as always, i do not own the selection nor hetalia. these belong to kiera cass and himaruya hidekaz respectively.
The bleary morning sun rose in the room, and Arthur's eyes were as well to match them.
Was it really already the sunrise? He wondered how Kiku was doing.
Arthur hoped he was doing well.
He decided to start the day as usual - Kiku was always out and about at least an hour before Arthur, so it was eerily quiet, but he would always go to the toilet uninterrupted, so he did just that. Arthur tried to convince himself that it was the same as his usual routine, but there was a strange emptiness that was offset by his best friend's now lost presence.
Taking a quick shower, which was needed to get rid of his bleary eyes, he used his old, homely shampoo, which Kiku always used to complain smelled overwhelmingly of roses. Hurriedly brushing his teeth and even more quickly brushing his hair - it always stayed ruffled and messy, too many people always mistook it for a bedhead whatever he did - he pulled on the outfit he wore to the first day because his wardrobe was empty.
In the midst of him glaring at his own reflection in the mirror on the desk, there was a knock on the door.
"Oh - come in, come in!" he said, giving his face another impatient tug – when had that crease gotten there? Did he sleep on the wrong side of the bed again?
The door creaked open, and a girl with dark skin and brown hair tied into a bun entered, one hand on the door, one hand clutching a hamper basket. Arthur could tell that she was apprehensive, so he attempted to relax a little in his chair.
"Hello, Sir…Arthur?" she said slowly, placing down the basket behind the door and doing a curtsy. "I-"
"Yes, that's me," Arthur blurted, then apologised quickly as he realised he'd interrupted her. Even though he had attended a holding facility, he hadn't been aided by a maid. "It's very nice to meet you. And you, er, are?"
"My name is Anna, and I'll be your maid for the duration of your stay in the palace. I've been assigned to aid you." Her hands were fidgeting behind her back already, though she looked him firmly in the eyes. "Is there any assistance you need at the moment?"
"Oh, I...it's very nice to meet you, Anna. About assistance, er, there's no work for now...it's fine."
"Are you sure there isn't?" she asked, sounding taken aback. "There's no need to be shy, Sir Arthur. What about, perhaps, your things that needs to be unpacked?"
"Not sure about you, but my unpacking methods include only taking them out when I need them. No wonder why I lose things all the time." he joked awkwardly.
To his relief, she laughed, nodding along. "Ah, Sir Arthur, this is going to be an interesting clash of personalities. I'm constantly chastised by my fellow maids that I'm overly heavy on the details."
"I could use some of that - I wonder if we spend enough time, that's going to rub off on me?"
"I do hope I'll be of use to you that way as well," she smiled. Sure, there had been an ample amount of hesitation between them, but there was a mischievous glint in her eye that reminded Arthur dearly of his family.
They began to talk again, but she took a glance at the clock above his desk and sighed.
"Sir Arthur, I have to cut this short, but I'm needed downstairs for prep, and I believe there's an event you must attend to soon. I'll trust that you'll call for me if you need anything?"
"No, I'm all right," Arthur responded, peeking at the time – she was right, he would be needed in the Drawing Room in half an hour. "Thank you very much for your assistance – the room looks pristine." At least, I'm assuming she did...
"That's good, the room took an age to prepare," she grinned, clearly very proud of herself as she picked up her hamper basket. "Though there's something I have to mention – your closet is empty for now as you'll be undergoing fittings and whatnot today."
"Thank you for notifying me, Anna. Erm, I assume I'll be busy, so we'll meet tomorrow?"
"Yes, of course – though if you need me, don't feel shy about calling on me. Be back tomorrow!" Anna replied, nodding to him before she walked out of his room, a skip in her step.
Arthur watched her go with an amused smile on his face before resuming his nervous scrutiny.
