Hello again! I'm happy that people are still bothering to actually read this story. Thank you the thirty of you who have still decided to read this. I'm still surprised that some people still like reading the stories I've written so far. I'm extremely happy though as my grandparents have currently gotten married and I love the two of them very much. Anyways I suppose I'll get on with the story now.
Madeline - Queen of Diamond
Maddie followed three steps behind Erika, her violet eyes flashing back every now and then to look back at the towering figure of the Heart kingdom's Jack, Sakura Honda. The woman always had a smile on her painted face, but it looked more ferocious then welcoming, the slightly opened corner of her mouth revealing what was either the darkened space of the inside, or teeth that had been blackened for some strange bizarre reason. It was disturbing to see, especially as it contrasted with the bright red and white cosmetics. The woman's eyes were no better either, two dark brown, nearly black, orbs staring coldly at her, as if an eagle assessing its prey. All together she very much resembled a fox.
When Jack Honda had released her on the staircase, she quickly went to Erika's side. The older toe-headed girl gave Maddie comfort from just her presence alone. While keeping near her kept the Jack away from her physically, mentally the woman's words kept swimming in her head as she tried to understand what she meant.
What did the card game have to do with monarchies that no longer existed and Royals who reined supreme now? And what was this about a timeline the Royals follow when playing? Absolutely none of what was said made sense to the young queen.
Maddie did not have to fret long as the three Royals arrived to the large doors leading into the dining room. Every time the queen walked in she always noticed something within the design of the room whether it be in the blue curtains that hung above the entrance behind the doors, the blue fabric echoing the curtains used for white chairs, the detailing of the gold on the cream colored walls and doors, how the brown wooden table that matched the wooden floors brought warmth to the room, or how there was always a different matching set of utensils, dishes, napkins, and tea sets ready to be used. As the Heart royals had arrived today though the blues had been exchanged for reds and pinks, and the golden and white tableware had purple accents to them. She had no time to admire the new decorum though those seated quickly stood up upon the three women's arrival.
"So this is the queen I've been hearing about!" a blonde haired man with sky blue eyes clamored excitedly as he walked, well bounded, over to her from his seat at the end of the table. It was the same man from the library, albeit with what looked to be a shiny layer of grease surrounding his lips. "You look familiar though ," he stated as he bent downward to see her face closer. Maddie blushed at the close contact, not noticing that Sakura Honda and Erika had curtsied and taken their seats already.
"You're the girl from the lib'ary! I thought you were a maid though." The man turned away from Maddie to turn to King Francis, who was currently dressed in his kingdom's colors, wore his crown, which Maddie rarely saw him wear, and was seated at the head of the table. "Are you really making this girl who's supposed to be your queen dress up like the maids?"
Maddie looked at the man with widened eyes, paled cheeks, and her mouth ajar. She'd never met anyone, except possibly Erika and Basch, who were allowed to speak to the King so casually! If this man were a commoner the Jack would have cut off his tongue for that!
Her King replied surprisingly calmly to the question though. "No, King Alfred, I do not force Madeline to dress up as though she is one of the servants. I simply allow my queen to enjoy the freedom to dress as she pleases. I wouldn't want a young flower such as her to be forced to do something against her will when her life has barely begun and she has barely blossomed."
"I suppose I shall commend you for that, King Fro-ancis," a blonde woman with judging emerald green eyes said. She too was dressed in her kingdoms colors with a red gown, black trimming around her neckline, a purple and black bodice clinging tightly to her waist, and golden embroidery on her skirts. A thick robe of black cloth with white fur inside, a highly decorative golden trimming, elbow length fur sleeves, and multiple layers of white lace flowing from both sleeves was above her gown. I golden crown with emeralds and rubies to match her eyes and gown were placed atop her long wheat colored hair. In contrast to the tight skirt Jack Honda wore, the Heart Queen looked as though she was wearing twenty different layers of skirts around her waist and it looked quite difficult to move around in, let alone sit in.
Maddie wrinkled her nose when she realized the woman was trying to insult her King by calling him a frog before fixing herself. Even though Maddie had yet to try them, frog legs were delicacies that were known throughout the kingdom to taste wonderful. Insulting those is insulting the culture's food, which the kingdom is very well known for.
