Arthur stared at the people around him as they all stared at him. Arthur wasn't exactly sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing. Until one of them spoke.

"Hey, look who's awake!" one of them said cheerfully. That only caused more people to stare at him.

Then they started clapping and cheering. Arthur faltered and took a step back. Never, in a million years, did he expect this to happen to someone line him.

"W-what are they doing?" Arthur muttered.

"Applauding you," Amelia nudged his side.

"Why?" Arthur asked.

"Arthur!" Alfred's voice called out happily and the lad quickly emerged around the crowd, running towards him. Before Arthur could run away, Alfred wrapped his arms tightly around him and, picking him up into the air, twirled him around.

"Alfred!" Arthur winced at the massive amount of pain in his chest.

"Sorry," Alfred muttered shyly and set him down. But he didn't waste any time in pulling his head close, kissing him. Arthur happily kissed him back.

"Now tell me," Arthur stated when they finally separated. "Why are they cheering?"

"Well," Alfred smiled at him. "It was your idea to go out to the border. You knocked out Ivan so we could use him to win the war. And they saw what you did in front of them. If none of that helps them believe in magic, then they're idiots. And you saved my life."

"I…" Arthur muttered. He wanted to say he didn't do anything that great. But he thought about it a little more. He really did do all those things Alfred said.

"Don't you start saying you didn't do anything," Alfred scorned him. "I saw everything you did."

"I guess so," Arthur chuckled.

"I have to ask," Alfred turned slightly serious. "Why did you step in front of me?"

"Well, to save you, love," Arthur said.

"But, if it killed you, then it would kill me, too, right?" Alfred asked a little sadly.

"To give you the painless death, then," Arthur smiled slightly. "If only one Royal dies, the others die painlessly. Getting shot by…whatever that was…That was excruciatingly painful. And I wouldn't want you to experience that right before you died."

"Just promise me you won't ever do that again," Alfred hugged him again.

"I promise, Alfred," Arthur laughed. He noticed that, by then, all of the soldiers were going back to their business. But, while the two separated, a few soldiers came up and said thanks or something like that.

"So, now that you're all better-" Alfred started excitedly, but Arthur had to stop him.

"I'm not completely healed, Alfred," Arthur rolled his eyes. "Though, you seem to be with your arms. It still hurts, for one thing, and then for another, I can't exactly keep myself standing like this for too much longer."

"Plus, he can't move very far," Amelia stated. "Or too much. There's some careful stitching over that wound and, if that stuff pops, we'll be screwed."

"I could carry you around," Alfred smiled and Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Please don't," Arthur stated. "I think I finally have respect from these guys."

"Well, I need to do something to work out my arms and get them back to normal," Alfred whined. "Lifting you will be a piece of cake!"

"I'm not that lightweight!" Arthur snapped. "…Am I?"

"Sorta," Alfred laughed. "Oh! Hey, I just remembered. Someone's been waiting to see you."

"Who?" Arthur asked curiously.

"You gotta come with me," Alfred smiled. He turned his attention to Amelia. "Is it okay if he comes with me for a little while?"

"He doesn't need to come back here," Amelia shrugged and tossed something to Alfred, which he caught easily. "Just figure out how to change his bandages every once in a while and make sure he doesn't hurt himself."

"Sure thing, doc," Alfred saluted her and then, before Arthur could protest, picked Arthur up princess style and started walking away.

"Bloody hell, Alfred!" Arthur sputtered. "I told you not to do this!"

"But she told me to make sure you don't hurt yourself," Alfred chirped happily. "And this is the perfect way for me to do so!"

"Until you trip," Arthur teased.

"I won't trip!" Alfred sighed. As if on cue, he stumbled slightly, nearly falling forward, but he caught himself with his feet placement.

"You were saying?" Arthur chuckled.

"Shut up," Alfred blushed slightly and continued on their way.

"So, who is here?" Arthur asked.

"You two look so adorable!" a new, familiar voice swooned and Arthur snapped his attention to her.

"Wh-what is she doing here?" Arthur blushed slightly and Alfred carefully set him down so that he was standing, but he had to lean a little bit on Alfred to right himself. Elizaveta was standing in front of them.

"Well, Alfred told me about what happened to you," Elizaveta smiled shyly. "And, since we are allies now, I thought that I should wait to see you when you're okay!"

"A-Allies?" Arthur stared at Alfred.

"You were asleep when it was time for that meeting you arranged," Alfred shrugged. "So, I did it for you. We are the first ever allies of Clubs!"

"What?" Arthur blinked.

"I can explain why Clubs has never had an ally," Elizaveta said, kind of sadly. "But, first, I would like to apologize to you on behalf of my King."

It was then that Arthur remembered with a sting that Ella was dead. How could he have forgotten…? He hadn't realized that he lost his balance until he felt Alfred catch him.

"You okay?" Alfred asked gently.

"Fine," Arthur righted himself and dusted himself off.

"The ability Clubs has," Elizaveta continued, "can make some people cruel. That's why Clubs has never had an ally. All of the leaders eventually become cruel and either try to fight anyone who comes as an ally or drive them away."

"What is Clubs' ability?" Arthur asked. He knew Spades has the ability of magic, Hearts the ability of seeing soul mates, and Diamonds used to have the ability of persuasion (Arthur was pretty sure Francis was bringing that one back). But he had no idea what Clubs had. No one did.