As soon as he got to the Drawing Room, he realised that a majority of the people had arrived early. He noticed that even though essentially everyone had been assigned the same outfit, some were attempting to stand out with other parts of their appearance. One of them was arguing with one of the servants already, looking more agitated with every second, three people were already talking next to the windows. Standing in their midst, was a familiar shade of hair. After walking a little closer, to his surprise he realised that it belonged to Natalya, the girl he met whilst in line.
"Guess competition's heating up quickly." one of the girls commented as Arthur got closer, clasping and unclasping her blossom shaped locket. "
"And Prince Alfred isn't even here yet!" one of the boys, his hands pulling at his red tie. "Neither are the candidates from Diamonds and Clubs. It's a little odd."
"I wonder what's so special about Prince Alfred that has everyone swooning before he's even in the room." Natalya sighed, her eyes scanning the room until they came to rest on an apprehensive Arthur. "Oh – so you made it, after all." For some reason, she didn't seem nearly as surprised as Arthur was.
"Somehow," Arthur replied, not sure how to react. "Er – nice to meet you, everyone, my name's Arthur."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Mei." The girl speaking had a most distinct necklace that she wore, and she looked at Arthur with big eyes. "It's great to meet you!"
"Mark," the other boy in the group said. The most noticeable trait was the splattering of freckles on the bridge of his nose, and his hair was almost as mussed as Arthur's, though he had a foreboding expression that made him come off as intimidating. "Say, the two of you met before?"
"Partly," Natalya said, folding her arms. "We're both from Spades."
Before Arthur could add something, or the other two could ask more questions, there was a small commotion at the entrance of the Drawing Room.
"Hey guys, here he comes!" someone cried.
Arthur turned to face the entrance, and Jack Yao strode out confidently, his long, blue sleeves billowing. Behind him came the Ace Matthew, his figure slightly hunched, and having his polar bear trail him, but he was his usual Ace garb outfit, a shy smile decorating his face. Seeing him made Arthur remember the bizarre encounter with Joker Gilbert, though sobering up did nothing to prepare him for the last person, as the person leading the rear was Prince Alfred himself.
It was hard for him to even tell that the smiling, handsome prince was the same one that he'd studied about and seen plastered on the news everywhere. He had a sense of regality surrounding him, only enhanced by the getup he was wearing. Prince Alfred was wearing a blue suit, tie and all, with a loose trench coat bearing the Spades symbol. On his neck hung a clock in the shape of a Spade. When it was out in a room as vast as this, it seemed to shine brighter, catching the light of the chandelier. Something about him made Arthur stare.
There was certainly a buzz as soon as they entered. Nervous giggles erupted around the room, Mei flushed a little, and Arthur could even hear a loud, dreamy sigh. Arthur didn't feel any sort of shock, but was impressed nonetheless.
"Nice clock Prince Alfred's got there." Mark commented, and Arthur had to agree, but not diverting his glance from Alfred's face.
"Hello, everyone! As you may all know, I'm Prince Alfred, and it's very nice to meet you all! But first, please eat your breakfast - I'm looking forward to chatting with you all later!" Alfred began, tone brandishing confidence, somehow knowing that everyone's gazes were fixated on him.
Arthur would have liked to lie and say that he was immune, but lying didn't come as naturally to him as he would have liked it to.
As they were all led into the vast dining hall, and sat down, chattering amongst themselves, Alfred started on his cereal, but he couldn't hold his spoon without having his hands tremble. Hopefully no one noticed.
"Relax, Al, you've got this. You're holding up very well, having all those eyes fixated on you," Matthew encouraged, digging into his heap of pancakes with a fountain of maple syrup, though he was thinking about what Gilbert had told him. Speaking to his friend in the holding facilities...who would he be?
"He's right, you're doing very well, Alfred. I remember my mother told me a story about your father - on his first day, he tripped when he was entering the room!" Yao smiled, his knife deftly spreading some butter on his toast. He raised his voice a little, as to gauge who was trying to tune into their conversations, and for the newly installed cameramen. It garnered some smiles.
