I'm back~ So, who's ready for another chapter? You're going to find out what they saw on the other side of those doors! Since I have nothing more to say, let's continue!
Thus, we move forward!
"Right on time for tea!", Peter exclaimed.
Everyone in the room turned and looked at the pair at the door. There was a variety of people, some of which were wearing colors other than blue, which came as somewhat of a surprise to Arthur. Arthur leaned down to whisper to Peter, "Who are these people?" Peter grinned at him, "They are royals! We will be having tea with them!" Peter quickly strode to the large table in the middle of the large room and sat down next to someone who was wearing red clothing. Arthur cautiously sat next to him.
Peter turned to the black haired, brown-eyed person next to him who was clad in elegant, red clothing, "Hey, queen Kiku, did you make any more toys for me?" Kiku took a sip from his green tea, "I'm sorry, Peter-kun. I haven't had the time to." Peter pouted, "What? Awww... Well, no matter...", Peter gestured to Arthur, "This is the new Queen of Spades, Arthur Kirkland. Arthur, this is the Queen of Hearts, Kiku Honda." Peter let his attention slip from the two to someone further down the table, "Hey, Lili, can you pass the tea and stuff down this way?" The girl known as Lili, clad in orange clothing with green eyes and blonde hair, nodded and passed the stuff down.
Peter handed Arthur a cup, "What kind of tea do you like? If you don't like tea, that's fine. You can have some coffee. King Alfred doesn't like tea. He's not here right now, though. He's almost always late to these gatherings." Arthur had a bit of a difficult time keeping up with what the boy was saying, "E-er, do you have Earl Grey tea?" Peter smiled and poured some water in Arthur's tea cup before placing a tea bag in it, "Great choice! I personally prefer Chamomile tea, but that's just me. Kiku, here, loves to drink green tea and so does Jack Yao. Yao prefers oolong tea, though. Most of the others don't really drink tea or coffee, so they bring their own drinks. King Ivan brings Vodka, King Ludwig brings beer, and King Francis and Jack Feliciano bring wine. The others drink water or something and only come for the food." Arthur tried his best to keep up, but simply could not, "Er, okay... Can I have a spot of cream and two teaspoons of sugar?" "Sure!", Peter removed the tea bag and poured a bit of cream in the tea cup and picked up a tea spoon before dropping the preferred amount of sugar in the cup. He handed the cup to Arthur along with the tea spoon.
Just as Arthur began to stir his tea, the doors suddenly burst open. Everyone looked at the newcomers. One of them was a man dressed in blue, had blue eyes and blonde hair with a cowlick sticking up from his part. Behind him, stood a man dressed in orange with wavy, shoulder-length blond hair and a darker shade of blue eyes. The taller one was the first to speak, "Yo! The Hero has arrived!" Someone else dressed in blue who was sitting next to Lili rolled his eyes, "Aiyah, you're always late! How are you late even when you are hosting it!?" The man laughed obnoxiously, "Calm down, Yao! You are here, right?" Yao grumbled something to himself in strings of Chinese and something along the lines of "fat westerners". Peter quickly stood up from his seat and ran over to the man, giving him a hug, "Alfred! Long time no see!" Alfred smiled and ruffled Peter's hair, "Hey, buddy, how have you been?" Peter grinned up at him, "I've been great! Also, I have someone to introduce you to!"
The man standing behind Peter perked up at the sound of someone new, "Is that so? I was wondering how you got in here if you hadn't come with someone important. Who is it, petit garçon?" Alfred waved him off, "Go get me some coffee, first, Francis." Francis shot a disapproving look at Alfred, "How dare you order me around? Why don't you get someone that works for you to do it? Someone like, I don't know, Perhaps your Ten?" Alfred groaned, "But Reina doesn't know how to make my coffee correctly! The only thing Reina is good at is making me hamburgers and spicy foods!" Francis rolled his eyes, "Now, that's not a nice thing to say about belle Reina. She's good at plenty." Alfred pouted, "Not making coffee, though..." Arthur was starting to get a headache at all of the pointless chatter that was going on when Peter cleared his throat, getting the attention of both kings in the process. He smiled, "Now that I've got your attention... Arthur, come here!"
