Chapter IX.
When Alfred opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was that he wasn't in his room. Or in the servant's infirmary. High above him was a large ceiling of soft blue hues, he felt like he was lying on the ground looking up at the sky. On one hand it was soothing, but on the other he was unnerved at how unfamiliar this ceiling was to him. He didn't know where he was.
The second thing he noticed was that his body felt strange. It was as if he was completely covered by a warm, fuzzy blanket that made him sleepy. Alfred almost decided that sleep would actually be very nice until a face leaned over him. If his limbs didn't feel so heavy he might have jumped.
"I see you're awake, Your Majesty," the face said.
Alfred blinked, trying to clear his vision.
The face belonged to a man who looked to be nearing his late thirties, he seemed to be dressed in a smart black coat. Alfred didn't recognize him.
"I think you've made a mistake," Alfred replied, startled by the sound of his own voice. It was strange to his ears, like someone had poured copious amounts of honey down his throat to slow his speech.
The man chuckled softly and adjusted the pillow behind Alfred's head. "No mistake has been made, Your Majesty, not with the brand on your chest."
"The what?" Alfred tried to sit up but slumped back weakly, his head compressing uncomfortably at his sudden movement.
Tutting him gently, the man leaned over him once again, his eyes shrewd but not unkind. "Easy, Sire. You have a deep wound in your shoulder that has barely had time to heal. It's best to just rest."
But Alfred was barely listening. His mind whirled in a confused muck as he began to remember what had happened. He was amazed to realize his shoulder didn't hurt, but it took only a few seconds of dazed pondering for him to reach the conclusion that he had been given a strong medicine, thus the odd fuzzy feeling throughout his body. Then he remembered the discovery of the mark, although that memory was even hazier. Someone had thought he had the mark of the Spade King. There was no doubt in Alfred's mind, however, that they had clearly been mistaken.
Rolling his head back slowly onto the pillow, Alfred licked his lips, secretly fascinated at how they tingled at the contact, before speaking again. "Where am I? How long have I been unconscious?"
"Many a hour, Your Majesty," the man as his side answered. "A full day has passed since the incident, many are anxiously awaiting the news of your condition. And we are currently in the King's chambers."
Alfred wanted to close his eyes, but he knew if he did then he would probably sleep for hours more. He wanted answers now. "But...I'm not the king."
"Not officially, no," the man agreed.
That produced a frustrated huff from Alfred but he decided to drop that matter for the moment, he felt too drowsy to even bother. "Who are you?"
"I'm the palace physician, Dr. Carte," the doctor finally straightened up, adjusting his dark coat. "You had been seriously injured, although the cut was clean and there was no poison on the blade. I have cleaned it so it shan't be infected, although I will be visiting regularly to be sure that it is healing properly. For now, Your Majesty, the best thing you can do for yourself is rest."
"Stop calling me that," Alfred muttered petulantly as he let his heavy eyelids drift shut.
The last thing he heard before he fell asleep was the doctor's soft chuckle.
Alfred woke feeling refreshed, the medicine having worn off. He started to move but a lightning rod of pain raced up his body and he groaned. His agony did not go unnoticed as Dr. Carte popped into his line of vision again.
"Good morning, Your Majesty," the man said with a smile. "How are you feeling?"
"Better and worse?" Alfred answered in confusion.
The doctor chuckled understandably before helping Alfred into a slouched sitting position. "I'm sure your head is clearer but with it comes pain. I will give you a smaller dosage of the medicine to help."
Alfred nodded his thanks, distracted by the room surrounding him. Now that he could see more than the ceiling, his eyes greedily took in the glamour. The room was large, the walls curved in a vague circular shape. The walls, the rugs, the curtains, the furniture, was all accented in the color blue and lined in silver. Undoubtedly, it was a regal room and Alfred felt his presence violated its richness.
