Alfred gave a cry of shock. "Arthur!" He quickly caught the Queen before any more damage could be done. His mind went into overdrive. 'What's wrong with Arthur?!'

Isabel, who was pacing, swore as the healer finally got there. The healer quickly got on his knees and looked over him for basic signs. "What are the symptoms?"

"Slight fever, he feinted, and he kept making these pained grunting noises," Alfred listed off.

Meanwhile, Arthur could hear voices, but he couldn't pinpoint where they were. All he could tell was Alfred holding him and worrying over him and it made his heart soar.

The healer spent a few more minutes before deciding to try a different approach. She needed to do a physical search. "Get a tent up and have someone get my herbs from my bag."

The Ace immediately started giving orders. Some men did as she asked and the tent was up in minutes.

"Please carry him my King."

Arthur shivered violently when he started to move forward, a cough escaping his lips. One hand weakly clung to his jacket, the other gripping onto Alfred's jacket and tugging.

Alfred hurried into the tent and set him on the floor. The healer came in and started to strip him. Thankfully, for Arthur's dignity, he cock was no longer hard. The healer then determined that it was the heat and dehydration.

Arthur gave a quiet whine, almost of desperation, when he felt the warmth of Alfred disappear from him. Where had he gone? He needed the warmth back urgently, and quickly. Arthur groaned; whoever was carrying him now was not being gentle or mindful at all. He felt as if his lunch would rise back up from his throat.

Them he felt as if he were floating. Water was all around him. Having never learnt how to swim, he panicked and started to squirm, aching for something to protect him and wanting to get away from the liquid.

Alfred picked Arthur back above the water. "Arthur, you need to wake up!"

Arthur grunted and moved his head to the side. The warmth had returned, and he wanted nothing more than to curl up beside him and sleep.

"Arthur! Please! Get UP!"

Once he was jostled, the weak Queen's eyes rose slowly, and he looked up into the pair of sky blue eyes.

Alfred gave a sigh of relief. "Thank the gods! What happened?!"

Arthur blinked. Looking down he saw that he was in a thin white robe that was wet and sticking to every curve of his body.

"Arthur! Please talk to me!" Alfred begged.

Arthur groaned, turning his head so that his face hid in Alfred's sleeve. Embarrassment stirred inside of him, and he wanted to hide into the ground and wait until the situation was forgotten.

Alfred forced Arthur to look at him. "Why didn't you tell me earlier you were feeling sick?"

Aching banging knocked against his skull, and he winced, closing his eyes. It was as if he went drinking! He tried to speak He opened his mouth, but his throat was dry and he couldn't gather enough strength to form any sounds.

The healer came over with a flask and made Arthur drink the whole thing.

The Queen grunted in alarm when the flask was put into his mouth and poured the burning liquid down his throat. He was left gasping when it was gone; eyes shut and head resting back against his King.

"Arthur! I need you to talk to me!" Alfred pleaded.

Arthur grimaced, trying to move but unable to. His head was pounding harsher than before, and he needed it to end now. "No...yelling..."

The whole company sighed in relief. If that wasn't a sure sign that Arthur was going to be alright, they didn't think Arthur would get better.

"Ok, but you need to stay up." Alfred said quietly.

"The world is...is spinning..." Arthur's eyes wandered around with a half-asleep look on his face, before his eyelids started to close over the emerald orbs. Sleep sounded wonderful right now.

Alfred used his own canteen to make Arthur drink. "You must stay awake Arthur. I need you to be conscience."

Even though his muscles were heavy with fatigue, he raised a shaky hand to let the canteen pour water down his throat. "I'm so tired..." He needed to get back to the castle. Yes, that's what it was. That's where he was going. He started to stand, pushing Alfred's arms away weakly.

Alfred brought a hand to Arthur's chest. "Hey, slow down there. You need to rest, but stay awake, ok?"

Arthur was dizzy... Now the world was tilting in several directions, and he was trying to find one to focus on. He looked up at Alfred, a blank stare on his face before he weakly reached up, grabbed the younger's cheeks, and brought their lips together.

The King froze. Arthur was...kissing him?! Trying not to look startled, Alfred brought his head back. "Arthur, I am going to give you wine, okay?" That would knock him out and the company could move again. Not to mention give Alfred time to think about this.

"You don't like...kissing me...do you..." Arthur panted, head hurting double and heart aching. Of course he wouldn't. He would never like him for doing that. "You like maids...maids with...with frilly dresses and...and dresses...you hate bl…blond Queens..."

Alfred quickly looked around. The Brit's voice didn't carry so no one hears. Quickly he took Arthur back to the tent. Getting a glass of wine, Alfred poured it in Arthur's mouth. "Shhhh..."

