So a Guest reviewed the last chapter and asked if they could write a PrUK version of this. Well, that's awesome that you want to do that. :) But let me know where I can read it, okay? Sorry it's taken so long to answer but there was no way to reply privately.
Actually, the whole Gil following Arthur thing was supposed to hint at PrUK so... Heh. There are some things not revealed about Gil, though, that'll be revealed much, much later and, if you want to incorporate them, then I'll have to PM you. So... message me or something. :)
A breeze blew through the city, lifting the heads of the flowers in the royal garden. The large oak trees danced. It was a peaceful scene within the blue, a quiet day. No other movements could be seen – except for the bursts of fire at the far end of the enclosed space.
Down there, Arthur stood, his palms upwards, calling upon the magic he now possessed. With another burst of fire, he formed a rose with the flare, the stem and petals flickering beautifully. He smiled at it, amazed at what he could do now. Although, he knew he hadn't been given all the magic the Joker was capable of. But it was certainly enough to escape from the castle.
Still, it had been a day since he had attained the magic and he hadn't left. This was because he had realised that, had he left, Alfred would come after him. He would search the city. Arthur would be trapped as the guards swarmed the capital.
He knew that he would have to kill the King.
Unfortunately, he had not found Alfred alone. After all, the servants, guards and Matthew were all nice people. He did not want to hurt them. Only Alfred. Yet something within him was objecting to his choice of action, discouraging him from doing anything...
"Yo, Artie. Watcha doing?"
Quickly, Arthur closed his fingers, extinguishing the fire rose. Then he turned to face Alfred. "I am enjoying the peace and quiet of the garden. Or I was – I doubt I will get much peace with you here." He folded his arms and glared at Alfred who smiled in response.
"That's good! I came down here to liven up your day!" declared Alfred.
Raising an eyebrow, Arthur glanced around. He could see no-one else around. Were they alone? "Where are the guards?" he asked as casually as he could.
"Oh, I made sure no-one else was around so I could tell you the good news myself!" said Alfred excitedly. Arthur watched as the tall blonde almost bounced.
"News?" asked Arthur, distracted from his thoughts.
"Yeah!" Alfred waved a letter in the air. Arthur managed to catch sight of the seal of Diamonds. "Yao and Kiku are on their way here!"
"Why?" Arthur blinked in surprise.
"Apparently Kiku still can't decide so me and Yao are gonna debate who's better for him. Course, I won't argue too much but this means you and Kiku can both choose at the same time!" Alfred smiled down at the potential Queen. "But you gotta pick me! I mean, this is your home so you just gotta!"
Arthur's lips parted slightly in surprise. Quickly, he told himself to stop his foolishness and concentrate on escaping. If Yao was arriving with Kiku, he could use this to his advantage. After all, Yao might come after him, too, if he was to disappear. He could kill two birds with one stone – quite literally. "That's... not a normal thing, is it?"
"Nope!" grinned Alfred. "And that's why it's so exciting! Mattie's already making preparations!"
"When will they get here?" asked Arthur, trying to sound nonchalant.
"Ah, with the date on the letter and when I got it, it should only be a couple of days. Let's go get ready!" And with that Alfred grabbed Arthur's hand and started pulling him back towards the castle.
"Eh! Hey! I can walk by myself – let me go!"
Alfred turned to pout at Arthur briefly but grudgingly let go. "Sorry," he said, sulkily.
With a roll of his eyes, Arthur followed. Don't worry, Peter, he thought. I'll be home soon.
The next two days dragged on painfully slowly. Arthur found he had to control his anger more than ever lest he suddenly set something alight. It wasn't easy: Alfred was as irritating as ever, never leaving Arthur to his thoughts.
On the third night after the news, Arthur was sitting in the lounge, reading about the coronation ceremony for the three important figures of each country. He had decided to try and look at least a little interested. Unfortunately, it did not stop Alfred from disturbing him. This night was no different.
"Watcha reading?" asked Alfred, standing behind Arthur's chair once again.
Used to this by now, Arthur sighed instead of jumping in surprise. "The same book as I was reading five minutes ago."
"But that's still boring!" cried Alfred, circling round and dropping into one of the chairs opposite. "C'mon! No-one else is here! Talk to me!"
"I don't want to," said Arthur, not looking up.