"Really? Father tripped?" Alfred asked, now rather interested, Matthew leaning in closer.
"Yes. He was too busy going very red at everyone's stares and he spun around and landed on the floor, and all the girls swarmed around him, trying to help him up! He was terrified! Chun-Yan had to help him up, it was so funny!" he laughed, deferring to the late Jack of Spades, his mother.
"That sounds like some sorta omen..." Alfred said nervously, but he managed to put a spoonful of cornflakes and chew.
"I don't know how to act amongst the rest of the Primary Suits, so I can't imagine how much harder it must be with a group of strangers." Matthew said lightly, patting his brother on the back. "Promise. You're doing quite well."
"I trust you, but...what if everyone turns their noses up at me just because I don't know about...anything?"
"Nonsense, everyone already loves you, I'm certain. Did you see the small cluster before we just came in? I felt like everyone was already swooning as soon as you entered."
"Yeah, uh..." Alfred flushed a little, thinking of the girl with dark bangs. "One of them was…her name was Sakura, I think. I was doing some last minute memorisation, so." he trailed off.
"You've already memorized her name? I'm impressed, Al." Matthew teased, but internally felt a worm of relief. At least he wasn't completely despairing about the batch he chose.
"Well, there's at least something," Yao said, "but if you really like her, you should make friends with her. Get to know her better, and do the same for the other candidates. This Deciding is your choice, and yours alone, Alfred."
Alfred nodded, remaining silent for a moment before spearing his fork playfully in Matthew's strawberry and biting into it. This garnered some fond looks. "After we enjoy breakfast, though."
"Alfred..." Matthew grumbled, though it was largely half hearted. Maybe he should have done some research, so he could have identified the 'Arthur' person this morning.
"As many of you have noticed, not everyone is able to join us as of right now owing to the fact that geographically, Clubs and Diamonds are quite far away. As a result, we've decided to have Alfred meet you in batches, so that there is more time to get to know one another. Afterwards, please come to Ace Matthew and I outside the Drawing Room to pick up your orientation pack and information. Understood?"
"Yes, Jack Yao," everyone said in unison as soon as the plates had been cleaned and the table rendered spotless once more. Alfred stood, and twenty odd pairs of eyes fixated on him. He appeared to take a deep breath before speaking, and when he did their attentions were firmly fixed on him.
"I hope everyone enjoyed their breakfast," Alfred smiled, causing the room to murmur their agreements. "I'm glad to hear it! Chairs have been set out outside of the Drawing Room, so I can have some private time with each and every one of you. I'll be going by the Spades kingdom first in alphabetical order, first names, so please sit in that order."
That was why Arthur managed to get himself into the very start of the Hearts line. There wasn't a clock in the foyer where they all sat, so he sat there with a slightly bloated stomach that didn't do any favours for him when one by one, the people in front of him left to speak with the prince.
What would the prince be like in person? Arthur suspected that there was something more to him than the person they saw on television – surely no one could look like that and have a perfect personality to boot. Or maybe that just was the requirement of a royal person? What if they ran out of things to say and just sat awkwardly in their seats until the attendants asked him politely to exit the room?
Forget exiting the room, what about the entire Deciding? He knew that putting in a word, or even discussing Heracles would be out of the question by then, but what about the strange conversation with the Joker Gilbert? Would he ask someone else to keep an eye on Ace Matthew? Would he be able to notify Kiku? Would he go straight back home, or be offered something else by the holding facility, or-
He felt a light tap on the shoulder, administered by a girl whose hair was pulled back into a neat bun. "I'm sorry, but maybe you should move up the line."
"Sorry, I'm just...a little nervous," Arthur said, before remembering his manners. "Arthur, by the way. It's nice to meet you too."
"I'm Avie, you as well," came the response. "I think we were in the same holding facility. Weren't you one of the highest ranking students in the final year scores for magic? Kirkland, right?"
