A King and His Hero
Chapter 1:
The night sky was alight with twinkling stars, each one different than the next, as they created the perfect picture alongside the moon looking down upon the sleeping city. Some houses still had a warm orange glow emitting from their windows indicating its members were still awake at such late hours, creating orange spots in a blanket of darkness. The city streets were deserted and void of life in comparison to their daily hustle and bustle – the whole place quiet and filled with a peaceful tranquillity that Arthur loved.
Sitting out upon the balcony his eyes glanced out across the beautiful landscape of his kingdom, admiring the beauty his kingdom created even when blanketed in night. There was a slight chill to the air this evening but Arthur expected nothing less from a spring night, keeping his coat on from earlier in the day to keep it from reaching him. Beside his chair sat a small circular table with a book laid open on it and a small candle providing him with all the light he needed.
The book was beautifully made; the leather-bound cover marked with the letter 'A' swirled into it, encased in a spade, and upon the yellowing pages inside were multiple entries of writing. The handwriting was the same cursive from beginning to the current page – it was a journal fit for a Queen.
He had once had a journal as a child, treasuring it and writing about everything a small boy could dream of until the day his brothers had caught hold of it. They tormented it, tore it and ruined it until the journal was no more. Arthur had been heartbroken and had never owned a journal since, until such times.
Arthur had made it a habit to write within the journal as often as he could; writing about his day, the people he had met and all the other duties he had come to deal with as the Queen of Spades. At first, he had missed a few days, forgetting to write anything but soon found a rhythm and had never missed a day since. Many Queen's before him had done such similar things, it would be a shame if Arthur were the one to end it; so, when Jack Yao presented him with the journal he was very much eager to write as much about his ruling as possible.
The Queen had just finished his entry for the evening, leaving the pages open and allowing the ink to dry under the cool breeze of the evening air. It was an unusually peaceful evening for Arthur – the Queen usually attending to documentation late into the evening before retreating to his chambers for the night. However, all his documents had been signed and those that hadn't he deemed could wait until morning, he'd had a rather productive day today.
As Arthur waited, his thoughts wondered to that of his King, questioning just how he was feeling as he finished off his work also. The King had spoken to Arthur just as he was heading off toward their chambers, catching his attention and explaining his plans for the evening. He had a few documents to read and sign for and important planning that couldn't wait until dawn. He insisted that it would take no longer than an hour, reassuring him that he would join Arthur in their room before the Queen went to sleep.
The memory alone was enough to bring a small smile to Arthur's face. The King was kind, charming and quite possibly the most handsome man Arthur had ever seen. Sure, their beginnings were neither the smoothest nor the greatest and, as expected, they had their fair share of arguments and disagreements but Arthur could confidently admit to himself that he had fallen deeply in love with the young King who had stolen his heart. Just the thought of him eagerly walking back to their chambers to see him had his heart fluttering.
Arthur's thoughts were shattered abruptly as an almighty crashing sound came from below. It scared the living daylights out of him, his entire body jostling in his chair before he leapt from his chair and walked to the balconies edge. Pressing his hands against the balconies cold stone he peered over the side to see if he could spot the source of such noise, however he was unable to spot anything in the darkness, the pathways into the castle looking as normal. Then a sound came from inside the castle this time, his head snapping in that direction as it carried down the corridor and faintly arrived outside his room.
The Queen swallowed thickly, standing up straight and taking a breath as he tried to calm his thoughts. It simply had to be a servant dropping something. That was all. Almost as quickly as the thought arrived he dismissed it, remembering that most of his servants had turned down for the night and that only a few were left roaming the castle at this time.
Without any more hesitation, Arthur reached across and closed up his journal, pulling it into his arms and hurrying into his room to hide it back in its secret place where it belonged – only the three Royals of Spades knowing of its location within the walls of the castle. After making sure the journal was safe and hidden away between the loose bricks behind Arthur's bookcase, he headed to the doors of his room, thankful he had yet to change from his regular clothes into his nightwear even if the bow around his neck felt like it was strangling him.
Pale fingers wrapped around the handle and gently eased it opened without a sound, peering down the torch lit corridors. He couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, however, a sinking feeling settled in his stomach and he knew whenever he had this feeling something bad always followed. It was an instinct he was beginning to trust. Something was wrong and as if to prove his point the alarm bells of the castle began to ring, loud chimes echoing out into the peaceful night air and alerting the entire citadel outside that the castle was under attack.
At the sound, Arthur found his himself looking up, peridot eyes widening as he took a small moment to register just what was happening. His sleeping kingdom would be waking up in panic, his sleeping castle even more so.
