As the week progressed, Alfred had learned that making a change in the Kingdom was even more difficult than he had thought. Whenever he suggested something new at a meeting, the glares and looks he got always made him back out from his opinion and conform to what other nobles and advisors were saying. They dealt with small issues and practically ran the Kingdom for him, if he didn't intervene. Since no one really bothered to ask him his opinion, he spent most of his days at the library, searching up how other Kings ruled before him. He discovered that it had always been the same, the peasants had always been treated like nobodies and the gap between wealthy and poor just kept growing through the decades. How would he be able to change something that had been set in laws for hundreds of years? He thought he had the time to think of an action plan, but the day came too soon when his advisor started asking: who will he choose as his Queen? A question which just added to his problems. Alfred knew they were expecting it to be a woman of high class, someone that provided the Kingdom with an heir. But now that he thought about it, he had never found girls to be terribly attractive. In fact, the closest he got to being in love with someone was when- well he would never agree to become the Queen anyways. Yao, the Jack, did his best to respond to his indecisiveness by requesting a private meeting with him, and Alfred reluctantly agreed. As much as he hated being told what to do, he really needed it. He was lost in his thoughts and troubles.

"So, my King, regarding the future Queen, is there any special person you have in mind?" he asked. Alfred could tell he wasn't used to giving any sort of love advice based on the very awkwardness of his tone. He felt a bit guilty for it.

"No, not really. I haven't met any that I really liked, in fact, I think most avoid me if I'm honest. I don't know...I'm not good with relationship stuff. I haven't dated or anything before.." He trailed off, his tone awkward and unsure. He felt like a young boy talking to a parent about getting a partner.

"I see," the Jack hummed, then silence fell over the both of them, only to be broken again by the Jack himself. "May I suggest an arranged marriage, then?"

Before the King could answer, a thickly-accented voice rang out from behind the door, making Alfred almost jump in surprise.

"Oh mon dieu! With all due respect, that will just create more problems!" The Jack frowned and opened the door to reveal one of the palace guards standing there, his face filled with determination. "I suggest a ball instead!"

"Guard Bonnefoy, go back to your task immediately! There will be no eavesdropping on a private conversation between-"

"A..ball?" The King echoed, interrupting Yao. He didn't know what he meant by that, but it sounded better than getting married by force to someone he didn't know. Weren't balls supposed to celebrate something?

"Yes, in which we invite various maidens and you will have your pick. It may be less sudden than an arranged marriage, if you desire" Francis explained, beaming proudly. Alfred gulped a little, was he really going to have to pick? He had already chosen, in his own mind.

"Y-yeah! Sure, a ball sounds perfect! U-uh..when will it be?" he squeaked out nervously, trying to smile at the Jack to convince him it was a good idea.

"If we are to host a ball, I recommend the upcoming week. We must introduce a Queen as quickly as possible," the Jack cut in, looking directly back at Alfred.

"Yes! I can't wait to see a new love flourish! Here, the King all elegantly dressed to pick a fair maiden, who will it be? Who will he take the first dance with? Who-" Francis stopped daydreaming as he noticed the other two were glaring at him. With a small giggle, he pranced away. "If you need any advice, just let me know, your Majesty!"

Alfred sighed as soon as he left, but there was another thing troubling his mind. He was sure there would be no way out of this one. He did not know how to dance. But he couldn't admit it out loud, not when everyone was expecting him to be this brilliant gentleman. What in the world was he going to do?

"A dance..huh? Well...plan it for me will you, Jack? I've...got something I need to do" the King said plainly and stood up, making his way towards the exit. Yao followed him with his gaze, then called out to him just as he opened the door.

"Your Highness?"

"Yeah?"

"...I hope you've chosen wisely"

The King of Spades rushed over to the gardens after he managed to sort things out with the Jack. He sped over as fast as his royal legs could carry him. There, he looked around the fresh beds of flowers and cascading fountains, which made the air have a mingled scent of light mist and sweet smelling roses. He searched and sought for the single person he had put all of his trust in, and he found him inside the small greenhouse at the center of the garden that stood out almost like a jewel. He entered slowly, and approached the other with awkwardness and slight regret. Was he still angry at him?

"...Arthur?" The other spun around at the sound of his name, being spoken in a familiar tone he had grown to be fond of. He stared at the King for a few seconds, before he looked down again, busying himself by smelling the fresh flowers.

"Did you come looking for me?" he asked, still blankly looking at the blue petals that made up the delicate poppies. Alfred noticed he looked more tired than usual, his face not having the same glow he once knew. He bit his lip and moved closer to him, a worried look on his expression. He decided to jump to the subject straight away.

"I-..I really hope you ain't mad at me anymore, because...well...I might have a bit of a problem.." he trailed off, staring down at his feet in shame. He rocked back and forth, anxiously awaiting his response. Arthur definitely looked pissed, assuming the worst.

