The ticking drove him mad. The grinding of the gears, the longing and impatience in his heart, knowing that four days had now passed without desire to sleep and eat, that Alfred was out there, looking for them and possibly about to risk his life; it all was sending his mind downwards into insanity. He had to speak to someone. The Queens liked to stay silent for whatever reason. After memorizing the glass windows above to the point he could see them with his eyes closed, he thought he might have finally understood their meaning.
"Ladies and Kiku, these are the First Queens above us, yes?" Arthur asked. "I don't recall the Queen of Hearts having beheaded anyone in our histories."
"Me either," Kiku said softly. "I know the first Queen was a rather tenacious woman with a fiery temper. She matched the King's."
"How will they get here?" Lily cried out suddenly, her tone on the edge of hysterical. Her soft sobs echoed in the empty space.
"Now now, Lily," Arthur soothed gently. "Remember I told you my Alfred will be working with the other Kings and Jacks to save us."
Elizaveta began giggling and even Kiku let a chuckle escape. "How cute. You called him your Alfred."
Arthur flushed and squirmed. He was grateful the other Queens couldn't see him. He hadn't meant to say that, having always referred to him as "my King", but thoughts of Alfred had caused his name to slip out. It seemed to have helped ease Lily of her panic. She had dissolved into giggling with Elizaveta as well.
Arthur cleared his throat. "Y-yes well, in any case... Alfred is going to work with the other kingdoms. I know it."
"How do you figure this?" Elizaveta asked, her tone still light from laughing. "Ivan won't be keen on agreeing to any alliance with Spades."
"Because each of us are incredibly close to either our Jack or King in our kingdoms. They're all emotionally compromised. If one won't budge, the other will try to persuade them. Of this I am certain with your husband, Elizaveta, and with your brother, Lily."
"He has a point," Kiku agreed. "While I am close to both my King and Jack, I'm sure Feliciano will use whatever means to make Ludwig ally with Spades."
"The first four kingdom alliance," Lily whispered. "You should be proud of your King, Arthur. He's managed to do something no other king has in history."
"All for love," Kiku murmured with a teasing tone. The girls giggled sending Arthur's face aflame and a sputtered reaction.
"S-surely we are not in love! We have only courted for less than a month!"
"It's about you feel with someone," Elizaveta said, speaking from experience. "If the time comes to say it to Alfred, don't hesitate."
The Land of the Jokers was in a pit that was covered in mist. Or so Ivan described. He had kept the map leading to the mystic land hidden in his pocket. Yao tried to stealthily sneak a glance or two at the old parchment, but Ivan was quicker. He'd notice these little attempts and then carefully hide it away in his jacket, sending Yao a challenging smile. And it wasn't like Yao had any inclinations of getting close to a man like that.
Alfred wasn't making anything easier. He was all for charging in, saying his plan of attack was to simply just attack, and rescue his Queen. That was all fine and dandy, but everyone agree it was impossible to go forward with such a mindset. The Jokers were notorious for their schemes and tricks, and being on their home turf only made it that much easier for booby-traps to capture or kill them. And with all the Kings and Queens and Jacks present, there was no room for error when it involved their life.
Vash was given limitless amounts of scrolls when he left Diamonds, taking his trusty musket, the only one in all of Hoyle. It was not the Jack of Diamonds' traditional weapon, but everyone saw it hardly fitting that a man so intent on explosions and ruthless fighting by left with a simple rope as his weapon. Vash was not a man to detain, but a man of action. Often times he would be left alone to his own devices in his tent he shared with the King, only coming out to ask questions that helped in his planning.
"Can't we help?" Feliciano had asked meekly. The glare Vash gave him had been a suitable enough answer.
To pass the time, Alfred practiced with Francis in his sword fighting. Where Alfred was tough and rugged in his style, Francis was more delicate and certain of each step he took. He was much quicker at evading, spinning just out of the way of any of Alfred's advances, and then faster at catching Alfred off guard. The other Families watched out of sheer boredom, but eventually the other two Kings joined. It made for good practice.
They didn't make teams, preferring to keep it a free for all. Ivan relied on his magic, Alfred and Ludwig their strength, and Francis his agility. As the impromptu fight dragged on, Vash emerged from his tent. He stopped to watch as well, studying them carefully, and then a smile formed on his lips. He rushed to Yao and Roderich's side, talking to him in a hushed voice.
