This is a little, short chapter from Iracebeth's POV. The suggestion came from Niphuria, so thank her ;) I told you, I'm open to suggestions :D

Disclaimer- Same as last time- noooooo! Except Julia, Mira's parents, and all Hightopps other than Tarrant.

"A daughter is a mother's mirror image- both in looks and personality."-Unkown

White Queen Danielle of Crims, 43 years old

Deciding to give Mira Queen lessons was not a choice- it was a given. At the rate Iracebeth was going, Mirana would have the crown next year. If Iracebeth were to marry that...that monster, she would not be able to have the crown. She'd need to marry a lord or someone of the court. That man was the King of Hearts, a separate country all to it's own. It was small, but if she only knew what she was getting herself into! I wanted to tell her, oh I really did, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. If she seemed to be in love with him, which is true, then so be it.

As I called my youngest daughter into my receiving room, a few thoughts ran through my mind. Mirana- my sweet, young, oblivious daughter- would soon take over Underland. Iracebeth- my eldest, most anger prone daughter- would more than likely be upset about this. And then there was my baby Julia. Who, as of now, was not so much a baby as a young adolescent. She would be caught in the middle of all this, watching her sisters fight it out. I'd looked at the Oraculem before- I knew what it foretold. Underland would eventually fall to ruins under the Red Queen- whomever that may be. It would be either one of my two elder daughters, unfortunately. If I could stop this from happpening, I most certainly would.

"Whatcha doin' Mommy?" asked Mirana as she stood behind me. I smiled- she still called me Mommy, no matter what the circumstances. This young girl was afraid of nothing.

"Writing something. You know that boy…he's a Hightopp. What's his name?" I asked subconciously. She knew exactly who I was speaking of, but she refused to answer with the name I wanted.

"Tarrance?" she asked nervously. I smirked to myslef- she was avoiding the subject at hand.

"No, no, his twin," I stated, pressing for an answer. She needed to talk to someone about this. It's only been a matter of hours, but I could feel the pain radiating off of her. Her hand curled into a fist, making her knuckles look almost transluscent. "Mira, love, are you okay?" I asked with great concern. It wasn't like her to be this...blunt about her feelings.

"Not necessarily," she muttered. "His name's...his name's Tarrant Hightopp. What about him?" So now she was going to be sassy? Alright then, two can play at that game.

"You miss him, don't you?" I asked, not really considering the tone I said it in. She had plopped down in a chair. She nodded at me and buried her face in her hands, dodging my gaze. "You should go see him. Your father just left for a while. I know he just separated you two today, but go talk to your little friend. Let him know how you feel," I offered. I was surprised as she refused and stood as if she would leave.

"Is there a reason you called me in here?" she asked. I could literally hear the annoyance slipping through her teeth. I sighed, dropping the matter. No need to upset her.

"I need to put you through Queen Lessons, separate from your sister. Don't ask why, just please go along with it. I'm going to be teaching you, though, not Iracebeth's teacher. Is that okay with you? I could always do it with Julia instead. We just need a well informed Lady in Waiting." I lied. "I suppose," I added, "It's not really a Lady in Waiting we need."

"Alright. When do we start?" she asked. I smiled and looked her in the eyes.

"Right now, love. Here's a piece of parchment- I want you to write your first vow. Don't worry; just think of whatever comes to your mind." I remember my first vow. It was a silly one- my mother could hardly believe it! As I watched her write in careful cursive, I smirked. She was writing the same that I had. When I was writing my first vow, I had been rather hungry- so I wrote that there was never any jam for me! And there, on the parchment, lie the words:

For Me, there will always be jam yesterday, jam tomorrow, but never jam today.

I reached into my desk and pulled out my list of vows. Sure enough, the firs vow read the same as hers. I pointed it out to her, letting her read it. She did and smiled, then moved on to the next one. I saw her features change and knew that I shouldn't have let her get that far. She looked at me, confused. I pulled the list away and put it away. I gently said, "That, my dear daughter, is another story for a different night. Now, moving on, let's have a bit of fun. I want you to try on the crown," I whispered. I smiled brightly and handed it over to her. I felt odd without the weight of it on my white hair.

Looking at her wearing the crown made me smile even more. She was absolutely beautiful! It was just the slightest bit too large, but she was still young. I stood up and grabbed my mirror, handing it to her. She grinned at her reflection, but jumped slightly as Iracebeth burst into the room.

"Oh, Miwana, don't you look beautiful! Mother, may I try on the cwown?" I nodded gravely and watched as Mira handed the crown over to her older sister. The moment Racy touched it, it changed- something I hadn't seen since...since my very own sister. I gasped, seeing the crown morph. "It's so pwetty!" she exclaimed. I frowned, studying the crown on her head. It was pointy and red, rubies lining the points.

"Mother, why did the crown change?" I asked quietly. I had never been one to talk to my mother, though she was exactly like myself. My sister, Hannah, had just put the crown over her dark black hair. It turned into a very sharp pointed, golden crown. It was studded with red rubies and there were red hearts around it. It scared me a bit, seeing it like this. On me, it had been a very pretty grey-white color with blue stones outlining it.

"Hannah of Marmoreal, put that crown down this instant!" shouted my mother. I flinched, not used to hearing her yell. Hannah removed the crown and put it back on my mother's desk, then left the room in shame.

"Danielle, honey, I'm sorry. It's just that- when a crown looks like that- it means very bad things. Cruelty, death, blood, evil- all of that and more. If Hannah were to become Queen, sweetheart, Underland would fall to pieces- literally." I only nodded, but I understand far too well. I did my research later and found out that a crown like that also meant it belonged to the Red Queen of Hearts- an evil woman that would kill everyone in sight.

Told you it was short :D Please review. There's an explanation of the whole Hannah and Danielle of Marmoreal in the next chapter.