A/N: Hey, lovelies! I'm back. Sorry this second chapter took so long to write; I kept on not liking where it was going. I feel like this was a good decision, though; it kind of sets the stage for how things work in my story, and gets it out of the way for later. The next chapter should (hopefully) come out sooner than this one, now that I'm past this part.
In other news, I'll be making various Cardverse studies on my tumblr as I write and flesh things out, so check out yesterdarling on tumblr. Also, keep an eye out for some re-vamped stories this fall!
I hope that you enjoy this!
-Yester Darling
Knowledge is one step closer to understanding.
-Anonymous
With scarcely another word from anyone else, Alfred found himself being whisked away by the other blonde man. Everything after had happened in a blur of uncomfortable scrutinization as officials with gloved hands pulled his shirt off, washing and scrubbing at the spade on his chest. He wasn't sure if it was relief or fear he felt when someone finally said, "It's him," and the investigation stopped.
He had barely gotten his shirt back when he was dragged (today seemed to be a lot of dragging) to another room.
"Just change your clothes," the man told him, "and then I'll show you to the library."
More dragging. Great.
He heaved a sigh as he closed the door behind him, leaning against it as he wished those two weird guys from earlier had given him more details. "They'll fill in the details I miss," Gilbert had said.
"Details, my ass..." Alfred muttered.
Figuring it made most sense to do what he was told to, he looked around the room he had been lead to. It was actually pretty spacious, the effect eccentuated by the high, ornamented ceiling. Two doors on the right wall–presumably for the bathroom and closet–further proved this point. Everything was either white, gold, or blue, the exceptions being the mahognany bed frame and the dressing table. An outfit had been laid out on the mattress, barely distinguishable against the navy comforter.
He couldn't help noticing how well the clothes fit when he put them on. Too well. Too fancy, for that matter, he had thought as he pulled a blueberry-colored overcoat over a baby blue vest. Just how many shades of blue could there be?
Straightening the jacket, he went to the door, hesitating before opening it.
"Okay, I'm ready," he said.
The other man just nodded before leading the way, making Alfred's thirst for conversation greater. He seemed quiet and somewhat shy, constantly pushing his glasses up, but there was unmistakable muscle to him.
"So..." he said, need to fill the silence finally winning. "Never really caught your name."
"It's Matthieu," he said in that quiet voice of his. "The Ace of Spades."
Another card title.
"Mattie; got it. I can call you Mattie, right?" A nod confirmed that it was alright. "Great. What is it that you do around here, Mattie?"
"I'm your Army Commander and Guard," he explained patiently. "Protecting the Royal House."
"That's neat," Alfred said cooly. Before he could ask another question, Matthieu stopped in his tracks, Alfred nearly slamming into him.
"Here we are," he said, opening one of the double-doors in front of them.
"Well, it's about time," he heard a familiar accented voice call out. Alfred looked out from behind Matthieu to see Arthur and the other man–the brunette with the ponytail–that had been there when he arrived, sitting at a table near the end of the room. Just fantastic. "Well, don't be a stranger; come along and have a seat."
Somewhat awkwardly, he walked with the guard, taking a seat between the two and glancing away. Because of situations before when he was told to have a seat, he silently hoped he hadn't done something wrong.
"Cream?"
The question jolted him from his thoughts. "What?"
"Do you take cream in your tea?" Arthur asked again. Though angry before, he seemed almost nice now. Civil, at least.
"Uh... yeah. I guess," Alfred said quickly, taking the cup as it was handed to him.
"So," the other man said (he had a different accent than both Arthur and Matthieu. Just how many did this land have?), "You said that the Jokers sent you."
"Yeah, they did," Alfred confirmed, taking the silence that followed as a sign to continue. "One minute, I was on the sidewalk, the next thing I know I was at their place or whatever, and now I'm here."
"Where are you from, then? You sound like you're from this area."
"I'm from America..."
"So you are from here, then!" He glanced over to Arthur, who looked absolutely befuddled. "But you act like you aren't."
"Because I'm not!" He insisted. "I'm from the U.S. Of A! Didn't you say this place was called 'Spades'?"
"The country is, yes. The county we're in is called America."
Alfred blinked. "This is too much..."
"Yao... could you give it a go?" Asked Arthur.
"Well..." the brunette–Yao–started, "maybe we should hear his story from the very beginning. As far back as you think is relevant, your highness."
After glancing around at their confused faces, he gave in.
"Look... I really don't know what happened, okay? I went home after graduation and was changing my clothes. Saw the tattoo-thingy. Drove my truck to a laser clinic. Found myself being shoved to here."
Silence followed.
