Mmmk, I'm back! Hope you like it, I spent hours working on this ;)
Matthew was vaguely aware of the sound of rustling and the gentlest breeze against his skin, but he couldn't make himself wake up, he simply didn't have enough energy. To his left, he could feel someone moving, approaching him. He felt sleep starting to pull him under again, but his interest in what this person might do kept it at bay. He felt a hand on his forehead and a light, warm pressure on his cheek before sleep finally took over.
When Matthew awoke this time, it took him a moment to sit up. He had no idea for how long he'd actually slept, or where he was as he glanced around the room. He pinched his arm lightly, to make sure he wasn't still asleep. He was in a large room, lying on a huge canopy bed surrounded by red sheets. The windows, or doors as you may call them by their size, took up almost a whole wall of the room and opened onto a wide balcony that could've been a room in and of itself. The walls of the room were covered in black and red wallpaper, with a heart design. The furniture was a deep mahogany and extravagant in design, seemingly fit for a king. Matthew was baffled. The last thing he remembered was falling down a hole as he looked for the strange disappearing boy, how had he ended up in such a place? After the initial surprise had passed, panic started setting in. He was in a strange room, in a strange place, he had no idea what time it was and his mind flew in all kinds of horrible directions. Maybe he'd been kidnapped, maybe he was dead, maybe... Maybe this was all a dream.
As Matthew felt himself start hyperventilating, he heard the click of the door and looked up, eyes wide and body shaking. Matthew couldn't stop the squeak of fear that escaped his lips as the person entered and closed the door behind them.
The stranger looked up, startled. He hadn't expected Matthew to have woken up this quickly. Upon noticing Matthew's terrified eyes and shaking body, he brought up his hands in a show of peace and offered him a small comforting smile. Matthew didn't know how to react to this gesture. Of course he was still terrified, could he possibly trust this stranger? He took a moment to look at the man, at his beautiful blue eyes and light blond hair tied back in a small wavy ponytail at the back. He was dressed in layers of red clothing, at his neck hung a golden heart pendant. The man was beautiful and Matthew couldn't stop the hint of pink that rushed to his cheeks as his mind pictured what he might look like with less clothing. What Matthew knew for certain, was the man looked important, and he'd never been looked at the way the man was looking at him before, like he was important too.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you, mon cher." The man said, his voice low as he tried to ease Matthew's fear. Matthew's blush deepened at the french endearment he had heard, not wanting to let the man know he understood French perfectly. The man has a strong French accent and Matthew couldn't stop himself from lowering his guard slightly. Matthew nodded slowly, clutching his hands together in front of him. "I-It's okay... May I ask... Who you are?" He asked, his voice shaking a little as he tried to formulate his sentence in the lease offensive way possible. He was certain that angering this man was not an option.
The man took a small step forward, extending his right hand for Matthew to shake if he wanted to. "I'm called Francis, would you allow me the pleasure of knowing your name?" The man, Francis, offered a smile that could've made girls swoon when he saw Matthew reach for his extended hand. "I'm Matthew." He whispered, shaking Francis' hand and lingering for a moment too long, enjoying the feel of his small hand wrapped in Francis' large one. He gasped and pulled back when he realized that they'd remained that way for far longer than was appropriate.
Francis chuckled at the tinge of pink that seeped onto Matthew's cheeks. "Mathieu, what a beautiful name. I suppose I should explain where you are, to prevent your adorable face from looking at me with fear, non?" Francis smiled as Matthew remained speechless and nodded. He had no idea how to respond to this beautiful man and his compliments. He'd never been talked to so gently, and he certainly had no experience with flirting.
"Well, it's quite an unbelievable explanation. You see, I've begun to believe you aren't from this land, since you clearly have no idea who I am." Francis raised his hands up and shook his head when he noticed how upset Matthew got at this statement.
"It's not a problem at all, mon petit Mathieu, ne t'inquiete pas.(Don't worry) You see, this is the kingdom of Hearts, ruled by the King of Hearts. The neighbouring kingdoms are Spades, Clubs and Diamonds. We all rule individually and rarely interact with each other. And you, mon cherie, are not from any of these kingdoms, non?" Matthew shook his head, his eyes wide.
How could he have woken up that very morning in his bed, in Canada, and now find himself in an unknown land called the kingdom of Hearts after having fallen through a hole. "Non... I'm not from here." He whispered, only realizing he'd said no in French when it was too late and he noticed Francis' eyes lighting up.
"You speak Francais, Mathieu?" Francis took a step closer to Matthew, his face lighting up in childish glee, as though he'd just made a new friend.
Matthew nodded, a blush creeping up his neck again. Francis smiled teasingly, his mind automatically thinking of new and different words he could use to tease this cute little stranger he'd found that morning.
"Mathieu, I found you unconscious in my garden, would you mind telling me what happened?" He asked, realizing that before he started shamelessly embarrassing the boy, he should get the full story.
