Villainess of Hearts

Chapter Twenty-Four: Clock Out

Soft music played inside the private quarters; a ballerina was twirling and spinning on a musical box. The shapely, fine and smooth figurine went round and round, she was caught in an endless and never-ending dance.

However, it was all background to the Queen of Hearts.

The woman stared at her reflection in the mirror and brushed her hair, "What a tiring day, I can't believe all of the events that I had to deal with." It had only been two days since she returned and she was already dealing with a lot of new occurrences.

After her time in the servant's kitchen with Sir Julius Ginellevé, she retreated back into her room to relax at last. And now she had forgone her red gown and had switched for her nightgown; rose pink this time.

Instructions were already made for Mary Ann and dinner will be delivered at seven in the evening—she no longer needed to wait impatiently for a servant to arrive and ask her what she would be eating and then run back to the kitchen. And she had no interest in joining the Suits Banquet that was sure to occur tonight.

Overall, she was satisfied with herself, "I would reward myself if I could; I'm doing splendidly well."

Despite the differences already occurring from her previous time to the next...

The differences were mostly good ones.

She didn't need to worry for tonight, she'd put her worries for tomorrow. A knock would interrupt her musings; one glanced at the grandfather clock told her that it was ten minutes to seven in the evening. Mary Ann was early. "Please come in."

The door creaked open as she continued to brush her hair, "Put it in my desk, Mary Ann."

Somebody cleared their throat, "I would have to apologize to Her Majesty that I'm not who she had been expecting."

One blink and she spun towards the intruder—holding out her brush.

It was a childish and ridiculous action and the man before her simply chuckled, "Your Majesty, my Queen, I'm not sure how much damage that would do against another person. You don't have to worry about such things as well, who would dare intrude in your chambers?" Alexander Hartsmichdt remarked to her with a smile.

She had a lot to say about the security if given a chance.

Her eyes narrowed at the blond man before she offered a curtsy, "His Majesty, the King, I wish you had announced your presence and I would have been able to respond to you at once."

"You would have chosen to lock the door perhaps?"

"If that could possibly be an option for me to choose, I cannot see why not? But it's not frowned upon for His Majesty to visit his wife's chambers is it?" She answered back with a sardonic smile. "Perhaps the Kingdom would even celebrate it, in a year or so the people would be pleased to hear of little toddlers playing around in the garden, see them beaming at them during official public visits—"

A harried cough would interrupt her speech. "That's not my intention for visiting you tonight, Your Majesty. Rest assured that it's not that." The man's face was red as he waved a hand to reassure her.

Or to reassure himself.

It was a little pitiful now that she thought about it.

"Then what brings His Majesty to my chambers when they could instead be dining with his fellow Rulers?" She placed a hand on her hip as she eyed the man from head to toe. He had changed from his previous garments after that lake incident and instead wore more comfortable yet still stylish attire for the night.

He gave her a strained smile as he retrieved something from his pocket, "Do you recall telling me off for not acting as I should during the time at the gazebo? You had told me to return at once to not embarrass us further?"

"What of it? Did you do the exact opposite?" She narrowed her eyes at him. Could he get this over with so he could finally leave? "I have no time for squabbling around, if you could be done with it and meet up with the Rulers of the other Kingdoms—it makes sense that you do it now, Your Majesty."

Alexander Hartsmichdt held it out for her, the jewels twinkling underneath her room's light. "I've retrieved the trinket that the King of Diamonds had brought for you, Her Majesty."

She stared at the blue jewel adorned necklace, "You retrieved it yourself?"

"Indeed, well it was a challenge I've done with the other Kings. I think we all enjoyed it, one way to cool down despite the summer heat."

Rosalyn Lockhart held a hand to her forehead; she struggled to keep her temper in check. While she was running away from would-be abductors the King was enjoying a splendid swim at the lake? "So this is what Kings do while touring the castle," She tried not to sigh aloud and instead smiled. "Your Majesty." She almost had forgotten her manners.

"I know that it's not what you exactly desire at the moment," The King started.

She tried not to scoff. Who was he to be an expert of her heart's wishes even?

"But I do understand if you do not wish to wear it so I'll simply leave it at your desk, Your Majesty." He stepped towards the oaken table and left it there.

She pursed her lips, "If you knew that I don't want it, why bother bringing it here?"

"Perhaps you would change your mind, it is quite a tasteful and expensive gift?" The King remarked with a sheepish smile, "And perhaps I wanted to see you, Your Majesty."

Rosalyn Lockhart stared at him.

The man sighed until his gaze flitted towards the twirling ballerina in her box; it was still playing its soft melody. She had almost not noticed it due to their conversation overcoming its tune.

"Ah, so you had one of these." His fingers gently touched the ballerina's outstretched hand; she continued to twirl around as if assisted by him. "During the Card Trial, one of the items that held a clue was a music box like this one and now that I continue to look at this, it may even be the exact design. Do you have a fondness for ballerina or music? I wasn't aware of that, my Queen."

She gave him an icy smile, "You don't know a lot of things about me, Your Majesty."