"He's definately not from here," Arthur finally concluded. "I haven't the faintest idea what a truck or a laser is."
"I've been trying to tell you that! The first part, I mean." Alfred sighed some. It all seemed so strange, like some fever dream, but as it carried on he doubted he'd be waking up from it any time soon. "Look, guys, I don't know barely the first thing about any of this. Can you please just like... fill me in?"
The two Spadiens looked at each other.
"That... would be smart of us..." Yao admitted. "What do you want to know?"
"Everything. If I'm stuck here and supposed to be king or whatever, I want to know anything." It wasn't a lie; for the first time in his life, he found himself wanting to know more than just the basics.
"I suppose that a brief history would be the place to start." Arthur set his cup down, glancing away as though debating on where to begin. "The kingdoms themselves have only existed for roughly... three-hundred years. Before that, the land was broken into twelve areas... more like territories than anything else. It isn't exactly known why, but eventually the territories decided to band together into the kingdoms in the 1500s. Likely for trade and shared resources. France, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein became Diamonds, known for textiles and manufactured goods. Hearts, known for progressivism, is made up of Germany, Italy, and Japan. Clubs is made up of Russia, Hungary, and Austria, and the kingdom is known for being rural and shady..."
"And us?" Alfred asked after a moment.
"England, America, and China. We're known for our universities," Arthur said proudly.
So he was going to be king of University-Kingdom. Go figure. However, his mind was already on other subjects.
"You said that the Clubs Kingdom is shady, right?"
"Very ominous," Yao confirmed. "Rural and behind in technology, yet shrewd. They somehow always come out ahead, with no explanation why."
"There has to be a reason why."
"We haven't found one yet."
"Huh..." he muttered. The situation sounded familiar. "Okay. Enough about that. What about the roles? How did you get them? What did you guys do before this? What do you guys do now? Hell, what do I do?"
"Aiya, you ask a lot of questions..." Yao muttered."
"I can start..." Matthieu volunteered. "You already kind of know, eh? I'm the head guard of the castle and general of the army... I was in special operations training before this." Silence followed as he abruptly stopped talking. A man of few words, Alfred concluded.
"I'm the Jack of Spades," said Yao upon realizing the Ace had finished. "In charge of finance and foreign policy. I was finishing my business degree when I found the mark."
Arthur, naturally, went last. "As I've told you, I'm the Queen of Spades. That means I'm in charge of the Navy. Makes sense, seeing I was at the Naval Academy for strategy... You, of course, are the King of Spades. General of the Army. Between the four of us, we preside over the kingdom."
"Naturally," Alfred said, though he was still trying to wrap his head around the differences of what the titles meant in his world versus there. Rather than figureheads, they actually held power. They had specific jobs, and the positions weren't through family lines. He felt like Alice, although he was fairly sure that, at this point, he was not dreaming. And yet everything kept spiraling around him in a confusing haze.
"Was that of any help?" The Queen asked.
"Yeah, it was, thanks."
"Then I believe that we're done here." With a certain fluidity, he rose from his seat, the others following suit. "I'll see you at supper, then, Gentlemen."
They all begain to leave the room, the exception being Arthur, who simply walked over to the window. Hesitating for a moment, Alfred walked over to him, staring for a moment before clearing his thoat.
"Hey..."
"Hiya..."
A silence followed, along with Alfred's need to fill it.
"It seems like a nice kingdom."
"It is," Arthur agreed. "I hope that you'll like it here."
"I do, too." He chuckled slightly. "It's just really different, you know?"
More silence.
"I just... Wanted to say sorry for seeming ignorant or whatever earlier. I didn't really understand anything, but..."
"No, no, I should apologize," Arthur interupted. He paused, as though making sure Alfred was listening before continuing. "I shouldn't have just assumed you were being an indignant fool. You honestly didn't know who I was, so you had every right to question my authority."
"I guess that makes us both ignorant."
"I suppose it does," Arthur chuckled, looking down. "Let's try to start off on the right foot, shall we?"
"Sounds good to me, yeah."
"Then," he said, offering his hand to Alfred, "It's nice to meet you. I'm Arthur, the Queen of Spades."
"And I'm Alfred, the King." He shook his hand. "I can't wait to work with you."
-x-
"See? It all seems to be going well," Peter boasted, peering at the image of the library. Glad to shove the fact that he was correct into the other Joker's face, he dragged the taller man over.
"Ja, ja, I admit it," Gil said, rolling his eyes. "It does look pretty good right now."
"It looks like things will be okay in the future, too!"
"Still, don't count your chicks before they hatch, kinder. The future could still change. It could still change..."
