The Red Queen's Daughter: Book One

Chapter 10

I lay on my bed, wondering about what I've just done. Is this good, or bad?

I hear a knock on my door. I stand up to get it, but before I do, Charlotte comes in.

"Nicole! Your mother wishes to see you in the library, and by the looks of it, I wouldn't know to be nervous or not," she says with a shake of her head. I walk past her and walk to the library. I see the bodies of knights still littered on the floor, I step around them and run to the library.

Nick and my mother are sitting on a couch, I take a seat across from them.

"Nicole, you've done something good, and bad. The good thing is, there will be no more deaths. The bad news, the King of Hearts has taken over her place. I figured out from a- dying Red Knight that if the Red Queen were to die in that battle, that the Knave of Hearts would take over the Red Castle. That's the problem. He is very hostile. So I will have Knights watching the castle night and day. We cannot take risks," she says, leaving.

"So, why were you here?" I ask Nick after mother has left.

He shrugs, "I was just here in the library checking out an Uplanders book when she came running in here, asking if I wanted to hear when she told whatever to you," he says simply. I nod my head,"Yeah, that seems about right. But what about the Red King?" I ask.

"What about him?" Nick asks.

"Do you think he has the exact same plans our aunt had? What if he intends to hurt us, or our friends, or worse... Mom?"

"I don't know, Nikki, we'll just have to wait and see. Don't worry so much, mother has just about all the guards watching every corner in the castle. So take my words and don't worry."

I go back to my room and change from black clothes (that color is surprisingly aloud here), to a baby blue nightgown, and no shoes. I take a nap.

***

I wake up to night, what time is it? I check the clock. 7:00pm. I slept for 4 hours. I decided to take a nap at 3:00pm, so yeah, my math was right.

I walk out on the balcony. Cloudy night for a cloudy day. Once again I hear a knock on my door. I groan,"Come in!" I yell. Why do I have so many visitors?

It's Nate, my crush. This is not going to be one of those nights where we look at the stars and kiss. Disgusting.

"Hey," he says, walking out on the balcony. "Hi.... Why are you here, it's seven pm?" I ask him.

"Just visiting, a little bird told me a little something," he says with a smile.

"What did 'the bird' tell you?" I ask.

"Oh, a little something about you."

"What did this bird say, Nathan? I know that's your full name."

"I told you, something about you."

"What something about me?"

"Everything. Just kidding. I'll give you a hint: it's about you."

"Very funny, you've told me that three times, now tell me."

"It's about you and your likings, all I'm gonna say," he says, walking off the balcony and into my room.

"What about my likings?" I ask through clenched teeth, worried this 'little bird' told him I like him.

"Who you like. Now I'm going to go now and I'm gonna think about why I just said that, goodbye," he says.

I feel my face flare up, who told him this. Oh, it's probably my good old brother. He's the only one that can practically see in my eyes what I'm thinking. He's the one that a few days ago I had admitted that I like Nate.

Since he told him I'm going to tell Charlotte that when she meets him under the Huge Willow (she told me she gave him a note to meet her there for tea since she likes him and he likes her back), she'll ask him why he told Nate I like him. He'll tell her, she'll tell me. It's a win-win situation.

*****

I've told Charlotte the plan. She's with him under the Huge Willow. She probably just asked him why he told Nate.

It's been about an hour, Charlotte should be meeting me right about- KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!!! Yeah, that's her. I race to the door.

"So.... He said that him and Nate were talking about girls. Of course, he talked about me. Nate refused to tell him who he liked. He thought that telling him that you liked him would loosen him up a bit and he'd tell Nick. That's all he said," she says.

"Well, that's a good explanation. That's all that happened?"

She nods her head.

"Yeah, gosh, now I feel bad," I say.

"Why?" she says.

"I made a big deal about it for nothing."

"No, you didn't. All you did was tell me to ask him a question. No biggie."

"Yeah, but I made a big deal about it in my head. But, still, I can't believe he told him."

She pats me on the back, saying,"It's okay, Nicole. Maybe he likes you, you never know."