Chapter One: The Monarch
When the old King died, all four kingdoms dressed in black.
Monarchs of the passing regime adorned themselves in gauze and silk. The few heirs called upon by the Clock and Crown trailed at their heels. In this time of Pax Tarota, the death of one monarch cut all as profoundly as the loss of a brother, the white-hot knife of grief slipping between their ribs.
"Come, little Feliciano," said the old Jack.
His grandson looked to him, amber eyes wide with youth. Tiny fingers clutched to the aging hand.
"Let us go support the good Queen."
Her Majesty stood sentry beside the empty tomb, her regal chin high. Greying locks of once raven hair cascaded over her shoulder in plaits, interwoven with red silk. A solemn boy, her called upon heir, kept his eyes downcast beside her.
"Little Regina should not stand alone, not today."
Innocent to the dark emotions gripping the leading generation's hearts, Feliciano's eyes wandered across the gathering. To the little boy, the old monarchs looked like gods in the mist. They reminded him of Romulus, the Jack of Hearts. But at the same time, they existed on a completely different plane, untouchable and distanced. They were otherworldly, marble statues among the graves.
Each monarch tailored their black robes with their kingdoms' colors. The rulers of Clubs brandished green in the fat emeralds weighing their necks and hands. Diamonds slipped golden feathers into their hats and black lace masks. Even the monarchs of Spade wove bolts of blue into their shawls and cravats.
And yet, despite viewing the monarchs as worldly beings to admire, Feliciano shrunk away from the heirs.
They were the children heralded by the Clock and Crown, signaling the new age to come when their mentors passed. Many were direct descendants; the child to the Queen of Spades, brother to the King of Clubs, the King of Diamonds' son, and the silent nephew to the Queen of Hearts.
When the future queen of Spades glanced at Feliciano, the young boy scrambled behind his grandfather's legs to hide from the piercing green eyes.
"Regina," Romulus bowed his head, taking his place beside her. He gently squeezed his grandson's hand.
The porcelain queen nodded in acknowledgment. All the while, her hand strayed to brush Feliciano's bangs from his eyes. He reached up eagerly to wrap his hand around her fingers, linking the two monarchs together through him.
"Romulus," Her Majesty, Queen Ainu of Hearts, let only her voice betray her. It cracked as empty as the King's throne. "We must find his heir; I will not face a fight for power, and the Pax Tarota will not allow for a kingdom only ruled by us. We need three, as agreed."
"Your concerns mirror my own, Regina."
"Let us lay Alaric to the grave. In the morning, we can bring forth the crown and begin the search." Ainu let Feliciano's hand slip from hers. The young jack-apparent moved to take hold of her nephew's hand instead. Kiku gave him a soft look and nod, doing his best to mirror the queen he would take after.
"Isn't it strange that dangers such as this can exist even in the Pax Tarota?" Romulus dropped his voice low, barely moving his lips. "It seems even this peaceful era has its fair share of vipers."
"Careful with your words, dear Jack, for the snake nest has ears." Ainu placed her hands on the two young boys' shoulders. "Come, let us pay our final respects to the King."
Kiku pulled Feliciano along, the young boy frowning at the obsidian tomb growing closer. He strained, standing on his toes to see Alaric for the final time.
The King was sleeping, or so it looked. Feliciano shrunk back, tucking against his grandfather at the terrible thought of the King waking up, alone in the dark catacomb of the Chamber of Kings.
Alaric's arms had been folded over his chest, a silver broadsword placed in his hands that split the regal red of his attire. The lost King of Hearts looked as peaceful as he had been alive, cheeks painted with the same warmth Feliciano remembered in their time together.
"Nonno," he whispered, gripping at his grandfather's sleeve. "Nonno, shouldn't we wake him? He'll be angry if you let him sleep too long..."
Romulus scooped up the little Jack to be, balancing him on his hip. "I'm afraid, my little Feli, Alaric wouldn't wake even if I tried."
He instinctively curled into his grandfather's shoulder, little hands gripping deep-dyed red velvet, his mouth hiding against it.
