Hereafter

HiItsUriChan

Author's Note: Hello! This is just a simple idea that popped out of mind while I was at school during lunch. This will be a two-shot; here it will be focused on Yao's perspective while in the second part will be on Arthur's even though Yao tells the story. Please leave a review after reading because that will be very much appreciated! Thank you so much in advance for reading and even clicking on my story. Well, this is getting long so… Happy reading!

Jack Yao was never fond of these winter balls.

It is consist of nobles being fake to each other, chatter which is about the latest rumors about one house or two, and the fact that it is always a hassle to prepare such events like these. Yao looked down in disappointment as he was never praised or even given words of appreciation when he was the one who went into almost all the trouble in setting up the ball. He breathes heavily in self-pity, he was only a Jack after all, the King and Queen will always have the praise and he accepted that long ago.

But that was not all of his reasons why he hates winter balls. It will not make him irritated or disappointed but rather it will make him remorse about the tragedy.

It happened during his first years of being a Jack. To be exact, it was his first ball to organize. The ball was during the time of King- "Peter! Get back here." Queen Alice's voice was low but can be heard by half of the people in the room. The said 'Peter' was the one and only Prince of Spades and is also the one that rolled his eyes at the Queen and stormed off the hall.

Everyone is quite, shocked by the sudden episode. Worriedly, Yao walked up to the King and Queen. "What happened, Your Majesties?" He asked. "Lord Smith joked about something and Peter took it as an insult." King Amelia said. "Then Peter said something like 'Go die, you old geezer!' and of course, Alice here gave him a short scolding then you must have seen the rest." She continued. Jack Yao nodded in the understanding. Before he could speak, the Queen beats him to it. "Yao, I know I should be the one who should go to him but as you can see, both I and Amelia are needed here. Can you go and comfort him for a while?" Queen Alice asked, looking guilty and trustful for the Jack. Yao smiled slightly "Of course, Your Majesty." Both King and Queen gave him a grateful look before Yao took his leave to look for the Prince.

Once out of the hall and with the issue half-resolved, the people started to get loud and lively again.

But now the Prince's misbehavior is their new topic.

The Jack was about to check the Prince's room first but he came to notice that the Queen's chambers is slightly opened ajar. Suspicion is in his eyes and his body is alert for the possibility of an intruder. Grabbing the small dagger that he has under his coat, he opened the door just to find the Prince staring surprised at him, eyes wide and mouth gaping after a loud gasp.

Yao sighed in relief about his findings. Although there is a good thing that there were no intruders, but Prince Peter still intruded in the Queen's chambers. "Prince Peter, you know too well not to enter your Queen's room." Yao stated and the young Prince bowed his head down in guilt. The Jack stepped closer. "You should also know too well not to be rude to the guests no matter what they say." The Prince clenched his fist. "B-But…" He started with a shaky voice. "He insulted the King and merely laughed at it! That was ruder than what I did…" He said. "You still don't have to do that. You can get revenge, but not in that way, especially in the front of many people! Go and apologize later, understood? But first, we must leave the Queen's chambers first."

The Jack expected the Prince to follow him but all he got was a hand stopping him alongside with 'Wait!' The Prince looked at him in bright curious eyes. "That mirror…" He pointed at oval-shaped mirror at the wall. "It didn't show me when I was looking it… Instead it showed me all grown up with the King's crown on my head."

Yao looked at it and almost felt like laughing. That glass mirror also played in an important part in that tragedy. "I guess I should tell you about that story, huh?" he muttered. Peter looked at him confused and he chuckled lightly.

"Mirrors are said to be magical. " He said. Both the Jack and the Prince are eyeing the mirror. "Mirrors can connect our world to another, may it be another dimension, the afterlife, or it tells us about our fate. There are a lot of stories involving mirrors, and one of those stories is about that mirror." Peter's face went from the expression of admiration to realization. "The Mirror of Delphine?" He asked unbelievingly. "But they said that it is a mere urban legend!" He looked directly at the eyes of the Jack, checking if the Jack is kidding or not. He found none.

"It was a lie. The Mirror of Delphine is one of Spade's greatest treasures and secrets. Having the other kingdom know that it exists can cause war." The Jack paused, letting what he said sink in to the young man. "But that will be in a different topic and will not be related to this story." Peter looked at him expectantly to continue, so he did. "It will be about my first year as the Spadian Jack. It was also around this time of year but during King Alfred's reign…"

To be continued...