A/N: So this is my first published multi-chapter fic. As I said there will be character death because, well, war means casualties (most of the time). Also, I'm not writing in any of the accents because I can't and they can be annoying to read.
Disclaimers: I do not own Hetalia, Himaruya does. And I apologize if anyone else has come up with this idea because I haven't read one and do not intend to steal anyone's ideas. R&R please!
Chapter 1: A New Threat
Matthew, the Ace of Spades, sprinted through the halls of the lapis castle searching for the king, queen, anyone really, to deliver the news to. The terrible, horrible news. He just didn't see how it was possible, there was just no plausible explanation. Guards were stationed at all hours of the day, always watching. They were of the highest social status too, purebloods of ten. And yet, it had disappeared right from under their noses. Matthew continued his venture down the twisted, maze-like halls until finally catching a glimpse of royal blue coat out of the corner of his eye.
He very nearly skidded to a halt and doubled back to see none other than Alfred, King of Spades, talking adamantly with Yao, the Jack, about some trivial matter. At least, they had been until Matthew burst into the room, panting hard.
"Sirs t-there's been a-" He paused to catch his breath before continuing. "There's been a breach in security." The king and jack both stared at him incredulously, nearly shouting at him to elaborate. Spades Kingdom did not have breaches in security. Not with the upper hand in this land. Matthew finally composed himself enough to make a complete sentence and continued with an air of authority.
"The Timepiece had been stolen."
-Line Break-
To say the leaders of Spades took the news lightly would be a vast understatement. The second the king had confirmed with the guards and saw for himself the empty chamber that formerly housed the Timepiece, he immediately called for a lockdown on all roads and docks around the kingdom. If the perpetrator was still in Spades, he wasn't going to make it out alive.
Alfred, Yao, and Arthur stood around a map of their kingdom pouring over every possible escape route and ways to block the thief or thieves from escaping the land either into another suit kingdom or into unclaimed land altogether. After hearing no word from anyone along the borders in half a day, the three leaders began to panic.
Had they made it to free soil? Or were they still inside the borders waiting for the guard to drop and make an escape? None of them dared voice the question of treason, though they all knew it was a possibility, if history had anything to show by it.
"Arthur I think we need to look to other sources to find our thief. If the other kingdom's find out we no longer have the Timepiece, that is to say they don't already possess it, then they cannot be allowed to know. We may need to crack open the spell books for this one." Alfred said, with his chin in his hand. Arthur looked up at him in surprise, not often asked to perform magic, hell it was hardly condoned at all in the kingdom. Something about wanting to keep magic out of warfare, an unspoken agreement between the four suits, for however much longer it would last.
"And what if one of the others is the culprit? It is a very obvious possibility. What then?" Arthur asked, begging silently that he wouldn't-
"Then we threaten war against the other suits. Even without the Timepiece we are still superior in numbers and munitions. We send out an ultimatum: If the Timepiece is not returned in three days at sunset, we march on the offending suits, starting with that blasted Clubs." Not waiting for a response, Alfred left the war room to handle the politics and media before it could get any worse.
"He didn't consider that if no one coughs it up, we'd be either three against one or every suit for himself out there just like last time. I don't think we can make this unscathed without the Timepiece, Arthur." Yao said quietly, the worried undertone evident behind the calm words.
Arthur paused and looked over the map of the four suit kingdoms. "I'll give them one day to return it, if there is no change in status by this time tomorrow I will call for aid." He sounded as though he was trying to convince himself of the plan more than Yao, even nodding as he agreed with himself before leaving the room as well.
Yao stood alone over the map, sighing longingly. The king may not know it yet, he was rather young after all, but Yao had a feeling this was the calm before the storm, one that would not fail to claim lives.
-Line Break-
Arthur stood in his "workshop" as he liked to call it. Really it was a dungeon painted a light, baby blue with a window made by destroying two stone bricks near the ceiling. Crude it may be but the room had withstood many accidental explosions in its time. Littered on tables around him were dozens of spell books open to random pages and random spells as he tried to find anything that would aid his kingdom against the oncoming war.
And war would come, he was certain of that. His many years of serving as Queen of Spades showed him the true animosity between the four suits, if war was to be declared then it would be met with open arms by all suits, eager to obliterate their enemies and become the most powerful of the four kingdoms. All thanks to a gilded watch.
Finally stumbling upon one that would fit the situation and began gathering ingredients for the spell. It was a rather strange combination, using several rare items Arthur was very lucky to have on hand. A mixture had to be brewed and allowed to sit over night before the spell could be properly cast so making it now would allow for it to be used tomorrow, when the inevitable war drums would beat.
Thank you for reading, I'll try to update once a week, every week.