Alfred rolled over on his bed, throwing his arm over his eyes. Light was beginning to filter down into his room, and he knew exactly what came next. Only a short moment later, his attic room was filled with the shrill tone of an alarm clock. Alfred burrowed deeper into the covers and screwed his eyes shut as if he could wish the sound away. He heard a groan from the other side of the room, then disoriented footsteps across the room until the clock's bell was silenced.

"Al..." a familiar voice called to him from across the room. Alfred didn't respond.

"Al wake up, we're going to be late."

Alfred rolled over yet again attempting to block out the voice, only to have the covers swiftly pulled from his grasp. He opened his eyes to see a boy with curly blond hair and glasses standing next to his bed, smiling. Alfred smiled at the blurry figure he recognized as his twin and let out a short laugh.

"I'm up. I'm up, Matt."

Matthew smiled and shook his head as he threw the covers back at Alfred.

"See you downstairs." Matthew said as he left the room and closed the door behind him. Alfred grabbed his own pair of glasses from the bedside table and put them on. As the world cleared up before his eyes, he squinted, and let out a large yawn before running his hand through his own blond hair. He waited for a few moments in silence, then stood up, and began getting ready for the day.

Alfred Jones and his twin brother Matthew had lived at the edge of Spades for their entire lives. Their small farmhouse was on an attractive plot of land, but since their parent's death three years prior, they hadn't really used it. Most of it, anyway. Alfred took care of as much land as he could, but the several acres were still to much to handle alone. Furthermore, Matthew wasn't too keen on farm work and preferred studying to spending time outdoors. And with both of them still in their teens, they ended up selling most of their animals to pay for living expenses as well as their education. They kept one horse, some chickens, and Alfred tended to a small crop of vegetables, but that was about the extent of their once-happy farm family.

Alfred put on his simple school clothes and grabbed his school bag. Before heading downstairs, he looked around the room. The attic, which the brothers shared, was beginning to look a little worse for wear. The walls had several cracks in it, and Alfred had noticed how water trickled in on rainy nights. The only other bedroom was their parent's which remained untouched since the day they died. Alfred let out a sigh.

"I'll have to find a way to fix the roof..." he mumbled under his breath. With that, Alfred left the room and headed downstairs.

When Alfred came downstairs, he found Matthew sitting at the dining table eating a small bowl of porridge and flipping through a textbook. Alfred followed suit and grabbed an apple before sitting down across from his brother.

"Take it easy, Matt. We're about to have a whole day of that."

Matthew smiled without looking up from his book. "It never hurts to review, Al."

Alfred made a sour face at the thought of studying outside of class, and returned his attention to the piece of fruit in his hand. He thought for a short while and then looked back to Matthew.

"Matt, you know you could-"

"Al." Matthew cut off his brother, knowing what he was about to suggest. "It's not going to happen."

Alfred frowned but then said nothing. Matthew looked up from his book.

"Do you have work today?"

Alfred looked back up, surprised, and nodded.

"Yeah, at the pub. Just until midnight."

"Cool. Maybe I'll leave some dinner for you."

Alfred sneered jokingly at his brother's comment.

"Thanks, your highness."

Matthew laughed and and looked back to his book.

"You're welcome."

The two brothers made their way into town. Their school was rather far from their house, but it wasn't an unpleasant commute. The weather in Spades was always cool and cloudy, so the walk to the trolley stop in town was always a pleasant one. But lately Alfred didn't like going into town. Nowadays the air always seemed desperate and tense, and even the busiest parts of town seemed hushed and anxious. As the two brothers waited at the trolley stop, Matthew spoke up.

"It's because they haven't found the next King yet."

Alfred turned to look at his brother.

"...What?"

Matthew rolled his eyes at his brother's dumbfounded response.

"You really should open a newspaper every now and then. The King and Queen of Spades died over half a year ago."

Alfred frowned.

"I know that much, Matt!"

"Well, even though it's been this long, the new King and Queen have yet to appear. The new Jack is already in the castle, but without the King or Queen..."

"...then the Jack can't do anything." Alfred finished Matthew's statement. Matthew nodded.

"There's a rumor that Clubs is going to attack while we have no defenses."

