hello it is 10pm i am very sorry but i just finished this chapter by the literal skin of my teeth

and yes i promise it'll be the trials next chapter. i swear

(thing is i was planning to split it into two chapters...)

also

IN THE NAME OF JESUS ALMIGHTY 400 REVIEWS. YOU GUYS ARE INSANE AAAAAAAA

THANK YOU SO MUCH! THIS WRITER IS SO HUMBLED ;v;

as always, i do not own the selection nor hetalia. these belong to kiera cass and himaruya hidekaz respectively. disclaimer for more FILLER (i swore it was going to be the trials this chapter but one thing led to another and i'm sitting on a pile of ~3,000 words and tears

"Why weren't you at the lesson yesterday, Arthur?" Yao asked, pausing him at breakfast before they took their places. "I thought you would come, after the other two practically came over, they were so energized."

"I'm sorry," Arthur said quietly, the little bit of euphoria still simmering from yesterday instantly fading. "The prince and I were…well, we walked around the gardens a little and talked for a while."

"Hmm, I see," Yao said, and for a moment he thought that the Jack would be angry. But all he did was nod in understanding, keeping his hands together. "Well, I'm pleased that you got to spend some quality time with him yesterday. However, are you ready for the Trials today?"

"I got a good night's sleep," Arthur offered, to which he nodded.

"Very well, then - ah, it seems like someone wants to talk to you," he said, glancing to the left and watching Alfred's eager expression.

He had managed to coax his charge into wearing the proper attire for such a formal occasion – a dark blue military uniform with a mess of badges pinned onto it, along with a jacket and his main amplifier, would do nicely today.

"I'll see you after breakfast – and you might want to give that jacket to your maid beforehand. Don't want to get food over it, yes?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Arthur said, subconsciously pulling Alfred's bomber jacket around his shoulders. He had bought the item of clothing just for good luck, seeing as he needed it. "Thank you, again."

Yao watched the two of them meet, talking quietly, and noticed their closeness as Alfred's fingers brushed across his palm in the tiniest of kisses, and how easily Arthur reciprocated the touch with a smile. A pang of wistfulness ran through his system as he watched how easily they interacted as Arthur leaned forward a little, as if to tease, and Alfred rubbed the back of his neck in bashfulness.

They didn't have to worry about being caught every single time, didn't have to worry about touching sensitive wounds every time they embraced, no long, impossible gaps every time they parted.

Shaking his head, divulging his thoughts from the king half a world away, he continued onto his seat at the head of the breakfast table, where Matthew had already started cutting into his pancakes.

"Oh - good morning, Yao," he said, looking forward to his mentor – but pausing at his melancholic expression. "Is something wrong?"

"Er, nothing's wrong, Matthew, I was just thinking of the venue arrangements. There's no need to worry." Yao said, snapping back into his focus. Matthew didn't, and couldn't, know about this. "Has Katya awoken yet? I might have forgotten to mention that we might need her today, if she's not busy with our neighbour's new queen."

"She's been back in the palace for two days after the last trip there, so I asked her to come along to help you this morning." Matthew said. "She's hasn't charged up most of her magic yet, but her past training as an Ace surely will help."

Joker Katya, prior to becoming the eldest Joker, had been Ace to Ivan (and Natalya, but that is a secret to most)'s Clubs, but as soon as her brother was born the more traditionalist Kingdom called for her brother's ascension as King seeing that he was a male heir. Wanting to avoid civil war, she humbly took up the position of Ace as the second sibling.

Not long after, though, the then-eldest Joker Aldrich who later was known as the shunned older brother that had fallen for a commoner – a painter - and was cast out by the royal family, in addition to being grandfather to the royal Hearts brothers Ludwig and Joker-born Gilbert. After his subsequent return to the palace when he had declared his relationship with the painter to be null and void, he had liberally used his magic to quell a Diamond invasion and was starting to lose his conscience. Soon, word stemmed from the Hearts palace that there was in need of a Joker replacement soon. In order to curry favour with all of Cards but especially with Hearts to attempt to form an alliance against Spades, Katya's uncle – then King of Clubs – presented her as a Joker, which she took the position up for.

"Right, yes. She said that she'd meet us at the foyer after she tidies up a bit after the trip. I've arranged her maid to deliver her breakfast."

"Ah, Matthew, I'm quite sure everything would be much more difficult without you around," Yao laughed. "But that's a large weight off my shoulders." I don't want to be reminded. "I'll give her the briefing, and you may pick her up from the foyer once you're done with your breakfast."

The Elite had only gotten to their seats, Alfonso and Arthur lightly talking, their eggs half lying untouched on their plates while Emma was eating, her expression muted as she lifted the spoon full of cereal to her mouth. Yao focused on his plate and his bowl of cream soup before standing up and addressing the now tiny table with a loud clearing of his throat, nodding to Matthew who wiped his mouth and excused himself.

"Good morning, everyone," he said evenly, satisfied by the silence that followed. "Today is the day of the Trials, as we have all known. Since it's late December – and you can see the Christmas decorations that we've put up have been collecting dust, which I blame a certain prince for-" Alfred blushed, to the smiles of the Elite – "I would like everyone to wrap up warmly today. There will be warm drinks and hot foods during meals, and if there is nothing eventful we will be able to make it back to the palace for dinner."

