D: rip the review count

i hope you all enjoy today's chapter!

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

Lovino wrinkled his nose the moment he and the two Jacks entered the dingy prison room. His grip tightened on the notebook and pen he had brought down for the interrogation, but he tried to not show his distaste to the other royals.

Well, it wasn't unexpected for such a room to be generally disastrous, but Fates, the stench. Even the Joker rebels didn't carry this sort of aura when they had their meeting.

"It's this way, gentlemen," Jack Yao said, gesturing to an enclosed cell that was slightly larger than the others. Lovino simply followed the two of them – even though they didn't have an internal hierarchy in the current Primary Suits and treated everyone equally. Judging by the fact that two out of three (future) marriages were not between a King and a Queen, it seemed that there were no such boundaries.

"Have they been…beaten?" Jack Vash asked, his lip curling as he gave the advisor a one over – to his surprise, they did not have any sufficient wounds. His mind drifted back to Joker Gilbert's gaunt state with a pang. "I would understand, but."

"No, we gave the soldiers strict instructions to not mistreat them, but she resisted greatly," Yao said, looking away and scratching at the side of his face. "…there has been some bruising. Not just on her, though."

"Don't misjudge, Yao, I'm not putting it against you," Vash said coolly, gesturing for both Lovino and Yao to enter the cell first. "I just wanted to know whether your soldiers would give them the same treatment that they got out of beating my Joker."

"Well. I'm sure they would have liked to, after what they've done. And I wouldn't put it past even myself," Yao said bitterly, his fists clenching at his sides as he stiffly helped himself onto an opposing bench.

"Lovino, if you wouldn't mind," Vash said, frowning at Aileen, who was crouched at the corner of her cell. "I would like to ask a few questions first."

"Please, by all means," Lovino replied, dipping his head and taking a seat next to Jack Yao. He flipped open his notepad, letting his calloused fingers run across the bumps of the pages on the side.

"I assume that you know the precise reason for your detainment," Vash said coldly as he strode towards her. He was wearing an outfit reminiscent of the Diamonds' military uniforms thanks to the cold instead of his collared jacket, and that made her shrink away a little more. "Your attempted murder of three out of four members of the Spadian royal family, and a coup."

"I was trying to save Spades from their tyranny," Aileen bit out, lifting her chin to glare Vash in his eyes. "Nevertheless, the Deciding brat is not queen yet. There are only three members of the Suit. And I never wanted to murder the crown prince."

"Evidently, you have a little group of people that are not as loyal to you as you'd like to think," Vash retorted, furrowing his eyebrows. "Three members of your own inner circle have named you as the instigator of the plan. And the Joker Gilbert, who is neutral between countries, stated that you were holding a gun to his head. Clearly you wanted all three of them to die."

"The Deciding brat would give him a blasted child," Aileen screamed, abruptly slamming her hands on the floor of the cell, the clinking of chains accompanying the harsh noise. "It would continue the softness of the royals. I provided them a clear opportunity to widen their territory."

Vash peered down at her, mouth fixed in a snarl. "Where would you want them to widen their territory?"

Almost as if she had just touched an open flame, she recoiled, pursuing her lips shut and turning her body away from the Jack. "Why should I tell you?"

"So I can turn you over to the Hearts or bring you home for instigating war," came the harsh reply. "Now answer me!"

"Hearts," she said lowly, but it lacked conviction.

"She's lying," Yao said, getting up from his bench and jabbing a finger in her direction. "You're lying, Aileen. You and your father plotted to steal Diamonds territory when they were at their weakest point."

"Wouldn't you want to strengthen your country by taking care of those who could not fend for themselves?" she spat. "Diamonds' royal family all but squirrelled into hiding as their people starved, after a war they caused! Why should we wash the backs of the people who don't even know how to govern?"

"What, so beating a young boy repeatedly is the correct way to govern, Aileen?" Lovino said, his jaw clenching as he came to stand with the two Jacks. "Murdering three teenagers? Sabotaging a wedding? Injuring a Joker's magical energy almost beyond repair? You don't know a fucking thing about governing!"