Arthur stood and walked over, standing a couple of paces behind Peter. Peter grabbed his hand and pulled him closer, "Don't be shy, Alfred doesn't bite! I'm not too sure about Francis, though...", Francis let out a sound of feigned hurt, "Anyway, Arthur, this is Alfred F. Jones, the King of Spades. Alfred, this is Arthur Kirkland, the new Queen of Spades." Alfred grinned at Arthur and adjusted his glasses, "Heya! I'm the hero, remember that! So, how do you like it in Spades so fa-" Alfred was interrupted by Francis who stepped in front of him and took Arthur's hand before placing his lips on the back of it, "Bonjour, I am Francis Bonnefoy, King of Diamonds. Your are très belle, mon cher." Arthur's eye twitched, quickly pulling his hand away from the man, "Please don't speak that disgusting language to me, bloody frog." Francis stared at him wide-eyed for a moment before scoffing, "How dare you call moi a frog, monsieur sourcils." Alfred, who was trying to keep his giggles in the entire encounter, burst out laughing, "Oh, dude, Francis, you got rejected! It's been a while since I've seen that happen with someone you just met!"
Arthur, having studied French for quite a while, understood exactly what he said. He glared at Francis, "I'll have you know that these eyebrows run in my family, you git!" Francis whipped his head to his right with a humph, flicking his hair at Arthur. Arthur whipped his head in the opposite direction, already not liking this French bastard. Alfred clapped his hands together, "So, everyone is here, right?" Yao stood, "Yes, I took attendance a little earlier before you showed up. You and Francis were the only two missing." Alfred nodded, "Thanks, Yao. Alright, so we have some talking to do, right? Let's get this party started!"
A man dressed in green with brown hair and violet eyes spoke up, "Yes, it seems as if Chess and Checkers want to start a war with Cards." Arthur turned toward the man who spoke, "What!?" The man rose an eyebrow, "Is there a problem?" Arthur had no idea what to say. Everyone in the room hardly reacted to the prospect of war, in fact, they seemed a bit interested and amused. The fact that they seemed so calm about the idea of a war appalled Arthur. Alfred led Arthur and Peter back to the table, Francis following behind. Once they were seated, Alfred spoke, "Hmm... Four against Four, huh?" A woman dressed in green with wavy, brown hair and green eyes spoke up, "Yes, both Chess and Checkers have two kingdoms. We're up against Red, Black, White, and Brown." Alfred stuck his tongue out at her, "I new that, Eliza." A man dressed in red with blonde hair and ice blue eyes looked at Alfred, "Are we going to accept?" Arthur looked at Alfred warily, 'Are they serious?'
Alfred grinned, "Hell yeah! It's been a while since we played with them." A man dressed in green with silver hair and violet eyes smiled, "It will be fun, da?" Arthur stared wide-eyed at all of these people, 'What the hell are they saying!? Playing? Fun? Last time I checked, wars weren't games!' He hardly knew anyone in this room, why the hell is he being dragged into their war? Alfred leaned back in his chair, "What did they suggest we do this time, Ludwig? Croquet wasn't very fun for me last time." Arthur looked at Alfred as if he were the craziest person in the world, 'Are they seriously talking about a game?' Ludwig sighed, "I don't think they liked it either, so they suggested football or baseball." Alfred's eyes lit up like a child during Christmas, "Football?" Francis rolled his eyes, "They meant 'soccer', didn't they?" Ludwig nodded. Alfred slumped in his seat, "Aw..." Arthur shook his head and mumbled to himself, "These people are utterly mad." "Did you say something, Artie?", Alfred turned to him. Arthur shot a glare in his direction, "It's Arthur, and no, I didn't say anything."