"We can see destinies," Elizaveta stated. "You could say that it's both a blessing and a curse. To us, though it's mostly a curse. We can see and know what is going to happen, but we can't change anything. When we go into wars, we know who's going to win and who's going to lose."

"So, is that why you didn't have any of your good guys out on the battlefield?" Alfred asked.

"As the Queen, I can decide what goes out on the battlefield," Elizaveta nodded. "I wanted to cause as little bloodshed as possible because I knew we were going to lose. Ivan, though, he wanted more bloodshed just so that he could be cruel. Knowing everyone's destinies can make someone snap. My Jack and I have learned how to put it under control with the help of a Joker."

"No way," Alfred smiled. "Which Joker, Gilbert?"

"Oh, you've met Gilbert?" Elizaveta asked happily.

"He's helped us a little," Arthur muttered. "So…since you can see destinies, does that mean you know when someone is going to die?"

"Sadly, yes," Elizaveta sighed. "Even our own deaths are known to us."

"So, Ivan knew Ella was supposed to die that day, too," Arthur stared at the ground. His chest was still hurting slightly.

"He tends to get carried away easily," Elizaveta said comfortingly. "He finds no point in mercy when he's been given none his whole life."

"I don't think he even knows what that word means…" Arthur muttered.

"Ivan used to be very nice, believe it or not," Elizaveta smiled slightly and Arthur looked up at her like she was crazy. "As a kid, he had a friend from Spades and they were very happy. He even got along well with his sisters. But, when he was chosen as a Royal, his ability began to appear and he started getting darker and darker…"

"What about you?" Alfred asked. "You said Gil helped you, but does it still affect you?"

"Yes, but I've learned to just think of it as a suggestion," Elizaveta's mood brightened. "The way Gilbert put it, a destiny isn't something I should worry about. Destinies can actually change quite often. I've seen my death about 20 different ways. So I just don't let it bother me."

"It's pretty cool to have someone like that as an ally," Alfred said excitedly.

"Cool…right," Arthur sighed.

"Again, I want to apologize for what Ivan did to you," Elizaveta smiled softly at Arthur. "It was unorthodox of him."

"Right," Arthur sighed and started walking towards their tent, where he left Ella.

"Arthur, wait," Alfred called out to him. He said goodbye to Elizaveta and quickly came up next to him. "You okay walking?"

"Yes, Alfred, I'm fine," Arthur said.

"You should relax a little," Alfred sighed. "The war's over, we're the first allies of Clubs, we're going home tomorrow, I've heard. I don't want that wound to open again…"

"I'll be fine, Alfred," Arthur stated. He took a look at the sky and found that it really wasn't that sunny at all. There were clouds all over the sky, dark and gray, like it was about to rain. Or snow, with the temperature the way it was…

"Is it about Ella?" Alfred asked delicately and Arthur nodded as they came up to their tent.

"I think she's been waiting long enough for a burial," Arthur sighed and stepped in, soon followed by Alfred.

"So, where did you put her, anyway?" Alfred asked. "I wanna make sure I didn't, like, accidentally hurt her."

"Well, I put a protective spell over her, for one thing," Arthur sighed. "So not even your fat arse could hurt her."

"Hey," Alfred whined, but Arthur kept going.

"But it seems Lukas was smart enough to move her onto the map," Arthur sighed with relief upon seeing Ella lying still on the part of the map that represented the Spades castle.

"Where did you have her before?" Alfred asked.

"On our makeshift bed," Arthur stated and Alfred just stared at it.

"So, do you think her ghost is still around here?" Alfred asked, looking around the tent.

"Alfred, are you scared of ghosts?" Arthur asked as he knelt down and carefully picked up Ella in his hands.

"No!" Alfred answered too quickly. "Not at all! I mean, that would be so unheroic of me! Ghosts. Please, they aren't scary!"

Arthur just stared at him for a while. Then, a wicked grew on his face with an idea. "Well, I'll have you know that I can see ghosts," Arthur smirked. That was a lie, but it was worth it to see the look on Alfred's face. "And Ella is flying right behind you."

"Shit!" Alfred swatted the air around his head and quickly sprinted out of the room.

"That was too easy," Arthur shook his head, smiling slightly and made his way out of the tent. Alfred was still freaking out, hitting the air around him, like it was a bug.

"I-Is she still here?" Alfred stuttered out and Arthur let out a small laugh.

"Of course, Alfred," Arthur snickered. "She'll be around her body."

"You better not be messing with me," Alfred pointed a shaky finger at Arthur.

"Now why would I mess with you?" Arthur raised an eyebrow and started walking.

"Whoa, where are we going?" Alfred asked.

"I need to find a good spot," Arthur sighed. "It's not like I can just bury her anywhere."

"Oh, right," Alfred rubbed the back of his head. He was continuously looking around, as if searching for her ghost. It made Arthur chuckle. "So…what are we looking for? To find a good spot?"

"If we were near a forest, that would have been nice," Arthur sighed. "But I guess a nice patch of grass that's maybe still alive in all of this bloody cold."

"What about right there?" Alfred pointed a little bit forward of them and Arthur saw a small patch of thick, green grass.

"Well…" Arthur blinked at it. "That's fine."

Okay, just, ahead of time, because I'm lazy, you won't get to see Ella's funeral. That, and I've never been to a funeral, and I'm not very good with writing sadness... So...yeah. That is the last we see of Ella...Next chapter, they're going home!

Please review! It's awesome of you!