"Oh, look at this, it's the weak Ace who couldn't even strike a deal with the Joker rebels," Aileen taunted, her eyes flashing as she struggled to pull herself to her feet. "We were on the verge of striking a deal with them! They would finish the reform we'd plan here."

"Please, you look pathetic enough," Lovino replied, taking a weighted step forward. "We did have talks back in January."

"What, with no military intervention? Your kingdom is weak as well, Ace Lovino," she hissed. "Why, I bet your new heir will be as weak as his fathers!"

Lovino saw red in that instant. Fuck, he wasn't the best of friends with Ludwig, but that bastard treated his brother right, how many times he didn't want to admit. But Feliciano didn't deserve to be badmouthed after spending so many hours to be accepted as not just the King of Hearts' new groom, but also a royal in his own regard.

"Don't you dare insult my kingdom - don't you dare belittle my fellow royals," Lovino snarled, his mouth drying as he pushed his hand against the wall. "You must think a kingdom can survive on their own. Without others, we'd all fall to tyrants like you."

"You've all gone so soft! There's no way a single monarch here is fit to rule their kingdom," she screamed again, and pulled at her chains once more. "With two royals dead and the queen murdered, Spades will stand no chance. Your Joker is dead. Admit defeat!"

"Lovino," Vash said, and touched his arm – that was enough to send the Ace into a hurried apology, which he brushed off. "No, don't apologise. Thank you."

"I don't know what overtook me," Lovino said, gasping a little for breath and mouth parched. "I shouldn't…it was your turn,"

"It was your human side speaking," Vash said firmly. "And no, Aileen, you're wrong. All four of them are alive."

She froze. She stared at the Jack of Diamonds with widened brown eyes, and stepped backwards, hands flying to her mouth as she kept that eye contact, chains swinging morosely as she stumbled into the corner of the cell.

"No, no, no, t-that's not…how?" she howled, shaking her head, burying herself in denial. "The Ace was…they subdued him, we-"

"If that isn't a confession, I don't know what is," Yao said frostily, his lips pressing into a thin line. "But you failed in your conquest, Aileen. You tried to persecute a young monarchy, and ruined yourself in the process."

Vash and Lovino shared a glance, and gestured for Yao to leave with them. This woman, who had mangled and abused even the most beloved of royalty in Cards, wouldn't be shown mercy. Even though Lovino knew Yao would want to put her and her group of advisors through a very personal hell, he would leave it up to Prince Alfred in the end.

"The people will hate you for attacking us!" Aileen screamed in a last ditch attempt to gain their attention. "And you'll never turn your backs on us again, Jack Yao. Just look at the lashes on the rat of a crown prince to remember again!"

"By the Fates, Aileen, you'll regret what you've done to my lieges," Yao snapped, his voice filled with a blinding rage that Lovino knew no one would want to be on the end of. "The people know exactly what's happened up in that room. You'll be judged for your crimes, and I daresay you're deserving of all the hatred thrown at your way. You'll never get to divide us, nor hurt any of us, ever again."

With that, he slammed the gate shut, the resounding noise filling the emptiness of the cell, where the other advisors sat in fear of the Jack's wrath.

There were no more purple badges pinned to their jackets.

"I…must apologise for that outburst, gentlemen," Yao said, his voice ragged as he fisted his hands in his jacket after they had left the prison area.

"You shouldn't," Lovino said firmly. "You saw how I acted when the advisor started talking about Feli and Ludwig. My emotions took the best of me, yes, but none of us hurt her."

"Which is better than she deserves, really," Vash said, his jaw tensing. "Yao, if I were you and it were Lili in Alfred and Matthew's places, I would have reacted the same way. I do not understand how you're not inflicting capital punishment on all of them."

"That's not my decision to make," Yao said, shaking his head, his droopy ponytail following it. "I would like the other three members of the Spadian Primary Suit to make it instead. It's a crime against them."

"Does she know of the…Joker's reality manipulation?" Lovino asked as he tucked his notebook into his jacket. "Or, at the very least, explain how they got out."

"No," Yao said stoutly, "That was my decision. It is not something I wanted her to harness, especially after that remark on a potential alliance with the Joker rebels. I'd rather her continue to believe that she killed four people than forgo caring for them."

