This is it! The last chapter, enjoy!
Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya!
The Frozen Heart
Arthur was numb, Arthur was somewhere cold. He was not conscious of this, he was not conscious of anything but, deep in the darkest part of his subconsciousness, he was aware of the biting cold but he slept in the dark with a heart of ice. Suddenly there was something there, a hint of something warm but it did not come from within but from without and it was being pulled down into his core.
There was only a small area left that the ice had not frozen back over, a small bubble around Alfred and Arthur's mouths where they met and the ice was closing in and Alfred knew that, soon he would be trapped with Arthur forever. He could already feel his consciousness slipping away from him and soon he would be aware of nothing. Then Arthur's blue lips began to regain their colour, followed by the skin around them and the ice stopped.
The warmth was pulled into Arthur's frozen heart and the ice within began to melt slowly. The ice cracked and then cracked again and melted further.
Then finally, for the first time since it froze, Arthur's heart took a beat and the remaining ice crumbled and disintegrated and Arthur's heart assumed its normal beat.
The ice began to recede and the bubble grew until both Alfred and Arthur's heads were free and Alfred's consciousness began to seep back in. He realised that something was happening but he did not stop kissing Arthur. For Alfred knew, the ice might grow back if he stopped so, if anything, he deepened the kiss and, through his closed eyes, he saw shining light as the amulet, given to him by High Chieftain Lukas blazed into light as it reacted to what was happening within the two men and enclosed both of them in its glow.
A glow filled Arthur as he warmed further and he became re-aware of his body. He also became aware of something else, another glow. He did not know how he knew it but he knew he was sensing a soul. Alfred's soul and Arthur knew the glow within him was his own soul as they grew closer together. Then they touched.
Alfred could feel the warm spread back into his body as the ice melted away and he felt like he was glowing and Arthur was glowing with him. Something told him that these were their souls and Alfred's reached for Arthur's, spreading out toward his queen and the two glows touched.
Let there be light!
Yao and Matthew had to cover their eyes and turned away as a bright light erupted from a glowing Alfred and Arthur so they did not see the ice melted away, freeing the King and Queen of Spades and opening the throne room back up. Arthur's legs folded under him with only Alfred preventing him from dropping to the ground and he lowered him down as they continued to kiss. As the numbness left his skin, Arthur became aware of the world around him, the dampness that covered him from the remaining melting ice, of the still cold air of the throne room and how it contrasted with the warmth of the lips pressing on his.
At first, Arthur remembered nothing of where he was and how he came to be here but it slowly came back to him. He was the Queen of Spades and he almost killed his king and destroy his kingdom with his uncontrollable abilities with ice and snow. And how he had sacrificed himself to save Spades and Alfred.
So how was he here, awake and was he still a danger to Spades? And who was kissing him? Arthur slowly opened his eyes and his sight was blurry at first but then it sharpen and his vision was filled with blonde hair, tanned skin and closed eyes. Arthur was also aware how weak he was feeling and that Alfred was holding him as he lay on the ground and Arthur finally kissed him back.
Alfred felt Arthur's lips move against his and he broke the kiss to look down at his queen to find those beautiful emerald orbs finally open and looking at him and the breath left his body. Arthur's porcelain skin was no longer blue-tinted and had regained its pale but natural colour. His hair was damp from the ice as were his clothes but Alfred did not care. He had done it! He had solved the riddle and thawed the frozen heart and Arthur was now safe. Alfred had his queen back!
"Welcome back, Beautiful!" he greeted with a smile. Arthur smiled back and raised a weak hand to stroke Alfred's face.
"It's good to be back," he said but his voice was weak and croaky. "But how …...?" Alfred put his finger over Arthur's lips to silence him.
"Shush," he ordered. "I'll tell you later. Right now, you need to rest, you've been frozen for quite a while so you need to get your strength back." Arthur shook his head to dislodge the finger.
"But my powers!" he exclaimed, agitatedly and his power began to surge within him. "I could endanger the kingdom agai..." The finger returned to his lips.
"Not a problem any more," Alfred said. He had felt Arthur getting agitated at that, not in a body language or instinct kind of way but could actually feel it emphatically and felt Arthur's powers begin to stir. He found he could connect with Arthur and he projected his own calm over Arthur's agitation and Arthur began to feel more at ease and his powers settled. It was a heady feeling and one that left Alfred a little uneasy and hoping that it just worked when Arthur's feelings threatened his control over his power because, if Alfred could control Arthur's moods all the time, it was power that could easily corrupt and Alfred wanted Arthur to be his Queen, not his puppet.
Arthur felt a wave of calm quash the fear and agitation that he could lose control and endanger the kingdom again and he knew it had not come from him. He followed the calm back and found it was coming from Alfred and he could feel the love and joy at saving Arthur that Alfred was feeling but Alfred was also feeling a little apprehensive and worried, at what Arthur did not know and he realised that he and Alfred were somehow connected and he wondered if that was the problem. He opened his mouth to ask.