Arthur cried out in fear and shoved the glass away from his mouth. "You're an...an arse for...everything!" He weakly pushed himself to his knees. "Why do you..care about me- me now if...i-if you never cared...about me before..." The world began to spin faster, and he landed on his back, nearly welcoming the darkness that overshadowed him once again. He needed some sleep...sleep was nice.

The younger sighed as his Queen finally fell asleep. "Oh Arthur."

Once again he picked the Brit up and carried him back to Night Runner. Having Isabel hold Arthur momentarily, Alfred got on his stallion. Then he motioned for Arthur. Alfred quickly placed the smaller in front of him, leaning Arthur back onto Alfred's chest for support. After the tent was put away, Alfred called the men into line. Finally he grabbed the reins and started off towards the Castle again.

A rough jostle disturbed Arthur, and he groggily opened his eyes. His body felt heavier than it had before, there was a steady heart beating against his ear, and the support underneath him moved him around gently. He let out a soft yawn, licking his lips from their dry texture, and looked up at the body he was against, before he let out a loud scream.

Startled, Alfred nearly fell off of his horse. "What? What's wrong?"

Arthur gazed at the other with shock, his heart beating inside his chest rapidly. His mind was whirring with a million thoughts, head spinning again. He remembered every single detail, every little thing he had done. He tried to move away from Alfred, but failed, and only ended up squirming in place. "Y-you, a-ah..."

Alfred looked down in confusion. What was Arthur's problem today?! Holding back a sigh, he wrapped an arm around Arthur to steady the smaller. "I what, Arthur?"

The Queen's face blossomed a deep red, and he squirmed in an attempt to right himself. In the end, he faced the fact that he was somewhere a bit uncomfortable for him, and sighed, looking away. "N-nothing..."

The King spurred the stallion on ahead of the party so they could talk. "Then pray tell what was with earlier. If you needed a brake or water just tell me. The healer said you are severely dehydrated."

Arthur blushed. "Well, I-I didn't want you worrying about me. You already have enough anxiety over me. I didn't want to stress you out."

Alfred gave a small glare. "I don't care! It's my job to worry about you! Despite what you think, I do care to a degree."

The shorter snorted. "Oh really now. Because you completely cared about our relationship when you were giving the maids a good fuck." He gave his own venomous glare to the younger. "Or, of course, when you insulted me and made me feel worse than dirt."

Alfred sighed. "Look at me Arthur. I said I care about you not the relationship! And I told you that I say things I don't mean when I am angry." He moved Night Runner a bit head of the others. "What exactly do you want from me? Answer me truly. I have been trying to figure it out but I seem to be going in a circle."

Arthur stared straight into his eyes, unblinking. There was so much that he could say, so much that he wanted from their relationship. But his one kiss, that one stolen, sneaky peck was an explanation all in itself. "I thought I had already shown you that by the lake."

Alfred finally let out the sigh he had been holding in. "And what if I am not gay Arthur? What if I just want to fix up our relationship but never take it beyond?"

The Queen chuckled sadly and shook his head, closing his eyes while he did so. Of course he wouldn't be in his preference. No wonder he didn't like him; Alfred must have been expecting a female as his Queen. He must hold that against him. "Whot if you never like me for who I am, Alfred? I'm not like everybody else. I'm...different."

Alfred thought. "I don't think your different Arthur. I would use the term unique. Everyone is special in their own way! And as for not liking you, I have already said that I don't hate you and generally care for your wellbeing"

Arthur gazed down at his hands. There was a part of him that was tugging him, forcing him to believe that everything Alfred said was true. But there was something else, saying that he didn't have any proof of that. "...Show me that. I want you to prove to me that you really do care for my well-being..."

"I searched for you, I came across Spades for you, and I have been trying to help you through this process." Alfred said naming things from off the top of his head.

Arthur shook his head in disbelief. Yes, those were good examples. Wonderful ones, even. But there was so much that he had to fix when they returned to the castle. He didn't want to be difficult; just truthful and serious. "There's a long list of things we need to fix before I can believe you, Alfred."

Alfred smiled. "I know but I am a hero! Heroes never give up!"

Arthur simpered. He would never get the youngest adolescents, even though he was just a few years older than their generation. They all seemed too cocky or too proud of themselves. But there were times when that was an admirable trait. "I'm sure you'll try your hardest, Alfred."

Alfred smiled brighter. He was very proud to call himself a hero. "There is no try, there's only do or not do." He said copying an elder from his hometown.

The smaller male snorted with a roll of his eyes. "Oh yes, because I have never heard of that one before. You've said that only a few hundred times."

"That's because I like the saying, Queenie!"

The younger smiled at the argument. Just like old times, except that there was no bite to them now. It was rather...playful.

Arthur resisted a laugh; just like -Alfred to act like this. The Queen's heart pounded inside of him. Whether the King liked him or not, the older would always love him. "How much longer until we get there?"