"That might be me, yes," Arthur replied – hoping that not that many people would pick up on their conversation, jealousy was the last thing he'd need. "Fifth, I think – though I don't think we were in the same class."
"No worries, I just read it on the bulletin. No pressure, though. Grats on entering the competition," she said, and offered him a genuine smile that Arthur was more than grateful to return. If somehow he managed to stay, it was nice to see that someone had a similar experience to him.
"You as well-"
"Sir Arthur, is that correct?" someone opened the door, looking directly into the line of people outside. "You're up next."
Alfred wasn't quite sure what to expect before Arthur Kirkland came into the room. Well, that would be a half truth, because he'd gone through the selection process and picked him out, but there had been a lot of surprises today, both pleasant and not so pleasant. The port only included so much information about the Deciding candidates; it couldn't gauge their compatibility. Alfred had already garnered three people that he wasn't sure would suit either the role of Queen or as his partner.
Though there was one thing he had to remind himself of especially when meeting him...
Don't laugh at the eyebrows, don't stare at the eyebrows, don't make fun of the eyebrows, don't mention the eyebrows, and don't breathe about the eyebrows.
He was more than qualified, came from a holding facility, had serious potential for magic, applied only to Spades, not to mention looked quite cute, but...those eyebrows didn't fail to make Alfred laugh every time, just a little. As in how did he manage to get them so bushy, how he managed to keep them, how-
Door's opening. Shut up, Alfred reminded himself, twisting his fingers in his inner shirt. Keep it together, he'd have nine of them left after him – not to mention, names he'd had to keep in mind, questions he'd had to ask-
"Your Highness, Arthur Kirkland from Hearts," came the attendant's voice, shaking Alfred out of his carefully curated routine. There was a small shuffle of feet, and then Arthur Kirkland appeared.
What first came to mind was that Arthur was very composed. Alfred had heard many squeals, or exclamations of excitement, or simple gasps, he couldn't hear anything from the other boy in the room other than a sharp intake of breath. Was he as nervous as Alfred was?
Arthur sat down in the seat opposite Alfred, and took a deep breath. Somehow...the guy was cuter in real life. Something about his lips that made Alfred want to stare...then there was the slight pink on his cheeks...then those eyes, damn...then moving up his face-
Alfred completely forgot all the mental training he'd prepped himself for and burst into laughter.
Arthur did not sputter. He simply didn't. It was rude and ungentlemanly, but when the literal crown prince, future king of Spades, started laughing, he couldn't help but gawk.
Oh Fates. This was it. He'd better start packing his bags. Good lord – being eliminated like this? Arthur desperately hoped that the walls were sound proof, because he was more than tempted to yell a series of very ungentlemanly swears. Thank the Fates that these weren't recorded, because he would be the laughingstock of not only Spades, but Cards-
"Oh, Sir Arthur, I'm so sorry," Prince Alfred spluttered. He removed his glasses, wiped them, and faced him again. "I'm really sorry. What I meant to-"
"You could just eliminate me right now," Arthur bristled indignantly, getting up from his seat. "I just did not expect this sort of uncouth behaviour from a future king, that is all. Say it now and I will gratefully leave this room."
He regretted his small outburst almost immediately, though he really did feel indignant. Good lord, I've gone too far. Palace guards are going to show up and maul me-
Laughing – again?! He was tempted to start throwing his chair. "No...not at all," Alfred laughed, wiping off tears in his eyes. "Oh man, I'm just the worst, aren't I? You're completely right, Sir Arthur."
Oh...man? Arthur gaped; his mouth a perfect o. Is this prince real? Has he not received any coaching in manners? What sort of behaviour is this?
"Let's just start over, yeah?" Arthur felt the prince reach out for his arm, though thankfully he paused and clumsily rerouted it to the chair, patting it once. Ha, Arthur grumbled, serves you right. "Please, Sir Arthur, sit. If you wish to remain, of course."