"It'll take…around an hour by coach to the venue that we've chosen?" Alfred said, looking to Yao for confirmation, which he gave. "So then the process itself won't take as long. There are two stages – one that you have to do by yourself, and one that I'll help out with. So that's why I have this nifty uniform here and my amplifier."

It was the golden Spade clock that Arthur had seen all those months ago. The tiny Spade was carved as intricately as he remembered, until he caught sight of the center of the clock – it had been coloured bright azure. It ticked steadily, but now it was accompanied with the small but steady thrum of unused magic.

"What's your amplifier for?" Emma asked, her tone dreamy. Obviously it wasn't the amplifier she was interested, rather in his outfit, but nevertheless, it was a good question that Yao didn't want to slouch over.

"I only use it for when I really need to perform cool magic with my queen, when they're chosen." Good idea with staying neutral, Alfred. Don't want to discourage anyone. "So you likely won't see it around a lot. But since today's special, I'll get to use it."

"Besides from that, another person's coming around to help today. We've managed to fit in our Joker Katya to assist just in case."

The underlying tone of Emma's little brother's death was certainly simmering in everyone else's ears, and Yao wanted to provide as much protection as he possibly could for both the trio and Matthew and Alfred.

"I haven't met her before," Alfonso's curious voice came over the small chatter. "I've only read about her in the paper…what's she like in real life?"

"She can be a little quiet, but she's very nice," Yao said warmly. "I'm sure you'll love to get to know her soon. Now, everyone please finish up with their breakfast soon, then get wrapped up warmly and be at the foyer at ten, yes?"

He got general nods and agreements, and with that he tucked in his chair and went back into his room.

The big day had come.

"Any ideas on how to not blast the cameras with anything?" Alfonso asked, wrapping his arms around his shoulders tightly. "They're like beady eyes, staring into my soul."

"I guess we'd be looking to move them, not blast them with anything," Arthur said. Hopefully he wouldn't do anything of the sort. "But I don't know. I wish we didn't have to do it in front of them – anyone, really, for that matter."

"If we're not good enough today, we might not able to be a good queen," Alfonso said quietly. "I really don't want that. Not just for the good of the kingdom, but for Alfred as well."

Arthur nodded, following his gaze to where Emma was sitting staunchly on a chair, her expression terse.

"She's not handling Louis's death very well, especially with the expectation of this whole thing. I mean, I have a gut feeling it's going to be over soon after this."

"I mean, there's no point to stick around after you've already lost," Arthur said. "So why would he keep us around for an extra amount of time?"

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I'm going to get something hot to drink – you coming?"

"No, I'm all right," Arthur said, having followed Emma's gaze to where Matthew and Alfred were alighting from. "Stay warm, okay?" he squeezed Alfonso's hands before the two friends parted.

"Emma, we'll be fine, my dear," Alfred was saying, bundled up in another coat on top of his formal uniform as he walked down. Matthew had a striped blue scarf on top of his formal jacket with matching gold buttons, and seemed to be dealing with the cold reasonably well as he held a cup of a hot drink in his bare hands.

"Are you sure? The rebels…I don't know…"

"We've checked the whole area and asked around the four Kingdoms," Jack Yao said, coming up. "We won't let anyone snatch you up or anyone else, little one."

"Well…if you say so," Emma said shakily. "I'm just a little scared, that's all."

"My dear, it's going to be all right," Alfred said gently, rubbing her shoulders. "Now I guess we should get under the marquee before you catch a cold since it's snowing like no tomorrow!"

Arthur paused a little, biting his lip as to wonder what exact cue he should give that he could purloin Alfred away for a private chat, but as soon as he had seated Emma in an elaborately built chair had he exchanged a few words with Matthew, then caught Arthur's eye.

"Hey, Matt – make sure she gets settled and then help Alfonso, okay? I have to go ask Arthur something," Alfred said, feeling the anxiety in his stomach rise up as soon as he focused on those green eyes.

"Is it about the threat?" Matthew asked tersely, tilting up his glasses. "They reported that they were progressing around the tiny stretch of Clubs border they share with Hearts. They shouldn't be anywhere near here!"

"Yeah, but what if they decide to send in some reinforcements just so they could sabotage it? What if they wanted to play dummy? We can't trust Clubs, either, Matthew," Alfred said tersely. "Fates knows they've always been out for our blood."

"Alfred!" Matthew said sharply, shoving his brother. "That's no way to speak, especially when Katya's around. We all know they wouldn't sink that low. The rebels, however, should be detected if they thought of using magic, and we've brought a lot of soldiers with us today. Plus, both you and Yao can help with the magic side of things, not to mention your super strength. We've got it set. This isn't a time to be pointing fingers at each other."

"…" Alfred looked conflicted, but as soon as he saw a number of people, including a very warmly dressed Joker, he decided to drop it. As much as he disliked Joker Katya's brother, she was agreeable and quite a kind person, if not a little shy. "Fine. But if anything goes wrong today-"

"You'll be sending an angry message to the rebels, not Clubs," Matthew said warningly. "I'll help Yao with setting up. Don't get into trouble."

