Villainess Of Hearts

The King of Hearts woke up to a wonderful day—well, he had actually woken up with stiff muscles and an aching shoulder, but other than that, things were great. Despite all of his years here…  it was the only time that he had truly felt free.

He leaned back against the couch and sighed in relief.

Rosalyn knew, and she didn't look at him like he was crazy. Well, she nearly had a panic attack then and there, but he managed to stop it. Even without him, the man was positive that she could take it, for she had faced her own life-threatening situations. That was what a Queen truly ought to be.

It was also both funny and frightening at the same time that what came to her mind after the discovery of another world was this—was it war? Others would get shocked and panic more, but she instead had begun to consider the situation. This was a world that was truly used to bloodshed. Even someone like her had never considered peace as an option.

And yet the smile faltered slightly on his face.

It was easy enough to be ecstatic that the Queen of Hearts, the partner that he ended up with, now understood the situation that he was in… but it didn't change the fact that he ended up separate from his family. The young man didn't understand a thing and had asked the Joker, "Why was I the one taken when I have a lot of relatives, young and old."

Anybody could have been chosen.

Did it mean that he was not related to his family? But they were his birth family, his mother even had a picture of him when he was born. Sometimes it was hard to retain them in his mind, somehow his attention got focused on everything that happened and the day-to-day. Alexander was also selfish this way.

He had gotten so upset and downcast, but hadn't thought about what it meant to his friends and family. He didn't die, right? The Joker assured him and everybody else during the Card Trial, but it also meant that he was…

Alexander Hartsmichdt rubbed his face.

"There's no time for this, I have other duties on hand." The faster he truly made peace with this situation then would come the time that he'd find happiness in this place. It might sound like some kind of fantasy, but for him, this was what he could do. 

. . .

Could one truly change?

Time was the answer to everything. Time. It flowed. It always moved forward—and yet there was something more important than time. And yet one was always supposed to settle the debt that one had to it. It might have initially made no sense to the Hatter, but to someone like him who had thrived on nonsense, well this was just his cup of tea.

The Joker had outstretched his hand and offered to do him a favor… and now they were here. Unaccustomed to the weightlessness of it all, the Hatter floated in the air while the Joker stepped through black and white squares. Or cubes. The strange boxes floated in the air along with everything else.

"Ah, these little charades when you want to turn us away—well, not me. But more specifically you, the offender." the Joker said in a nonchalant manner, glancing at Nicholas. The man was hopping through and stepping on the black cubes while avoiding the white ones.

The Hatter made a face, "I'm not sure how I can offend someone that I don't even—"

"You don't even know? Why, that's precisely why—it's better that you're out of sight and out of mind. It's better to get someone out of one's hair, and that's how you managed to survive while tampering with the natural order of things."

Nicholas frowned at the man. He usually loved riddles and adored them, but it was when the other person gave hints instead of the other person gloating over information that he really didn't have. 

What if this was just some joke? 

No. No one couldn't put too much effort into some kind of joke where he had ended up in what seemed like a domain not of the Hearts Kingdom. He sighed and said, "I really can't remember." 

"Then use your head—don't tell me that your head is simply a place where you put on your fancy little hats but you can't actually use them?" the Joker clicked his tongue. 

He growled and tried to hit the man, "Hey!"

And then they finally arrived at a clearing, a place where the cubes all gathered together and formed a much larger one. A decent platform for him and everyone else—a table with chairs, and a mysterious man ahead of them. The person wore a hood over their entire self that one couldn't distinguish their gender, but the Hatter instinctively knew he was male.

Or preferred it more?

The person spoke, "You brought him here for what reason?" 

"To have tea, of course! Two's a company, but three's a crowd!" the Joker laughed and plopped down on a chair. "Were you possibly wishing that I had brought someone else, Time Man?"

"No." 

"Marvelous," the Joker glanced back at the floating Hatter and tugged his sleeve, "Why won't you come down now or is this another one of your decisions?" his gaze returned to the Time Man.

"I do not wish to dine with him."

Nicholas frowned at the hooded man, "I know better than anyone to join random tea parties, that's only asking for trouble."

"And yet you welcome strangers so warm-heartedly to one of your own."

"Huh?" Nicholas didn't like the fact that the man in front of them seemed to talk as if he knew all of what happened in the past. Was this guy some kind of stalker? 

He couldn't remember having any guests though in recent times… wait was he referring to the Queen of Hearts? It had always been him, Harold and Mallory. The Queen was the most recent one, except all four of them hadn't exactly had a proper tea party either.

"Never mind. What is your purpose with bringing him along?"

"He wants to settle a debt with you."

"I do?" 

"No."

He and the hooded figure answered at both the same time to the amusement of the Joker. This man only got himself a cup of tea and a quiche in his place… desserts. And the Hatter soon understood innately how the laws of gravity function.

The man dropped onto the platform.

. . .

"Woah, this place is so lovely!" the young woman remarked and looked out the window of the carriage. It was something that might have been made of dreams with its soft hues of red, peach along with ruby and scarlet shades. The color was present in the flowers and fruits blooming in the trees, the road that they traveled in and even the distant city she could see where all dyed in these multiple varying shades and augmented with heart designs and roses.

They passed through a village, many small buildings and huts of similar design to what she could already see, and numerous people. Would it be fair to say that most, if not a lot of them seemed to be especially beautiful and handsome people? It was prevalent to the simple young man that had a hoe in his hands to even the more richly dressed ladies passing through with their entourage.

Even the men on horseback, Knights of their Order, were handsome and caught the attention of the people as if they were in some parade. She could see the twins from the regiment look back at her and wave, Theodore and Thomas. 

She shyly waved back. It was a strange thing to behold, even if she had heard of it. The young woman peeked her head out for a moment to look beyond them and saw that there was also what looked like castle—

The man opposite her would tug her back down from the window and then pull the drapes to cover them. He let out a sigh softly, "I do not suggest that you keep looking outside and gape like some guppy fish. It's going to catch us attention."

"But my Lord," she said and turned back to him with a polite smile. "With the carriage you've brought, it seems obvious that it will be enough to gather attention. It's so festive, like a parade. I even saw children waving and catching up to us even while we're on horseback, although we're on a trot."

He raised a brow and rested a hand underneath his chin, "I mean the wrong attention then, for how will they take it if they see a woman in awe of this place and sharing a carriage with me?"

How the people perceived him mattered to this man that she couldn't help but say something kind to the man who had taken her in. She took in the expensive furniture and even pillows that she rested on. The installed refreshment portion was also nicely done. She inclined her head and managed a weak smile, "... this ride does seem like one fit for a King."

Her words earned a twitch of his lips on the man's face, and with his attractive looks, it only made her flush. He was much older than her for sure, but it was obvious that his elegant looks and somewhat detached demeanor only managed to increase the appearance and aura he had.

To be able to come here and find herself meeting such a person, it was a fortunate thing for her.. And all that he requested from her was to help him reclaim what was originally meant for him.