Yao, Matthew and Flying Snow Bunny watched this exchange for a while from outside the doors of the throne room for a while, not wanting to intrude on a private moment but now they came forward, FSB bounding into the room that was still cold as he had begun to melt at the doors after the ice disintegrated but the room would only remain cold for so long.
"You did it, Alfred!" Matthew practically cheered while bending down to hug both his brother and Arthur, sounding a lot like Alfred when he got excited. "You saved him! We thought we were never going to get you back, Arthur." Then he whacked Alfred on the shoulder. "Don't do that again! You nearly gave me a heart attack when I saw you in the ice." Alfred grinned.
"Sorry, Bro," he apologised. "But if I told you what I was going to do, I knew you'd try to stop me and I promised I was gonna save Artie."
"You came through the ice?" Arthur asked.
"And almost got trapped in it with you," Matthew replied. Alfred gave his brother a scowl that said Artie didn't need to know that!
"You shouldn't have risk yourself for me," Arthur admonished his King but Alfred just stroked his face.
"I found the way to free you," he replied. "Do you seriously think I would never use it? No way, Artie! I would have move mountains to get you back, a little bit of ice wasn't gonna stop me."
"And it is wonderful to have you back, Queen Arthur," Yao finally spoke. "Although, I do wish the King had told us what he was going to do but I suppose all's well that end's well. I will go and inform your family that you are free, aru." Yao gave them a smile before turning and leaving to send the message to Arthur's family.
"I'm so happy!" Flying Snow Bunny squeaked as he jumped up and down beside Arthur and Alfred. "I knew King Alfred would get you out, Arthur. I just knew it!" Arthur chuckled and patted FSB on the head, only find his hand getting wet and, when he looked at him, FSB's size had reduced. That was when he realised that the temperature in the throne room was rising as the sun shone through the windows.
"Flying Snow Bunny, you're melting!" he said. Alfred looked at the snow rabbit and he could see a sheen of water on the rabbit's snowflake surface but FSB just smiled.
"I'm made of snow," he said, matter-of-factly. "Snow melts in Summer, it can't be helped." Arthur reached out and put his hand back on FSB's head and closed his eyes. There was no visible sign that Arthur had used his abilities but the watery sheen on FSB vanished and FSB seemed to regain his size. Arthur had used his ability to give FSB a little of his own power to create a core within FSB that would keep the snow bunny from melting even in the hottest temperatures. He could now run through an inferno and stay the same. FSB looked up at Arthur's with shining eyes.
"Thank you, Arthur," he cried and cuddled up against Arthur and Arthur gave a small smile and sagged weakly in Alfred's arms. After using his power after being frozen for so long, helping FSB had drained Arthur and Alfred noticed.
"That's it!" he ordered. "No more using your power until you've rested and regained your strength. That's an order from your King." With his arm already around Arthur's shoulders, Alfred put his other arm under his knees and picked Arthur up to carry him to the Queen's Chambers. Matthew was going to follow but decided that Alfred might want some alone time with Arthur so he collected the Queen's Crown for safe keeping and went to his own chambers.
Alfred carried Arthur through the corridors and the servants reacted with surprise as they realised that it was the Queen he was carrying as he approached the Queen's Chamber and a couple of maids ran after him.
"Your Majesty," one of them said. "Do you need any assistance?"
"Maybe prepare a bath later," he replied. "When the Queen has rested a bit but I'll help the Queen." They bowed and one opened the door to the Queen's Chamber and, after Alfred carried Arthur in, closed it behind him and they went about their duties. Alfred carried Arthur over to the bed but did not put him down on it. Instead, he put Arthur's feet on the ground, held him up with one arm and began to remove Arthur's damp clothes.
"Trying to seduce me while I'm too weak to fight back?" he joked, weakly. Alfred looked down at his Queen and smiled.
"You can't rest in your clothes," he replied. "Especially since they're damp besides..." He lowered his head to plant a quick kiss on Arthur's lips. "...the day I remove your clothes for the reason you're hinting at is the day I put a ring on your finger."
"Are you asking me to marry you?" Arthur asked, sleepily as his body was rested against Alfred's so Alfred could remove his damp shirt.
"Maybe," Alfred replied.
"Well, it has to be the least romantic proposal ever," Arthur replied. "And the strangest and I'm too tired to consider it." Alfred got Arthur's shirt off, dropping it and went to undo his trousers, blushing as he did so and Arthur blushed as well but said nothing. Alfred got the trousers over Arthur's behind and then sat him down on the bed so he could remove the trousers from his legs, leaving him in his underwear, before helping him to lay down and pulling the covers over Arthur and sat down on the edge, stroking Arthur's hair.
"Rest, Artie," he ordered. "I got you back, now I want you well again." Arthur blinked, wearily.
"When I wake up," he said, succumbing to the sleep inducing stroking of his hair. "You'll tell me everything, all right."
"Okay," Alfred replied. "Now sleep!" Sleep sounded good so Arthur nodded and closed his eyes and let sweet oblivion sweep him away.