It had been an exceedingly awkward minute, but Arthur decided to humour him nonetheless. Not that it had to do with the smile on his face, but just so he'd avoid being sent home in a most humiliating fashion. It would be quite uncouth for his journey to end.
"Your Highness, I must ask – what have I done to offend you and cause you to laugh in such a manner?" Arthur huffed, unable to hide his dissatisfaction. "I did not even speak for you to deliver such a judgement."
"It was a mistake. It's just, well...with the awkward silence at the start, and from what I've garnered from you from examining your profile, it's just that you're not what I expected," Alfred said. Arthur hunted for some sort of insincerity, or a mocking tone, but found none of that.
"Not to mention, I've never commanded the attention of so many exquisite people in a day, so I've had quite a few embarrassing mishaps like this, so to speak. With all honesty, Sir Arthur, you've done nothing but be gracious to my foolish self. Is there anything I can do to repay you?"
Who's this person? Arthur thought internally, feeling even more frazzled. Gone was the boy king; in place was a future monarch. Surprisingly, though, it did not deter him, rather brew a tentative intrigue. Perhaps there was more to Prince Alfred than he really thought?
Pushing away his irritation, he spoke. "Erm, I can't possibly think of a favour, but...I would like to start again. If we have the time, of course."
Alfred smiled again, something that seemed to make Arthur's stomach uneasy – he was not sure if it was in a good or a bad way. "I, uh, that's not a favour at all. I owe you that little...though if you can't think of a favour for now, you can hold me to it later, yeah?"
"Later? As in, later in the competition? I thought you were poised to eliminate me," Arthur said. Though he wasn't wholly convinced that the prince had started laughing just because of nerves, he'd decided to pick his battles especially when the Deciding had just started. "As in, right this instant."
"No, no – not at all, Sir Arthur." After seeing Arthur visibly relax, Alfred decided to divert back to his usual programming, seeing he'd already screwed it up so badly. "So, you're from the holding facilities, correct? In Hearts."
"Yes, the one by the West Bank, near the Inner Circle. I applied when I was very young, to support my family." he said. Excellent, a simple question, something to stop himself from seething. At least, he assumed that the other candidates would be quite candid about why they chose to sign up to be in the holding facilities, and he had no reason to lie about anything.
"That's admirable, Sir Arthur," Alfred replied – was that a hint of genuine admiration in his expression? – "Can I ask, do they live in Spades? Or Hearts?"
"I think for now, yes," Arthur said, "Though when I applied, we were living in the Hearts region, so that's the reason I come from there instead."
Alfred nodded once, his eye contact unwavering. Arthur took this as a good sign – after what had happened, he'd better have commanded his full attention. "Could you tell me a little more about them?"
"Well..." Arthur said, thinking back to the last time he was permitted to go home, "My parents are no longer with us, but there's six of us siblings, including me. I have an older brother, Allistor, an older sister, Erin, then there's Christian and Cormac. There's me, then the youngest, Dylan."
He paused for a moment, waiting for the usual hum of sympathy that he would instantly deflect, but it didn't come. Of course, Prince Alfred had lost his parents as well. Perhaps he knew the feeling better than he'd expected him to.
"Woah, that's a massive family. Is it a headache when you go home to visit?"
"Yes, if you could imagine," Arthur replied, letting the first semblance of a smile slip from his mouth. "I'm used to living in a quiet area, as my roommate and I didn't make much noise, but we're quite a rowdy bunch when put together, my family and I. I'm not permitted to visit them much, but when I do it's always a good time. Though I must admit, it's a lot of us shouting at each other."
"That sounds nice," Alfred said. Something in his voice was wistful, exacerbated as he continued to talk. "I'm sure you've guessed, but the palace is pretty quiet most of the time. There's only so many hours you can fill in with studying and listening to everyone in court, not to mention only being able to leave for only a super small amount of time."
