Alfred shifted uncomfortably in his seat, once again peaking around the expensive silk drapes to stare out at the snowy expanse before them. The procession carried on, mostly unhindered by the light snow and icy roads.
Sighing, he sank back into the plush cushions of the carriage, the sound of horses stomping and wheels turning muffled by the thick walls.
"Will you give that a rest?"
Looking over, Alfred eyes the man sitting across from him. Still dressed in his deep royal purple waistcoat, is Arthur, the Queen of Spades.
Sighing, Alfred shifts again, making Arthur huff in annoyance as he continues to read over the parchments in his hands.
"Being restless won't get us to the meeting any faster. So just sit still."
"I can't help it!" Alfred cries, "How can you be so calm about this? Aren't you worried?"
Huffing, Arthur throws down the papers, glaring at the supposed King of Spades, though right now he's more like a petulant child than a King.
"For the love of all things Alfred! We've been over this, this meeting is happening, we're going, so you might as well just suck it up and deal with it."
"You know we can't trust Clubs! What if they try something? Oh who am I kidding, of course they'll try something!" Al worriedly rants, "What if they poison the food, or the wine? Or what if they've hired an assassin, just waiting to kill us as soon as we're all alone?"
Worriedly, Alfred glances out the window once again, only for Arthur to pull him away.
"Alfred behave yourself!" He snaps, glaring daggers at the young King, "How many times must we go over this? The gathering of the Four Kingdoms is rare, yes, but it is a tradition dating back to the founding of our lands. Not once, in over two thousand years has any Kingdom broken the peace treaty that guards these meetings." He signs, picking up some papers to look over, "We're not even at war with Clubs right now, and, as you well know, these meetings have occurred when more than one war was going on, and they still all came out of it just fine."
"Yeah," Al whines, shoving Arthur's papers away, "But none of them involved Ivan."
"Just what is your problem with him?"
"He freaks me out! I just know he's planning something, why else would he be so, so, happy in his letters to meet?"
"Have you considered he might actually want to improve relations between our Kingdoms?"
"No." Al pouts quietly.
"Exactly." Arthur shakes his head, "In any case, Ivan and Clubs isn't our only concern, both Hearts and Diamonds will be there too."
"Hmmm…." Alfred frowns, staying silent for a few, miraculous seconds, before going off on another tangent, "Maybe I should have stayed behind after all."
"No, both King and Queen from each Kingdom is to attend, that's the rule."
"But leaving running the whole Kingdom for two weeks to Yao all by himself seems like a lot don't you think?"
"Not at all."
"But he's so old, what if something happens to him?"
Arthur rolls his eyes at the endless stream of nonsense Alfred can produce, "He's not as old as you think, plus, he's not alone. He has the council to delegate tasks to, and, if need be, Matthew is more than capable of stepping in."
"No way!" Al frowns, "I don't care if he's been named the Ace, I don't want him 'taking care' of anything."
Alfred has never been happy with his twins duty, but, as is the way of things, Matthew is their Ace,
whether the King likes it or not.
Seeing that Arthur won't be swayed this way, Alfred decides to change tactic.
"What about King Francis? Is he coming too?"
Arthur knows Alfred is just trying to rile him up, and he refuses to be drawn into Al's pettiness.
"Yes, Al, he is. What of it?"
"Well, it's just, you know, after everything that happened at the harvest banquet-"
Slapping the papers down, Arthur glares, his eyes flashing as his magic response to his rising anger, "Not another word!"
The air around Alfred suddenly feels heavy and oppressive, warning him of the danger he's in. Scooting back from Arthur, he raises his hands, "Okay, okay!"
Arthur glares for a beat longer, before returning to his papers, and slowly the heaviness lifts.
Sighing in relief, Al returns his attention to outside. Really, he should have known not to mention such a touchy subject. Maybe he did get a bit carried away there.
But one thing is for certain, this meetings going to be interesting.