When he awoke, his hair was still being stroked but when he opened his eyes, it was not Alfred. His mother sat on the side of his bed, running her fingers through his hair, just as she used to when he was young and it was very soothing. Alice smiled at her son when she saw his eyes open.
"Welcome back, Sweetheart," she said, softly and bent down to kiss his cheek. "You certainly know how to be the centre of attention, you know."
"I'm sorry, Mum," he replied. "I didn't plan all this." Alice stroked his hair again.
"I know, Love," she murmured. "I'm just happy we've got you back. The rest of the family are waiting to see you, are you up to it?" Arthur nodded and eased himself up in his bed and Alice helped him before going to the chamber door and opening it, asking a servant to tell the rest of the Kirkland family that the Queen was awake and went back to Arthur.
"Where's Alfred?" he asked.
"The King had to attend to his duties," Alice replied. "I'm sure the servants have been told to tell him the moment you wake up so I expect he'll be along before your father and brothers get here." Arthur blushed.
"Why so embarrassed?" his mother teased. "He loves you. And I'm glad to see it, it's all I've ever wanted for you. When you froze yourself in the ice, I thought I'd lost you for good."
"I had to save Spades," he explained. "It was the only w..." Alice put her fingers over her son's lips to stop him talking.
"I know," she replied. "And I'm very proud of you for putting the kingdom before yourself, like the Queen you are but please, try not to do that again."
"I'll do my best, Mum," he replied. "But what if my power goes out of control again? What if I put Cards at risk once more." He was becoming agitated again but then came the same wave of calm that swept over him last time and somehow he knew it was Alfred.
"You won't," Alice reassured him.
"What's happened to me?" Arthur asked. "Since Alfred got me out of the ice, I've gotten upset twice and something's calm me down and I know that Alfred has something to do with it."
"And that's why you won't endanger anyone again," his mother replied. "I'll let the King explain, he knows better than I do but you won't lose control again, I promise so don't worry about that any more." Arthur was about to ask more but the door flew open and Alfred stumbled in.
"Artie!" he rushed to the bed when he saw Arthur sitting up, wrapped his arms around him and hugged him like he would never let him go. When the footman came to tell him that the Queen of Spades was awake, Alfred had immediately left his meeting with Yao and practically ran down the corridors to Arthur's chamber. He felt Arthur get agitated and exuded calm through their new bond to stop him from using his powers uncontrollably before he burst into the room to see Arthur sat with his mother and he just had to hold him.
"See," he heard Alice say with a laugh in her voice. "I told you the King would get here before the rest of the family." Alfred let Arthur go to give Alice a proper greeting.
"Good Morning, Madam Kirkland," he said. "Forgive my manners, it just..."
"No need to apologise, Your Majesty," she replied. "You were eager to see my son and concerned for his well-being. I could forgive anything for that reason." Alfred gave her one of his brilliant smiles.
"And I could forgive you anything for having such a son," he replied. Before they could make Arthur queasy with all the sappiness, he was save by a mass invasion of the rest of the Kirkland family, including Peter who ran in and jumped on the bed.
"About time you woke up, Jerk Big Brother," he chirped.
"Bunny!" Allistor was the next through the door and to the bed, almost picking Arthur up out of it in his haste to hug his little brother as the rest of the family crowded round. "You do that again and I'll tan your arse, Queen or no Queen!"
"Allistor, language!" their mother admonished.
"It's good to have you back, Bunny," Rhys said. "I thought we'd lost you for good."
"But please," Patrick added, ruffling Arthur's hair. "No more drama for a while." Robert nudged Allistor and he moved aside so that their father could hug his royal son.
"Welcome back, son," he muttered in Arthur's ear. "Please don't leave us again."
"I'll try not to, Dad," he replied and he was released to sit back on the bed. "What happened while I was …... indisposed?"
"Well, Queen Elizaveta and Jack Roderich are in full control of Clubs now," Alfred replied. "Ivan and Natalya have been removed for their positions and confined for reason of insanity. The damage to the harvest wasn't as bad as we thought and all the other kingdoms have promised aid to get us through the winter. We been discussing trade with the Solitaire Isles and that looks promising …..."
"All in all," Arthur teased. "It sounds like you've been managing without me." Alfred's smile dropped.
"No, I haven't," he replied. "I could never manage without you." Alfred took Arthur's hand and kissed it. Peter rolled his eyes.
"Get a room, you two," he said.
"We're in a room," Arthur replied. "You don't like it, you know where the door is."
"Oh no," Patrick replied. "We haven't had a lot of time with you, we're not leaving just yet. Sorry, Your Majesty."
"It's cool," Alfred replied. "I'll have lots of time with Arthur when he marries me." the whole family gasped.
"You haven't even asked me properly yet, you git," Arthur replied. Alfred knelt on the floor beside the bed and had to reach to grasp Arthur's hand.
"Okay, I'll do it properly," he said. "Will you, Queen Arthur Bunny Kirkland of Spades, do me, King Alfred Fallen-head-over-heels-in-love-with-my-Queen Jones of Spades, the honour of accepting my hand in marriage?" Arthur went red when he heard his brothers sniggering.
