Happy 4th of July!

Today, the King of Spades turns twenty.

When he awoke, Alfred found himself lying on his back and immediately grinned at the ceiling. He was in his twenties now: Arthur and Yao and everyone else couldn't call him a teenager any longer! In fact, he was 'officially an adult' as Arthur had claimed to be on occasion. With his joy of being a year older came excitement – what had Arthur and Yao got for him? Both of them had given him beautiful presents on his eighteenth and nineteenth birthday and both of those days had been fraught with tension between them. On his eighteenth, he was crowned as was Arthur and Yao and they hadn't gotten along at all. For his nineteenth, there was mostly sexual tension between him and his Queen and the distancing of Yao from the pair because of it. But the tension had been resolved and he now woke to Arthur's pretty face every day.

Grin widening, he turned to Arthur to watch him sleep. It was his favourite activity every morning, though he would probably wake Arthur earlier than normal in order to claim his presents. However, there was no-one in the bed with him and he blinked at it: if Arthur was up, something serious must have happened. So, worried now, he got up from bed and dressed in a simple shirt and trousers. Both Arthur and Yao would nag him for it later but he didn't want to waste time with the waistcoat and tie, especially if there was urgent work to be done.

Heading straight to the Queen's study, Alfred passed several servants. A few scurried past as if they were trying their best to ignore him. Those he greeted merely said 'Good morning' in return. It puzzled Alfred as, usually, he and the servants got on quite well. He was on familiar terms with all of them and he had expected a chorus of birthday greetings. Perhaps whatever had happened affected the staff as well. Why had he been left to sleep through it?

Having learnt his lesson over the last two years, Alfred knocked on the door to Arthur's study: he did not want to start his birthday having something heavy thrown at him. When Arthur bid him entrance, he stepped inside to find the Queen and Jack poring over several pieces of paper. With them was Rajesh, the Ace of the Spades Army as well as Matthew, his second in command. Wondering just what was going on, Alfred frowned at them all.

"Your Majesty," said Rajesh, bowing to him. Matthew followed suit but didn't speak. Yao turned to nod at him but all Arthur did was look up, distraught expression on his face as he shuffled the pieces of paper around.

"My King," he said, using the title he had to use in front of their subjects, especially in an official capacity. It was a sign of how serious the situation was that he addressed him as such in front of their friends. "What are you doing here?"

"You weren't there when I woke up," Alfred explained, drawing closer. He tried to get a look at the papers but, with them upside down and written in a fancy, flowing script, he had no hope of reading anything. "I thought something must be wrong and came straight here. What's going on? The people of the palace are on edge as well..."

"It's really nothing to concern yourself over, Your Majesty," Yao told him. "Merely a drought in one of the southern regions of Spades. We are planning how to distribute food if they are without harvest later in the year."

"As well as aid for finding water, my King," Arthur added. "We will also make sure there are people there that are trained in putting out wildfires."

Alfred breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. You're always so clever with things like that, Arti- My Queen. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No. We have most of it done already. We will call you if we need any aid."

"All right..." Alfred frowned at them again. "But you should have woken me."

"I apologise, my King. You have been working hard recently so I thought you needed your rest. Besides, this is a matter for internal affairs and is a job for the Queen, yes?"

"Right... Well..."

"Go get breakfast, Alfred," said Yao, shaking his head at him. "You will need your energy for the day ahead."

"Yes..." Glancing at the others, Alfred saw that no-one else intended to speak. So he slowly left the room, pausing just along the corridor to bite the edge of his thumb. They had all seemed rather dismissive of his usefulness and he felt rather like they had taken a few steps backwards in their relationship.

Not to mention that none of them had wished him a happy birthday...

After a silent breakfast, Alfred went to his own study to find out what his schedule was. He was sure, after all, that his earlier dismay at not being acknowledged on his birthday would be proved silly. Surely they had just been busy? If he got on with his own work, maybe the time would go quicker and they would be finished soon.

