Only the Heart of A Queen (discontinued )

Chapter 12

Cathrine stared in shock as Jest and his mother embraced each other. They pulled away, his mother cupping his face with both hands. "Jest, it has been a while, have you completed your mission?" She asked. "I'll tell you everything, Mother, but we need to get inside if you don't mind." Jest spoke quietly. His mother blinked, "Oh, of course, come on in, quickly now." She opened the door and gestured them to go in.

The house was much bigger inside than what it looked on the outside.

They entered the living room; the walls were grey, and the floors were white tiles. The chairs and sofa were gold; the lamps were, not actual lamps, but Quartz that glistened and lit up the whole room. In the corner of the Room, was a crystal spiral staircase that led up to the second floor. In the middle of the room, was a white Rose Tree, the roses and leaves flowed down to the ground. It was almost the height of the room.

As Jest closed the door, Raven flew off his shoulder and flew onto a small branch from the tree, and began to fall asleep. The woman looked at Hatta and a smile spread across her face, her dimples deepening. "Hatta, it has been a while. How's the shop?" She patted him on the shoulder. Hatta grinned and tipped his hat. "Hello, Mrs. Kingsley, the shops doing great, thank you." The woman smiled, then looked at Cathrine. Cath cleared her throat and curtsied, "Hello...er—"

"Karmen Kingsley. But you may call me Karmen." she said, and curtsied as well. Cathrine felt like she had heard that last name before, a story, something about a girl who fell through a rabbit hole—"And, you are?"

"I am Lady Cathrine Pinkerton of Rock Turtle Cove, Mrs. Kin— Karmen."  Karmen's eyes widened a bit. "You're the future...Queen of Hearts aren't you?"  "Ugh, everyone knows..?" Cath said under her breath. Jest then stepped beside Cathrine.
"Mother, she was going to be the Queen of Hearts, I... I was going to take her heart. I was going to complete my mission, but..." he intertwined his hand with Cath's. "I fell in love with her, Mother. I couldn't  do it, I couldn't take her heart. I don't want her heart to belong to anyone else; her heart belongs belong to me, and me only, And... my heart belongs to her too..." Jest smiled at Cathrine, as she laid her head on his shoulder; he released her hand and put it around her shoulder, pulling her closer.

Karmen stared at the two, speechless. Jest continued, " Raven came up with a plan; he said we could take her to Chess, make her Queen, and end the war...so we could be together, and she could pursue her dream of owning a bakery, without people making her become Queen." Cathrine chuckled,"You took the thoughts right out of my head."

Karmen put a finger on her lower lip."Queening. I always thought that was an unusual law..." she mumbled.

"Anyway, we would have done it sooner, but we kinda got....sidetracked." Jest chuckled, but it was humorless.
Hatta pretended to cough, saying "Cathrine" in the process. Cath rolled her eyes. "Um, Cathrine kinda got....beheaded, but I made a deal with the Sisters from the Well, and of course they always ask for something—"

"Ugh, to be honest, i don't really fond them, they are really creepy. What did they ask for?" Karmen interrupted.

Jest hesitated, "they kinda....maybe......sorta..... asked for the Heart of the Red Queen?" He said as if it were a question, waiting for his Mother's response. His Mother spoke after a moment of silence, "What do you need me for?"
"A place to stay, if you don't mind, Mother."
"Of course I don't mind, I'll help you guys." Karmen turned to Cath."I'm glad that my Kitty fell in love with such a fearless and fine woman such as yourself." Cathrine snorted, followed by Hatta. " Kitty? That's an adorable nickname." Cathrine said, looking over at Jest, clearly looking flushed. Karmen chuckled, " He has better climbing skills than a Cat, ever since he was a boy." She sighed at the memory. Cathrine nudged Jest as she winked, "so I've seen.." she said, remembering the time he appeared at her window, perched on a tree.

"How the time flies. I feel like just yesterday my Kitty left home for the first time to work for the White Queen."

"Um, Karmen, might I ask, how are you Jest's Mother? Y-you look so...so young."  Karmen giggled, "Well, for one, I was Jest's age when I had him, so Twenty. I may still look young, but I'm forty. And also, if they are lucky, some Chessians look a little younger than their actual age. It's something in the genes, and I think my Kitty got them too." She said, almost pinching Jest's cheek.

She then waved her hand dismissively and started to walk towards what looked like the kitchen. "Enough about that, how about I fix you all a spot of tea and make some Rose Petal Macaroons and some Chocolate covered Caramel Clusters?"

Rose Petal Macaroons. Chocolate covered Caramel Clusters.

"Tea for me, Mrs. Kingsley!" Hatta said, sitting on the gold sofa and putting his feet on the small crystal table in from of him.
"You bake?" Cathrine suddenly asked. Karmen looked back, grinning. "Why, of course I do. It's a hobby of mine, and a passion, I've always wanted to own a Pastry shop. But then I had him." Cathrine laughed, and Jest crossed his arms. "Mother..." "Sorry dearest. Love you to pieces!" Karmen said sweetly as she blew a kiss to him.

As she began to walk back towards the kitchen, she looked back one more time.
"Would you guys like to help? You seem to love baking."

Cathrine blinked and looked at Jest, nodded his head in approval. "We would love to help. You know, Jest learned how to bake too. I was in a Comma so he had a lot of spare time." Karmen gasped, "What? You used to be terrible at baking, Jest!" Jest shrugged, then took Cath's hand and began to walk towards his Mother. They looked back to see Hatta sleeping soundly, his hat covering his face.

The three laughed, and went into the kitchen.