Spring embraced the air and the trees of the Kingdom of Diamonds, bringing to lift the flowers that sat in the famous Garden of Diamond, sending the river to flow at a peaceful pace through the elaborate and bright villages, and the sun beaming down onto the faces of everyone whom called themselves a Diamond.
It was as though it was fate for the mid-year conference and ball to be held in the land-locked kingdom of light and wealth.
The Mid-year conference and ball happened once a year, during the spring, and this year the responsibility for hosting this ball fell into the hands of the monarchy of diamonds. The conference was set to allow the kingdoms to maintain their relationships in terms of trade and relations, despite being free to do this privately with each other whenever they wished; the compulsory bringing-together of the kingdoms encouraged every kingdom to be involved in the talks; regardless of histories and attitudes towards the other kingdoms. Whereas the ball was created to cement the kind relations between the kingdoms, and involved dancing, food and discussion that were free of politics.
In his fifth year of Kingship, this was the second time that Francis shall see all of the royals of each kingdom gather in his castle. He had met the Kings and Queens of the Hearts and Clubs, however, about a month ago the new king and queen have risen to the throne.
"The ballroom is perfectly decorated for tonight's festivities, your highness." The Ace of Diamonds announced as Francis held up his arms, allowing the servant to easily slide the kings golden coat over his arms.
Antonio had been training his entire life to become the perfect Ace; the diamond-shaped birthmark on his hand sealed the contract between Antonio and his kingdom. Antonio wore a long yellow and gold coat, which was decorated with heavily detailed diamond embroidery on the cuffs of his sleeves and the tail of his coat. As it was the duty of the Ace to protect the King and Queen from attack, Antonio constantly kept his sword by his side, sheathed underneath his coat, with the handle readily accessible.
"Please, it's been nearly two years, I told you to just call me Francis," Francis chuckled as he tugged on his coat.
"Apologies," Antonio chuckled, "I was taught to shower you in formality."
"I prefer familiarity." Francis pointed out, "nonetheless, have you spoken to Lili."
"She is overseeing the flower arrangements, it's rather cute how your queen is so focussed on the flowers," Antonio chuckled.
"So she should be," Vash pointed out, the Jack of Diamonds, as he stood behind Antonio with his back against the wall, with his arms crossed over his chest. "Everything needs to be perfect, not only is this the mid-year conference, it's the first time the new Spades are going to see us. If our relationship with their monarchy is going to be maintained, everything needs to be perfect."
It was the duty of the Jack to guide the King and Queen in interactions with the other kingdoms, as well as advise them on the actions they should take to better their own kingdoms, which can be organised through trade and alliances with other kingdoms, as well as home-polices which are determined by the King and Queen.
"Ahh, yes," Antonio murmured as he pulled off his white glove in order to efficiently scratch his head. "I believe it's the first time the other monarchs will see them too… so everyone will be focussing on them."
"But we can't let them overtake our event," Francis pointed out; "remind me, what am I after from this conference?"
"Suggest strengthening the trade relationship with the hearts, in light of their mining boom. King Ludwig and Queen Kiku have appointed a new Jack, whom happens to be a personal friend of theirs and the brother of their Ace; so you can use that to break the ice and trigger conversation. You are free to point out the similarities between our monarchies, considering that your queen is my sister."
"Relating to the hearts… that's new," Francis pointed out.
"The Clubs are showing an increasing interest in our agriculture, I have received a letter from the Jack of Clubs asking for our figures from the last six months."
"And did you give it to them?" Antonio asked.
"No, I'm not going to spoil the surprise; I'll say that the letter was hijacked. If they think that another kingdom is interested, they will act faster and harder, King Ivan is a stubborn man who doesn't enjoy interference in his business." Vash explained, "So, just let the Clubs come to you, Francis, and play hard-to-get."
"Easy," Francis chuckled, "do you have any advice regarding the Spades?"
"Historically, the Spades and the Diamonds have a positive relationship; it will be a goal of theirs to maintain that relationship, considering how much the Kingdom of Spade relies on Diamond agriculture, and how much the Kingdom of Diamonds relies on Spade steel." Vash explained, "They shouldn't be difficult to deal with. Who knows; you could make friends."
Francis laughed in response to the suggestion.
"Don't speak of it as though this is detrimental. There hasn't been a war between the four kingdoms in nearly four dynasties," Francis chuckled, "The Diamonds weren't even fighting in the last one."
"True, but the Diamonds aided the Spades through supplies, and providing shelter for the Queen whilst the King went to the battlefield. Which explains why the historical relationship of Spade and Diamond is so important," Vash pointed out.
"Is there something that concerns you?" Antonio asked.
"The Club advancement, they've been getting extremely bold ever since the crowning of Queen Elizabeta, they have the largest territorial space and one of the largest populations. I liken the relationship between King Ivan and Queen Elizabeta to be that of a business partnership. I'm only concerned about history repeating itself. Even the ambition of King Ludwig brings concern."
