thank you, everyone, for the lovely messages! they really made me feel better about the whole debacle. your support means so much to me :)

i'm trying out with group dynamics this chapter! i hope you enjoy.

as always, i do not own the selection nor hetalia. these belong to kiera cass and himaruya hidekaz respectively.

Diamonds made landfall that night, after Ludwig reunited with Gilbert, complete with tears.

Alfred left them alone, as any person should.

Since Clubs was on the other side of the continent, it wasn't surprising that they'd be the last Kingdom out of the three to arrive at Spades – but even so, King Francis' extravagantly dyed chrome yellow robes were welcome sights. Queen Lili held his hand as they walked up the steps, her other linked with with Jack Vash's, with his other hand behind his back and his feet poised.

Since the location of Diamonds' palace was smack dab in the middle of their country, they were quite far from the Spades – Diamonds border that the two of them shared, and the palace was geographically closer to Clubs than to Spades, as a side effect of the oldest alliance in Cards history. Even if the other countries had moved palaces several times – Hearts most of all – the Diamonds had consistently used the same location, electing to place safe houses around the country in case of a revolution.

Unfortunately, unlike their home, the expressions of all three members of the Primary Suits were neurotic. Alfred was sitting with Yao and Gilbert when the three of them entered, accompanied with a pair of servants who attempted to introduce them – that is, until Lili flew into the room, worry painted all over her trembling hands.

"Joker Gilbert?!" she gasped, and ran to him first, hugging onto his waist with a relieved expression. "Oh, I'm so glad…"

"Sorry, my Queen," Gilbert said, running a comforting finger against her white knuckles. "I would have told you that I was still conscious, but I was preoccupied…"

"Alfred, my boy," Francis said, making his way to Alfred and scooping him up in a hug. "Oh, I'm so sorry that you had to go through that."

"Where are they now?" Vash's commandeering tone asked, the Jack having settled himself in an armchair that one of the nurses had provided. "I would find it most urgent that they are reprimanded for their attempt on the monarchy. Are you most unharmed, Prince Alfred?"

"Yeah, Jack Vash," Alfred said morosely from between Francis's concerned arms. "But it's not me you should be worried about."

"I thought you said Ace Matthew's condition was getting steadier," Vash said, his tone shifting to something more solemn as he approached Matthew's bedside. "I trust that he will recover, with Joker Gilbert's assistance."

"If Gilbert wasn't here, I would have lost my brother…and my fiancée," Alfred said, hand snaking out of Francis's grip and leaving his chin against the King's arm to reach for Arthur's under the blanket. "Which would have meant that I would have…I would have to host another Deciding."

"What…happened?" Lili said in a hushed tone, kneeling a little to hold Matthew's hand, copying Vash's actions to pay respects – even though Vash had been her retainer before he was chosen to be Jack, she still trusted him as a mentor.

"Arthur tried to get me out by bending time, but the advisors had badly injured him and Matthew. The bullet wound on his left arm weakened him, and I couldn't get to them in time," Alfred said, his head dithering, drooping against Francis's chest, blue eyes clouding over at the bitter memory. "I would have been the only one out of the room alive if Gilbert hadn't come back. But I can't believe I let myself almost leave two of the most important people in my life behind-"

"Do not blame yourself for a great sin pushed against you," Francis said, shaking his head and cradling Alfred as if he were an infant trying to soothe him. "You had to make an impossible choice. If all three of you died, the Spadian monarchy would only have Yao, and would have lost the bloodline of the King. Sir Arthur would not have been able to share that blood, and Matthew…"

Francis trailed off, looking at Gilbert's proximity towards Matthew, and their linked hands. It had been no secret for weeks about their love affair and the subsequent Trial, and gossip and whispers had run rampant beyond borders – as well as sympathy for their case. Even so, it had been a massive shock to all the Primary Suits about their situation.

"…he would not have been able, as well as sustaining that major artery wound on his leg," Francis continued, eyes softening for the boy that used to be his protégé. "So no one is blaming you for anything, Alfred. We just need to deal with the perpetrators and cement you and Sir Arthur's rule and ascension."

