Simple Complexity

Vivaldi x King

I am a simple person with simple needs…

In all his years as a role holder, there were three important women in his life. First was the deceased Queen of Hearts. He was happy to have worked with her to create the powerful, formidable territory it was today. She allowed him to work in the comfort of the shadows while she acted as the territory's main figurehead. She was the public voice while he was the shadow worker. They were a perfect match. He could not have asked for a better partner and friend.

And that was all. Despite people's suspicions, their relationship was completely platonic.

Then there amongst the faceless he met the love of his life - his dear mistress. Most people would pass her by, dismiss her as a plain faceless girl.

But not him. No, he was able to see more in this woman, look further than what was on the surface - her genteel spirit, her kindness, and her overwhelming compassion. With these qualities and much more, he had fallen deeply in love with her.

His firm, powerful, yet deceased Queen of Heart. His kind and gentle mistress. These two women were completely unique, withholding distinct, recognizable personality traits that set them apart from.

In the case of his current queen, he sometimes had no idea how to describe her or their complicated relationship. He sometimes just didn't understand her… like now.

"How do you feel about... Us?"

The King's squinted eyes imperceptibly opened in surprise at such a peculiar question. "What do you mean by that?"

Did she mean the majestic plural use the word, referring to her? Or did she mean about their relationship?

Vivaldi kept her gaze away from his, her proud, regal front splintering ever so slightly. "Exactly as We said. How do you feel about Us?"

He paused for a moment, considering the safest approach to this inquiry. He took a diplomatic approach and answered, "Well, ever since you joined the castle, I've always viewed you like this little girl I mentored, kept under my wing, and watched grow up."

At his words, her countenance softened, her violet eyes falling downcast. "Oh... We see. That's all you see Us as... as a mere child." She abruptly rose to her feet, her expression whirling into a cold fury. "We are not a little girl anymore. How... how dare you call Us such a thing!"

The King's mouth hung open, failing to organize his thoughts into coherent, intelligible sentences. Vivaldi exhaled sharply and stormed out of the throne room, leaving the King in a relative daze.

His eyes twitched, indicating he blinked. What had just happened?

After their conversation, Vivaldi was fuming. The Queen of Hearts had been crueler and more demanding than usual, ordering the execution of a handful of their servants. In the eyes of many, she was acting like a spoiled child – ranting and raving when he didn't get what she want.

But... What did she want?

The King didn't understand. Did he say something wrong? Was she so truly offended by his statement? He was only being truthful. When he tried interrogating Vivaldi, the woman expertly dodged and avoided him.

"What does she want from me?" he mumbled as he sat in the quiet comfort of the throne room, dejectedly resting his head in his hand.

"Who are you talking about?"

The King perked up and watched as the foreigner, Alice Liddell, ambled into the throne room, looking at him with an inquisitive gleam in her green eyes.

"Ah, Alice. What a pleasant surprise. Are you looking for her majesty?"

"Yes, she invited me over to Heart Castle, and I was looking for her. I guess she's in the gardens after all." Her attention on him did not waver. Her brows knitted together. "You never answered my question. Who are you talking about? Vivaldi?"

The King limply nodded his head. "Who else? The young queen has been so irritable lately, and I have no idea why. Did I misunderstand the question? Yes, that has to be it..."

"What did Vivaldi ask you about?"

"She asked me what I thought of her. I told her that I basically cared for her ever since she first came here as a girl, watching her grow up to be the powerful woman she is today. After that, she got upset and stormed out of the room. Every time I approach her and try to see what's wrong, she avoids me!" He sighed and roughly scratched his hair, confused by the young noble's behavior. "Why must her majesty be such a complicated being? There are times where she's predictable and others when I have no idea what is going on in that mind of hers."

He released another sigh of exasperation. Alice stood there for a contemplative moment. She heard the servants, Peter, and Ace complain about their Queen's horrid mood lately. No one could think of what was wrong with her nor would risk their heads to ask why. Even the foreigner was baffled by Vivaldi's unprecedented irritation.

Whether he knew it or not, the King of Hearts had explained everything to her.

"I was just wondering... your majesty, have you ever thought of Vivaldi... romantically?"

Such an odd question shocked him upright. His closed eyes moved a fraction of an inch, which was equivalent to wide-eyed shock.

"Pardon me? Are you asking me if I have... feelings for the queen?" Alice firmly nodded her head. He sat back ink his seat, his gaze drifting towards the ceiling. "To be honest, I've never thought about her in that sort of way..."