"Oh great. What the hell have you done now?" he muttered, narrowing his eyes a bit as his gaze shifted from the flowers to him. Alfred cringed at his tone, lowering his head even further as if asking for forgiveness.

"I'm sorry! I-it's just that everyone is expecting me to find a Queen, so..so Yao suggested arranged marriage, and I definitely didn't want that! So then, we decided to host a ball- well it was Francis' idea but it sounded way better! And I suppose I just agreed, but- but the problem is I don't know how to dance!" Alfred cried, looking up at Arthur with sad, puppy eyes, frustrated and confused with himself. He had just ranted out everything, finding himself unable to keep it bottled up inside, it just wasn't like him.

"...a ball? When? I'm not surprised you don't know how to dance, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who knows." Arthur replied, unexpectedly calm about the situation.

"Wh- you mean you think other people know I can't dance?!"

"Precisely so. Nobody expects a former farmboy to know how to dance."

"No! Oh no! This is terrible! I can't- they'll all laugh! They'll think I'm a failure of a King!" Alfred wailed, covering his face with his hands. He knew he couldn't cancel the ball now, and he knew he would probably end up tripping over and falling on his face with his luck, when it came to it. "Arthur, what can I do? You'll help me right? You're my friend…" He looked back up at him helplessly, hoping that he would have the heart to help him out. Arthur let out a long sigh, even though he was very annoying and empty-minded, he couldn't help but feel pity for him. It wasn't his fault he didn't know how to dance.

"I-...alright. I'll help you since you asked, but you have to listen to me and do everything I say, no whining."

"Huh? Really!?" Alfred immediately brightened up at his words, looking at him with wide eyes and a large grin. "Thank you so much, Artie!" He bounced in his spot a few times then attempted to hug the former guard, who in turn, pushed him away.

"I told you to call me 'Arthur' you dolt! And don't hug me either, remember what I told you." He huffed a little, but he couldn't help but feel a little pride in being the King's most trusted friend. "Now, listen carefully. I want you to meet me here in the gardens at noon sharp everyday leading up to the date of the ball. We will have dance lessons and hopefully, you'll be ready by then"

"You're...going to teach me how to dance?! That's amazing! Yes, please! I'll make sure to listen to every word!" Alfred now had a determined look about his face, clearly excited and relieved that he would be learning a subject that most nobles are required to know by grade school. If he learned how to dance, the nobles would have to recognize him as an equal, if not close to it. Arthur had a similar look. Dancing was one of the few things he enjoyed but rarely did. The Kingdom hadn't hosted a ball since...well since he couldn't remember. Perhaps he hadn't even been born yet!

"Good. We'll start tomorrow then, don't forget!" Arthur smiled a bit and straightened up a little, it seemed like the youthful glow was back on his face. He patted Alfred's shoulder before heading past him, towards the exit. "Now, I believe it's almost your dinner time, yes?"

"I won't forget, Arthur! I promise! And yeah, I'm feeling pretty hungry!" the blond raced to catch up with him, smiling cheerfully at the thought of food. Though after a few moments of thought, he looked towards him again. "Would...you like to join me?" He asked, his voice a little shy, and definitely more gentle than whenever he was loudly boasting about something. That tone made the servant shiver slightly, a light blush dusting his cheeks.

"Oh? If it's not too much trouble...yes, that would be lovely" he mumbled, attempting to smile back at him.

Alfred was clearly pleased with his response, wondering if he should be more like that around him. It definitely had a good effect on the other guy, he liked making Arthur happy.

The next morning, Alfred woke up more energized and ready than he ever had in the past few days. Just the thought of getting to meet Arthur and dancing with him was already enough to get him out of bed early. He woke up at 8am sharp, took a shower, then dressed, all by himself. Except that, he sort of got the outfit wrong, being unused to wearing anything fancy and all that. So he got sent back to his room by none other than the guard Francis, who shooed him off before anyone could see him in such improper attire. Frustrated and impatient, he waited for servants to show up so they could dress him, all the while he was pouting like a child. Finally, once he was dressed properly, he went down to breakfast at ten. He wondered where Arthur could be while he ate. Was he maybe preparing their lesson? He hoped he was a good teacher, since he really only had a few days. As he was eating breakfast, he noticed the Jack walking down to meet with him again. Yao bowed in greeting then took a seat across from him, some papers in hand. Alfred swallowed nervously, was he in trouble?

"Good morning, your Highness. I see you had a good night's rest? I've come to converse with you about planning for the ball. You do remember from yesterday?"

Alfred nodded slightly, attempting a small smile to hide his nervousness. "Oh, yeah! The ball, of course I remember. So, you want to know when it's gonna be?"

The Jack took out his pen and nodded as he prepared to write. "Yes, and your opinion on the cake and decorations as well. We want to make this the most perfect party for you."

