Prince of Spades
Chapter 4
"Ready?" Peter grinned from Gilbert's side. He had traded his sailor outfit for something Gilbert guessed the nobel family children wore. Trousers that stopped at the knee, long socks, a dark blue jacket with a white undershirt and a black ribbon tied in a bow under the shirt collar. Though he kept his white sailor hat with blue piping in place. He had also hidden his ship in the bottle in a bag that hung across his chest.
Gilbert gulped, decked out in his princely attire of black slacks, a red tunic shirt secured by a black sash and gold epaulettes, he clutched the reins to a large horse. "Ready as I'll ever be."
"Do you know how to ride a horse?" Peter asked.
"Not a bit," Gilbert admitted. The black mare next to him shifted. "I don't think she likes me."
Peter rolled his eyes. "Just climb on. I'll follow and make sure none of the guys get lost."
They were standing just on the outskirts of the kingdom. Gilbert could barely make out the building he called home, but the castle loomed in front of them. If he wanted people to think he was a prince, he couldn't just pop out of the woods. At least, that's what Peter said.
The genie had conjured up a new wardrobe for Gilbert and himself, a few horses, over a hundred men as Gilbert's 'guards' beautiful women for his 'maids' and even carriages full of 'gold.' All of it was fake, Peter had said, but the magic would stay until he willed it away.
Gilbert climbed on the horse and looked over his shoulder. Peter had seated himself at the front carriage, and waved. "Just think of what you want her to do, and she'll do it."
"Alright, well, here goes nothing," Gilbert sat straight and thought of the horse walking into the city, and she did. He swayed a little, then caught his balance and was able to make it into the kingdom without falling off.
People parted in awe for Gilbert and his parade. Luckily, most people associated Gilbert with his rags, so his new clothes threw people for a loop. They gazed at him in confusion, but recognition. It gave Gilbert a slight confidence boost.
He glanced over his shoulder and saw Peter grinning and waving frantically at people. He even seemed to be handing out gold. Gilbert frowned, but then remembered the magic would stay until Peter lifted the spell. If he was handing out money to the poor, he wouldn't make it disappear. Gilbert smiled and faced the palace again.
They reached the gates and the guards stood to attention. Gilbert waited for them to move and open the gates. Nothing happened.
Gilbert resisted the urge to look over his shoulder at Peter. He merely sat as straight as he could and cast a glare down at the guards. "Are you going to let me in?"
The two men exchanged looks before one spoke. "Who are you?"
This time, Gilbert did look at Peter. He hoped it came off as princely. Almost like he was too good to introduce himself.
However, Peter was nowhere to be found. The carriage he had been riding on only contained the driver, who now stood and bellowed. "Prince Goliath of the Kingdom of Joker. He has come to present himself to Prince Matthew."
The guards startled, Gilbert quickly looked back at them to glare. "We weren't told of a prince coming. We are terribly sorry." The doors were promptly opened.
Gilbert entered the gates and tried not to look as impressed as he was. When he had been taken prisoner, they had brought him though the servant quarters, so he hadn't seen much. The castle loomed in front of him. Dark in color, but welcoming nonetheless. He risked a glance up and saw three figures above him on the balcony. He hoped one of them was Matthew.
When the palace doors opened, Gilbert dismounted. King Alfred came striding towards him, a large smile in place. "I have no idea who you are, but you are one hell of a man."
"Er, thanks," Gilbert said, then remembered he had to bow and quickly dropped. "Your Majesty."
"Please, call me Alfred. I never got your name?" The king reached his hand out.
Gilbert stood straight and shook hands with Alfred. "Gi-"
"Goliath!" Peter shouted. He had jumped off the carriage and was sprinting to Gilbert. "Brother Goliath!"
Flabbergasted, Gilbert looked between the genie hugging his leg and the only man standing between him and Matthew.
"Ah, what a charming boy!" Alfred laughed and knelt down. "And who are you?"
Peter grinned with all the innocence of a child, despite not having any. "I'm Peter, and my brother says he's going to marry a pretty princess!"
Gilbert chuckled rather awkwardly. "Sorry about him. He really wanted to see Spades. We're from Joker, it's a new country so we don't have everything you have here."
"No problem at all!" Alfred stood. "I love kids. Arthur's just going to adore having someone to coddle besides Matthew," he patted Peter's head and Gilbert stifled a snicker. "And I'm honored you chose my kingdom out of the many others."
Peter took Gilbert's hand and smiled sweetly at him. Though it was more on the sour side.