However, Yao had obviously not been able to draw up the schedule for there was nothing on his desk. It was surprisingly tidy, as if someone had come in to clear up the last bits and pieces he had left there last night. Wondering if Yao had done so, he went off to find him. After stopping a passing maid (who looked as if she really didn't want to be in his presence), he made his way to the kitchens and found Yao standing in the midst of the bustle with his hands on his hips.

"Yao!" Alfred called over the noise. "What are you doing in here? Is the crisis averted?"

The Jack jolted in surprise and turned, seeming rather alarmed to see Alfred. "What-? Oh, yes. I mean... I am overseeing... some efforts... to help?"

"Huh?"

"We-We are sending food to those who need it."

"Oh! That's a good idea! Do you need help in organising-?"

"No!" exclaimed Yao, stepping towards Alfred and holding out a hand as if to stop him from advancing any further. "I- We... I am fine, Alfred. Was there something you needed?"

A little put out at the refusal, Alfred pouted. Then he glanced at the delicious looking bread and pies and freshly made pasta and realised that Yao probably thought he would sneakily take some of it. Alfred would like to think he was above that but he knew it was the right decision. His subjects needed it more than him.

"I was wondering if you had tidied my desk? All the little tasks I still needed to finish today are gone."

"Oh," said Yao. "Is that all? I took care of that late last night in order to have them done for today. There is not much for you to do today."

"What about the meeting of the council?" Alfred asked, bewildered as to why Yao would have done his work for him – was this a way to help him celebrate his birthday? "Is that still today?"

"I had to move it as some of the members are unable to attend today. It will be in two days' time."

"Okay." Alfred hesitated, unsure what he was supposed to do with himself. Then he decided that there was no point in dwelling on the issue and ask Yao outright. "Do you know what day it is today, Yao?"

"Of course," Yao replied, snorting. "What sort of Jack would I be if I did not? It is the anniversary of the day the first war between Spades and Clubs was won by our ancestors. No-one celebrates that any more, Your Majesty. There is no point in asking me if we can."

"I... I wasn't... Never mind. I'll leave you to it." Wondering how Yao could remember something like that and not Alfred's birthday, the King left to find something to do.

Since he had nothing else to do, Alfred made his way to the training grounds to inspect his knights. They trained every morning before finding other tasks to busy themselves with. However, when he reached the grounds, he found only a handful sparring. Matthew was overseeing the process, hand resting on his sword which hung from his hip.

"Mattie," Alfred said over the clashing of the swords. The knight jumped a clear foot in the air and turned to his king, bowing deeply. All the others gathered there spotted the commotion and immediately knelt in respect. "Ah, you can get up. Carry on." Once they had risen, he turned back to Matthew. "Where is everyone?"

"They're, uh, searching for a lost child in the city," Matthew explained, his eyes darting towards the castle and back to Alfred. "Most of them have gone so we should find them soon."

"Perhaps I should go help."

"You should probably wait till the others get back," said Matthew, hastily. "Otherwise everyone will be going around in circles."

Nodding thoughtfully, Alfred said, "Yeah... I suppose you're right. Well... I'll train this lot to keep my mind off it."

"I don't think that's a good idea either – you'll intimidate the new starts."

"Huh?"

"Fighting their King?" said Matthew, raising his eyebrows. "This lot haven't been here very long. I'm sure they'd be too scared of hurting you to be any good. You've already made them stop." He nodded towards the guards and Alfred glanced over to see them all watching their conversation instead of doing any sort of training.

"All right... I'll find something else to do, then." He paused as he prepared to leave and looked back at Matthew, frowning a little. "Do you know what day it is today, Mattie?"

"Of course," Matthew said with a little laugh. "What sort of Deputy-Ace would I be if I didn't? It's Monday."

Stunned, Alfred stared at Matthew for a moment. The knight's smile began to fade before Alfred roused himself. "Yes, it is. Well... I'll be going. Keep me updated on the missing child situation."

"Yes, sir!" Matthew saluted as Alfred turned to go, wondering just what he was going to do now.

