Me: whoo…finally an update…or maybe two! My laptop keyboard is being a retard and I had to actually write down my fanfic (FF), then once I had bought a new keyboard, I have been holed up in my room, furiously typing all I had written up before University starts on 8/17. That consisted of, like, 2+ chapters of this, the beginnings of my ElliotxHikari FF and my JuliusxKida FF, and (for some reason) a HikarixGray FF. That last one was like a plot-bunny rampage in my head for like a whole week…
Quick Disclaimer: HNKNA don't belong to me. Only the OCs.
If Vivaldi and Peter seem a little OOC, it's for two reasons
1: Vivaldi was difficult to work around, with her third person POV talking
2: With Peter, it leads to the next chapter, which will be a Hikari and Peter chapter
Ok! No more explaining! Read and Enjoy!
Ch18: The Art of handling a Queen
Kida's POV
The soldier scurried down the hall way farther in front of us than I would have liked, but still close enough to make sure that we were still following behind him. He looked like he was in a slight fright as he rushed through the Castle interior, asking other soldiers questions when they passed and then quickly darting forward again, looking back to make sure we were still behind. And indeed we were, as Hikari and I followed behind him, our steps neither hurried nor sluggish as we headed on the way to meet the Queen of the Castle. And, astounding as it all is, Ace was STILL with us, whistling a tune as he follows behind us with his arms crossed behind his head in a rather lazy way. Although, WHY he's still with us is still a mystery to me. I mean, he's been with us since he left the Hatters and has only wondered off once, only to quickly return. But the way my friend described him is that he could, and I quote, 'get lost in his own pants, given a chance.' So, by that logic, surely he would have gotten lost by now.
"Huh?" he says when he notices me looking at him, and looks down at me with an owlish expression, "Why are you looking at me? Is there something on my face?"
With a sigh, I shake my head "No. Just thinking about…stupid things."
My friend snickers under her breath and looks over at me, "Pfft…stupid things…Ace…ehehe!"
I blink at her, slightly confused before I finally get it. I can't help but giggle at her way of thinking, "Nice, Hikari. Nice."
"Please hurry! Her Majesty gets very impatient when left waiting!" exclaims the nervous soldier in front of us, breaking our silent joke as he comes to a stop in front of a rather big heart shaped door "She is awaiting you in the audience chamber."
"Hold onto your shorts! We're coming!" Hikari shouts down the hallway at him, then turns back to me "So…you ready to meet this Queen or what?"
"Or what sounds more like it," I answer blankly with a sigh "but I'm as ready as I'll ever be, I guess."
"Ditto" my colleague simply responds
We come up to a huge, red, heart shaped doorway that looks way too big to be pushed open by that one tiny soldier, but to my surprise, he reached for it and, instead, opened a regular sized double door that seemed to blend in with the bigger door. I blink in surprise, but then rationalize that perhaps its better that way.
"T-This way please!" the soldier exclaimed as he held the door open for us. We entered, looking around the circular, two story looking room and taking in its simple splendor, from the smooth red-pink tile that our shoes clicked/squeaked on, to the heart shaped windows edged with a black and red banded trim on the far side. We were lead to the middle of the room, which had a rounded area that had a sort of lacy fencing around it, and a giant heart in the tile in the middle of it. And that was just on the ground floor. On the second story, it looked like there was just enough space to put two important things, the first being a thin walkway around the edge of the room, complete with a staircase on both sides so that people could go to either story, and the second, right across from us, was an elaborate black and red throne surrounded by the same lacy railing
And in that throne was the most stunning young woman that I had ever seen in my life, and by the widening if Hikari's pupils, her's too. Jet black hair curled to perfection, catching the light and making it look almost violet. Red eyes framed in long lashes, and garbed in an ostentatious scarlet dress. And right below her collar bone near the crease where her beasts pecked out (Ok, no perverseness there. They're just...there...and HUGE.) was a small tattoo of a red heart. She's beautiful, but I guess she's just as dangerous, too. In her right hand was a golden scepter, and at its peak a heart shaped ruby. Her simple, yet extravagant beauty made my hand itched to draw her, just once. I guess it's an artist's tick, wanting to draw beautiful things. And by the way Hikari's hand twitches before turning it into a fist, she's having that tick too. Behind her was this…kind of pitiful looking old man, who just so happened to have a face. Not much of one, but still…maybe he was a Role Holder too…but which one? The King maybe?