"It doesn't add up," Lovino said, running his fingers on the curve of his chin. "We had an interrogation of the Joker rebels in January, as we heard. There was no such collusion. I asked them to name any assisting groups, and they stated none."

"Lovino, was it the same group that helped your soldiers get home from the Easterns?" Vash interjected, but he still looked a little shaken from the interrogation, evidenced by his trembling hands. "As in, did you ask them to come in?"

"Partly, but…we received reports that they were coming in from the border, so we moved to intercept them after we received the news that the group had separated into two. We only managed to ask one, but from there it was clear what sort of situation the group as a whole were in."

"Hold on, though – from the briefing you gave us, you said that there were two factions within the Joker rebel groups," Yao said. "Perhaps the top advisorship was collaborating with only one group, and the other was unaware?"

"But the report said they were still sharing intelligence between them, even though they had a split idea of values," Vash said, shifting his weight from side to side. "And surely, even with the top advisorship alone, there would be sufficient support to carry out a coup?"

"Spades has always been a constitutional monarchy, yes," Yao confirmed. "Several members of the advisorship have either been born into it or voted into from powerful families in the Inner Circle. Not to mention that some from the red bands were inducted out of fear or intimidation…"

"Talks have worked so far, though," Lovino said. "Have Diamonds or Clubs been attacked this past months."

"Not since the beginning of January, where a group bombed two mines and caused sixteen casualties," Vash said, looking away for a moment. "But still, we do not know everything about them and how they operate. I wish we did."

"Their demands as a collective are rather simple, though," Yao said, lips pursued. "Repeal the First Law."

All three men fell silent. The First Law had been in place ever since the devastating drought of the Hearts, forged and reinforced so tightly, like they were the boundaries had been drawn and redrawn in the sands that formed the very first stable lands of Cards, the kingdoms they knew today. The people with the nature of the Jokers in their blood had been banished to the Drift, without a guarantee of their return, until the First Joker and the changed mage. It would be an act of uproot if they repealed it.

Then what? What if Lili's so very precarious balance of magical energy failed her body, with the masses of the population re entering Cards? The queen was dearly loved even outside of Diamonds, and that alone would cause great upset, not to include the possibility of causing an upheaval in all of Cards that could bring ruin.

There was simply no easy solution to this.

"Fates, you know that Francis will never agree to it," Vash said, running a hand through his thick locks; "He loves Lili to death. And I couldn't find it in me to sign that – I couldn't. She's in such a fragile state…and she's so young. There's so much she wants to do, yet she can't. And I won't forgive myself if I take that opportunity from her. You know why we can't use more amplifiers. It would be impossible to give nullifiers to every new immigrant without somewhat crippling Diamonds."

"We can't rely on the rebels to help with the transition, either," Lovino said, "With the split they have between groups, they're in no position to help us enforce stability during the move."

"So that's off the table," Yao replied. "I don't know, Ace Lovino. Does it help with your comprehension of the situation at all?"

"Honestly, no," Lovino admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "I was already reluctant to act violently against them seeing as the half that we had contact with returned so many of our soldiers. On the other hand, though, I don't know how to isolate those who just want a peaceful repealing of the First Law – something that's almost impossible to accomplish without violence or disaster – and those who want the monarchy gone, in the case of that advisor. Nothing's clear cut right now, and I'm sure the two of you share my frustrations, undoubtedly."

"I agree," Jack Vash said. "Let us discuss this with the other royals – I daresay the Clubs are not particularly thrilled with a representative from each kingdom attending this investigation save their kingdom. It would only feel right to include them in talks."

"That sounds fair, yes," Yao said – obviously, their alliance surpassed entire generations still to this day. "We'll call a meeting at tomorrow's supper. Vash, could you please notify both Diamonds and Clubs? Lovino, see to it that Feliciano is aware of what is going on as well. I'll tell Alfred and the two Jokers."

"Wait, Yao," Vash paused, looking into his fellow royal's eyes. "Do you want to discuss the topic of interchanging the Jokers as well? It's something significant I feel that was not brought up, considering Gilbert's condition having changed so quickly."

