Once upon a time, there were four kingdoms – the kingdoms of Diamonds, Clovers, Hearts and Spades. Each kingdom had a king and queen born within their kingdoms, one of which was born into the royal family of course, that would later on resume the thrones and carry on the royal blood line. But what was to happen if a kingdom only had one ruler born into it? Well that is what happened to the kingdom of Spades. Alfred Fredrick Jones had been searching his entire teenage life for the person with the same mark he bore on his lower back, a blue mark of their kingdom, a spade. But with no avail. It was almost as if he was destined to reign alone, lonely and solitary – a lone wolf. He was growing quite frustrated in fact.
His father understood his sons pain, all these male hormones running though him unused must be driving him wild. And with only a year to go until Alfred's coronation, the old king decided to treat his son to some fun and give Alfred a concubine to soothe his sexual frustration, whilst they did some serious searching.
The problem was no one in the kingdom could be offered this position, as they could all be possibly Alfred's other half. So, he sent a request out to other kingdom rulers to see if they were willing to offer someone.
A few days later, he got a response from King Francis, the ruler of the Kingdom of Diamonds. His kingdom was a hierarchy of upper and lower class, whereas Alfred's father ruled a rich kingdom. Francis was willing to offer a peasant as a concubine from a family he knew well. Alfred seemed so desperate that his father accepted without questioning.
The concubine was delivered by the end of the following day - it took a good few hours to travel from one kingdom to the other. Alfred was waiting as patiently as he could in the grand hall. His guards marched in carrying a young blonde boy who was writhing and screaming. Alfred just watching him from where he was sitting across the room. The boy had clearly been taken without his consent.
"LET ME GO! LET ME GO I SAID! MY PARENTS…I'M AN ONLY CHILD; ALL THEY HAVE! They don't know where I am, or what I'm doing here. Heck, I don't even know. Please, just let me go home" he cried, struggling against the guard's strong grip.
"This is your home now" one guard told him simply.
"What? B-but how?" the concubine asked, straightening up with horror. Alfred noted that he was lean and slight, and yet quite handsome. He had a rugged look from his background in poverty, had messy blonde hair and pale porcelain skin.
"Because, you will find out soon enough. Now stand still and let me speak to his highness" the guard retorted, to which the boy bowed his head politely and stayed perfectly still. Alfred sat up making himself known.
"Your majesty, may we present to you your new concubine. A boy from the kingdom of Diamonds" the guard informed. The boy suddenly turned even paler. "A concubine?! No, I didn't agree to this!" he yelled struggling to break free again. "You have no say in the matter. You are a peasant, sent here to serve his majesty." The guard hushed him. "He isn't my king! I have no obligation to him" the boy pointed out.
"Perhaps you may think so, though you are in my kingdom now. And I will not tolerate rebellion. You will either serve me as my concubine, or you will be executed" Alfred spoke coldly for the first time since the boy entered the room. He got up and walked over to inspect his new toy. The boy was looking down at the floor again, not looking at the future king as a sign of respect. "Do I make myself clear?" Alfred asked him.
The boy nodded wordlessly.
"Good. Now, why don't you introduce yourself?" he prompted.
"I am Arthur Kirkland, a peasant from the kingdom of Diamonds. I am 16 years old. Only child of Edward and Jane Kirkland. My father is a carpenter and the families only source of income." The boy now known as Arthur said nervously. Alfred took a step closer and grabbed a hold of the younger boy's chin, swiping his hair out of his face in order to have a better look at it. Arthur gasped and averted his gaze, but not before Alfred had caught sight of his stunning emerald eyes. Alfred gasped in surprise but didn't remark on the fact. Arthur on the other hand, had a pounding heart. He had caught sight of Alfred accidently, made direct eye contact, and could feel goose bumps pierce through the skin of his whole body. The future king was a very good-looking boy. Too bad he wouldn't be able to ever look at him again. He wasn't allowed, and yet he wanted to. He wanted to so badly. For Alfred's eyes were like a limitless summer blue sky…
And yet, he frightened Arthur with his authoritative manner. He kept his gaze on the floor from then on.
Alfred could fell his pulse speed up. Arthur was beautiful. He couldn't believe that such a boy could be a peasant. The future king felt very privileged to have such a stunning person as his concubine. He hoped he would get someone with such good looks as his Queen. He continued to look him up and down, the guards moving out of the way as Alfred begun to circle Arthur to see him from every angle. He could see how skinny he was by looking at his arms and legs – his bones jutting out quite freakishly.
He slipped a hand under Arthur's shirt to see whether he could feel Arthur's rib cage so prominently, slightly worried now, and was even more alarmed when Arthur pulled away sharply. "Please don't touch my chest, Your Majesty. It isn't something I'm comfortable with" the shorter boy explained.
"Well, you better get used to it! As my concubine, there will be much more than just a simple touching of your chest involved" Alfred laughed, though it was forced and only to hide the fact that he was slightly shaken. As Arthur had pulled away, his fingers had grazed something that certainly wasn't skin. It had been rough and uncomfortable to the touch…
"Leave us alone" he told the two burly guards, who left the room almost instantly. The young king to be then turned back towards Arthur. "Remove your shirt" he said, regaining his authoritative tone.
Arthur wanted to protest, but from the sound of His Majesty's icy voice, he decided it would be best not to.
Once he had lifted his shirt, Alfred saw what he had been so terrified of. A large gauze covered Arthur's waist and lower back. It was put on tightly and looked as if it hadn't been changed even once.
"What happened?" Alfred found his voice to ask, though it was shaky to depict the fact that he was mortified. As a boy growing up not only in a privileged society, but also in a royal family, he hadn't known poverty. Not really, not like this. He knew those that worked for his family weren't treated exactly as they were, but they'd at least be able to change the bandages for their wounds.
Arthur was evidently avoiding his gaze now, whereas before he was just doing it because he had to. He fingered at the folds in his shirt as if fighting away bad memories. "I'd rather not say, You're Majesty" he finally whispered.
Alfred, though extremely curious, know this time not to press any further. Instead he just nodded to indicate that Arthur could put his shirt back on. He then cleared his throat and only then spoke. "The guards will show you up to your room. Your things should already be there. I will be by to see you later".
The guards re-entered, and took Arthur up to his room in the tallest tower. The stairs up there went on forever, it seemed as if they didn't want Arthur escaping. The guards made this even more apparent when they locked the door once Arthur was inside the quite spacious room. The young boy panicked and began to pound on the door, but soon realised that it would have no avail. He laid down on the bed and let his tears fall into the pillow. He cried because he missed his home, he missed his mother and father, and because he was being held here against his will to do something he found appalling. But most of all, strangely enough, because when he'd caught His Majesty's gaze, he thought he saw kindness in there, he thought he was different. But then when he'd seen the bandage, he had been disgusted. He looked at Arthur the way everyone else did, not with love, but with pity. And Arthur was expected to make love to him? How could he do so with confidence, if he had none in himself?