A soldier at her side cleared his throat before saying in a rather loud voice "Presenting the new Foreigners, Miss Kida and Miss Hikari, to her Majesty, Vivaldi, Queen of Hearts."
"Yeah! I'm back, Majesty!" Ace yells out, making me cringe. You idiot!
"It is about time, Knight. We were getting rather impatient. " Vivaldi announced, her voice thick in authority and slight annoyance.
"Awww…but I got it done didn't I? And with time to spare!" Ace jokes. The smack of Hikari face palming as he leaves echoes around the room
"Just…shut UP, Ace." She moans, and this makes the Queen smile herself
"We see that he annoys you also." Vivaldi lets out an almost chuckle of a laugh, amused for a moment before she stops herself and gets a little more serious, "So you two are the new foreigners that we have been hearing about. Alice has told us of your arrival."
"Ah, y-yes", I answer, slightly tense. This woman is rather intimidating, and I don't even think she's trying, "Thank you for having us today."
"Why is she talking in third person?" Hikari sneakily whispers over to Ace, who gives her a confused look
"She always talks like that" he murmurs back, just as stealthily. Lucky for her, Vivaldi either fails to notice or ignores her questioning. But by her next question, my guess is the first.
"It is our pleasure to have you…but we are curious." She says as she taps the tip of her staff on her chin "Your names are…peculiar. Do you not have last names?"
That question…brought me up short. I looked over at my friend, whose face showed her own surprise, along with a little humorous sparkle in her eye. She's probably thinking the same thing. In all the time that we have been in this world, not once have we actually given our full names. Now that I think about it, it's…kind of awkward, if not a little bit embarrassing. I suppose we are still used to being college students. Where we usually only give our first names to the people we meet inside the classroom (And probably ONLY in the classroom because Hikari and I were a little bit reclusive back at collage. And by a 'little bit', I mean our days consisted of her playing on her computer all day with a slight bit of studying, while I spend all my time doing the same thing, only mostly studying), you usually don't have to wait very long to find out the full name of everyone in the classroom, given that the teacher has to call role. But here, where no one knows us to begin with, I suppose it's a tad different…
"Huh", the knight behind us says as he taps his chin and looks down at Hikari, breaking my thoughts, "Now that I think about it, calling you Princess all the time might get annoying. I should call you something else."
I have to cover my mouth to hold back the burst of laughter that tempted to erupt, but it's almost impossible...almost. The way her face lights up like a stop sign, plus the way she looks like she's about to scream, makes hic-up like giggles spill out into the air. I'm usually the more...hmm...responsible? No, that's not the word. More like neutral of the two of us, but the sight of her just about to rip Ace a new one is almost priceless!
Vivaldi raises an eyebrow at our behavior, (I'm guessing) curious about our reactions before clearing her throat. I take it as a sign that maybe we should either calm down or just shut up in general. I do the latter, being extra carful as I take in calming breaths of air before I answer her questions.
"Forgive me, your Majesty", I start, wanting to be as formal as I can and make a good first impression, "Allow me for formally introduce myself. My name is Kida Regnis, although Kida is all that needs to be said to catch my attention"
"Kida Regnis...it has a nice ring to it. What a pleasant name", the Queen repeats, as if getting used to it ". And your friend is Hikari...?"
I elbow my friend in the side, trying to get her (very small) attention.
