Okay! I'm not sure if this is wise or not but I'm uploading this story, even though only three chapters are done (the third chapter still needs finishing but it's almost there). It's a Frozen/Cardverse story so, as always, enjoy!
Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya and Frozen belongs to Disney!
Chapter 1 : The Royal Family Of Spades
The future royalty of the kingdoms of the country of Cards are not born among the royal families themselves. Children were rarely born to royalty, usually because King, Queens, Jacks or Aces could all be the same gender and Kings did not necessarily marry their Queens, they sometimes married their Jacks or their Aces as King, Queen, Jack and Ace was not merely a social rank, they were positions of authority. Kings are the leaders and control the armies, Queens are responsible for the kingdom's navy and its finances, Jacks are the diplomats and handle the state affairs and trade and Aces were the protectors of the other royals. They were also the spare, just in case any of the other royals should die before their replacement royal is found so that the kingdom will always have some kind of leader.
And where do the replacement royals come from? They could come from anywhere in the kingdom and were usually found as children at the age of four, born with a mark that designated their future role, as was the case with the next Queen of Spades. The present royal family would know that the new royals were active when the clocks, that would stop at their coronation, began to tick again. They would use the clocks to lead them to the next royals, the King's Clock to the next King, the Queen's Clock to the next Queen and the Jack's Clock to the Jack. There was no Ace clock as the Ace was usually some kind of relation to one of the royals, as if to guarantee loyalty to the throne. When these new royal children were found, they were taken into the royal castle to be raised and trained in their future roles.
The Spades Queen's clock had begun ticking and the King and his entourage were using it to direct them to the next Queen, moving in the direction in which the clock glowed the brightest. Which was how they arrived at the Kirkland farm which was home to a married couple with four sons. One with dark red hair was working with his equally red-haired father while two younger red-headed boys, though all different shades, were helping their blonde-haired mother. There was no sign of the fourth son.
Robert Kirkland turned his green eyes, capped with big eyebrows, toward the entourage and immediately recognised the black-haired, green-eyed King Henry Taylor of Spades, stopped what he was doing and bowed. His eldest son copied him, as the other boys, who had no idea who this man was but just copied their father while their mother curtsied. King Henry got out of his carriage and approached Robert.
"Greetings, my good man," Henry said so they could converse as he had to speak first as it was not protocol for Robert to address him first and they would need to talk. "How fares your family on this fine day? Would you introduce me?" It always paid to pay attention to the families of those he met, it promoted good feelings between the people and the crown.
"My family fares well, Your Majesty," Robert replied with respect and began to indicate to everyone in the yard. "This is my wife, Alice. My eldest boy is Allistor and the other two boys are Rhys and Patrick. How may I aid you, Sire?" King Henry held up the glowing Queen's clock.
"I seek the next Queen," he said. "The clock lead us to your farm. I think, perhaps, one of your sons is the one I seek." Henry looked at the three boys in the farmyard and gauged their ages. The youngest he could see was at least six and the clock activated at the age of four. It was possible the six year old looking boy was actually younger than he thought but he did not think so. However he could be the Ace but first, he had to find the Queen.
"Are there any younger children here?" he asked. "The child I'm looking for will be about four." Robert and Alice looked at each other.
"Well," Robert said, nervously. "There's my youngest son, Arthur..." King Henry looked around.
"Where is the boy?" he asked. Robert gulped.
"Arthur's a little …... special, Sire," he replied. "Perhaps you should see for yourself." The King followed Robert who lead him to the barn. They entered quietly and the king saw a four year old boy in a simple shirt and pants, surrounded by snow that coated the floor and settled on the bails of hay that were piled in the barn. Unlike the other boys, this one was blonde like his mother, although he had the green eyes and big eyebrows that the others possessed. As the king watched, the little boy put his hands together and a single floating snowflake formed in them, turning in the boy's hands as the king continued to stare at the icy magic that the young child was creating. Then the boy threw the snowflake into the rafters where it exploded and fell down as many floating flakes, to the king's amazement.