Hm. Arthur was surprised that there appeared to be a lack of things for Prince Alfred to do in an establishment as vast as the Spadian palace. Only being there for less than twenty four hours made him feel as if he were enclosed in a vast maze without an exit, though he did somewhat understand the feeling of not being able to leave. Even though they were allowed to leave the holding facilities on the weekends only, the early days of being able to roam around freely before he'd entered had frustrated him when he was young.
"I do see that, though..." Arthur hesitated before asking. "Can I ask – during your free time, what do you do? As in hobbies, interests, activities...?"
For some reason, this seemed to take Alfred aback. Surely it's not rude to ask the prince about his hobbies, Arthur thought. Or did I miss out that rule when I was asleep?
"...er, I do not wish to offend-"
"No, no," Alfred said quickly, shaking his head. Arthur's eyes tracked the small cowlick bouncing as he did so, though they darted back down to his face if not to appear rude. "It's just that I haven't really talked about that with anyone else, you know? Everyone else is so interesting that I've just wanted to talk about themselves, but..."
"Oh," Is this appropriate? Speaking about his interactions with the other Chosen? Though Arthur wasn't exactly incredibly surprised; Prince Alfred's behaviour wasn't exactly orthodox as it was already. "I do want to hear about your hobbies, Your Highness. Truly."
"Okay, I'm glad to talk about them," Alfred said, tilting his head to one side. Though Arthur wasn't quite sure what it meant, he did find it just a little bit endearing – a little bit, mind you. At least, that's what he thought until the prince went off at top speed. "I really like horse riding! I have a horse, Butterscotch, I also like doing exercise, there's a huge gym in the palace and a pool for the summer, I'm interested in studying archaeology, watching movies, uhh...watching the sky, what was it – astronomy, yeah! – and heroes! I'm...oh, I'm sorry."
"Pardon?" Arthur blinked. Yes, he had been slammed with a freight train of knowledge, but hopefully nothing on his expression had shown him something that he didn't mean to. "I don't mean to be rude, Prince Alfred – why did you stop?"
"I, uh..." Alfred stammered, looking completely unkempt once again, his face completely mottled, hair dithering in front of his face. "I'm really sorry. It's just, uh, I forgot. About not taking up much of your time. It was just a bunch of babbling, I guess."
Honestly, Arthur could not really tell whether the prince was being honest or not. Even though he couldn't really understand a good chunk of what he had said, a sincerity flowed out from those words that he had been hard pressed to hear when seeing the prince on television. A reluctant curiosity sprung in his mind – how much was the prince putting on airs?
"No, not at all, Your Highness," Arthur began gingerly, lightly tapping his knee before springing back. What on Earth was he doing? His etiquette teacher would have fainted if she were in the room. "Please, I was intrigued. I'd love to hear more about your passions."
Alfred looked up for a moment, blue eyes meeting green. Suddenly, Arthur couldn't help but look, attempting to avoid noticing his own reflection in the prince's eyes. There was a hint of curiosity, as if something was yearning to escape in his gaze, something Arthur hadn't encountered from someone this close. He hadn't, for all his eighteen years, been so close to a stranger; close enough to notice the deep blue, a hint of vulnerability, a different person compared to what was in the public eye.
Though...it wasn't like the future king of Spades was a normal stranger.
After an charged silence, Alfred pulled back a little, laughing awkwardly. "...you really mean it? That it doesn't irritate you, Sir Arthur?"
"Of course not," Arthur huffed, sitting back on his chair, refining his posture, keeping his wits sharp. "I'm not sure if you could tell, but if I was able to forgive you for laughing at me, something as positive as honestly answering a question that I asked would not be an irritation at all."
Alfred blinked, shaking his head a little – somehow, the motion made Arthur think of a confused dog emerging from the water. "Not gonna lie, I'm not that sure what you really meant to say, but I'm thankful you'd let me speak about myself at such length when I'm trying to find more about you, so. Thank you."