It was not until a little later that he sought out Alfred's company since he was talking to a number of important looking people. They were all clad in numerous, varying shades of blue except for a tall, very curvy woman with a…well, one would say a significant chest.

She was wearing a dark, raven coloured coat with a furry hat that matched her boots, as long with the short, wiry tail that barely peeked out from the hem of her coat. Katya nodded, subconsciously adjusting the buttons on her coat before speaking to Alfred. He seemed a lot at ease than compared with her brother, and he waited until she placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and he smiled in response.

"I'm sorry if I interrupted something," Arthur said, feeling a little self-conscious. Alfred turned around to face him, asking Katya to pause a moment before his gloved hand enclosed Arthur's bare one.

"Not at all, little one," the Joker said, her tone serene but her eyes warm. "Is he one of your Elite?"

"Yes, he's Arthur," Alfred said, his speech a lot more formal than he was usually.

"It's nice to meet you, Your Highness," Arthur said, doing a little bow and reaching for his hand, before pausing at the velvet. "Um, I'm sorry-"

"Ah no, that's very charming of you," she laughed. "You have a very lovely bunch. I am sure all of them would make a lovely queen."

And with that, she turned around to confer with the Jack Yao again, and Arthur managed to catch a glance of a tail sneaking around before Alfred had brought up his hands to his own mouth.

"Alfred! Wha-" he yelped, surprised, but the prince shook his head and pressed his mouth to his freezing knuckles.

"Princess, what are you doing?" Alfred breathed, his warm breath rolling over his skin. "It's freezing out here. Don't tell me you forgot to bring a pair of gloves!"

"Well, about that…"

"Hey," Alfred said, stuffing Arthur's hands back into his own pockets and yanking off his own gloves. "Wear mine for now, okay?"

"But won't you be cold? I…they're a prince's, it would be improper, I…" Arthur trailed off, his cheeks redder than they were as Alfred carefully slipped his hands into the pockets.

"That won't matter soon enough," he said. "I need you to be warm now. If you're okay today, then everything's gonna be fine. You don't have to worry about anything today, I've double checked and triple checked – not just for you though, but yeah. I won't let anyone, especially you, get hurt today."

"That means a lot." Arthur said gently, caressing his face with his newly warm hands, making sure the others weren't looking. "And you know it does."

"Fates, I was hoping," Alfred grinned boyishly, kneeling on the raised pedestal to look up at Arthur. "That, uh, it did mean a lot. I mean, my hands are gonna be freezing for the rest of the day, but-"

"Oh, hush, put them back on, don't push yourself for my sake, idiot," Arthur said, flustered, but Alfred simply laughed and raised Arthur's hands again to his mouth, his lips brushing teasingly against them.

"Arthur," he said mischievously, sticking out his tongue. "I was joking, sugar. And yeah, I'm going to do it for yooour sake."

He huffed in exasperation, resisting the urge to touch his tanned skin as he tugged him back up. "Stand back up, it's absolutely blistering in the cold. You're a prince, start acting like one."

"Aw, you know where to hit me where it hurts," Alfred sang, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm very princely, thank you."

"I'll say," Arthur smiled, folding his arms but still not diverting his gaze. "If you'd act a lot more grown up then you are, then…"

"Hm?" In that instant, Alfred had fallen close, so close that he was right up against Arthur's ear, eliciting a shiver from the other boy.

"Me, not acting more mature?" he murmured sensually. "I'm not sure if you remembered what happened last night, but I thought I was pretty grown up then. If I remembered correctly, I think both of us were mature enough."

Arthur flushed, his mouth forming a soft o of surprise as Alfred withdrew, a smug expression on his face. Those blue eyes pierced him with a softened, yet intense gaze that he knew he wouldn't have understood before. But now…he felt like he was beginning to understand his mixed messages more than he had before.

"Go get them, Artie. Make me more hopeful today, yeah?"

"I'll make you so hopeful that you'll be imagining a friendship with the King of Clubs next," Arthur teased, marching across the field to where Emma and Alfonso sat.

"What? That's never gonna happen!"

completely random but this finnish person, tomppabeats makes these surreal songs, however short. the EP i've been listening for this fic a lot is called tyttö and OK i'll stop bothering you with my music tastes LOL

but it's really nice

replies

mi-chan kizanami - mi-chan omg - your super long message in slack was something that made me smile for a whole week. don't risk your health for a fic tho! thank you for reading (PSA her artwork is stunning check it out ;V)

russia says hello - i hope i delivered a little this chapter - i definitely miss his sass. and i mean...if you wish on the right star, yanno...

pastaaddict - he's not completely smooth yet though!

- it's not YOI or anything lmao. thank you for your massive review, as always! anna probably will run a finnish bath house after this fic ends haha. more fluff coming (eventually!)

ANGRYFAN - bro...thank you. i feel validated :')

400 - have a gut feeling you're the same people LMAO. thank you very very much ^^|| i hope to improve as always!

hearthorse11 - been there, done that. *finger guns and mariachi band appears*

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