"How long as he been doing that?" he asked.
"Since always," Robert replied. "It started out small. When he cried as a baby, the room would turn cold and, as he grew, his powers grew with him. He can control them when he's calm but if he gets agitated, they can go wild so the trick is to keep him tranquil and happy."
"We have to see if he is the next Queen," King Henry replied. This could be a complication, however a Queen that could command ice and snow could be a great defence for the Kingdom of Spades. If he was the next Queen.
"Arthur!" Robert called out and his young son turned to see his father standing with a man in fine clothing who looked important and trotted over.
"Yes, Daddy?" he asked and Robert knelt down to look Arthur in the eye.
"Arthur, this man is King Henry of Spades," Henry was impressed when the little boy turned to him and gave a little bow without being told to and he knelt down too.
"I'm pleased to meet you, Arthur," he said to the child.
"Thank you, Sir," Arthur replied. Clearly, Robert Kirkland had taught his young son manners.
"Arthur, I need to see something," Henry said and turned to Robert. "Can you show me his chest above his heart?" Robert nodded and undid Arthur's shirt and pulled the left side away. There, right above his heart, was an ornate spade with an italic Q in the centre. Henry heard Robert gasp when he saw the mark as it would only have appeared that day. This boy with the ice powers was the next Queen of Spades and he had to go live in the palace but if that upset the boy, they could have a problem on their hands so Henry looked toward Robert.
"You and I," he said. "And your good lady wife must speak." He patted Arthur on the head and stood up, along with Robert and they went to collect Alice for a serious talk.
The other boys were examined but none of the bore the Ace mark so the Ace would not be related to the Queen but now came the big problem. Persuading Arthur to come to the palace to live without the four year old boy becoming distressed about leaving his family.
That was easier said than done when the boy's mother became upset at the idea of losing her youngest child, even though it would mean a life where Arthur would want for nothing. He was her baby and he should be with his family but the law was the law. Newly identified royals must be raised by the current royals so they would be ready for their roles when the time came but that did not make it any easier for Alice who was sat hugging his youngest son to her.
"I don't want to lose my son!" she said, crying into Arthur's hair. Arthur became upset because his mother was upset and the temperature in the room dropped by several degrees. King Henry sympathised because, after all, he was asking her to hand over her youngest child and rely on a complete stranger (even if he was a king) to look after his welfare. He did not have his own biological children but he was the adoptive father to the next Jack who had already been found. Yao have been found six years ago and, while most of his lessons were taken with the current Jack, all the royals had a hand in his family upbringing, just as they would in Arthur's. This was the closest most royals ever came to having children.
"I know this is hard for you, Madame Kirkland," King Henry told her. "And I would never cut you off from your child. Your family shall be welcome in the palace to see him whenever you wish it. The next Jack's family are constant visitors and Yao is happy and content just as Arthur will be."
"Who will be there to love him?" Alice replied. "You could give him everything he wants but can you give him what he needs? Can you guarantee that people will not be cruel to him because of what he can do?"
"He will be loved, I promise you!" the king vowed. "The current Queen of Spades has long wanted a child to love and raise. She would not replace you but he would have a second mother who holds him in affection. What child could be loved more? And soon we will find the next King and Ace so Arthur will have companions to play and grow up with so he will not be lonely. And one day, he will rule this kingdom with those same companions. As for his powers, it's not uncommon for Queens to possess magic with which to defend the realm."
"Ice magic is not a common ability, Sire" Robert replied. "In fact, I've never heard of such elsewhere among any of the royals of any of the kingdoms."
"True," Henry acknowledged. "But imagine how that ability could protect Spades in times of war. The fact that Arthur has such abilities AND is the next Queen cannot be a coincidence. He was destined for this before his mark even appeared." Robert looked at his wife as they accepted that the king had a good point and they could not deny the kingdom or their son his future. He was the destined Queen of Spades and they must make the heartbreaking decision to let their youngest son go.
