Words: 5045 (This should be the longest chapter)

This is the first chapter to my first multi-chapter fanfic, which should be around 40,000 words or so. Comments and criticisms would be greatly appreciated. Also ***TRIGGER WARNING for allusions to rape in this chapter***

Tick

Tock

Tick

Tock

Arthur Kirkland, ex-Queen of the Kingdom of Spades, tapped his foot to the ticking of the clock. It was at times like these that he truly resented the importance time held in Spades; he doubted clocks were so ubiquitous that they ticked away even in the prisons of other kingdoms. He especially did not need to be so aware of the passage of time now, while his minutes were so limited. Perhaps it was a form of torture? Arthur had never been fond of delaying the inevitable.

Dong

One o'clock. In exactly one hour's time, the former Queen would be executed for high treason. What a load of rubbish, Arthur thought tiredly. He had been waiting for this day for a while; given the King's previous record with his Queens, Arthur was surprised he'd survived as long as he had – nearly a full two years.

Despite his relative success, the hour would prove to be the longest of his short life.

Once upon a time, the King and Queen ruled as equals, with the Jack provided necessary guidance and advice. The duties of the Royals – creating laws, negotiating treaties and contracts with foreign nations, leading the military, maintaining domestic peace, keeping economy stable, etc – were split between the Royals, using the strengths of each to ensure the success of the Kingdom. It wasn't entirely certain what happened. Perhaps there was a particularly dominating King that took over the duties of the Queen, or perhaps the Queen's power simply began to erode over time.

It didn't really matter. Now, the Queen was almost entirely a figurehead whose primary duty was to serve the King. Normally that meant being sexually available for the King at any time, but Arthur had also been in charge of signing off on paperwork and dealing with minor issues that the King deemed 'beneath him'. Those menial jobs had been the best part of Arthur's life as Queen, because at least then he felt like he was accomplishing more than just being a sex slave.

Dong. Dong.

Two o'clock. Arthur frowned. He was supposed to be at the guillotine by now, being beheaded. It wasn't like the King to be tardy with his executions. Arthur watched as the guards continued talking in hushed voices, wondering if they knew what was going on. Had the King delayed the execution? Did he just want to drag this out? Maybe he decided a simple beheading was too good for the ex-Queen.

Tick

Tock

Arthur leaned his head back and shut his eyes. As much as he hated it, it seemed he had no choice but to wait for now.

"We should send out a search party."

"Wait. It's the afternoon, it shouldn't take too long for the mark to be noticed." Jack Yao Wang rubbed his forehead as he attempted to address the crowd of panicked advisors.

"How did the King die?" one of the advisors asked.

"I have no idea. You all were there, you saw it. He just collapsed." Hushed murmuring broke out again, conspiracies of murder and assassinations spreading like wildfire. Yao cleared his throat loudly, easily commanding attention over the room. "An examination is being performed right now. We should know the cause of death by tomorrow."

"What's going to happen to the Queen's execution?" another advisor questioned. Yao sighed.

"Without the King presiding, the Queen won't be executed. It will be up to the new King to decide what to do, once they are found." Yao stepped over to the balcony, looking out over the streets. A muted energy ran through the crowd, news of the King's untimely demise captivating the people. "Until then, we can do nothing but wait."

Alfred F. Jones was waiting in line to run the obstacle course when it was noticed.

"Hey, Al, what'd you do to your mark?" a fellow soldier asked curiously.

"Huh?" Alfred looked down at his wrist, where the outline of a Spade had chosen as a potential Royal.

It wasn't as exciting as it seemed: almost one in every five people had the mark. It was part of the magic of Spades Kingdom. At age ten, every potential future King, Queen, and Jack woke up with the outline of a Spade on their wrist; this allowed them to attend one of the Royal schools, where they would learn all the basics of ruling a kingdom. In truth, it was very rare that any of the students would even see the inside of the castle. There could only be three Royals after all. The students were therefore strongly encouraged to plan an alternate future career, and schedule their classes accordingly. Alfred, for example, had known for years that he wanted to join the military after school, to protect and defend the people of the Kingdom.

He hadn't really given his mark much thought throughout the years. Since he was an alpha, he'd be King if he was chosen, just as the omegas could be Queen and the betas could be Jack. King Henry was fairly young though, and popular enough. There was no reason to think that his reign wouldn't last for several more decades.

