After two nights of smooth sailing, they arrived in Diamonds on a perfect spring day. The ship sailed along the river that cut through the heart of Triomphe, bringing them closer and closer to their goal. For as much as he had dreamed about this moment, Arthur found himself filled with a strange sense of unease.
His companions didn't seem to share his concerns. Yao had been particularly fastidious in choosing his outfit that morning in anticipation of their meeting with Vanya. Lost in his own thoughts, he stared off dreamily into the distance.
A little to their left, Freddie gawked in unabashed delight as he took in the sights of Diamonds. He watched people sip coffee outside cozy cafes as others strolled along the banks of the river. The tree-lined streets were filled with people, carriages, and new-fangled automobiles. Gaping in amazement, Freddie leaned over to get a better look the autos.
"Be careful!" Arthur warned. He grabbed the back of the young man's suit jacket to stop him from splashing into the river.
Oblivious to the danger, Freddie took a step closer to Arthur and pointed to the lively streets. "Ooh, I want to eat outside! And then let's go for a ride in one of those," he eagerly proposed, gesturing to a dark blue automobile.
"Impress the dowager's cousin and you can dine wherever you want," Arthur replied patiently, trying to keep Freddie focused on their goal. "And I'm sure she has a chauffeur who could drive you around town."
Freddie pouted. "I don't want a chauffeur. Where's the fun in that?"
"The 'fun' is that someone sees to your every whim and makes sure that you want for nothing. You'll have a life of luxury without having to lift a finger," Arthur explained. A hint of bitterness crept into his tone as he thought about how much work it took to provide an upper-class lifestyle, not that the nobles had ever spared a thought to their servants' burdens. And yet, as much as he had disliked the system, he still dreamed of having enough wealth to enjoy the same level of luxury himself. He wasn't sure if he was a hypocrite or just a fool, but either way it left a sour feeling in his chest.
"That doesn't sound fun." Freddie wrinkled his nose in distaste.
Arthur snorted. "Well, you'd better get used to it. That's how you'll live once we reunite you with your grandmother."
To his surprise, a look of disappointment settled on Freddie's face. The teenager stared glumly at the happy people walking along the river promenade. "I didn't think about what it would be like after… well, you know," he said. He sounded nothing like his usual cheerful self.
"It doesn't have to be that way," Arthur said gently. After disappointing the boy, he felt the urge to return a smile to Freddie's face. Just so that the young man would look good for his meeting with the dowager's cousin, of course. "Royalty can do whatever they like. If you want to drive your own car, who's going to tell you no?"
"Yeah…" Freddie perked up. "You're right!"
"That's the spirit." Arthur grinned back. He noticed that the ship was slowing down as they reached the pier. "You'd better fetch your suitcase and Hero. We're almost there."
Still wearing a smile, Freddie raced across the deck and dashed down the stairs towards their cabin. Arthur felt a sense of sadness as he watched Freddie's back disappear into the dark stairwell. Their journey would be ending soon and Freddie wasn't the only one who wasn't really prepared for what would come next.
Yao seemed to finish daydreaming about Vanya, because he chose that moment to favor Arthur with a knowing look. "I thought you didn't like the cat."
"The cat has proven its worth," Arthur replied, refusing to admit that he had forgiven the cat for all of its rude behavior after Hero helped save Freddie's life. "And if its presence makes the boy happy… well, a cheerful young man will be more believable during the interview."
"Perhaps." Yao gazed into the distance and smiled to himself. "Or maybe you have a different reason for wanting to see him happy?"
"I assure you that my motives are purely financial," Arthur replied defensively. "And what about you? Doesn't it bother you that we're basically lying to Vanya?"
Yao surprised him by laughing. "Vanya is a smart woman and she is tired of sorting through candidates for the dowager. I think she will be happy to take the first kind-hearted young man who fits the role."
"She doesn't care if he's real so long as he makes the dowager happy?"
"Why not?" Yao shrugged. "Freddie doesn't have a family. The dowager doesn't have a family. They can both give each other something they need." A soft smile spread across his face. "Then Vanya will be free from her obligations and she will be happy that the dowager is happy."
"I see…" Arthur stared off into the distance, noticing that the golden-hued buildings grew more opulent as they reached the center of the city.
Even though he should have been pleased, Arthur felt numb as they disembarked the ship and arranged for a carriage to take them to the dowager's townhouse. All this time, he and Yao had been playing different cons. They both wanted to 'find' the lost prince, but Arthur had looked for someone who could convincingly play the role, while Yao wanted to find someone with a good heart. And Freddie… he just wanted to have a family. In the end, they would all get what they wanted, right? It would be a win-win-win for everyone.