"Arthur," Robert said, gently to his youngest son, smoothing down his hair with his hand. "The King wants to take you to live in the palace, doesn't that sound like fun?" Arthur did not know why the King wanted him to go with him but he did not want to go and held on tight to his mother.
Snow fell from the ceiling of the room they were seated in and King Henry knew that it was not going well. How do you convince a four year old child with ice powers to leave his family home and not get upset about it. He went and sat in Arthur's sight who shrank further into his mother, afraid that this man would just grab him and take him.
"Arthur," he said to the little boy, gently. "I know this is scary for you. I remember when I had to leave my family to live in the palace. I didn't want to go and I was afraid of what was waiting for me at the palace," Henry sympathised with the fear of this little boy, having once be that little boy himself. His family had been merchants, rather than farmers but the fear had still been there but his family had allowed him to be taken without protest, hoping that being related to the future king would be of benefit to their business but, as the King, Henry had no say over business. That was the job of the Jack and Henry refused to interfere with his Jack's domain.
Henry was a little envious of Arthur. Despite of the luxurious life Arthur would lead in the palace as the next Queen of Spades, his parents did not want to lose him, he was that loved. They had been talked round, albeit reluctantly, but Henry did not want to force the boy into the palace against his will. Like he was, it did not matter that it turned out well, as a four year old, he had been terrified.
Arthur looked at him, his thumb stealing into his mouth and the snow continuing to fall as he looked at the King. Henry could not get over how incredibly cute the boy was, the current Queen would adore him. He slowly reach out to ruffle Arthur's hair.
"As it turned out," he continued. "It wasn't anything to be scared of. My family could still come to see me and I was very happy." He was not going to tell the boy that his family rarely came to see him and only to tell him 'what he owed to the family!' Henry did not think it would be the case with Arthur, his family would be around regularly. Arthur pulled his thumb from his mouth.
"Can Mummy come with me?" he asked. Henry looked at Robert and Alice as they looked at each other.
"You can accompany us if you wish," Henry said. If Alice Kirkland could come with her son, it might make him amenable. Robert nodded and Alice went to prepare herself and Arthur for the journey.
Alice sat across from King Henry in the carriage and held Arthur, who had fallen asleep during the journey, as they rode over the drawbridge of the Castle of Spades, a magnificent edifice that shone in the sun, with towers that reached into the sky. On the balcony of one of the towers, a brown haired woman with brown eyes stood in a blue gown, watching the carriage pull into the courtyard and she disappeared into the tower to hopefully meet the child she might be raising as her own.
Henry lead Alice, still carrying Arthur, into the throne room where his Jack, Edward Matthews, was waiting with ten year old Yao stood by his side as the next Queen of Spades was carried toward him. Edward had brown hair and dark green eyes and wore a suit of varying blues. Yao had black hair that was pulled into a ponytail over his left shoulder with chocolate brown eyes and he was dressed in a blue Chinese tunic with sleeves that fell over his hands and looked with fascination at the sleeping boy in the arms of the lady dressed as a farm woman with the king.
"I see your search was successful, Your Majesty," Edward commented as he looked over the boy in the arms of his mother.
"Indeed," Henry replied. "But there is a complication with our new edition."
"How so, Sire?" They were interrupted by the woman from the balcony who swept in the throne room, eager to see the child she would be responsible for raising and training.
"You found the next Queen!" she exclaimed as she hurried toward them. Alice shrank back a little at the woman's approach. She knew this was the current Queen of Spades but it was also the woman who would be taking her son and she was not ready for that. The King put a comforting hand on Alice's shoulder.
