i don't own aph or the selection, that's by hidekaz himaruya and kiera cass to their own.
"This is still too early in the morning for something like this," A girl complained, and Arthur's head turned around.
The place was completely packed, the square that Kiku and Arthur walked past almost weekly for their checkups. It was usually empty, save for a few couples having partners or tourists from other countries walking around, but today it was packed.
It was the week after the information had been sent in and Arthur's encounter with Gilbert. The two of them had tried to go around their normal business, but all classes had been cancelled for them since they had entered that year. They had thought of going to the housing blocks of the last Holding Facility, the one that housed the twenty year olds, but it was completely abandoned. Kiku had attributed this to the fact that they were in the last year of eligibility and were probably struggling to make ends meet since they usually would not be picked due to their age. If a twenty year old was chosen, many people attributed it to the fact that they usually paid their way in instead of being in the holding facilities.
Interestingly enough, they seemed to be divided this year since they seemed to be held for the position of entering the Deciding, of course. Even in the beginning, it had been no secret that many rich families from the Inner Circles bought the forms so that they could register for the Deciding, passing screening that was included in the holding facilities. Nowadays, it was a legal matter, but it was no longer considered taboo. However, some form of stigma still remained for the parents that paid in excess of three hundred thousand gold to get a fast track form that basically put their children on par with the people that had lived in the holding facilities their whole lives, such as Arthur and Kiku. Arthur's family got fifty thousand gold per year due to his loss as a breadwinner for his family and his services to the crown, and that amount was astronomical in his perspective.
Some of the richer families living in the Inner Circles had set up picnic blankets in their partition, chatting amicably with their son or daughter. Some of them were dressed in extravagant clothes as if they already lived in the palace, and as Arthur and Kiku walked past them he caught a glance of a woman handing her sons some powder and a brush, which they proceeded to dust on their cheeks. The same was happening all over the square while they quietly shuffled off to a seating area that was roped off from the families. As Arthur watched, he noticed that the number of those eligible were a lot less than last year's selection preparing to go into service for the crown.
Perhaps it's because the opportunity is just for us who've been selected at birth? Arthur questioned, wiggling his toes in his shoes in discomfort. He had been pressed into a suit that was blue to match the country he was opting with, and on his left Kiku was wearing a red one, to represent Hearts.
The girl next to him was wearing blue as well, her dress pulled tightly to the side to accompany her sullen expression. With a hint of surprise, Arthur remembered her face as Natalya, the same girl he had run into the day that they had to apply.
"Er, hello," he said, and she turned herself to face him. Her eyes lost a little of that hostility, but her response was clipped all the same. Arthur felt even more awkward, but as Kiku was currently staring at the wealthy behind them, he decided to try to resume a conversation with her.
…wait, if she hadn't been living in the holding facilities all this time, why was she not down there with the others?
"Well, to answer your question, it's none of your business." she said, and Arthur noticed too late that he had spoken the question out loud.
"I'm sorry, I was just curious," he said quickly, averting his gaze for a moment. "Is our…is our agreement still on?"
Natalya examined him with her cool gaze, her nails resting on her cheek for a moment before she nodded.
"I don't even know if we'll still get in or not," she said, her look not wavering. "Are you that sure about our alliance?"
"I think that was more of a truce, but seeing the people here," he trailed off, doing a quick glance of the people behind them. "I don't exactly want to be unceremoniously kicked out."
"Hmm. Here's what I think - those spoilt brats that actually do get in, they'll be gone in a week. They don't really know how to survive in the palace, after all."
"What do you mean?" Arthur asked confusedly. "As much as I know, the only thing you'll have to do is impress the prince, make him fall in love with you, and so forth…"
"Tch," she snorted, looking a little bemused. "If it was so simple, there wouldn't need to be a competition in the first place. People have more than one way to get what they want."
At that precise moment, the clock on the stage turned to three pm, the display whirred to life and Arthur was left to ponder at those words.