What part of that didn't you understand? Arthur wondered privately. He was about to say something else, but the two of them heard the previous attendant come in, then make a small motion at the wrist. Clearly, they had gone a little overtime.
"I'm sorry, Sir Arthur, but it seems as if we'll have to cut this conversation short," Alfred said, and the two of them rose from their seats too suddenly, causing the distance between them to be too close for comfort. "Oops. I'd be delighted to find more about you later, though."
Arthur decided to tease him a little more. "I take it that you mean that I'm not eliminated from the Deciding yet?"
Alfred grinned before gently grasping Arthur's hand and planting a kiss on it. "If ya mean 'I'm not dismissing you', then you're right."
"Who's the next person, Yao?" Matthew asked, sifting through the piles of information packs that were prepared for the Diamonds and Clubs candidates, due to be arriving in a few hours. "Since we're completed with the pool from Spades, would that be the people from Hearts, now?"
"Yes, that would be...Arthur Kirkland, I believe," Yao replied, handing him a pack. "He should be coming out right about now."
The realisation hit Matthew that this was the person Gilbert was talking about made him pause for a moment, but he quickly gathered himself. Acting oddly in Yao's proximity was one of the most sure-fire ways to give up the ghost, so to speak. Composing himself, he simply nodded and took the pack from him.
Surely they couldn't speak about Gilbert right now nor could he reveal the true nature of their relationship, but establishing a point of contact was more reassurance than nothing.
After a few minutes, though, no Arthur had showed up. The now four people sitting in the chairs beside him and Yao were already peering at the door, wondering what was going on. Yao himself seemed confused, looking at the hallway to see if Arthur had exited the other way. Apparently not.
The door stayed closed for a few more minutes until it swung open, revealing a boy with messy blond hair and, erm, relatively thick eyebrows. There didn't seem to be signs of tears or anger, so why did the encounter take longer than usual?
That didn't really matter though if Alfred had asked him to stay behind, so Matthew kept his eyes shut and his stance neutral as Arthur approached Yao.
"Sir Arthur," Yao said once the door swung closed and the next candidate across the hallway had entered the Drawing Room, "Did Prince Alfred request for you to stay behind?"
"Um, no, Your Highness, Prince Alfred did not," Arthur replied, sounding confused. Matthew noticed that it set off some discussion amongst the four behind them, but couldn't quite catch what they were saying.
Yao acknowledged this with a nod, and held out an information pack. "Thank you for notifying us. You are dismissed until dinner at seven - please read through the information pack before you do anything else, understood?"
"Yes, Your Highness," Arthur said, bowing once and taking the pack. Matthew thought he didn't realise his presence until they shared a brief moment of eye contact. The slight surprise in Arthur's eyes told Matthew all he needed to know.
All he had to do was to find a way of establishing contact, meaning there would be another secret to keep...
I didn't even get a chance to mention Heracles to the prince, Arthur thought as soon as he opened the door and latched himself in. He didn't really have the intention of exploring the intricate maze that was the palace, though he could hear the sounds of people around his floor moving around already. Or speak to Matthew.
There's still a lot I don't know, so I suppose I'll be patient and wait. Leafing through the information pack, there was a much needed map of the palace, a timetable of some sorts, and the same paper that he was given in the carriage. He had plenty of time to digest it, it was just that he had trouble digesting the other glaring thing.
That afternoon encounter with the prince was nothing short of odd. He had expected the prince to be a little stranger than fiction, but the sort of behaviour that he had shown today seemed as if he was truly another person behind the demeanour exhibited on television. Somehow, even though Arthur wanted to dislike him immensely for the bizarre laughter at the beginning, there was something strangely compelling about him that made him hesitate.
Exhaling once, Arthur got up to examine the map of the palace closer, the strange enigma of Prince Alfred not quite leaving his mind.
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