"If you don't mind, Prince Alfred, Jack Yao, would be all right if I request a meeting with the Hearts Ace?" Vash said, rising from Arthur's bedside after giving his honours. "He has done excellent work with interrogation, and has quite a reputation for suchs. I would like to see if there are any other collaborators in the heinous plot that they hatched."

"No, please, by all means," Jack Yao said. "If you don't mind having me as well."

"But of course," Vash said, nodding once. "Please, lead the way, Jack Yao."

The two Jacks carefully made their way out of the room, leaving the incapacitated Matthew and Arthur with Lili, Alfred, Gilbert and Francis.

The room was strangely quiet, until Gilbert and Francis started to extract themselves from the room. Francis shared a look with his daughter, who nodded twice in succession, then turned back to his old friend.

"Gil, did Antonio tell you that he was coming to accompany Lovi?"

"Uh, I wouldn't know," Gilbert said, cracking a wan smile. "Do you want to visit Ludi and ask him? I wouldn't count on it, though. It was...Ludi told me it was rushed."

"Well, it's worth a try," Francis said, gesturing flamboyantly to the window above Matthew's bed to make sure Gilbert got the message that they should leave. "Come, old friend. I must apologise, Lili, darling, is it all right if you stay here with Alfred?"

"No problem, Papa," she said, and let her father kiss her hand before he departed with Gilbert. Alfred watched with a fond expression as she helped herself into Vash's sofa and arranged her yellow skirts, flats (apparently, Francis wouldn't allow her to wear heels for long journeys, citing the strain they would put on her feet) poking out at the end of the tulle.

"How have you been, Lili?" Alfred asked, not unkindly. "I'm sorry, it's been a while since we last spoke."

"I must apologise for that as well," she said, voice silvery as she patted his spare hand. "I have been following your Deciding quite closely…but almost never asked you for your opinions…"

"Yeah, uh, Francis mentioned something about you being interested," Alfred said, mustering up a genuine smile. "I hope I didn't make a fool of myself."

"Oh, on the contrary," she laughed, a sound resembling a bell as she lifted a hand to her lips to mask them. "You were very sweet, especially to Sir Arthur."

"Aww…I see," Alfred said, blushing a little and looking away from the younger girl, the youngest person in any monarchy of Cards. "I guess it was pretty clear cut that I was interested him in the start, huh?"

"You were so kindly to him…I didn't have a clear favourite before Halloween, but the footage they showed of the two of you dancing together cemented it for me," Lili admitted bashfully, tucking her hands together in the middle of her skirts. "They showed you being nice to everyone else in the Broadcasts and things, but you always had a little extra attention for him. Alfred, you should have heard Papa and Vash complain when I watched you propose to him."

"Uh, funny story about that," Alfred said, using his free hand to rub at the back of his neck, "It actually wasn't the first time I proposed to him. It was the third time by then, I think…?"

"Spill," Lili sang, her deep blue eyes lighting up in enthusiasm. That, coupled with her flower crown amplifier and bracelet that stayed on her at all times – both made out of jewels - gave her an undeniable angelic image. "I must hear this!"

"Well, before he left for Hearts, around the New Year, I took him to the queen's suite. I was gonna propose…but we got interrupted, so when he came back I asked him again. He said yes, but you know the ending of that story," Alfred said, pausing a little to push away that memory again, hiding his wince. "When the time was right, I asked him on the Broadcast, as you know. The wedding was supposed to be this Friday…we were trying to make it earlier so the advisors wouldn't try anything, but…"

"Oh…Alfred, I'm really sorry," she said, patting the sides of his hair. "If you don't want to share, there's no problem with that. I understand that it might be a bit hard…"

"No, you asked me, Lili, don't apologise," Alfred said, swallowing tightly and mustering up a feeble smile, "It's just that it's a bit hard for me to talk about it when…they're in this state."

"We're all here for you, you know," Lili said as she continued her movements. "I know you want to be strong, but you have to let others help you too."

"I'll do my best," Alfred said, looking up into her eyes, edges of his mouth curling up into a smile.