"It is an honor to be properly introduced to you Queen Madeline," the blonde woman said, turning to her with a welcoming smile, her eyes much softer than Sakura Honda's, although the way she carried herself showed she knew very well how to get what she wanted done by herself. The woman walked over to Maddie, the heels of her shoes making quite a bit of nose against the polished floors. "I am Queen Alice Guinevere Elizabeth Victoria Rose Kirkland of Hearts, and this gluttonous bulk of meat, bones, muscles, and other such things that should make up a perfectly intelligent human being is my husband, Alfred F. Jones of Heart. How do you do, Queen Madeline?" She curtsied before looking down at Maddie. Everything about this woman practically screeched that she came from wealth from her far too long name, which sounded as though her parents could not decide upon one or two names to give her, to how she spoke with that strange lilt she'd seen many girls her age fall for when a somewhat decent-looking merchant with it came, to how she looked about a room as though it was not worthy for her to spend her time in. People such as this were the kind that Maddie and whatever other children around the street wouldn't mind robbing from if they ever arrived through town in a fancy carriage. Something was odd about the Hearts Queen, as if something were fake about her. It might have been how the hair that made her fringe was less shiny than the hair that made up her flowing locks or how from the side view she briefly saw the queen from as she walked forward it was noticeable that the older woman's bosom did not look nearly as the large as they now did in front of her.
She was no longer Maddie the youngest child of the dozen or so two farmers Simon and Emilìa Densen had produced in their marriage. She was no longer the child who was forgotten, or the child who would accidently be punished for something her siblings did because she looked similar to them, or one of the many "dirty gutter-rats" roaming around the city ready to pick the pocket of someone with clearly enough money in their pocket to last her family two weeks easily. She was Queen Madeline Densen of Diamond. She had no royal lineage in her blood, no lands that would truly belong to her if she were not queen, and she had no prior experience to dealing with other Royals. She was a new person who was dropped into a new life full of rules she had no ideas of and where one mistake could become her undoing. Madeline was to tread lightly.
She went over what she was going to say three times in her head quickly before speaking as smoothly as she could. "I'm well, thank you Queen Alice." She berated herself for almost saying "m'lady" as she was so used to saying when she had to talk with someone related to royalty in some way. It wasn't even the "my lady" nobles used, but the m'lady commoners used! "I'm sorry I could not attend the meeting today. I didn't expect your party to arrive so early today. I awoke early and was spending time in the library so I was not earlier told you had come so soon. It wasn't until King Alfred lost his way and came to the library I knew your party had come."
Queen Alice raised an eyebrow, which upon closer inspection Maddie now noticed were surprisingly thick and much darker than her blonde hair as part of the older woman's fringe had been brushed to the side completely exposing her forehead. It was not a questioning look however, rather one of delightful surprise. "Well I suppose it is nice you are trying to get a better education about the royals, little love. Good to be an early riser as well. You'll be needing that for when you begin to attend more meetings." The emerald-eyed woman smiled charmingly down at Maddie before walking back to her seat next to King Alfred. "Shall we begin the meal? I fear if I rest now that I shall be famished when I awaken at some terrible hour."
King Francis nodded just as Maddie sat down next to him, her seat pushed in and out by a nearby servant male servant. A few servants quickly rushed to another door at the other end of the room. A moment later three servants arrived carrying red and white wine and champagne. As they finished pouring drinks into their cups another few servants quickly arrived with their first course: two capons, eight partridges with cabbage, eight pigeons with bisque, and beatilles. There was also escargot served but Maddie didn't bother touching it as she often couldn't hold in her stomach after eating it. The size of the food looked as though it could easily feed her family for a week or two. These were Royals however, and food was barely nibbled upon before they were given sorbet to cleanse their pallets, the next course arrived, and food was taken away. Maddie finished as much as she could out of a natural habit of not knowing when the next meal would come but did not regret it though she was full of food. She did not want to waste any food served.
The second course was hors d'oeuvres: more partridge, some sausage, white boudin, truffled pasties, warm beef in gravy, biscuits, and a strange yellow sauce poured over almonds. She wondered briefly if Francis had asked for almonds as he possibly found out they were her favorite. That was until she looked at the other end of the table to see King Alfred noisily chewing on them one handful after another, not caring about the strange yellow sauce dripping down his chin every time he opened his mouth, the complete opposite of his noble-born wife, who patted her lips with a napkin after almost every serving of food was consumed. Maddie was about to give up the possibility until she tasted one of the few almonds that weren't drenched in the sauce, tasting clearly that they were roasted with maple syrup, her favorite syrup. She let a small smile show as she picked another one, glancing at Francis to see him smiling at her. Turning away to distract herself, she took a long sip of her champagne. A few minutes later her cheeks were aflame and she felt as though she were melting.
