Villainess Of Hearts

Once the sun rose and signified that a new day had arrived—chaos settled within the Castle of Hearts. Everything was upturned in such a way that even the Joker looked actually proud as he sipped his tea inside of the Court. He wasn't going to miss it for the world. And it all happened when the Queen of Hearts was still softly snoring and fast asleep.

No one had dared to wake her.

Whether it was tiredness from the recent events or a mere result of peaceful sleep, Rosalyn Lockhart experienced the lengthiest hours that she had gotten a chance to rest. Her long hair curled around her bed, and her eyes fluttered slightly, as a soft sound escaped her lips as she breathed and muttered. She tossed and turned a bit.

The woman continued to slumber.

The Knight of hers did not leave her side. Although he could already hear and pick up the noise of what was happening outside their doors—he didn't have to go outside or make a move to confirm it. The King of Hearts delivered the news himself earlier. The man had knocked for a few minutes during the dawn. It alarmed the Knight when he had nearly been drifting off to sleep. Exhaustion also bogged the man down, and he was terribly tempted to sleep at the foot of Rosalyn's bed if only to have some solace.

But the rap on the door jostled him to alertness.

And when the man finally slipped inside the room—Julius already had his sword drawn. The cold steel glowed like reflected moonlight as the Knight's gaze settled on the King's, "What are you doing here?" He hissed slightly.

How many times had this bastard snuck into her Majesty's room before? It vexed him that they'd dare enter at such an hour even without permission. He couldn't even be bothered with honorifics—they didn't deserve such a thing.

Alexander Hartsmichdt rubbed his face and shook his head. "I do not believe that a Knight is supposed to greet me as such."

"What a King you are, Your Majesty." Julius smiled thinly. His voice was ice. "You've done a wonderful job at protecting the Queen." He kept his voice low, and yet he couldn't help but insist on another thing. "Or does His Majesty expect the Queen to do everything for you like the past years?"

A scoff escaped the King's lips, and even without them uttering a word—Julius knew. He knew that the King believed that the blame lies with the Knight instead of theirs. Until they caught the last part of the Knight's words and settled down. Alexander Hartsmichdt took a deep breath and clasped his hands together, and the man was calm despite the tip of Julius Ginellevé's blade probing at his chest.

"I'm holding a trial today, and we've found a suspect for the attempted murder of Rosalyn." His voice contained a hint of tiredness in it. Despite the lack of light, the bag under the man's eyes was apparent underneath the spilling moonlight.

Both of them had stayed awake, following their own agendas.

But Julius would reluctantly admit that both of them were awake now because they were concerned for the Queen of Hearts. He didn't want to say it before, and even he was much led to believe that the King of Hearts had no love for the Queen, but their own… words from a few days before still pierced through Ginellevé's memory.

'—I've offered my heart and sincerity, and yet you never even do so much as blink.' It was the only occasion when the King of Hearts spoke earnestly to the Queen. And his voice was tinged not only with irritation but also a subtle defeat to it.

Julius Ginellevé shook his head and cleared his head from that memory. He didn't need to spend time getting caught up with the King of Heart's words, but as his gaze fleeted to the sleeping beauty on the bed. He raised a hand to his face and let out a long sigh.

"...You've always been terrible with understanding a person's heart, Rosalyn." He lowered his hand and felt a resigned smile across his lips. But it didn't matter to him that she couldn't understand. "The lesson can always be taught, and I'm a patient teacher."

.

.

.

"Let me in, right this instance!" A woman's voice shouted at the two guards blocking the entrance to the Castle of Hearts. "I want to see the Queen of Hearts right now!" Her voice was loud despite her size. And if the men knew any better, it was experiencing a deja vu experience of having another Queen of Hearts ordering them to step aside. But the guards' spears were drawn and prevented the small woman from making a step forward.

Their orders were clear—no one was allowed to go in.

A man was observing the events spiraling out in the distance. A coward that they were.