The Kings were all evenly matched, surprising enough. The other Families had secretly all thought Alfred, being the youngest of the four, wouldn't be able to take on any of the others as he had never been directly involved in war or battling with other men. They had truly underestimated this fact. Spades had a long tradition of raising their Aces from Ones, Numbers already deeply immersed in physical training of all sorts. If a One didn't become a Knight or an Ace, he was to remain guard of a rich Two, sometimes influential Threes, and keep watch on the borders of the kingdom. The other kingdoms did not share in this tradition.
Diamonds, more known for keeping to the One to Ace tradition, did have a missing step to that of Spades. Their Ones, if they were not on the track to being a knight or an Ace, resigned themselves to being more like that of a Seven, a Number that did manual labor. Sevens, however, weren't seen as something degrading in Diamonds, unlike in Spades.
Sometimes Alfred would recall how his brother and mother had been mistreated for being a Ten simply for the history of where Tens emerged from. Reigns ago, Tens were slaves, and Sevens, unfortunately, were exceptionally close to that line at times. Once they were granted freedom and the chance to be their own Number system, Sevens did all they could to prove they were "better" than the now-freed slaves. It hardly worked in Spades, whereas it had in Diamonds and Clubs. Hearts never had slaves.
When Alfred fought, he drew on those old bitter memories splattered in anger and resentment with his inability to protect his family, and it gave him strength to push back both Ludwig and Ivan in splendid fashion, surprising them both. Only now, his strength was being drawn from elsewhere.
The sight of green eyes and a gentle smile drove him almost to the brink of insanity. He was standing just yards away from the Land of the Jokers where Arthur was being held captive, and just like when he was a child and unable to speak up against higher Numbers, he was to stand here and fume in impatience until the others deemed it time to go.
Suddenly, Vash called the match. "Please, join me in the tent!" His voice was lighter, almost excited. The four Kings exchanged curious looks, but then followed their Jacks into the Diamonds' tent.
Vash stood beside Yao and Roderich, all of whom looked much more confident than before. Feliciano, sadly, was left out of this, and he fidgeted on the spot beside Ludwig.
"The Jokers are brilliant idiots," Roderich began. "They may have drawn the Queens together, but they didn't take into account the Kings."
Francis brushed aside a stray hair from his face, lightly covered in perspiration. "What about us?"
"You all have something the other doesn't have," Yao replied. He gestured to the map before them. Ivan's eyes bugged at seeing it was his nap. Quickly, Yao held up a hand. "Please, your Jack provided this, your Highness."
Roderich pushed his glasses back on his face. "It was necessary for Vash's plans."
Vash nodded and hunched over the map. He hadn't drawn on, but merely placed rocks he had drawn letters upon. He pointed at the front of the area where they were situated now. Alfred noticed his had a blue K while Yao's had a blue J; the others were represented by their color and position. He began to move them into the land, and then separated them down what looked like tunnels, but were supposedly pathways. Each King and their Jack were to go through each area, and then to reconvene in the middle.
"It's not the best," Vash admitted sourly. "But given that this map doesn't allow us to know if it's inside or out, if there's an inner building, it's the best I could come up with."
Feliciano then spoke up, but he sounded close to tears. "But I'm not able to do anything! I can't help Ludwig."
His King looked at him in surprise. "What? Feli… That's not true. You'll be of great help to me."
Alfred nodded. "Yeah! You have importance! We all do."
Yao pulled out a scroll from seemingly nowhere, coughing into fist. He then began to read aloud, "Feliciano Vargas, younger twin brother to a Lovino Vargas who declined the throne, he is now the current Jack of Hearts. Best known as the most compassionate position in all of Hoyle, he is a man with an open heart, empathy, and unimaginable speed."
"Speed?" Feliciano repeated, confused. "I've never had much speed."
Yao shook his head. "Because you never saw use of it. But the Jack of Hearts is reputed to have the most speed of anyone in Hoyle. I'm certain you will be of value to your King." He then gave Feliciano a knowing smile.