The doctor brought a cup to his lips and he sipped, surprised it was simply clear water. But the cool, clear liquid was exactly what he needed and he savored it. Never had he been so grateful for water. Then the doctor lifted a small bowl to him. Alfred didn't doubt it was the medicine when he smelled it. Wrinkling his nose, he somehow managed to drink the contents without gagging. Luckily, the man was intuitive enough to let him sip more water to rid his mouth of the taste.
"It'll take some time before you begin to feel its effect," Dr. Carte stood once more, setting the cup on a table by the head of the large bed. "Just sit still and relax."
Alfred settled on the pillows reluctantly.
It would've been more comfortable if he had earned this attention. He should correct the mistake as soon as possible. But just as he opened his mouth to bring the matter up, the doctor looked at him and asked, "Do you feel well enough for visitors?"
Alfred blinked in surprise, caught off guard. "I...yes, I guess so."
"Good. There are some people who have been waiting to see you," the doctor crossed the room and opened the door to the outer chambers.
Within a moment, Arthur stepped through the door into the room, followed closely behind by Yao. They ignored the doctor completely, the man stepped out and shut the door to give them privacy. The Jack sat at the chair beside the bed since Arthur had stopped at the foot. Alfred swallowed nervously. The Queen wasn't looking directly at him.
"What's going on?" Alfred asked, breaking the tense atmosphere first. "I don't understand why I'm here, I'm not the king."
Yao raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps the medicine has gotten to your brain. Or maybe even your eyes."
Alfred bristled at the insult. "It did not! I'm just a servant!"
Arthur flinched but Alfred wasn't left much time to wonder as Yao leaned forward, his dark eyes piercing.
"Are you absolutely sure? Because the last time we checked, the mark of the king was clearly on your chest."
"I'm sure," Alfred said, growing uneasy. The only explanation would be that they had mistaken his scars for a mark under the cover of the night. It didn't sit well with him that so many had seen his vulnerability.
"If I may be permitted in helping you remove your shirt," Yao all but smirked, subtly throwing the challenge.
Alfred hesitated and glanced at Arthur, who still refused to meet his eyes, before sighing. If only to resolve this misunderstanding then he could bear revealing his shame. He consented with a nod and shifted as he sat up. Yao stood and carefully pulled the shirt over his head and good arm, letting the cloth fall on his injured shoulder. Alfred looked down at himself, his jaw instantly dropping.
There, embedded among the torrent of scars across his chest, was the crest inked in deep blue. Alfred numbly touched it, his skin didn't feel any different but the mark was undeniably there. He looked up and his eyes finally caught Arthur's, the deep emerald burning with an emotion Alfred couldn't read. The contact was broken when Yao reached to help dress Alfred again.
For a long moment it was silent, the newly found King and Jack occupied with their struggle to put Alfred's shirt back on. After an awkward lapse in the conversation, Alfred finally sank back into the pillows. He was unable to comprehend what a simple tattoo implied.
"How can I be the king?" he asked, his voice subdued at the discovery.
"The marks only go to the most worthy for the task," Yao answered simply, brushing off the question. "What intrigues me is how did the mark come to be? You haven't visited the sacred pool, we hadn't even gotten through the middle class citizens before your mark was found."
"I'm not sure," Alfred said slowly. He briefly thought about his findings on the palace roof but it was a secret he preferred to keep to himself.
Yao narrowed his eyes and hummed suspiciously, although he seemed to drop the issue. "Whatever the case may be, we shall begin the arrangements for your coronation."
"But I don't know anything about being a ruler," Alfred immediately protested.
"We are here to help and guide you," Yao said calmly, his expression softening. "That is why our monarchy is set up the way it is, for each of the rulers to trust and depend on one another."
Alfred glanced at Arthur out of the corner of his eye. The Queen hadn't moved or spoken since entering the room and the drawn out silence was getting under the former servant's skin. Unable to stand it anymore, Alfred looked directly at him and asked, "How are you?"
Arthur jolted, his expression flashed briefly like a child's caught doing something they know they shouldn't before his cold mask returned. "I'm fine."