Alfred's face lit up at the mention of cake and decorations, it really was a party then? He had never been to one before! Yes he had birthday parties as a child, but he never got to eat cake with frosting and sugar. He always just had bread with honey as they had to sell most of their cream and milk. "Oh! That sounds awesome! I can't wait!" he nearly squealed in excitement.

"Hm? If that's the case how about I set it to Saturday this week?" Yao responded happily.

Alfred's little moment of euphoria vanished as he realized it was already Tuesday. "S-Saturday? Uh..well I um, sure why not?" he chuckled a bit, confident in that he could learnt to dance in five days.

"Perfect! I'll write that down. Next, could you tell me what you had envisioned for the ball? Maybe a theme? Some colors? The type of treats served and of course the cake?"

Alfred squirmed a little in his seat, excitement beginning to bubble in his stomach. He wondered for a moment about what colors and decorations he would choose. It was a bit harder than he thought. "Um, well...I'm not sure, do the decorations have to mean anything Or does it have to be something that everybody likes?"

Yao sighed a bit, knowing he was going to be here a while, but he did want to help him somewhat. It's not like Alfred wasn't a nice person. "Just picture something your future wife would like. Make all the decorations her favorite things, the colors, what she likes, things like that. That's my own opinion of it, of course you can do whatever you'd like your Majesty."

Alfred thought about his words for a moment, and suddenly it was all very vivid in his mind. He closed his eyes, thinking how everything would look, how it would feel, it was there, it was perfect! "I...I see! Write this down quickly before I forget! Um, um okay, make it be like a forest, an enchanted forest! That's romantic, right? The curtains and tablecloths will be green, emerald green. Also make sure to have lots and lots of flowers, roses! Some rose petals on the tables would be great, and candles of course!"

Yao was furiously writing everything down as fast as he could, a little hesitant on the combination of emerald green and rose red, but it was whatever he wanted of course. At least he was thinking of something.

"And for the food, maybe something really fancy and nice, I'm not sure, tell the chefs to make it look good I guess. To drink we'll have tea even though I don't really like it that much, and for dessert make lots of chocolate things!" Alfred's eyes had opened by then and they were gleaming with a brightness the Jack had never even seen. It was good, though, perhaps that meant he had already met someone to be the Queen.

"Ah, is that all? I think I got everything down" the Jack finally had a chance to speak, looking pretty satisfied with the King's responses.

"Yup! Thanks! Oh, um do you know what's the time by any chance?"

The Jack stood up for a moment glancing at the clock on the wall. "it's half past eleven, your Majesty," he replied.

Alfred quickly stuffed more food into his mouth before getting up as well with a start. "Oh! Uh, sorry I need to do something. Thanks again!" He ran off to the gardens before Yao had the time to say anything else. He left him confused, but he didn't mind too much. Something else entirely was on his mind, or rather someone.

Arthur would be lying if he said he didn't feel as excited as Alfred, or at least close to it. He got ready, wearing his favorite outfit or at least as fancy as a servant could be dressed without looking suspicious. He wandered over to the gardens then, surprised to see that Alfred was already there, a full half hour before their agreed time. As he walked closer he was greeted with a large smile from him, which he couldn't help but return in a heartbeat.

"Arthur!" the King greeted enthusiastically, running up to him with a gleaming smile.

"Are you all set for your dancing lessons?" he asked, beginning to walk over to the greenhouse as the other bounced alongside.

"Yes! I've been ready for ages! Can we get started now? Please?"

"Alright, alright, yes, we'll get started as soon as possible, calm down" Arthur chuckled, opening the door into the room as they both entered. It was significantly hotter inside, but he'd prefer being a little uncomfortable than being found out. "Right, first we'll work on your footwork. Stand across from me with your feet shoulder width apart"

Alfred immediately did what he was told, standing a couple of feet away from Arthur and shuffling his feet into position. "Like this?"

"Perfect. Now, these steps will move in a square shaped path, which means after you're done, you should end up in the same place as before. Start with your right foot and move it a step to the right"

Alfred nodded, listening attentively to whatever he had to say. It didn't seem too hard to do, especially when he was following along. "Hm..step right, got it! That's easy!"

"Perhaps so, but you've also got to learn to keep a beat; however, don't worry about that for now. Next is bring your left foot next to your right foot, together"

"Left, together...got it!"

"Good, now the next thing is to move your left foot one step back. Then bring your right foot back as well, together."

"Left back...right back...together! Oh, do I move left now?"

"Yes, exactly. Next you'll take your left foot and step left, following with your right foot"

Alfred did just that, feeling very much accomplished with himself. If this is all that dancing was then he would probably only need one or two lessons. This was super easy!

"And lastly, step forwards with your right foot, and follow with your left. How many steps was that?"