"Elizabeth," he said to the woman. "This is Alice Kirkland, the mother of Arthur Kirkland, the next Queen of Spades." He indicated the sleeping boy in Alice's arms. Queen Elizabeth understood what King Henry was saying, that Arthur's mother was upset to be letting little Arthur go and Elizabeth could not blame her for that. "Madam Kirkland, this is Elizabeth Hampton, the current Queen of Spades, Edward Matthews, the current Jack of Spades and this is Prince Yao Wang, the next Jack of Spades." It was common practice that, once found, the future royals became the princes or princesses of the kingdom. Alice curtsied as well as she could while holding Arthur and Elizabeth got a good look at the little boy. Blonde, like his mother, with generous sized eyebrows, he had his thumb in his mouth and looked absolutely angelic. Elizabeth fell in love with the little boy at once and could not resist stroking the sleeping child's cheek with the back of her fingers. Alice allowed it but nervously.
"You have an adorable son, Madame Kirkland," Elizabeth commented. Alice smiled, sadly.
"He's my baby!" she whispered and hugged him tighter. Elizabeth's heart went out to her.
"Let us go somewhere he can sleep comfortably," Henry suggested and everyone went to a sitting room with a comfy sofa that Alice lay Arthur down on and Yao sat with him, fascinated with the new child that would be the Queen that he would serve, while the adults talked. Refreshments were brought and everyone did their best to put Alice at ease who kept looking toward Arthur.
"Don't worry, Madame Kirkland," Elizabeth reassured. "Arthur is perfectly safe here. Nobody here wishes him harm, just the opposite!"
"Will you say that when you know the truth?" she muttered.
"What do you mean, my lady?" Edward asked. King Henry took a deep breath.
"Arthur Kirkland has unusual abilities," he replied. "He can manipulate ice and snow but he can lose control if he becomes frightened or upset which is why Madame Kirkland accompanied us. When we were talking about him leaving his home, it started snowing inside the room. When the time comes for his mother to return home without him, there could be problems."
"Truly!" Edward exclaimed. "Imagine how he could defend the kingdom when he's older! He could be the most powerful Queen Spades has ever had. Elizabeth, you could teach him to control it. As Queen, you have magic yourself, you can show him how use it probably."
"My magic is of the land," Elizabeth replied. "Ice magic is practically unheard of."
"But the techniques for control are similar for most magicks," Edward said. "Surely, it would work for ice magic as well." Elizabeth thought about it.
"Maybe," she said. "He will need to learn to control it and we have nothing to lose with trying!" Alice gave a sob and everyone turned to see tears crawling down her face.
"I really am going to lose him!" she wept. Everyone looked at each other and Elizabeth took the distraught woman into her arms.
"You won't lose your son," she promised, gently. "Yes, he will need to stay here but you can see him whenever you wish and we will send a carriage to collect you when you wish to. You will always be his mother and always be in his life. We would never keep him away from you!"
"Rest assured, Madame Kirkland," the King replied. "You have not lost your son, rather he has gained second family!"
"I can see him whenever I wish?" Henry nodded.
"You can come when you wish," he promised. "Or we can send the carriage on certain days a week so you don't have to arrange travel. I know knowing that his family will be visiting him will be good for Arthur too."
"He's waking up, aru!" Yao called from the sofa and they turned to look at him and the four year old who was sitting up and rubbing his eyes. Arthur looked around him and his eyes fell first on Yao and then on the group of adults, his mother among them. He clambered off the sofa, ran to his mother and climbed into her lap as she put her arms around him. Snow began falling from the ceiling and King Henry knew that the boy was frightened.
"It's all right, Arthur," Alice cooed to her son, reassuringly. "Everybody here is a friend." Arthur looked around at the other adults and Elizabeth saw his beautiful emerald green eyes. Such a beautiful child.
"Would you introduce me to your son, Madame Kirkland?" she asked and Arthur turned his emerald gaze on her.
"Your Highness," Alice replied. "This is my son, Arthur Kirkland. Arthur, this is her Royal Highness, Queen Elizabeth of Spades." Arthur continued to stare at the Queen as his thumb made his way back into his mouth.
