to part with her in broad daylight but he still guarded her like a hawk when the sun came down. The two of them parted ways in the second corridor and once he was gone the Queen of Hearts took a detour. She turned to the left and soon came upon her destination.

Well, she doubted that he was around yet.

The most important individuals in the Castle of Hearts had their own offices, and that was to say, there were only three of them. The highest ranked individuals were the King and Queen, and the one right below them in managing the affairs of the Kingdom—the one working closest to them was none other than the Prime Minister. The other Nobility took care of their own territories and only met up on the most important meetings, but Sir Blyke Edelweiss was needless to say part of the daily affairs in the Castle.

That was in spite of their unchanging habit of being perpetually late.

However other than that, reliability was something that they provided. A dependable person, she would have recommended no other man to become the Prime Minister—she still waited outside the man's door. And waited some more. He most often reported in the afternoon to his superior, the King of Hearts or had a servant deliver the other documents to her office when it was under her jurisdiction that perhaps he might have gone too lax in the mornings.

A loud sigh came from the Queen of Hearts lips and she even saw a servant avoid her in the corner of her vision. Had they perhaps already gone through the interrogation by the Lord Duke, she hoped so. But the Queen of Hearts still tensed and waited until they were fully gone to relax.

Blyke Edelweiss soon arrived bustling through the corridors, his pocket watch in hand—and nearly pounded his head on a pillar when he saw her. "Y-Your Majesty of Hearts!"

It had been some time when they last met in private.

That was to say, she mostly left him alone.

She narrowed her eyes at him, "Prime Minister Edelweiss, a good morning to you. Shall we speak in your office?"

"A-Ah yes, Your Majesty." Blyke Edelweiss fumbled for his key, which by chance was inside of the pocket watch and unlocked the doors to his office. "F-Forgive me for the state of my office, it is not the most suitable one for Her Majesty to stay in."

"That's fine, I do not plan on staying too long—"

He turned out to be right.

Sheafs of paper here and there, a strewn of cups and plates in a table over there. The smell of burnt logs and ash filled the room. The Queen of Hearts wrinkled her nose and took another look at this man. This was the person that she had entrusted a good portion of the daily and general affairs with? Should she start looking for someone else?

"Would you like to take a seat, Your Majesty?"

One's most personal surroundings were often a privy to one's mind—and chaos was what she could read. Organized chaos perhaps, seeing that their Kingdom wasn't in flames yet, but still the sight was a pain for her eyes. She eyed the seat offered to her, and it was clean. But she shook her head, "I had heard that you are related to someone called Harold?"

The Queen of Hearts stifled a grimace, she hadn't done much studying on both Mallory and Harold's full identities. 

"A-Ah, I presume you mean my third-cousin, Your Majesty?" It was Blyke Edelweiss who grimaced at the mention of the name.

That was how far-off they were in relations? She would have not known. "The one living with a building owner outside the Castle. Her name was Mallory." She only had sticks and twigs in her hands, the people that Alice involved herself with were people of unknown identities and strangest affiliations.

"Yes, I believe you mean those two who came during the Court Trial, Your Majesty of Hearts?"

Rosalyn Lockhart had almost forgotten about that. The Prime Minister had probably been there—of course he had been present that time. His presence was simply something she didn't notice most of the time. She nodded her head, "Yes, them precisely."

"What would Her Majesty like to do with them?"

His voice was grave and serious. And compared to the King of Hearts, this man could not rescind her orders in any way unless he fled to the King for help. He knew that much naturally. And of course he knew who he actually owed his position with, the Queen of Hearts smiled at him. 

He nearly shivered in plain sight.

"I want you to bring them to me."

Blyke Edelweiss's eyes widened, "And after that, Your Majesty?" His imagination was no doubt running wild. It wasn't common to bring commoners to the Castle, and even then, their outcomes might be unfavorable still.

She was sure that his mind was going in that direction.

"Bring them here in the Castle of Hearts as your guests, and all four of us shall have tea."