Yao sighed heavily. "You two are going to have to get along and not just by the skin of your teeth. Whatever grudge you hold towards each other needs to be resolved as soon as possible." Before either of the two younger men could protest, the Jack narrowed his eyes pointedly. "For the good of the kingdom."
Instantly that stifled any protests that were on their tongues. Yao seemed to sense this change of attitude because he nodded and stood.
"I'll let you two discuss this. There are many matters I need to see to." With a sweep of his robes, the Jack left the room.
Alfred turned his gaze back to Arthur and found with surprise that the Queen was actually looking at him. The expression was guarded and his green eyes were slightly downcast, Alfred realized that he was staring at his chest. The former servant shifted uncomfortably.
"I don't want to fight anymore, Arthur," he said slowly. "I just want to understand why you've been pushing me away."
A steely glint entered Arthur's eyes. "You can hardly blame me, can you?"
"What do you mean?" Alfred asked, caught off guard.
"You, more than anyone else in this palace, know what my past was like. My own family misunderstood me on a daily basis, they wanted to force me into an image that I just could not become. I had no one and no one cared for me."
"That's not true-"
"Is it?" Arthur snapped, stepping closer to the head of the bed. "I can hardly believe that, Alfred. You were only five when you came into your agreement with my father, you probably didn't even think twice about the consequences of your decision. You just wanted shelter and food. I can't blame you for that, you were only a child, but you've grown up so I'd rather you didn't pretend!"
"Is this what it's all about?" Alfred asked, realization finally dawning. "You think I pretended to be your friend just to get on your father's good side?"
"Why else would you stay with me?" Arthur stepped closer, no longer hiding the pain and rage in his face, his pale hands trembled with emotion.
Alfred's arm moved so fast it was only a blur, his good arm shot out and grabbed the Queen's wrist, pulling him closer. Green met blue as their gazes locked onto each other intently.
"I thought you knew that's not true," Alfred murmured, his voice softer but no less heavy with meaning. "I like you, Arthur. If I wanted to impress your father I wouldn't have let you run off on your own to read while we were at the manor. The night of your coronation, I stayed by your side until you woke up because I was afraid. Because I didn't take my task as seriously as I should have, someone got near you, you could have gotten hurt. I swore from then on that I would protect you, not because of my promise to your father, but because I care about you. And that's the truth."
Arthur's eyes widened and his hand began to shake in Alfred's grip. He seemed to be on the verge of tears but Alfred refused to break his gaze, letting his eyes convey the feelings he couldn't. Arthur seemed to understand and he seemed afraid. No, now Alfred knew that he was truly afraid. Arthur was afraid to trust only to get hurt, like he had in the past.
Without warning, Arthur wrenched his hand away, his smaller chest rising and falling rapidly. Alfred let him go. The Queen didn't hesitate as he turned and ran out of the room, leaving the to-be king to sit in silence.
Arthur paced in the dark restlessly. He hadn't even bothered to undress, he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. There were so many thoughts whirling in his head, he was giving himself a headache trying to make sense of it all. Duty as the Queen put aside, Arthur had many troubles. Because the attacker had been reduced to nothing but ash, no one had been able to identify the assassin from several nights before. The matter was kept very quiet, although those who knew of it were spooked. No one knew how it was possible for anyone to slip so easily into the palace without any of the security noticing. The assassination of just one ruler could easily plummet the kingdom into ruin. And yet that was only the beginning.
Arthur rubbed his hands together lightly and shuddered at the memory of the pure energy pouring from them. It had been instinctive when he made that incantation. He later found the spell in a different Queen's journal, the woman had been a fierce warrior and all feared her because she was able to turn her enemies to dust with just a flick of her wrist. And Arthur had used that power carelessly.
"What the hell were you thinking?!" Yao snapped the moment they were alone. "This is exactly why I had warned you about being cautious toward using that magic!"
"It was an emergency," Arthur answered numbly, stunned that he was being yelled at for his actions.