"I'm very happy to meet you, Arthur," Elizabeth smiled at the child. "I hope we can be good friends. How do you make it snow?" Arthur shrugged.
"Just do!" he replied. 'So he does it on instinct' Elizabeth thought. 'He needs to learn to use his power properly if he's ever going to reach his full potential' She looked forward to teaching him to control his ability.
"Would you like to learn how to do it properly?" she asked. "I can teach you if you let me. I can do that since you'll be living here." It seems that was the wrong thing to say as the snow got heavier.
"I won't be going home!" Arthur cried and the snow began to swirl around as a wind blew around the room.
"Arthur!" Alice said, firmly. "Calm down before you bury us all in snow! Please, sweetheart! Be a good boy and be calm!" Arthur hiccuped and, while the snow did not stop, the wind dropped. Henry had the feeling that they would be wearing fur cloaks a lot while Arthur came to terms with the changes in his life as he learn to control his power.
"Do I have to stay?" Arthur whimpered. Yao wandered over to look at the little boy.
"You'll be happy, aru," he reassured the frightened child. "I was scared when I first came here but it was fine. My family visit all the time and yours can too. You are destined to be the next Queen of Spades and you must make your family proud, aru." Arthur turned to his mother.
"Would it make you proud, Mummy?" he asked. Alice smiled a sad smile and gave her son a hug.
"It would make me very proud, poppet," she said with a tear in her eye. Arthur looked down at his little hands and his little lip quivered.
"Okay," he said, reluctantly. "I'll stay." Elizabeth reached over and stroked his cheek with a kind smile.
"You'll be just fine," she cooed. "And your mother will be back before you know it and, while she's away, you'll be my little Prince Arthur and I'll teach you to use your power safely and how to be the Queen so when your mother returns, you can show her how well you're doing. I promise everything will be fine, Arthur!" Alice smiled down at Arthur and he nodded.
King Henry breathed a sigh of relief as the snow grew lighter and eventually stopped as Arthur accepted that he was going to be living in the palace and training to be the Queen but there was one more thing to face.
Arthur's reaction when his mother left.
A carriage was arranged to transport Alice home and all the royals came out with Arthur to see her off. Alice tried to be cheerful as she knelt to hug Arthur but he was not fooled as snow fell from a cloudless blue sky.
"Now, poppet," she chided, softly. "Don't be upset! I'll be back soon and your father and brothers will be with me. Until then, I want you to be a good boy and do what their majesties tell you and learn everything you can from the Queen." Ice began to form under Arthur's feet.
"Now Arthur, stop it!" she said, sternly. "I want you to be a brave boy, all right. Can you be brave for Mummy?" Arthur gave a sniff and nodded. The ice under his feet stopped spreading and Alice kissed him on the cheek.
"The King has promised to send the carriage for us in a week," she said. "I'll see you then, okay." Snow still fell as he nodded. Alice gave him one more kiss and a hug before standing, then she ruffled his hair.
"I love you, Arthur," and then she climbed into the carriage. The door shut behind her and she leant out of the door window and waved to him as the carriage pulled away and she kept waving until Arthur was out of sight then she sat down in the carriage seat and began to cry.
As the carriage drove out of sight, Elizabeth came to Arthur's side and picked up the crying four year old, giving him a comforting squeeze as the snow continued to fall around them.
"Your mother will be back before you realise, little Arthur," she said, gently. "Come on, I'll show you where you'll be sleeping." Elizabeth carried Arthur into the palace while King Henry and Jack Edward stood with Yao as they watched them go.
"Well, that went better than expected," Edward commented. "We've found the next Queen."
"Now we need to find the next King and Ace," Henry replied.
Elizabeth had arranged for a child's bed to be put in her room because she thought that staying in a room in the palace on his own might overwhelmed and scare Arthur so she felt that her presence would be soothing for the boy. She directed the maid to bring clothes for the boy that had been waiting for him and arranged a bath for him. This was the closest she would have to having a child of her own and she already loved this little boy and she would help him become the greatest queen Spades had ever known.
