Villainess Of Hearts

The Queen of Hearts ended up showing her letter to her Knight, Ginellevé began to read it as he stood in front of her desk. If anyone had seen it, one would think that it was absurd for her to ask for his opinion… but she knew the man's capacity. His reliability was immense in even things like this.

"I think you can send this letter now, Your Majesty."

"Are you sure?" She furrowed her brows and folded her hands together. "It would be… quite a shame if there were any errors in it, please read it again, Gine. I don't trust myself."

A soft sigh escaped the man's lips but he did what she asked. Julius Ginellevé then reached for a quill and began to mark something in the parchment.

Rosalyn Lockhart clicked her tongue and squeezed her hands together—her assumption was right. There had to be something she missed and now having him look over it ensured that it was cleared out. It wasn't enough that the letter was appropriate, it could only be perfect.

He placed the parchment down and slid it over back to her without a word.

"Is it that bad?" She picked up the piece of paper and began to look over it… and then scrunched up her brows. The Queen of Hearts looked at her Knight and wondered if she or he had gone mad.

It is already perfect as it is as you are, Rosalyn.

The man had never exactly been this vocal, or the words that he whispered to her during intimate moments and their clandestine meetings were nothing like this. He was devoted to her—but this was really something she'd expect to hear from the King of Hearts in his ill-attempt to fix their relationship. She sighed and rested a hand on her cheek, "As much as I appreciate your compliments, I've seriously asked you a question, Gine. Now is not the time to be writing little love notes."

Roses were one thing, a symbol of his affection.

But these words simply made her stomach coil, the man should know that she wasn't entranced by things like this. What had made him act this way? She had no clue, but perhaps it was just an odd time. "But moving from that, I presume that the letter is already good then—I'll rewrite it." She took out another clean parchment from her drawer. "Thank you for your assistance, you can take a seat and rest, Gine."

"Do you have no inclination for your afternoon tea, Your Majesty?"

She sharply looked up and gazed at his face—there was no hint of change in his expression. But even so, his words were still enough to make her frown. She wasn't exactly completely at ease with his time spent in the kitchen with Mary Ann. It was a silly thought, but then again, if she were to be too assured of herself… another Alice incident might occur.

There was no room for too much confidence.

The Queen of Hearts needed to be more wary, or perhaps she was simply being too possessive. It was still better to be on the safe side, however. Rosalyn inwardly sighed and shook her head, "No, supper time comes in an hour or so, I will simply wait for it."

"Alright then, Rosa—Your Majesty."

He also stuck with referring to her with honorifics this time, and it was enough to make her overthink it. She watched him take a seat in one of the available couches and she cleared her head. There was no time—well, she would worry about it after this letter. Finally, the Queen of Hearts began to rewrite her letter for the final time.

Each stroke of the quill produced the curly but clear script as she jotted down each word, carefully measuring each sweep and swirl of the letter, until she finally finished. Rosalyn Lockhart began to sign it off:

Yours Truly,

Rosalyn Lockhart

She should have placed the title of Queen beside her name or beneath it, and yet the very thought of it shook her hand. What would he think when he read it? Would he consider this as a way of mocking him? She didn't wish for that and she wasn't overthinking at all. She knew him, but also did not know him at the same time.

It was a bad time.

An unpredictable hour.

The Queen of Hearts sighed and took out an envelope. What must be done, must be done. She had already made arrangements with the King of Spades and she would honor it—it was finally enough time for her to avoid the situation at her House, well, this was a business trip, so the chances of it not being brought up at all was likely.

A bead of sweat rolled down from the sides of her temple.

Rosalyn Lockhart wiped it with her wrist and finally sealed the envelope close. She bore down the seal of the Hearts Kingdom and sat back for a moment. Why was the thought of avoiding it enough to make her sigh in relief?

She raised her head up, "Gine, I'm done."

Childish fears and worries still entangled itself and covered her heart like sharp thorns. It made her chest tighten but she handed the letter to him, "Have it sent immediately, the King of Spades shall be returning so we need it delivered with ample time to ensure that Marmoreal has done preparations."

"Very well then, Your Majesty." His amethyst eyes bore down on her, "I will leave now…?"

She frowned and motioned for him to go, "Yes, do it now. Do not delay it any longer, Gine."

It was there and then that her Knight swiftly made his way to the door and left her alone. And it was at this moment that her posture slumped and she took the opportunity to take a deep breath—perhaps it really should have been better if the Knight had retrieved the tarts and tea earlier, or at least a cool drink of water to quench her thirst.

The simple activity was enough to wear her out.

"How weak and pathetic you are." She said to herself and searched for other documents to go over while she waited for the hour of supper to come. Rosalyn had promised to join dinner for this evening hasn't she? It was a little too late to regret her words, but since she said it—she would do it.

Rosalyn Lockhart began to sift through the documents to decide on which required her utmost attention. She began to read when a thought seized her mind, "What about His Majesty?" Surely the man was well enough to attend dinner, right? His close friend was going to be present.

Along with the Joker.

She pursed her lips. The Queen of Hearts still considered his sudden distraught to be futile, and yet there was something to be taken note of, and that the same person who instigated that the King of Hearts would rise to the throne would start saying that the Kingdom shall begin to fall. A snicker escaped her lips, "How ironic."

A traitor in their Kingdom?

Something like that was a common thing and it needed not to be fussed over. It was only a natural development: If there was a garden, there would be snakes.

But even so, she would also need to look over the discontent among the Nobility and other notable parties. Which one of them had suddenly amassed enough influence to put enough pressure on the Kingdom?

Did any of them suddenly amassed greater amounts of land and power? Was there any arranged marriage that occurred between Houses to share power with one another?

An answer was just within reach.

Rosalyn Lockhart once again reached for her drawer, but this time, she placed all of the items in it back at the table. The Queen of Hearts then lifted the false bottom of the drawer and picked up a black book. A silver lock was present, inlaid with tiny little red studded jewels that kept the book clasped shut.

She ran her thumb over the lock and the jewels, a soft click erupting once she finished. The Queen of Hearts then turned towards the first page, flipping over the pages as she moved past family trees and other relational information about the Noble Houses. There were some that caught her eye, but even so, she moved to one of the last pages.

Compared to the somewhat old but organized writing available in the earlier pages, the handwriting was more akin to hurried scrawling:

'Lord Jericho Marius recently visited past the borders between the Hearts Kingdom and Spades Kingdom. Possibly an illegal 'spice' trade.

House Lorie's third son has frequented visitation of the Eris House's first daughter.

Minor riots occurring in the east portion of the Hawthorne Lands

-I.B.L '

While it was true that the Prime Minister Blyke Edelweiss took care of the Castle and other related matters, he wasn't suitable enough for other more discrete tasks. And even Julius Ginellevé had his own duties that required his presence to stay at her side most often, save for personal missions.

Information was important.

And she had previously hired a reputable but enigmatic person to act as her informant. Communication done through a private method, it was something she had picked up from her parents before…

But it still hadn't been enough before, had it?

For all she knew, perhaps even this hired informant became wrapped in the wiles of Alice.

Alice.

She blinked and folded her hands together, "Surely the Joker isn't talking about Alice, is he?" That was the epitome of what she considered to be the Kingdom's fall.. The exile of a Queen, the loss of a champion Knight and being on the precipice of war among all Four Suits Kingdom.