Ivan snatched up his map, rolling up and putting it back in his pocket. It seemed he was done with this conversation. Alfred shared his sentiments. "C'mon. We've got our orders. Let's get going."
"Arthur," Elizaveta spoke up in the silence. Again the Queens had slipped back into their own fearful minds for far too long. Arthur counted the ticks; it was seven days now. "How much does your Jack know?"
"Of this situation?" he clarified. "He's hypothesized that we've been brought together for a reenactment of the Incident in the First Reign. Something that uses me and my magic as the catalyst. In the First Reign the Queens were the true rulers with the Kings more like an Ace and a Jack as a diplomat. The Queens never gathered together all at the same time. Something happened to make them, and in the process they lost their powers."
"Powers?" Lily asked.
"All the Queens originally had magical abilities. Lily, you should have the power of illusions, Elizaveta should be strong like my Al-my King, and Kiku should be able to fly. Somehow the Queen of Spades' power grew tenfold and yours evaporated."
"Sometimes I think this Incident is along the lines of the Black Lady legend," Elizaveta murmured.
"I thought as well," Kiku said.
Arthur frowned. "Who is the Black Lady?"
"You don't know the legend?" Lily asked in surprise.
"I don't believe such a tale is in our lands as I have never heard it," Arthur replied.
"It's a dark legend of a woman gone stark crazy because of a curse on her she accidentally put on herself. She begins killing large quantities of Numbers in hopes of using their souls to keep her young. It takes three goddesses to seal her away into a device that they then hide away from humanity."
"Three goddesses and one crazy woman that started a cataclysmic event. I think that coincides with the First Reigns pretty well," Kiku said. "In our records it states that your First Queen went crazy towards the end of her reign."
"Whatever for?" Arthur asked.
"The records make it unclear exactly. Loneliness, magic, or she was already unstable," Kiku explained. "But it does coincide with the fact she vanishes from history."
"The question is where is she sealed?" Lily wondered aloud.
"The clock!" Arthur turned on his side. The Queen's Clock lay underneath the glass Arthur was resting on. It was working, slowly driving him crazy with time, but it never had before. "It shouldn't work. It never has! Only during the Counting, but...this time it acted strangely. Almost as if it knew where to go..."
It seemed to strike all of them at once. As realization sunk in the Queens all began to violently struggle with their bonds. Arthur's heart raced and he kept a wary eye on the clock, now nervous to be so close to it.
"The Jokers are going to release the Queen to kill us and the Kings!" Lily shrieked.
"Alfred," Arthur muttered to himself. "You're walking into a trap."
Suddenly the ground beneath them shook. The Queens yelped in shock, momentarily abandoning their attempts to escape. Then, Arthur felt the sensation that he was moving rapidly upwards towards the glass windows, and yet it didn't look like they were moving at all. The gears and cogs turning around them stayed in place, not moving down even an inch. The sensation of moving was still there, however, and the impending impact with the arch windows.
Lily screamed. Arthur braced himself for impact, his mind whirling with spells to heal injuries. But they passed through the glass unharmed and all right beside each other.
"Were we all next to each other the entire time?" Elizaveta asked in alarm.
Arthur took note of the room. It was a small, square room with black walls speckled with white paint flecks that seemed to glow. There was no furniture, no windows, and only a solitary doorway that led to black, blocky stairs. The arched glass windows were gone, as were their chains. Beside them lay their items which they all scrambled to retrieve.
Arthur snatched up the clock and headed for the exit. He turned sharply to address the other Queens. "Stay away from me. If the Jokers are trying to summon the Queen, then my magic is the only thing that can keep her at bay."
Kiku nodded. "We'll try to get out and alert the others."
"Alfred will ask for you," Elizaveta said.
Arthur shook his head. "Until I can figure this out you must keep him away from me. I know the dolt will do anything to get to me, but use any means necessary to make him understand."
The ticking in his ears was like a bomb, ready to go off at any minute. The longer he stayed still, the more wound up his nerves became. Already he felt his heart beat in time with it, sweat slipping down his forehead as his mind lost its focus. Without wasting any more time, Arthur fled.
"That map is a piece of shit!" Alfred yelled. He had just regained his footing after having almost slid down a cliff side into a chasm below, covered in fog making it impossible to see the bottom. He could bet that it went all the way to the center of Hoyle. "Vash!"