"Promise? Even with King Ivan!" Lili giggled; it seemed that their long standing feud had not even passed the ears of the youngest queen. She held out her pinkie finger, wiggling it playfully as she coaxed out Alfred's own. "We shall pinkie swear, if it helps."

Alfred nodded once, letting his hair fall over his eyes as he squeezed it and shook.

Later that night, the maids are busy preparing rooms for the members of the Primary Suit, Ludwig tries to distract Gilbert from Matthew's incapacitated state to bring him back to his quarters to meet his newborn son. Gilbert takes a while, but finally relinquishes his attention to his brother, who he has missed terribly (but won't admit).

"Are the maids treating you correctly?" Ludwig said, folding his chin to the top of Gilbert's shoulder and directing his eyes towards the port, where Feliciano was sitting, newborn and heir to the Hearts throne nestled in his arms. "I hope you're not trying to go through my paperwork, liebling…"

"Of course not, Lud!" Feliciano sang, tipping their son a little closer to the monitor. "I'm so happy Gilbert got a chance to see Leo A-"

"Felci, Uncle Gilbert can just call him Leo, right?" Gilbert said, stifling a groan – he'd never had a taste for the thousand names royals sandwiched between the titles of their babies. "What about naming the next one Gilbert Junior?"

"Well, we were, but…" Feliciano's clear eyes conveyed a message that Ludwig could only interpret correctly. "Lud and I agreed that one Gilbert in the world should be enough."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gilbert spluttered, but tilted his head so that his pink eyes met with his brother's.

Well. I didn't even know whether I was supposed to be dead or not. I don't want to upset Felci by making him remember what happened to me…

"Maybe the third?" Feliciano said, but was interrupted by their son's soft gurgles. A soft tuft of hazel hair adorned the top of his head, and as Leo blinked sleepily, fists pressing against Feliciano's loose shirt and cobalt eyes mirroring the ones that were looking into Gilbert's own.

"Feli sent me a message two nights ago, saying that the birth was a success," Ludwig said, wrangling his fingers in an odd fashion at the screen. "His body will need around a week to either revert back to its original shape without the Fates' blessing, or since Leo's the heir, he'll be allowed to feed before changing back after he's weaned."

"Please tell me you didn't read that off some book," Gilbert wailed, craning up to ruffle his brother's hair. "It's a baby, not an instruction manual."

"That is to say that…well, I have a duty to be a model father," Ludwig stammered – how did his brother find out? All right, it was just a few flicks of 'Appealing to the Fates of Hearts: A Short Guide,' but it was just some research! "So I was going to do my best before going home to Hearts so I wouldn't be completely lost."

"It should come naturally to someone like you," Gilbert said, patting his shoulder and tucking his head against his shoulder. "Just focus on getting your friend married then get back on track at home, yeah?"

…Did I bring up something bad? Ludwig thought internally. Gilbert wouldn't ever really want children. He knew that between him and Ace Matthew, there was enough common sense for the two of them to understand that they would never have a child.

Strangely enough, though, Gilbert seemed comfortable…it had never come up, truly, even though he had been among the first people to know about Feliciano's pregnancy. Perhaps it had never really crossed his mind…

"Right," Ludwig said, and straightened his shirt, blinking once before continuing to talk with Feliciano. "I hope the maids haven't been rough with Leo…have the media been giving you any fuss?"

"Lud, lovely - I think you've already asked that-"

Clubs arrive the next afternoon.

They are strikingly regal in their appearance – unlike Diamonds, who usually arrive by railway and then discreetly travel to the palace; the cameras are but guaranteed to get a lavish shot of their emerald green carriage pulled by strong stallions.

The couple of the Queen and the Jack are even more so, Queen Elizabeta dashing in front of the carriage to provide a hand to the slightly embarrassed Jack Roderich. The Jack is not seen without his healing staff fashioned into a cane, but both of them step to the side to welcome the King of Clubs, Ivan.

Alfred's face tensed a little when he watched from the hospital rooms. Even though they managed to stabilize Matthew's condition, neither he nor Arthur were awake. Ludwig and Gilbert were downstairs greeting the royals, so he was all alone. At least he didn't have to see Ivan in person just yet.