"Arthur. Arthur. Artie. Art. A-"
"Oh, for goodness sake! It's Arthur!" snapped the Spade, slamming the book shut. "What is it?" Finally, he looked across at Alfred. He was holding a pocket watch shaped like a Spade in his lap. Arthur frowned, wondering what Alfred was up to.
Looking up with a smile, Alfred ran a finger over the surface of the timepiece. "This is inherited by the Kings of Spades. Every country has something like this – our Aces."
"Ace? I've never heard of that before..."
"Not many people do," said Alfred with a shrug. "Kings don't tell anyone. Our fathers tell us not to. 'Course, the Queen and Jack usually find out. Or they ask us."
"Is it stored somewhere special?" asked Arthur, intrigued.
"Nah. I carry it with me, just like my father did."
"But... I thought your parents died at sea."
"Yeah," said Alfred, staring at the clock. "It appeared on my dressing table the moment they..."
Arthur had experience with the death of one's parents and he knew how heartbreaking it must have been to find the watch. He wasn't entirely sure what to say. Eventually, he settled for saying, "My parents died at sea, too."
"Sorry," said Alfred.
"It was quite some time ago."
"Still, gotta be hard, right?"
Not replying, Arthur looked down at his book. "It is certainly hard to be away from my family," Arthur admitted eventually.
"Did you get on well with them?"
Surprised, Arthur looked up and saw that Alfred was looking quite serious. In fact, he looked a lot older with that expression. "Well... I was still quite young when they died so we were close."
Alfred nodded, a small smile on his face. "Yeah... Me and my dad used to fight a lot."
"Oh..."
"So it was probably a good thing that we had made up on the day he left!" Alfred added with a grin.
For a moment, Arthur stared at him. Then he picked up a cushion from a nearby chair and threw it at him. "What the hell?!" snapped Arthur. "And here I was, sympathising with you!" He froze, frowning. Wait? Sympathy? thought Arthur in surprise. No, stop it. You're going to kill him. Don't think like that!
"Huh? Whaddya mean?" asked Alfred even as he laughed at the flying cushion.
"Geez," said Arthur, opening his book again. He sighed as he flicked through to his place.
"Ah, wait! Don't stop talking to me!" exclaimed Alfred hurriedly.
"Why shouldn't I?"
"Because... We're getting to know each other..."
When Arthur looked up in surprise, he realised that Alfred was rather upset. With a sigh he closed his book. "I suppose we could talk for a little while longer before I retire."
"Great!" Alfred brightened up considerably. "So, so! What's your favourite part of the castle?"
"The garden," was Arthur's immediate response.
"Oh? You like flowers?"
"Yes. I have a garden at home."
"It reminds you of there?"
"Of course. I also happen to get more peace and quiet than here," added Arthur, pointedly.
Alfred grinned sheepishly. Then a faraway look crossed his face. When he frowned afterwards in thought, Arthur blinked, confused. Finally, Alfred spoke: "Have you ever grown sunflowers? Like Ivan has?"
"You have seen them, too? Well, yes. I have often grown sunflowers. They're bright and always seem to be cheerful. If I was ever..." Arthur trailed off, realising he was about to reveal too much of himself. "Why do you ask?"
"Ah, um... No reason. Oh, hey! Where in the city did you live?"
Suspicious, Arthur's eyes narrowed. "Why?"
"No reason."
"Then I shall not deign to answer."
"But-! That's just mean!"
Arthur only smirked at him. "Is there another question to come?"
"Well... What's your favourite Spade city? Mine is definitely Dingashcon W. C. It just feels so new and cool! And it's so far from the capital and the palace... I can't wait till we do the tour!"
"Tour?" asked Arthur with a frown.
"Yeah, the royals go touring round the cities to introduce themselves and see how they're all holding up! It'll be fun to do that!" Alfred grinned excitedly at Arthur.
Averting his eyes, Arthur stared at his book again. "I... have never been to anywhere in this kingdom bar here. My brothers have spread throughout the kingdom to be guards but I had to stay behind."
"Really? Then I definitely can't wait till we do that! It'll be awesome!"
With a glance at the King, Arthur realised how excited he was. Feeling a little guilty, he stood. "I... am going to bed. I am tired and King Yao and Kiku should be here tomorrow."
"Ah! Yeah! I'll-"
"Goodnight," Arthur interrupted before he could rise. He bowed and hurriedly left the room, praying that Alfred wouldn't follow – he felt his resolve would waver if he had to look at those puppy-like eyes again.