The third course was entrees of veal, pigeon pie, what tasted to be a strange dish of cooked eel, more than likely something to appease the tastes of the Hearts Jack who in the most ladylike greediest way she could lapped at the dish, followed by the Hearts Queen carefully taking Yorkshire puddings one after the other, a dish of chopped steak with melted cheese, peppers, onions, and jalapeños the Heart King practically took half of, as well frog legs. Maddie glanced at Francis to see the man smiling devilishly as he happily took a large bite of the meat. The Heart Queen looked as though she was ready to take her knife and stab it through the bones in Francis's hand. The fourth course consisting of entrees of fricasseed chickens, minced partridges, small partridges in gravy, pies, small grilled turkeys, and fat chickens with truffles stopped that however. Roasts came next consisting of more capons, chickens, pigeons, petendeaux, partridges, and tarts flanked by smaller dishes of snipes, and teals.
Maddie felt just about ready to throw up between her lack of alcohol tolerance, the vast amount of food her stomach felt it could no longer bear, and how sickening it felt remembering the faces of thin, often times limbless, children every time she took a bite out of something they could have only seen in their dreams when desert finally came. The very last course consisted of bowls of fresh fruits, crepes with an assortment of syrups and toppings, a tower made of brightly colored macaroons, an assortment of different tarts, candy, cream puffs, éclairs, chocolate cakes, mousse, and flan. The sight of it practically made spittle come out of her mouth. This seemed to be King Alfred's favorite course, though it was hard to tell which he liked most and least as he gorged himself throughout every course, finishing half of all the dishes served, however he quickly left on the account of an upset stomach.
Maddie felt as though she couldn't breathe by the time she'd finished her second éclair. The dress she was in provided little help. She felt the contents of her stomach moving and swirling and felt incredibly warm. Sweat was starting to appear on her brow. Her breath was laboring and she started breathing in slowly from her nose. It was no help though and she began to feel worse.
"Can I be leave?" Maddie asked Francis, cheeks flushed and each word she uttered threatening to be interrupted by food not yet digested. She hadn't bothered worrying if she sounded rude, if her choice of wording was informal, or if she hadn't addressed the Diamonds King by his title. The instant she saw him nod she got up, her seat screeching as it moved and her napkin falling down from the plate she threw it on. She was not sure where she was going, only processing the sound of her heels as they clicked loudly throughout the halls, and faintly hearing the sound of the fabric of her dress as tore from getting caught under her heel. It wasn't until she felt the sweet bliss of cold air against her skin that she finally began coming back down to earth. She had just entered into the garden, this time from an entrance she didn't know the way to her room from. She did not mind though as she knew there were guards scoured about who could help her.
Her breathing became steadier as she walked about although she began to feel faint once more and quickly walked to where one of the fountains stood. The young Diamond Queen quickly looked to her sides before seating herself at the edge, taking off her shoes, turning to face the fountain, and dipping them into the water. The lukewarm water helped relieve her aching feet, which likely had blisters on them. The hem of her dress was wet but she saw no point in fussing over it anymore now that it was torn, a piece of fabric missing even. It was a pity it was one of her more favored dresses.
The violet-eyed girl looked up at the sky and closed her eyes. The only sounds made were the wind, the ruffling of leaves, and the water moving as Maddie took one of her feet out to hang it off the fountains edge, toes inches away from the paved road. Deciding that it truly did not matter as long as only the guards saw, Maddie undid her hair, ridding herself of any ornaments within it, including her crown. Not only did her head feel much lighter now that it was freed, but her being felt as though it would float away. She gathered the crown and her hair ornaments, lied her back down on the wide surface of the fountain's marble rim, and held them up above her head to gaze at each one.
A small collection of hairpins with white flowers carved from jewels was used to pile up and pin her curled hair to the back of her head, although not all of it as she felt many large curls against her neck and back while the pins were still on. They were not too large to draw attention away from her crown but added a rather innocent touch, as if wanting to play up the fact that she was indeed quite young, one of the youngest queens the Diamond Kingdom had had in the past four hundred years in fact. Said queen quite liked these pins. They were certainly something she would have prized and love to wear about to events. Her crown was another thing though.