Alfred held his hands up in defense, "Whoa, there tiger, calm down. You're a feisty one, aren't ya?" Arthur didn't reply and simply glared at him, disgusted at his utter butchering of the English language. Alfred smiled at him nervously and whispered to Francis, "The new Queen's a bit scary, isn't he?" Francis scoffed, "Not one bit. He looks kind of like an irritated kitten with caterpillar eyebrows." Alfred laughed, "I guess you're right." Arthur scowled, "What are you two talking about?" Alfred shot a smile and a thumbs up at him, "Nothing!" Arthur rolled his eyes and crossed one leg over the other.
"Oh, that's right, Arthur, you don't know anyone here, do you?", Alfred said as if just realizing. Arthur sighed and shook his head 'no'. "Alrighty then! I'll tell you who they are! The one sitting next to Peter, I'm pretty sure you already know Peter, is the Queen of Hearts, Kiku Honda." "I already knew that.", Arthur chimed. "Alright, then next to him is the Jack of Hearts, Feliciano Vargas." Feliciano smiled at him, "Ciao! Do you like pasta?" Before Arthur could reply, Alfred continued, "Next to him is the King of Hearts-" Arthur interrupted him, "Wait, I know this. You're Ludwig Beilshmidt, right? Gilbert's younger brother?" Ludwig nodded, a bit stunned that he could guess that. Arthur studied him for a moment, "You don't look alike at all. The only reason why I could tell was because Gilbert told me his brother was the King of Hearts." Ludwig nodded again in understanding, "We get that a lot. We don't act similar, either." Feliciano spoke up, "Ve, where is Gilbert, anyway?"
Alfred shrugged, "He only shows up to these tea parties when either Ludwig or Francis are hosting it. Those are the only times he's let in, anyway. Back on topic! Next to Ludwig is the Queen of Clubs, Elizaveta Herdervary." Elizaveta smiled at Arthur, "Lovely to make your acquaintance, dear." Arthur smiled back at her, "The pleasure is mine." Alfred continued, "Next to her is the Jack of Clubs, Roderich Eldestein. They're married." Arthur looked confused, "Shouldn't the queen be married to the king?" Alfred laughed, "They don't have to be." Arthur thought for a moment, "... So that means I don't have to be married to you?" Alfred, who had been taking a sip of his coffee at that moment nearly spit it out, "Dude, that's a blow to my pride! Who wouldn't want to marry the hero? You hardly know me yet! Don't be so hasty with your decisions!" Arthur rolled his eyes, "You hardly know me, either." Alfred ignored that comment and continued, pouting a bit, "Sitting next to Roderich is Ivan the Terrible and next to hi-" "Hey, be nice to your comrades, da?", Ivan interrupted, letting out a string of clacking sounds. Alfred sighed, "Fiiinnnee... He's the King of Clubs, Ivan Braginski. Moving on, next to him is Vash Zwingli, the Jack of Diamonds."
Vash said nothing and merely stared at Arthur with cold, green eyes, unnerving him greatly. "... Sitting next to him is his little sister, Lili Zwingli, the Queen of Diamonds." Lili smiled shyly at Arthur, "H-hello." Arthur smiled kindly at her, "Hello." Vash shot a glare in Arthur's direction. Alfred leaned over and whispered in Arthur's ear, "Vash is overprotective of Lili, so be careful around those two. You might get shot." A shiver was sent through Arthur's spine at those words. (Not because Alfred whispered in his ear, you pervs. I'm saving that for later.) After that was said, Alfred leaned away, "Okay! Next to Lili is Yao Wang, the one and only Jack of Spades." Yao did a half-bow, "Nihao." Arthur smiled at him and also did a half-bow, "Hello." Alfred continued, "Next to Yao is Francis, you already know him." Arthur glared at him and spoke sarcastically, "Yes, it's such a pleasure." Francis simply smirked and winked at him, causing Arthur to fume. Alfred snickered a bit, "Yeah, and you know who I am. I already mentioned Peter and you know him, so that's everyone!" Peter grinned, "Of course he does! Who could forget about me? I'm going to become a great, strong Joker one day!"
