Queen of Hearts: The Crown (Queen of Hearts Saga #1)(38)
“It’s time,” she said.
“You don’t have the ring anymore,” said Wardley. Dinah turned the handle to the cloak room door, aware that she would never again be the naive girl who entered it.
Her eyes were dark when she turned around. “I’ll take care of it. I have a sapphire brooch twice its size in my chambers.” Her face glowed with determination. Wardley’s breath was loud behind her as the door opened, and she saw a mangled grin stretch the corners of Roxs’s face.
“Enjoyed yourselves, did ya?”
Dinah cleared her throat and his smile quickly disappeared.
Chapter Eleven
Harris was unbearable when he was determined that Dinah learn something. “No, you’re late, you’re late again. You keep coming in late.”
Dinah angrily shoved her books off the table. They landed with a thud at Harris’s feet.
“There are more important things to do than sit here and repeat verbatim the Wonders of Wonderland.” She crossed her arms in a huff. “This kingdom is falling apart, and I’m looking at pictures and reciting rhymes, like a child.”
Harris pushed his glasses up. “What makes you say that the kingdom is falling apart, my dear? The Line of Hearts has never been stronger. Wonderlanders love the King, and—”
Dinah interrupted him. “They don’t love him. They fear him. There is a difference.”
“Fear is not always a bad thing. When you are Queen, you should strive for both. These are things you should think about, child. You will soon be Queen.”
Dinah begrudgingly helped her guardian gather the books from the floor, and watched as he sat down across from her, his bushy white eyebrows wiggling with maddening glee. “Dinah, may I say something?”
Dinah sighed. “You may.”
“Part of being a good ruler is the constant education and finesse of the mind. The past should govern how you will shape your rule. Learn from the mistakes of your predecessors, glean understanding from the history of the Royal Line of Hearts, and understand the lay of your land—and how it came to be so. Now tell me, the Wonders of Wonderland are. . . .”
“The Sky Curtain, the Twisted Wood, the Ninth Sea, Wonderland Palace, and the Yurkei Mountains.”
Harris sat back, satisfied. “You know these well.”
Dinah did know them well. In fact, she had been studying up on her land every evening as she lay in bed. In the two months that had passed since her journey into Wonderland’s depraved prison system, Dinah was reading more than she ever had before, late into the night. She would do anything to keep the memories and dreams of the Black Towers away. Still, no matter how mentally exhausted she made herself, her last thoughts before sleeping would be Faina Baker’s grim face as a black root twisted its way into her mouth. More often than not, her dreams were dark and demented—not unlike the towers themselves—and she would wake drenched in sweat and flooded with panic, clawing at her own mouth.
While her learning had increased tenfold, her patience with lessons and the daily routine of the castle had ceased to exist. Suddenly she could not stand the long introductions, the formality of the court, the ridiculous routines and practices that took up more than half the day. For gods’ sake, she thought, taking a gulp of tea, it takes me two hours or so to eat breakfast and get dressed. So much could be done in that time.
As if he could read her thoughts, Harris began picking up the books and putting them back on the bookshelves that lined Dinah’s walls. “I see Your Majesty is in no mood for lessons today. Are you sure that nothing is bothering you? You have been sullen and withdrawn lately, which is not very princess-like behavior, especially with your coronation coming up in a few weeks.”
Dinah simply shook her head. She could tell no one about what she had seen. This kind of news would surely kill Harris, who had slowed down in recent years. And while she trusted her twitchy tutor, she loved him too, and she would never drag him into something dark.
“Thank you, Harris. I’m just tired. And I long to begin my rule.”
“Do not wish that too early, Your Majesty. Once you begin it, you may long for your childhood days once again.”
I’ll never have those again, thought Dinah, not now that I know what lingers beyond the palace. Dinah stood up and brushed off her maroon-and-white-striped dress. “I think I’m going to visit Charles this morning. Please tell the servants to pass the message along.”
Harris clapped his hands. “That sounds like a brilliant idea. Please tell Lucy and Quintrell that I send my regards.”
Dinah nodded absently as she fiddled with the small bird in her hair. Emily walked up behind her and clipped it firmly to the side of Dinah’s head. “That looks lovely, My Lady.”
Dinah made a rumbling sound in her throat. No matter how much she tried, she could not bring herself to care about Wonderland fashion.
She walked briskly through the palace. Everywhere she went, her pace was now brisk, now that she had two Heart Cards trailing her every move. This is how it feels to be Queen, she told herself, so I better get used to it. The click-clack of boots behind her reminded her with every step that she was never truly alone.
Quintrell was waiting for her outside Charles’s door. “My Queen!” he bowed.
“Not yet,” smiled Dinah. “How is he today?” she asked.