It was common knowledge that maids tended to whisper and gossip among themselves when no one was around. Since they spent most of their days doing nothing but cleaning, cooking, and waiting to do it again there were very little activities to do. They hung in the shadows and heard every word that passed through the walls of the house they were in charge of taking care of. No secrets were kept away from the maids, and no secrets were kept from the ears of others.

However, the room remained unusually quiet as not a single one of them uttered a word. There was no one else in the grand room other than the maids, but not one of them looked up from their task to chatter among themselves. They were focused on their tasks at hand, and each took care of each cleaning and tidying with extra care. Each trinket and corner of the room was touched and cleaned with the gentlest of hands. All were absorbed in their work, and by their own free will they worked wholeheartedly.

They did not pause their work until the sound of the door knob being turned took over the silence. They put down everything-with absolute care-and looked toward the door. In perfect unisons, they all carefully bowed down to the figure that entered.

The young looking man dressed in black calmly looked at them all in acknowledgment. "You may return to work." With that, they all went back to their tasks.

The man continued to walk into the room, leaving the double doors behind him open. His dark brown eyes scanned the room over, and his expression remained unchanged. He took in a deep breath and sighed it out. His hand went up to his face and he rubbed the eyes that carried large rolls under them.

Then, a young girl-also dressed in black-walked into the room and quickly went over to his side. "Teacher."

The man looked over to the girl, and a ghost of a smile came across his face. "Yes Mai?"

"I just finished talking to everyone, and they said preparations should be finished in two or three days, depending on how quickly we work."

"They won't be arriving for another week." As he spoke, he walked towards the flight of stairs in the room. It was a short flight of only eleven steps, and at the top was a small area with a small table for two on one side and a bookshelf on the other side. In the middle was a large window that touched the floor and nearly reached the ceiling. He pushed aside the silk curtain-that felt as light as a feather-and looked down at the view. There were men at work outside as they gathered the horses and chopped away at wood. "But it is best to have everything ready as soon as we can. Monarchs always have to be three steps ahead."

Mai quietly nodded at his side. After a moment, he dropped the curtain from his grasp and let it cover back up the view. He looked down at her and she looked down the floor in hesitation. "...Everyone has been working hard since the news arrived, I don't think I've ever seen everyone so absorbed in their work before." She glanced over at the maids as they continued to work. "It's as though… everyone has been brought back into some spirit…" A smile didn't not grace her face, and she instead continued to look down at the floor solemnly. "Everyone except…"

The man glanced down at the maids, and they all seemed to have paused for a moment, but quickly went back to their cleaning. Once again, he sighed, much like an old man. "He still hasn't left his room?"

Mai shook her head. "He's started eating again, but…"

His eyes wandered off in deep thought as he began to fidget with the ends of his ponytail. Finally, he began to walk down the stairs, and Mai followed after. "Tell the cooks to make something that's easy to digest for dinner, and make lots of it." They walked out the door of the room and back into the hallways. However, he still did not close the door yet. "Tell them that the Queen will be having dinner in the dining room tonight." He said a bit louder than before, and then closed the doors.

He began to walk away before Mai had a chance to say anything else. Two guards followed after him as he paced down the halls of the castle expertly-as though he knew the walls like the back of his hand.

Finally, he reached another set of double doors. After a moment of silence, he knocked on the door. "Your Majesty, I need to have a word with you." He spoke loud enough to be heard through the thick door, but only silence followed.

He gave a quick hand gesture to the guards, and they left with a bow. Once well out of earshot, he opened the door himself. As soon as he stepped in, he closed the door behind him completely.

Inside was a room as big and grand as the previous one, only this one didn't come with a small flight of stairs. However, it was darkened out as much as a room could be. The drapes were closed and little natural light came in, and the candle on the table near the bed was long burnt out. It was dark; but, once again, he naturally navigated through the room with ease-knocking a wine bottle that laid forgotten on the floor. He stopped once he reached the bed and looked down at the lump under the sheets with furrowed brows.

He took in a deep breath and carefully sat down at the edge of the bed, and the lump didn't so much as flinch. "...Arthur, you know you're worrying everyone." He tried to speak calmly.

There was no response.

"They say you're eating, but since no one can see you they think you're really just throwing it away. I don't know if that's true or not-if it is that's just a waste of perfectly good food-but the point is that people think that's what you're doing. And if they start to think that you're not taking care of yourself, it just brings moral down even lower than it already is." He tried to speak casually, but there was a certain weight to his words that hung in the air.