Alfred pondered his brother's statement for a while. Between Hearts, Spades, Clubs and Diamonds, Spades and Clubs were by far the most aggressive towards each other. For generations the two neighboring countries were fighting over land and resources, and it looked like another war would soon break out once more.

The trolley arrived and the two brothers began their ride to school. The ride was long and quiet, and Alfred and Matthew sat in silence as the the city buildings passed them by. The trolley stopped a short distance from the high school, and Alfred and Matthew headed inside. Their school was in a large, old, wooden building. It wasn't anything special, but it was the same school they had attended before their parents died. For them, it was a place of consistency despite its remarkably sullen atmosphere.

The two of them were in their last year of schooling, and only had a few more months before graduation. Alfred sighed as they passed through the school's main gate, escaping from the constant cool breeze that passed through Spades. He wasn't really sure what he wanted to do after schooling. Matthew was very smart and at the top of their class, while Alfred only excelled in mathematics and physical education. Alfred knew that getting into a university with his marks would be impossible, so for the time being he simply planned on working full time after high school. Alfred kept urging Matthew to apply to university in Spades, but Matthew simply shook his head and said that he would be going straight to work after schooling. Alfred knew that it was most likely their money situation that was holding Matthew back. The two of them worked part-time during the evening, but they were still far from financially stable. He frowned, as the pair started up the stairs to their classroom.

"Hey, Matt..."

"Hm?" Matthew responded without looking up from the textbook in his hand. He already looking at the materials for the day's classes. Alfred tried working out a new argument for Matthew applying to university. There was only a week left to apply and he knew, despite his attempts at hiding it, that Matthew wanted to go.

"Matt, I just really think you should-"

Dizziness. A strong and unexplainable spell of dizziness fell over Alfred. Confused, he grasped at the old wooden banister, to try and steady himself.

"Al?" Matthew's concerned voice rang inside of Alfred's head, but his brother's familiar face began to fade from view. His vision began to cloud and darken and soon he couldn't see anything at all.

"Al, what's wrong?" Matthew's voice came again, but in a distorted wave of sound that was hard to understand. Alfred tried to speak up to answer his brother, but was instead met with a harsh, fiery pain that ignited inside his heart. The pain seemed to knock the wind from his lungs, and his breathing became labored and heavy. The pain slowly seemed to spread from his heart across his entire chest, and it was soon followed by a crushing sensation. Alfred desperately tried to gasp for air, but he soon found his senses slipping from him. He could no longer feel his grasp on the banister, and all sound had been replaced with a high pitched ringing. The sensation of falling soon followed, and when that sensation abruptly stopped, silence followed as well. Alfred felt sleep closing around him, and as his consciousness faded, the last thing that Alfred was aware of was the sound ticking; the familiar, unmistakable ticking of a clock.

Alfred awoke to a deep pain at the back of his head. He winced as he slowly opened his eyes and looked around. The world around him was blurry, but he recognized the familiar shapes and colors of his bedroom. Confused, Alfred slowly sat up and became aware of just how much his head hurt. He looked out his window. He groaned and reached for his glasses that had been placed near his bed and put them on. Alfred looked out his bedroom window. The sun was setting. Suddenly he heard footsteps running up the stairs. Moments later, a figure he recognized as Matthew burst into the room. His face was tired, but relief spread across his face when he looked at his brother.

"Al!" Matthew rushed to Alfred's bed and carefully sat down, facing his brother. "You're up! Are...are you ok? How are you feeling?" Alfred flinched at the concern pouring out from his brother. He let out a groan as his head throbbed again.

"I feel dead." Alfred whined as he leaned backwards. "What happened?"

"You fell down a flight of stairs, you dork," Matthew said with a smile, recognizing that his brother was acting normally.

"Hey! Don't be rude to the injured."

Matthew let out a short laugh at his brother's comment, then his smile fell again.

"What happened, Al? We we're just walking up to class and you passed out. I didn't know what to do, you wouldn't wake up..." Matthew paused for a moment before continuing. "I took you to the school nurse, but apparently it's just exhaustion...did you stay up late last night or something?" Alfred clearly remembered the pain he had felt and knew that there was no way that it could've just been exhaustion.

"Yeah," Alfred lied, "I was up late...reading."

Matthew narrowed his eyes and tilted his head.

"You? Reading?"

Alfred immediately noticed the flaw in his story, but before he could think of another adequate excuse, Matthew shrugged and stood up.

