Villainess Of Hearts

"I can see all the hats in this shop—and aren't they all yours?"

Nicholas did not know what to think. The Queen of Hearts stared back at him with a cool but determined expression, and her gaze never left his face. She was insistent that he rested now rather than later. There was a heavy feeling in his chest, even as he looked back at her. He really should appreciate it—but it felt like she was encroaching on too much.

Hats were his business, it wasn't hers.

Nicholas Hatter knew more about the trade than she ever would and he would make it to the deadline while keeping up with the quality of his hats. He could do this! Even if time was against him. Time was against him? It seemed like he had poured on more thought and depth to it than he should have. But it still held a ring of truth. Well, time wasn't working in his favor, that was for certain, but there was one thing that could not be forgotten.

He was talking about the Queen of Hearts.

And because she was the Queen of the Hearts Kingdom, and he was a person under the Kingdom, the Kingdom's reputation was also in part affected by his own creations. He was representing the Kingdom in his own way. Especially because he was dealing with a person from another Kingdom, and not only that, it wasn't simply a traveller or a small merchant from another small Kingdom, this was the Delegate from the Clovers.

One of the Four Card Kingdoms.

Known all throughout the entire world that one knew, he was dealing with that.

He sighed inwardly. He could push back from her orders—and he wanted to. He didn't like listening to anybody else, and that was what had made everyone call him mad in the first place. Conventions? He threw those away. He had no need for such boring things, but it didn't mean that he could also ignore a genuine plea.

... It was less of a plea and more than an order, but he'd like to think that it was a suggestion. A heavily urged suggestion.

One didn't make the Hatter do this or that, only he made the decision for himself. But perhaps, for her sake—he would put his hammer down instead of his foot. If he had put his foot down, what were the chances of the Queen of Hearts asking for his head? She didn't seem likely to do it now, but then again, who else was he to read another person?

Everyone was unpredictable.

And that was the beauty of it. Nicholas Hatter sighed and then looked past her, towards the Delegate still standing around. He already had disliked somewhat pushy and insistent Nobility, but now was his chance to push back. Albeit with civility. "Alright then, I shall be taking my break—so if I could request to close down my shop for an hour or two?"

"Close the shop for an entire day?" The Queen of Hearts said.

The Delegate from Clovers was a shrewd man and scratched the back of his head, "Alright then, if the shop is closed then I presume that no customers are allowed within it—I shall be leaving and will return on a later hour... or perhaps tomorrow." He coughed.

Nicholas Hatter didn't miss the sideway glance that the Queen of Hearts gave the man.

"Are you also leaving, Your Majesty?" Dimitri Nordskov addressed her. The man offered a hand, "I would be willing to escort you back to the Castle of Hearts if need be."

The Queen of Hearts pursed her lips, and lifted her chin. The red cloak that she wore complimented her appearance today, she bore a resemblance to someone, but he couldn't exactly tell who. Perhaps it was the way that her golden hair reflected and bounced off like waves—but her eyes were a different shade, crimson and deeply so. A huff escaped her lips, "Thank you for the thoughts, Delegate. But I will be returning at a later time. As you said, customers are expected to be gone but I come here as a friend."

A friend, yes.

That was exactly what he and she were, friends. But somehow, it both made his heart leap and also fall at the same time—disappointment? Why was it like that? What other thing could he have been waiting for her to say? That was already the greatest thing he could have asked for. A friend of a Royal. A friend of the Queen.

He shook off his thoughts and grinned, "And friends do get a pass even if the shop is closed, thank you for understanding Delegate Nordskov."

The man took it with grace and nodded to him and bowed to the Queen, "Very well then, I shall be off. I hope to see you some other time if the occasion allows it, Your Majesty."

And then he was gone—

Not quite.

The Queen of Hearts gave him a reply before the man left for the door, "You weren't present in the dinner last night, I was there. But perhaps I'll see you during dinner, Delegate Nordskov."

"I had to do an errand and it was also yesterday that I saw our Hatter fall unconscious, I stayed back a bit to ensure that he was alright." Dimitri Nordskov replied with a small humble bow, a sheepish smile on his face. The man was supposed to be leaving but was delayed by another conversation.

