Wowie. It's been a while, eh? Well, I'm back for now. My stories will probably be every other week uploads, considering I now attend an Arts school. Yes, I know. I need to edit my profile.
That is my next project.
Well, I needed a project to work on to keep my fingers going, keep them nimble on the keyboard. (After five weeks of poetry you really need something to keep your creative juices flowing)
I want to know what you all think. Try to keep in mind that this is an experiment. It's hard to work with the Cheshire Cat. And if any of you think that the names should be different for the Queens, please tell me.
R&R!
Love, Arowl.
Prologue
Point of View: The Prince of Hearts, Artemis
"Mmm, hot chocolate."
I looked up at my aunt, the Queen of Spades, her true name being Phoebe. We were sitting in my mother's garden, hidden behind the plaster horses, mugs of the chocolate liquid in our hands. Her jet black hair was pulled back tightly, her beautiful eyes focusing down on me as she smiled broadly.
Cheshire was curled at my feet, only a kitten at the time, his thick purple stripes covering up the soft black that was starting to show. I remembered when he was born, to a tortoise shell cat and a magician. We still are not sure how that one went around, but we believed that the cat was turned human first.
There was a soft silence around the carousel, the snow drifting around us placidly. In the distance, we could hear my mother's shrill voice, her command anything but ordinary for what a queen was supposed to be.
"Aunt Phoebe?" my voice was so weak back then. "Why did my mom order my head off?"
My aunt nearly gagged on her hot chocolate, laughing suddenly. "She did?" When I didn't reply, she laughed again, her laugh sounding like bells compared to my mother's harsh one. "Oh, Artemis, she's just a little eccentric, and over reactive. Karen does love you."
"I know that! But why is she so mean all the time, to even her guards?"
The Queen of Spades wrapped her arms around me. She smelled of juniper blossoms and honeysuckle tea. "She just has a different way of showing her love."
That is when I concurred that my life was going to be a tough one. I was five at the time.