And it's up!
At the point, I should probably tell you guys that the story is coming to an end. There's only a few chappies left... ;-;
On that note, thank you for sticking with this story and supporting it! It means a lot, and motivates me to carry on.
So, here it is!
Chapter Twenty Eight
Francis lay in his bed, unable to move much. He didn't have enough strength. He sent his Queen, who sat on a wheelchair by his bed, a weak smile. She attempted to return it. His Jack was busy dealing with Kingdom matters he wasn't fit to deal with.
He had heard about Matthew. His adopted son. No, his son. Just his son.
Matthew was dead.
But Francis couldn't believe it. Fate couldn't be so cruel. It couldn't take away her, and then Matthew. It wasn't fair. Life wasn't fair.
Francis had always listened to the Obligations of the Deck. Always. Even when it meant giving up what was most important to him. But he wasn't going to do it again. He wasn't going to let Matthew go.
But… did he have a choice?
The Queen sat in silence with him, on a wheelchair. She knew Matthew too, she had guiltily confessed. She was the one who helped him get away from the palace. When she told Francis, guilt dripping from her voice, he just shook his head and weakly smiled. She had just done what she thought was right. He didn't blame her.
He stared at the ceiling of his room. He had to see his son. He had too. Francis had done his best to protect Matthew, but it wasn't enough. He was responsible. For a lot. For Matthew being dead.
He had to see his son one last time.
The King hadn't cried yet, but the Queen had decided to leave him be for a while, give him some space.
That seemed to set off the waterworks for the King as he quietly sobbed into his pillow.
Matthew Williams was actually Matthew Jones. It was the family he was born into, but after realizing how he wasn't truly apart of the family, he settled on what he remembered people saying his mother's maiden name was. Williams.
He didn't think that many people would remember him. The boy who quietly shelved books at the library. The boy who never had anything to say, who always lived locked up in his house.
But, people never really understood, everyone has something to say. Everyone.
He expected to one day, be found dead in his little house. Hopefully of old age. He knew that there wasn't going to be much of a life for him, since even befriending someone was dangerous. He never really understood why, but Yao had hammered it into his brain.
Later, he began to understand that if something were to happen, for example, if his identity was exposed, his friends would be endangered.
So honestly, he hadn't lived a life worth living. He had lived a life full of fear and despair. Of hopelessness and misery. A life hiding and unwanted solitude.
No one was going to remember him.
So, when he opened his eyes, he was surprised to see so many unknown people crowding him. He promptly screamed, which let tout a chain reaction of many unknown people screaming too. And for about a minute, there was a lot of screaming. A lot.
Thankfully, he recognized Raivis standing by the closed door, and calmed down. He also processed being inside his old room in the Palace of Kingdom Spades, before he had moved out.
Then, the memories came rushing back to him.
The trial, his Papa, Ivan, Natalia and his identity.
Shoot.
He tried not to be put off by the sharp, pointy objects that surrounded his bed side. And the people holding those objects. And how painful it was for him when he pushed himself up, off the bed. His body ached everywhere. but he kept moving. He knew he wasn't in danger of these people, since he was home. That's why when they tried to get him back to the bed, he ignored them and made way to Raivis.
Matthew's chest and stomach was bandaged, and he didn't have to lift the thin, white shirt he wore to know that. He could tell by how constricted his movements were. He ignored the band aids that were plaster across his whole body and one wrapped around his head. Raivis looked surprised at first, and a little startled too.
"Ra… Raivis," Matthew murmured as he reached the brunette. He leaned against the wall by the informant while the unknown people crowding the room began to chat. His legs shook as he tried to focus his strength on standing. "Wha… What's going on?"
Raivis swallowed and shook his head. "You need to get back to bed. I'll explain everything and then get the King and Queen… And um, your friend. Later though."
"H-huh?"
"You can barely stand Matthew," Raivis said softly as he helped the blonde back to the bed, which was stained with a bit of his own blood. "C'mon. We need you to rest. I'm explaining everything, wait."
Matthew weakly nodded, gripping onto his consciousness in hopes of not losing it. Raivis motioned for some people to come back to Matthew side, and as they quietly began to re-bandage him, he finally understood they were doctors, nurses; physicians.
"You were injured at the battle at the trial," Raivis softly explained as he sat on the edge of Matthew's bed. "Everyone thought you were dead. Turns out, when someone's panicked, they can't really feel a pulse. Especially in that atmosphere. An atmosphere of a pretty bloody battle. After the battle, the physician who checked your pulse was... rather inexperienced."
But... how could so many people mistaken him for dead? The question was quickly pushed away as another made way into his head.
"Is… everyone..."
"Yeah, everyone's okay," the brunette smiled. "The King of Diamonds is fine too by the way. He was dead for a few minutes, but something, somehow brought his heart back into action. Everyone knows you're close, somehow. The King and Queen of Spades are fine too, just disturbed. The Jack is missing. Your friend, she's... fine too. And um, you see… everyone thinks you're dead. Everyone who isn't in this room."
"Wh… Why?" Matthew was honestly overjoyed that his Papa and everyone else, including Natalia was fine, but he didn't have enough of strength to show it, or to feel too much of it. He was barely awake. He felt too weak, and had to urge to sleep. "Why is… s-secret?"
Raivis bit his lip.
"Well, at first, the physicians weren't sure if they were going to be able to keep you stabilized when they figured you were alive. You were really bad when you came in. Take my word for it, I'm an apprentice physician," Raivis paused. "After they finally successfully stabilized you for good, after everything you've been through, we wanted to know if you wanted to go… you know, underground."
"Un… Underground?"
Raivis had a nervous smile, and he shrugged. "You know, disappear. If you want to break free from your old life and its memories, it's understood. We may not be able to erase your memories if you want them gone, but if you wish, the Jokers know that you're alive. The blonde one has the gift of erasing memories, and he's offered that to you. And it was actually their idea."
Matthew's eyes fluttered for a moment as he processed the information. Erase his memories? Forget everything?
That was an insane thought. A crazy opportunity. Was that even possible..?
Sure, life would be easier. Everyone would think the Ace was dead, and Matthew could find somewhere else to live life to the fullest because the Ace of Spades was "dead".
But… did he really want to leave his life behind?
"When you fully recover, I'll ask you again. Again, the King and Queen don't know about this, just so you know. Only the people in this room do." Raivis got up from the bed. "When you awaken again, I'll come back again, and ask. By then, recover. Remember, if you want to disappear from this life, and rebuild a new one, we'll help. If you don't… well, it's ultimately up to you. If you don't, then just say the word."
Raivis' smile wavered as he worriedly watched the the Ace on the bed struggle to stay awake and possibly comprehend what the informant had said. He swallowed, shook his head, and turned away. The Jokers were presenting a strange opportunity to him, but after all that happened...
The brunette informant began to walk away from the bed, just as Matthew slipped into unconsciousness.
So... I think some people guessed Mattie wouldn't really be dead... Gah, you guys know me well. I'm trying not to move too fast here, but I know things do that a bit here...
Please leave behind your thoughts, and thank you for reading! There's more to come, so stay tuned!
Hope you guys liked it!
