Queen Merah Muda: Part Two (complete)

I suppose I should have done the smart thing, and sent Merah Muda packing as soon as I discovered her plot, but I decided to play dumb and keep her around. Her wit lures me even more than her crocodile tears the night of the ball. Years of ostracization by her own family have given her a hunger, one that her father’s baking heritage can’t satisfy. She is brilliant, startling so, and she made my head spin. Had I been a much smarter man, I would have realized that she would make me look bad to some, but I am not one to care for such things.

I never revealed the plot to my mother or Rossi. It did not seem the sort of thing they needed to know. I do like Merah Muda and I find her attractive, but she has to earn my trust again if I am ever going to accept her fully.

During our nightly matches, she defeats me every time. I do believe she toys with me and makes me think I have a fighting chance, but she is as cunning as any warlord I have come across, and probably twice as deadly. 

“Another game?” Merah Muda says with a smirk as she sets up the board.

“I do not know if I can take another blow,” I sigh. “How many more losses can I suffer before I lose my mind?”

Merah Muda pats the top of my head. “You’ll get there, buddy.”

I frown at her. Her jovial little smile rubs salt into the wound. I touch her arm and brush my hand up to her shoulder. “Are you cheating?”

“Never in chess.” She finishes setting up the board, then moves away to take her seat across the table again. “We could up the stakes if that would light a fire under you.” Her lilac eyes flick towards me. “Come on, what do you say? A bet like gentlemen.”

“There are no gentlemen at this table, only a lady and a fool,” I scoff. I arch my brow at her, unable to read her remarkable poker face. “Okay then, what are your demands?”

“Not demands.” She flicks a pawn forward on the board to start the game. “A wager.”

I move a pawn as well. “Then what do we wager?”

“When you lose, you will give me a kiss in front of your mother.” She moves another pawn. She glances up, a wicked smirk on her lips.

I blanch and roll my eyes. “When I lose?”

Merah Muda nods. “Yes, when.” She eyes the board. “Your move, darling.”

I watch the game for a moment, then move a pawn. “Well, when you lose,” I sneer, “I want you to kiss my ass.”

“My, my, no need to get snarky with me.” Merah Muda makes her move. “But very well. Only because I know it will never come to that.”

“We shall see, won’t we?” I say in a mocking tone.

It does not take long for her to defeat me. Just as I thought, she was toying with me and batting me around like a mouse to her vicious cat. “Tomorrow during tea,” Merah Muda gloats. “You will give me a nice little kiss while your mother watches.”

I spitefully sweep the remaining pieces off the table. “Just what do you want to prove?”

“I simply want to know if you can perform under pressure.” Merah Muda rises from her chair. “As well as another victory among many for me.”

I stand up and grab her wrist. “M.M.”

She looks at my hand, then gazes up my arm before looking at me. “Belle.” Her hand moves into mine. “I do have affection for you that is genuine.”

“What a weird way to say it.” I lace my fingers with hers. “But an appreciated statement nonetheless.” I dip down and kiss the top of her head. 

Merah Muda heaves a soft sigh. “I am not used to such things. I am used to victories being hard-won.”

“Look at me.” I pat my hands over my chest. “I’m easy and soft.”

Merah Muda’s cheeks become a soft pink. She lowers her eyes. “Yes, I suppose so. But I have full faith you’ll be a remarkable king.”

“Oh?” I tilt my head to the side. “What makes you say so?”

She raises her eyes to me again. “Because I will be your queen.”

I whistle, then let loose a big grin. “You’re awfully confident that will be the case, aren’t you? How can you be so certain?”

She raises her chin. “Because I never lose.”

“Fair enough.” I open the door that leads back to her bedroom. “Sleep well, my future queen. Dream of tiny princes and sweet princesses.”

Merah Muda takes my hand and kisses the knuckles. “I dream of one giant prince.” She slips through the door and closes it behind her.

My shoulders sag as I relax my body. I slouch down in my chair, staring at the chessboard. All the pieces are in disarray. I start setting them up again, some on the board, others on the table. I look them over, wobbling the white queen back and forth under my finger.