Yao rolled his eyes, "Yes, yes, Peter, we know." Before Peter could say anything else, Alfred spoke again, "Okay, guys, this is Arthur Kirkland, the new Queen of Spades. If you didn't know already, now you know." Arthur looked around the table at everyone, "Might I ask why everyone is sitting with the people they work with except the frog and Yao? Also, might I ask why it seems as if the order is 'queen, jack, king' up until Vash?" Vash decided to speak up, "I don't trust Francis or Ivan sitting next to my little sister." Alfred laughed, "Why did you even have to ask? Besides, why does it matter what order we sit in? Are you a perfectionist or something?" Arthur blushed, "N-no! I just happened to have noticed!" Alfred laughed again, "Well, whatever. Anyway, let's take a vote on what game we're playing for the war."
Ludwig nodded, "All in favor of playing football?" Seven people rose their hands. Ludwig counted before he nodded, "Okay, all in favor of playing baseball?" Five people rose their hands. Ludwig counted in his head, "Someone did not vote." Everyone looked at Vash, noticing he had not rose his hand for either sport. He shrugged, "I'm neutral." Half of the people who wanted to play baseball shrugged, not really caring. Three of them were quite upset, on the other hand. Alfred whined, "Awwww, but soccer is such a lame sport! I don't want to kick those little animals, either!" Ludwig rolled his eyes, "You'd rather hit them with a bat?" Alfred and Peter pouted. Arthur looked at Peter, "Wait a minute, why were you even allowed to vote?" Peter shrugged, "I'm allowed to participate if I come to the tea party and don't destroy anything or anger anyone."
Arthur rose an eyebrow inquisitively, "You don't say?" Peter simply grinned at him mischievously. Yao clapped his hands together, gaining everyone's attention, "Now that that's settled, we need to write them a letter telling them we accept. Who wants do do that?" Alfred groaned, "Can't we just, like, email them or something?" Arthur looked at Alfred, "You can email here?" Alfred rose an eyebrow at him, "Yeah...? Where've you been? Technology has been around for the longest time! Good thing, too! I would die without Google!" Yao spoke up before Arthur could pitch in anything else, "Alfred, it's more formal to write a letter. Ludwig, would you mind writing it?"
Ludwig responded, "Not at all. I wouldn't trust anyone else in this room to do it..." Alfred pouted, "Hey! That's not cool, bro!" Roderich spoke up after he glanced at his pocket watch, "It seems as if our gathering is coming to a close. Perhaps we should take our leave?" Most of the people in the room murmured with agreement and began to file out. Alfred, Arthur, Yao, and Peter followed them to the entrance of the castle. Bidding each of them farewell. When the last person left, Alfred yelled after them, "See you all at Francis's place next month!" Alfred grinned as he received a few waves and groans in response and watched the royals get into their vehicles. After the last car drove off, the entrance was closed and Alfred turned to Arthur, "What d'you think? Nice lot of people, right?"
Arthur rose an eyebrow, "Sure...? You're going to have to explain... Everything to me, though." Alfred furrowed his eyebrows, "You really aren't from around here, are you? You must be from the neighboring universe..." Peter interjected, "Yep! He is!" Arthur nodded a bit skeptically, "Yeah, about that, when do you think I'll be able to go back?"
At those words, the three people around him looked at him as if he'd grown a second head and all said simultaneously, "What?"
Thoughts! Who wants to tell me their thoughts!? I crave feedback! This story's kind of fun, right? Everyone happens to be a loon! Some sensible loons, but loons nonetheless!
Arthur: Tell me about it...
Alfred: You're crazy for wanting to go back home when you have a kingdom to rule!
Arthur: Hush, you.
Peter: Until next time!