After eating lunch alone (everyone else sent word that they were too busy), Alfred decided to go to the throne room. Outside it, he found Rajesh who seemed to have just left the room and was briskly walking towards the front door. Alfred hurried to catch up with him.

"Raj!" he cried as he reached him, grabbing his arm.

The Ace turned to look at Alfred, smiling benignly as usual. "Yes, Your Majesty? Is something the matter?"

"Mattie told me earlier that a child had went missing. Have they been found?"

For a moment, Raj seemed confused, head tilted as he thought. Then he shook his head. "The search is still ongoing, sire. I am sure we will find them, though. Unless, of course, the Jokers have interfered."

"If it's the Jokers, I should get involved: I can travel to their place in times of dire need."

"That power is only to be used in the case of the kingdom being in dire need," Rajesh reminded him. "You must not use it for one child. Besides, if it is the Jokers' idea of a fun trick, you would be punished terribly..."

Alfred's thoughts flew to Arthur and what the Jokers could do to him. So many horrible images occurred to him that his face paled and he stepped back from Rajesh. A sudden need to see Arthur overtook him – but he had been useless all day and he didn't want to feel like a failure in front of his husband, too. Pulling himself together, he stood taller and looked down at his Ace with as much authority as he could muster.

"Then I shall merely join the search," he said, copying Arthur's pattern of speech as closely as he could. His Queen was amazing and the way he spoke seemed to compel people to do what he wanted. It didn't work as effectively on Alfred but he appreciated Arthur's skill nonetheless.

"Hm," said Rajesh, head still tilted to the side and looking incredibly amused. "I rather think you would be a distraction, sire, rather than a help."

"Eh?"

"People will be so surprised to see you helping when it is not a political or royal matter that they may miss something that could help us find the child," Rajesh explained. "I do not think you should go out there."

"But I want to help!"

Sighing, Rajesh waved a hand in the direction of the corridor behind Alfred. "Perhaps you should talk to Queen Arthur – he will be able to advise you on what you should do."

Becoming annoyed, Alfred gritted his teeth and tried to stop himself from frowning at his Ace. Why wouldn't anyone let him help? "Fine," he snapped. "I'll do that." He spun on his heel, took a step and paused, looking over his shoulder to see a mildly surprised Rajesh watching him. "Do you know what day it is today, Raj?"

"Of course," said Rajesh, smiling wide. "What sort of Ace would I be if I did not? Today is Matthew's day off but he kindly came in to help out. I shall make sure he gets another day off soon, do not worry, Your Majesty."

"It... Oh," said Alfred, feeling a little bad that he had gotten so irritated at his friends. Obviously, they were just preoccupied with their workload. "I'll... see you later, then. Keep me updated on the missing child."

This time, when Alfred knocked on the door of Arthur's study, he walked in, his face carefully neutral as he tried not to get his hopes up yet wishing with all his might that Arthur would acknowledge him beyond dismissive words. And, when Arthur looked up, he caught sight of some emotion on the Queen's face before he covered it up with a scowl – was it worry, fear?

"Alfred," Arthur said, his tone a warning in itself. "I've told you before-"

"-not to just walk in, yeah, yeah." Alfred didn't mean to be so short but he was honestly fed up. He had been so looking forward to his birthday and everything had turned out horribly. If he could be useful to someone, he might feel a little better. "How's the stuff with the drought coming along?" he asked.

"Oh. I think it's mostly taken care of..." Now there was definitely worry on Arthur's face as he glanced down at his papers. Then he looked up and smiled at Alfred which made the King's irritation begin to fade. "Our people are well looked after, my King."

"Ah." Alfred's voice was distant as he remembered other times Arthur had called him 'my King' when they were alone. Shaking himself from his memories with red cheeks, Alfred added, "Good. Well..." He cast his thoughts for something else to say or why he had come there in the first place and remembered his two knights. "But there's a missing child."

"What?" said Arthur, seeming alarmed, his eyes widening. "Where-? What child? Is it one from the palace? We must-"

Seeing his husband getting so worked up had Alfred almost smiling from pride but, instead, he raised a hand to stop the barrage of questions. The gesture stopped Arthur immediately. "I heard it from Matthew; a child in the city has disappeared. But I've not heard much more about it as neither he nor Rajesh will let me go help."