And more importantly, no one was allowed to leave. From the humblest of servants to the highest-ranking King, not one of them was able to step out of the Castle of Hearts. And those were the orders of the King of Hearts. They were even given the orders to cut down those who tried to escape.

A gulp escaped Ace's lips as he held on to his spear. "I hope it doesn't have to come to this." He wasn't the one trying to hold back the scary midget woman from stepping inside the Castle of Hearts, but he was able to see it from his post.

"We have to do our best, it's what the King has ordered, and it's to maintain the safety of the Kingdom of Hearts." Their partner responded in a gruff tone. "No one's leaving here, even if it's the King of Conquest coming here to wipe out the entire group."

Ace's brows furrowed as he hit the man's shoes with the bottom of his spear, "What nonsense are you saying? Even if it's just the Lord Duke wanting to go out, I'll be running away rather than getting smacked on the head, you know? The man is not a traitor."

"You're a pathetic lout, you know?"

A scoff escaped his lips, "Tell that to me when you see Sir Ginellevé wanting to go out—you try to stop him. I value my life." Ace was a careful man. He wanted to rise through the ranks, but he also knew when to run.

"... I don't even know how you managed to be a soldier of the Hearts' Kingdom if you're like this." His partner responded with a shake of their head. Although they didn't even deny or hide the fact that they didn't seem eager to block the Knight from rushing out of the Castle.

. . .

"What do you mean that nobody is allowed to go out?" Dimitri Nordskov's brows raised slightly. A frown tugged at his lips, as he still needed to check the hats he had ordered in the Mad Hatter's shop. He glanced at the white-haired and white-faced Prime Minister of Hearts.

The smaller man, Blyke Edelweiss dabbed his face with a handkerchief. "It's because of the events yesterday, of course. All of the people are gathering in the court, so I'm not sure how you did not come across this—"

Dimitri's face reddened as he scratched the back of his head. As the right-hand man of the King of Clovers, this was embarrassing. He coughed lightly, "I… I was looking for the personal chef of the Queen of Hearts, I was a little hungry even—"

A sigh escaped the Prime Minister's lips, and that was despite their position.

"Delegate Dimitri Nordskov, everyone is required to attend the Trial, and I'm gathering all the possible witnesses, so it is in your best interest to come with me now unless you wish to be accused of the crimes." Blyke Edelweiss looked troubled. "The King of Hearts is actually—"

He felt a bit lost, and so he asked. "Crimes?"

"The Queen of Hearts was nearly murdered, and numerous assailants were found entering the Castle. The King of Hearts has found the instigator of the crime, and we are all to witness it." Blyke Edelweiss said it all in one breath, and they looked like they've repeated it to numerous individuals already.

"...if you don't mind me asking, what is the capital punishment in the Kingdom of Hearts—"

"It's execution, of course." Prime Minister Edelweiss pulled out his pocket watch. The man looked terribly jumpy, and he tapped his foot as his leg jerked uncontrollably. "I'm personally er—But let us go now, the earlier we can finish this Trial, then it means the earlier that things will return to normal." The man continued to walk forward and beckoned them to follow.

Dimitri Nordskov's brows furrowed, "Normal?" The man bit his tongue down so he wouldn't say anything else. But he wouldn't call putting someone to death and the events that would happen afterward as 'normal'.

"O-oh, my apologies. I'm used to the Queen of Hearts er—"

"Huh?"

Blyke Edelweiss sighed and glanced back at him, "I'm sure that a man of your stature is aware of the rumors of the Queen of Heart's penchant for beheading people."

"...I can't really say that I am."

"I'd used the word normal because most execution orders are revoked by the King of Hearts, but of course, this time isn't that." Blyke Edelweiss let out a deep sigh. He looked burdened as if the man's white hair was actually showing them his age, and not it being his natural hair color.. "This is the first time that the King of Hearts is the one who wants a trial for execution."