Matthew smiled lightly and nodded. "I was on my way to school and I saw this boy, dressed in the cutest bunny outfit, and I followed him. When I went around the hedge, he'd disappeared and I was afraid he'd fallen through the hole by the tree, so I leaned over it, but a gust of wind made me fall and then I woke up here."
Francis looked out the window thoughtfully throughout Matthew's story, and set his gaze on Matthew as soon as he was finished.
"That must have been Peter then, he wanders off sometimes, no one knows where he goes off to. I'm glad the fall didn't hurt you, Mathieu, it would have been a great shame to harm such a beautiful body." He let a flirtatious smirk slide onto his face as his gaze trailed Matthew up and down.
Matthew kept his gaze steady even though his brain was overheating. He smiled back at Francis and fluttered his lashes cutely. "Would you like to make sure? There might be some hidden injury somewhere." He whispered, teasing Francis.
Francis was left speechless for a moment, the last thing he'd expected was for quiet little Matthew to offer himself to him. "Non, Non Merci. Although I will take you up on that offer sometime, mon petit Mathieu, be sure of that. Now, would you care for a tour?" He asked, extending his hand towards Matthew.
Matthew smiled and nodded, reaching forward and taking Francis' hand, not only because he wanted to feel his warmth again, but because he was also afraid of getting horribly lost.
As Francis navigated him throughout the many winding halls of
the castle, sometimes pointing out some rooms, Matthew found himself amazed by the sheer size of everything. Of course, most things were red and extravagant, but Matthew couldn't begin to believe how someone could possibly need so many rooms and hallways. He knew that Francis wasn't alone in the castle, not because he'd seen anyone, but because he heard them. People were moving about in rooms with closed doors and Matthew didn't want to pry, even though he was dying to meet some more people.
Finally, Francis stopped in front of a large pair of double doors and turned to Matthew. They were the biggest doors Matthew had ever seen. They were over triple his height and there were beautiful ornate hearts carved into the dark wood of the door. Matthew stood for a moment looking up at them with his eyes wide and his mouth slightly open in awe. Francis chuckled and pushed open the door slowly.
"Mathieu, welcome to my humble garden." Humble was not a way to describe this place. Roses were everywhere, in any colour you could imagine, even some which Matthew didn't even know existed.
There were beautiful hedge scultpures, 4 of them were shaped in the shapes of the different suits; Clubs, Clovers, Diamonds and Hearts. They were large and took up a large amount of space, but they were nothing compared to the hedge maze that took up over two thirds of the garden itself. The hedges were covered in different kinds of flowers and were high enough so that even the tallest man couldn't see above them.
"It's... It's beautiful." Matthew choked out, amazed by the sheer size and beauty of it all. It was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen... It was so like Francis, for such a beautiful man, to be the creator of such an amazing garden.
Suddenly, a tall man ran out of the castle and rushed over to Francis. He was tall with tan skin and brown hair and his eyes were the most popping green Matthew had ever seen. "Mi amigo, we need you inside! Vamos!"
Francis looked at Matthew apologetically and nodded to the man, telling him to head back inside. "Mathieu, je suis desole, but I must handle this. You can stay here or explore through the castle, I will find you when I'm done, mon cher." With that, Francis leaned down and pressed a quick kiss on Matthew's hand before heading inside the castle and leaving Matthew behind, speechless.
Matthew stood still for a while, as his blush faded away slowly and his brain processed everything. He shook his head to clear it and looked towards the maze, deciding to head into it.
The maze seemed eternal once he'd entered. He'd never had the most sense of direction and it only got worse here. He turned right, then left, then right, then maybe another right, until he was left completely disoriented and confused standing between two large hedge walls alone.
He looked around from side to side and decided to keep walking a little while longer. Right, Left, Left, Right. Finally, he turned a corner and found himself in a smaller version of the garden he'd been in earlier. This one had a small water fountain in the centre and little benches along the sides. There was a map hanging on one of the hedges that showed the way back to the castle, but Matthew was too tired to register it. He sat down on the bench and leaned against the sides of the maze he'd just exited from.
Matthew thought back to how this had all started and had to blink away the start of tears. All he'd wanted was to avoid his test and he'd found himself here. In this beautiful land, where the only person he'd really met was a hadnsome, flirtatious man who he couldn't help but feel extremely attracted to.
Despite his budding feelings for Francis, Matthew had to find a way home. Maybe he could find the boy who'd led him here and ask him for the way back, except... He had no idea how to get from one suit's land to the other's.
With his mind still filled with all these different thoughts of home and of Francis, Matthew found himself dozing off. His eyelids started feeling heavy and his brain started slowing down. Within a few moments, Matthew had fallen into a light sleep.
He remained this way for a few more minutes before he was woken up by a rustling. His eyes snapped open and he found himself staring up into large brown eyes.
Sooooo? I know not much happened, but I was having trouble with plot, and I figured it out so it should be better soon! Am I portraying the characters properly? Do I need to change something? Please let me know and I'll try and fix it :D And please be nice 3