"Come in, come in," Alfred waved them both forward. "I'm sure Arthur and Matthew are curious to meet you."
Matthew had woke that morning to knocking on his door. He glanced at Kuma, who continued to sleep. Rolling his eyes at the lazy bear, he padded in barefeet to the door.
He swung it open and was hit in the face by his brother. "Matthew!"
The younger of the two pressed a hand to his reddening forehead. "What are you doing?"
"I came to apologize. Now it seems I owe you two," Alfred grinned.
Matthew lowered his arm and looked steadily at his brother. Alfred's smile fell.
"I'm sorry for yelling at you. I was a jerk," Alfred had the decency to look ashamed. "And I'm sorry for punching you in the face. That was an accident."
Matthew said nothing. He knew Alfred would slowly start to feel even more guilty if he didn't say anything.
Alfred eventually began to shift on the balls of his feet. "Do you forgive me? I had the cook make pancakes. Fresh maple syrup, too."
Matthew glared at Alfred a moment longer. "Let me change and I'll be down."
"Awesome! Plus, I have fantastic news," Alfred grinned.
"What kind of news?" Matthew asked. He didn't dare get his hopes up that it would be about his marriage.
Alfred just pressed a finger to his lips. "Sorry, Arthur wanted to tell you with me. But I'll give you a hint if you promise you won't be mad at me anymore." Matthew resisted the urge to roll his eyes. If he and Arthur were going to tell him, it was probably something like they adopted a dog or fifty kids.
Matthew paused before answering. "Nope, still mad. I'll be down in a bit," then he closed the door in Alfred's face. It felt good.
He wasn't exactly mad, more upset than anything. He knew Alfred wasn't going to change his mind about the whole marriage thing and it was frustrating. Alfred got to marry Arthur, so why couldn't Matthew marry the person he liked?
Oh, right. Luis had him killed.
Matthew sighed and changed out of his pajamas. He didn't bother with his whole Prince look since he was just going to come back to his room after he pacified Alfred.
He entered the dining area with caution. Though Alfred couldn't hold a grudge to save his life, Arthur was a completely different story. If Arthur was feeling vicious, he would bring back things from four years ago just to prove a point. Matthew couldn't feel like he was about to be scolded by his parents.
"Good morning, Matthew," Arthur said. He neither sounded cheerful or upset. Just normal.
"Morning," Matthew sat in his usual seat. He glanced around the dining area and saw Luis standing at attention in the corner by the balcony.
Breakfast was served and it was awkward. Alfred tried to start conversation, but when no one else contributed, he went back to his scrambled eggs.
"Something is going on at the front gates." Luis said suddenly.
All eating stopped. Arthur glanced at Alfred who put on his king face and stood. "What is it?"
"A parade of sorts. Looks like the leader is talking to the guards," Luis replied.
Alfred stood and walked over to the balcony. He watched the men below speak.
"My King," a guard entered the dining hall. "The man at the gates was seen giving gold to the people. He appears to be royalty."
"He could be another suitor for Matthew," Arthur spoke up.
"I want no part of him if that is what he is," Matthew replied.
"If he's handing out gold, how bad can be be?" Alfred asked. He moved away from the balcony and to the doors.
"Be careful anyway, Alfred," Arthur called after him.
"I will, don't worry," and he was gone.
Matthew looked at Arthur. "Want to watch?"
"Of course," Arthur smiled, albeit nervously and stood.
Together they went to the balcony and watched Alfred cross the courtyard to the newcomer. Matthew tried to ignore the way Luis followed them out.
"I can't hear them," Arthur frowned after a few moments.
Matthew shook his head. "I can't either."
"Wait, is that a child?" Arthur leaned further over the railing surrounding the balcony.
Squinting, Matthew could make out Alfred, the newcomer and another figure, much shorter than them. "Looks like it."
Arthur broke out into a smile. "How sweet, he brought his brother along."
"Or his bastard child," Luis spoke up.
"No one gave you permission to speak," Matthew bristled.
Luis glowered, but didn't say another word. Arthur glanced between them confusedly before looking down to his husband again. Alfred was now leading the other man and the child to the gates while the rest of their party was shown to the servant quarters.
Arthur turned from the courtyard to welcome whoever the guest was, but Matthew stayed a moment longer. Who brought so many people, anyway? Even if they did throw money to the less fortunate people, that didn't change the fact at how impractical it all was. He finally left the balcony, a small ball of disgust maneuvering its way into his stomach.
