chapter two ; the Red palace

Wonderland was actually quite small, despite what you'd think. It mostly consists of the White Palace on the far north side, the Wyld Wood in the middle that contained mostly everything from the Road of Directions, Hall of Many Doors, and such places. Then on the far southern side was the Red Palace, where you were headed now.

Actually, the Red Palace was quite hard to get to. Mostly because of the Rose Maze that surrounded the whole castle. But lucky for you, Chen knew the shortcut. He led his horse straight through a path in the maze. He looked back at you with a crooked smile. "Ready to meet the dear king?"

"Always," you replied sarcastically.

He chuckled. "Relax. He seems to be in a good mood today."

Not two seconds after he said that, you came upon the stairs that lead up to the palace and heard an angry voice boom "OFF WITH HIS HEAD!"

You looked at Chen. He gave a sheepish smile. "Or perhaps I spoke too soon." He hopped off the horse and held his arms out for you. You hopped down, falling slightly against him. He straightened his uniform and held out his arm for you to take, leading you into the palace.

You passted multiple rooms, the guards bowing as you passed them. You finally reached the throne room, where Kris sat, looking like a God as usual.

Okay, even if you didn't like him, you had to admit he was very attractive. Maybe even more than his younger brother. The Red King was very tall, his limbs corded with muscle. His hair was blonde, but darker than the blonde of your hair, and his hair always seemed to be styled perfectly. He was wearing a dark red dress shirt with a black suit jacket over it, his handkercheif red as well. His earrings were also in the shape of hearts. As usual, the only thing around his neck was a silver key that opened the cage to his pet dragon's cage. He had a silver ring on one of his hands, his head resting on top of them, his long legs crossed.

He brightened up when he saw you and Chen walk in. Kris flashed you a rare smile. "Ari!" he greeted.

"Your Highness," you replied, bowing to him.

"How have you been?"

You blinked. "If I may be so bold?"

"Of course."

"Cut the crap please, Majesty. Please get to the point." You gave a small smile.

He smirked, uncrossing his legs and leaning forward. "As you wish. Come here and sit beside me." He patted the empty throne chair next to him.

You raised a brow. "In the queen's throne, Majesty?"

"There is no queen so as of now it is just a chair. Sit. I insist. And you wouldn't refuse the king's hospitality, would you?" His eyes flashed dangerously.

Chen nudged you forward. He knew Kris wouldn't hurt you, but it was best not to be the cause of one of his tantrums. You gave Chen a look, but went forward, sitting beside Kris in the throne.

"You may leave," Kris told Chen. Chen bowed, then flashed you a smile before he left. Kris turned to look at you. "I have some things to discuss with you, Ari. I'm sure you already know. That cat should've told you. Damned creature knows everything, I swear."

"I'm aware that you're in need of a queen, Your Highness."

"It would appear so." He examined his ring. "Whose ball are you attending this year?"

Well that was a bit random. "To be honest, Majesty, I don't know."

"You went to Kai's last year," he pointed out. "And mine the year before that. I believe this year is my turn, yes?"

You narrowed your eyes at him. "It would almost appear you want me there, Majesty."

He chuckled. "I might. You want to know why?"

"Why?"

"Because both my brother and I have to announce the name of our queens on that day."

"So why should I be at your ball instead of your brother's?" You were getting annoyed by his attitude, dropping the formalities.

Kris didn't seem like he cared all that much at the moment, though you knew if you hadn't been alone, he'd be screaming "OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!" at you.

"Don't you want to know who my queen is, Ari?"

"You sound as if you have someone in mind."

"I do," he admitted with a smirk. "It's just a matter of getting her to agree." He stood up suddenly. "Would you like to take a walk with me, Ari?"

"Do I even have the option of saying no?"

"Of course not." He grinned mischeviously, holding out his arm. "Come along. I want to take you out for a walk around the gardens."

Kris made sure the guards wouldn't follow the two of you as he led out out of the throne room and through a door out into the gardens. He took a deep breath. "The roses are growing well this year, don't you think? And they remembered to plant the red ones. I love roses. Want to know why?"

You fought the urge to roll your eyes. "Why?"

"Because they're a double threat. They're absolutely beautiful. But once you try to take one of them, to cut it off, to kill it...it hurts you right back." He looked at you. "Roses and I have a lot in common."

You scoffed. "Conceited much?"

He shrugged. "I have a right to be. But another thing about roses..." He clipped one off of one of the bushes. He held it out and you saw that there were no thorns on the stem. He smiled at you. "You can change them." Kris put the flower in your hair. "Beautiful."

You touched the flower. "Roses really are."

He didn't reply, just kept walking. *I wasn't talking about the flower.*

As you came back inside, you tore your arm from Kris's. "You know, Majesty...I know what you were trying to do today. And let me say, it didn't work." You smirked a little at him. "I have to go now." You winked at him and strode out of the palace, glad you knew the shortcut through the maze.

Just as you exited the maze, Tao appeared in front of you. He grinned. "Have a fun time with him?"

You chuckled. "Not really."

"Did you piss him off for me?"

"He was in an oddly good mood today. Sorry."

Tao shrugged. "Quite alright I guess. How does the rest of our day look?"

"I don't know. What do you want to do?"

"The ball is in a month. Shall we go find you a pretty dress?"

You smiled. "I wouldn't mind but...I don't know whose ball I'm going to yet."

"According to your tradition, it's the Red King's turn," he pointed out, floating in mid-air, his head tilted at you playfully, a cat-like glint in his eyes.

"Yes, but after talking to him today, I don't think I want to go. Especially if he decides to choose me as his queen." You shuddered. "I don't want to be there if he announces that."

"So a white dress for the White King's ball?"

You shrugged. "Maybe I should visit Kai later. He'll help me decide."

Tao landed back on the ground next to you. He took your hand in his. "Then to the White Palace."

AUTHOR'S NOTES; Bwahaha, how do you guys like the Red King? We'll meet the White King next chapter <3

♥sketchitout

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