Villainess Of Hearts

The storm too shall pass.

While the onset of attacks and slaughter had caused the Castle of Hearts to be thrown in a string of frenzy last night, Rosalyn Lockhart would awaken back in her chambers. On the right side of her bed, sitting on a chair all by himself and keeping awake, was Julius Ginellevé.

Through the darkest of nights, he was always at her side. Constantly.

Weariness was slightly evident in his face, a slightly worn out expression he shook off when he realized she was already awake. "Good morning, Rosa. Have you slept well?" A bandage was wrapped across his forehead.

"Have you slept yourself, Gine?"

A weak laugh escaped his lips, revealing the sight of the long past shy, charming and sweet boy that once served in the Lockhart's garrison as a Knight-in-training. "No, but I am alright."

"I believe I have to be the judge of that," Rosalyn said. The events of last night still played in the back of her mind, but for now she focused on the most apparent thing on hand. Julius hadn't slept a wink for her sake once again.

This was something she would have to burden himself for—always a man serving his Queen and Kingdom. She could ask nothing less from him, even if she wanted to. Both of them knew and understood their positions in life.

She walked over and grabbed the man by his shoulders. Her hands clasped around his armor's shoulder plates, and she saw how the man blinked. Even he was not immune to the need to rest. "I believe you should need to rest on my bed first."

"I am not sure if I had heard you speak correctly."

Rosalyn Lockhart only shook her head. "All the more reason to sleep if you lack even the ability to process my words… but before I let you go. I have inquiries as to what happened last night before I fell asleep."

It was a terrible thing to imagine that a Queen would sleep before her people could actually rest, but fatigued had overcome her and brought her into the land of Nod. Julius would look at her and cleared his throat, "We have yet to find circumstantial evidence as to the perpetrator of this act, and even those who were captured soon committed deaths before they could even be questioned."

"Such extremities," she murmured. "Enough loyalty to prefer death than dishonor their master."

"Yes, only few have the willingness to do such a thing—unless they were forced and compelled to do so."

"Compelled…"

"Say, the Joker's immense capacity to speak and let actions be done for his sake." Julius straightened up in his seat. Albeit, his hand idly wandered to her own and reached for it, his thumb pressing into her palm as if to soothe them. "One could attribute it as Authority, Magic or other unexplainable feat."

"Or a contract, a magical contract." Her brows furrowed at the memory. "But you believe that there is something like that?"

"No sane person would attempt to attack the Castle and her people unless they were extremely paid well, but even then, the fear for their life would still affect them. Perhaps someone with a deep grudge, clouded heavily from making a proper judgement—but then the attack wouldn't have been orchestrated well, even if a master genius planned it."

Rosalyn raised her brow at his counsel, but he wasn't done yet.

"Only through methods that force the people to act against their will can any mastermind hope to accomplish this task with no troubles and fear of defection. None of them would have even attempted to attack me based on my achievements, but the people who attacked did so."

It was an answer based on careful evaluation, along with a hint of arrogance that people would scatter at the sight of him.

"So you believe that these men who were foolish enough to attack you did not do it out of their own desire to survive?" she asked.

"They could have tried to escape."

"And then you would have cut them down." Rosalyn Lockhart tilted her head at him.

"True, but even then—it was the logical choice."

She smiled briefly and nodded. "Yes, that would have been the case, but do you know of what happened to the King and of Alice?"

"Alice?" her Knight raised a brow.

"The woman who had been accompanied by the King before we rushed into the throne room?" she asked. Somehow, it still felt ill in her tongue and throat to speak that woman's name, and she wished to avoid it—but she still had to know.

"I have not seen her since last night, Your Majesty," he said. "As for the King, he left to help in the treatment of Lord Warth Duke… and it was a success. The man is still current in their bed and recovering, but they are no longer in death's door."

Rosalyn Lockhart could only attribute it to Alexander's experience. If he had been allowed to stay and learn more in his world before coming here—what might have been the monumental changes that he could bring into this world?

Now the idea of the television was already present, perhaps in the records of magical mirrors, no matter how rare and how consuming it was of precious mana stones. But the choice of programs and other selections available back then had been wonderful…

It was something that would temporarily bring her out of weary thinking.

But her thoughts soon returned to their reality. Her other hand still rested on Gine's shoulder and the other was being treated to the gentle pressing of his thumb and fingers. Even now, his touches only sought to bring her solace.

She cleared her throat and pulled her hand away. "How about the safety of this Castle? Are there no immediate threats to be dealt with? Have the perimeters been secured and checked on—if they can harness magic, then it is only safe that we be wary of any threats beyond normal soldier capacity."

"...there are none that I know."

"What? How do you know this?" Rosalyn Lockhart frowned at him.

"Your Majesty, the Lockhart House would have never taken in a boy like me who had been orphaned if I did not have anything within me that is useful for them," Julius said. He finally spoke now, if not uncomfortably.

Rosalyn once thought that she knew everything about him, all of his thoughts and concerns. She was already proven wrong when she understood that she could not fully read his heart… but now was a revelation that she was only hearing now? "What do you mean?"

"I have some ability to use magic, Your Majesty."

"And you only tell me this now?" her voice raised slightly.

Only she could make him wince like this, even at just the sound of her voice. "The Lord of the Lockhart House, your father asked it to be kept a secret, and I have upheld it until now."

"So my brother does not know?"

"No."

"Gine, you must know… well, I am sure that the both of us have learned that magic has thinned over the past centuries. We can only harness it through the precious artifacts and objects—what I mean to say is, there are still people who can surely use magic. But even then, it would be so thin. But now you are saying that you have the ability to notice magical threats?"

"Yes…"

"I have never heard of a commoner obtaining magic in such a long time—" Rosalyn Lockhart paused and looked at him carefully. "And you say you were orphaned. Does that mean that you have not met your parents at all? You came to the Lockhart House when you were around six or seven, if I remember."

"I did not."

The Queen of Hearts frowned and tilted her head. "But the Ginellevé name is truly yours, is it not?"

"... your father has bestowed it on me."

"Did he perhaps know?" Rosalyn asked. "I might need to consult on my father's old records to see if he has anything—"

"There is no need!"

She looked at him, startled. "What?"

"Your Majesty, something like this is insignificant to the current events happening around us," Julius said. "I have only told you the truth in order for you to use me to the full extent of my abilities. Nothing more, nothing less. Her Majesty's concerns should be put elsewhere where it has some use."

"Do you hold no interest in your family's history?" Rosalyn stared at him. She had wanted to do one thing for him, and this was how he would take it? She understood very well that there were other things that she should do as the Queen but—

"Your life is my life, the path that you take is what I'll follow. The past has already happened and is irrelevant to me now… what I only know now is that you are the one I serve and live for, Rosalyn. You are my Queen and that matters to me more than anything else."

Julius Ginellevé held her hand and gave it a squeeze.

"And what I wish for you is to look forward to the future rather than keep your head clouded by all of these thoughts holding you down, Your Majesty."

"Gine…"

He always surprised her—saying all of these and doing so much for her? Rosalyn Lockhart's gaze lowered to the ground and found the words that she had been searching for all this time.

"I also wish for you to find a life for yourself and not one always connected to mine. You are so immensely enamored with me that I cannot help but find it suffocating, and I… I cannot match it at all. I have once loved this side of yours, committing your entire person and life to me? I crave it… even now. But that is not right and fair for the both of us."

—-—-

Author's Note: Thank you for the patience this April and May 2021, dear Readers.. I hope this chapter gives some thoughts on the relationship between Knight and Queen.