It didn't take anywhere near as long for him to reach back into the room and grab the sword propped up against the wall beside the door before his feet dragged him out the safety of his chambers and into the halls. Even as he fastened the sword onto his belt he had only one thought that overpowered the rest whirling around his head.
He had to get to Alfred.
Arthur had known that confrontation was on the horizon – he and Alfred had even had a meeting about it earlier that day to discuss their tactics for war – but for there to be an invasion? He didn't believe the King of Clubs actually had the balls for it. If the Clubs had broken into the castle Alfred was in serious danger and it wouldn't be long before they found him. Arthur cast his own danger to one side and focused entirely on getting his King to safety.
The Kingdom of Spades had been without rulers for too long, Arthur wasn't about to let another selfish kingdom take them away from the people who needed them the most.
Soon shouts, screams and the sound of thundering footsteps could be heard bouncing off the stone walls. Panic surged through the castle as Spades was caught unawares, Arthur's heart racing as he navigated through the castle, wary of every corner, hallway and shadow.
He was several hallways and stairways away from his chambers before he came across any trouble, heavy steps coming from up ahead. It didn't take a genius to figure out where they were heading – this was the main pathway to the King and Queen's quarters. They were clearly in search of Arthur, if not Alfred if they hadn't already located him.
Looking around in panicked desperation Arthur found himself hiding behind one of the large pillars within the hallway. He wanted to postpone conflict for as long as he could – he would need his strength. He was certain that the true battle was elsewhere. Holding his breath, he stayed remotely still and pressed his back against the pillar as the group of men passed, their chainmail jingling with every movement of their bodies. Once they were out of ear shot and most definitely gone Arthur emerged and instantly fell back into running, feet hitting the ground at an immediate sprint toward where he hoped Alfred would be: the throne room.
Arthur logically thought it out as he ran, reassuring himself several times that he was going in the right direction. Important documents were written, read and signed in Alfred's office but it had been almost an hour since Alfred had discussed his plans with him so Arthur had to presume that his husband had completed those and found his way to the throne room. Arthur wished he could be in two places at once but he had to trust his gut and pray that Alfred would be where he thought he would be.
His breathing began to grow ragged as he ran, descending a long set of stairs with the concentration not to fall. His ears were constantly listening out for threats but as he rounded the corner at the bottom of the stairs he collided with someone he hadn't heard who was rushing in the opposite direction. Arthur let out a yelp as his arm was gripped tightly as he was dragged back onto the stairs, stumbling up a couple and trying not to wince as his back was pressed harshly against the wall. He struggled instantaneously against his attacker, fighting all the more when they pressed a firm hand over his mouth and held him in place.
Green eyes were already in fight or flight mode, staring at the man only to find panic stricken golden brown eyes staring right back at him. Long brown hair had fallen from its usual neat ponytail and was left to fall around his shoulders in tousled waves, face glimmering under the flames of the torches lighting the castle and a small gash to his cheek was bleeding lightly.
Arthur had never seen the Jack of Spades look so vulnerable.
Upon the realisation he wasn't being attacked and his life wasn't hanging in the balance, Arthur relaxed, relieved to see that Yao was alive and still breathing. He pried the others hand off his mouth, rather surprised that Yao would use such methods to keep him quiet but he supposed that desperate times called for desperate measures, and attempted to speak only to be shushed instantly.
"We don't have much time, they're on my heels. Arthur, you must get to Alfred. He is in the throne room, I tried but I could not reach him. Ivan is heading there as we speak – we have little time. Alfred cannot face him alone. You know the plan Arthur; I'm afraid it's the only one we have left," Yao whispered harshly, his breathing rushed and coming his short breathes from all his running. Yao was much older and wiser than Arthur; the Jack had practically watched King Alfred grow up so Arthur was astounded he still had the energy in him to run around the castle, let alone fight for it.
Arthur nodded in understanding, fully aware of the plans that had been made in secret without the King's knowledge. Yao let out a heavy breath of relief and put his hands on Arthur's shoulders, giving them a firm squeeze and a weak but positive smile. His eyes looked up over Arthur as if this would be the last time he would ever see him and it made Arthur almost well up with tears as he too placed a firm hand on Yao's shoulder. It was a brief goodbye without the need for words before the two parted, Yao pushing Arthur to the wall once more before leaping off the steps and back onto the corridor.
"There!" A gruff voice yelled before racing feet rushed along the corridor, Yao immediately taking off and luring the group of Club soldiers away from the Spade Queen. He stayed motionless against the wall as they passed; only darting out and running in the direction they had come once they had passed. When he saw Yao again he would thank him for everything for this was not goodbye, merely a short farewell that Alfred was none the wiser too yet.
Arthur swore he had never run with such a force and determination before, brown boots hitting the floor and propelling him forward with every intention of saving Alfred's life.