"Umm…" Alfred counted in his head: Right, together, back, together, left, together, forward, together. "Oh, eight!" He smiled, hoping he had done it right

"Excellent! You really are a fast learner. In dancing, people usually count by eight paces. Counting the steps as you do them, will help you find a rhythm with the music. Rhythm is the most important thing in dancing, not even remembering the steps is as important. Now, we'll try again, this time go a little faster and count out loud."

Alfred nodded enthusiastically at that, getting ready to do the steps once more. "Okay, first is right with my right foot, so that's one. Then together, that's two"

"Perfect! Then left foot back is three, then together is four"

"Left foot left is five, together is six. And lastly, right foot forward is seven, together is eight! Haha, simple!"

"Very well done, your Majesty" Arthur applauded, though there was a slight smirk on his lips. "Now here's the fun part, moving with another person"

"Huh? It's the same thing though, you just grab them and stuff, it shouldn't be that hard" Alfred replied, a little confused.

Arthur merely held back a chuckle as he moved closer to him. He had thought the exact same thing when he was first learning to dance at the age of ten, but he was very wrong. You had to flow and adjust to the other person's movements. Sometimes you'd step too far or not far enough. Sometimes you'd go too fast or too slow. It was truly a learning experience. "We'll see how you do. For now, assuming I will be a lady, put your hand just above my waist," he commented, placing his left hand on the King's shoulder.

Alfred's breath hitched in the slightest as the other came closer. They hadn't been this close since...well since a while. He tried his best not to seem too affected though and nodded as he put his right hand above his waist.

Arthur looked at him for a few seconds, slightly amused by his sudden awkwardness. "Your other hand, your Majesty" he corrected, smiling smugly.

"O-oh! Right, I knew that, hah…" Alfred chuckled a bit and did so.

"Now hold my hand"

Alfred didn't think he was serious, but after seeing that he was staring expectantly at him, he did what he was told. Had dancing positions always been this intimate? They were inches apart, holding hands and there was no where to look beside each other's eyes, this was too romantic!

"Good, palms together, fingers locked, that's how you hold one's hand whilst dancing." Arthur commented, not looking like he was affected by this at all. Damn him and his professional everything.

"R-right!" Alfred smiled, pretending like he had not just stuttered. He was looking all around except at Arthur's face. He had a feeling he'd probably stare if he did so. Unfortunately, Arthur noticed and called him out on it.

"It's not very gentlemanly to avoid eye contact, your Highness, if I must say" he chuckled with a smile.

"I- er- I told you not to call me that, it's weird!" Alfred pouted, still not looking at him.

"Hah, fine then, Alfred. Eye contact is very important in dancing and everywhere else. It shows that you have confidence"

But Alfred didn't have much confidence, and he didn't want to look up. Though he remembered he promised Arthur he would do everything he said. With a soft sigh he looked up with his baby blue eyes into an emerald green forest, and he stared. He stared as he got drawn deeper into the glowing color, an endless pit of overflowing hue that reminded him of the grass, the leaves, the trees, and the beauty of nature. That green, Arthur's green, a toxic paradise he longed to get closer to, so he did. In an almost trance-like state he shortened the distance between their bodies, so that now they were three or four inches apart, their foreheads nearly touching. Their breaths mingled, and he felt Arthur's hitch when he moved close. His beautiful pale lips were parted in the slightest, as if taunting him, mocking him to do it. One step closer is all it took, for the trance to finally break, and Arthur cleared his throat, backing away.

"...I- I think you've done a lot for the day, let's continue tomorrow" he hastily choked out, turning away to hide the slightest bit of pink on his cheeks.

Alfred blinked many times before he also coughed a bit and realized how close they had been. He didn't want Arthur to go, though. "But, I still can learn more! I promise! I want to know more!" he argued, pouting faintly.

"This is enough, you're a fast learner so just go over the steps and we'll meet again tomorrow, same place same time, okay?" he insisted, starting to shuffle away to the door of the greenhouse, opening it just before Alfred spoke again.

"Artie! But-"

"Tomorrow, Alfred!" the servant sighed, then turned his back on him and walked out. The King was left to wonder what that was all about, but after contemplating the scenario after a few minutes, he finally got it. The way to Arthur's trust was not to trap him or enclose him so he couldn't back away, it was to let him have his own space. He now realized that all along he had been pressuring Arthur and going after him, leaving him with no room to breathe. How could he have been so blind? He knew that Arthur was an independent person, so naturally he didn't want to feel cornered by his advances! Alfred now looked onward with a new perspective and renewed confidence. Tomorrow it was, he thought, as he walked out of the greenhouse as well. Tomorrow was the day he would win over Arthur Kirkland, or at least, attempt to.

Notes:

Wow well this took a while...

I had writer's block for ages so the actual writing only took me a couple of days, not an entire month :/