The Ace of Hearts is a grumpy man, Arthur thought as he watched the Ace board the sidewalk that led to the display. His brown hair was a shade darker than his brother's, and his skin held a dark, olive shade that his brother, the Jack of Hearts, did not have. His green eyes narrowed at the crowd, and he got started with a flurry of curses and 'belt up, you brats.' This would have been considered exceptionally rude other than the fact that it was part of Ace Lovino's charm and the audience seemed to soak it up, except for a few parents who covered up their children's ears and glared furiously at him.
"Yeah, yeah. So anyway, I guess you've all seen enough of my ugly face and I'm tired as hell of showing it myself, so let's just get onto the Kingdoms. For this year," he said, taking a break and staring down at a small object clutched tightly in his palm.
"There are three kingdoms - the Clubs, the Hearts and the Spades. All information is in your packet which you should have brought today. So, let's present who has been randomly selected for the Clubs Kingdom!"
Arthur noticed Natalya clench her fists next to him and look away, and he wondered what had gone on between her and the estranged kingdom. He could see a boy from across him grip a green sheet of paper in excitement - no doubt his form - and a light muttering break out amongst the crowd.
"Look at your papers now, please," Lovino continued. "If your number flashes up on the screen in the next, uh ten damn minutes, then that's your cue to go up the stage. Don't be stupid, and get on there as soon as possible. Remember, there's only ten per country this year because Diamonds is not participating at all - Francis, that old piece of sh- ahem, so don't come running up."
The numbers 91631 flashed up onto the screen, and behind Arthur he heard a high pitched squeal of a girl. As everyone turned around to look, a green slip of paper was being waved up in the air. As the crowd parted way, she ran up, clad in a bright, emerald dress. She giggled and handed Lovino a piece of paper, which he quickly examined before calling out 'the next number' and pressing a button, causing another number - 17532 - to flash up onto the screen.
"What are your numbers?" Kiku hissed under his breath.
"01310," Arthur hissed in return. "What's yours?"
"94126," he replied curtly. The two of them turned around and watched slowly as the rest of the Clubs ceremony continued on.
The rest of the table had gone silent after the boy clad in green had been summoned up to the stage, and Arthur noticed very few splotches of green amongst the sea of reds and lots and lots of blues.
"Kiku…I've just realised there's a lot of people wearing blue today. Do you think I'll really be able to get in or will you have to think of a Plan B-" Arthur began to question, but he was interrupted by the Ace again.
"Okay, now that's all sweet 'n dandy. They're off to Clubs. ANYWHO," he yelled over the annoyed clamours of the parents of the children that had not gotten in (apparently all three of those wanting to go to Clubs had gotten in. Pretty odd.)
"Let's move off to the next most exciting one - the one right at home. Great, no long distance travel needed. Still going to be ten of you."
The two of them watched as the digits on the screen flashed back to 00000.
Arthur heard Kiku take a long, deep breath next to him. Of course his friend was worried, even though it didn't exactly mean that if he won that he would be married to a guy that he barely knew, but even so. He was entering this whole malarkey just to see if he could help Heracles in any way he could.
And so was he.
"The first number is 61349," Lovino announced, and a girl with a distinctive purple streak in her hair got up from the far right of the table and walked onto the stage, reaching into her pink cardigan and handing him the folded envelope. They shook hands, and she curtsied to him before exiting the stage. Arthur and Kiku politely clapped, as the others did on the table as well.
The second and third numbers belonged to a pair of boys, dressed in smartly pressed suits as they both ran up to give their letters to Lovino. The next two were girls clearly from the Inner Circles judging by their sequinned and jeweled dresses, one of which tucked her black hair behind her ear and giggled before handing it to the Ace, and the other one simply thrust it out to him and twisted her mouth into a scowl to match his own.
"And that's six. We'll be seeing the seventh candidate in just a moment," Lovino continued, casting a glance at the last girl before pushing his thumbs against the strange device. "Ah, damn servers."