Understanding seemed to flicker in Arthur's eyes before he sat back a little. He flipped pages idly, perhaps looking for something, maybe a blank piece to write upon. "Do they need any help?"

"They say most of the guards are looking and that I'd be a distraction. Me! A distraction!"

Arthur snorted. "Well, you're hardly unnoticeable."

"I could wear a cloak with a hood."

"What a suspicious figure you would make," Arthur said. Another smile, this one fond, graced his visage. "Alfred, you cannot do everything. Leave it to the guards. They will find the child in no time."

"But what if it's the Jokers?"

"Then we would already know about it," Arthur pointed out. "They do so love to sew discord and be seen doing it. Maybe the child is playing and they will find them, safe and sound."

"I want to help!" declared Alfred, throwing an arm in the air. "If I can't help when I decide to then what use am I as a King."

For a moment, Arthur looked surprised and trapped, staring up at Alfred as he paced to and fro. Then he shook his head. "You are agitated, Alfred. Go take a relaxing bath. Everything will look better at dinner, do not fret."

"But-!"

"I still have a lot of paperwork to do concerning the drought, Alfred," Arthur interrupted him. "May I finish this first? Once this is finished, I shall look into the missing child."

"Why can't I-?"

"Alfred! Please!" cried Arthur, looking rather upset now. It caused Alfred to pause and everything left him in a long sigh. Arthur didn't usually look so upset over something like this. Maybe something had happened. But, if Arthur wanted to take on all the work himself, Alfred wouldn't be able to convince him otherwise. He could talk to him later.

Even if, now especially, Alfred felt particularly useless.

For a few moments, Alfred stared at Arthur. Then he took a breath and asked his question: "Do you know what day it is today, Arthur?"

"Of course I do," said Arthur with no hesitation. "What sort of Queen would I be if I didn't? It's the day before the taxes from the farthest towns arrive. So, just remember, tomorrow we'll all be very busy."

After a short pause, Alfred nodded once. "Right..." he said in a small voice. "I... I'll see you at dinner." And he left the room, making sure to shut the door properly behind him.

The King of Spades was hiding from the world under his bed covers.

All day he had been seen as superfluous to requirements or just useless. There was nothing he could do to help. No-one bar the Queen, Jack, Ace and Deputy-Ace would speak to him and all of them made sure he left soon afterwards. Besides, no-one had wished him well on his birthday and, frankly, he was sulking.

So, when there was a knock on the door, he ignored it. However, the door opened by itself and someone walked towards the bed. The only person it could be, Alfred knew, was Arthur. Sure enough, the Queen sat on the edge of the bed and spoke. "It's time for dinner."

"Don't care."

"Don't you want to eat? Are you ill?" asked Arthur, teasingly.

"No."

Arthur sighed. "Listen, my King, I know we've been... short with you today but we were all a little stressed. We want to show you how sorry we are."

Peeking from his cocoon, Alfred squinted suspiciously at his Queen. "Really...?"

"Of course."

"Then what day is it?"

With a strained smile, Arthur said, "A very important day. Will you come with me?"

Since Arthur's smile seemed rather sad, Alfred's irritation was swept away by an overwhelming sense of worry. If he appeased Arthur, would the Queen cheer up? Perhaps. Maybe Alfred would be in a better mood if he ate, anyway. So, with a heavy sigh to show how reluctant he was, Alfred threw the covers back and sat up. "All right," he mumbled.

"Thank you," said Arthur, sighing in relief. Standing himself, Arthur moved over to their large wardrobe and opened Alfred's side. "You must wear something nice, though."

"What? What's wrong with this?" Alfred demanded, gesturing to himself. When Arthur raised an eyebrow at him, Alfred glance down to find that his shirt was crumpled and one of his trouser legs was halfway up his shin. Sighing, he rolled his eyes. "Fine. Let me in, then."