"Get up, you idiot!"
"Not until you give me an answer." Arthur huffed in frustration but could not help but find the whole cheesy display endearing, despite the fact that his family were laughing at them both. Beside, this was an impossible dream come true.
"Fine!" he replied. "Yes, I'll marry you! Now get up!" Alfred practically leapt up and hugged Arthur, both of them falling flat on the bed in his enthusiasm.
"Oh, congratulations, Sweetheart," Alice had happy tears in her eyes and Arthur could feel Alfred's face stretch into a smirk.
"Can't back out now," he whispered in Arthur's ear and Arthur smiled.
"I don't want to," he whispered back.
Matthew had heard that Arthur was awake and he had something to give him or rather, something to return to him and he was carrying the Queen's Crown on his way to the Queen's Chamber when he turned a corner and came face to face with someone he did not expect.
"Lars!" he said in surprise. Lars had returned to the trading post after they returned from the Troll Chieftains as he had said he would only be away for a couple of days. "What are you doing here? I thought you went home."
"I did," Lars replied. "I'm sorry I left when things were still chaotic, I was needed." Matthew wave it off.
"I understand," he replied. "You have your own things to deal with too but what brought you back?"
"Delivering supplies," Lars replied. "I have a arrangement with the palace now for goods."
"What goods?" Matthew was intrigued. He had heard nothing about this but then, it was not his area.
"All kinds," Lars replied. "Goods for the kitchens, fabric for the palace seamstresses, I'm even a go-between for trade between the palace and the Trolls. The King arranged it."
"He did?" Alfred had not told him about any of this but then his brother had been rather distracted but not completely distracted, it seems.
"Yes," Lars confirmed. "But one condition was it had to be me that delivered it all. I was just looking for the King to confirm my delivery, that was another condition." Matthew's heart leapt at the idea that Lars would be a regular visitor to the palace but he wondered why Alfred made the condition that Lars had to report to him.
"He's in the Queen's Chamber," Matthew replied. "Did you hear that Alfred freed Arthur?"
"Yes, I just heard," Lars said. "All of you must be relieved to have the Queen back. Everyone in the palace seems happy, I expect the King is too. How is the Queen?"
"He was exhausted when he came out of the ice," Matthew replied. "He was only conscious for a couple of minutes. He's awaken now and I expect Alfred is there and I'm heading there myself. You can come with me." Lars shook his head.
"I can wait," he said. "I'm sure all of you want time alone with the Queen."
"Don't be silly!" Matthew admonished. "I'm sure Arthur would like to that you for your help. Come on, it's this way."
Alfred had politely asked the Kirkland family to give him some time alone with Arthur so he could explain what had happened when Arthur's heart thawed, about the connection between them now and how he could influence Arthur's mood to calm him. He was not looking forward to Arthur's reaction.
Arthur had changed into some clothes and now stood by the window as he watched his family leave with his mother giving Alfred a significant look so clearly she knew what Alfred wanted to talk about so, when they were gone, he turned back to Alfred as he walked back to him.
"You obviously have something important to tell me," he said. "What is it?" Alfred rubbed his hands nervously and took a deep breath.
"After you froze in the ice," he replied. "I went to the Troll Chieftains to see if they could tell me of some way to get you out. They cast some runes and they came up with a riddle. It said Love can breach the prison of ice and tame the bitter winter but the warm heart must risk all to thaw its frozen half. We worked out about the prison of ice and the Jokers explained about tame the bitter Winter. The warm heart must risk all was harder to work out until I managed to get through to you but I didn't know how to thaw your heart. I thought that I was going to be trapped with you so the last thing I wanted to do before that happened was kiss you. I never thought that that was what it would take."
"When I found the way to free you from the ice," Alfred continued. "Something happened. It was supposed to happen when we were still children but, when you cut yourself off it didn't. A bond was forged between us with our souls connected."
"Okay?" Arthur said, questioningly. He did not know what Alfred was trying to tell him. "And what exactly is this bond?"
"Like I said," Alfred continued. "The Jokers told me that this bond was supposed to develop over time when we were children but then the accident happened and we didn't spend time together after that. The bond was to give me the ability to calm you when you became emotional so you wouldn't lose control of your powers but it didn't develop until that moment in the ice. I'm your guarantee that what happened at the coronation won't happen again, as the riddle said Tame the bitter Winter." Arthur struggled to put it together in his head.
"I became agitated before," he mused. "And my power began surging but then I calmed down for no apparent reason …."
"I felt your agitation," Alfred admitted. "And I could feel you losing control so I exerted calm through the bond so you could bring your power back under control." Arthur had a slight look of horror.
"You can influence my moods!" he exclaimed. "You can control me!" He began to get upset and his power began stirring which was what Alfred was afraid of. He want to exert calm but he felt that, in this situation, it might make Arthur resent him.