Deep within the frozen tundra of the north, in one of the few neutral zones between Kingdoms, sits an other wise abandoned palace. As the only sign of civilisation for miles around, it's placements seems more than a little odd. Even it's architecture is unlike that of either Clubs or Spades, who's Kingdoms border this strange place. Built of rough stone and stain glass windows depicting mysterious objects and battles, it's very presence exudes a strange type of energy.
There are a number of these building scattered throughout the various barren lands that separate one Kingdom from another, yet it is here, in this odd place of ice and mystery, that the Four Kingdoms meet.
As this particular location is closest to Clubs, their delegation is the first to arrive. Just like with any Royal gathering, each bring with them a small army of servants, and by the time the delegation from Spades — the second closest — arrives, they've already got to work.
Steps and windows cleared of ice and snow, warm fires lit in every major room, and mass dusting efforts have fully revived this old building to a glimpse of it's past glory.
The wide expanse leading up to the palace easily gives full view of the approaching procession, and plenty of time to make ready for their arrival, much to Alfred's dismay.
When their carriage finally comes to a halt, Alfred attempts to hold the door closed, that is until Arthur smacks his hands away.
Sighing, Alfred pulls his coat on just as a servant opens the carriage door for them. As he steps out into the freezing air, he frowns. Before them, standing at the top of the stairs, is the King and Queen of Clubs. Dressed in a beautiful flowing green dress, Queen Elizabeta stands to the right of the one person Alfred really would rather not see; Ivan. The King of Clubs, dressed in a heavy coat dyed the same bright green of the Kingdoms royal colours, smiles down at the pair.
"Play nice." Arthur whispers harshly in Al's ear as he sorts his coat, before turning to smile up at the awaiting pair.
Reluctantly, Alfred tags along a half step behind Arthur as he walks up the steps to greet the waiting royals.
"Arthur~" Elizabeta sings, happily stepping forward to meet them, "It's good to see you again."
"Indeed." Arthur nods, accepting the Queens gloved hands into his own.
"Ah Alfred, it has been quite some time since we last met, such a shame." Ivan chimes happily, too happily for Al's liking.
"Hardly." He grumbles under his breath, only to receive a sharp elbow to the side from his Queen. Begrudgingly, he extends his hand, making Ivan's smile all the more eerie as he eagerly grasps Al's arm in greeting.
"I'm quite looking forward to this." Ivan whispers, and before Al can respond, the tall man releases him, stepping back to gesture to the open doors behind them.
"Come, let us get out of this dreadful cold."
While the Queens chat easily and catch up, Alfred glares at the back of Ivan as they follow the man through the winding corridors, eyeing each Clubs servant they pass with deep suspicion.
They suddenly turn and reach a large set of doors, the two servants standing by immediately opening them as soon as the royals are in sight.
Inside, a large hearth crackles and burns with bright flames, a sea of blankets and cushions covering the hard ground before the fire. While plush old chairs surround a table to the left, and servants hurriedly dash about, filling the table high with all kinds of food and drink.
"A gift," Ivan grins, gesturing to the room, "I know how the King enjoys his food."
Arthur smirks, holding back a chuckle at the dig, while Alfred only glares more. Elizabeta also seems quite amused by the joke.
Let them laugh, Alfred thinks, I'm not eating a single thing from him.
Despite Alfred's silent vow, Arthur smiles in thanks to the pair, "This is most kind of you."
Heading for the door, Ivan takes his Queens hand as they turn to leave, smiling back, "We are all friends here, aren't we?"
Liz nods as they leave, calling back, "What else are friends for?"
Once gone, the servants close the doors, leaving the pair to have some privacy. However, the second they're alone, Al spins on Arthur, "I don't trust them."
Completely ignoring Al's worries, Arthur saunters over to the table, perusing the banquet laid out for them.
"You never have." He sighs, before lighting upon a particularly tasty looking apple.