"Oh stop that!" Yao called. He held a hand out and helped Alfred up. "It's not Vash's fault. It's not the map's fault either. This land has no laws, I told you, not even that of physics. And if my guess is right, not even time itself."
Alfred dusted off his jacket and picked up his sword. He had it at the ready at all times, not wanting to take any chances should something jump out at them. But for the majority of the trek they had only been met with twisting pathways that lingered far too dangerously close to the edges of cliffs and thick fog that seemed to follow after them. They both kept an eye on the fog, but it seemed to have given up, sticking to hugging the landscape instead.
"God, where the hell are we?" Alfred grumbled. He ran a hand through his hair, his morale rapidly dropping. "At this rate it'll take us months to find Arthur…"
Yao nodded and looked around. "I agree, but there isn't much else we can do. We have to take our time. We might miss something otherwise."
Alfred flung a hand out at the wide open space behind him. "What would we miss? It's a giant, frickin' hole in the ground! This entire area shouldn't even exist, yet it does! Just like the Jokers!"
Yao quickly put a hand over Alfred's mouth, silencing him. He sternly looked in his eyes, something he rarely did with his friend, and waited until Alfred calmed down. Keeping his tone level and low he said, "Alfred, I understand your worry for Arthur and the Queens. I too am just as concerned. I know you feel that we have wasted enough time gathering the other Families and then concocting a plan, but we need patience now. It is unwise to rush into anything. Think how saddened Arthur will be if he learns you were injured while looking for him."
Alfred's shoulders sagged and he looked down guiltily. Yao hated to use such an underhanded trick such as the Arthur card, but it was his best bet to get Alfred to cool off. He was a man on a mission, and like a bull, he put his head down and charged in, only seeing red. Yao found it exhausting to keep his King under control, but he also saw it admirable that he cared so deeply for the Queen.
Suddenly, the fog remembered they were wandering around in its territory and decided to slither back into the area, only this time it covered them. Alfred held his sword at the ready, expecting a battle, but when nothing popped out resembling the two guilty Jokers, he lowered his sword. Yao's own sword was still in its sheath tied to his waist. He refused to have it out until something truly appeared. There was no telling what was friend or foe in this realm.
"Alfred?"
The King turned, looking at Yao with a raised eyebrow. That was Yao's voice, nor any of the other Families or the Jokers' voices. He heard it call his name again, and then a dark shape began to take form in the vapor. Yao put his hand on his sword, preparing to unsheathe it, Alfred standing just before him with his own raised. The voice got louder, but the tone remained gentle, and strangely enough, it even sounded slightly familiar.
"Alfred, son?" At this, Alfred lowered his sword an inch, his head tilting to the side. The form then appeared with actual human features. He had a handsome face and dirty blonde hair swept back from his face, light blue, almost grey eyes sparkling as they saw Alfred standing before him. He was dressed in an Ace outfit, but wasn't wearing his helmet and didn't have the Ace's axe. "Alfred, that is you."
Alfred dropped his sword to the ground in shock. "D-dad?"
The man nodded vigorously, his smile looking uncannily like Alfred's own bright one. Alfred held a shaking hand out to touch him, his fingers touching real flesh. "Wh…What? Is this…like heaven?"
Yao watched in mute shock from behind, when suddenly the fog grabbed his mouth and gripped at his arms, pressing them to his sides and forcing him to stay still. Alfred remained oblivious to this; he was too captivated by seeing his father standing before him.
"I only have a little time with you," Samuel Jones started. "But I wanted you to know… I'm so proud of you."
Alfred whimpered as a tear slipped out, and then he hugged his father. Samuel hugged him back, both of them laughing and crying, but behind Alfred the fog had picked up his sword, lifting it up so that it hovered in the creepiest of ways behind the King. The fog had started to form a face that seemed to press itself from the other side, but didn't break through. Dark holes formed to make eye sockets and a long scar of a mouth ripped across the fog. It looked at Yao, its eerie smile widening as it floated in the air, edging closer to Alfred. Yao thrashed in his hold violently, but couldn't break free.