After his bath, which made him drowsy, Elizabeth dressed him in a nightshirt and tuck him in, feeling like a mother for the first time in her life. As he drifted off to sleep, she gave him a kiss on the forehead and stroked his cheek after tucking a little plush rabbit in with him.
"I'm so glad you're here, Arthur," she whispered and then she wondered who Arthur's King and Ace would be.
Two years passed and Arthur learned a lot from his royal family, particularly his adoptive mother, Queen Elizabeth and his blood family visited him regularly and he had better control over his powers, although it weakened when he was upset or angry but, all in all, Arthur settled into royal life with more ease than was expected and then the news came. The King's clock had begun ticking and the search for the next King and Ace began.
As it happened, they did not even have to leave the palace. The clock lead them to the stables where the head groom was teaching his four year old twin sons, Alfred and Matthew how to care for saddles and reins. Allen Jones, a widower, worked hard to raise his sons right and he thought to train them to work in the stables so they would have some kind of future.
He stood up when he saw the King and the Ace, Richard Hampton. the Queen's brother, a brown haired man with hazel eyes, come into the stables and bowed, indicating to his sons to do the same. They gave their little bows and stood by their father, Matthew slightly behind his father's leg.
King Henry was familiar with the two boys who were both blonde. One had sky-blue eyes and a lock of hair that stuck up as if it was demanding attention and the other also had a funny hair strand that stuck out and curled in the centre, falling between his unusual violet eyes.
"Greetings, Grooms-man Jones," the King greeted.
"Welcome, Your Majesty," Allen said respectfully. "How may I be of assistance?" Then he saw the King's clock glowing in the King's hand and the way the King was looking at his sons and his eyes widened. Could it be …...
"The King's clock began ticking today," the King replied. "May I see your son's chest? Both of them?" Allen nodded and knelt down to lift up Alfred's shirt and there, right there above his heart, the ornate spade with a K in the centre. Allen drew in a breath at the sight. His youngest son (by twenty-five minutes) was the next King of Spades and, as the Ace had not been found yet and was always related to one of the royals, that meant …...
He turned and lifted up Matthew's shirt to see the A in the spade above Matthew's heart. Both his sons were part of the royal family and he no longer had to worry about them. They had the greatest future any person could attain.
Queen Elizabeth was playing with Arthur, teaching him to use his ice magic and the six year old was making snowflakes spin and dance through the air around Jack Edward and Prince Yao when Henry and Richard came into the throne room, carrying two blonde little boys with the head-groom following them. The snowflakes fell to the ground.
"You found them so quickly," Elizabeth stared at the two four year olds that she would help care for now but their training would fall to the King and the Ace. "Wait!" She looked at Allen. "These are your sons, are they not?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," Allen replied. Elizabeth was amazed! They were so close, literally under their noses.
"This is wonderful," Elizabeth exclaimed. "You can be with your sons everyday, instead of having to travel. If only it could be like this with all the royals!" Arthur walked up to Henry and Richard to look up at the two boys and they put them down to meet the six year old.
"I'm Arthur," he said and the boys looked back at him.
"I'm Alfred," the blue-eyed boy replied.
"And I'm Matthew," said the violet-eyed boy.
"Want to see a trick?" Arthur asked the younger boys, who he saw as his responsibility to look after. The boys nodded and Arthur put his hands together to form a large snowflake which made the boys look on in awe and then he threw it into the air where it burst and fell as smaller snowflakes and they all ran around trying to catch them, giggling.
The current royals watched the boys trying to catch the snowflakes on their tongues and smiled. They would get along well together and now they had the entire next generation under their wing. Things would be just fine.
Until four years later when everything went wrong.
So that's Chapter 1 and the new royals have been found and brought together. The next chapter is where the film storyline begins and I hope you stick around for that. I'm off to work on the end of Chapter 3 and start Chapter 4 so till next week,
Hasta la Pasta!