Predicting a disaster, Al rushes forward, slapping the fruit from his Queens hand.
"What the hell are you doing?" Arthur roars.
"Saving you! Who knows what poisons they've laced this with, we can't eat anything from them!"
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Arthur counts to ten, but as he tries to calm himself, Alfred kicks the perfectly good apple into the fire, causing him to lose all composure.
"For Gods sake Alfred! I have had just about enough of your childishness!"
Green eyes flashing in anger, Alfred blinks and in an instant, he's trapped, chains of raw magical energy wrap around his body, binding him in place.
"I don't care for your petty grudge with Ivan, nor for your constant casting of doubt on everyone here! This food is not poisoned, this wine is not poisoned, this fire and room is not a trick. This is a kind gesture from Clubs to Spades, not some underhanded attempt at sabotage." Arthur rants, before turning to point dangerously at his King, "We are here to take part in this tradition, not to cast judgment on those around us. We will attend the three summits of Land, Peace and Trade, and so help me if we leave here closer to another war than not-" He cuts himself off, leaving the threat hanging ominously in the air, before finally setting Al free.
Snatching up another apple, Arthur stomps off towards the doors.
"Wait, where are you going?"
"To be alone!" Arthur growls back, shoving the doors apart and disappearing.
It's early morning, the sunrise just beginning to light up the frozen plains, and across the white, the shimmering golds of the Kingdom of Diamonds can be seen approaching. Of all the Kingdoms, Diamonds by far is the richest, in both money and resources, and it shows. Rows of carriages decorated with bright gems and intricate gold leaf trundle along behind lines of horses dressed in the finest ceremonial accoutrements.
By the time the procession reaches the palace, the sun now fully lights up the white land, and glints off the finery, only adding to its beauty. And, like with Spades arrival the evening before, both sets of Royals stand on the steps waiting to greet the arriving pair. Though this time, the mood is considerably more tense.
Between Alfred's distrust of Ivan, and Arthur's sour mood at the young King, not to mention his own grievances against the arriving King of Diamonds, the frozen tundra might be a warmer welcome.
A servant rushes to the side of the largest and by far most decorative carriage, calling out to the world at large, "Announcing the arrival of his Lordship, King Francis Bonnefoy and Lady Erika Zwingli, Queen of Diamonds."
Francis is the first to step out, all fashion of puffy clothes and bright yellow and oranges, even his hair seems to shimmer like liquid gold. He turns, offering a hand to his Queen, Erika, a short girl and by far the youngest of all the Royals between the Four Kingdoms.
Smiling confidently, Francis lends his Queen his hand as they walk up the steps to join the others.
"Well, Hello again Arthur, it is always a pleasure." He purrs, bowing slightly, though whether it's in respect or mocking, no one can really tell.
"Francis." Arthur bites, his words clipped, before softening a bit as he turns to Erika. "My Lady."
"Francis~" Liz chimes, always oddly happy to see the man, while Ivan simply smiles down at the pair, his size all the more apparent next to Erika.
"Your Lordships," Erika politely nods, giving a small curtsey, "and Lady." She grins to Liz.
Not sparing the men another glance, Liz eagerly takes Erika's hand, "Excuse us boys." She dismissively waves as she leads the young Queen inside.
"Yes, come." Ivan grins, waving Francis to follow him on in.
"We shall catch up later." Francis whispers as he passes Arthur, winking at the Queen, much to the man's anger.
As Alfred stands rather cluelessly looking between the departing Kings and his Queen, Arthur huffs, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Gods help me, it'll be a miracle if we survive till Hearts gets here."
Author's notes: Hey, back again! So this is my first crack at Cardverse, and honestly this was pretty fun to write. I think my take no this au is a bit different to the standard, or whatever, though I don't really go into it much here. But you can bet I'll be coming back to this one, at some point.
R & R people.
Until next time, stay awesome!