"It's amazing," Alfred said, his voice dripping with emotion. He stepped back, holding his father out at arm's length. "I thought I'd… I just…"
"I know," Samuel chuckled. He pat Alfred on the head. "You make your old man proud, boy." He glanced over Alfred's shoulder and his irises turned black.
Alfred looked back and first saw Yao held captive by the fog, and then managed to see the sword that was now slicing right at his head. He ducked just in time. The sword clattered to the ground and laughter filled the space as the fog face vanished. Alfred looked to his father with wide, confused eyes only to see the fog swirl over him, giving the man his full Ace armor and materializing his axe in his hand.
For the first time in years Alfred saw his father standing before him as the deadly Ace of Spaces.
Samuel took a swing at Alfred's head like the fog had a moment ago, but Alfred rolled to the side, evading the hit. He stood up quickly, backing away with his hands up. The shock from the swing of emotional backlash hadn't quite caught up with him yet. He was still behind on why his father had suddenly turned to attack him.
"F-father? What's going on?" he exclaimed with a shaky voice. Samuel took another swing, luckily missing at the last minute as Alfred dodged again. He had learned a few tricks from Francis during their sparing match. "Father!"
But the Ace was silent and unchanging. He rushed Alfred, his axe ready to strike with the horrid finishing move special to only the Ace of Spades; the Death Blow. One hit from that and Alfred was done for. There was only a split second to react and Alfred had to choose his actions wisely. When he rolled he had moved close to his sword and could feel the hilt tickling his fingers just inches away. But if he reacted against his father…
Those green eyes called to him, and he grabbed his sword, lifting it up to protect himself. The Death Blow ricocheted off into the fog but did no damage to anyone. Alfred's super strength took over and he easily broke his father's pressure pushing down on him. The axe came for another blow, this time at his legs, but Alfred swung his sword down to block it. Another swing and another block.
It continued like this, Alfred spinning to dodge any fatal advances and protecting himself from sneak attacks, his father constantly coming, losing no steam. The fog holding Yao still had the same grip, but watched intensely, the same face from before appearing beside Yao's face. It urged Samual on with whispered words or encouragement. Yao stared at it, trying to discern which Joker it was, but the lack of real physical attributes made it difficult.
The Ace then raised his arms up high, leaving his mid-section open and vulnerable. Alfred caught his breath, staring at the man he once loved with all his might, and saw an opening. He spun around and away from the downward swing, his sword going out to slice the fog holding Yao, barely missing his Jack, but freeing him. And in one fell swoop he shoved his sword in through the back of his father.
Instantly the fog evaporated from around them. They were now inside some building with iridescent paint splattered on the black walls in old Hoyalian with confusing steps that ran up along the sides, across the ceiling, and into sideways doorways. Alfred pulled his sword out as his father fell to a knee. The axe, still in his hand, fell away and faded before it hit the floor.
There was no good-bye, no sound of a moan or a pained groan. Samual Jones just vanished right out of Alfred's life once more. This time Alfred saw his father pass away rather than just receiving a letter that had been sent to their house.
Yao moved to comfort his friend, although he was at a loss as to how he could exactly do so. Alfred moved away quickly, heading for stairs that looked so scale along a wall nearby. He was breathing heavily, his head dropped to look at the floor, and he paused at the corner of a doorway. His hand reached out to grasp it, fingers clenching into a fist so hard his knuckles turned white and his entire arm shook.
"Alfred…," Yao started with a soft tone.
"I'm fine," Alfred said in a strained voice. "We have to find Arthur. …I'm going to kill the Jokers."
Yao followed his King, now with his own sword out, and said nothing.
The Queens ran down countless corridors, all of them looking exactly the same. Blue, red, yellow, and green old Hoyalian paint was smeared along the walls, glowing in the dark to create the only source of light in the building. They had turned corners only to find themselves in the same room they had just left, they ran down stairs that actually went up and around corners, and never once did they feel they were putting any distance between them and Arthur.
After their little revelation, the trio had felt paranoid slide down their back to the point of sheer panic and terror. If the Queen's Clock truly did have the first Queen of Spades sealed inside it, and if she really was the fabled Black Lady that killed numerous Numbers, then they had no chance of protecting themselves or their Kings and Jacks. And if the Jokers were the ones to release her, that could only mean they wanted to join forces and use her power and theirs to wreak havoc on all of Hoyle.
