Hopeful (My Sequel to Heartless) Unfinished

Chapter 2- The Children of Hearts

The girl in front of Catherine looked her in the eye with a confidence only a queen should have. Catherine wanted to slap it off her face. 

"What were you doing in my garden?" She snarled. 

Alice cocked her head to the side before looking to her feet, "I was following someone." She said simply. 

Catherine raised an eyebrow, her upper lip curling to reveal her perfectly white teeth, "So you trespassed after another trespasser?" She asked with her eyes holding a fierce gaze. 

Alice narrowed her eyes a bit, "Not exactly, he's apparently part of your court." She said fiddling with her fingers. 

Catherine cocked her head to the side as well, "And who did you follow?" She asked searching the council to try and glare a confession out of them. 

Alice cleared her throat, "It was actually this rabbit, your majesty." She said nudging her head toward the creature. The Rabbit gulped as Catherine shot a furious gaze in his direction.
"So, a certain rabbit of mine was out and about instead of tending to his job? And when was this?" She asked raising a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. 

Alice began, "It was-" 

"I wasn't speaking to you, you reviling creature!" She snapped. She turned an expecting gaze to the Rabbit.

The Rabbit ducked his head, "This morning, Your Majesty." He began tapping his foot on the ground rapidly. 

"This morning when you were supposed to be tending to the children?"

The Rabbit's foot tapped rapidly in fear, "Your Majesty, I was gathering dandelions from the Other World for Diamond and Spade when this pest of a girl followed me." He said opening and closing his pocket watch in a nervous manner.

Catherine lifted her chin, "Either way, you lead a criminal to my kingdom and for that, you will have 100 hairs plucked from your back." She waved a guard to come and take him. 

He looked at her and felt relieved, "Thank you so much for your kindness, Your Majesty." 

She rolled her eyes, "Take him before I change my mind." She said curling her lip. 

She turned to Alice, "As for you, I sentence you to 10 floggings tomorrow morning. Take her away." The card sentinels nodded and dragged her away. Catherine was often surprised at how men made of paper were so strong. 

She looked at the clock and noticed that it was time for her to have her daily meeting with her children. Then after she would have to get ready for the ball tonight. "You are dismissed." She said to the members of the cabinet before turning and leaving, a plethora of red fabric from her dress gliding behind in her wake. 

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Catherine knew she was attractive, she felt it every day in the gazes of the servants every time she walked the hall. She had thought about taking some of them as her lovers, but the idea of such low-class creatures touching her made her want to vomit. Nonetheless, she loved flirting with them and watching them stare at her with wide eyes. She winked at a quaking moose as he carried a tray of half-eaten food. The Moose's eyes widened as she brushed by him and walked into the library, the fabric of her gown grazing his hoof. She smirked as she heard him drop his tray behind her. These people were hopeless.

Her children sat huddled together over a book in the library. At seven years old, her twin children, Diamond and Spade, were by far the smartest and most attractive children in the kingdom of Hearts. She loved proving her superiority in every way, even through her lineage. 

The twins had inherited Catherine's dark hair, light eyes, and light skin making them very pleasing to the eyes. Why, little Diamond was already receiving marriage proposals from kings and princes from many countries. 

The only downside to them was the fact that her children couldn't speak. Or, at least, they wouldn't speak. Nothing was wrong with her children in a health sense, but nothing came out of there mouths when they opened them. Some part of her knew they could speak.  Either way, she didn't care whether or not her kids spoke, so long as they stayed out of her way and obeyed her.

She sat beside them and picked up a book to skim for herself. She dedicated 30 minutes to spend with her kids every day, more often then not it consisted of them reading separate books. She may be heartless, but she understood the importance of a mother bonding with her children. After a while, she became bored with the book she was reading. It was a romance, and what good was a romance when you didn't have a heart?

"Don't forget about the ball tonight. Be ready at 6:30 sharp." She said closing her book before getting up to leave. The two looked back at her at the same time and nodded in sync. They got up silently and walked out the door to their room. Catherine sighed and placed a hand on her throbbing chest. It was getting more prominent throughout the day. She figured it was just stress. Tonight was a reminder of what she thought she had left behind ten years ago. She didn't want to commemorate the night she had lost Jest, though to everyone else it was the day she had saved the kingdom from the Jabberwock. Either way, she was angry nonetheless. Was it too much to have a relaxing night in with a bottle of wine? 

She made her way to her rooms where began to get ready for the ball and face the night. She just wasn't quite sure how she was going to do that yet.