"Yes, that should be arranged and agreed on," Yao replied, leading the way to the exit. "Well. I will see you tomorrow night at the latest."

Lovino fidgeted a little in his shoes – even though Gilbert was the Queen of Hearts previously, he knew he had no place in the conversation as the shift in Joker accommodation was solely between the Diamonds and the Spades. Shifting the locations of the Jokers was forbidden in law before the summer solstice anyway, and the Spades would probably be successful in their bid for a Joker with the induction of the new queen and most likely conception of an heir. It was relatively rare to have both Jokers on the side of a 'significant' allegiance (namely, Diamonds and Clubs versus Hearts and Spades), so he knew their chance of getting Gilbert to come home were nearly nonexistent.

"Right, lead us up, Yao," Lovino said, trying to keep his tone from being too despondent.

This time when Arthur woke up, the sun was streaming through the windows.

Unlike last time though however, the room was far from being just a low mumble of voices and his own breathing, but rather a handful of commotion interrupting his rest. Voices - from the low pitch of the Hearts King to the higher pitch of the…Queen of Diamonds, perhaps? – wrapped around him. Subconsciously, he tried to seek out Kiku's silky voice.

"Ki…ku?" Arthur rasped, throat dry as he pawed at the frame of his hospital bed as soon as he heard his best friend's tone joining in the discussion. A rattle of metal, the rapid taps of footsteps against the linoleum floor, as well as the sensation of warmth bathing his parched tongue, told him that he was no longer alone.

"Thank goodness, Art, Matthew just woke up shortly ago and we were all concerned whether your condition was stable enough," Kiku said, his words falling out from his mouth in a rapid frenzy as sensations returned to Arthur's skin. "Good morning, Art – no, don't put weight on your left arm."

At that, Arthur recoiled, holding up his arm – in a fresh sling - as if he were a cat raising a paw, and awkwardly shifted himself to the sides so his legs dangled at the edge of the bed. His friend's expression was marred with concern, so he flung an uncoordinated arm around his neck in a half embrace.

"It is so relieving to see you again, Art," Kiku laughed, and wrapped both arms around Arthur, squeezing him tightly. "Do not worry, not much has happened since you had your glorified nap."

"Are you sure I'm not dead, Kiku?" Arthur asked, raising an eyebrow as they separated from a hug. "This truly feels as if it's a miracle recovery. I mean, I was shot, and-"

"Yes, but not every queen has access to a Joker," Kiku said, turning his head to Gilbert, who was sitting with Matthew, hands linked together. "He is still awake, but we were all waiting for you. Including your family."

"You're not serious," Arthur said, using his good arm to pinch the bridge of his nose. "How did they get them here…?"

"You were out for three days," Kiku said sagely, and raised an arm to wave at the air above them. "I would say that they are quite impatient."

"Arthur!" a tiny voice called, and Arthur knew that he would never forget the sight of Dylan pushing his way through the group of Primary Suit members and catapulting himself onto Arthur's bed. "Surprise!"

"Dylan, what-"

"Oi, Artiekins, you promised us you wouldn't get into trouble!" Allistor said, his tone cross as he and the rest of the Kirkland clan entered the infirmary. Kiku stepped back, bowing his head as Erin moved to hug her little brother, pressing her mouth against his hairline as she wept, Christian and Cormac coming to join her.

"How did you all get here so quickly?" Arthur whispered, wrapping his bandaged arm around Dylan's shoulders and lifting his chin to meet Allistor's gaze. "It's almost a two day trip from where we live, and that's…"

"Well, a certain crown prince arranged for us to get here while you were napping," Cormac said, a comforting rumble in his chest as he patted Arthur's shoulder. "We were expecting to come to a wedding, but as long as we get to see you alive and well, what does it matter?"

"Artie, are you still going to come home?" Dylan lisped, blinking his eyes and splaying his little hands on Arthur's thighs, the way he'd act if there was something he wanted – save for the mischievous expression on his face. "Allistor forgot to pack your lucky socks."