For a moment there was a silence between the man the lump named Arthur. Until, finally, a young man emerged from the lump under the blanket. His hair was sticking up in every which way, and there were rolls under his eyes that far surpassed the first man's. "...I eat the food." His voice came out a little hoarse, as though he hadn't spoken in a while.

"Come down to eat dinner then, so that everyone else knows it." He said, as he kept his back to Arthur.

Another silence swept over as Arthur blankly stared off into space, his eyes looking drained of color. His hands weakly gripped at the blanket that he was previously hiding in. "I don't really want-"

"Arthur." His voice was only stern as it came out. "We all know what you're going through. No one else was as hurt by this as you were… But we all have a role to play, and you know that. We can't hide as the world continues to move forward, and it's moving right now. You especially have to move along with it, because everyone is looking to us to lead the way…" He looked down at his hands, that were locked with each other. It looked as though he were lost somewhere else for a moment before snapping back into reality. "You should at least start showing up for dinner before they arrive. Everyone's getting nervous over the news, so seeing you looking a little better might calm them down."

Arthur stared off with an unreadable expression in his eyes. After a moment, his grip on his blanket finally dropped. "Just give me a minute to get dressed, Yao."

With that, Yao got up to his feet. "Good to hear." He began to walk towards the door once again. When the handle was in his hand, he looked back over to Arthur's direction. "By the way, I have some stuff for those rolls under your eyes if you want to borrow it for tonight." He tried to sound more cheerful, but it was ruined by the tired look in his own eyes.

. . .

Rain quietly dripped down on the window glass, making a soft sound that took over in the empty room. She had a thick blanket pulled over her lap, and an open book between her thin, pale fingers. The words were absorbed by her eyes, but her mind wouldn't really take them in. Something about a revolution and something else about a poem, it was all nothing but blurs. So, she placed the book down on the table in front of her, and instead grasped the handle of the tea cup.

She brought the porcelain up to her lips and took in a warm sip. She felt the warmth of the tea go down her throat, but she felt no other warmth inside of her. But, despite the rain frosting the glass, she also didn't feel cold either. She was trapped in a sickly middle.

Tiredly, she looked down from her seat atop the stairs. Her eyes looked over her room as she slowly look it all in one last time before she would have to descend those steps again-before she had to be sent back down into her reality. From up here everything looked distant and insignificant, but she knew it was only her mourning mind that deluded her into thinking like this. Finally, her eyes fell onto the black tailored dress that was sitting atop her bed.

Soon her handmaids will come in and help her into this dress, and today will be the last day she will be allowed to wear it. A heaviness took over her chest at the thought, and she began to hope that it was the last time she would ever have to wear it again. However, she knew better than to hope for such a thing. People in her position were not given luxury to hope.

. . .

Alfred began to wake up, and it felt as though it was because his dream told him it was time to. He wanted to drift back to sleep, but he knew that after he woke up from one of those sereal dreams he wouldn't be allowed to go back to sleep.

His eyes slowly began to open up, and he could only see the family hazy image he's been seeing for the last four-or was it five-days. It was the empty seat ahead of him in this small carriage. Every time he saw it, he couldn't help but think it was a shame that no one was sitting on it. It was high quality wood with nice soft cushions on the seat and the backrest-he knew they were soft because they were identical to the cushion he was just napping on.

With a yawn, he stretched his arms up as best as he could in the small space. When he first saw the carriage he thought it was the biggest carriage he'd ever seen, but after being in it long enough he was desperate to leave it. He slid open the window to his left and peeked out of it. There was nothing much outside but open roads and fields. When he spotted a cow grazing, he figured they were getting close to a farm or something.

He looked to his right and saw Matthew sleeping soundly as he leaned against the other wall of the carriage. A part of Alfred was tempted to wake up Matthew for some company, but he knew he'd just feel guilty if he did. Afterall, Matthew was having trouble sleeping throughout this entire trip because of his nerves. If one of them was going to panic about suddenly being told to pack their things and hop on for a ride, it was going to be Matthew. Besides, he already woke Matthew up from his name three different times and got a-quiet-mouthful afterwards, he didn't want a repeat of that.

This left Alfred with little to do but fidget with his hands and pants; but, of course he got very bored of this very quickly. So, he slowly-or as slowly as his body knew how to be-he moved over to the empty seat in front of him. Once he was securely sitting, he slid open the little window that led to the driver. "Hey, Edwin, when's our next stop? My legs are starting to cramp." He tried to say as casually as he could with a smile.

In response, Edwin quickly snapped his head over to look at Alfred, his eyes widened and his complexion went a little pale. "Do you need me to look at it for you, your Highness?"