The crown was much heavier than it look, something undoubtedly owed to the array of gems used throughout the object. The piece was much too gaudy for the blonde's liking, and if she was to wear this somewhere other than the palace, there was no doubt she'd be killed, likely by having her throat slit, and her person robbed. It was not the way the crown looked that displeased her so though. It was what it meant. The power, the right to rule over the kingdom, the ability to have it known she in fact could be the only thing stepping in the way of her kingdom's prosperity or it's disgrace. Though the crown's weight upon her head was indeed heavy, her soul was more burdened than anything else.
The violet-eyed queen stayed with her back against the marble, arms holding up the crown that was dangling from her fingers dangerously. What was truly so special about the actual crown? She looked and saw a piece of metal claimed to be precious and shiny rocks that would fetch a hefty price at any auction or market. All she saw was something of wealth value that only knew how to be used as a source of income or as something to use to weigh someone down. In that respect it was much like the iron used for chains she saw around prisoners.
Was that were Royals were? Prisoners who hid themselves behind lavish clothes and walls and had their responsibility to the kingdom as their chains? If that was what it was, Maddie wanted no part. She wanted to go back to being a farm-girl, who cared for her livestock, and was the runt of the litter. It was so much simpler being ignored than being forced into a spotlight almost every moment she was not in the library or in her room.
"Oh, here you are!" Someone shouted interrupting her musing. Maddie tensed up and blushed furiously, quickly moving around to make herself presentable though it was clearly apparent that would not happen any time soon. Her crown was slipping of her forehead as she attempted to hastily put her hair back in its half-up half-down style, pins held in her mouth making it look as though she had flowers growing out of it, wet feet trying to place themselves into her heels, and the soaping wet hem of her gown that was now torn weighed her down. The person laughed before speaking again rather loudly. "Don't worry, Mad! I can't stand being in these dumb clothes either."
"Oh, er, um, uh- t-thank you, but I-I shouldn't be in the gardens like this though!" Maddie stammered out, cheeks making even cherries envy their color. She hadn't noticed the person's lack of respect for her title at all. "A queen shouldn't be seen by anyone other than her lady-in-waiting while not presentable." As she spoke she quickly began once again repining her hair, this time taking some time to put it on. The fact that she wasn't used to putting her hair into anything other than twin ponytails didn't help though, and the pins just kept dangling from her hair every time she placed in a new one.
"Oh, don't give me that crap, I get enough of that from Ally," King Alfred said, his voice suddenly much closer as Maddie felt one of the pins be taken from her hands. "You've got that accent to your voice only the northern farmers have, so don't go pretending your some damn Royal, alright? Just turn around and stand still and I can fix this for you."
Not wanting to argue with the king of a kingdom her king was an acquaintance of and shared a very good trade dealing with, Maddie sat still, her back so straight a rod could practically be stood against it. A few moments passed in silence, which Maddie was surprised to experience with the Heart King as King Alfred seemed to be the type of person whose mouth was always moving and whose chest was never out of breath. She was equally surprised out how deftly and skillfully his hands moved throughout her hair, never hurting her skull though she could feel the pins grazing her skull each time he pulled one in.
"Um, King Alfred?" she said quietly.
"Yeah?"
"If you don't mind me askin', where did you learn to do this?"
"Oh, this? I had a sister when I was I was little. Kinda looked like you actually. Maybe that's why I'm doin' this for you." Looking into the fountain, Maddie saw the similarities between she and the king. They shared the same shade of blonde hair, if not hers was just a tad brighter, the faintest hint of strawberry blonde darkening the tips into orange, but they had the same cheekbones, the same nose, although hers had a slight upturn at the tip, and though they had different colored eyes, the shapes were the same. If one were to not look so closely, they would think they were siblings. "Anyways, she used to have really long hair that our mother made her keep until it had to get cut when one of the servants spilled honey on it. When it was still long though she made me pin it up since she hated dealing with it. Doing this to you actually makes me kinda nostalgic."
While resisting the urge not to say a quip about how she was surprised he understood what that word meant, Maddie wondered why he was telling this to her and why he used to do his sister's hair. Though Alfred sounded and behaved as though he were a commoner, he seemed all too comfortable in his clothing, and even though he gorged himself at dinner he used all the correct utensils for the correct foods. Surely his family must have been nobility? Though if they were than his sister would have had maids at hand to prepare her.