"Yo, Yao! How's it going?" cried Alfred, raising his arm. The sleeve of his official uniform slid down slightly and Arthur twitched beside him, wanting to pull it back down. In fact, he wanted to tidy Alfred's entire appearance. His jacket was slipping off one shoulder and his tie was crooked. The only thing in place seemed to be the Ace.
"Wènhòu, King Alfred," said Yao. He looked none too impressed with Alfred's welcome. Once again, he was in his official uniform.
"Go aisatsu, King Alfred," said Kiku who was standing slightly behind Yao. He was wearing a pale yellow robe adorned with small orange diamonds and a bright orange tie to keep it closed. "Jack Matthew," he continued in his greeting, bowing. Turning, he bowed to Arthur as well. "Konnichiwa, Arthur-san."
"Hello, Kiku," said Matthew quietly.
"Yes, hello, Yao and Kiku. It is splendid to see you again so soon," said Arthur, flashing a small smile at them both.
"Well, now we all said hello – c'mon, c'mon!" exclaimed Alfred. He grabbed Arthur's hand and pulled him back into the castle.
"He-! Alfred! Stop! Slow down!" cried Arthur, struggling to pull his hand free. Digging in his heels, he hoped Alfred would stop. Unfortunately for Arthur, Alfred had been trained with the palace guards and was considerably stronger than him. Arthur stumbled along, looking back at the other three with a red face.
Eventually, Alfred let Arthur go to open the doors of a room which had been prepared for the two Kings and potential Queens. Four chairs surrounded a small table, Spades decorating the glass. Bookcases lined the walls giving the impression that this was an area for work. Large bay windows were closed so that no-one could hear what was being said. Sunlight streamed through them, brightening the quiet place. Arthur hurried in and chose a chair near the door before Alfred could grab his arm again. Kiku passed him by, choosing the seat on his other side. The two Kings were left to sit side by side opposite the two choosing the fates of their Kingdoms.
Matthew closed the doors. "I will wait in the lounge, Alfred. Let me know once it's been decided."
"Sure thing, bro," said Alfred with a grin.
Arthur breathed out when they were finally alone. He could do it now. Use his magic, kill the Kings. It was time. Pointing two fingers at the doors, he slowly and quietly locked the door from where he was sitting, using his magic.
"How are you-?" Kiku began but he was cut off by Alfred.
"Let's get started! You should both choose me cause I'm awesome and heroic and just the best!"
"We both can't choose you, idiot!" Arthur snapped, losing his cool. He was glad that he had finished locking them in as he lost his concentration.
"True that. So you should pick me, Artie," he replied with a grin.
"My name is Arthur," the potential Queen reminded him with a scowl.
"You two seem to be getting along well, Arthur-san, Alfred-sama," said Kiku quietly.
"No we don't!" cried Arthur. He had been going to be as subtle as possible but now that he was riled up, he stood, his fists clenched. "In fact, I don't plan to stay here much longer!"
"Ar-Arthur..." breathed Alfred. He looked so downhearted that Arthur wavered. "You..."
"I refuse to be Queen! I am going home!" And, with that, Arthur lifted his hands. Ropes appeared from nowhere and snaked their way around the other occupants of the room. They were fast and strong and soon all three of them were tied tightly to their chairs. Their struggling was useless.
"Nǐ juéde nǐ zài zuò shénme?!" exclaimed Yao.
"Shut up!" growled Arthur, gesturing at the King of Diamonds. A strip of cloth appeared from nowhere and tied itself around Yao, gagging him. Realising that Alfred was about to speak, Arthur did the same to him.
"You... You have magic, Arthur-san?" asked a surprised Kiku.
"Don't act like you have none either, Kiku," sneered Arthur. "You have magic, too, even if you are trying to hide that from your King."
"I do not know what your are talking about. I have no magic – if I did, I would not have been caught so easily." The Diamond wriggled on his chair. "Onegai, release us. I do not know why you are fighting your fate, but let us discuss this-"
"Shut up! You are lying! The Joker..."
"You are believing what a Joker has said?" said Kiku, tilting his head. "You do not strike me as a person who would trust him so easily. What is it that you need magic for?"
"To escape," muttered Arthur. "And to do that, I must kill the Kings."
"And me?"
Looking at the smaller man, Arthur suddenly realised how naturally regal he looked. He sat straight, his jaw set in determination. Arthur was astonished – he was not royal so why could he look like he was? He glanced away, trying not to let himself wonder if he could look the same. "I..."
