i'm 100% sure no one is going to read this, but i started working on this again lol.
as always, i do not own the selection nor hetalia. these belong to kiera cass and himaruya hidekaz respectively.
The first thought that occurred to Arthur was that compared to the rest of the Chosen, he might be kicked out - read romantically dismissed - before he could say Deciding.
He already missed Kiku dearly, the comfort of his best friend having faded from his side already, to be replaced with caution as the official came into his carriage, papers in hand and an expression on her face that told Arthur that this protocol had been rehearsed before several times.
The carriage started moving, the sound of the horse's hooves matching Arthur's heartbeat.
"Number Seven of Hearts, is that correct?" she said after pulling the curtains in the carriage closed - for privacy, he assumed. At his nod, her expression lightened a little. "Good. Congratulations on being Chosen."
"Thank you," Arthur said awkwardly, dipping his head as he was not quite clear on how to respond.
"Right. Can I ask if you have found an extra slip of paper on the orientation notes? A sentence printed smaller than the others?"
"Yes, I have," Arthur said, "It said 'Do try to not deny the-"
"Yes, well, please ignore that," she said with a dismissive flick of her wrist, though Arthur could sense that she wasn't completely relaxed. "The usual meddling. It's meant to scare off Chosen candidates, I suppose – we discovered the breach only this morning. Tampering with the process is a pastime of the Joker rebels - such a similar tactic was used with the Clubs, apparently. It means nothing."
"A-All right," Arthur said awkwardly, feeling his shoulders shake along with the carriage. "Will they be a problem-"
"Child, we are going to the castle of Spades, not some youth hostel," she said, sounding almost bored as she lifted her clipboard closer to her face. "There is nothing to fear, largely."
Largely, Arthur muttered to himself internally, but decided to not push her further as she looked through his papers. Closing his eyes a little, he allowed himself to wonder about Kiku's predicament. How was he faring? Was he at the Hearts palace already?
"You've been with the holding facilities since you were eight, I see," she said, half to herself and half to him. "I'm reading your initial report from your date of entry. There is an introductory segment every Deciding, letting us know about the candidates, and it is my duty to create one that suits your needs."
Arthur could only nod in his confusion - he had some sort of memory of it from Erin's intrigue, but nothing past that. He'd always imagined going to university, finding a job in the Inner Circles and hopefully saving enough to move his family as well, but as a Deciding candidate?
Who knew whether he could return to his old life?
He rested his forehead against the glass and shut his eyes, enjoying the coolness of the surface and relieved that the curtains were drawn from the outside instead of the inside. He had a gut feeling that he should cherish what little privacy yet, now she'd mentioned television.
He could almost see those offending lights now. Coaxing him forward and asking him endlessly for details about his personal life with a guy he'd just met...
Well, Arthur was lucky to be able to read a paper or two, and even though there wasn't a television in his and Kiku's room, there was one at the commons room of the whole block, so they did sneak in a few glances when they could. That little warning he'd gotten from his experience was pretty indispensable.
Occasionally he'd invite his family over to watch the television since they owned a ridiculously small one at home that could barely handle videos and CDs, so for Erin's sake he'd try to arrange a time for her to watch some Deciding coverage.
Already, he'd been asked about an introduction…
"How long is it?"
"Around a minute," she replied, "There's a lot of you to go through - thirty, in fact - so obviously we can't let it drag on for too long."
"Let what drag on for so long?" Arthur asked, hoping it wasn't-
"The television spot, naturally." Never mind. "You'll be speaking after your initial introduction we'll have in the Drawing Room within the palace. Now, I'd recommend you rest for a while. The carriage ride takes around an hour and a half to the palace, so you should probably settle in."
I'll settle in as well as I possibly can, Arthur thought to himself, but folded his arms and reclined a little on the plush seat, closing his eyes. Almost immediately, questions started swirling in his mind – what would the area look like, what did this room she had mentioned look like, would the palace look completely different in person, would...
He lost consciousness faster than he expected.
Alfred's floor length mirror was fogged up by his melting hot breath around six, when he was adjusting his dark mauve tie, fingers flailing on the knot before tugging it around his neck with a firm movement that was too tight for just a moment. His fingers scrabbled underneath his pressed white collar, straightening it out before he moved on to fixing his suit. He'd left it unbuttoned since it was still the summer, but then what if Yao thought it scruffy? Alfred had already spent around half an hour helping his maid fuss over his tie…
"Your Highness, twenty minutes until we go live," his lady in waiting called, eyes roving over his schedule as she waited near his door. "We must be going now."
"Y-Yeah, sorry," Alfred mumbled, ducking his head. He quickly slipped on his pressed shoes and followed her, doing his best to appear cool and uncaring – he wished. "It's just an interview and stuff, right?"
"Pretty much, as well as a short discussion about the Chosen, both individually and as a whole. It's nothing heavy, just give your opinions and answer the questions honestly and correctly, understand?"
"Right," Alfred replied, stuffing his hands in his pockets and trying not to overthink it again. He nodded to the various maids and butlers that were feverishly tidying up the palace for the Deciding, but otherwise stayed silent, running through hundreds of conversations that would never make sense anywhere except his head.