"Oh well. You just have a really bad bump on your head, Al. Probably from when you fell down...you want ice?"

"Yeah, thanks dude."

Matthew let out a sheepish smile and headed for the door, when suddenly the pair heard the sound of a slamming door from outside. A brief second of confusion passed between them before they heard a loud, authoritative knock at the door. The twins crossed the room to look down at their front yard. In their front pasture was a long procession of royal guards on horseback, and one large vehicle encrusted with the royal seal. Alfred sucked in air and tried to wrap his head around the situation. Why were royal guards at their house? Suddenly he heard Matthew's voice speak up.

"God, Al what did you do?"

"Me? I didn't do anything, what did you do?"

The pair stared at each other in confusion before there was another knock at the door. The twins went downstairs, and headed towards the door. Matthew's calm and studious front seemed to fade as he hesitated at the bottom of the stairs. Alfred pushed past his brother and confidently unlocked the door. Neither he nor Matthew had done anything wrong. There was no need for him to be hesitant.

Upon opening the door, two men came into view. The man standing closest to the door was wearing a long blue garment decorated with the Spades crest. His long dark hair was pulled into a low ponytail that rested over his right shoulder. The man was shorter than Alfred, but his eyes held an air of maturity that led Alfred to wonder if he was much older than his face led him to believe. Behind him stood a taller man with sandy blond hair and green eyes. He was dressed well in a collared shirt, vest and tie, but was not wearing the royal crest like the shorter man or the guards on horseback behind them. The blond man was also staring down at a strange glowing ornament shaped like a compass. Alfred guessed had some sort of magical property.

"Is this the Jones household?" The man with dark hair spoke up first.

"Yes, it is..." Alfred responded and noticed that the other man had looked up at him. "And you two are...?"

"Oh, yes of course. I am Wang Yao. I am the current Jack of Spades." The man gestured behind him. "This is Arthur Kirkland, he serves the House of Spades as an adviser." The man introduced as "Arthur" nodded but immediately looked away again, making no efforts to be social unlike the Jack. Matthew stepped up behind Alfred and spoke timidly.

"Uh...what can we do for you?"

Yao looked from Alfred to Matthew, making the connection that the two were twins. Then he spoke again.

"We have reason to believe that someone in this house has the mark of Spades."

Alfred's eyes narrowed.

"The mark of Spades?" As he repeated the Jack's statement, Matthew's eyes widened.

"You think one of us is the King or Queen of Spades?" Matthew's voice wavered at the end of his sentence, and he took a step back.

"We don't think. We know." The man named Arthur spoke up as he stepped in front of Yao with the glowing instrument in his hand. "The palace wizards received the Spade's signal this morning." As Arthur stepped inside the Jones' farmhouse, the compass-like object in his hand released more light. He furrowed his brow, then held the object closer to Alfred. The instrument glowed and released a loud ticking sound in response. He turned towards Yao and gestured to Alfred.

"This one." At Arthur's words, Yao stepped inside the house as well.

"But we can't be truly sure without seeing the mark." Yao said as he walked closer to Alfred. Alfred looked at Matthew who had backed away to the other side of the room with a shocked look on his face. Alfred wanted to call out to his brother, reassuring him that this was some kind of mistake, but was greatly distracted by the man in front of him. Arthur began to circle Alfred, slowly, looking at him up and down. He stopped and faced Alfred and looked into his eyes.

"Strip."

Heat rushed to Alfred's face, and he scowled at the man in front of him.

"Excuse me?"

Arthur rolled his eyes at Alfred's response and let out an irritated sigh. Then, without little warning, he pushed Alfred against the wall behind them. Without giving Alfred time to react, Arthur's hands were at the buttons of Alfred's school shirt.

"Whoa, what the hell are you doing?!" Alfred protested fervently but the green-eyed man continued with the shirt's buttons. Yao, who was standing back watching the whole scene unfold, crossed his arms.

"I hardly think that is necessary, Arthur," the Jack said in an exhausted tone.

Suddenly, Arthur's hands froze and his eyes widened. He released Alfred's shirt and took a step back. Yao stepped in closer and stood next to Arthur. Surprise flickered through his eyes as well. Alfred looked at the two men in confusion for a moment before looking down. His shirt had only been undone half-way, but he could clearly see what the two were looking at. On his chest there was a large, elaborate mark. The black markings started just below the collarbone, spreading all the way across the chest, and in the center of Alfred's chest was the unmistakable royal family's emblem; a large dark Spade.