"Well we had to stop twice because of you so I would say another five hours."

Arthur glared at the taller. "Are you saying that I'm the one who caused the delay?!"

Alfred gaze never left him. "Yes! You also stopped the meeting of Lords and Ladies of the Court, with that little runaway stunt of yours!"

The Queen glared at him, this time with spite. Yes, the "fighting" before was friendly and harmless, their words lacking malice, but now, with that comment, what did that mean? "I only ran away because of the maid and whot you said," he informed his King. "Does my existence still bother you?"

"I already said I don't hate you. I am grateful for your presence." At this point, Alfred looked away. He had never told Arthur that before.

The blond was shocked to hear the words come out of his mouth. He could tell he wasn't lying either; Alfred's face was a bright scarlet and his eyes were averted. "You...whot are you grateful for?"

"Well you always try to help me and you practically run the Kingdom..."

Arthur snorted, resisting a look into Alfred's eyes. "Because I want what's best for us..."

Alfred looked at him. "You're trying to make this hard on me arn't you?"

The Queen, with a puzzled look upon his features, glanced at Alfred. "Whot do you mean?"

"The whole forgiveness thing."

Arthur sighed, gazing at the path in front of them in thought. He wasn't trying to make it difficult. But did the King not understand that he really, truly had hurt him? He was in love with the younger male, head-over-heels as the younger generations said. Alfred, however, did not have the same mindset as he did.

"Alfred...," he finally said after a brief moment of silence, cheeks blushing with the words he was about to utter. "I really, really liked you. Not just as a person, but...a-as a love interest." His face burned as he continued on shamelessly but without hesitation. "Seeing you with the maid, that one night...it hurt me...not just because I saw a crush with someone else, but also because...it was a secret that you kept away from me." He gazed into the blue eyes that were hanging on to his every word. "If you were in my place, Alfred...would you be forgiving me so easily?"

Blushing, Alfred looked away again. He took several moments to think about what he wanted to say. He knew that if he didn't word something correctly, this could sound terrible.

"If I were in your position? The answer is yes and no." He paused for a breath. "If I were you I would have told me as soon as I released my feelings. As we are two different people, we react differently." Another pause. "You call it a secret yet why should I have told you? It's my private life and since you never told me your feelings, I believe I had a right to have a...different side of companionship."

Arthur was silent for a long while. This boy was difficult and confusing. And yet he made extremely valid points that made his head spin and his heart ache. He didn't give a response to his words, for there was none that he could find.

Alfred took the silence as a break. Eventually the quiet grew uncomfortable and he decided to start a conversation. "Ummm...what was the ship like? You said you were mistaken for someone else?"

"Fine." Arthur wanted to block him out but decided against it. In fact, maybe he could fool him a little bit. "In fact, it was marvelous. The King there got everything sorted out for me, and treated me like I was the most precious thing on the planet." He tried not to smirk but he couldn't help himself. "In fact, I almost didn't want to leave."

Since Arthur was in front of Alfred, the King didn't see the smirk only the happiness in his voice. Smiling Alfred responded, "While I am glad you had your fun, I am going to point out that you would have had to leave anyway. Spades needs its Queen. Anyway, you said this was your friend not a King earlier, are you lying to me Arthur?" The last part was a bit of a tease.

The Queen rolled his eyes; such a foolish child. "I don't think I would have had to go back; besides, you seemed okay with having a female as a Queen. And yes, he is a friend, and also a King, and he's one of the kindest souls I've ever met."

Alfred snorted. "Please! I would have hunted all over the world for you! Not to mention that you would eventually feel guilty about leaving your people. Also what was his name and where is he King of?"

Arthur bit down on his lip to resist laughter. He sounded so determined, yet he didn't even know the Kingdom America ruled was considered a simple myth, a fairy tale. "I doubt that. For whot reason would you hunt me for? And he was a part of a small Kingdom, one you would have not known about."

"I would hunt you down to bring you back home. As I said, Spades needs their Queen." Alfred finally looked back at Arthur, who had turned his head after his last sentence. "I would have even gone to war with this small Kingdom if it meant I would get you back."

Arthur's cheeks blew up in red, and he spun his head back around to glare at the path in front of them. How could Alfred say that he wasn't interested in men, and then say a comment like that? He must have at least a small crush on him! You couldn't lie about something like that, and you certainly couldn't say that without holding at least a little bit of affection inside of your heart.

Then a rather cruel idea came to him. Alfred was telling the truth, he would go to war for him. Maybe not for Arthur but for himself. As King, Alfred would have to not only chase him down but declare war on any Kingdom who gave him safe passage. As Spades was the most powerful of the four Card Kingdoms, not many Kingdoms would fight for the runaway Queen.

Maybe it was duty not emotion that Alfred could say these things and not lie.

Arthur's stomach churned and his attitude changed drastically to cruel and angry. The selfish bastard would want to do such a thing. The older that his King relied on him to do everything for him. Without Arthur, there would be a hell of a lot of work to get done, but Alfred didn't have to worry about that. Oh no; he just had to sit back and let the Spades' Queen and Jack, and even sometimes Ace if there was a lot to get done, while he, Alfred, sat back and fucked a maid.

Yet the Queen didn't tell Alfred this. He would see what would change when they returned to the castle. His deepest hope was that Alfred truly wanted change. His deepest fear is that Alfred only wanted him back for his work-ethic.

Arthur tried to change the subject, and noticed that they were nearing the Kingdom. Good; he needed to write a letter to America and vent to Yao.

Alfred was a bit worried about the silence, but that all vanished as he saw the Castle on the horizon. "Home sweet home."

Arthur breathed out a sigh of relief, leaning his head back and against Alfred's shoulder. "Thank the gods, right?"

While he was a bit relieved, Arthur was also worried. He would bet his life he had a ton of paper work to do. Not to mention how the Lords and Ladies would respond to this. Sometimes he just wished the Kingdom of Spades had a dictatorship, just to get rid of the Royal Court. They were pests!

Alfred nodded and hummed deeply. "Yes, yes."

To be honest, he never really believed in magic or the gods until he was chosen to be King. Since then it had been proven many times, yet Alfred still doubted the deities. He still believed that many or all problems could be solved by human intelligence. The gods never really gained his interest.

Arthur stole a glance at Alfred. "Whot's wrong?"

"Nothing just tired."

Arthur doubted that was the true answer, but dropped the subject anyway.

Isabel hurried forward. "My King, my Queen, shall we send a rider ahead?"

The older blond shook his head. "No, I think we'll be alright. Why would we send a rider?"

Isabel and Alfred spoke at the same time. "So they know their Queen is back!"

Arthur was quiet, cheeks blushing lightly. "It...can't be that much of a big deal, right?"

Isabel snorted. "My Queen, it is rather a big deal. The entire city even set up a collection for your wellbeing."

The Queen blushed, and looked down at his hands. He had caused so much trouble for them, all because of his personal problems with Alfred. "I-I...I suppose, if you would like to."

The Ace nodded to a nearby horseman, who at command started to race towards the gates of the city.

Alfred looked at Isabel. "What gate are we coming up to?"

"The Sun Gate, we are going west to east."

Arthur wanted to try and spur the horse on, to charge the gate and see his people, his home. He tapped his feet into Alfred's horse, clicking his tongue. He tried this a few times yet the stubborn beast wouldn't move!

Alfred laughed. "That's not going to work. Night Runner has been trained to only follow my commands." The younger made a strange yipping sound and finally the stallion started to make a faster trot.

Arthur huffed in embarrassment and annoyance. "Well that's rather helpful."

The sound of the King's laughter filled the surrounding area. "That's why I gave you Flora!"

The Queen turned around, remembering that he had passed out against the King a while ago. "Where is she?!"

Alfred blinked. "Huh? Oh, she is behind us. She naturally follows Night Runner as the lead horse."

Arthur looked behind them, with a bit of difficulty, and sighed in relief when he noticed his horse, Illumi close on her heels and Freedom flying from branch to branch. "Thank the gods. I thought I had lost them."

The taller looked at him. "You don't know much about animals do you?"

"I know perfectly well about animals!" He glared.

"Then your knowledge is incomplete. Animals, once you gain their trust and loyalty, will do everything in their power to stay with you. It's very had to break that trust. Remember Mudclaw as a kitten?"

"...W-Well, yes, but...I never thought of it as that."

Alfred smirked. "What is this? The great Queen of Spades doesn't know something? Alert the press! Call the people to witness this event!"

The smaller glared pointedly at him. "Whot's that supposed to mean?"

"That you're a know it all."

"Wha- you rude, little bastard! I am not a know-it-all!"

"Says the person who corrects every person, myself included, if they do anything wrong, no matter what age. You need to relax more."

"That's ridiculous, since when have I done that?!"

Alfred smiled. "Well most of the time ya talk to me."

Isabel decided to join in. Her horse was close enough to hear the conversation. "At last year's Moon Fest."

"Or during meetings."

"When you are directing the servants."

"Could you also count spelling and grammar errors on paper?"

"Yes my King. You can also count during meals."

Arthur blushed. "W-well, you shouldn't be messing up so many times so it's your fault too!"

Alfred just looked at him. "That's not the point."

"Then whot is?!"

"That you need to relax!"

Isabel smiled. "My King and Queen, we are close to the gate."

I don't own Hetalia...

So Cheese-kun was my 50th reviewer. So if you would contact me with your ideas with in a week, or I will give it away to 51 a.k.a my next reviewer.