"However, neither of them have the largest army," Francis pointed out, "that belongs to the Spades, nor the most resources or fertile land, because those belong to us."
"Well, it still didn't stop them from invading Diamond and Heart territory, nor did fail to discourage the Hearts from invading Diamond territory twenty years later."
"But these new leaders are young, they understand the mistakes of the monarchs before them and pledge to not repeat them," Francis explained as he walked past his Ace and Jack; completely dressed in his gold, yellow and orange royal robes, opening the balcony doors to embrace the warming glow of the sun. "War can be prevented through negotiation, as long as we keep everyone happy; there will be no call to arms."
"Is that why you decreased the national budget to the army?" Vash grumbled, gritting his teeth.
"Yes. Because there is no need for an army if we're not going to war. If the time ever comes where my kingdom is under threat: I will change it," Francis explained.
"Is that a carriage?" Antonio asked, pointing over the balcony, pointing towards the stone wall that bordered the territory of the castle, where the tips of red and pink flags could be seen poking over the wall.
Vash peered at the colours of the flags, "Hearts. They're early, as usual."
"Excellent," Francis exclaimed as he turned around and walked back into his royal chamber, before leaving the room.
The elaborately decorated and coloured carriage rolled to a stop, leaving the Diamond monarchs to stand at the end of the walkway, awaiting their emergence. The door opened, first the Ace stepped out of the carriage, with his hand readily resting on the handle of his sword, a reminder of his positon. The Jack stepped out of the carriage afterwards, unlike the Jack; his eyes were wide with curiosity.
"They look so alike…" Lili pointed out.
Francis looked down at his young queen and smiled sweetly, doting on the young girl as though she was a daughter or a niece, rather than his queen.
With the Jack and the Ace standing by their side of the steps to the carriage, a smaller figure with black hair stepped out of the carriage. Francis immediately recognised the figure as the queen of hearts, and the blonde who followed the queen out of the carriage as the King himself.
Francis smiled as he watched the odd pairing walk towards him, the King and the Queen glancing at each other and nodding, reassuring each other. Like the Clubs, Francis always analysed the relationship of the King and Queen of Hearts to be another business partnership. Just like all of the other monarchies, their marriage was an act of fate and tradition and prioritised the kingdom over their feelings for each other.
The determination of the next King and Queen is as simple as being born, somewhere on the child at the time of their birth, there is a birthmark which indicated whether they hold the title of the next reigning King, Queen, Jack or Ace, the symbols appear on the child regardless of the child's gender, so it is completely possible for there to be female kings and male queens, in this dynasty, it appeared that male queens were becoming more regular.
Finally, the familiar shade of royal blue accompanied with the symbol of the Spades monarchy flashed above a dark-wooden carriage rolled to a halt before the walkway to where Francis and his queen stood.
The door opened and the Ace exited the carriage, once again following the tradition of holding the handle of his sword, ready to protect the King and queen from any attack. The Jack followed afterwards, dressed properly and ready to act as the adviser of the king and queen. Francis' muscles tensed from the nervousness, as he awaited the appearance of his new allies.
However, something felt off, the next figure to step out of the carriage wore something that made the Diamond king frown with confusion. The man wore the royal blue coat and the crown of the King of Spades, making Francis wonder why the King of Spades was breaking the tradition and stepping out before his queen. The Jack of Spades visibly sighed, while the Ace simply smiled at the King, as though he found it amusing.
The King of Spades was a tall young man with caramel coloured hair whilst his wide smile oozed his confidence and reflected his pride and on his face sat rectangular frames, before his set of bright oceanic-blue eyes. The King stood before the carriage, extending his hand out to the door, where a pale hand reached out, flashing two rings on his ring finger. Finally the figure stepped out of the carriage and revealed himself to the diamond monarchs; the Queen of Spades.
Francis' heart suddenly ached, making the Frenchman freeze with confusion, however he could not help but watch as the queen of spades stepped out of the carriage.
His light blonde hair glistened in the sunlight and his amazing forest-green eyes stared down at his king with a loving stare, which hit the King of Diamonds directly in the heart. Finally, the Queen looked at him, analysing the surroundings around him. Francis found himself captivated by the queen of Spades and watched hopelessly as the queen hooked his arm around the king.
This sight shocked Francis the most, he had never seen a King and a Queen walk together like that, attached by the arms, nor had he ever seen a king and a queen look at each other the way that the spades did right before him.
With the King and Queen of spades standing right before him, Francis still could not find the words to speak as he was crushed under the weight of the stare of the queen of Spades.
"Welcome to the Kingdom of Diamonds," Lili explained, politely curtsying before their visitors, snapping the King back into the reality, forcing him to break his stare with the queen of spades.