"No!" he denied. "At least, I don't want to! I never asked for this ability, Artie but I was told that your powers are and always will be too powerful for anyone to control. I suppose I'm meant to be your safety net. I mean, do you really want what happened in the Coronation to happen again? I don't even know if I can control all your moods, all I've done up to now is calm you down." Arthur was still a little upset but he had to admit that Alfred had a point. The Eternal Winter must never happen again but the idea someone had control over him did not sit well but he also knew that Alfred had just resisted using the bond to calm him and used persuasion instead so that boded well and then Alfred reached out and stroked Arthur's face.
"Besides," he added. "I can't control your mind. The thoughts you have in your head are very much your own so I kinda get the feeling that if you don't agree with me, you'd have no trouble saying so. So I don't think I can control you anywhere near as much as you think I can because I've been willing you to kiss me for the last few minutes and you haven't puckered up once." Arthur stared at Alfred for a moment in surprise and then he began to chuckle. He supposed that the mood thing was just something they would have to work through but they would worked through it. He pulled Alfred closer and placed his lips on Alfred's.
"See," Alfred said when the kiss ended. "I don't have to control your mind, I just have to ask." Arthur smiled.
"I'm still not happy about the mood control thing," he admitted. "But I suppose I need help to keep from losing control of my powers again. It's just ….." Alfred took hold of Arthur's hand.
"I get it," he replied. "I don't want to control you, Artie. I want a Queen, not some mindless minion. I love you too much!" Arthur kissed Alfred again.
"And I want a King, not a handler," Arthur said. "Just so long as we're on the same page." Alfred kissed Arthur back.
"We're on the same word," he whispered and they both smiled. Then there was a knock on the door and Alfred huffed a little when Arthur told whoever it was to come in. Matthew opened the door and, when he saw Arthur by the window, stood very close to his brother, he blushed.
"I'm sorry," Matthew said. "I've interrupted something." Alfred's expression told Matthew that he was right but Arthur was quick to deny it.
"It's all right, Matthew," he said. "We were just talking. Come in." Matthew walked into the room but Lars stayed outside as it sounded like something had been happening that the King and Queen might not want to be observed by him.
"I brought something that belongs to you," Matthew said, holding out the Queen's Crown. Alfred came to take it from him.
"Thanks, Bro," he said and took it back to Arthur who looked at the crown with apprehension. After everything that had happened, Arthur still felt that he was unworthy of wearing it. Alfred caught the look and was having none of it.
"You're the Queen," he stated. "The crown is yours, no argument!" And he gently placed the crown back on Arthur's head and then gave him a soft kiss. Matthew blushed again at witnessing such an intimate scene then he cleared his throat.
"Also," he said. "Lars is here. Apparently, he's delivered some goods that he needs to report to you about?" There was a question in Matthew's voice. Since when did the King deal with deliveries?
"Is he outside?" Alfred asked and then called out. "Lars, come in." Lars stepped through the doors and bowed.
"Welcome, Lars," Alfred replied and then turned to Arthur. "I don't know if you know but Lars gave us a lot of help and took us to the Troll Chieftains to find a way to free you." Arthur turned to Lars.
"In that case," he said. "You have my most profound thanks and I'm very happy to meet you."
"Thank you, Your Majesties," he greeted and then came forward with a piece of parchment. "This is a list of the supplies I brought, sire. You said to bring them to you."
"Thanks," Alfred replied, taking the list. "It'll take me a little time to go through everything so why don't you look around for a while. Mattie, why don't you take Lars to the gardens, I think he'll like them." Matthew gave Alfred a confused look but then turned to Lars.
"This way," he said and he and Lars left while Arthur stared at Alfred.
"What are you up to?" he asked. "Since when does the King check his own supplies, don't you have enough to do?" Alfred just smiled.
"Looking out for my Bro," he replied and Arthur looked toward the door that Matthew and Lars had just left through and smiled as he realised that Alfred was matchmaking.
The gardens were pleasantly warm and the scent of the Spadian roses hung everywhere as Matthew and Lars strolled through the roses bushes but Matthew was a little nervous to talk to Lars. He was a little afraid of his feelings for Lars after what had happened with Ivan, despite Matthew knowing that Ivan and Lars were not the same. Once bitten, twice shy as the saying goes.
Lars did not know what to say to Matthew. The last thing he had expected was to fall in love, least of all with the Ace of Spades and now he was side by side with his crush, he did not know what to do.
"So," Matthew broke the silence. "How are things at the trading post?"
"Trade is good," Lars replied. "Once the Queen reversed the Winter, travellers took to the roads again so there's been a steady steam of customers passing through and now, with the contract with the palace, profit is assured."
"That's good," Matthew replied but now he was at a loss of what to say next but Lars managed to find a way to keep the conversation going.
"Now the the Queen is free," he commented. "Things should be getting back to normal at the palace." Matthew gave a snort.
"Whatever passes for normal, any way," he replied. "I don't think things have been normal since I was a child but maybe we can get back to something resembling it. We have a full suit now and the support of the other three kingdoms and now we have a Queen powerful enough to defend the kingdom if needed so things are looking good."