Now closer to the real battle he could hear swords clashing and every other sound that went with battle – everything that Arthur had heard before during his rule. An ear-splitting scream close by brought Arthur's feet to an automatic halt whether he wanted them or not, boots sliding across the floor for a small second- the sound so shrill Arthur had to fight the urge to cover his ears as his stomach twisted at the horrible sound.
He found the source of the screaming down a corridor to his left, the floor covered in crimson liquid and a young serving girl lay upon her stomach with a sword piercing her back, securing her to the ground. Blood streamed from her wound like a river, oozing out into a pool around her as she shakily looked up at Arthur's boots, eyes lifting until they locked with his gaze.
She mouthed something to him that he didn't quite make out before her head fell to the floor with a small thud, dead pale blue orbs focused on nothing but Arthur. He swallowed thickly and found his hands shaking as he tried to hold himself together. She was young, innocent and probably had a family waiting for her to come home. She was a life that should never have been taken. This was his battle and the young woman had done nothing to deserve such a brutal death. Her parents would presume her safe – the safest place in the kingdom was the castle. Yet, here, Arthur was stood staring at her lifeless body.
It made him feel sick and furious at the same time.
It felt like minutes he was stood staring at her but she had died quickly as it had only been mere seconds when the soldier responsible for her death stepped forward and tore his weapon from her body as if she were nothing but an animal. The other's rallied behind him and Arthur knew they had no intention of keeping him alive. This was an end game for Ivan the King of Clubs. He was taking no prisoners, he wanted Alfred and anything that got in his way was to be put down. He knew that Arthur would be one of those problems. Arthur would just have to play that part awfully well. He wasn't about to let some selfish, crazy, grudge-holding King take Alfred away from him or the Spade Kingdom.
The men, confident in their numbers, strode over the serving girls body and carried her blood in their footsteps as Arthur remained motionless at the end of the hall. He wasn't afraid; in fact, he thought them incredibly stupid. Within seconds of them even moving Arthur simply focused on their weapons, the metal lifting out their hands and above their heads without Arthur having to lift a finger. The men stopped in their tracks, gasping and watching with widened eyes as their first line of defence flew through the air above them, over Arthur's head to hover behind him before they fell to the floor with a deafening clang.
Arthur turned to look over his shoulder at the pile of weapons now situated behind him, threateningly looking back at the terrified guards who were practically shaking in their boots without their sharpened swords pointed at Arthur's throat.
Ah, now they realised who they were faced with.
Stories of the Queen of Spades reached all corners of the four kingdoms. Arthur was the most powerful magician of their time; those that went against him never received an easy fight. Very few came back and those that did never wanted to hear of Spades ever again. Arthur was smart and cunning, mix in powerful magic that had grown within him since the moment he was born and he was deadly.
"Now then gentlemen," Arthur smirked darkly, flicking his wrists and pushing his palms forward towards the soldiers which launched the soldiers backwards by an unseen force. Each one was knocked from their feet into the wall behind them with enough force to knock them completely unconscious, gathering in a heap together on the floor at the bottom of the wall in a collection of armour and limbs. "I think it's past your bedtime."
Arthur hoped when they awakened they would considered themselves lucky. He was capable of much more than simply knocking them unconscious however he hadn't the time to waste on a merciless rampage over a serving girl whom had once severed him pastries and smiled at him in passing.
Taking a deep breath, Arthur spared one last look at the girl. His eyes filled with sorrow but there was nothing he could do for her now – he had been too late to save her. Tearing a tapestry from the wall – he figured it couldn't be that important if it was simply hanging on a random corridor of the castle as opposed to the library or gallery - Arthur used it to gently cover her body, saying a prayer as he did so.
With a heavy heart he turned on his heel, leapt over the swords and left the girl behind, continuing in his mission to get to the throne room as fast as his legs would carry him. Nothing would stop him and anyone that came his way would be met with magic far out of their imagination and control.
He would not let his King suffer the same fate as the innocent serving girl.
Well would you look at that? Who would have thought that after multiple failed stories and several years of not contributing to this site that I would return? Maybe I'm a fool for thinking that I can one-day finish something that I start but I really like this idea I have going on right now.
I've been debating whether to put this online for about a year now when I first had the idea and began to write it. Over the course of the year its changed a lot and continues to do so as I write more and delve deeper into the plot but now I feel like it's time to put it out there. I'm proud of it so far and I hope to finish this one unlike all the others. I have multiple chapters already written however I don't want to give you too much at once, where's the fun in that?
Anyway, I look forward to your reactions to this fic – my writing has certainly changed from the last time I uploaded something.
I hope you enjoyed reading and, please, leave a review. Thank you!