"Now that I think about it," King Alfred said, bringing her out of her thoughts, "you're about the age she'd be right now. I wonder what it would be like if she'd ended up being queen or maybe an ace. It's a nice thought. She would've been a good queen I think, although she was pretty wise. Not like I'd know though, she was always the smart one." His voice lowered. Neither of them said a word for a few more moments. Maddie wasn't sure at all how to respond to what he said. King Alfred had only increased the amount of questions she now had. Even with her inquisitive nature she knew it would probably make her seem rude if she all of a sudden started asking him about his dead sister when he was a perfect stranger to her. Maddie couldn't deny the odd feeling of familiarity though. There was something about his large calloused palms weaving throughout her hair that was comforting. It wasn't the way her mother used to do it, roughly grabbing large patches and jabbing each pin into her hair until nothing but a messy knot was created or angrily combing out knot before tying pigtails with messy ribbons.
"Ha, ha, sorry 'bout that!" Alfred suddenly said, bringing Maddie out of her thoughts with his loud and almost demanding voice. "I think I went in a little to deep with all that stuff about my sis'. Anyways, I'm done with this. Take a look! Not too shabby if I say so myself!" A large grin spread across his face revealing pale teeth, and crinkling the corners of his kind eyes in a way that made Maddie feel almost instantly comforted as she gave a shy toothless smile. Looking into the fountain she saw he had indeed done a surprisingly good job at pinning her hair. It was better than when the maid had done it even!
"Thank you, King Alfred," Maddie said with another smile. Her stomach no longer churned, her skin no longer felt aflame, her head was clear, or at the very least functioning properly, she'd developed some type of a friendly connection with the King of a neighboring kingdom who her king was partners with, and she'd had her hair be done splendidly. These last few things she realized she probably would have laughed aloud at if someone had told her she'd be thinking of them as something that she would have to think of as even remotely normal. It brought a wider smile to her lips.
"Eh, don't worry, I miss doin' this," King Alfred said. "Al doesn't like me touching her hair. Always puts up a fight every time I walk into her room to try doin' it." At this point, Maddie wasn't all that surprised he referred to his fellow queen who seemed to loved propriety and formalities in such an informal way, nor that he loudly proclaimed he'd walk into a lady's room, likely without even being polite enough to knock, and try to do something a maid was hired to do. She wondered if he would look at the Heart Queen if he ever came into her room though she was still dressing but dashed away the thought knowing even if the king was a bit obnoxious and lacked some common sense he had a good heart.
"Oh, almost forgot!" Maddie looked at the king curiously before realizing he was looking at the crown she still had in her palms. Need she truly have to put it on though? The weight was so heavy, both literally and figuratively. Reluctantly she gave it to the Heart King though.
It seemed with all his supposed ignorance, King Alfred noticed her reluctance. Well, at the very least it seemed that way.
"You know what, I think you should just carry this with you." Maddie smiled. "You look really tiny with it on and like you're about to fall over." Her smile slowly disintegrated as she gave him a slightly pointed look.
Alfred laughed at her look. "Sorry, but it's true. You look really strange with that on." Maddie brushed of his blunt comment with an eye-roll. "It looks like your really uncomfortable with this on. It looks like you don't know whether to throw it or sell."
Her ears perked up at this. "If you do not mind my asking, what do you mean by that?"
"I jus mean you don't seem to like this whole Royals business at all. If this were any other commoner put into your position they wouldn't be ruining these new expensive clothes and would constantly make sure they looked nice, and would where that crown every chance they got. You just look uncomfortable with it on. I know you probably think it's weird hearing this from me, but this isn't going to get any easier from here on in. You're the Queen now. Once your lessons on how to act like a Queen, look like a queen, and all this other crap is done, it's all downhill from there. Stop acting like you're still a peasant. You should know by now that when you become a Royal you renounce any title you had prior to that. Another kingdom might end up using those uncomfortable feelings to there advantage. Just learn to face the facts."
Maddie looked at Alfred in shock. He had gotten up from his seat and now towered over her even more as he spoke, face hard and stern, bright eyes now clouded. At first she didn't know what to say. How was she supposed to respond to that? It seemed she suddenly knew how to though, as she responded with her first thought.