"And I heard news of potential trade treaty with the Solitaire Isles," Lars commented. "Things are finally looking up for Spades."
"Yes," Matthew agreed then the conversation dried up and they walked in silence again until they reached a secluded area, surrounded by shrubbery, making Lars very aware of Matthew. He wanted to get closer but to what end? What could the owner of a trading post offer the Ace of Spades, a member of the royal family of Spades? Would Matthew even consider him?
"Matthew...," he began but could not finish what he was going to say. Matthew turned in surprise at Lars using his first name like that.
"Yes, Lars?" he asked but Lars shook his head.
"It's all right," he replied. "It's nothing." Matthew chewed on his lip, he had been sure that Lars had been about to talk to him about how close they had gotten during the race to find and save Arthur but he had stopped and Matthew wondered why. Did Lars think he would reject him? If that was the case, Matthew was the one who would have to make the first move.
"Lars...," he began but then he did not know how to finished. What if he was wrong about how Lars felt about him? He might embarrass himself.
"Yes, Matthew?" Lars asked and this time Matthew shook his head.
"Nothing," he replied and Lars was disappointed this time, he had really wanted to hear what Matthew had to say but there seemed to be a wall between them and it was getting ridiculous. He should tell Matthew how he felt about him and just let the cards fall where they did.
Matthew fumed inwardly at his cowardice in telling Lars his feelings and they could not go on like this so Matthew decided to just take the bull by the horns and he took a deep breath, unaware that, beside him, Lars was doing the same thing.
"Matthew, I have feelings for you!"
"Lars, I like you!"
They stared at each other for a moment before they both began laughing at the absurdity of their situation and it took a while for the laughter to subside enough for either to talk.
"I'm sorry," Matthew was the first to recover although he was still giggling. "I was afraid I would embarrass myself if I told you how I felt and you didn't feel the same way."
"I was afraid too," Lars admitted. "I mean, you're the Ace of Spades and I'm just a trading post owner." Matthew shook his head.
"Lars," he replied. "My and Alfred's father used to be the head groom of the palace, Arthur was born on a farm and Yao's family are all merchants. In fact, the only 'royals' of any of the kingdoms were Ivan and Natalya and look how that turned out. Lars, it doesn't matter that you're a trading post owner, all that matters is how we feel about each other." Lars smiled.
"Then let me show you," he replied, putting his hands on Matthew's shoulders and placed his lips on Matthew's. Matthew was surprised for a moment and then melted into the kiss and wrapped his arms around Lars's waist. Lars deepened the kiss, pulling Matthew closer and Matthew was glad that they were secluded but the spot was not as secluded as he thought.
"It's about time Mattie got some happiness," Alfred said as they watched them from Arthur's balcony outside his chamber. "I should have paid him more attention when we were growing up instead of leaving him alone."
"Because you were busy trying to get me to come out of my room," Arthur said with a hint of guilt. Alfred put his finger under Arthur's chin and moved his head to look Alfred in the eyes.
"You were dealing with your own demons," he said, softly. "I'm the one who left my brother alone but I hope that's ended now."
"That's why you ordered supplies from Lars's trading post," Arthur said. "And insisted that he report to you. You always intended to push them together." Alfred shrugged.
"Mattie could do a lot worse," he replied. "Lars went to a great deal of trouble to help us and he fought by our side so I think I can trust him with my brother." Arthur wrapped his arms around Alfred's waist.
"I never picked you for a match-maker," he joked. "This is an interesting side to you." Alfred wrapped his arms around Arthur in return.
"I just want everyone to be happy," he replied. "Talking of making people happy, how about you make me happy and name the day."
"So it's all over now," Peter said as he and Gilbert sat on a balcony, looking down on the gardens but also allowed them to see the King and Queen of Spades on their balcony.
"Ja," Gilbert replied. "For our involvement, anyway. The bond's in place and the Queen's power is now under control. What happens now is up to them, although I think I know how their lives are going to go. You ready for your brother's wedding?"
A year later …...
"I now pronounced you Man and Husband," the priest announced to the King and Queen of Spades who were resplendent in Spadian Blue and their crowns sitting on their heads like they were made to be there. Their clothes were similar to those they wore for their Coronation which Arthur was a little wary about, given what happened then but he faced those demons and, besides, the clothes were hard to see under the dark-blue velvet cloaks, trimmed with ermine.
Cheers and applause filled the throne room where the ceremony took place with Allen Jones, the Kirkland Family and the Wang Family taking up the first rows before the royals of the other kingdoms as it was a tradition that the birth families always sat at the front. Behind the Kirklands and Allen Jones were the royals of the other Kingdoms of Cards, Ivan and Natalya's absence advertising the fact that they were still being confined as Clubs was represented by Queen Elizaveta and Jack Roderich. Beside them were the Royals of Diamonds with the exception of Queen Lili who had been asked by Arthur to be his 'Maid of Honour' and she had happily accepted, standing behind Arthur at the altar with Matthew who stood behind Alfred as his best man, along with Jack Yao, who stood beside the priest as witness while Flying Snow Bunny bounced around them in excitement.