Luis took an extra second to examine the newcomer's people. However, while he was just starting to count carriages, they began to disappear. He rubbed his eyes and looked again. More than half the entourage was gone. He followed Queen Arthur and Prince Matthew to the thrones, suspicion swirling in his gut.
Gilbert gaped openly at the palace. Peter nudged him and motioned for him to close his mouth. Gilbert promptly snapped his jaw shut.
Alfred laughed good naturedly. "Is my home to your liking?"
"It's amazing," Gilbert breathed.
"Our castle isn't as big," Peter said, smiling. "Yours is huge!"
Blue drapes were at the windows, they were pulled aside and the wood floor gleamed in the sunlight. Alfred, Gilbert, and Peter were walking along a navy blue rug with intricate spades woven down the hems in gold. Gilbert wondered why something so beautiful would be used to walk on.
"We were just having breakfast when you arrived," Alfred said. He veered down a hallway. "Would you like to join us?"
Gilbert felt a low grumble in his stomach. "We would love to.
"Wonderful, we always have so much food left over," Alfred approached a door and two guards snapped to attention.
"What do you do with all the extra?" Gilbert asked.
Alfred shrugged. "I imagine the servants eat a few things before throwing it away."
Gilbert bristled. They threw away food while he and hundreds of other people starved in the streets. What was wrong with him?
"What does the Kingdom of Joker do with their leftover food?" Alfred asked with genuine curiosity.
"We donate it," Gilbert said before he could stop himself. "To the homeless shelters and the children living on the streets."
"That's very generous of you," Alfred smiled fondly. "I thought you were handing out money to try to impress me, but now I know you aren't just a brown noser."
Gilbert lowered his head. "Thank you, your Highness."
"Please, Alfred is just fine," the king repeated. "Now let's meet the others," Alfred flicked his fingers and the guards opened the double doors for them.
Alfred strode in and took the place beside Arthur, his arm wrapping almost thoughtlessly around the queen's waist.
"Arthur, Matthew, this is Prince Goliath of Joker. Prince, meet my husband, Queen Arthur, and my brother, Prince Matthew," Alfred pointed to each person as he said their names.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Arthur grinned. "And who is the child?"
Gilbert glanced at the genie. "This is my brother, Peter."
"Welcome to Spades," Arthur opened his arms like he was going to give them a hug.
"Hello," Matthew looked briefly over Gilbert and Peter. He didn't care much for whom the prince was since all he was here for was to woo him.
Gilbert couldn't help but stare at Matthew. He looked even more beautiful in his royal clothes than the rags they had met in.
Peter nudged his side. "Its an honor to be welcomed into your home," he said. He broke his gaze on Matthew and let his eyes wander around the room.
His eyes landed an a guard not too far from Matthew. Gilbert watched the guard walk past the royal family and to a spot on the wall, where he didn't move. Gilbert didn't recognize the guard's face, but the long dreadlocks were familiar.
"What is the purpose of your visit, Prince Goliath?" Arthur waved his hand to the breakfast table and while the real royals sat, two chairs were rushed to Gilbert and Peter.
Once Gilbert and Peter had a seat, Gilbert had managed to think of an answer better than 'I'm pretending to be a prince to marry Matthew who I met on the streets.' "My kingdom is a new one, and since I am the first prince, my father thought it would be wise to marry a strong ally."
Gilbert glanced at Peter who gave a thumbs up under the table. Then he tried to meet the eye of King Alfred, but he was looking at Arthur. They seemed to be communicating silently like old couples tend to do.
"Is something the matter?" Gilbert asked.
Arthur broke his gaze with Alfred. "Well, yes."
Gilbert felt his hands begin to shake. They knew he was a fraud. They were going to throw him back in the dungeon or have him killed. "What is it?"
Alfred looked at Matthew. "We talked about your marriage last night," he began. "And Arthur and I decided you don't have to marry prince."
Matthew perked up. "Really? I can marry whomever?"
Gilbert tried to ignore the pang in his gut.
"Well, no," Arthur said. "You can marry Luis."
"Wait, what?" Matthew jumped to his feet.
"That's what our news was," Alfred said. "Since you two are so close, we thought it would be a good match."
Matthew's eyes landed on Luis. The guard had the decency to look embarrassed, but Matthew was still upset with him. With a huff, Matthew spun on his heel and marched out of the room.
"Matthew!" Alfred stood and followed him.
Gilbert kept his eyes on his plate while Peter kicked his feet under the table. Arthur sighed and placed his face in his hands. So far, Gilbert's first day of being a prince was not turning out well.