"Kiku, do you think you can make a quick switch to Spades?" Arthur hissed hurriedly, taking note of his best friend's urgent expression. "I mean, if you don't get in, I'm not sure if-"
"Goddamn!" Lovino cursed angrily at the stage, and the two boys looked up.
But that was not what held their gaze, as the number 94126 was flashing up on the screen.
Kiku's hands stilled, and for a moment he seemed to be frozen in his seat in shock until Arthur's initial surprise stopped as well. He reached over and tapped his friend's shoulder, quickly motioning with his green eyes for him to get onto the stage.
"Hurry, you don't want him getting angry," Arthur urged, and with a daze Kiku nodded and quickly got to his feet, amidst clapping on their table. Arthur's gaze followed him as he lifted up the folds of his formal wear, bowed once to Lovino and handed over the neatly folded parcel of his particulars, and then went off left stage, like the others.
Just like that, without a goodbye, they had parted for the first time in years. They even had shared the same classes, let alone the same dorm, and Arthur found himself feeling strangely empty as he watched Kiku's now empty spot.
"I'm just going to guess he's your friend?" Natalya asked next to him, her cool eyes curious, and he could only nod in response, staring back at his thumbs placed squarely on the table.
The rest of the Hearts selection passed without much incident, other than the connection dipping on the last person which caused another uproar of annoyance – well, mostly from the Ace but some general grumblings – and as the last person, a girl with dark skin and curly hair, curtsied to Lovino and gracefully exited the stage, the square seemed to quiet down. Arthur noticed that a few members, mostly clad in red, were leaving the square, probably disappointed by the result. But he also noticed that at least two thirds of the square were packed by figures clad in blue clothes. There was a lot more competition than he initially thought there was going to be, he thought with a shiver.
"All right, I guess this is the big one tonight. But like everyone else, it's only ten this year. So our first number is 24493," Lovino announced, and there was a quick rush of papers and checking for the five digits.
"Oh," Natalya said next to him, and he quickly turned around to face her. The light blue paper she was holding in her hands had the numbers 24493 were printed in bold font. "Huh. Guess our deal's on, anyway."
"Wait, but I don't even know if I'll get in-" Arthur began awkwardly, but she had already made her way up to the stage and with an outstretched hand, she handed him her unfolded letter. With a flourish Lovino took it, and she stalked off the stage to the right of the stage when she was gestured, different from the other two kingdoms. Maybe there was something to do with the geographical side of things?
Feeling a little unsettled about Natalya's confidence that he would indeed get into the process, he dug back into his pocket and mulled over the piece of paper. While the next two candidates were called up, one to loud cheers in the sectioned off area, and one to polite claps from his table.
Rereading the 01310 printed on his page, he turned around to scan his information once more.
Okay, my name's correct, they've printed my middle name this time. My age – blimey, am I really that old? Never mind…all right, they've changed my gender from not applicable to male, thank goodness-
"Please save your little goodbyes for later!" Lovino bellowed. His hands were cupped around his mouth and it appeared like he was shouting as normal, but as Arthur looked a little harder it seemed like his cupped hands were almost…vibrating?
Perhaps he was using magic to amplify his voice?
He was so invested in his thoughts that he didn't even catch the seventh number being called out.
"Next – the number of 01310!" Lovino called, and Arthur noticed the people sitting next to him pulling out their papers and checking their number. That was a good idea, it…
…Again, neatly inscribed on his paper were the five little numbers. Zero, one, three, one, zero. Arthur's gaze flew open in shock, and he heard Lovino repeat it again, sounding a little more impatient than he had last time. But there was absolutely no mistaking that the number belonged to him.
"Yo, are you deaf or something, dude?" The boy sitting two seats away from him and leaned over his shoulder and was staring at his paper. "That's, uh, your number. You have to go up, man."
…well, with that, all plans of a bluff were immediately called off. Arthur scooped up his sheets and slowly walked up to the podium to clapping from the holding facilities' table and polite clapping from the fenced off area.
