Villainess Of Hearts

There was a soft rap on her door. It was so quiet that she had almost missed it if it weren't for the fact that she was the only one in her office. The scritching of her quill went to a pause and the Queen of Hearts raised her head, a frown evident on her face… but even that dropped. Whether the cease of a frown had been exhaustion through overwork or her mind getting fatigued, she let it go and focused on the situation she had on hand.

"Who is it?" she asked.

"Your Majesty, I've come to bring your afternoon tea and retrieve the dishes from earlier."

It was Mary Ann. 

Her gaze flitted to the table where she and Hatter had their snack together, and it actually was close to her afternoon tea that time. Maybe lunch. It was something in between. Not that it mattered right now, except for the dishes on the table. They were a sight for sore eyes and so she sighed inwardly. "Very well then, come in."

The soft creaking of the door signified their presence.

Rosalyn Lockhart had placed her attention to her work, and only her work for the past hour or so—but this was also a welcome distraction. No topics or debates on her character and no questions about her worth and actions, just tea and tarts. It was simple and pleasant. The soft aroma of rosehip tea filled the air once the woman stepped in. 

She inhaled the aroma with a relieved and calmed sigh.

At this particular moment, Mary Ann was quiet and served her without any senseless questionings—she didn't even squeak, possibly to avoid attention on her person. It was both strange and unsatisfying. This was similar to what was in the past, but she had gotten used to a more noisier servant, if only because she was uneasy around her. 

Her ruby red eyes met the young woman's soft blue eyes, and the servant quickly averted her gaze. "Your roseberry tarts, Your Majesty."

The Queen of Hearts said not a word, albeit she would have normally said her gratitude. The servant would then turn her back away from her and move towards the table to pick up the leftover dishes from earlier and cleaned  them up.

… She had been upset and unhinged around this servant earlier, so her actions right now made sense. And yet the memory of Nicholas leaving her side filled her mind right now as she coughed and said, "Mary Ann—you've forgotten to taste-test my meal."

"I've already done so, Your Majesty." She wouldn't even look back at her.

Rosalyn Lockhart pursed her lips, a touch of annoyance in her voice. "Do not speak to me with your back facing me—it's rude. Would you do such a thing if you were meeting the King?"

Mary Ann yelped and spun around. The young woman fell to her feet—well, nearly doing so as she curtsied. The tray filled with dirty dishes was temporarily left on the table, the woman trembled slightly. "Forgive me, Your Majesty if I disrespected you. It was not in my intentions."

Nicholas Hatter said the exact same thing.

But even this was obvious.

Nobody would really intentional wish to harm her—someone had to be hopping mad enough to oppose her. But even if there were upset people, none could go against her so easily except for pitiful and backhanded tactics like assassinatiion. And so the Queen of Hearts rested a hand underneath her cheek, "Then taste-test my tarts and tea, prove to me that they are not poisoned."

Words left and slipped out of her mouth so easily, and as for the effects of each of them—she really didn't bother much if they caused trouble or good. She only said what she wished.The servant scrambled forward and reached for one of the tarts, picking one up and taking a bite.

"The tea?"

Mary Ann would then pick up a spare teacup, pour herself some of the drink and then sip it.

Rosalyn Lockhart thought herself to be satisfied to see that happen, but it didn't—she focused on the teacup in the servant's hand. This servant always carried more than one, because she hated having tea alone. "Surely you know that Gine is incapacitated… nevermind." The complaint was left on her lips and she didn't pursue it any longer. 

While she may have been more combative when Nicholas Hatter was around, she didn't particularly find reason to argue with Mary Ann. This woman did nothing particularly to antagonize her or change her ways. 

Or her temper had finally cooled down enough to see reason.

She didn't wish to apologize to anyone, for the words that she had spoken to the Hatter were true and it was something that she truly did hold true for herself. And whatever it was that he had said in the end… she couldn't accept them in that moment. Even now, despite the fact that it had a ring of truth to her ears. She refused it.

Stubborn.

Unwilling and foolhardy like a donkey or an ass. She wouldn't find reason to simply change for no reason. The Queen of Hearts shut her eyes. Rosalyn Lockhart finally paid attention to his words before he had left, and it was something she wished to place back in the back of her mind once again.

Forget. Deny. Erase.

"Your Majesty," Mary Ann spoke up, finally having swallowed all of her tart to its last crumbs and finishing her own tea. There was a hesitant but somewhat determined look on her face, and it was probably because there was something that she wished to say.

Would her words go to a similar direction as the Hatter's? The two of them were both good people, so surely their thoughts were of the same thing. Goodness, righteousness had only a straight path compared to the multiple twisting and converging ones that Rosalyn Lockhart had traversed. And yet if it was Mary Ann… she had advised her once. 

And she had followed it. 

"Fine, I'll allow you to speak your mind—what is running on your mind, child?"

The servant's lips and limbs both trembled, it was as if she was a doll hung on string and even a gust of wind would unravel things for her. "I apologize for what had happened to your beloved Knight, I wish it did not happen at all."

"Mary Ann, you have no fault or role in this and so your words are unimportant." Quite irrelevant. She shouldn't have heard it at all, but she was the only one who said such words. Words that actually felt sorry for the pain and loss she had gone through…

It was quite unlike him.

"... that may be the case, Your Majesty." Mary Ann said. "But I still felt like that this was something that I should say despite a lack of value."

Rosalyn Lockhart lifted a brow, "Very well then, is that all?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Mary Ann managed a better curtsy, not tumbling down this time. Until she looked up and then averted her gaze again. "Oh—dinner will be at seven in the evening for the King and the Noble Guests, Your Majesty. Will you be joining them tonight?"

Rosalyn Lockhart paused, incredulous at the information, but then realized a servant girl from the kitchen would surely know all about that. She nodded briefly, "... I will think about it. I am not entirely sure if I wish to see the Nobles today." What if she messed things up with her attitude right now? She didn't admit that she was wrong, but she could understand that Nicholas had left because of her.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Before she could even ask about anything else, Mary Ann would quickly sweep through the table filled with her meal with Nicholas earlier and then made it all 'disappear'. They were all gone once she stepped out of her office and left the Queen in her office. And so she was back in her self-imposed solitude.

There was nothing wrong with it, but she did find it distasteful that Mary Ann would say such words and then simply leave. The Queen of Hearts would pick up a tart and shove it to her mouth, closing her eyes and trying to enjoy the texture, flavor and scent—but somehow, despite its sweetness, it felt flaky and crumbly at the same time.

Tarts crumbling in her mouth.

Surely nothing had changed—there was no poison in it, but did that mean that Mary Ann's cooking had failed? Rosalyn Lockhart shoved another tart, determined to enjoy them and yet found the next one too sweet, but also bland. The Queen of Hearts poured herself tea and then sipped her tea, but almost scalded her tongue.

Nothing was going the right way it should and even swallowing had almost led her tart to go down the wrong pipe. Her chest pounded like a mad beast. Her own head throbbed painfully and she stopped herself from shoving another tart or chugging down her tea that was still very much hot. 

"I've done most of the paperwork, it means that I can finally get some rest tomorrow to meet up with the Nobles." Rosalyn Lockhart smiled resigned. "Gine would surely wake up, even his own sword could not hurt him that much. As for these horrible tarts and tea—did Mary Ann simply change her recipe? No, baking time rather. It's too much and too little, why can't it be just right?"

Everything was going alright, but at the same time, they weren't.

The Queen of Hearts stared at the dark red liquid in her teacup, a small image of her reflected in them.. "Perhaps it isn't the tarts or this tea that are the problem… and so it would be me."