The Royals of Hearts were sat behind the Wang Family with an excited Jack Feliciano who cooed and cried while Lovino snorted at him and pretended not to notice Antonio waving at him from the among the Diamonds. All the other royals sat in dignified silence during the ceremony as the King and Queen of Spades were finally joined in marriage.
Arthur had thought that this day would never happen. He still found it hard to believe even as he looked down at his left hand, at the gold band with the sapphire stone that sat on his ring finger. Despite it being put there by Alfred only a minute or so ago, Arthur felt like he would feel naked if he took it off now. It had been put there, with love, by the one he loved.
"You may kiss your husband," the priest pulled Arthur out of his misty-eyed musings as Alfred lifted Arthur's chin with his finger and placed a soft kiss on Arthur's lips to more applause from the guests but all that was tuned out by the touch Alfred's lips and it was just him and the King. A beautiful, personal moment that just happened to have all of Cards and beyond as witnesses.
When the kiss ended, Alfred took Arthur's hand and turned toward the audience to more cheering and began to walk down the aisle between the two sides of seating with FSB skipping beside them, followed by Lili, Matthew and Yao as they left the throne room for the ballroom where they would greet their guests who would follow shortly. As they entered the ballroom, maids ran to remove the heavy velvet cloaks and replace them with ones of lighter material and provided the royals with cool drinks to refresh them all after the long and, sometimes, tedious ceremony.
"Everything went very well," Yao commented. "You should be very proud, Queen Lili. Your contribution to proceedings was most welcome, aru."
"Yes," Arthur agreed while they waited for the guest to drift toward the ballroom. "Thank you for your support, Lili. You really lightened the burden of the whole thing."
"You make it sound like marrying me was a chore," Alfred joked. Arthur smiled at him.
"Not marrying you," he denied. "But the bloody ceremony..." Lili giggled and Arthur blushed.
"Your brother would skin me alive if he knew I used such language in front of you," he said.
"I won't tell me," she said, conspiratorially. "And I was very honoured to be asked." A footman entered the ballroom.
"The guests are coming now," he reported and everyone took their places. Yao, followed by Matthew, were the first ones who would be greeting the guests who would then go on to be greeted by Lili and then on to Arthur and Alfred. As they stood in their places, they could hear the guests coming toward the ballroom. Their birth families were the first to enter and there were many jokes and much teasing from Arthur's brothers and many hugs and tears from Arthur's mother for both Arthur and Alfred who was welcomed into the Kirkland Family with Allistor salivating over the idea of being able to tease the King of Spades.
Allen Jones greeted both of his sons with pride and welcomed Arthur as his new son. He was followed by the Wangs who, along with the Jack, heaped many hopes and blessings on the new couple and, after all the family members moved into the room, they were followed by the royals of the other kingdoms.
Alfred thanked all of them for their help the previous Winter as, thanks to their aid, Spades got through it with very little hardship and relations strengthened as a result, even with Clubs, despite of Ivan and Natalya's duplicity. There was one moment of tenseness when Francis held Arthur's hand a little too longer when he was being greeted, causing Alfred to grab Francis's hand and shake it as if welcoming the King of Diamonds but Francis knew it was just to get Arthur's hand out of his as fast as possible. Vash congratulated his sister on her performance as Maid of Honour to which Arthur agreed that she had been exemplary and Antonio gave his best wishes to the happy couple.
Jack Feliciano had the happy, weepy eyes that you would normally see on the mother of the bride but apparently he loved weddings. Queen Kiku gave many blessing on the union of the King and Queen of Spades while King Ludwig also congratulated them and gave hopes that their strong alliance would continue for many years to come while Lovino asked where the food was. That just amused Arthur and Alfred as they were used to Lovino by now and they vaguely suspected that he had arranged to meet Antonio by the buffet table.
King Sadik came next with many blessings for the newly married pair and many thanks for inviting him to the wedding, although that was not much of a surprise. The treaty between Spades and the Solitaire Isles had proven a great success and of benefit to both kingdoms and Alfred and Sadik had become good friends, making the dream that began two hundred years ago a reality.
Many more guests came and were greeted before the royals of Clubs appeared. The reason was, despite being invited to the wedding, Elizaveta and Roderich were still wary of their reception after the behaviour of the now confined King and Ace of Clubs as they made their way into the ballroom to pay their respects to the King and Queen of Spades.
"Thank you for inviting us, Your Majesties," Queen Elizaveta. "We are grateful for the consideration and honour." After what our King and Ace tried to do hung in the air.
"Friends and allies are always welcome in Spades," Alfred replied. "And you are as welcome as any guest." Elizaveta and Roderich bowed to their hosts, getting the message that they were not being blame for what happened and went on to join the other guests.
"Clearly, they're still feeling guilty for Ivan and Natalya," Arthur commented. "They shouldn't! They were on our side during that business."
"They were all Clubs royals," Alfred replied. "And they've been left to clear up the mess. The most we can do is not blame them and treat them like equals. It will take some time for things to go back to normal."