"It's the King..." Arthur whispered. He looked at Alfred, with shock on his face, then backed away, lowering himself to the ground on one knee, bowing deeply. The man named Yao followed suit, and lowered himself as well.

"Your Excellency," Yao said, without raising his head, "at long last we have finally found you. Allow me to formally re-introduce myself. I am your Jack, Wang Yao."

Alfred's heart pounded erratically in his chest as he tried to grasp his current situation. The King of Spades. He was now the ruler of the country of Spades. Alfred ran his hand through his hair and shook his head.

"This can't be real."

Yao raised his head and stepped towards Alfred. "I assure you, this is very real, Your Excellency."

"You're being serious? This has to be some sort of mistake. I can't rule Spades, I haven't even finished school yet!" Alfred protested, looking for any way to be released from this new, crushing responsibility. He quickly backed away from the Jack. Yao paused, rested his chin between his thumb and pointer finger, and thought for a moment.

"You are younger than we had hoped. But we do not choose the rulers of Spades. They are chosen for us." Yao then walked towards the door, and paused. "I'm sure it will work out. Come, Your Excellency. The palace awaits you." Alfred looked back at his brother. Matthew was still at the back of the room and no longer looked shocked, but instead looked downcast.

"Wait." Alfred said as he walked to stand next to his brother. "This...this is Matthew. He's my brother and only family. Is there, uh, any way he could come with me?" Yao thought for a moment, but then frowned.

"My apologies, your excellency. But only the royal family can live in the castle."

Alfred frowned. Matthew placed his hand on Alfred's shoulder.

"Al, it's okay. Don't worry about me."

Alfred looked at the ground for a moment before a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"I understand," Alfred said, "but as King, I want you to pull some strings for me."

Yao raised his eyebrows in surprise, then smiled, intrigued.

"I'm listening."

"I want my brother to attend the university of his choosing. No charge to him."

Matthew's eyes widened at Alfred's words.

"Al what are you doing?" Matthew whispered at his brother.

Alfred said nothing, and maintained eye contact with the Jack. Yao then smiled then lowered his head.

"Consider it done, Your Excellency."

Alfred smiled at his brother, and saw what he recognized as a genuine smile from Matthew.

"Come now, Your Excellency. We really must be going." Yao said as he and Arthur passed under the household's doorway and waited outside.

The two twins stood in silence for a moment. The very lifestyle Alfred had woken up to was gone, never to return.

"I...I can't believe this..." Alfred said, breaking the silence.

Matthew nodded in acknowledgment before speaking himself. Matthew looked sad, but after thinking for a moment, selected some choice words.

"Thank you, Al."

Alfred smiled and softly punched his brothers shoulder.

"I'm your brother, it's what I do."

The twins laughed for a moment then Alfred made his way towards the door. He paused and looked over his shoulder.

"Come visit me sometime?"

Matthew nodded with his familiar sheepish smile.

"I will."

Alfred displayed his bravest smile for his brother.

"See you."

"See you."

And with that informal goodbye, Alfred left his house and his brother behind. The Jack, the adviser and the new King climbed inside the vehicle and were off. As Alfred looked out the window, he watched his childhood home fade from view and realized that he would never again be able to return his everyday life. He brought his attention back inside the vehicle. Yao was looking over some papers in a small leather file and was muttering to himself. Sitting next to the Jack was Arthur. As Alfred looked at the "adviser", he realized that the man was staring at him. Arthur was staring at Alfred with an unwavering, unreadable expression. Alfred stared back at Arthur and scowled. He didn't like him. There was something about the man with green eyes that Alfred didn't trust. Their gaze remained locked for a few moments before Alfred turned his attention back out the window. Arthur eventually did the same, and as they rode towards the Spades Palace, neither knew of the trials that awaited the two of them.

Notes:

This concludes, chapter one!

Wow, there was a lot more Alfred-Matthew bro-stuff than I originally planned ^^ Next chapter we will be seeing more of Arthur!

This is my first fanfiction that isn't a oneshot, I hope it was ok ^^