"Make sure to pick one of the formal ones."

"Formal?" Alfred murmured, frowning at Arthur. It was then that he realised that his Queen was wearing his official Queen outfit, complete with his little hat. Since he usually didn't bother with the hat, Alfred could tell that something important was happening.

"Don't ask," Arthur said before Alfred could open his mouth. "I'm not going to tell you."

"Fine." Alfred sighed and pulled his own official outfit out, migrating to the dresser where he usually left his fancy pocketwatch. Arthur watched him change, briefly looking away when Alfred managed to pull off his underwear to put on fresh ones. The Queen was blushing a little by the time Alfred was finished and struggling with his tie. "Artie...?"

Wordlessly, Arthur moved over and expertly tied the strip of material for him. Then he patted him on the chest and moved out of reach, apparently having learnt his lesson from all the times Alfred would pull him into a kiss. They normally had to get dressed all over again on those occasions. "Come along, then," Arthur said and led Alfred from the room.

On his part, Alfred began to get more suspicious when they bypassed the dining room. "What...? Hey, wait, Arthur! What about dinner?"

"You will be fed, don't worry," said Arthur, continuing on.

When they began to go down the stairs to the massive entrance hall, Alfred felt he knew what was going on. There had been a few times when Arthur had requested their dinner be served outside, usually when it was warm and the flowers in the garden were in full bloom. Maybe he had decided they should have a private dinner together. With those thoughts, Alfred began to become excited. Perhaps Arthur hadn't forgotten about his birthday after all.

Then they stopped outside the doors to the large banquet hall, reserved for the huge parties which were part of national celebrations or when the other Royals and their nobles gathered for the quarterly Peace Parties. The room was used for nothing else and was usually empty save for the long, wooden tables and benches. No-one went in there until the day before such a celebration to clean and ready it for the next day. So why was Arthur reaching out to open it?

"W-Wait...! Are you really...? Isn't there some sorta rule that we can't use this place? And why are we gonna eat in such a big room?!"

Arthur chuckled. "You'll see, Al," he said, sounding fond. And, without any warning, he pushed open the doors. Alfred followed him in, still a little uncertain as to why he was there – and was immediately hit with a wall of noise.

It was a roar. It was a cheer. It was a chorus of "Happy birthday!"

To Alfred it looked as though everyone in Spades was gathered there. He could see his parents off to the side; they looked a little drunk already, hanging off each other. The kids he had saved from some bandits when they went on their first Royal tour were waving their hands in the air to gain his attention. Lord Jake and his family had come from the seaside and still looked as wild as ever. Various nobles and servants and knights were amongst the crowd. But the ordinary citizens outnumbered the nobles and Alfred could barely grasp quite what Arthur and Yao and the rest had done for him.

The noise died down a little, falling back to noisy chattering as the stunned King was led to the top table where only he, the Queen, the Jack and the Ace would eat. Arthur's hand on his arm kept Alfred from falling over in shock and they soon made it out of the crowd. Matthew pulled Alfred's chair out with a grin and Alfred thankfully collapsed into it.

"You..."

"I am sorry for lying to you," Arthur told him as he sat down in his own chair. "There never was a drought or a missing child. We panicked when we were organising some last minute things and said the first thing that came to our heads."

"Is that what the papers were?" Alfred asked, remembering how Arthur had moved them out of his way.

"Yes. Expenses and whatnot. We wanted this to be a surprise, especially since you... didn't exactly enjoy your last birthday party..." Arthur glanced away at that, looking both guilty and embarrassed. Remembering the formal dance filled with people who still looked down on him because of his background, Alfred could understand Arthur's expression.

"I'm not sure which is worse," Alfred said, thoughtfully. "A horrible ball or a day where I thought everyone had forgotten my birthday."

"Oh, I'm sorry, my King. I-"

"It's okay, Artie!" said Alfred, smiling at him. "You're not shouting at me so I suppose this is a win!"

"I... If you say so...?" Arthur appeared to be part-amused, part-exasperated. But, before he could say anything else, Rajesh appeared.