So, of course, it should have come as no surprise when Alfred looked down at his wrist and saw his Spade had been filled with the elaborate pattern marking the King.

What is that. For the first few seconds, Alfred's mind was completely blank, apparently unable to process what he was seeing. What the hell is that. Alfred knew it wasn't a prank. It was illegal to attempt to alter or defile a Spade. Oh god what the hell happened to my mark.

It seemed the soldier that noticed that mark had the same thoughts, because she was now bringing it to the attention of all the other soldiers in the line. Suddenly a supervisor showed up and grabbed Alfred by the wrist, scrutinizing the mark and questioning Alfred. Alfred was in such a state of shock that he could do nothing but stare blankly at his wrist, mouth agape.

This was the state Alfred was found in when the Royal guards appeared to take him to the castle, and it was the state Alfred was in when the Jack examined the mark and declared it legitimate. It was the state Alfred probably would have remained in for the rest of the week if he wasn't broken from his trance by the cheering of a crowd who had just learned that their new King had been found.

King Alfred was in for a very long day.

"Hey. H-*hic*-hey. Queenie. Wake up." Arthur was roused from his half-sleep by the sound of the cell's door being swung open on rusty hinges. A few guards, obviously drunk out of their minds, stumbled in. "Hey. Is it- it's true? Did ya do it?"

"Do what?" Arthur asked as he pushed himself further against the wall.

"Is it true you killed him? Ungrateful piece of-" One of the guards grabbed Arthur's arm. Arthur yelped and tried to pull away.

"Unhand me! What are you going on about? What's going on?" The guard ignored Arthur's questions as he threw him to the ground, kicking him hard in the stomach. Arthur wheezed as the air was forced from his lungs, and he curled up in pain.

"You did, didn't you!? Tryin' ta delay your ex- excution! You killed him!" Another guard dragged Arthur to his feet by his neck. Arthur tried to run but was stopped by the chain on his ankle. A guard grabbed him and threw him down again.

Arthur curled up as best he could, trying to block the flurry of kicks and punches landing on his arms, legs, and head. He felt someone on top of him, and was for a moment grateful for the respite in the attack.

Until he felt a hand down his pants.

"Get off! Let go of me! Who the hell do you think you are!?" He struggled fruitlessly as the alpha leaned his weight on Arthur, holding him down with one hand. One of the others started laughing.

"Don't touch me! Get off!" His demands were ignored as the guard continued to grope him, trailing sloppy kisses and bites along Arthur's already bruised skin.

"Stop struggling," the guard grunted.

"Ha! You should be grateful you're getting this much! Who else is gonna touch a used barren omega?" Arthur squeezed his eyes shut as tears of pain and frustration welled up in him. He wanted to scream of the unfairness of it all. I never asked to be queen! Just execute me already and get it over with, for god's sake!

"Oh my god, he's actually getting off on this!" Tears did fall from Arthur's eyes at that, as the burning of desire curled in his gut. Leave me alone, he thought desperately. He felt his omega instincts taking over, the impulse to just submit and get it over with beginning to override his stubborn pride as pheromones from the alpha guards permeated the room. A pleasant numbness settled over both mind and body as Arthur began to drift out of consciousness once more.

"You will be staying here now. I'll have one of the guards give you a tour of the castle later, and show you to the King's chambers. Your coronation ceremony will be in three days. Do you have any questions?" Jack Yao was glad that King Alfred seemed to be accepting his kingship fairly quickly. Nothing was more annoying than dealing with a Royal in denial.

"Uh, yeah," Alfred said eloquently, "Where's the Queen? Wasn't he supposed to be executed? Is there a new Queen, too?" Although Alfred didn't keep up with current events as much as he figured he should, talk of the Queen's execution was major gossip throughout the kingdom. What had yesterday been a source of vague interest for Alfred was suddenly a major concern now that he didn't know who he was going to rule with.

"The ex-Queen is being held in the castle's prison. King Henry collapsed before the execution was performed. If you would like, the execution can be carried out tomorrow." Yao watched Alfred from the corner of his eyes, gauging his reaction. Alfred was startled. He had never held someone's fate in his hands like this. And it was said so casually too! Alfred realized with a sinking feeling that he would be expected to judge and sentence many criminals to death or to jail during his reign.