"Yes, welcome," Francis replied extending his hand to shake the hand of the King of Spades, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you both." He firmly shook the hand of the other King, trying his best to keep his hand steady, and to keep his eyes away from the queen. "I am Francis, and this is my queen, Lili."
"Pleasure," the queen of spades replied, before extending his hand towards Francis. He took the queens hand and bent down to kiss it, astonished by how soft and light it was.
"I am Alfred," The king explained as Francis let the queens hand drop.
"Arthur." The queen added, smiling politely.
Arthur, Francis repeated in his mind, astonished by how even his name was beautiful. Francis shook himself out of this phase, how could he be thinking these things about another queen? He had never felt such a thing for anyone before, why now?! This anxiety writhed in his stomach and cried within his heart, his heart bounded and made him feel dizzy.
Internally he panicked when both kings and queens turned around to walk back into the castle, and he found Arthur standing by his side, however, his arm was still hooked around Alfred's, as though they were glued together.
"Francis?" Alfred asked, frowning, "Are you ok?"
"You seem flushed…" Arthur pointed out; with only his concern making Francis feel worse.
"I'm fine, don't worry about me," Francis promised before looking at Lili who looked incredibly worried.
"Do you need to rest?" Lili asked.
"I'll go into my study when we get inside, I need to breathe…" Francis mumbled as he rubbed his forehead.
"Are you sure you want to miss the introduction?" Lili asked, Francis looked past Lili to see Vash and Antonio looking at him with worried glares.
"Is everything alright?" Alfred asked, finally drawing the attention back to the Spades.
"Yes," Francis replied as the grand doors to the Diamond castle opened to reveal a beautiful entrance hall, a chandelier hung in the centre of the large hall, which was decorated with diamonds and elegant flower displays.
"This place is so beautiful," Arthur gasped.
"Vash, may you escort our latest guests to the meeting room?" Francis asked.
"Wait, you won't be coming?" Alfred asked.
"I will be there soon, I just need to check something quickly," Francis replied, as he began to make his way up the staircase, "please, do enjoy your stay; the other monarchs are very excited to meet you both."
Francis escaped as quickly as he could, however the raging beating of his heart didn't calm, as the door to his grand office slammed shut, the King sighed heavily as he grasped his heart, cursing under his breath.
However, he looked at his chair to see a figure sit in his chair, staring at him with deep red eyes, making the king freeze, and consider calling for guards.
The figure was dressed completely in black, which contrasted with his deathly pale skin and pure white hair.
"Don't bother…" A voice muttered, the voice was coarse and deep, and sent a shiver down the King's spine.
The figure smiled, as he mashed his slender fingers together.
It was then that the King suddenly realised the identity of the figure who sat before him, he was a man of legend, or rather: a demon on earth. The bringer of bad luck. The Teller of Doom. Or, more formally, The Joker.
"Why are you here?" Francis asked, terrified about what terrible prediction the Joker was going to give him, or what curse he could inflict.
No one exactly knows much about the Joker, as he isn't seen enough to be studied completely. He stands back and watches the world go by, being in multiple places at once, and collecting information about everyone he watched. Some say that he knows the future, and is simply sitting back and waiting for it to happen. Sometimes he would choose to appear and give people words of warning, but yet… his presence is said to be a sign of impending doom.
"I've been tempted…" The Joker answered, "I've never once seen a King fall in love with the Queen of another Kingdom, especially upon first sight, that was very impressive."
"I'm not in love." Francis hissed, "I barely know him. He could have a terrible personality."
The Joker laughed loudly, "You are so wrong. Wrong in so many ways."
"I can't be…" Francis murmured, refusing to accept the Jokers words.
"Your heart cries, it cries for attention, it cries for mercy and love. And it just so happened to be awakened right as that man stepped out of the carriage." The Joker chuckled.
"What did you do?!" Francis asked.
"I did nothing." The Joker replied, cackling in laughter, "Your heart chose what it wanted, and that happened to be the worst possible person!"
"How so?" Francis asked.
"You noticed the way the King and Queen of Spades looked at each other, how they walked arm and arm… Your heart certainly noticed." The joker explained, tapping his black nails on the dark wood of Francis' desk. "They are actually the first loving King and Queen that I've seen in what could be centuries! They are married to each other, as well as their kingdom, that is why they wear two rings, rather than one. They are one."
Francis sighed and looked to the decorative rug, staring hopelessly at the diamond decorations that lined the rug.
"This was so beautiful to watch, one of the most interesting things I've seen as my time as the reigning Joker."
"So, you find this funny?" Francis asked.
"And … tragic…" The Joker pointed out raising his eyebrows as he knelt backward in the car, "well… it will be tragic. You want something that you can't have…"
"What are you here to tell me?" Francis asked.
"Well… I am giving you some insight... you can act on the cries of your heart; however, the price that will come with it will be catastrophic. However, if you choose to keep these feelings to yourself, only you alone will suffer…"