Author Note: This is a drabble inspired by the song "The King Is Dead, But The Queen Is Alive" by Pink. It was written for a Vampire Diaries/Gossip Girl/Teen Wolf crossover roleplay, though you will see no Teen Wolf characters here. I just felt like sharing it in case someone would find it interesting.
Clutched in the armored guards' hands was a man who would have been attractive had it not been for the dark look in his blue green eyes, the menacing curl of his full lips, or the bruises and cuts marking his skin. If looks could kill, the object of his ominous stare would be long gone by now. But that was all he could do now— glare. There were no other options. His hands were tied, and he was surrounded. In other worlds ruled by other queens, perhaps his handsome features could have spared his life. But not here. Not in Wonderland. And he knew that.
In the throne sitting stoically was a brunette, her expression unreadable as the man approached. Her gaze was locked on his, and as he grew closer, the victory she felt could be seen in her dark doe eyes. Her lips even turned up somewhat in a smirk as the anger he felt towards her was practically so palpable, it exuded heat and washed across her skin. And how very lovely the warmth felt to the triumphant brunette.
A dark haired man standing a couple of feet away from her cleared his throat before unraveling a scroll and reading off of it, his voice deep. Katherine did not look away from the man now being pushed down onto his knees by the guards. The look of disgust at being handled in such a way on his face only served to make Katherine smirk even wider.
"Klaus Mikaelson. Found guilty of conspiring and attempting murder against the Queen. Your Majesty—"
Katherine cut the man off before he could finish. There was no need for him to finish, and everyone knew that. Katherine had decided on Klaus' fate a long time ago. "Off with his head." Spoken in a commanding voice, void of emotion, the man with the scroll did not hesitate to nod towards the executioner, whose hands gripped the hilt of a beautiful sword.
"Not him," Katherine instructed, her head turning to face a blonde girl off to the side amongst the Queen's cronies. As soon as their gazes met, the blonde's eyes widened in shock and fear, not unlike the brunette boy's beside her. "Her," she said, looking at the girl expectantly. Katherine had originally planned on murdering Klaus herself, but this idea pleased her much more, as Jenny had defied her once and she had not yet delivered payback. But this would be it. Only the blonde and the boy beside her looked surprised by this choice. Everyone else was not so naive to underestimate Katherine.
"M—Me?" was all the blonde uttered, while the boy next to her opened his mouth to protest, but the challenging look Katherine quickly shot at him shut him up before he could begin. Her eyes falling back onto the frightened blonde, Katherine quirked a brow at her. "Did I stutter?"
Slowly and quietly, the blonde came forward, her body shaking as she took the sword from the executioner. She dragged out the very short walk to the man on his knees, whose expression was even more abhorrent than before. He would not die a dignified death at the hands of a professional, or even the Queen. He would die at the hands of an inexperienced, scared little girl. It would be shameful, painful— and Katherine would savor every second of it.
"I don't have all day," she snapped at the blonde, who looked as if she was nearly about to piss herself. Suddenly, the boy from before stepped forward, causing Jenny to halt. "Don't make her do this! Please!"
"Dan, please," Jenny whimpered, her face pleading with him to step back. Dan ignored her, but took a step back as a few guards closed in on him. "She's just sixteen, you can't—"
"Enough," Katherine hissed at the boy before turning back to Jenny. "Now," she spat out, the word dripping in venom. There was no question that this was a final command and Katherine would not be repeating herself.
By now, the blonde's eyes were watering, and she scurried over to Klaus like an obedient animal, clearly worried about her brother's safety. "I'm sorry," she said to the man, her words barely a whisper, before she used whatever strength she could muster to raise the sword. Klaus simply stared at her, his expression unforgiving, before turning to look at the Queen once more. Katherine's eyes met his, and she gave him once last smug smile before Jenny swung the sword at his neck. It was slow, and bloody, and it took some force before the sword fully decapitated him and his head fell to the floor. Jenny was hysteric when she dropped the sword, tears streaming down her face as her chest heaved to gasp for air.
"Quiet, girl," Katherine ordered, wishing to relish in Klaus' death without the annoyance of a weeping girl. She closed her eyes momentarily, breathing in deeply, the smile on her face never fading. Her number one enemy, dead. And she hadn't even needed to lift a finger. But that was just one little perk of being the most powerful woman in the kingdom.
Eyes opening, she glanced between the crying girl trying to keep silent and the boy, who looked like he could have killed everyone in the room. "Hmm, how are we going to deal with you?" Katherine mused out loud as she stared Dan down. He was handsome, and Katherine had certainly had her fun with him, but he was of no use to her anymore. And he had dared to speak against one of her orders. It was harmless, as this commoner had no pull, but Katherine did not let any misbehavior go unpunished. She had to make an example of him.
"Guards, restrain her." And they did as they were told. Jenny attempted to struggle against their hold, but their strong hands were locked around her arms. She was not going anywhere, but that did not keep her from trying.
"What are you going to do to her?!" Dan yelled as he began running to his sister. Though Katherine smiled at him, she could not have looked any less friendly. The expression was dark and twisted, and just as intimidating as the woman it belonged to. "It's not what I'm going to do to her, boy. It's what I'm going to do to you."
The verbal protests from Jenny went unheard as Katherine ordered other guards to restrain Dan. They tied his hands behind his back and brought him to the center of the room. Katherine nodded towards the executioner, who retrieved his sword and held it at the ready.
"Off with his head."
Jenny cried out, Dan fought against it, but it happened quickly. Blood pooled onto the floor as Dan's head fell, joining Klaus'. The blonde was overwrought, screaming and sobbing as she stared at the scene before her in shock. Katherine only yawned, bored now that there was nothing left for her to do.
"Lock her up," was all she said to the guards as she stood to leave, disappearing behind her throne along with the man who had read Klaus' charges. Once in another room, the man looked at her in awe, his eyes full of lust and a hint of what Katherine recognized to be love.
"They will never defy you again, my Queen," he spoke, breaking the silence. A sickly sweet smile played on Katherine's features as she closed the distance between them.
"That's the idea, Chuck," she retorted, her hands reaching up to play with the collar around his neck, her hands then smoothing down the material over his chest. It was a fine fabric, gifted to him herself when she had promoted him, and though it looked good on him, she wanted it off.
"Employing your power always does rile you up," he said in a husky voice as he leaned in to press his lips to her neck, one of his hands moving to her lower back to hold her body close to his as the other moved the collar of her dress out of the way.
Katherine smirked and bit her lower lip as she tilted her head to the side to allow for better access, her hands quickly working on unbuttoning his clothes. "Looks like I'm not the only one it riles up."
But it was true. Nothing got her more hot and bothered than ruling her kingdom with an iron fist and nothing less.
Katherine Pierce might have been the Queen of Hearts, but she had a thing for collecting heads, too.