"Dorthy, I know where he is." Valerie blew a long, exasperated sigh.
"You do?!" Dorthy straightened her poster ready to find out where her boyfriend is.
"But we can't get him back, he's probably dead by now," Dorthy looked at Valerie confused, how could she know all this?
"What are you talking about Valerie?" She talked slowly and steadily, wondering if Valerie had some drinks that morning.
"Last night, Malphus caught us kissing in the observatory and told his guards to take him to the dungeon, but I wasn't kissing him because I liked him! He knew about me almost having sex with Malphus and threatened to tell everybody if I didn't meet him in the conservatory every night!" Valerie rushed all that out in one breath so Dorthy could hear the whole story and not just pick from what she knew.
"Get out," Dorthy said softly as she looked at her cover.
"Wha-?"
"Get out," She said it louder every time until Valerie was running out of her room scared she was possessed.
Valerie cried and cried, she passed many people and most just stared and whispered about her. She ran right into the garden and she sat behind the blueberry bushes and cried. She heard a meow and looked up to see Alice and someone right beside her, Rave.
"I didn't know blueberry bushes got watered with tears," Valerie got herself off the ground and dusted herself off as she chuckled.
"Yea they love them, it's a natural fertilizer," Rave laughed as he gave Valerie a weary smile.
"Wanna talk about it?" Rave asked and Valerie hesitated.
"Will you call me a slut and de-friend me on the spot?" Rave put his hand on his chest and shook his head, and Valere led Rave to a tree further away from the castle than the blueberry bushes were.
She explained the whole ordeal to Rave starting from when they were kids and he sat there listening with a blank face.
"So?" Valerie asked, having just finished her story and wanting Rave's input.
"If I'm going, to be honest with you, you don't deserve Dorthy, Oscar, the king, me, Kathy, Alfred, or even Edwin," Rave said bluntly with a scowl. Valerie bit her lip and tilted her head down, knowing what was said was true.
"Valerie, I know you're a good person but you can't keep playing with Oscar's feelings and leading the king on like this. Make your decision, either stop messing around with the king or leave Oscar. I'll leave you be to think," Rave got up and left while Alice crawled in Valerie's lap.
"What do you think Alice? Should I stop anything going on with Malphus?" Alice hissed at Valerie's worlds.
"So you think I should divorce Oscar?" Alice purred in response.
"But-" Valerie tried to think of a reason to stay with Oscar. If she loved him as much as she thinks she does then why would she cheat in the first place?
After an hour of not being able to handle the volume of the question, she walked back into the castle, only to be stopped by Dorthy.
"Dorthy!-"
"Do you love him?" Dorthy interrupted Valerie before she could continue her sentence.
"Pardon?" Valerie asked shocked at the straightforward question from the girl she hoped was still her friend.
"The King, Valerie, do you love him?" Dorthy asked again, in a calm, soothing voice.
"I think so?" Valerie tried to answer her question truthfully.
"Break it off Val. All your going to do is hurt Oscar more in the long run, so please, be sensible and tell him it's over," Dorthy reasoned.
"But-"
"No. No buts Valerie. This is not alright and I know you're better than this, but if it turns you aren't better than this then this will be our last time conversing. Think wisely about this Valerie Fin-Whip," Dorthy said her last name dauntingly, reminding Valerie that, no, this wasn't fair to Oscar.
He was a sweet man that deserved better than someone who cheats on him without giving it much thought.
Valerie knew that if her life was a play, she'd be the antagonist in all ways.
She's the one who got Lilith downgraded from queen to maid then got her killed, she's the one who's married to a person yet pursues someone else. She even went as far as kissing another woman's man just to keep her dirty secret.
No. She wasn't this type of person and she was going to prove it.
The first thing Valerie did was go back to her room where Oscar was waiting.
"Valerie! How'd it go with Dorthy?" Oscar asked, inviting Valerie to sit down.
"It went. Dorthy is no longer crying," Valerie explained.
"That's great," Oscar wrapped his arms around Valerie and went in for a kiss, only to be stopped by her hand.
"Oscar, I want a divorce," Valerie stood up. She took off her ring and placed it beside Oscar.
"Valerie? What? Haha, very funny hon, here," Oscar picked up the ring and offered it to Valerie but she didn't take it.
His face shifted and he started to worry.
"Hunny, I'm sorry! What did I do? If this is about us having children you know I'm willing to wait!" Oscar stood up and approached Valerie but she stepped backward. Then his face shifted again.
"This is about the king, isn't it? You've been fucking him, haven't you? You whore!" Oscar slapped Valerie. Her head turned to the side with the impact and she could taste blood in her mouth.
"You stupid bitch! He's just using you for your body! You actually think he gives a fuck about you?!" Valerie was scared seeing Oscar like this. He had never sworn so much, factually he'd never sworn around her at all.
"Well fine! Be the king's slut for all I care! And when he kicks you out of the castle pregnant don't even think about crawling back to me!" Oscar yelled a final time before leaving and slamming the door shut.
Valerie broke down on her bed crying. Alice, who had been there the whole time, went to console her human.
This is the right thing to do, Valerie thought, he deserves better than me. Now he isn't bound he can go meet his perfect woman.