The worried tone and look from the man made Alfred immediately uncomfortable, and this was only made worse by the title 'your Highness.' He tried to give the man a sheepish smile, knowing well it was probably hard for Edwin to actually see his face. "It's nothing serious, I was just joking. I was just wondering when I can stretch my legs for a bit?"

Edwin looked back ahead, but Alfred could tell it wasn't to shut him out-the man just needed to drive the carriage. "We'll be coming up to a well in just a few moments, and we'll be taking a break so that the horses may drink. Would you like a light meal prepared for then, your Highness?"

Alfred had thought of asking them all to stop calling him 'your Highness,' but Matthew pointed out that Alfred might be having to get used to it. Regardless, the sound of food certainly brought his mood up. "Sure, that sounds great. Could you also bring out some extra in case my brother wakes up?"

Edwin gave him a small nod. "As you wish, your Highness."

With that response, Alfred thought a little longer. "Actually, while you're at it, why don't we all just eat something before we start back up. The horses' are gonna eat too right, so why don't we all just eat?" He suggested cheerfully. There were only a few things that sounded better than eating with others.

Edwin looked back at Alfred with a raised brow. "Are you sure, your Highness?"

Alfred naturally just smiled at the question. "Of course I'm sure."

"...Very well, I will inform Sir Jin."

"Thanks Edwin!" Alfred said with cheer as he closed back up the window. As he sat back up straight, he felt rather proud of himself. They've been traveling with Edwin and Jin for days but so far Alfred hadn't gotten much out of them other than their names and statues. Edwin was driving the carriage but he was actually a doctor and messenger from the palace, and Jin was a knight with quite the amount of experience under his belt. Alfred has been wanting to chat with them some more, but since they spent most of their time on the road or staying at an inn, the two have been pretty busy.

With a satisfied grin, Alfred took advantage of the empty seat and stretched his legs out across it as he got himself comfortable.

. . .

Alfred didn't even wait for Edwin to open the door, as soon as the carriage stopped Alfred all but jumped out of it. He took in a deep breath as he looked around. It was a large empty field like the ones they have been passing by on the way, and the only thing there was a community well.

There were a few other groups of people gathered around the well, but they were the only ones that had a large carriage. Eyes looked over at them curiously, and Alfred sent them all a wide grin. But, everyone just looked away.

Alfred scratched the back of his head in confusion, but just looked over to Edwin and Jin. Edwin was pulling the two horses by the rein to lead them closer to the well, and Jin was pulling out bags from the back of the carriage in order to get to the food supply. Deciding he could do something, he walked over to where Jin was.

When Jin noticed him approaching, he stopped what he was doing to give a bow. "Did you need something, my lord?" For safety sake, Jin and Edwin decided to refer to not refer to Alfred as a monarch when they were in public areas. Until they reached the capital, no one else was allowed to know that a new King had been found. It was for that same reason that Alfred was told to wear bandages around his neck.

Alfred just smiled at Jin and reached out for one of the bags in the back. "Just thought I'd help you out here."

Jin reached out a hand to try blocking Alfred's hands-without actually touching him. "You don't have to, my lord."

Ignoring Jin, Alfred grabbed a hold of the bag that had Matthew's books. "It's fine, I've had to lug around heavier anyways." Since Alfred was never really good for anything other than his strength, he would mostly get odd jobs that required a lot of labor work.

Despite the helmet, Alfred was able to tell Jin was a little stunned. "But, my lord-"

"'Sides," Alfred cut in with a grin, "I am starving. The quicker we set up lunch the better, right?" After he placed down Matthew's bag, he pulled out the bag that had the food.

With that, Jin took the bag and took out what they were to eat that moment. After he wrapped up the rest, he and Alfred began to put back the bags. When they were done, Jin once again bowed to Alfred. "Thank you for your help, my lord."

Alfred just sheepishly laughed at the thanks. "Hey no need for that, lets just start digging in."

As Jin gave Alfred a nod, Erwin walked over to Alfred's side. "With what we have, I can put together a few sandwiches, if that's alright with you, my lo-"

"Yeah that sounds great!" Alfred exclaimed with excitement.

Edwin looked a little taken back, but just nodded and set to work.

With that, Alfred looked back at Jin curiously. "Hey, Jin, you wanna take off that armor of yours? It's pretty much summer out here."

"My job is to protect you, my lord, and for that I must be ready to fight at any moment."

"Yeah but," he glanced over at the other people who were taking advantage of the community well, and it looked like it was mostly villagers and merchants, "I don't think there's anyone here wielding swords." He looked back at Jin with a broad smile. "Com'on, we're supposed to be relaxing a bit aren't we?"