“You’ve really got me under your thumb, haven’t you?” I hold the queen in my hand and look it over. “Perhaps ‘spell’ is a more apt word.” I lean back in the chair, holding the chess piece over my heart. 

The next morning, as I have breakfast with my mother, I notice she isn’t eating like she normally does. She has a perturbed look on her face. “Mama, is everything all right?” I lay down my teacup. “You’ve not touched your food.”

She sighs heavily. “I have some news to give you, but I am not sure how to go about it.” She looks down at her plate with a shake of her head. “I do not wish to upset you, especially when you have been dealing with so much. I considered keeping it a secret, but Rossi advised me against it.”

“Mama,” I urge her gently. “Please, tell me, what is the matter? Are you sick? Mama, what’s wrong?”

“I am not sick - not in that way, at least,” she huffs. “It is nothing to worry about, at least for you. You have much bigger things going on, and I don’t want...”

“Mama,” I cut her off. “Tell me.”

She looks at me, unsure and a bit embarrassed. She fidgets in her seat, sitting tall, then laying her hands over her belly. “You’re going to be a big brother.”

I gasp in excitement and wrap my arms around her. “Mama! That is wonderful news! But…” I smile slyly at her and bop the tip of her nose. “You and Rossi are not wed.”

“You do not get to lecture me!” She shoves my hand away. “And no, that is what I was worried about. It is bad enough you have your own wedding to figure out. You do not need to be concerned with me.”

“Of course I do! How can you say such a thing?” I grin at her. “You and Rossi are the most important people in my life.”

“But he is a Hare,” she whispers. “What will the people think?”

“The people will think all sorts of things, but it doesn’t matter. You have made a child with love and that is what is most important, Mama. You’ve made me a sibling, one I can be proud of. I am happy for you and Rossi.”

She presses her forehead against mine. “I could not have asked for a sweeter son.”

“Maybe now you will get the girl you want,” I chuckle.

She shakes her head. “Thanks to you, I was able to learn that the gender of the baby does not matter, but the heart does. As long as I have another child like you, I will be happy. Merah Muda is growing on me. She will make a good wife.”

I’m stunned. “You like her now?”

“She’s growing on me,” she insists. “I still do not understand why you keep her so close around you, but she is capable, smart, and quite possibly someone who will bring out the best in you. I refuse to admit that out loud ever again.”

“I do really like her, Mama,” I whisper. “She scares me, but in a fun way.”

She looks me up and down. “And you like that?”

I shrug. “It’s not the worst thing in the world.” I grin at her and kiss her forehead. “I’m happy for you, Mama, and I’m excited for my new sibling.” I place my hand on her belly. “I hope they embody the best things I love about you and Rossi.”

At tea that afternoon with Merah Muda, I know what I have to do. But I am not as worried about it as before. I stand to greet Merah Muda as she comes in, and I kiss her softly.

Mama hiccups, then quickly flees, going towards the window to vomit.

“Not the reaction I was expecting,” Merah Muda murmurs.

“I’m sorry,” my mother coughs. She stands away from the window. “It was not that… I’m under the weather this afternoon, I am afraid.” She comes back and sits down, dabbing her mouth with a napkin. “I’m fine now. I’m fine.”

I go to her side and rub her back. “Are you sure?”

Merah Muda sits down at the table. “Peppermint tea is good for nausea, especially in the morning. Or so I am told.”

My mother glances curiously at her. “I see. I will have to take that into account. Too bad I hate mint,” she chuckles softly. 

“Ginger, then,” Merah Muda murmurs.

“I’ll take note of that.” My mother looks at me. “Kissing, are we?”

I feel my cheeks burn a little as I look at Merah Muda across the table. “Maybe.”

Merah Muda’s lips curl at the corner, then turn upwards as she chuckles. “That doesn’t bother you, does it, Your Majesty?”

My mother exhales loudly. “No. It doesn’t. But should you ever hurt him, it will bother you.”

“Oh,” Merah Muda gasps. “Yes, well, of course.” She looks at me. “Maybe you should go take your mother to lie down.”

“I said I am fine,” my mother protests. “Do not try to get rid of me so soon!”