"...really? Then you have my thanks, Delegate. You are quite kindhearted." The Queen of Hearts sounded pleased and touched. "I will look back on this as an action done for me. What you have done for one of my people, it's a reflection of a deed to me."

And perhaps the days of her tempestuous personality was gone—she was conversing with the Delegate with a surprised look on her face. Her emotions were always present and on the surface, but now it was a far cry from her earlier times.

Nicholas didn't know what to quite feel about it.

"I would have done what anyone else would have done in that situation, Your Majesty."

"Still, you have my thanks. I still owe you a box of tarts—I'll have a servant deliver them to your quarters later, or perhaps during dinner."

"If I recall, the Queen has promised them once my departure comes. And I won't be gone yet, Your Majesty." The man chuckled.

... perhaps it was a Noble's skill, even in their supposed mark of leaving—he was still able to stay and lengthen the duration of their stay through conversation alone. Nicholas shouldn't have felt a sweltering heat come upon him now, a troublesome one. But he did. And he didn't like the prickly feeling that crawled up on him.

Should he go back to making hats?

He could imagine the Queen and the Delegate exchanging words for another hour or so. But then it was finally over as he heard the door shut behind him, and he looked back up to see the Queen of Hearts sigh aloud. In relief? In weariness?

She turned back to him, once again with those eyes of her. "You haven't drunk the potion yet, Nicholas."

And perhaps that was the only thing that made the tightness in his chest ease up slightly, she called him by name while she referred to the Delegate as still Delegate. At least he was aware that by name-conventions, he was ranked higher in the Queen's own regards of people.

It was a weird thing to be happy over, even as he picked up the strange bottle.

He didn't exactly know what this was, and even if he was happy and pleased—and all of the pleasant emotions that made one feel like they were walking on a cloud maybe? The potion bottle was enough to make his emotions cool down. A strange bottle with questionable liquids. He had drunk the tea that she had served, the meals that she offered at the Castle but the potion made him hesitate.

She had called it a pick-me-up.

"Ah... my apologies, Your Majesty. This drink in my hand is...?" His head cleared for a moment and he looked up hesitantly.

A touch of hurt crossed her face, she gave him a look. "It's not poison." 

He didn't like to think that he was easy to read but she guessed it in a heartbeat. It was easy to think back and imagine that the Queen of Hearts could do something like that—her reputation still preceded her. It still made him nervous, not as much as the Knight, but the Queen of Hearts was known to hold a grudge.

And she had been upset because of him before.

So the likelihood of—

"If I had any wish to kill you, then I wouldn't have let you out of the dungeon. I wouldn't have gone through all the effort I did to befriend you." She said it to him in a curt tone, looking at him directly in the eye. "If there is anything that you might know of me, I am an impatient woman—I will not go through hoops and lengths to make you think that I was your friend only to kill you at a later hour. That isn't as satisfying as lopping your head immediately."

The Queen of Hearts said it too easily, straightforwardly.

But that was also her. The Royal who would screech 'off with his head' at the very moment that someone displeased her. Nicholas sighed and felt something gnaw in the back of his head—he had made her think of that with his hesitation. She had to say that to him because he didn't drink it at once.

"Your Majesty... I was only curious about the ingredients, I didn't mean to question your motivations." Nicholas half-bowed, his body felt stiff and rigid. He didn't want to meet her in the eye. The bottle was still clasped in his hand, "The Queen of Hearts had thought of her humble servant in this hour, I could not reject or even consider not accepting your gift."

The both of them probably knew that was a lie.

"I am your friend—well, you are still a person under my Kingdom, but my intentions remain the same. I have no wish to harm you, but I wish that you would look at me fondly."

Fondly?

"The relationship shared between you, Harold and Mallory—I desire it. I have hopes that you would look at me in the same way, I even invited the two for tea to strengthen my own bonds with them... but it seems that it's a difficult thing to trust me." She sighed and a self-deprecating smile crossed her face.. "Although it shouldn't be a surprise, it is a natural thing."