So why didn't he feel happy?
Freddie pressed his nose to the windows and watched the city roll past in amazement while Yao leaned back against the seat with a dreamy smile. For his part, Arthur was in too much of a daze to pay attention to the route. It seemed like no time at all before they arrived.
Yao rang the doorbell to the elegant townhouse and watched the door eagerly. He looked disappointed as a pretty brunette in a French maid outfit opened the door for them.
"Bonjour, messieurs," she said. Arthur thought she sounded a bit flirtatious, but it was also possible that everything sounded flirtatious in a Diamonds accent.
Yao nodded. "Good afternoon. Could you tell Countess Vanya that Jack Yao is here to see her with an important guest?"
Before the maid had a chance to respond, the sound of pounding footsteps grew closer. "Yao, is that really you?" a heavy-set woman cried from the hallway. Her violet eyes sparkled as she pulled the maid out of the way and stepped forward. She leaned against the doorway, her pose accentuating her curves beneath her long-sleeved dress.
Yao took her free hand as delicately as he would lift a grain of rice and pressed a soft kiss to her fingers. "My sweetest dumpling, it has been too long," he whispered.
"Oh, Yao!" Vanya blushed prettily and clasped her beloved to her ample bosom. He was soon lost in the folds of her pink wool dress.
Both seemed to have forgotten that Arthur and Freddie existed. The two young men exchanged an amused glance. "Should we give them some privacy?" Freddie asked.
"They can be private after your interview," Arthur retorted, pitching his voice loudly enough so that Yao could hear him.
His message was apparently received because he heard Yao clear his throat a moment later. "My dear Vanya, allow me to present his royal highness, Prince Alfred," Yao announced, his voice was somewhat muffled from his position pressed against Vanya's body.
"Oh?" She let go of Yao, glanced dismissively past Arthur, and gave Freddie an appraising look from top to bottom. "Well, he certainly looks the part."
Arthur nudged Freddie forward and hoped that the boy didn't forget his training. He seemed to remember the first part at least, because he gave Vanya a bow and then smiled at her warmly. "Pleased to meet you, ma'am. Yao's description didn't do you justice."
She laughed and clasped her hands together. "What a charming prince!"
"Yes, he's the perfect gentleman," Arthur snarked. He was annoyed at Freddie for laying it on so thick. At this rate, Yao was going to be jealous!
"Please, come in," Vanya said, taking Yao by the hand as she led them to the beautifully decorated parlor. "I have so many questions!"
To Arthur's great annoyance, he'd been left with the suitcases like a servant. As Freddie, Vanya, and Yao sat down on the plush parlor furniture, he struggled to carry their suitcases into the hallway. Arthur dropped them onto the floor with a huff of irritation. As soon as he was finished, Hero popped out of one of the bags and glanced around the entryway with curiosity.
"Oh sure, now you want to walk," Arthur complained under his breath.
Oblivious to Arthur's irritated tone, the cat meowed when he heard Freddie's voice and bolted into the parlor before Arthur could stop him.
As Arthur slipped into the sitting room after the cat, he could hear Freddie excitedly answering Vanya's questions. "I love horseback riding. It almost feels like you're flying!" the teenager gushed. "I had a white horse named Snowflake, which, uh, wasn't the best name, but I was only three," he explained, looking a bit embarrassed about the horse's name. Honestly, Arthur didn't think that someone who named a cat Hero could complain about the name Snowflake.
"Did you have any other pets?" Vanya asked.
Freddie nodded. "Oh, yes! The other kingdoms gave us wild animals as presents. My favorite was a baby panda from the Ambassador of Clubs. I named her Ling Ling."
Presumably upset that people weren't talking about him, Hero meowed and climbed onto Freddie's lap. Vanya blinked at the feline in surprise.
"This is Hero," the teenager happily explained. "He follows me everywhere." He reached down and scratched the cat under the chin, ignoring the fact that Hero was getting white fur onto his lovely navy suit. "He's been with us ever since we left Spades."
"Interesting," Vanya remarked with a slight smile. "I thought princesses were the ones who made friends with woodland animals."
Arthur tried not to snicker when he saw the offended look that crossed Freddie's face. He was starting to see why Yao liked Vanya. Beneath the soft exterior was a hint of spunk.