Alfred was a little surprised when he thought he heard a quiet chuckle from the knight. "As much as I appreciate the sentiment, my lord, it would still be difficult for me to take off the armor. I don't have a squire here to help me, and we will be setting off on the road soon. It would take too long for me to take it off and put it back on."

"That so?" Alfred thought about it, and came to a conclusion when Edwin walked back over to them. "Edwin, you wanna help me take off Jin's armor?"

. . .

'Maybe I should have taken Yao's offer.' Arthur thought to himself as he looked at his face in the mirror. It wasn't just the bags under his eyes, his eyes were also just swollen from the lack of sleep and all the crying.

Looking at his own exhausted and run-down expression made his chest swell up as it only served to remind him how damaged he's become. He'd only recently started properly eating, but he felt nauseated whenever he forced himself to swallow it down. His eyes stung as they were still trying to get adjusted to the light coming from the opened curtains-and it was only becoming dusk. The time he's spent locked away in his room has been nothing but a constant stabbing pain that he's almost grown numb to. Even now, he felt as though something was ripping him apart from the inside out.

With a heavy-shay-sigh, he reached over for his coat cufflinks. He began to put them in place, but his mind was foggy from other thoughts; the same thoughts that have been haunting him for over a week. Images and memories swirled in his mind, and he tried to just throw them out. Yao was right, he needed to get out of his room and present himself into the world, it was his duty.

So, he tried to bury down those thoughts and feelings that he's felt encased in for all of this time down. At least for right now, for at least dinner, he needed to forget about his pain. He needed to go down stairs and smile with everyone, he needed to show that he was getting better-even if he wasn't sure if he would ever be…

He looked himself over in the mirror, and made sure everything was in place. This black outfit of his, that represented mourning, it made his stomach churn. Because it was in a black mourning dress that he first met her in… He remembered how the black material made the red in her stand out even more…

His hand went up to pinch the bridge between his brows in discomfort. He tried to bury that memory down along with the rest as he grabbed for his hat… As he did, he thought over what Yao said, how there were guests coming. Arthur knew very well what that meant, and he couldn't help the conflicting emotions at the thought.

'They've already found her replacement.' He knew it was unfair to think of it like that. It was the way the world worked, and he knew this was going to be the result. This was always going to be the end result… but… He couldn't help but wonder, how this person, that he's never met before, possibly replace her.

. . .

Matthew had a mild panic attack when he woke up and noticed Alfred wasn't next to him. Then, he realized that the carriage was stopped, and he panicked for a different reason. He reached over to open the door to the carriage and looked outside. It wasn't hard to find Alfred, he was usually the loudest person in the area, and Matthew was only mildly surprised to see where he was.

He was currently leaning on a tree, eating a sandwich as he was chattering away with Edwin and-who Matthew assumed-was Jin. There were even three other people-two women and one man-that were gathered with them. They were all gathered around Alfred as he smiled that smile that tends to allure people to him. Erwin and Jin kept a respectful distance from them throughout the trip, but Matthew knew it was only a matter of time before Alfred got them to open up to him.

Matthew just stared at them for a moment. Everyone around Alfred was smiling as they ate and laughed together. For as long as Matthew could remember, Alfred was always like this. He was always the center of the world that drew people in, he was always smiling brightly and putting people at ease. Alfred, was always the sun.

It was because of that, because of scenes like this, Alfred felt a little too far away. "Mattie!" Alfred shouted and waved his arm as his eyes looked directly into Matthew's. "Come on over, we got some food for you too!"

Matthew's eyes widened slightly, before he timidly began to descend from his carriage. And like that, like he's always done, he slowly found his way towards the sun.

Alfred was having more fun than he has in a long while. Turned out Edwin and Jin were pretty fun when you got them to stop acting so formal. It took a little bit of convincing, but he managed to get Edwin to agree to help him take off Jin's armor for him. After that, it just took a few more encouraging words and they were telling him all about their lives.

It didn't take that long until some of the other people stopping at the well joined them, and they were all just enjoying themselves. Matthew never spoke much, but he knew that he enjoyed just sitting and listening, so even he was having fun in his own way.

This was just fun. It felt like Alfred didn't have a care in the world. He wanted to enjoy this moment. This moment that he didn't have to think of those dreams that felt like memories that belonged to someone else, or the heavy feeling that came with the phrase 'your Highness.'"

(AN) Before things get too complicated, I thought I should point something out. In this fanfic, the lay out of the countries is the Hetalia Cardverse map that was drawn by Rockets on tumblr. post/41037470144 Here is the link to said map. I don't own any rights to this map, but this is just the best layout I could think of for this universe. :)