Red King & White King (special preview)

Merah Muda’s expression shifts and she shrugs as a sly smirk spreads across her far too pooched lips.

I go with Queen Merah Muda to the palace, knowing I will not be able to leave until I find a resolution for the two princes. I have never been to the palace before, I have only seen pictures. But seeing it sliced down the middle the way it is, I can sense the stress Queen Merah Muda is suffering. 

The two halves stand as they always have, just several hundred feet apart. The open sides have been sealed shut by a blanket of vines and plants. From one side, red flowers bloom. From the other, the flowers are white.

Queen Merah Muda stays in a manor behind the garden. It had been a place for special guests and royal relatives, but now, she was forced to live here, rather than staying with one prince over the other.

“They have dinner with me every night,” Queen Merah Muda replies. “Here, there are no arguments. There will be no fighting. They must remain civil.”

“It must be very tense, then,” I reply.

Merah Muda sighs. “It is quiet,” she answers. “They found that the best solution to not fighting is to just sit still like statues. They don’t even eat anymore!”

“Oh my,” I murmur as she shows me to a spare bedroom. “Anything at all you need, just write it down,” she walks over to the writing desk. “It’ll find its way to you.”

“Thank you.” I set my one single bag down on the bed. “Right now, I think it would be best if I met with Rosso and Bianco,” I tell her. “I want to be able to introduce myself and offer my services to them right away. If I build a relationship with them, then perhaps they will be more willing to talk to me.”

“It would probably be best if you meet them individually,” Merah Muda shakes her head. Her little clockwork birds living in her hair suddenly start to sing, signalling the changing hours.

“Oh my!” Merah Muda gasps. “I have to go, high tea!” She shuffles to the door and then quickly turns back. “Feel free to make yourself at home.” She then vanishes down the hallway as her birds continue to scream.

I sit down behind the writing desk, seeing there are three notepads lined up in a row. One is white, one is red, and the other is pink. I’m not quite sure what each one is for. I take the red notepad and write ‘coffee’ on it. 

Several moments later, I hear the front doors burst open. I step out of my room, looking over the banister and down into the foyer where Rosso is standing. Beside him is a white cat, dressed in red and holding a tray.

“Mother?” Rosso shouts out. “Why did you ask for coffee during high tea?” His voice carries. It is loud and booming like a firework. 

“I’m sorry,” I call out.

Rosso looks up at me, he has his mother’s thick eye lashes and dark eyes. He has a sharp square jaw that is peppered by red stubble. He has a sharp hooked nose and diamond shaped, red freckles that cover his pale skin. His eyebrows are thick, very bushy compared to the pencil thin ones of his mother. They also come down off his face. 

“Who the fuck are you?” Rosso growls.

I can’t help but grimace. “I’m a guest of your mother’s.” I say as I descend the stairs. “Is that how you talk to people?”

Rosso smirks, tilting his head to the side. “I talk to everyone in that fashion. No need to put on airs, I say.”

I stand before him, realizing how tall and broad he is. His bright red hair hangs in short curls, shorter at the sides than the top. His crown is a circlet with a huge ruby in the center.

Rosso’s dark eyes dart over me for a moment and then the cat comes forward, offering me the tray of coffee.