She continued to ask Freddie questions about his childhood, probing his knowledge of the royal family in increasingly greater detail. Freddie responded with a fair amount of confidence, though he had to admit that he didn't remember certain people.
Arthur wasn't worried about the slight lapses. As far as he was concerned, they made Freddie sound even more like the real prince, instead of someone who had been carefully coached into getting every answer correct. After all, Prince Alfred had disappeared when he was nine and couldn't be expected to remember every single detail ten years later.
Of course, Freddie had been coached into getting most of the answers correct, but Arthur shied away from those guilt-inducing thoughts. What mattered was that Freddie would have a family, Yao would have his beloved, and Arthur would have half the reward money. That was what they all wanted, right?
"We always had the best birthday celebrations for me at the summer palace," Freddie explained, answering another question about his childhood. "I once ate so much chocolate cake that I was sick for a week."
Arthur frowned. That didn't sound like something he and Yao had taught him. Perhaps Freddie was mixing in his own memories? Yet it seemed unlikely that Freddie had received birthday cake at the orphanage.
He didn't have a chance to think about it further because Vanya paused in her questioning when the maid arrive with a tea tray. "How do you like your tea, monsieur?" the maid asked Freddie.
"I don't," Freddie replied, wrinkling his nose. "You should give it to Arthur."
Everyone turned to look at Arthur, who up until that point had been doing a good job blending in with the wallpaper. He accepted the tea gratefully, even if he didn't much care for the attention. He didn't want Vanya to start asking questions about his presence, just in case she was familiar with his reputation as a forger back in Spades.
They soon returned their focus to Freddie—who performed beautifully for the rest of the interview. He ate the tea cakes daintily and remembered to say 'yes' instead of 'yeah.'
The questions continued for another hour and whenever Freddie glanced over at Arthur, the con artist gave him a reassuring smile. The teenager smiled back in a way that made the room seem a little lighter, even if it made the pit of guilt in Arthur's stomach grow heavier.
He tried to shake off the feeling. They would all be much happier once Freddie convinced Vanya and the empress that he was the lost prince of Spades. He already believed it himself and Arthur was positive that the dowager would love her new grandson. They would all live happily ever after, even if it meant that he never saw Freddie again.
Arthur was so lost in his own thoughts that it took him a moment to realize that Vanya had paused again in her questioning. She gave Freddie a thoughtful look. "I hope this question is not too insensitive, but… how did you survive the night of the attack?"
Freddie stared at her with wide eyes and froze. His fingers gripped Hero's fur tightly. "I… I…" he gulped and stared up at the ceiling.
Arthur felt a surge of regret for not giving Freddie more details about the cold December night when the monarchy had died and Soviet Spades had arisen in its place.
"There was a boy… a servant boy," Freddie began to explain, his eyebrows still scrunched in thought. "He opened a wall and we escaped." He shook his head in confusion. "No, that sounds silly doesn't it? Opening a wall…"
Arthur froze in shock as Vanya rubbed her chin. "I think you're describing the servant's passageways, actually," she said thoughtfully. "I'm sorry for bringing up such a painful memory. I don't have any more questions."
Freddie had known about the escape. He had remembered it. There was only one possible explanation: Freddie really was the prince.
Arthur almost wanted to laugh at the irony. He'd spent weeks training Freddie to act like the prince, with no clue that he had found the real Prince Alfred. And now… Freddie was going to return to his childhood life of luxury and Arthur could take the reward money without a smidgeon of remorse. The only thing holding him back was the horrible knowledge that he would never see Freddie again.
All around him, the others continued to finish off their tea and coffee, oblivious to Arthur's painful knowledge he had found the missing prince only to lose him again.
"So I can meet the dowager empress?" Freddie asked excitedly, his cheerfulness returning in full force as he leaned forward and waited for Vanya's response.
"No." She shook her head sadly. "She will see no more boys claiming to be Prince Alfred."
"But…?" Yao prompted, hearing a hesitance in her tone.
A coy smile appeared on Vanya's face. "Do you like the ballet? The dowager and I love the Spades Ballet! We never miss a performance. In fact, we are going to see them tonight," she said, adding a wink in case her point wasn't blindingly obvious.
"Isn't ballet kind of boring?" Freddie asked cluelessly.
"We love the ballet," Yao interrupted, giving Freddie a stern look. "If you recommend the performance tonight, we will definitely be there."
"Oh, wonderful!" Vanya gushed. She gave Freddie's suit an appraising look as her eyes gleamed. "Of course, you will need nicer outfits."
Arthur felt his heart sink. It sounded like they were going shopping.