"OW!" she exclaims, rubbing her sore side. I guess I hit her too hard again, "What was that for?!"
"Introduce yourself, you dimwit!" I whisper under my breath at her. Sometimes I swear...
"Oh!" she gasps, finally getting the picture. She then clears her throat, "My name is Hikari. Hikari Flumin at your service, Ma'am. But just Hikari is ok, too", she pauses, and then blinks in remembrance, "Or Kari-chan. That's what the twins call me anyway."
"By twins, we are guessing you mean the Hatter's Gatekeepers?" Vivaldi questions, tapping her (probably perfectly manicured) nail against her chin
"Yeah! Nice boys, if not a little rowdy", Hikari fawns/sigh, smiling. She then continues on, as if she was talking to someone on the street and NOT an actual Queen, "It's actually a funny story how we got there, but Blood was nice enough to invite us to a tea party! It was great, especially the tea part. Earl Grey is one of my personal favorites"
"Oho! A fan of tea? How wonderful!" Vivaldi smiles. How the hell Hikari gets along with people so well, I will never know, but it seems we hit a jackpot with tea talk...too bad I'm a coffee fan.
Suddenly, the same soldier that led us in here quickly rushes up the side stairs toward her Majesty, and whispers something in her ear. Whatever he says makes her eyes widens slightly at the information, before a grin spreads gracefully on her face
"Hmm…interesting indeed!" she hums in delight as she elegantly stands, her scarlet gown falling and swooshing around her. The Faceless around her, probably her attendants, scramble around her, trying to help in some way. She won't have any of that though, as she shoos them away, walking down the steps toward us. Nervousness bubbles in my stomach as she gets ever closer.
"Do not look so fearful, child", Vivaldi says as she stops in front of us, "We simply want a better look at you."
"Ah...sorry", I apologize. I can't really help it though. This woman is overwhelming daunting. And her close proximity isn't helping!
"It is alright", she kindly says as she pauses in front of us, "Now, let us have a look"
With her hand, (and I was right. Perfectly manicured nails) she grasps me by the chin and lifts my head up so she can see me thoroughly. She turns my head this way and that, scanning me over
"Hmm..." she ponders, "Small in stature, upturned nose, round face, short black hair and serious eyes. Your skin reminds us of tea, and we adore tea! You dress professionally too. ", she pauses, as if assessing these attributes, "We find you...almost mousy. Normally we detest mice, but you...we can make an exception for"
I...can't say anything, as I am unsure as to how to respond. But I do wonder, what did she mean by mousy?
She then goes over to Hikari and does the same, twisting her head this way and that. My friend kind of goes with it for the moment, letting Vivaldi have her way. I don't think she knows how to react
"And you...have honest eyes the color of honey."
Hikari blinks, confusion on her face "Honey? I thought they were, like, coco brown?"
"They are brown, but they remind us of thick, piled on honey. Yes...such a lovely shade of light brown", Vivaldi smiles, smoothly answering her question before going back to her analyzing, "Hmm...A cute face, but that is all that we can say...for now"
Again, my friend blinks, confused, "Huh? Is something wrong with me?"
"Well..." the Queen sighs, a look of distaste on her face "We find your hair to be messy and your clothes to be...slouchy. Just look!" She picks up the end of her a size too big navy shirt that hung about an inch or two below her beltline, "It hangs on you!"
Hikari pouts and slouches her shoulders, "B-but I like my clothes! Sure, they're not stylish, but they do their job!"
"We still do not approve, and it must be fixed at once!" Vivaldi announces. This makes my friend mope, kicking at the ground and scrunching up her face with a wiggle of he nose in slight sadness. This catches the Queen's attention, making her laugh,
"Ohoho! How silly you are...almost like a puppy!" She states "Although your style is lacking, we still enjoy you."
"Thanks...I think", Hikari responds awkwardly as she scratches the back of her ponytail, "You're...nice too."
