#ooc: QOH did not get fairy godmother's point at all

[asktheheartsprincess]

Solo Para:  Another Piece on the Board, Part 2

See part 1 here

Cora knew she couldn’t actively defy her mother.  It counted as treason, and while Auradon technically ruled Wonderland at present, Cora tried as best she could to honor Wonderlandian law in her parents’ presence.  Therefore, she had to honor the wishes of the Queen of Hearts. But she also couldn’t believe what she’d just heard.  Ardenzana had ordered Cora to kill Kayla, who was apparently the daughter of the Duchess of Spades...the rogue White Queen.  If Cora actually went through with it...she’d lose everything.  Maybe if Cora appealed to her mother’s desire for their throne... “Your Majesty,” Cora said cautiously, “Your ways are all ways, of course, but I think that murdering her will ensure we never get Wonderland back.” 

Cora braced for Ardenzana’s response, sure it would be brutal- Ardenzana loved talking about she would smite her enemies in graphic details (her vengeance on Alice was one of her favorite breakfast topics). But, much to Cora’s shock, the Queen of Hearts started to laugh.

“Corazana,” her mother giggled, “Do you think I’ve learned nothing in this foolish rehab?  I said ‘kill her,’ not execute her.”  Abruptly realizing the princess wasn’t following, as Cora merely stared at her, Ardenzana clarified:

“Fairy Godmother has been going on for days about anger management with me.  She says that when I was in Wonderland, instead of losing my temper and ordering executions, I should have killed my enemies with kindness,” the queen shrugged, sipping her tea, “Of course, the idea is utterly ridiculous in our queendom and would not have applied, but here, there is some merit to the concept.”  Based on her tone, she’d obviously given the matter a lot of thought. “Your Majesty,” Cora said, utterly perplexed, “I...I don’t follow.  Could you... elaborate?”

The Queen of Hearts straightened up in her chair and said, “Destroy the girl’s reputation, Corazana.  Do some digging, find some secrets, and expose her.  Make her utterly unsuitable as someone a rebellion could lobby behind.  If you ruin the pretender’s reputation, you kill her chances at obtaining the throne, but allow her to keep her head.  I think that’s very kind, don’t you?  Killing her reputation, but letting her keep her life?”

Cora herself hadn’t been present for this particular lesson between Fairy Godmother and the Queen of Hearts, but she was 99% sure this was not what Fairy Godmother had meant.  Still, it was a much wickeder proposal than outright murder, though Cora honestly wasn’t sure how she could find secrets about someone who supposedly didn’t know her past.  “I appreciate Your Majesty’s wisdom,” the princess said eventually, unsure whether Ardenzana’s idea was practical- or even something she wanted to do.  Sure, Cora was desperate to get Wonderland back, but to Cora, starting what was effectively a smear campaign against Kayla felt uncomfortably like what Auradon was doing to her.  The last thing Cora wanted to do was repeat those mistakes- she knew how much they hurt.  Plus, she also was concerned about what it could cost her.  Cora’s own reputation was already shaky to start with- wouldn’t spreading rumors make Cora herself look even worse, and thus an unworthy candidate for the throne?

“What if the Auradonians think that this makes me cruel?” Cora asked, “That it confirms me as the villain they’ve been saying I am all along?” 

“Corazana,” the Queen of Hearts inquired, reaching down to hold a stunned Cora’s hand in her own (the queen rarely touched her), “Are you a villain?”  The question was loaded, and the queen’s green eyes glittered as they stared into Cora’s brown.

For once in her life not sure what Ardenzana’s desired answer was, Cora responded without thinking:

“No.  I’m a future queen, fighting for her queendom.”  “Then do what you must,” Ardenzana said, her lips pursed in a line.  Recognizing the dismissal, Cora curtsied three times, and backed out of the room.