After tea, I take my mother to her room before meeting Merah Muda in the garden. We sit together in silence for a long time, full of thoughts we can’t seem to voice. I inch closer to her, placing my hand over hers. She turns it so her palm is facing up, and I lace my fingers with hers. 

“Would you marry me, Belle?” she asks.

I break into a grin. “Can you ask that?”

“It’s a hypothetical.” She gives my hand a squeeze. “Would you marry me?”

I chuckle and bring her hand close. “A hypothetical, is it? The better question to ask would be, why would I marry you?” I hold her hand with both of mine. “What are the reasons?”

Merah Muda grumps. “Well, the ‘why’ should be simple.”

“How simple?” I glance at her. She is still avoiding looking at me. “Talk to me like I’m a baby and I simply don’t understand.”

“I’m starting to think you are a baby!” Merah Muda looks at our hands, placing her other hand on top of mine. “You should marry me because you love me.”

“Oh, I do? How do you know that, M.M.?” 

Merah Muda flinches. “Because you call me M.M.,” she murmurs. “Because your eyes light up when I walk into a room.” Her eyes flick up briefly, then look back down. “Because I like when you call me M.M. and your eyes light up. I know you love me because, well…”

I press my forehead to hers. “You love me, too.”

“Unfortunately.” She tips her chin up. 

I laugh to myself before she kisses me. We are engaged that evening. My mother throws up again, and Merah Muda’s father starts to cry.

Of course it is not a well-received announcement. The banished daughter of a fallen noble family doesn’t look good on paper, but to me, Merah Muda is the frosting on my cake. It never mattered to me what others said, only what my family had to say.

Merah Muda begins planning the wedding, which will culminate in my coronation. She plans it for the week of my 20th birthday, which will also be around the time my mother gives birth. Merah Muda plans it that way so when the baby is born, the news of it will be snuffed out by the wedding and coronation. 

My mother and Merah Muda grow close during the planning, and I watch them become friends and family as the days go by. It makes me happy knowing they can get along, and that having them be family will not cause any strife.

One evening after my studies with Rossi, I feel cross-eyed and my entire head aches. I have been trying to read the Great Tome of Miror for my coronation, but the words keep getting mixed up again. I am trying to memorize it using the font Rossi created, but the stress of it is getting to me.

As I walk into my room, I see Merah Muda sitting on my bed, waiting for me. I rub my eyes, hoping to alleviate some of the strain. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to take care of you.” She pats the bed. “Come lie down.”

“It’s just some eye strain,” I grump.

“I’m still going to take care of you.” Merah Muda has me lie down and places a compress over my eyes. It’s warm, and the rich scent of lavender flows over me. She kisses me and lays down beside me. “Why didn’t you tell me about this problem?”

“I didn’t want you to think I was stupid.” I pull her close so her head is on my chest. “What king can’t read?”

“But you can read,” she scolds me. “You can read, but your brain just mixes it up. How can I help you?”

I shake my head. “Unless you can fix my brain, I really don’t know.”

We’re quiet for a long while and I’m almost asleep when she gasps. “Can you read lips?” she asks me.

I take the compress from my eyes. “Can I what?”

Merah Muda points to her mouth. “Can you read lips? If I didn’t have words coming out, but still moved my mouth as if there were, could you understand?”

I shrug. “Yeah, sure.”

“Then I have an idea,” she says. “I’ll read the tome silently, and you repeat what I say.”

I furrow my brow as I look up at her. “You think something that simple could work?” I reach up and touch her face, brushing my fingers against her lips. “I might get distracted.”

Merah Muda licks my thumb, then sucks it into her mouth. 

“You’re not helping,” I growl.

Merah Muda swings her leg over my hip, straddling me.

“Now what are you doing?” I chuckle. I move my hands to her hips. “Are you finally going to kill me?”

Merah Muda undoes the laces of my shirt and pulls it open. She taps my chest. “This is where the heart is, right?”

“You got it, M.M.,” I laugh.

She bends over, pressing a kiss to the spot she touched. “No killing tonight, I’m afraid.” She kisses across my chest. “Not unless you want me to.”

“Does it feel half this good?” I groan.

“No,” she shakes her head.

I grin wider than I ever have before. “Then just keep doing that.”