"I doubt he needs it, you wee bairn," Allistor teased, ruffling his littlest brother's tufty hair. "Arthur's got as much luck as he needs for a lifetime."

"Besides, you don't need to come home anymore, heh," Christian said, letting his slightly apprehensive gaze sweep over the infirmary and the royals. "I can see you fit in like a glove here."

"Who says you won't, either?" Arthur smiled. "Cormac would do well as a wine connoisseur. The cameras would love him."

"If you mean 'love' by 'running away from him screaming', I wouldn't disagree," Cormac grinned. "Still. If you have a home here, if it's possible…"

"Don't worry, you, it definitely is," Erin interjected, nudging at her twin. "After the Deciding, nine times out of ten, the winner's family moves in with them."

"Art might want to make us the one out of ten," Christian winked, leaning against the wall. "What do you say, Your Highness?"

"Fates, if I said no, Erin would disown me ten times and then some," Arthur said, sputtering into laughter. "No, I'd love you to move in with me. If that's allowed? Maybe I shall ask the crown prince of the castle."

"You know, you could just ask me, princess," Alfred said from behind his twin's bed, getting up from the stool next to him. Matthew gave a little wave as Alfred approached him. Erin moved a little behind – Arthur didn't let her squeal go unnoticed – as he took Arthur's hand in his, pressing it against his lips. "I missed you a lot."

"It's the same situation here," Arthur said breathlessly, cupping the same hand around his cheek. "Would you allow my remarkable family to stay here?"

Alfred grinned, a simple gesture that still had Arthur's heart beating so hard in his chest that he thought he would burst. It reminded him of the moments they had shared together, the amount of love he held in his heart for him, but most importantly told him of the hope of a future they would have.

"Only if you will, though," Alfred said, and didn't resist as Arthur pulled his face close and kissed him soundly, happiness bubbling at the bottom of his stomach as the familiar sensation of his lips against his own.

"…ew," Dylan piped up, to which Arthur only moved his arm closer to hug his brother.

sorry if i ruined the mood at the end lmao

i love cardverse politics, i must apologise

replies

CFAA - yes! they must be protected at all costs and kept safe and warm

russia says hello - i mean, there's just a tiny bitty little issue of them being unconscious, but oh well. just the little things in life :) and HAHA i had to bring back rochu at the cost of my angsty heart but still. your analysis of the italian bros are so interesting though! i have yet to visit italy as a whole unfortunately, but i'll take your recommendation!

n kukuri chan - oh man i'd be the type of evil teacher to say 'wow elli your essay sux it's too short smh'. funnily enough i usually wear glasses when i'm too lazy to put on my contacts so for my desperate late night updates, you've got that one right on the dot. your nephews would probably be the 'owo whats this?' meme personified and i'm not sure i'm ready to handle that, pfft. also is it weird to think that when alfred was a small kiddo he'd draw abs in marker and his mother would get all up in arms? (are you referring to the fingernail marks tho...in that case i agree winkwonk)

god your brother is such a smooth talker tho! and no, i wouldn't say it offended me, but i do think that's not necessarily model behaviour on the train, hmm. idk, i'm the sort of person who internally thinks 'pda' and isn't really into dating just yet (studies: ha ha ha) so that's such an interesting viewpoint lmao. i swear you'd be bringing a vuvuzela and blowing into that, causing several noise complaints and for me to jerk awake in HK lol, fangirls are pretty powerful in that sense! i hope your brother is okay ^^;; also, oh boy you have to read george devalier whenever you have time ;) worth your while 100%. ludwig would go upon seeing it: this is it. this is the guy i chose.

aaaa all these morning after ideas man. they're so GOOD and seeing that i have next to no (you can't have four times the experience when it's 0x4 *taps side of forehead*) i would like to think that even though lili and eliza are very proper and focused when it gets to the job, the deciding binds them together as friends even as there's so much distance and other issues between them. lili would be confused about the talk and eliza would cover her ears like a complete mother hen and say 'go on' with a slightly scary :) and yes! i hope you enjoyed the discussion in this chapter, ahah. thanks for the cake!

(p.s. i did watch snk but i never really got into the fandom...the one pairing i'm 100% in for is springles though!)

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