"How would you know what this is like for me?"
"What?" Alfred questioned.
In a sudden rage she couldn't explain how she had gotten, Maddie jumped from her seat and pointed her finger at the king's chest. "How would you know what this is like for me!" she repeated. "You're just sum pompous, arrogant, spoiled aristocratic brat! How would you know what it's like to all of a sudden be forced to leave your home, know that you know have to care for the lives for the lives of millions, and be forced to learn how to become something you're not knowing EVERYONE IS WATCHING YOU!" She gasped as she finished screaming, her head moving downward as she placed her hands on her knees.
After a few moments of gasping, Maddie's head began spinning with all the negative thoughts of what could happen because of this event. Her face now felt cold, her heart skipped a beat, her palms twitched, her knees clanked together. She knew she'd made a terrible mistake. She waited for the yelling to come. The yelling the screaming, the slapping, kicking, or punches that would inevitably lead to a rainbow of bruises on her person along with possible cuts and gashes.
Laughter filled the air.
At first Maddie believed her mind was replacing her reality with a fantasy so she wouldn't feel as bad when the painful events occurred. It wasn't the first time she had done something similar to this when she got punished for something she or her siblings did. Usually though she'd think of a song, or even some jokes, or a scene from a story. It was never laughter she heard. She waited a few more moments. The laughter didn't stop. It was rich and clear baritone voice that didn't sound as though it would soon stop. She slowly opened her eyelids one after the other and looked up, straightening her back as though waiting for the moment King Alfred would pounce.
The Hearts King was hunched over, arms around his middle, his upper body shaking wildly, and his laugh slowly calming down. "G-give me a-a minute," he said, his words broken and stuttering as he laughed while speaking. Almost violently he suddenly jerked his body upwards causing Maddie to jump back. The king's head jerked backwards and his laughter continued on.
Maddie stared at the king with wide frightened eyes. What is going on! Did he go insane! Noticing how oblivious the king was to his surroundings, the girl began to slowly take of her heels, cautiously deciding to ring out whatever water she could from her skirts, and inching herself away from the king, heels still in hand. She was almost out of his line of vision when he finally stopped laughing. Oh maple! Why couldn't he have just acted like a moron for a few more minutes! Hearing King Alfred ask where she was Maddie sighed and quickly scampered back, not bothering to put her heels back on but deciding to not leave the servants with extra work and picking up her skirts so no more dirt would stick.
"You really are a funny girl," King Alfred said smiling, his now even wider bright blue eyes a stark contrast against his skin, hair, and red clothes. "I haven't laughed like that in a long time. It's hilarious seeing a tiny little girl like you whose half the size of entire animals I've eaten try to stand up to me!" He laughed a bit more before stepping closer to her. Maddie nearly took an instinctive step back but stopped, straightened her back, and raised her head. Her fists were balled at her sides and she raised one of her slim eyebrows.
"I'm glad you find this amusing," she replied tersely.
King Alfred looked down at Maddie with a clueless look. He looked like a puppy, his head tilted, bright eyes wide the strange cowlick on top of his head bending to the side like an ear. The king's eyes widened in realization and he gave a small, surprisingly sheepish, smile. His head lowered and his right hand went to scratch the back of his neck. Maddie wasn't sure if it was a trick of the light but she could have sworn the king had a faint hint of a blush across his cheeks.
"Look, I'm sorry 'bout what I said," King Alfred said. "I just want to make sure you understand what your in now. It's not going to be easy, especially not now. Every movement you make affects not only you, but also your entire kingdom. Think of that: you deciding your kingdoms fate. Everyone is counting on you."
Maddie thought she heard him mumble something under his breath. "Did you say something, King Alfred?"
"No, not at all!" King Alfred replied quickly. "It's getting late, we should take our leave now I think." The blonde girl nodded in agreement though she did raise an eyebrow in suspicion. "I agree, it is rather late, and I'm sure the King and Queen are waiting for us now."
"So which way do we go?" King Alfred asked, his hands on his waist on and a wide smile on his face.
"Oh maple," Maddie began as she explained her situation to King Alfred.
I know this is really super duper bad and I'm very sorry. School's been getting in the way and I've just barely find time to work on any of my stories. This chapter was a disaster and I feel terrible because of that. I promise the next chapter will be much better. Until then, hasta la pasta!