"Feliciano," Lovino said as steadily as he could manage. "If this… 'Hearts Kingdom' exists, are there any others?"
Not-Feliciano nodded, his eyes still fixated on the Ace of Hearts playing card Lovino held in his hand. "Of course there are, silly! Apart from Hearts, there are Clubs, Spades, and Diamonds."
This information further confirmed Lovino's theory:
He— somehow, someway— ended up in an entirely different universe. A universe that was centered around four different kingdoms; namely Diamonds, Spades, Clubs—
And Hearts, which was supposedly the kingdom Lovino belonged to.
From what Not-Feliciano had said so-far, Lovino concluded that the monarchies in this new realm had a hierarchy in place identical to the ranking system in a deck of cards.
There was a King. A Queen. And there was the Jack and Ace, which were slightly more difficult for Lovino to understand.
Monarchs in his world (which was obviously the real world) oftentimes had trusted advisors, although they were never called Jacks. And, as for Aces…
Ace was a role exclusive to a deck of cards, no doubt. A role Lovino was expected to fill, even though he didn't even have the slightest idea of how he was supposed to fill it.
However, there was another possibility— another explanation for such a peculiar scenario:
All of it was just a dream. A crazy, hyper-realistic, dream.
Unfortunately enough, the chances of this presumption to actually be correct were growing slimmer by the second. On top of that, Not-Feliciano adamantly refused to pinch Lovino in order to find out.
"Alright…" Lovino fiddled around with the playing card, careful not to bend or crease it. It felt bizarre and even a little foolish to be treating a literal piece of cardstock with such care and respect, but Lovino knew it was better not to question customs too much.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Right?
But Lovino was certain that when it came to the point where the customs were just too foreign and ridiculous, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from calling them into question.
But if the Romans are fucking idiots, then… maybe I'll pass.
"Are you sure this is real?" Lovino asked, still doubtful.
Not-Feliciano nodded his head rapidly, not missing a beat. "Yes, I'm positive!"
"Well, if you're so sure-of-yourself, show me, dammit!" Lovino demanded.
Not-Feliciano instinctively cowered at the sudden flare in his brother's unpredictable temper, before finally speaking. "Ve— I can do that! Just please don't yell, big bro—" He cut himself off, suddenly remembering one important detail that was easy to forget: The person sitting across from him with brown hair, hazel eyes, and constantly pissed-off facial expression wasn't his older brother. "Sorry! I- I meant—"
Lovino stared at the tabletop for a moment in silence, the crease between his eyebrows softening slightly. "You can call me that… if you want, I guess," he said quietly, not even believing his own words, to some extent.
Feliciano (who still wasn't Feliciano, though Lovino decided to break the fuzzy line separating his actual younger brother and this one) raised both eyebrows, also a little surprised. "Really? Even though I'm not actually—"
"Yes, even though you're not actually my brother," Lovino interrupted, a little embarrassed at the sentiment.
"Ve, big brother is being so nice to me!" Feliciano cheered, smiling brightly. "We can just be… inter-dimensional brothers then!"
Lovino rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever."
Then there was more silence until Feliciano finally piped up.
"So, you wanted proof that my realm actually exists, right?"
Lovino perked up at the mention of that specific topic.
Shit. I must have gotten distracted.
"Ah— right!" The sweet, brotherly-bonding moment ended in an instant. "Make yourself useful and convince me that this isn't just a shitty fever dream, dammit!"
"Okay!" Feliciano rose from the chair, as did Lovino (who was a little more hesitant. After all, who knew what would await outside those casino doors?) The younger man skipped over to the opposite end of the room, extended a manicured hand towards the doorknob. "I don't think I have a map on me, but I really don't need one, ve! I know the land like the back of my hand!"
Lovino stiffened. While the Feliciano back in Vegas was adept in certain things, practical skills were certainly not part of them; you really couldn't blame Lovino for being skeptical of the proclaimed Jack of Hearts's directional abilities.
"Sure, Feliciano. I bet you can't even find your way out of a paper bag."
Feliciano gasped, feigning offense at the comment. "That's so cruel, fratello! I could!"
Lovino smirked, thinking he won the impromptu argument.
Until Feliciano's eyes opened completely— a somewhat jarring sight on its own, really, but when combined with what the seemingly sweet and innocent young man was about to say, it became several times more jarring. "You know, I am the one helping you, Lovi… I don't think I'd be saying those kinds of things, if I were you."
Lovino froze.
Was Feliciano actually threatening him?
And… was he actually scared by it?
"What the hell? Who taught you how to negotiate, huh?" Lovino demanded.
"The Jack of Clubs, did, ve! He and the Queen of Clubs taught me a lot when I was younger, even if the Jack thought I was a girl for a while!"
The details Feliciano disclosed were beginning to feel awfully familiar to Lovino. Back in the "real" world, Feliciano was raised by a nice Hungarian woman and a stuck-up Austrian, while Lovino spent most of his time in Madrid with a thick-headed, Spanish-speaking, fool for a guardian.