"I apologise, Your Highness, the prince, princess and Ace are upstairs recovering from the attack," Yao said, trying to fight back the tide of emotions searing his throat as he simply took Ivan's hand in his own and shook them, arm stiff as a board. "I am certain that you will see them later. For now, welcome to Spades."

"I had hoped it would be…better circumstance before we met again," Ivan said softly, trying to stop his lip from trembling and his hands firmly at his sides. "They are all stable, yes?"

"They will all survive the attack," Yao said, but it felt as if his voice had been strangled along with his throat. "Please, see to it that the maids will show you your room."

I can't do it any longer.

"Ah, thank you so much, Your Highness," Elizabeta said, her wide smile coming as easily as water off a duck's back. "Dear Roderich has been very tired throughout this whole journey. If you do not mind, could he find a room quickly?"

"There's no issue with that, Elizabeta," Yao said, gesturing a little to the door. "Even though Spades may not be as cold as your home kingdom, the winter's grip is still relentless this year, which is troubling."

"Please take a break, Yao," Elizabeta said gently, patting the Jack's shoulder. "You look worn out."

"I should be, with the burden of my failures," he said solemnly, but returned the gesture with a smile. "We should all get refreshments and work from there."

"I agree," Roderich said weakly, dabbing at his pale forehead with a lacy handkerchief – not without a curious look at the new Queen of Hearts, however. "Let us all go back inside."

Elizabeta simply smiled at her husband, then trailed a little at the back of the group until she found the small hands of the Diamonds Queen, interlacing their fingers. The Queens had a remarkable bond – which was to be expected for most queens in each generation of a Primary Suit – and she always tended to seek out her friend. Perhaps she would forge similarly strong bonds with the queens of Spades and Hearts?

Ivan waited until the last of the servants brought the Clubs royals' luggage inside the palace, letting the peaceful yet painful sight of the Spadian garden wash over him – but not letting familiarity and grief soften up his guard.

He was in enemy territory, after all.

"So, Lili, I presume you did a little bit of digging with the lovely prince?" Elizabeta asked, not bothering to hide her grin behind her mug of strong coffee – she had ordered the same for Lili except much sweeter and with milk.

"Of course, Miss Eliza!" the younger girl exclaimed, placing down her saucer. "I did not want to pry too much, since he's been so distraught lately, but I did get a little more information. I guess you'd like to hear the news that he favoured Arthur from…I mean, I guess the start?"

"Ah, I knew it!" Elizabeta laughed, her brown hair tumbling haphazardly past her ears as she threw back her head. Even though the library was empty seeing as they had just had dinner and almost all the royals were retiring for the evening, she couldn't resist seeing her friend concerning Deciding gossip. "Oh dear, I should have placed an anonymous bet. Perhaps that would have raised enough funds for the budget this year."

Even though Elizabeta was quite a bit more grown than Lili, that did not mean that her love for the Deciding and her maturity were mutually exclusive – so she had relied on her to update herself on busy nights or when Roderich had to be physically wrenched from his chair to go to sleep.

"I know he's going to make a full recovery, but what if…what if he can't make the wedding in time?" Lili asked, leaning against Elizabeta as if she were a fluffy duckling with her mother. After the untimely death of her own mother, Jeanne, Lili had only Francis, but as she became queen and therefore had more excuses to meet with Elizabeta, she grew to think of the older woman as a mother figure of some sorts. "I would hate to think of the possibility of Alfred becoming even more distraught…as well as Ace Matthew, not being able to attend even his brother's wedding…"

"From what we've seen, as well as Alfred's trust in both Matthew and Arthur, they'll both make it," Elizabeta said comfortingly, tickling Lili's chin until she cracked a genuine giggle. "Don't worry, Lady Sunshine, everything will work out fine. As queens, we have to learn to put our trust in others."

"Will we invite Queen Kiku to our luncheons now?" Lili asked.

"I don't see why not," Elizabeta replied. "However, if you still want our one to one time, as it has been ever since, I would be happy to oblige. I assume you'd be wanting Princess Arthur to join us when he's anointed?"