"Arthur-san, you must listen to reason. Whatever it is that is bothering you, whatever it is that you want to go back to, you must tell us. We cannot help you if you do not communicate. Communication is a key skill for Kings to have with their common folk."
Kiku was smiling kindly at Arthur when he looked back at him in surprise. He had ceased his wriggling as well. Tensing, Arthur thought quickly. With a violent shake of his head, he raised a hand in Alfred's direction and clenched. The ropes began to squeeze the young man. "I... I can't stop now..." he said over the grunts of pain coming from the King. After all, he had managed to get himself into debt with the Joker – he couldn't let his benefit go to waste.
"Is- Is it a lover?!" Kiku exclaimed, the worry clear in his voice. Arthur looked round with a frown, his hand lowering slightly. The ropes stopped squeezing but remained as tight. Alfred huffed in pain, breathing deep through his nose. "Are you in love, Arthur-san?"
"What? No, that's..." Arthur gave a little chuckle. "I have had no time for women! I have been too busy working several jobs just to make ends meet. I did not want my brother on the streets!"
"Your 'responsibility'?" said Kiku.
"I- Yes..." admitted Arthur. "Peter has no-one else. Unless he uproots himself and follows my brothers. After all, I will not be permitted to see him again. I can't... I can't just abandon him!"
Kiku frowned. "You will not be permitted to see your family?"
"The sister of the former Queen told me so!"
At this, Alfred began to mumble through his gag. He had a partly amused expression, though he did not seem to know whether he should be that or annoyed. For a moment, Arthur considered just killing him to shut him up. But his curiosity got the better of him and he magicked away the cloth.
"Alfred-sama..." muttered Kiku, a slight warning in his voice.
"Arthur, you're not as clever as I thought you were!" declared Alfred. Taken aback, Arthur didn't reply and Alfred continued. "That woman was my mother's sister, yes, but she hated the Queen and the Queen hated her. They were always arguing and her sister found it unfair that she got to be Queen. My mother chose not to associate herself with her sister after becoming Queen. The woman you met was always turned away by my own mother, not by the guards or the King or any other person!"
"W-What...?" gasped Arthur, staring wide-eyed at the King.
"I didn't know you had a brother," added Alfred, cheerfully. "Hey, when can I meet him? Ah, we should totally invite him to the coronation. Maybe not the other Kings', though, of course. That'd be rude, inviting another member. Right?" he asked Kiku. The Diamond nodded. "And, if you don't want him to be on his own, he can move in here. We can teach him how to be a palace guard and then he can protect his own brother."
Sure the heat in his cheeks was visible to everyone, Arthur turned away from Alfred's grin. "You're... lying."
"Nope."
"That's-! That's not going to convince me, idiot!"
"I don't care."
"What?!" snapped Arthur, glaring across the room at his King. Alfred only smiled back at him. Arthur froze – there was a look in Alfred's eyes which he had never seen before. Nobody had ever looked at him like that and he was unsure what it meant. Sure he was teasing him, he clicked his tongue. "Why would the Joker give me magic if this information was not correct?"
"Who knows with Jokers?" said Alfred with a shrug.
"The Joker told you that I had magic – and he was lying, Arthur-san," Kiku interjected.
"If that is true then I suppose he lied about Ivan obtaining magic, also..." muttered Arthur. Yao snorted with laughter. Alfred openly snickered.
"With the way the Kingdom of Clubs is, Ivan would have taken over the world by now of he had magic," said Kiku, gently.
Feeling his cheeks burning hotter now, Arthur turned his back on them. He could feel himself tearing up. How could he have let himself be fooled? The Joker had toyed with him when he had been desperate and vulnerable, he now understood. With anger towards the Joker rising, he turned and glared at them all. But Kiku and Alfred were still smiling at him kindly. Yao looked as though he was pitying him. Glancing at the books around the room, Arthur realised that, for all his reading and working, he was still too naïve about the world.
"If..." said Arthur, looking directly at Alfred who sat up straighter. "If I become your Queen, I will get to see Peter, yes? And learn more about the world?"
"Absolutely!" grinned Alfred.
After another brief moment of hesitation, Arthur knelt on one knee, facing Alfred, a hand on his heart. As he did so, the ropes and remaining gag disappeared, freeing all of them. "My King," began Arthur.