"Hm... " Lovino stared at Feliciano, scrutinizing every inch of the younger Italian's face for a sign of weakness only to come up dry.
Well, if my stupid brother really is the Jack of Hearts, he has to be able to do this sort of stuff.
"Fine, you win," Lovino snapped. "But just this once."
"Yay!" Feliciano grinned, bubbly laughter spilling out into the air. "Anyways, like I was saying, I know this island super well!"
"...Island?"
While the obscure part of Vegas he had been wandering around earlier wasn't quite familiar to Lovino, it certainly wasn't an island. It would be geographically impossible, actually, considering that Nevada was a landlocked state.
Feliciano replied with a nod and his trademark 'Ve!' before throwing the door open with a grand flourish.
Lovino gaped at the open doorway, not moving or speaking or even blinking. Disbelief was really starting to gnaw at the edges of his mind, and somehow, being able to confirm the notion that he entered a different world did nothing to stop that— it actually managed to sink Lovino deeper and deeper into a pit of denial.
He hadn't been taking what Feliciano was insisting upon at face value (or at least not completely, anyway.)
But seeing his environment, now—
Lovino was sure that something about his surroundings had changed. Drastically.
'Something' would be an understatement.
This really isn't Vegas, huh?
Lovino took a few tentative steps towards the doorway, not quite exiting the casino— half his body was still inside the building.
The view was nice, actually. Nothing like Lovino had ever seen before— the beaches in Hawaii or Seychelles or Los Angeles couldn't even hope to rival the sprawling expanse sitting right in front of him.
The sun was setting just beyond the horizon, painting the sky in vibrant tones of orange and pink. Frothy, azure, waves lapped and crashed upon the shore of ivory-white sand. It was all so serene; so beautiful— the fact that there wasn't a single other person in sight accentuated the island's tranquility.
"Oh," Lovino said breathily because that was all he could say.
"You really haven't been here before, have you?" Feliciano remarked with a giggle. "But that still doesn't explain why you're here now… and why you have those." He pointed to the heart Marking on Lovino's wrist and the playing card in his hand.
Truthfully, Lovino couldn't explain it, either.
"Probably just a weird coincidence, dammit."
As long as I find a way to get this shitty tattoo off my arm and get back to Vegas, it'll be alright.
Feliciano hummed and gestured for his brother to follow him out the door. "Oh, well~ if you really insist you aren't from here, I'm sure we can talk to the Queen of Spades! He can talk to fairies and do magic!"
"Fairies?" Lovino scoffed as he passed through the doorway. "I kind of find that hard to believe."
"Ve, me too. But he swears they're real!" Feliciano lowered his voice to a whisper, even though there was nobody else around to hear him. "He gets super defensive if you try to argue with him about it, though."
"Noted," said Lovino flippantly, as if he didn't care.
But he did. The gears were turning in his head at that very moment.
If Ludwig and Kiku are the King and Queen here, and Feliciano's the Jack…
Are the rest of the 'Grand Deck' also people I know?
Lovino sifted through his memories, trying to recall if he knew anyone who matched the Queen of Spades's description.
There was one minor setback, though.
Lovino didn't know just one person who believed in magic— he knew three.
One of them was from some Eastern European country. Lovino had never met him before, though he heard a few things from Ms. Héderváry about him. (Granted, they weren't very good things.)
The other was one of his old friend's elder brothers. All Lovino could remember about him was the weird hair clip he would always wear and how he would always bug his younger brother about calling him "big brother."
Pretty creepy shit, if you ask me.
And then, that other guy. The one with hideous eyebrows and an obnoxious American boyfriend.
Oh, this is just fucking fabulous. My calculations narrowed down nothing.
Feliciano took a look at his savonnette watch, a worried expression crossing his face. "Ah— it's already 7:00!" he cried, interrupting Lovino's thoughts. "We really need to go to the dock, or the ship will leave without us!"
A ship… of course, there's a ship. We're on an island.
Without warning, Feliciano began to scamper away, yelling frantically in Italian. "Merda! Saremo in ritardo! Saremo in ritardo!"
Lovino watched on in disbelief— whatever Feliciano was doing looked so utterly comical, he had to keep himself from laughing.
It's like some weird shit, straight out of Alice in Wonderland.
Still, as much as he'd like to stay and loiter around, Feliciano was the only person who could help him leave the island. And, hopefully, Lovino would be able to leave the parallel universe, along with it.
"Hey! Wait up, you stupid bastard!" yelled Lovino as he began chasing after his younger brother.
Feliciano wheezed, his cheeks flushed red in exertion. "Phew… we… made it!" he declared between breaths.
Lovino, equally as tired, punched his brother on the arm as hard as he could manage. "Yeah, no shit!" He narrowed his eyebrows and glared accusingly. "You made me run a marathon just to catch up to you, dammit! Besides, aren't we supposed to be nobles? I'm sure they wouldn't just ride off into the sunset if we showed up a few minutes late."
Feliciano relaxed, the reasoning easing him out of his panicked state. "Ve~ you're right. I think I just got kind of worried, haha!"