"What was the Queen going to be executed for?"

"High treason." At the King's wide-eyed shock, Yao explained: "King Henry sentenced three Queens to death – Arthur being the third – for treason. It was not specified what this treason was, but it is suspected that the King was disappointed that the Queens were not bearing heirs."

"Can he do that?" Alfred was horrified at the thought that innocent omegas had been killed at the whims of the late King.

"He was the King. The King's power is virtually unlimited." Yao shrugged in a way that suggested even if he didn't like it, he wasn't fighting it. "And at any rate, his decision was not unpopular. Arthur is widely considered the least-liked Queen in the history of Spades."

"What? Why?" Alfred wasn't sure how much more news he could take. He tried to think of what he knew of Queen Arthur; he'd heard that the Queen never smiled, and that he was so cold and unloving that the King had been forced to turn to mistresses. Was it really that bad?

Yao hesitated in his answer, seeming to choose his words carefully. "Arthur is… oddly contrary for an omega. He argued often with the King and his advisors, and was very stubborn. He was also cold and aloof – not considered particularly queenly, you know. Of course, some of the rumours are darker. Some say he practices witchcraft."

"Witchcraft!?" Alfred was appropriately afraid of witchcraft and dark magic – even though such forms of magic weren't real as far as he was concerned. How had the Queen gotten caught up in such things in the first place?

"Yes, well, that is just a rumour. Some maids claim to have found spell books in his room." Yao hesitated again before continuing. "Others say they have seen him talking to fairies in the gardens. I've seen him a few times, talking to thin air. I'm not sure that he was addressing fairies, though."

Great, Alfred thought, so the Queen is either an evil witch or he's insane. Awesome.

"Where is he? In prison?" he asked.

"Yes."

"I want to talk to him."

The prison in the palace turned out to be exactly like the prisons Alfred had seen in cities, only with more security. He was led past rows of empty cells, silently thankful that he wouldn't have to deal with other high-profile criminals just yet, before arriving at what appeared to be another empty cell.

Alfred was confused when Yao and the guards stopped. He peered into the cell, finally catching sight of what appeared to be a heap on the floor near the back.

"Unlock the cell," he said in the most authoritative voice he could muster. That ordering people around thing was going to take some getting used to.

"Yes, Your Majesty," a guard said as he unlocked the door. Wow. Your Majesty. That's gonna take the most getting used to.

Alfred brushed aside these thoughts as he approached the heap, followed closely by Yao and the two guards. The Queen was lying awkwardly, face-down but somehow still curled up, and was unconscious. Even in the darkness of the jail cell, bruises could be easily seen, along with blood and dirt. The King felt a surge of anger, because even if the Queen was evil or crazy, he didn't deserve to be beaten.

"What happened to him!? Was he attacked?" Alfred turned towards the guards, who looked very uncomfortable. "Aren't you supposed to be guarding him? What happened?"

One of the guards cleared his throat awkwardly. "There were some other guards here earlier. I think they might have been drinking. They went into the Queen's cell."

Alfred's scowl deepened. There was no way the other guards hadn't heard the beating. "Can you identify them? I want them found and detained immediately." The guard paled and nodded, excusing himself to go find the drunken guards.

Alfred kneeled next to the Queen, trying to determine the extent of his injuries. He'd never been good at medical stuff. Either way the Queen was bleeding, and that was never a good sign. Alfred unlocked the chains and easily picked him up, ignoring Yao's noise of protest.

"Is there a hospital wing or something around here?" Now that he was holding the Queen, Alfred couldn't help but feel his panic rise. He had never met the Queen before, but he had seen him from a distance at ceremonies and festivals. Besides, everyone knew what Queen Arthur looked like: he was slim and graceful, a dainty looking omega that was anything but. It was said that his cold glare could freeze fountains, and that he always gave the appearance of being somewhere else entirely, as though the Kingdom was beneath him. He was a terrifying omega, unnerving everyone around him. So it surprised Alfred to find that he wished nothing more than for the Queen to look his typical, unapproachable self. Now he just looked pale and sickly in the dim lighting, and felt far too light to be healthy. Apart from blood and the grime of the cell, Arthur was also covered in sweat and his face was marked with dry tear tracks.