Merah Muda rises, and I notice something strange in her hairline - almost as if her hair is a different color at the roots. But then she kisses me, and my mind melts. I take a deep breath as her warm mouth goes down my neck and gently bites my shoulder.

“M.M.,” I pant. “Seriously, are you going to kill me?”

As she pulls away her clothes, I nearly go blind at the sight. Her lovely body poised atop mine would kill any strong man.

“Not yet,” she smirks. 

I sit up, pressing my bare chest against hers and kissing her. I feel her heat in my lap. She takes me inside her, where she is soft, wet, and endless. Her soft voice in my ear becomes the gasping song of a siren. I am lured deeper into her trap, and I happily refuse to leave. 

“Belle,” she pants. “I love you.”

I gulp down deep breaths as I try to keep myself above water. “I love you too.”

She kisses me, and her fingers tangle in my long hair. It is not the wedding night we planned, but one I am pleased with regardless. 

It is a few weeks before the wedding. Merah Muda and I have been practicing my coronation, with me reading her lips rather than the Great Tome of Miror. It works well, and I am growing more confident about it.

One afternoon, just as I am finishing a fitting for my wedding shoes I hear a scream that shakes the bones from my body. I race out into the hallway to see White Rabbits and Cats dashing about like crazy.

Rossi grabs me. “The baby is early!” he exclaims in alarm.

We race to my mother’s room to find Merah Muda sitting right beside her, clutching her hand. My mother is red in the face and screaming in agony. There is blood all over the bed. I feel sick and start to swoon, but Rossi holds me up.

“What happened?” I wheeze. “What’s going on?”

Merah Muda is coaching my mother through her pains. “Just breathe for me, okay?” She keeps her voice tempered and calm. “Premature labor. It’ll be fine.” She looks up at me. “She just needs you here.”

I sit down by the bed, but all the blood terrifies me. I look back at my mother, and see streaks of blue on her skin as she strains. Rossi is on the other side of the bed, holding her in his arms.

My mother begins crying. “What if the baby is hurt?” she sobs bitterly.

“Mother!” Merah Muda snaps at her. “You are having a healthy baby, just like your son! I need you to breathe and not worry.”

My mother screams. “Merah, it hurts!”

“That’s fine. Babies do.” She looks up at me. “Stay with me,” she mouths. 

White Rabbits come with towels and hot water. The Cats escort in the doctor, who sets to work right away. The birth lasts hours, and it’s terrifying up until the moment when the baby screams.

He is a Hare, but all white like my mother, streaked with her blood. Rossi takes his new son and holds him in his arms.

“Where are they?” my mother breathes. “My baby, where is my baby?” Her eyes look bleary and she reaches her arms up towards the ceiling. “No, Rosselmyer, don’t take him from me. Give Bellerophon back to me! Rosselmyer!”

“Mama,” I rush to her side with Merah Muda. “I’m here Mama. I’m Bellerophon.”

“She needs surgery,” the doctor says urgently. “She’s lost a lot of blood.”

“Surgery?” Rossi panics.

“Bellerophon! I hear you!” my mother cries. 

Merah Muda snatches the baby from Rossi’s arms and places him into my mother’s embrace. The baby weeps as our mother holds him. She looks down at him, smiling through eyes drenched with tears. “Hello there,” she coos softly. “I’m sorry I’m so tired.”

Her eyes close, and her head comes to rest against the pillow.

“Mama…” My voice chokes off in my throat. Merah Muda places herself before me. “Mama!” I try to run to her, but Merah Muda holds me in place.

“Belle,” Merah Muda whispers to me. “Belle, it’s all right.”

We bury my mother the day before my wedding. She looked so beautiful, but I knew it wasn’t her that we buried. My little brother, Fortescu, is happy and healthy, born early but entirely ready for this world. I hold him, thinking how awful it is he only got to know our mother once. Merah Muda has taken a fancy to him, cradling him and staying up with him every night. She keeps him safe, and gives him the love he needs to survive. 

I barely remember the wedding. All I remember from the coronation is Fortescu crying in the back of the cathedral. We do not go on our honeymoon, and instead I fall asleep in the rocking chair holding Fortescu in my arms.