"Maybe so but what if you trigger it when you don't need it? What if you couldn't have been able to control it or stop it? That was extremely careless of you and as Queen you cannot afford to make those kinds of mistakes!"
"I'm sorry! I didn't know..." Arthur swallowed tightly, gathering what little composure he could. "It was reflex. But I understand your concern and I will learn how to control it. I won't let this happen again."
Yao stared at him before sighing heavily and rubbing his eyes. "Get rest. You're still in shock and it is not the time to have this conversation."
Arthur shuddered and dropped his hands. What he had done was truly unacceptable. He needed to control and understand these powers before using them. Thinking back on the night that they were bequeathed to him, he couldn't help the sinking feeling that weighed down his stomach. Gilbert had said all of the previous Queens' powers. There had been many Queens and each power was difficult to learn and master. It was overwhelming. For the first time, Arthur saw this "blessing" as the burden it was and wondered why he had been chosen to carry it.
And then, of course, there was Alfred.
A soft knock interrupted his thoughts and he spun around to see a servant peek around his door.
"Excuse me," the maiden bobbed in a curtsy. "The Jack has asked to speak with you, he's waiting in his study."
"Thank you, tell him I'll be there momentarily," Arthur answered.
The door shut and Arthur sighed, putting on his coat that he had draped over the back of a chair. It was getting colder as the season got later into the year, at night the air was frosty even inside the palace. He was reluctant to leave his chambers, where there was a warm fire in each room. But Yao had summoned him and every time that had happened it was for a very important reason. It couldn't be ignored until morning.
The Queen quickly made his way down the cold, silent halls. He was already used to the dark and he knew his way quite well by now. It didn't take him long before he was opening the door to Yao's study and stepping inside. The room wasn't as large as Arthur's own office but it was still rather rich in appearance while still remaining cozy. Every surface was currently covered in books and papers. Yao stood behind his desk, his palms pressed flat against the wood as he leaned on it. At Arthur's entrance, he looked up and pushed his weight back onto his feet.
"I believe I have found the general source of your attacker from the other night," he said simply.
Arthur shut the door firmly behind him and hurried to the desk. Now that he was closer, he could see the silver knife that the assassin had been using. He suppressed the urge to shudder as he remembered the sound of it slicing through Alfred's flesh. It had been cleaned since then, revealing strange symbols carved into the blade.
"You tracked him with the weapon?" Arthur guessed.
Yao nodded. "And the result is extremely disturbing."
"How so?"
Yao met Arthur's eyes solemnly, his lips pressed in a grim line. "These symbols are ancient, they originate from the Tarot kingdom."
Arthur's breath caught in his throat. "But that's impossible, the Tarot kingdom had fallen thousands of years ago."
"Someone is reawakening the powers of old," Yao responded. "As this is the second visitor we've had from the same source, we can assume that whoever it is does not have good intentions. Your life, Arthur, is in grave danger."
Author's Note:
I'm baaaack. Mwahaha. I don't know when I'll update again but I have decided that I will post the 10th chapter before the end of this year. Now that I'm further along in the story and have a feeling for it, I think this fic will be approximately 20 chapters long, maybe less. So we're almost to the half-way point, y'all!
Thank you to everyone who read, favorited, followed, and reviewed. It means a lot to know that people are enjoying my work (or at least are interested enough to read it).
I'm going to make this clear to those who might not have guessed it: Yes, the water in the gutter Alfred was crawling in is the same water as the pool, so that's what revealed his mark. SO RANDOM SHOUT OUT TO Blackfox0100 FOR GUESSING IT! It seemed like a pointless thing to add and I admit it was kind of a filler chapter until the end. But this chapter ain't no filler! And this officially marks when the two lovebirds start to really realize their feelings for each other. The romance train has finally pulled in! Toot, toot! *ahem* anyhoo...
Thanks again for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will update before the end of this month, however busy it may be. Until next time. *salutes*