"We thank you, child" Vivaldi says, and then blinks as she looks over to the window. I, too, glance over, noticing that the blue midday sky had turned red, signaling Afternoon.
"The timing could not be any more perfect. Sunset is the best time for tea, we think. You will join us, correct?" the Queen asks, turning back to us
"Will there be snacks?!" My friend asks automatically. Well, I didn't see THAT coming... (Yes…that was sarcasm)
"Of course. What is tea without sweets?" She starts with a smile, "We have even set up a special place for it"
Que fist pump from said friend. I want to laugh at her, but the Queen's loud voice stops me as she called out at her servants, then walks over to the maids and whispers something in their ear. They scurry off to do her bidding quick as lightning. She then turns back to us, and starts to eye a certain knight that I had almost forgotten was there.
"You may take your leave of us...NOW"
"Awww!" Ace childishly whines, although I can tell that he's just messing around like usual, being annoying on purpose
"Begone!" She warns, "Be lucky that Sunset makes us in a good mood. Ruin it and I shall have your head, Knight!"
"Aha! Well that doesn't sound too good. Guess I'll go train some soldiers or something "Ace says with a sigh at the end, and then turns his back to us and starts waking out, "See u later, Princess!"
"FOR THE LUV OF FAKIN GAWD, IT'S HIKARI! HI-KAR-I!" exclaims my friend, and the sound of Ace's laughter echoes as he exits, leaving a steaming Hikari in its wake, "One of these days, I'm going to smack the stupid out of him."
Vivaldi chuckles lightly, "You may try, and if you succeed, you have our gratitude. Now come, as there are many things we must address with you both."
She turns and exits, and we follow her, curious as to where we are headed. It's a good thing that the hallways are wide, we three weren't the only ones by her side. It was us, and about two or three soldiers, I'm guessing her personal guard, as we headed toward our mysterious destination. Down long halls and up stairways we go, my curiosity heightening with each step. We go so far that I begin to wonder how massive this castle actually is.
As we turn down another hall, fate would have it that a familiar face would be turning from another hall into this one. At first, it appeared like all things in the distance do, as a dark spot, but as it got closer, detail began to add upon themselves, revealing the slightly slouched figure of our (mostly mine) kidnapper.
"Ah, White" the Queen calls out, confirming my suspicions to be correct, "It is good that you're here. I have something for you to do for us."
He stops, and takes a rather stiff bow with his eyes cast downward, looking more at the floor than anything else, his white rabbit ears rather droopy
"What will you have me do, your Majesty?" he asks almost…meekly?
…Huh?
Wait wait WAIT…is this really Peter White, my forcefully and rather voluble kidnapper?! He seem so…SANE. Exactly opposite of the impression I had of him when we first meet, and THAT impression wasn't good to begin with. But now…well now I just kind of feel sorry for the man, as he looks like a man whose been kicked when he was down. What on earth happened to make such a drastic change?
"Hmm…" Vivaldi hums, quickly coming to the same conclusion as I as she looks over him and lets out an exasperated sigh, "Nevermind. We can see that you are simply no use to us in your current state, especially since Alice's last visit"
His ear flattened to his head at the statement, before rigidly rising again, and answers almost robotically.
"As the Prime Minister, I will do as I must. What will you have me do?"
Seriously, WHAT HAPPENED?!
She makes an annoyed noise in the back of her throat, and goes to open her mouth again when my friend suddenly decides to intrude.
"White…as in Peter White?"
A quick silence…
"Oh? Why yes." Vivaldi answers as she turns toward her, curiosity showing on her features and in her voice, "We are guessing that he is the one who brought the two of you here to this world, correct? Would you, perhaps, like to have a word with him?"
"I would indeed!" my friend exclaims as she walks right up to Peter with a shit eating grin on her face, blocking his path and getting right in his face, so much so that she has his undivided attention. I know from experience that that smile should NOT be trusted in any circumstance, so I back away a step and watch curiously on how this is going to play out. I mean, Hikari has said she was going to handle Peter so I, too, am interested on how this plays out.
"Huh…" She says, giving Peter a look over, "So you're this Peter White I've been hearing all about."
"…Yes…that is I." Peter says hesitantly after a moment, "Is there-"
"Good!" Hikari suddenly exclaims as she reaches her hand up and pinches one of his furry rabbit ears, and by the pain the blooms on his face, my guess is that she probably got some sensitive cartilage, and its quiet painful. With just that pinch, she then lowers the ear down to her level, so she doesn't have to stretch up to keep a hold of it, "Saves me the trouble of looking for you. Now, you're coming with me, Mister, cuz' do I~ have some questions~ for you!~"
"O-ow! P-Please dear – ah! – n-not the e-ear!" Peter cries out as he tries to peel her hand from his sensitive appendage, but she will have none of that as she practically digs her nails into it and gives it a firm pull with just two fingers, much like she did with Ace earlier.
"Ah-ah~" she scolds with a shake of her head, "This has been coming for some time now, so be prepared and take it like a man!"
The entire hall is silent for a moment (except for Peter and Hikari of course), looks of confusion, fear, and downright awe are painted on the faces of the…well, Faceless. Vivaldi, on the other hand, looks completely amused. I, too, am a little pleased. I kind of expected her to…oh…maybe pull his ears off or something, but it always surprises me, her style of punishments. But I suppose (actually know from preforming it on her once or twice) it is effective.
"AH!"
And quite painful…
"Ohoho! We understand your frustration", the Queen suddenly says with a throaty chuckle as she watches their strange exchange, "Do what you feel you must. There is a shortcut to a suitable quiet place beyond that doorway. Worry not, as we will save you your tea and sweets for when you return."
This makes Hikari's day as she quickly beams a smile at the queen, thanks her profusely, and goes off on her marry way, pulling Peter along like a dog who hate's its leash, him letting out pained whimpers along the way. We watch until they disappear behind the door the Queen had pointed to.
She chuckles again, and starts walking forward, "We like that girl. She might have no taste in clothes, but her attitude is straight forward."
"You sound like you're not worried that your Prime Minister is about to be possibly mercilessly tortured, if not murdered", I say monotonously as I follow dutifully. Of course, I know Hikari isn't that cruel. She's probably still mad, yes, but who wouldn't be I suppose. I know I still am, to some degree, but I have come to the conclusion that wasting time blaming Peter could be time better used to get back home. It's simply a waste of brain power. Hikari possibly figured that out way before I did, though, if not at the same time. That, and she's too simple to hold a grudge for too long. She is unnaturally forgiving, so much so that I wouldn't be surprised if, right now, she's just going to ruff Peter up a bit before forgiving him completely, and then she'll probably ask to be his friend or something. She's just looking for a reason.
"We have nothing to worry about. If White were so easily killed, we would have done it ages ago. We are surprised though…" She responds thoughtfully, tapping her finger against her chin as her shoes click against the tile floor "For White to have let another person besides Alice even TOUCH him is…peculiar."
This quickly catches my attention, and I go to open my mouth to ask about the bizarre acting rabbit-man, when I notice her stopping. I hadn't noticed, but we had soon arrived at another huge heart-shaped double door, and much like the previous, it had a smaller, normal door to go through. For some reason, though, most of the guards didn't follow us as we went inside. Instead, they stood outside, on point from intruders and protecting the door. I don't acknowledge it much, as this is probably their jobs, so I turn to enter.
The inside, though, was another sight altogether, and I can't help but appreciate. The room was both elegant, yet oddly simple, with a high ceiling, tiled floor, and the wall decorated correspondingly to the audience chambers. On the far end of the room was a full window, looking out onto a balcony which overlooked the Castle's immense gardens. A very beautiful sight, undeniably, but not the thing that caught my attention the most.
Although Vivaldi is, indeed, gorgeous and elegant, the most beautiful thing in the room, too me, was the jet black, baby grand piano pushed off to the side, near the balcony. It looked brand new, gleaming as the Afternoon sun shone rainbows off its surface. Of course, I looked around the room, and noticed a table or two with more instruments on them, like a violin and a cello, but all my attention was pointed toward the piano, as if it was calling me.
Beside it, only a little away from it but still close to the balcony window, was a round table filled with my colleague's favorite things, which I noticed Vivaldi was preparing to sit at as a soldier pulled out her chair for her, and pushed her in after she sat.
"Surprised, are you not? Oho, we are very pleased to see this." Vivaldi says when shes see that I was practically openly drooling over a piano of all things, "Come, come, child! Sit with us! Everything has been prepared."
"I am…honored!" I say, as I sort of dumbly walk over and take my seat "But, I don't really understand, your Majesty. Why here?"
"Please, we are friends here, and I have been eagerly awaiting to meet you and your friend. Call us Vivaldi. "She says as she delicately sips at her tea, "And the reason to all of this is that a little bird told us that you, in particular, could play well."
I blink, surprised and embarrassed, "H-how?"
"We are Queen here. We usually find out most that happens." Vivaldi answers, and then grins, "We also heard that you gave the Duke of the Park whatfor on his dreadful music…Hoho, what we wish we could have seen!"
I practically growl, as remembering that earsplitting racket makes bile rise in my throat
"That man can't play a tune to save his life!", I exclaim, "And so, I took the liberty upon myself to try and fix him! Try being the word. Sure, the violin isn't my instrument of choice, but something had to be done, and damn it if I wasn't the one to do it!"
Vivaldi blinks at my sudden outburst, then openly laughs, covering her mouth politly during. I blush.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to yell…"
She wipes at a tear at the corner of her eye, "It is quite alright, as we understand. Still, what a sight it would have been to see!"
It's…almost strange to see this powerful woman laugh so openly. But that's not right…people should laugh, I suppose. It's just that…she looks so…so ABOVE laugher…but really that's just stupid.
Ah, speaking of people not acting like they should, I take this opportunity while I am in her good graces to go back and ask the question I wanted to as before, the one about Peter.
I clear my throat, "E-Excuse me, Vivaldi? Can I ask you something?"
"Yes? We are listening."
I take a deep breath, "Is there…something wrong with Peter? He seemed…off earlier. And I remember you saying something too."
She sighs, "So you have noticed White's pathetic state as well. It is hard not to. Honestly, we cannot tell if he is a masochist or a martyr! It is both frustrating and interesting to watch."
I tilt my head a bit in confusion, and she smiles as she leans on the table toward me
"Well, we shall explain…"
Whoa…another toughie of a chapter. I had to remember that Vivaldi talks all proper and stuff…and in third person…I had to go back and check so many times
Also, I got some PMs asking why my OCs have no last name, and it made me stop and think 'WAIT, I THOUGHT I DID?!' So, after scanning back over my previous chapters, it turns out I didn't…WAH! I'M SO SORRY! I gave them last names in my head, but it took me until NOW (at the practical end on the story.) to include them. So, it took me a lot of noggin scratching and banging my head against the desk, but I figured out how to incorporate it into my story! *give's self-high-five*
I feel so ashamed…*bows head in sorrow* I'M SO SORRY! But, now I have it done! So, I feel as if I have to re-introduce my OCs
Hikari Fluminor 'Kari-chan' to some people - (first name pronounced 'He-car-e' and in Japanese it means 'Light'; Second name pronounced Flu-men, and is Latin for 'the River' Cool name, huh?)
Kida Regnis(First name pronounced KEY-dah, and is a personal choice from a good friend of mine; second name pronounced Reg-nes and is actually the word 'Singer' written backwards. There's a funny story with that actually…hahaha)
REVIEW PWEASE!