When Fortescu starts walking, Rossi decides to take him home for a while. Merah Muda agrees, but only on the condition they return often, and that Fortescu will always have a place in the palace. 

“I have some news,” she whispers on his first evening away. She presses a kiss to my shoulder, then strokes her hand down my back.

I sigh heavily. “Please say it is good.”

I turn to look at her and she takes my hand, placing it over her belly. I stare in disbelief, and then a smile begins to spread across my face. “Is it true?”

Merah Muda nods. “We need some joy in this castle,” she says, grasping my wrist in both hands. “What a perfect chance.”

I pull her into my arms and clutch her close. My tears fall into her hair, which seems a different color than normal, but I don’t care in that moment. 

The pregnancy terrifies me. I have doctors brought in from everywhere to keep tabs on her and make sure the baby is safe. When it is revealed that there are two heartbeats in her womb, I am sent into panic until I am told it means twins, not some sort of strange accident. 

“Twins? Twins?” I look to Merah Muda. “Will she be all right?” I blubber to the doctor.

“Twins are very safe,” she chuckles. “She will just have to go on bed rest a little earlier than planned is all.”

“Twins.” I flop down in my chair as Merah Muda smiles smugly at me. 

“Always overachieving,” she pats her big belly. “I’m proud of myself.”

“Two!” I blurt.

“Oh, come on, we would have had two eventually. They’re just happening at once. Now breathe!” She laughs and looks back at her belly.

I cup my hand over my mouth as a swell of tears come to my eyes. I blink them out, letting them fall. I think of how excited my mother would be, and how she will miss her grandchildren. I think of what I will miss not having her around.

“Hey,” Merah Muda says. “Don’t you start crying because if I start, it won’t stop. This is wonderful, isn’t it?”

“Of course it is,” I whimper. “But I can’t help but be sad, M.M.. What am I to do without her?”

“You have me,” she murmurs. “That’s what she would say.”

I rub my eyes. “I know, but…”

“You’re going to be a father, Belle.” She cups my face in her palm. “And they are going to need you fiercely.” 

When the twins are born, they’re louder than cannons. One comes out pure red, and we name him Rosso. The second comes out pure white, and we name him Bianco. Merah Muda is exhausted, but recovers from delivery just fine. I, too, am exhausted, but all I want to do is hold my sons. 

“Told you you’d be good at it,” Merah Muda teases. She sits up. “Here, let me feed one.” She takes Rosso and places him on her chest so he can nurse. 

I look at Bianco. I see so much of my mother in him. He’s so tiny he looks like a perfect doll, just like her. He sleeps well, when Rosso lets him. “I can’t believe you made these, M.M.”

Merah Muda smiles proudly. “Yeah, I’m pretty good.”

I sit beside her on the bed as Rosso nurses. “Thank you.”

She looks up at me and smiles. “She’d love them too,” she chokes. “She’d be so proud of you.”

Tears dribble down my cheeks, but I catch them before they hit Bianco and wake him. 

As the years go by, I receive word that Rossi has passed away. Merah Muda and I take in Fortescu, giving him his own place in the palace. Merah Muda spends time with him and discovers he has an exceptional musical talent, so she has him trained by all the maestros in Miror. She even appoints him master of music, despite reservations about his heritage.  Fortescu asks that no one knows his lineage, or that he is of royal blood. A strange request, but one that Merah Muda honors. 

Bianco and Rosso both grow strong and excel in different ways. I fear for the day they become kings, but at the same time I know the kingdom will not suffer under their hands. They are smart. They will figure things out eventually. Merah Muda and I have no other children. It feels like tempting fate to make more. 

When I begin to get sick, I am surrounded by my family. Rosso and Bianco don’t fight, but I knew they are holding off in front of me. They are young men, both ready for the world and what comes with it. I have no doubts they will be excellent monarchs. 

I take hold of Merah Muda’s hand and squeeze it. “Tell me, M.M., did you ever use the love potion on me more than once?”

She smiles at me. “I didn’t have to.”

I grin at her one last time and kiss her knuckles. “Maybe I would have stuck around a lot longer if you did. But I love you all the same.”