Yao addressed the remaining guard. "Go get a doctor. Send him to the Queen's chambers." To Alfred, he said, "Follow me. We'll take him to his room." Alfred was oddly relieved to see that Yao looked disturbed by the Queen's condition. He couldn't shake the feeling that this situation wasn't as abnormal as it should have been.

Arthur's first thought as he gradually regained awareness was that he must have died. The cold, hard floor of his jail cell had been replaced with soft sheets. Had he gone to Heaven? He quickly dismissed that notion as the pain in his body returned in waves.

Opening his eyes, Arthur found that his second guess was correct: he was in Hell. Hell in the form of the Queen's chambers at least, home to many of Arthur's worst memories. Wonderful. They couldn't even have the decency of letting me die, he thought bitterly.

It was then that Arthur noticed the young woman sleeping on a chair at his bedside. He had no idea what she was there for, unless she happened to be the worst guard in the kingdom. Arthur cleared his throat loudly and, when that had no effect, took to shaking her leg. The guard woke slowly, expression morphing from groggy confusion to startled awareness.

"Your Majesty! Er… I mean-" the woman cut herself off, obviously flustered. Arthur simply continued to stare at her.

"Excuse me," she said abruptly, standing and walking out the door. Arthur listened as she addressed someone outside of the door.

"Please go get the King. Tell him the Queen is awake."

"Your Majesty?" A small crowd of maids stood around the King's bed, shuffling uneasily.

"Maybe try shaking him?" one suggested.

"Nonsense! You can't just touch the King without his permission!"

"But he asked to be told when the Queen awoke. Is that permission?" The maids glanced at each other, at a loss for what to do. They had no clue how the new King might react if woken incorrectly.

"Wasn't he in the army before this?" someone asked.

"So?"

"Well that should wake him up, right?"

Without further ado, one brave soul stepped forward and said loudly and clearly: "JONES! Attention!"

The maids scurried backwards as Alfred immediately rolled out of bed and stumbled into position, chin up, chest out, shoulders back. He would have been quite the intimidating figure if he wasn't blinking sleepily and looking increasingly confused.

"Yessir. What?" The King looked around the room, sleep fading from his mind as yesterday's events returned to him. "What's going on?"

One of the maids stepped forward, bowing slightly. "Sir, you asked to be alerted when the Queen awoke. He is now awake."

"The… Queen?" Alfred blinked as that particular situation returned to him. "Oh! Oh, right! Where is he? Still in his room?" A maid nodded. Alfred quickly pulled a robe over his pajamas and grabbed his glasses from his bedside table.

"Great, thank you!" he called as he headed out the door.

Several wrong doors and helpful directions from the staff later, Alfred managed to find his way back to the Queen's chambers. Inside was a man Alfred recognized from the previous day as the doctor that had patched the Queen up, now standing by the Queen's side once more. Alfred then looked at Queen Arthur himself, and was surprised to find him staring at the King with cold fury.

For Alfred, the Queen now looked exactly as he expected. Green eyes shone with a fiery defiance that was entirely unlike an omega. Wasn't he supposed to be crying, asking for help and protection? This Arthur guy looked like he was going to leap out of bed and attack someone, injuries and all.

(As for Arthur, his first impression of King Alfred was rather underwhelming. He did not know the odd young man in the bathrobe, and assumed he was simply another doctor or maid. The most remarkable thing that he'd noticed about him was the energy he seemed to carry with him; it was odd to find someone within the castle walls whose passion and joy for life had not been entirely drained. Arthur came to the conclusion that the boy must be new, and he would fit in perfectly well with the others in a few months, when the enthusiasm was sapped from him.)

Most of these thoughts were subconscious, and in truth the Queen wasted little thought on the stranger. He obviously had much more important things to worry about.

"Who are you? What's happened? Where's the King?" Arthur demanded, obviously fed up. The maids and Doctor Afonso had refused to tell him anything, apparently unsure of what they were allowed to share.

Luckily, that happened to be the moment Jack Yao showed up.

"King Henry is dead," his said bluntly. "This is your new King, King Alfred." Arthur froze in shock, eyes wide as he looked back and forth between Yao and the young stranger dressed in a royal bathrobe. This boy is supposed to be the King? There's nothing kingly about him! he thought.

"You can't be serious," Arthur said weakly. "What happened? Henry's dead?" Yao nodded.

"The King collapsed suddenly yesterday shortly before your execution. He died a few hours later." Yao turned to address Alfred. "Speaking of which, the results came back from the mortician. He says the King died of uremic poisoning." At Alfred's blank look, Yao elaborated.

"The King dies of acute kidney failure. Which means," Yao said uneasily, "that no once can prove that there was any foul play. The mortician does not believe he was murdered."

"Really!?" Alfred's eyes lit up at the news; this meant he didn't have to conduct an investigation into the King's death, and it meant that there probably weren't any King-killers roaming the streets. "Awesome! So what now?"

Everyone glanced around awkwardly for a moment, each waiting for another to speak, when Yao said, "Doctor, have you spoken to Arthur about his injuries yet?"

"Ah, no," Afonso replied, "I arrived shortly before the King and haven't had a chance to speak with him yet."

"What does it matter?" Arthur asked Yao, "Why were my injuries treated?"

Why were his injuries treated? What sort of question is that? Alfred thought before explaining, "Well, I went to talk to you in the prison yesterday, but you were passed out and bleeding! So I had the doctor fix you up." In a more serious tone he asked, "How were you injured?"

"What does it matter?" Arthur repeated in a challenging sort of way.

"If I may," the doctor cut in, "Arthur has several bruises and lacerations covering his body, in different stages of aging." He wasn't sure how much the King knew of Arthur's past, but old scars and marks suggested that yesterday wasn't the first time Arthur took a beating. And worse. "There is also evidence that he was sexually assaulted," he said hesitantly.

At this, Alfred looked shocked and furious, as if such treatment was unusual for a Queen. "What!? Did guards assault you yesterday?" he demanded of Arthur.

Arthur blushed in embarrassment. Even if such a thing was expected of an omega in his position, he still felt ashamed that he hadn't been strong enough to fight back. His embarrassment morphed quickly into defensive anger though as he said, "Some drunken alphas beat me. What does it matter? There's a new King."

"What does it matter? Are you serious? And what does me being King have to do with anything?" Alfred asked, shocked and confused once more.

It was then that Yao cut in, deciding that the other Royals needed to sort this out by themselves. "Your Majesty, with all due respect, I think the doctor and I should take our leave. I expect Arthur has questions regarding his execution and future that only you can answer," he said. Alfred startled, seemingly having forgotten they were there in the first place. With a nod, Yao and Afonso left the room.

The King and ex-Queen stared at each other uncomfortably for a moment, neither knowing what to say. Finally, Alfred sat down heavily in the chair the doctor had vacated. He thought about what Yao had said, and told Arthur, "I'm not gonna have you executed if you didn't do anything."

Arthur was unconvinced, eyes narrowed in a calculating expression. "I hardly think that should matter to you. What are you playing at?"

"What do you mean?" the King asked.

Arthur paused as he thought, before a look of understanding came over him. "You're a commoner, aren't you?"

"Upper-middle class!" Alfred retorted, mildly offended. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"It has to do with everything," Arthur said in a patient, almost patronizing tone. "You don't know the traditions and customs of the castle."

Alfred seemed disgruntled at that. "Sure I do. I went to a Royal school you know."

"But you don't know the unspoken rules," Arthur argued, patience running out. "You would if you bothered to pay attention to the monarchy, but I suppose Royalty doesn't interest you."

"What are you talking about?" Alfred asked in exasperation.

That was when Arthur explained, in a passive, oddly detached voice: "Traditionally, when a new King is chosen he or she has the Queen executed. It's considered poor taste to keep the omega claimed by the previous King. Most Kings wish to have a fresh, virgin omega for their wedding night."

What does it matter? There's a new King. Arthur's previous words echoed in Alfred's mind, a new wave of horror washing over him "What!? They can't do that! There's no way that's legal," he said desperately.

Arthur was unaffected. "As long as the Royal Council doesn't protest too much, the King can do virtually anything he pleases."

"Well, I'm not like that," Alfred said shakily but with renewed determination, "I'm not gonna execute you just because King Henry died."

Yet Arthur remained unimpressed and unconvinced. He had far too much experience to believe this new King. "Oh? And what of my scheduled execution? I've committed high treason, you know," he said, smiling sardonically.

Alfred shifted uneasily at the mention of Arthur's supposed treason. "Yao said the King just made that up. What did you do?" he asked.

"I made the same mistake his previous Queens made," Arthur replied offhandedly. "I failed to give him an heir."

"You can't just execute someone for that!" Alfred responded indignantly.

"Of course not," Arthur said with an air of annoyance. "That's why I was accused of treason."

"That's still not fair," Alfred argued. "I'm not gonna have you executed just because the last King didn't like you."

"So, what? Do you plan to keep me as Queen?" Arthur was entirely fed up with this conversation. Even if he hadn't technically done anything wrong, surely the new King would be sick of Arthur's attitude and realize that Arthur made a horrible Queen.

"Yeah," Alfred replied simply, "Why shouldn't I?"

Arthur froze in shock. What was wrong with this boy? Was he serious? Did he just like getting people's hopes up before crushing them? What if he is serious? Arthur thought with a sinking feeling in his stomach. Why would he want to keep me around? Does he prefer used omegas that are already broken in? Perhaps he's simply mad? It didn't even cross Arthur's mind that Alfred might just have a very different set of morals than he was used to seeing in the castle.

Shaking himself from his thoughts, Arthur gave one last desperate attempt to have the King see reason. "Surely even you can't be so naïve," he began. "Do you have any idea how unpopular I've been as Queen? And now I've been accused of high treason, and was to be executed the same day the King died. There's no doubt I'll be blamed for his death!"

"But you said you didn't do it," Alfred retorted immediately.

"What does that matter?" Arthur asked desperately. "Guilty or not, conspiracies of witchcraft already run rampant. And now I'm supposed to have not only escaped my execution, but be kept as Queen by the new King? The Council won't stand for it!"

"Does the Council have any say in this?" Alfred asked.

Arthur paused, flustered. He had been trapped by his own words. "Not officially, but… I told you it's important for the King to remain on the good side of the Council!" He found his pace again, "And it would be a terribly unpopular decision with the people as well. You've been given a golden opportunity to get rid of the hated Queen for multiple reasons, and you're going to waste it on a decision that you will undoubtedly be called mad for?"

"Why are you saying all this?" Alfred demanded, hopelessly baffled by the whole situation. "Did you want to be executed?"

This question gave Arthur pause. Of course I don't want to be executed, he thought miserably. I'm not suicidal. But then he thought of all he had been through as Queen, and all he had done before it. He had gone to University. He had planned to become a diplomat and travel the world, despite being an omega. I was going to be great.

Then he had been chosen as Queen. The second highest position in the land, and he had become powerless. He was told to be a complacent omega, his only job in life to be sexually available for the King. Now he felt like crying, which was a surprise. He thought he had become numb to all of it long ago. I don't want to die. But I can't go back to being Queen.

Unfortunately, because the Royals were chosen by the Spades mark on their wrist, they would rule until their deaths. Banishing a Royal didn't erase their mark, and a replacement couldn't be chosen while the previous Royal still lived. Which meant Arthur's only escape from being Queen was to die.

I don't want to die. The truth in that thought surprised him. He had wished more than once during his reign that King Henry would execute him as he had his previous Queens, just so that he could escape. But here the opportunity was, and he didn't want to argue any more for his execution.

Arthur laughed, a surprised, almost hysterical sound. "No. I…" He shook his head, emotions shutting down once more. It doesn't matter. "Never mind. You are the King; it's entirely your decision."

It seemed that Queen Arthur's rule was not yet over.

A/N: So the king (the dead one, not Alfred) is sorta based off of King Henry VIII. He had six queens, and you might remember their fates from this thing: divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived. Of the beheaded ones, they were executed for treason by cheating on the king. Because cheating on the king was apparently treason. Some say the reason he kept getting new wives was because he got bored of them, or fell in love with someone else, or felt threatened by them, or was disappointed that he wasn't getting any male heirs. So yeah, he was kind of a prick.

Also, Doctor Afonso is meant to be Portugal. Did you know the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance is the oldest alliance still in force in the world today? I imagine they're pretty good buds.

Chapter 2 should be up today. I'll try to get chapter 3 up tomorrow.