Miss Stealer: Hello there my little lemon drops! I know I haven't done anything for quite a bit, but life's been pretty hectic for me with school and family issues, but I AM BACK BABY! This is an idea I came up with ever since I started to become obsessed with Cardverse. The name is Latin and means "Peaceful Clocks" and basically datorem means "giver of life" (Just keep that in mind). It's another America x England (my OTP). The rating will definitely change later on, but right now it's going to stay. Hope you all enjoy!

. . .

Our story begins in the glorious Kingdom of Spades on a cold, stormy night. The grand castle of rich blues, golds, and whites was dark and quiet; the only sounds were the echoes of thunder and rain in the empty halls. In one bed chamber at the end of the west wing on the top floor, a small child of only four lay quivering in his too big bed. The large window beside him framed the harsh white light of the lightning as it struck once more, causing him to cower deeper into his silk sheets for what was to come. A frightening bang erupted and seemed to shake the walls and floors. The little boy's eyes closed in fear and he sprinted to the large oak doors of his room, jumping up to clasp onto the gold handle and running out. He ran down the corridor and up the last long flight of stairs at great speed. By the time he had reached the ornate hall leading to the king and queen's bed chamber, his cheeks were red and clear paths of tears ran down the chubby mounds.

Not bothering to knock, he pulled the ten foot tall spade-encrusted door to the room open and dived for the bed even larger than his own. The two figures already there stirred and, still trembling, covered himself with the warm sheets and cuddling into the smaller figure.

"Mmn…Alfred?" The woman he held onto opened her baby blue eyes and blinked blearily at cowering child. "Darling, what are you doing up so late?" She pulled him closer and he seemed to relax. As if to answer for him, the sky let forth another loud boom of thunder and she chuckled warmly as he whimpered.

"Should've known, silly little boy, you are." They both looked up and saw the other figure now awake. His warm light brown orbs stared at them both and he smiled sleepily as he ruffled the little boys' blonde hair that matched his own. "Come here, both of you." The two scooted closer to the large man and into his welcoming arms. Settled down by the comfort and love of his parents, Prince Alfred Jones drifted to sleep with the king and queen, dreaming peacefully.

*~* Twelve Years Later *~*

CRASH!

Queen Mariel looked up, startled, from her needlepoint and rushed into the large grand foyer of the Spade Palace. She saw maids rushing about around a very large mess at the end of the staircase. Her son sat there, more like sprawled out, on the ground surrounded by what used to be a beautiful bouquet of summer lilies, broken ceramic from their vase, and an ornate silver bowl covering his head and dripping with melted chocolate. Sitting next to the disoriented boy was the royal cat, Auruma, licking her paw contently.

"Gods…" She watched as he picked the large bowl off his face and shook his head, spraying chocolate on passing maids and grinning like an idiot. Stifling her laugh, which was sure to be loud, she let out a high pitched giggle.

"Heheh, hey mom!" He looked over at his mother and headed toward her when she beckoned him closer. She stared at him intently and the servants seemed to stand still, waiting for her net move or word. She looked him up and down. His best Sunday suit was ruined and stained with rich chocolate and the only thing that seemed to not have the brown colour was his bright, energetic blue eyes. Mariel couldn't hold her giggles for very long and started to laugh light-heartedly. Everyone in the room relaxed at the sound of their happy queen. She swiped some chocolate off of his face and licked it off her finger, still laughing.

"You silly boy! What have I told you about chasing poor Auruma around? Gods, you're just like your father, you are." He smiled at her brightly.

"I try."

"Well, go up and wash. Your father wants to see you at noon, don't forget. I'll worry about this mess, go on now." She smiled and lightly pushed him towards the large grand staircase when he threatened to hug her and put some chocolate from his face onto her nose; their laughing brightening up the palace.

Normally, a queen would be horrified by the event and yelled at anyone and everyone to clean the mess up. Queen Mariel, however, along with her husband, King Theodore, were the most lenient and happy couple that had ever ruled the Spade Kingdom. Their everlasting cheerful moods had rubbed off on their energetic son, Alfred, and the palace had never seen brighter days. All of the servants were treated like family and the cities prospered immensely. The Jones' line had started with the late couple, and the kingdom and its' citizens would be happy if it continued for many years to come.

While the queen and a few servants tidied up the foyer, Alfred skipped up the steps to his fifth floor bed chamber at the end of the west wing. The same room he had been living in ever since he could remember. If you were to step foot in the large room, you could tell that a sixteen year old boy lived there. The dark blue sheets of his huge four-post bed were rumpled, books of all sizes were strewn across the floor near the paper-cluttered, dark brown desk and there were pictures of constellations and nation-wide news clippings pinned to the walls. Alfred passed all of this and entered his personal bathroom; all white with blue accents and a huge two person, cast iron bathtub. One of the maids had probably heard the commotion and drew a hot, steamy bath for him already.

He quickly shed his dirtied clothes and shucked them into the basket near the large looking glass hung on the wall. Eagerly, he jumped into the water and instantly relaxed at its' high temperature. He washed quickly and reluctantly got out of the, now brown, water, heading for the connecting wardrobe. Many suits of all rich colours were hung there and shined shoes sat under each suit. He blindly grabbed one of the pairs along with its' matching suit and hurriedly put them on. A few knocks sounded outside his door as he was struggling with his new tie.

"Alfred?" his mother poked her head through the door and walked in, taking over his poor job at the brown knot. "Good, you've cleaned. Teddy says he has something big to talk to you about. Wonder what it is?"

"Knowing dad, he's probably gonna test me again. It's starting to get really annoying." Alfred pouted, "I know everything I have to know already; can't he just quit it?" Mariel lightly slapped Alfred's arm.

"Oh come now, he only does it to make sure you'll be a good fit for a king."

"But I will be! 'Cause I'm a hero! Right ma?"

"Alfred, at least try to use the proper grammar Jack Yao taught you. He really has tried hard." Alfred smiled warmly and hugged his mother.

"Okay, you're no fun."

"Posh, now go see your father, he's waiting in his study."

. . .

"Ahh, Al! Come in, come in! I have something to discuss with you, son." King Theodore beckoned his son closer and into a comfy leather chair in front of his desk.

"Sure, what is it?"

Theodore's smile slightly diminished and his tone was more serious. "Now, Alfred. You're sixteen now and I've been thinking about your future as king, as you should be doing as well. I know it's only two years yet, but soon you will need to find someone to be your queen." Alfred sighed dramatically and was going to protest, but the king held up his hand and cut him off. "However, I will be kind. I will allow you to break the tradition of having us choose who you are to marry. So, this means that you'll actually have to go out and make an effort. Jack Yao is willing to let you accompany him to the cities around the kingdom while running his errands. If you don't find anyone to your liking before your eighteenth birthday, we'll have to choose for you. How does that sound?" Theodore looked at his son as he pondered the idea.

It was a lot to process in a small amount of time. Only a half hour ago he was enjoying his youth and acting like a kid, and now he had to think about marriage?

"W-well, uhh…" Alfred cleared his throat awkwardly, "I guess that sounds…fine?" The king smiled and clearly ignored his sons' discomfort regarding the news.

"Great! You can go along and leave now, then. Jack Yao is waiting in the gardens." Alfred stood up in shock.

"Wait, now? Why?" He whined. Theodore walked over and clapped his hand on Alfred's shoulder.

"The sooner the better, yeah?" Then he disappeared out the door to his bed chamber, ending their conversation.

'I'm not ready for this…' Alfred thought with dread as he headed out into the expansive Spade Gardens where Jack Yao was awaiting his arrival.

. . .

Alfred plopped down on his seat in the plush royal carriage as Jack Yao followed after him in a calmer manner.

"This is so boring! It's been six hours and we've only visited two cities! Can't we just go back to the palace now?" Alfred whined for the millionth time that day.

"No," the jack snapped," We have one last city to attend to. Then we will be free of each other." He hadn't been too happy about the king changing tradition so easily, but put up with his wishes nonetheless.

The pair traveled for another hour toward the Spade Kingdoms' infamous city of London in the England county. The city really was a sight to see; the architecture of the buildings was seen nowhere else on Cards and it was famous for its exports of coal and delicious tea. It was also the birthplace of the greatest technology known to the current century.

"Hopefully this city will be promising for you, Prince Alfred," Jack Yao said as they entered the city's grand gates, "I shall not be following you this time, as I have actual errands to run here and I'm sure you can take care of yourself." They both exited the carriage and when Alfred turned to ask when they should meet back, the swift jack had already disappeared.

"Okay then…" Alfred sighed to himself and set out into the bustling city, enjoying the views. He knew he should be looking for the future 'Mrs. Jones', but he had never really gotten the chance to visit any of the cities he would soon be ruling over. A group of girls walked past him, giggling and smiling at him and he politely smiled back. When they were out of sight, he scrunched his nose up in disgust.

'Dang, the girls here are ugly!'

With the conclusion that he would definitely not find his wife here, he set out for the quickest route back to the carriage. He decided to take some back streets that were less crowded. These streets were much more homey and comfortable, rather than the stuffy air in the congested downtown streets. Alfred's thoughts were interrupted by a loud, shouting group of boys surrounding what looked like another, smaller boy.

"Get out of here datorem!"

"Yeah, you're just a whore!"

"No one likes your kind!"

The boys were kicking at the, what Alfred assumed was, blonde haired boys' small form and spitting in his face. The boy just laid there in a fetal position with his eyes screwed shut motionless. Almost like this happened every day. It most likely did, seeing as most people looked down on datorems. Datorems were males born with the ability to give life, or, basically, give birth. They were a lot more feminine and small, like a woman, unlike the normal build for a man. Alfred had never seen anything wrong about datorems and personally, he thought them to be cool. Having the ability to do things normal males couldn't, and put up with everything that came with that ability, was really admirable to Alfred. Seeing people do things like this to datorems just because they were different made him sick.

"Hey!" the boys turned and sneered at him," Leave him alone!"

"Leave 'im alone, he says!" The tallest boy in the group walked towards Alfred with a cocky grin on his face, "This 'ere is a datorem, lad. We don't take to kindly to 'is kind." That comment set off Alfred's rage.

"His kind? Last time I checked, datorems were humans too! How would you like it if people started to beat the crap out of you every day just because you're fat and pathetic? So just beat it, kid!"

"Why you little…" the tall boy, along with the others, charged at Alfred, swinging their fists and kicking blindly. Alfred smirked at their lack of skill and picked up a wooden broom from against a nearby wall. With each boy that came at him, Alfred countered their weak attacks and set them all flying. Eventually they started to stagger away with blood dripping out of their noses and bruised egos. He threw the dirty broom down and turned toward the boy lying on the floor, walking over and crouching next to him.

"Hey there," Alfred said softly, trying to coax the datorem out of his makeshift protection, "You alright?"

The shy boy uncurled slightly and opened his eyes, turning them up towards his savior. Alfred's breath hitched when the brightest and kindest emerald eyes he had ever seen, brimming with unshed tears, looking up at him like a scared doe. He smiled warmly and held his hand out to the smaller boy and helped him back to his feet. The bruises from the kicks he had been receiving were already starting to show, adding to some of the nastier and older ones on his torso and stomach.

"I'm Alfred. What's your name?" the boy shifted uncomfortably and looked back at him with a new fire in his eyes, making the already bright emerald shine.

"Arthur." He said snippily, "Why did you help someone like me?"

"Why wouldn't I? I gotta be a hero if I'm gonna be king, you know?" Arthur's eyes widened and realization dawned on him. He quickly knelt to the ground and put the tips of his fingers on one hand to his forehead.

"Your majesty, I didn't know-"

"Haha! You don't need to! I don't normally make my friends do that!" Alfred shook with laughter and Arthur looked up at him in confusion.

"F-friend?"

"Well, yeah, of course!" Alfred pulled him back to his feet and wrapped his arm around Arthur's small shoulders, smiling. "Arthur, my pal, you're gonna be my new best friend, and I'll be your hero anytime you need!"

. . .

…So? Do you like it so far? If this keeps up, I'll most likely try to update once a week. I really think this story could go somewhere, but if you guys have any ideas, please tell me! Reviews will most likely keep this alive. XD I love input from you guys and I really take them to heart. So, rate and review and tell me what you think! Love y'all! :D

~Miss Stealer