The Clockwork Heart

Chapter Two: Off With Her Head!

"Do you know where my parents are, rabbit?"

"...Why do you ask? Did someone say something to you?"

"Well, no. But in the fairytales, the child always has a parent or two. If they don't, it's because the parents died, and the child is an orphan. Rabbit, are my parents dead? Am I an orphan?"

"No! You're..."

"I'm what?"

"You're... You're stupid. You have a stupid face. Don't ask stupid questions like that. You're not an orphan because I'm here, and I'll take care of you, and you'll never get hurt as long as I'm here."

***

The grassy fields stretched out and curved around the skyline. The radiant green color ran on for dozens and dozens of kilometers.

"Your Majesty," the rabbit said to his king. "This is the Princess of Hearts. She's the same age as you, and she's the heiress to the Kingdom of Hearts, which is a neighboring kingdom with whom we're very close to."

The king looked directly at her with emotionless eyes. Bending his hips, he bowed slightly but without smiling. "Hello, I am the King of Roses. I am pleased to meet you."

The princess shifted on her feet, awkwardly. She probably didn't expect such a cold reaction, since their two kingdoms had been close political allies for the past few centuries. "I am pleased to meet you as well, Your Majesty," she said stiffly.

The rabbit coughed. He turned to the princess and asked, "Have you played croquet before, Your Highness?"

The princess smiled and replied amicably, "I've watched others play a few times. However, I haven't yet had the pleasure of playing myself, since I was a frail child and often bedridden."

(A blatant lie, the rabbit decided. Royal ladies didn't have to run about on the streets and become exposed to diseases. However, some would claim ill health to make themselves seem delicate, a trait that was considered fashionable.)

(Anyways, that's not important right now.)

"His Majesty the king loves to play croquet," the rabbit suggested. "Perhaps he can teach you the rules and techniques of the game?"

He turned to the king, but the latter only crossed his arms and glared.

The princess shifted on her feet again, and in a polite tone, she said to the rabbit, "That's okay, I understand. I have brothers, and I know that young men are often shy around girls and women who they just met. Will you teach me instead, White Rabbit?"

The rabbit threw his master an annoyed glance and got a stony expression in return. Sighing, the rabbit approached the princess and showed her how to hold the mallet, how to swing, what was the goal of the game, what were the rule, etc.

At several points, he pretended to forget a rule or two and asked the king for clarification. The king answered, and his voice was reluctant, but at least he was talking.

With the princess up to speed, they began to play. At first, there was no conversation and only awkward silence. The rabbit fired off terrible ice breaker questions, one after the after. After a while, the king and princess were able to make small talk with each other, such as about the weather.

The rabbit felt pleased with the progress so far. But all good things must come to an end...

"Can I ask you something?" the king asked the princess.

"Of course," she replied with a gracious smile.

"Do you really want to marry me?" he asked abruptly. "I mean, seriously. We've never even met before."

The rabbit spun around and stared at him in shock. The question was brazen, even for him.

She jumped, startled as well. She took a moment to process what was asked and then responded. "We're both monarchs, and therefore we embody our governments. For the prosperity of our respective peoples, we must facilitate political alliances through marriages. It is our destiny to make sacrifices for the greater good."

At the mention of the word 'destiny', the king's expression suddenly darkened. He looked away, and the rabbit saw that his eyes had become drenched with gloom and sadness.

But why? the rabbit thought. What would've set him off, could it be...?

It happened to be the princess's turn to swing. However, she must had been distracted, because she swung way to hard and at the wrong angle, and the ball flew high up into the air.

When it came down again, it struck the rabbit directly in his face!

The rabbit collapsed onto his knees on the grass, clutching the part of his jaws where he had been hit. Thankfully, no tooth was knocked out or anything, but the insides of his lips had been chipped.

"RABBIT!!!" the king rushed over to his side. "Oh god, you're bleeding! You're bleeding! Please don't die, please don't die!"

"It's alright," the rabbit said. His teeth scraped his lips, but everything else seemed okay.

A warm feeling swelled up in his chest as he realized that the king cared about him, he was needed.

When he looked up at the king's face, however, the warmth quickly faded away. The king was angry. His lips were downturned into a snarl, and his brows were trembling, and his face was contorted into a terrifying expression.

Turning to the princess, he said, "How dare you hurt the royal butler? Were you trying to assassinate him?"

The princess frowned at the accusation. "Of course not, I--"

The king stood up and raised a hand, interrupting her. "Enough with your lies!" he declared. "Take her to the dungeon! We will publicly execute her tomorrow!"

With that, several cloaked soldiers surged forward and grabbed her, dragging her away. The princess looked shocked on so many different levels, but she didn't struggle and simply tried to maintain her balance as she was carried away.

Inwardly, the rabbit felt that his brain was cracking into pieces and his head was about to explode.

Of course, he wasn't going to let the execution actually happen. He'd have to go to the dungeon this evening and order the guards to release her; the royal guards listened to him as long as the king wasn't in the vicinity. After the princess returned to her kingdom, he'd have to make diplomatic amends for this horrendous action against her...

Without realizing it, he spaced out as he considered what his next moves should be, now that the marriage was ruined.