"This isn't a laughing matter!" Lovino hissed, trying and failing to be the 'mature' one out of the pair.
As Feliciano chatted amicably with the ship's captain, Lovino took another look at the shoreline.
It was even more captivating up close.
The cool breeze tickled at his skin, blowing stray pieces of hair away from his face. The waves rose and fell, rose and fell, rose and fell…
An idea formed in the deepest spot of Lovino's mind. An idea that was so absurd, even Lovino himself couldn't fathom how it came about.
Maybe it's not so bad, here.
The typical reaction one would have to being thrust into a fantasy world would be something along the lines of: 'Oh, shit! I don't understand this place, I want to get out and go back to the real world!'
And that was Lovino's reaction, initially. But after all the shock faded off and he got a taste of the environment in the Realm of Suits…
Do I want to go back? Should I go back?
Lovino thought about his friends, although he preferred the term, 'Assholes-That-I Can-Maybe-Tolerate.' Hell, even Antonio (that churro-munching idiot) and Ludwig (who Lovino despised with every fiber of his being) counted.
Then there was his actual family. Feliciano, Sebastiano, his mother, and father and late grandfather—
Fuck. I really do care about those assholes, don't I?
It was decided.
Lovino had to find a way out; maybe not for his sake, but for everyone else's sake.
And when I want to do something, I'll go through Hell and back to do it.
And… there went all that determination.
Lovino couldn't stop himself from staring. While he certainly wasn't a stranger to these kinds of things (he had quite expensive tastes, himself,) this kingdom took it to the next level.
With its polished marble floors, grand staircases, and velvet tapestry, the ship's interior was opulent— almost excessively so.
Lovino nudged Feliciano, getting his attention. "Is this supposed to be a cruise ship or something?" he asked, wondering if the only explanation he could provide for the ship's grandeur was actually correct.
Feliciano shook his head. "No. The trip from the Island to Hearts would usually take several weeks—"
"Several weeks?!" While Lovino didn't mind the idea of spending some time aboard the lavish ship, he didn't want to dawdle on his crucial mission:
Finding the Queen of Spades, and then getting the hell out.
Feliciano frowned, though it looked more like a pout. "Hey, I wasn't finished speaking! What I was going to say is that with our new technology, we can get from here to Amourille around noon, tomorrow! Isn't that right, Nikola?"
The captain of the ship— supposedly named Nikola— nodded. "Yes, sir. If we get going now, we should be able to make it before the King arrives at the Palace."
"Oh! I almost forgot about that!" Feliciano turned to Lovino, addressing him. "His Majesty the King is returning from an overseas meeting tomorrow, Ve!"
Lovino sighed, not being able to make heads or tails of most of what he was being told. "...do I need to remind you that I have no idea what's going on?"
"Eheheh… I guess I did forget about that. I'm sorry!" apologized Feliciano. "Amourille is the capital of the Kingdom of Hearts. That's where the Palace is!"
"The Palace, huh…" Lovino watched as the captain bowed and rushed out of the main lobby; looking but not quite seeing. His mind was doing much more work than his eyes were— yet, he still came up dry.
Noting Lovino's visible confusion, Feliciano made an offer. "Fratello, would you like to look at a map? I think it might help you, a little."
"Si."
"Okay." Feliciano turned on his heel. "Come with me."
"What the fuck?!"
Lovino glared down at the map, which was practically taunting him.
"This— this isn't even Earth, anymore!" Lovino sputtered. He prodded the map with his pointer finger. "Where's Europe?! Where's Asia? Where's—"
"Big brother, please calm down!" Feliciano pleaded, tears forming in his eyes.
Lovino growled, still frustrated beyond belief. The map of the Realm of Suits didn't even come close to resembling the World map he was familiar with. There was no Europe. There was no Asia. There was no America. There was no Africa. There was no Antarctica.
How could there be such a wide disparity between the geography of both worlds? Was that even physically possible?
Maybe that's not the smartest question to ask, Lovino thought. Apparently, the laws of the universe don't even matter if I've been magically teleported to this place.
Lovino studied the map once again, his gaze tracing the borders of each separate kingdom.
He sighed.
Looks like I've got my work cut out for me.
NOTES:
Nikola is Bulgaria. I decided to group him in with the Hearts Kingdom as he was part of the Central Powers in World War I, along with Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman empire.
Sebastiano is Seborga, (who is technically one of the Italy brothers.)
"Merda! Saremo in ritardo! Saremo in ritardo!" = "Shit! We're going to be late! We're going to be late!" in Italian. I know, I know, it seems a little OOC for Feli to use that kind of language, but I headcanon that Veneziano swears in Italian when he's super scared/worried. But seriously, though. With a brother like Romano, it would be odd for him to not pick up some of those obscenities.
CARDVERSE INFO 7L6ip0TdXTW0pYFZjmS3mZ5ay3j2/hHlE3B8DQXyVOoUuRQXvvg
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU LOOK AT THE INFO BOOK. If the image of the map didn't show up in the chapter text, you can look on the first page of the book instead.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter!