Later that morning, Alfred sat on his throne listening to the problems brought to him by his citizens, struggling for solutions. When he heard the familiar creaking of the door to his left, he looked to see Jack Yao Wang. Seeing the look on his face, Alfred quickly excused himself and followed the Jack out of the room, trying to hide his joy at being pulled from the difficult task of solving his people's problems.
Yao rushed down the hallway at a fast pace without a word of explanation. Alfred tried to think of what news the Jack could have.
As they walked into an empty meeting room, Yao took a seat and gestured for Alfred to do so as well. At the king's curious look, the Jack took a deep breath and cleared his throat.
Alfred mentally groaned, noting Yao's body language. Though they'd only worked together for a month, Alfred was familiar enough with the Jack to know that he would have to be patient to hear the news. Yao, though he was a marvelous story teller, was known for being very wordy and for leaving the story's point until the very end, as if it were a punchline to a joke. Alfred, however, quickly learned that the stories were rarely amusing.
Yao's words stirred Alfred from his musings, begin his tale by saying that, two days previous, several soldiers had been resting from searching for the queen in an old port town. As customers had begun flooding in, however, the clock they had held had begun quietly chiming. They'd quickly sobered and begun walking around the bar, realizing that the cause for the chiming was the presence of royalty. They were able to eliminate all but a few customers, and waited for those few to become inebriated enough that they wouldn't be suspicious of someone waving a clock in their face.
Alfred, who had been trying to patiently listen to the story, lost all self-control and demanded to know if his queen had been found.
Yao, startled, hesitated a moment, eyes darting around the room, as if searching for eavesdroppers. Then he quietly replied.
"Yes, your Highness. The queen has been found."
Alfred could hardly believe it. He wanted to meet this man. Destiny had chosen thIs man to be his queen, and who was he to defy destiny? He told the Jack as much, who shook his head.
"Please, you don't understand. This man, the Queen of Spades. He is Captain Arthur Kirkland. The most feared pirate in the Sea of Cards."
Alfred's smile, which previously threatened to split his face in half, vanished immediately. Obviously, his Jack was joking.
"You jest, Yao. Had I not known better, I would have thought you a Joker."
Yao denied vehemently, and tried to further convince the King of his truthfulness. As the normally calm Jack began losing his composure, Alfred seriously considered the idea of a pirate being his queen. He could think only of how ridiculous it was, but noted the look on Yao's face, which portrayed nothing but truth.
Alfred held up his hand, cutting off Yao's pleas mid-word, and spoke. "Where is he?"
Yao's face flashed to gratitude for a moment before it was wiped carefully blank. "The dungeons, your Highness. He is a criminal, after all."
Alfred, frozen in place, quietly said, "Take me to him." Yao nodded, training his eyes on the floor. He stood and left, Alfred following closely behind.
THIS IS THE FIRST LINE BREAK'S WIFE. HER NAME IS NANCY.
Here's chapter two. Not much to say, really.