"No doubt about it," Lili beamed, tucking a strand of her short blonde hair behind her ears, trying to disguise her enthusiasm for the possibility of Arthur joining them eventually. "Although…if I g-get too carried away asking questions about the Deciding, will you please, please restrain me?"

Elizabeta nodded, her warm hand patting the younger queen's shoulder. "Only if you do the same for me."

elizabeta: i love you all. amen and bless

roderich: please, i need to rest my old bones

ivan: (probably playing france's character songs on repeat internally)

replies

winchester stilinski kitsune - no worries! life happens, buddy. i believe that 'bit traumatized' is an understatement, but still. just a tad, haha. and i do think it's an infirmary...? i chose the word because it sounded a bit (a lot) more old school, so i thought it would be more suited for a palace setting than 'hospital'. thank you very much for your compliments ;v;

imyourcupoftea (how did you know?!) - yeah...initially i was a lot more sad about it, but i'm just hoping they never do it again to me or anyone, which is the main point. i hope you enjoyed, huehue.

mygenderisunicorn2004 - gilbert's finally shaping up to be his old self again, i hope. and yes, i would say so - even though most 'areas' of power are controlled by the kingdom's primary suit, fundamentally they have to go through an advisorship or a council to refer to concerning budgets/declarations of war, for example.

pupa pupa - lo siento, no hablo español, entonces debo usar google translate - gracias por tus palabras, realmente me hace feliz. He oído hablar de plagio en wattpad, pero no pensé que me pasaría a mí...

sunavers - oh bum, i actually didn't include much actual card gameplay lore in this story. i was planning to put more of it in the sequel, and i don't want to necessarily rush it here, so it will be in the sequel most likely!

CFAA - gilbert: you thought i died? surprise, bitch

russia says hello - move over alfred, gilbert's the new hero in town. oo europe sounds great around now. your headcanon of vene being venice is cool (jesus now that's similar. help) but i don't know - i feel that roma would be florence. i'm not sure why exactly, but the city has an artistic flair that reminds me of romano. regarding the council, though, i don't think that the royals would be satisfied enough with prison. how dark they're willing to go should be explored...

hearthorse11 - HAHAHA knowing me their break is probably the few scenes they're not together. i apologise (or do i? hehe) and i hope you didn't dramatically skeeve off the road (is that the correct term?) in shock. i'm always so so grateful for your comments,,,they mean so much man,,,i swear my updates at some point are literally going to be three words though oops.

vivadragnire - me, huffing: damn it amie you found out my plans for next week again

n kukuri chan - you're welcome to imagine me cracking my knuckles as i handle your essay, LMAO. do an audible session where you put on obnoxious accents for every single character and then you'll make a fortune, i promise you. maybe you could even create a file that's something along the lines of 'RED HOT HAZARD' and it would work to great effect! arthur would fiercely deny that he and alfred were any where near each other - but his bluff would be ruined by alfred's heavy breathing in the background...

i think the two of them would be each other's man candy (mutually assured man candy /shot) and oh dear, please tell your parents i'm not a bad influence (and you might want to extend that to your brother as well, he might think i'm a bit of a weirdo for writing things that make you shout on a hike of all things haha) i SWEAR tomato rings are probably the italy bros' things. i'm not sure if you've read besame mucho (expletive x 4,913,013) but there was another tomato ring in there. kiku and ludwig probably interact with eye contact, nods and 'i understand, kiku/ludwig,' while interactions with the trio would end up in kiku asking feli to please slow down his words - alas, such is the axis trio, lmao.

anna would actually bring a notepad and pencils just to get a rise out of him pfft. arthur would literally just get out of that room with a good morning and 'holy god there are 58 of you outside my door what does this mean,' and alfred in the background like 'wha'. i assume what sets off the punchline is arthur blushing and yelling at alfred to wear a shirt, and the maids start jostling each other to get a good look! and NOPE, poor matthew. god i feel so bad for bullying him so much of late. assurance will be delivered...that is, in my own fashion haha. thank you for the comment! i like putting in chara development within fanfic so i'm relieved. thank you :D

reviews, favourites and follows are what will keep me writing, so please go ahead and leave them!