"I hope it does sooner, rather than later," Arthur replied who had noticed something about Elizaveta. "Queen Elizaveta will have enough to contend with, running the kingdom in Ivan's place. She doesn't need any more stress at this time." Alfred frowned.
"What do you mean?" he asked. Arthur indicated to where Elizaveta and Roderich now stood, talking to King Sadik. Roderich was stood beside his wife and Queen, looking …...protective?
"Don't you think Queen Elizaveta is looking a little bigger," Arthur replied. "And I don't think it's down to her weight." Now that Alfred really looked, he could see that Elizaveta's stomach was protruding a little, despite her dress being made to hide it.
"You think she's …...," Alfred muttered.
"I think, in a few months time," Arthur smiled. "The royal family will have a new addition." Alfred grinned and then grimaced.
"As long as it doesn't turn out like Ivan or Natalya," he commented.
The last of the guests drifted in and the wedding party could finally abandon the receiving line and join the rest of the reception, Arthur on Alfred's arm and every person they passed gave a bow and exchanged a happy word with the happy couple. Alfred procured two glasses of Spadian wine for them as they moved around the room. Antonio was flirting with Lovino who was enjoying it but pretending not to, Feliciano was plastered to Ludwig's side while Kiku stood talking to Lili. Francis was flirting with everyone within reach while Vash was having a discussion with Yao. Matthew was stood talking with Lars, holding a bouquet of what looked like tulips that Alfred suspected that Lars had given him.
The band began tuning up and everyone turned in anticipation of the dancing beginning and Alfred turned to Arthur. It was tradition that the newly married couple begin the dance first and Alfred was worried the Arthur might get anxious, he could feel Arthur getting nervous now.
"Are you okay with this?" he asked. "If this makes you anxious, I can ….."
"Alfred, it's only a dance," Arthur replied. "I think I can handle that." Alfred smiled. He could calm Arthur down but he asked permission with the small stuff now, to show he had no intention of controlling Arthur. The band finished their tuning and were ready to begin and Alfred lead Arthur to the centre of the ballroom as the guests moved to the sides of the room, clearing the centre for the royal couple.
The music started and Alfred went to take Arthur in his arms for the first dance but stopped in surprise as Arthur held him back. Then Arthur smiled and brought his hands together and winked.
"The first ice trick I ever showed you," he said. "Remember?" And Alfred smiled.
"How could I forget?" he joked, making Arthur smiled again. Arthur pulled moisture from the air and the snowflake formed in his hands, turning in flawless beauty and then Arthur threw it into the air where it exploded and began to fall down upon everyone in many, many flakes. The guests wooed and aahed as Alfred and Arthur began to turn around the ballroom, framed by the falling flakes of white that disappeared before hitting the floor, therefore not making the floor wet and slippery. One by one, other couples joined Arthur and Alfred on the dance floor, Antonio practically dragging Lovino and Feliciano doing likewise with Ludwig. Robert lead Alice on to the floor to dance near their son and new son-in-law while Arthur's brothers were in search of some booze, the really good stuff. After all, this was their brother's wedding, they were going to celebrate it.
The Red and Black Joker sat in the corner of the room, watching everything and particularly watching the King and Queen of Spades as they twirled around the floor under the falling snow.
"Now it's really over," Peter said.
"Ja," Gilbert replied. "And they all lived happily ever after."
"Really?" Peter asked.
"Nein," Gilbert said. "This is Cards, there's always something happening but for the time being, let's just enjoy it."
Arthur had never been so happy! His power was under his control and Alfred was there, should he ever falter so he was assured that he would never be a threat again, unless in war which was not looking likely. All the kingdoms were in harmony, even Clubs and no one was going to challenge the Queen of Spades' power any time soon.
And, even better, as the ring on his finger proved, Alfred was now his husband, something that had been a dream beyond being able to come true that, by a miracle, had. As Alfred twirled him around the floor, Arthur felt like his feet were not even touching the ground and he could not tear his gaze away from Alfred's sky blue eyes.
"Happy, Artie?" Alfred asked, smiling and Arthur smiled back.
"You have no idea how much," he replied. "I never thought this day would happen for me. I'm married to the one I love and I can finally control my powers. I couldn't be happier." Alfred moved forward and placed his lips on Arthur's, pulling him closer and Arthur wrapped his arms around Alfred's neck and the dancers around them grinned as the King and Queen of Spades kissed and embraced in the midst of the dancing throng while Flying Snow Bunny was jumping up to catch the falling snowflakes. The kiss ended and Alfred pulled Arthur closer and just held him and whispered in his ear. Arthur suddenly went red and a massive snowfall fell on the unsuspecting dancers as Alfred whispered.
"Let's see what your control is like tonight!"
Naught, naughty, Alfred! Well, that's that. I'll be starting a new story now, I don't know when I'll get it out but it'll be another Cardverse/fairytale story based on The Little Mermaid so watch out for that so till then,
Hasta la Pasta!