Why should he? Vivaldi would never harbor those kinds of feelings for him. She would want someone much younger, more handsome, wittier and more gallant – not this quiet, old excuse of a king. Their relationship could best be considered as mutual respect, friendship possibly. Vivaldi wouldn't want anything more from him.

Or so he thought.

By the way Alice knew the Heart Queen, she understood her completely, what Vivaldi secretly wanted from the King. She inwardly sighed. The man truly was clueless...

"You know, Vivaldi isn't that complex. She's far simpler than you think." The King's brow furrowed, gazing at the fair-haired girl in confusion. Alice merely looked at him with this peculiar gleam in her eyes, a knowing grin touching her lips. "Deep down, you truly care about her, don't you? That's why you're so worried about her, so conscious of what you say or what she thinks."

"Why... I suppose so. I never thought of it that way."

Alice's grin widened. "Well why don't you try explaining it like that? Why not try telling Vivaldi how you exactly feel about her?"

His brows furrowed, and he mumbled skeptically, "I'm not sure if that really would help..."

"Oh trust me! I think if you do it that way, Vivaldi would be in a much better mood," she assured him with a wide smile.

Though dubious, he sighed in acquiescence. At this point, he was willing to try anything. He might as well give Alice's suggestion a shot.

"Er, your majesty?"

There was only a silence. Vivaldi sat in her throne sullenly, her gaze forward, not even acknowledging his presence beside her.

"Um, your grace? Vivaldi?"

Still, no response. The King sighed in exasperation. He and Alice knew something like this would happen. Remedying this problem couldn't possibly be easy. Still, he couldn't stop now. He just had to do it the way he and Alice practiced. He rose to his feet and stood directly in front of her, forcing her attention on him.

Her eyes narrowed. "What is it? What do you want to tell Us?"

He was silent for a moment, trying to calm the timorous ticking of his heart. He despised such direct confrontation; he was never good at it nor could his wallflower tendencies help him stand it. That was why he left these sorts of things to his partner, the past and present Queen of Hearts.

But he needed her to understand. He couldn't back out now.

He inhaled a shaky breath and said, "I... I think you misunderstood my answer... I never meant to say that I thought of you as a child..."

He paused and gauged her response. Vivaldi's composure splintered slightly, her eyes widening.

He then continued, "When I was referring you as that, what I meant was that you're just as precious to me as my own child would be. But I know you're no longer a little girl." He boldly took her hand into his. Undeterred by her squeak of surprise, the tension in her muscles, he continued, "You've grown to be much more than that. You are now our Queen of Hearts, regal and beautiful in every way. I am proud to be by your side and serve you in any way I can. You're very special to me, Vivaldi. I just sometimes don't know how to express myself clearly to let you know that."

He swallowed convulsively and studied Vivaldi's countenance for her reaction. Did he do it right? He practiced his words with Alice, but maybe taking her hand was going a bit too far...

After all, why was Vivaldi's face bright red?

"We... We think it's time for our afternoon tea! Excuse Us." She stumbled to her feet, slipping her hand out of his and carefully holding it to her chest. Struggling to recollect her fallen poise, she stormed towards the door, trying to will the heat from her face to disappear.

The King frowned and watched her retreat. Did he really do it wrong again? He sighed at the thought.

This time though, Vivaldi paused at the door for a moment. She turned around to face him, a meek smile curling her lips.

"T… thank you. It was very nice for you to go out of your way to tell Us that. We truly appreciate it."

The King gasped in surprise and quickly returned the smile. At such a sight, the redness in her face deepened, and she brusquely turned towards the door. "If you need anything from Us, We will be at the gardens."

Vivaldi then stormed out the door. The King sat back down in his own seat and found himself smiling even wider.

Perhaps Alice was partially right. Vivaldi wasn't an entirely complex person nor just a simple woman with complex needs. Maybe she wasn't as complex as either of them thought. All she wanted was something incredibly simple, something most would completely disregard and take for granted.

"Your majesty?" The King looked towards the source of the voice. Vivaldi stood nonchalantly at the doorway, examining a speck on the floor. "We were wondering… would you like to join Us? Drinking tea is incredibly boring if We were by Ourselves."

The King nodded his head and was immediately by her side, nodding his head in thanks. Vivaldi scoffed in response, fighting a smile that threatened to touch her lips. As they began to walk through the halls in comfortable silence, the King knew exactly what she wanted.

All Vivaldi wanted was to hear that he cared.

I just need you to care about me and to be with me. That is all I need.

A/N Notes: I was bored and felt like doing something with this cute coupling. And I looked at the section and I noticed I was the only one who writes about them… SWEET!

Thanks for reading~