"Arthur!" exclaimed Alfred and the potential Queen glanced up in time to see the King throwing his arms around him. "Are you-?! Are you really gonna?!"
"If I could get the words out..." muttered Arthur, darkly, trying to push Alfred away.
"Ah, yeah, sure," said Alfred, hurriedly, bouncing to his feet.
"My King," repeated Arthur. "I, Arthur Kirkland, would like to serve the Kingdom of Spades and work with you, my King, in making the country a better place. I pledge myself to you and agree to be your Queen, from now until my death or the next succession." With that he looked up at Alfred – who was now tearing up in happiness. "Ah, Alfred!" exclaimed Arthur, hurrying to his feet and hugging the man. "Geez, we have company. Think of the impression you are sending them!" He patted Alfred's back before stopping and staring at his blank hand.
Kiku suddenly knelt, facing Yao. "My King," he said. "I, Kiku Honda, would like to serve the Kingdom of Diamonds and work with you, my King, in making the country a better place. I pledge myself to you and agree to be your Queen from now until my death or the next succession."
"Hǎo. When did you make your decision, Kiku?" asked Yao, not moving from his chair.
The Queen of Diamonds rose and smiled mysteriously. Then he sat in his chair and looked at Arthur. "Congratulations, Arthur-san."
"I... Well..." said Arthur, blushing as he tried to pry Alfred from him. "Sheesh, Alfred, stop clinging to me like that!"
It took some effort for Arthur to squirm away from Alfred who grinned happily down at him. "I have a Queen!" he sang, happily. "Ah! I have to tell Mattie!" And with that he rushed out of the now unlocked door.
"Queen Arthur," said Yao when Alfred had disappeared. "I would like to send word of this to Jack Sun. And we must depart immediately to make preparations for the coronation."
"Ah, yes, of course," said Arthur, rather startled at being addressed in such a way. "I will find someone to do as you ask right away. Please, make yourself comfortable here. I will be back soon."
"Arigatou, Arthur-san," said Kiku with a small smile.
Instinctively, the Queen of Spades bowed as he left the room. In the corridor he smiled to himself – it seemed that there would be no consequences for trying to kill the Kings. Which was more than he could have asked for, given the circumstances.
The hand moved again, this time settling at the 'five to' position. It quivered there as the small, yellow bird cheeped at it.
Gilbert looked up at him. "Kesesese! It looks as though everything is going according to plan." The small bird seemed to tilt its head questioningly. "I knew he would not be able to kill the King of Spades," explained Gilbert. "Nor the King of Diamonds." An incredulous chirp escaped from Gilbird. The white-haired man sighed. "Okay, so I was not certain – but either action serves me well."
Leaning backwards on his chair, Gilbert stretched. Then he levitated himself off the chair and moved towards a long table tucked away in the corner of the room. Upon this were several sheaves of parchment. The older ones were even bound by a cover entitled "My Awesome Diary". There were not many of these compared to the rest.
Reaching the table, Gilbert reached out lazily and a single sheet extracted itself from the piles and flew towards him. He caught it between middle and forefinger, grinning. "Well, then. This is going to be fun," he said with a smirk, inspecting it. "Hm, nein, I think another one will be needed." Another sheet flew over and joined the first. "This should do it."
Gilbird flew over and perched on his shoulder, gazing at the things in his hand. The sheets of paper appeared blank but, in the flickering candlelight, they seemed to shine. This was due to the magic infused with all of them.
"What do you think?" Gilbert asked Gilbird. A series of chirping forward, something which Gilbert had long since decided was laughter. "I hope you are laughing with me..." he muttered with a pout. "Now, how long should I wait before I go to him. How about... midnight. Everything else happens at midnight, ja?" Standing, Gilbert stretched once more and grinned wider than ever. "I do hope the Queen is not missing me."
So, yeah, halfway through the story. Things are gonna get quite, quite interesting - and chaotic. Damn you, Joker, and your plans.
"Nǐ juéde nǐ zài zuò shénme?!" = "What do you think you're doing?!"
The rest of the different language stuff is stuff I've used before.
I'm not sure if I wrote Arthur's arguments with himself and what he was trying to do very well. I'm sorry about that. But I reckon the rest of it will be easier to write.
I think that's it. Everything else will be explained later. (Which, whenever anyone tells me that, I know they probably won't. But I totally will.) Any questions, let me know.
Happy New Year, for Wednesday, by the way. :)