"Oh, you actually made it," Matthew said by way of greeting when Alfred made his way to the Broadcast room, his lady in waiting giving him one last check before breaking off to talk to a small gaggle of advisors, their red pins catching onto the lights of the studio as they conversed. "I thought that you'd never make it down here after this morning."
"Don't tease, Matt," Alfred replied, but touched his twin's arm to remind him that he was slouching again. "Is Yao here yet?"
"Your nervousness is showing all over your face," he said drily, "I don't think you want to be nervous tonight. Do some breathing, okay?"
"Isn't that what I'm doing right now?" Alfred grinned, throwing his arm over Matthew's shoulders. "In, out, all that good stuff.
"Fates, don't give me that snark," Matthew sighed, folding his arms. "You told me all about it this morning. Just keep your cool and don't think about anything else. The mask thing you're going for."
"Yeah. Uh, where are the advisors sitting tonight?" Alfred asked, ducking his head and keeping his voice down as his eyes darted to look at the group with his lady in waiting, pushing away his nervousness.
"Since there's a lot of people coming to watch this live tonight, they're being moved farther away. I put in a word for that, don't worry," Matthew said, his hardened expression softening a little. "If you need anything, just look at me and Yao, okay? Katya's finished her work for now, so you can watch out for her as well. We're on your side, so relax. Tell them your side of the story. As if you're doing the interview with the three of us, eh?"
"Fingers crossed they won't ask for anything too fancy."
"Alfred, it's mostly entertainment, and you know that. They're not going to ask you for a rundown of how the country's functioning. Yao's already up there."
"...okay," Alfred said, sighing and pushing his shoulders backwards until his shoulder blades met, "Thanks for the pep talk, Matt."
"You're welcome, Al," Matthew said, waiting until Alfred removed his arm before squeezing his hand once. "Good luck up there."
I'm going to need it, Alfred thought nervously as he adjusted his cufflinks and squinted amongst the bright lights of the studio.
"So as you all know, tonight in three kingdoms the Deciding started - but unfortunately, we're not here to discuss Clubs and Hearts. With the man of the hour, we're here to talk about the Spades tonight," Yao said to both the camera and the visiting audience, more than usual. "This year, we'll be giving you a glimpse of the thirty candidates before they arrive tomorrow morning! But of course, we would love to know the thoughts going through the golden boy of Cards' head. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming Prince Alfred!"
Alfred put on his best smile and waved cheerfully to the audience, greeting Yao before carefully lowering himself onto his plush chair (no more slouching).
"Thanks for having me, even though you didn't exactly have a choice."
Laughs echoed around the room. Did I do that right?
"By the Fates, Prince Alfred, you're not that terrible," Yao said, smiling a little. "Go on, then. You've taken a look at the candidates and given your thoughts on them - is there anyone you remember that might have been chosen?"
"Uh, I've talked with you, Matthew and Joker Katya about what I should look for, as well as some of the advisors," Alfred started, "And they all said I needed someone to balance me out, for the two of us to make a good king and queen. Someone who's a lot more smart and doesn't rush into stuff like I do. I guess that's why I decided to serve so much time in the military…"
Oh no. Self deprecating humour. That's not charming- he panicked internally, though the audience seemed to be amused.
"Don't be so hard on yourself," Yao replied, touching his forearm, subconsciously causing Alfred to pick up his smile in return. "You've served your country in more ways because of that. But I'm interested to know - what are you looking for in a partner?"
"Oh," Alfred said, and instantly blushed - to his half embarrassment, half relief, the audience merely cooed at his cute expression. It would probably go into a magazine tomorrow morning. "I...I haven't really given it a thought before this…"
"Isn't that sweet?" Yao said, clearly trying to amp up the moment of appeal to the enthusiasm of the crowd. "There's got to be something you're looking out for, though. The Deciding could help you, but do you have a small idea? Some characteristics?"
"I guess," Alfred said, rubbing the small of his back, "But I don't want to discourage anyone applying before they're even here, so things can change. I know that once I get to know all of them, my mind will think of different things, maybe different people. Again, I won't say I'm anything but inexperienced in love. Being a royal hasn't really given me any time to be dating around, so I'm glad that the Deciding will give me a chance."
Was that too forced? The audience seems pleased, though, so I guess it's okay. But I haven't really answered his question.
"Uh, that's to say," Alfred said, trying not to stumble over his words as he realized his mistake, "I'd want someone that would see me as their equal, not greater than them just because I was born into this position. I also like someone to speak what's on their mind, and not hold back. Other than that, I'm very much open to anyone."
"Does gender play any role in your choice?" Again, a kind of loaded question...since I guess people around Cards are tuning in, I should stand firm.
"No, of course not," Alfred said, sitting up in his chair a little more. "If you're talking about queen, that's not a concern of mine - and if it's about a partner, absolutely not. It doesn't - and won't - matter to me."