Ainu stepped forward, placing a single white lily beside the lost King. She leaned over him, placing a final kiss on his chilled temple. "Peace to you, my King, and to your subjects, strength to see it through these trialing times."
She encouraged her heir forward with a subtle wave of her hand. He, too, placed a single flower, bowing quietly to his old tutor and King.
Romulus approached next, tutting at his grandson shying away. With a weathered hand on Alaric's folded ones, he held back the ache in his chest. He bowed his head, swallowing to push back the constricting pressure in his throat. "Peace to you, old friend."
"Nonno," Feliciano's small hand touched Romulus' cheek. He frowned when his jovial grandfather simply shook his head and stepped back.
Behind the tomb, figures emerged from the darkness; neutral creatures coming to aid the King on his final journey. Feliciano watched the Jokers, hooded figures with bowed heads. He knew his grandfather was watching them as well but could not understand why the old man stared so intently, looking for the faintest sign of the King's oldest son hiding among the creatures.
The Jokers held their hands out before them, palms down and hovering over the old King's chest. They chanted and swayed, singing out a language so coarse with raw magic a chill ran down every queen's spine. The King of spades covered the ears of the future queen to spare him the funeral dirge.
As the hymn ended, the Jokers stepped back. The remaining monarch took their place now, moving together to entomb the King. Feliciano was placed on the ground beside Kiku as Romulus walked forward to join them.
The children, left to themselves, began to drift together across invisible borderlines. Feliciano jumped when he found the future Queen of Spades staring at him again. He shuffled close to Kiku, gripping his hand. "He's scary..."
"The Pax Tarota has lasted two generations, Jack-Apparent." Kiku tried to free himself of Feliciano's iron grip but failed. "I'm sure it will last long beyond our time as well, regardless of how one future queen stares at you."
A shadow fell over them, and Feliciano shot behind Kiku when he realized the future King of Clubs had approached them.
The taller boy, much older than them, bowed at the pair. "Apologies that our first meeting should be like this, heirs of Hearts."
Kiku quietly returned the bow, exposing the shivering heir behind him. "Thank you, I hope we can meet again under...happier occasions."
"So formal," Ivan chuckled, eyes brightening as they shifted from future queen to Jack. Feliciano's mouth went dry, but before Ivan could continue, the returning monarchs broke apart the little meeting. Ivan bowed his head a final time before returning to his sister, the King of Clubs, who had held her hand to him, beckoning silently.
Feliciano still shied away from those purple eyes when Romulus plucked him from the ground. With the Queen beside Romulus and Kiku between them, the small monarchy left the cemetery.
The tomb claimed more than the King that day. Several weeks later, the Jack followed after him. Monarchs in the three countries claimed it was the stress of running a kingdom with naught but a queen beside him, but the residents of Hearts told a different story. They knew a broken heart had called their Jack to an early grave, that death itself was unable to separate King and Jack.
Author's Notes:
Whelp, here we are. All chapters (1-25) have been updated and polished. The story is nearly the same as before if you don't wish to re-read it before the new chapter updates. I mostly just tied up a couple of loose ends I noticed while re-reading.
New content is still penned in for late April. Thank you for sticking with this story over the years. Here's to finishing up The Prince of Hearts!
Old Notes:
Hey everyone, new storytime! I found myself growing quite addicted to the Cardverse AU idea, so I decided to attempt my hand at it. Please tell me what you think, and I hope you enjoy it! Also, this story will have a cross-over of elements with the story's plot, involving things from "East of the Sun, West of the Moon," because well…I love that story, and I was also debating on branching into the fairy-tail cross-over ideas I had for a few Hetalia pairings. Again, I hope you like it, enjoy!
Characters Non-Canon:
Romulus: Ancient Rome (just in case, there's a lot of names for this guy I discovered)
Ainu: Ancient Japan (well not ancient, but a representation of the indigenous people of Japan)
Alaric: Germania
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Hetalia or "East of the Sun, West of the Moon."