"Don't leave me waiting so long, kid," Lovino grumbled, but he thrust out a leather gloved hand anyway. "Papers, you."
Arthur unfurled them, shakily handing them to the Ace as he leafed through them. He removed his glove and placed them on the papers. A few seconds passed, then he tucked it under his arm and slid his glove back on.
"Congrats. Exit's on the…on the right. Carriages will be there to take you off. Now shoo!" he said, and Arthur complied like he had been taught to all his life, bowing quickly before exiting the packed square, still a little dazed and more than overwhelmed.
"Hey sir, the seventh one's coming!" he heard a call when he went down the steps and came to a stretch of road. Ten extravagant carriages like the Ace had said, laced in rich blue and pulled by idle horses, were waiting. Presumably, six were already filled.
"My lady, please keep it down." A man was standing outside the procession, dressed in blue robes as well. "Sir, what is your given number?"
"Er, 01310," Arthur answered, skipping a beat. The man pulled out a small silver device, one that was the exact same shape and colour to the one that Ace Lovino was holding. With a poised finger, he did a dragging motion on the screen of the device, and after a few moments he snapped it shut and tucked it into his pocket.
"Welcome, Sir Arthur, to the Spades Deciding." he said, his back straightening. "Please alight onto carriage seven, we have an official on call to announce protocol if you need to. Otherwise, there are a section of papers that you may read on the way to the Spades palace to understand what this process requires of you."
Arthur nodded dumbly as he led him to the carriage and helped him get on, even though he tried his best to refuse. The seats were plush and a lighter shade of blue, and he crossed his legs and drew the curtains when the man was gone.
On the seat next to him lay a neat folder, marked with blue and white. Picking it up, he leafed through the contents. There were the standard things such as rules, and a printed copy of some of the basic laws. Most interestingly, there were a section of tips about how to handle the whole process.
It is highly advised that you attend to all of the breakfasts, lunches and dinners served instead of taking them in your room. Even though you can eat alone if you wish, most drama and some interactions take place in the dining hall.
"Can't I just hole up in my room and have dinner up there?" Arthur asked himself. Being surrounded in a room of thirty people and the prince while they flirted and giggled instead of actually eating? No thank you.
If the prince or princess asks for you, at any time and any place, it is highly recommended that you attend to him or her. If they do not know whether they like females or males, it is advised that you ignore this fact and proceed on with the process as normal. As the Deciding goes on, the prince or princess will decide freely, regardless of sexual orientation, as Spades does not discriminate against same sex relationships. If they find out their true orientation they will not restart the Deciding in favour of choosing those exclusive to that gender. This makes the process fairer for all parties involved.
"…good point. I mean, if he turns out to be mysteriously heterosexual, then that's all my time wasted, then."
"Sir?" he was interrupted by a knocking on his carriage door. "Is there something wrong? Do you need an official on call?"
"A-ah, I'm sorry! There's nothing wrong at all." Arthur yelped, embarrassed. Was he really that loud?
"Talking to himself? Is he crazy or what? Are these the kind of weirdoes I'm going to have to spend the next few months with?" he heard a girl grumble outside, and he heard the carriage creak behind him. She must be number eight…or nine? Given the speed of the process, number ten could be on the carriages by now.
He twisted his mouth into a scowl, and wished he could retaliate. Placing the folder back onto his lap, he was about to put the paper back in until he noticed a sentence, printed smaller at the bottom of the sheet.
Do try to not deny the prince or princess of anything they ask of you. It was a bad idea.
A chill ran down his back as he read it. What did they mean? Were they suggesting that they had done it before with the use of the word was?
His thoughts were rudely interrupted (again) with the commotion up front. All of a sudden, his carriage was moving, and he was left to wallow in the fact that he, of all people, had managed to enter the Deciding.
Oh, bollocks. Oh, bollocks indeed.
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