"It is time for gifts," he said, brandishing a gleaming helmet.

"Presents?!" exclaimed Alfred, bouncing in his seat. "What's that?"

Placing it on the table amongst the empty plates, Rajesh stood back and bowed. "It is part of a set of armour, Your Majesty," he said. "You are always rushing into the battlefield and I often fear for your safety – especially since you do not pause to put on armour. Please feel free to use it when you can."

Seeing the dangerous glint in Rajesh's eyes made Alfred gulp. "Uh. Sure. Who's next?!"

"I am, sire," said Matthew from behind him. "I didn't get you anything fancy but I did get you some of those sweets you liked from my home town."

"Seriously?!" Alfred cried, swivelling in his seat to look at Matthew better. "Where?!"

"They are in my room. I felt it would be best to give them to you after the feast..."

"Aw, you're no fun, Mattie," said Alfred with a sigh.

"Alfred," said Arthur, warningly.

"I believe it is my turn," said Yao, causing Alfred to jump and turn to face the Jack. He hadn't heard the man turn up but that was usually the way with Yao.

"Yeah?"

"Here." Yao handed Alfred a large book. The King grimaced and looked down at the cover. In fancy lettering were the words Mechanical Engineering and Its Applications. Surprised, Alfred gaped at it. Taking that as a sign that Alfred liked his book, Yao said, rather smugly, "I knew you would like it. But, please, keep your new gadgets to your study..."

"Sure..." mumrured Alfred, still staring at it.

"That leaves me, I suppose," said Arthur. Once he had Alfred's attention, he smiled at his King. "We will eat after that and then everyone else will likely give you presents, too."

"Sounds good to me!"

"Well..." Arthur held out his hands, palm up and uttered one of his magic spells. Suddenly, from mid-air, a sword in its scabbard appeared. It had an elaborate hilt, with golden filigree worked in a complicated pattern along it. The pommel had a glowing emerald embedded in it. Arthur passed it to Alfred who stared down at the pattern along the leather of the scabbard which appeared to be little Spades entwined with roses and stars. Turning it over to trace the pattern, Alfred noticed that the pommel had a dull sapphire in the other side.

"Where in Spades...? Who made this?"

"I did," Arthur told him and Alfred's head jerked up, staring at his Queen in open surprise. "I had my brother show me how and then he watched over me while I worked. It's magical, too. It is stronger than any other sword and will never shatter nor will it need sharpening. The magic within it will also combine with your power as the King when you unsheathe it."

Eagerly, Alfred grabbed hold of the hilt and tugged it free, marvelling at how right it felt within his hand. Looking down its length, Alfred noticed that the sapphire was now glowing in such a way that it matched the emerald in intensity. Enthralled, Alfred stood, moved away from the table and gave the sword a few swings: it had a perfect balance and moved so smoothly that Alfred was sure it was cutting through the air.

"It's magnificent," he breathed, staring at it in admiration. Then, sheathing it, he turned to Arthur and pulled his Queen to his feet. "It's perfect!" he cried, and pecked his husband on the lips. A cheer went up and Alfred suddenly remembered that they weren't alone, laughing sheepishly as he returned to his seat. It took a few more moments for the shocked and embarrassed Arthur to sit beside him.

"Well, er, let's eat," Arthur declared, clapping his hands to call in the servants who appeared instantly with covered dishes.

As he watched his subjects marvelling at the fine dining or talking amongst themselves, Alfred realised that, despite his horrible day, his friends and family were going to make it up tenfold. His heart swelled with happiness and pride, delighted to have the Spades citizens as his subjects.

Someone tapping his shoulder brought his attention to Arthur who leaned over to say, "Happy birthday, my love." And, with a quick peck to Alfred's cheek, he retreated to allow the servants to place their food down.

Today, the King of Spades couldn't be happier.

I made Raj the Ace cause, apparently, India is the 4th most powerful country in the world.

And Arthur's brother would be Scotland, by the by. ;) And Jake is Australia cause I'm lazy at naming.