Elizaveta had taken up the lead, her sword constantly raised above her head in case they should turn a corner and come upon a Joker. They had no idea if their Family members were inside or outside or if they were even here at all. They only hoped…
"Eli!" The Queen of Clubs stopped abruptly and turned to look out over the edge of the stairs they were standing on. Across the expanse of space between them were the Jack and King of Clubs. They were standing on an upside down staircase, looking up at the Queens. Roderich smiled in relief and held his arms out to his wife. "Jump! I'll catch you!"
The Queen wasted little time as she lifted her skirts, took three big steps back until she was pressed against the wall, and leapt out into the empty air. She felt disjointed, as if time slowed down and she was fall up, but when time started to speed up again she realized she was falling too fast, in whichever direction, it didn't matter. She wasn't going to make it.
But a hand pressed itself against her back and gave a final push.
She landed in Roderich's arms none all too gracefully, and he fell backwards, colliding into Ivan's legs. But the Family laughed in relief as they had finally been reunited. Time washed over Elizaveta as she realized she had been gone from her two men for an entire week, longer than she ever wanted to be ever again.
Lily and Kiku were stranded on the other end of the room, but were readying to jump as well. It was better to join the other Family than stay separate. Lily jumped first, but was grabbed in midair by a flash of yellow that had slammed into her, crashing into the platform on the other side of the room. She opened her eyes to see her brother hugging her tightly and Francis scurrying over to them, tears in his eyes.
"Kiku!" Hearing his name the Queen looked down, spotting his King and Jack waving furiously at him. He jumped, knowing full well they would catch him.
And they did, but when Kiku's motion caught up with them they began to teeter over the side. Kiku put a foot out to brace against the wall, and kicked up to push them onto the stairs were they lay in a heap and began laughing. Ludwig's arms encased his Queen and Jack, and he hugged them close to his chest.
Yao and Alfred emerged from the lowest staircase and looked up. They saw the other Families reunited and was relieved for them. That made their task that much easier. However, they saw no sign of a blue jacket, a little top hat sitting askew on a blond head, or furious green eyes that demanded to know where they've been. Alfred was banking on seeing and hearing that from his Queen.
And there at the top was the man in question. He was clutching his clock to his chest for dear life, stopping at the edge of the platform he was on, when the ground beneath them shook. The stairs fell away to reveal long podiums. The Hoylian words lit up, and it sounded as if they were humming, the tune echoing through all of the area that had suddenly grown far larger than it had been a moment ago. Where there were walls and upside down staircases was now emptiness that fell away to that ominous fog. Only thin stairs highlighted in green, red, blue, or yellow wound upwards. To Arthur.
Alfred took off, headed straight for his Queen. Wherever he walked, the ground lit up in blue. Yao followed, noticing his steps had the same effect. The other Families took after Alfred to the last of the kidnapped Queens.
"Stop!" Arthur shirked. He held his clock away. "Don't come any closer!"
"Arthur!" Alfred shouted. He prayed that this wasn't another trick of the fog and the Jokers. More smoke and mirrors. "Arthur, we've come to save you!"
"It's you who needs saving!" Arthur cried. He waved at them to flee. "Go! Now! They're not after me! They're after all of us! They're going to release the Black Lady and have us all killed!"
The other Queens, temporarily forgetting the original plan, backtracked and pulled their Families with them. They pleaded with them to follow, trying to explain the situation as best they could, but Alfred remained adamant.
"I won't let that happen!" Alfred declared, silencing the others. "I made a promise! I will keep it! I will protect you, Arthur!"
Arthur stared at him for a moment with a pained look. It ached to be so far apart from Alfred for what he knew had been over a week now, but he would pay the consequences if he gave into the temptation to be in his arms again.
Let us help you with that!
And just like that, the floor fell away from Arthur and he plummeted to the dark, bottomless pit in the middle of the ground.
Hoshiko2's cents: ONE CHAPTER LEFT! ARE YOU EXCITED? The battle continues and concludes in the next chapter. But fear not! This is only arc 1 of 2. So there will be another after this finishes. Hope to see you then!