Light applause from the audience. Alfred allowed himself to exhale once, then turned back his attention away from keeping himself perfect and to Matthew, who gave him a thumbs up down in the audience. Katya was sitting next to him, who smiled a little in his direction, causing his shoulders to relax.
"How do you feel about their arrival tomorrow morning?" Yao asked, after the applause had died down. "Feelings, thoughts?"
"Nervous, mostly," Alfred admitted, leaning a little forward and placing his hands between his legs in a clasped motion. "Even though I know they're kind of supposed to impress me, I want to impress them too. You know, with my horseback riding skills and my bad jokes."
Laughs from the audience again – yay! Alfred half wished for the camera to count his knowing smirk as the money shot so that he could retire to his room and spend eight hours staring up at the wall wondering what in the name of the Fates he was gonna do. He couldn't exactly fish out his pocket watch and stare at it in front of a few million people.
"As harsh on yourself as always, my prince," Yao laughed, garnering a similar reaction from the audience, and possibly the numerous people around a television set. Are the parents of my future partner watching now? Alfred wondered. "Would you want to have a live reaction to the ones Chosen?"
"Yeah, sure, if the audience doesn't mind," Alfred said, giving both the seated audience and the camera a winning smile, throwing a wink in for good measure. Money shot done. Please?
"In that case, please give us a few minutes to let us set up the screen for your viewing pleasure," Yao said, and as soon as the cameras had come down he nodded once at Alfred, reaching over to pat his knee, ponytail falling over his shoulder.
"Good work, Alfred," he said in a low voice – even though the microphones had shut down for a few moments, it would be best to only be heard as background noise. "If I was a viewer I wouldn't suspect you were nervous at all."
"You're the man, Yao," Alfred grinned, placing his hand over his mentor's. "Fates, I hope I don't look too ugly when I see all the people I already don't deserve."
"Alfred, my boy, honestly," Yao replied, pursuing his mouth for a moment. "Even though the Deciding is marketed as entertainment, for me it's mainly for you to find someone you love. You can be taught to be a royal, but love can't be instructed - so that's why I want you to look for that before you look for a queen."
"Like Mom and Dad wanted," Alfred said, his chin dipping for a moment, eyes glassing over. Yao took the opportunity to wrap him in a hug, hands slowly rubbing his back as years of helping to raise the princes had taught him to. Alfred twitched a little at the pleased response of the audience, but gladly accepted his comfort.
"I know for a fact that you deserve these people - some might not even deserve you, really," Yao said, head only up to Alfred's ears but still managing to meet his eyes. "You'll do a lot better than you imagine. I promise."
"Even with all the time I spent in the military?"
"Who doesn't love a rugged soldier?" Yao countered, raising an elegant eyebrow. "You're surely aware how popular you are in Spades alone."
"Thanks, Yao," Alfred replied, giving his mentor a squeeze. He hoped the wobble in his voice could start to tell him how much his support had meant to him over the years. "Would you like to tell me, though?"
"Don't push it, little one," Yao snorted, returning the squeeze before detaching from him. "Right, we'd best be off. Back to work."
The lights came back up, then Alfred steeled himself for the hardest job tonight.
Arthur woke up to a dark, empty carriage.
There were small, soft murmurs lingering at the back of his subconscious, exclamations and conversations tied up in each other as he scrambled to sit with his back to the carriage, a little disoriented due to the darkness. The carriage had stopped moving, but his official was nowhere to be seen, and the doors were still shut.
Since the distance between kingdoms was so great that it could not be quickly crossed within a few hours even by chartered plane, the Clubs and Diamonds candidates usually arrived into the afternoon of the next day, so the Deciding didn't actually officially start until tomorrow. Good for Arthur, who just wanted to take a bath and sleep.
He sat there, awkwardly, feet pressed together and eyes reflecting the glass pane that sat in front of the carriage to protect the drivers – even they were gone now – before someone knocked at his door and flatly ushered him out. Arthur winced a little at the squeak as it opened, but was relieved to have some sort of direction so he didn't feel completely lost.
"Sir Arthur, is that correct?" a guard, from the looks of his blue and white uniform, was the one to greet him as he left the carriage in such a way that their old etiquette professor would not approve of. Without even waiting for an answer, he handed Arthur a clipboard and gave him nod. "Please make your way into the palace and follow the other Chosen for the induction. Thank you for your service to the monarchy."
I haven't even done anything yet, but all right, Arthur thought to himself, but thanked the guard and made his way to the vast structure, which dwarfed him in size alone. He'd seen it in pictures pinned up on boards and printed on textbooks – there hadn't been an authorised visit for obvious reasons – but it compared little to what he saw in real life. At least that was a question answered.
Though the sky was completely dark, it only served to make the palace shine even brighter in its midst. Truly, there was no need to spare any expense – even if not every room was lit up, the outside bedazzled without failure. Arthur himself couldn't help gawking whilst he ascended the steps as even studying and watching the structure couldn't measure up to real life.
Feeling more that intimidated, he followed the seven people ahead of him into a lavish entrance – even though it felt like it would swallow him up, those golden gates would look exquisite doing so.
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