CC101- Ok, well here is the next chapter. Sorry about this but for the next few days, I will be hosting a person from Germany at my house, so I don't know if I can update soon. Also I was kind of surprised no one mentioned the Game of Thrones reference in the last chapter... No fans?

ATTENTION!: It's my birthday! So please review as a birthday present.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia!

When Arthur next woke up, it was partially due to Alfred. He looked at the King with a smile, seeing how their hands had fallen on top of one another's last night. He would bet money that his friend had gone to bed later than he usually did, just watching over him in case of anything suspicious. He was glad Alfred was like that; it gave him a bit of reassurance that nothing harmful would be getting to them.

The Queen, as much as he wanted to go back and sleep, had started to rummage through Alfred's closet, looking for the formal wear for the Deck Meeting today. He had a feeling there would be questions asked about the injury, but he would be prepared for them. So he also gathered up several medical items he may need.

It was at that point, a knock came from the door.

Since it was still fairly early, Arthur wanted Alfred to have as much rest as possible, and checked to make sure he was still sound asleep before he opened the wooden door.

It was Yao. The Jack looked tired as if he spent all night up. "Ready, aru?" Even his voice sounded tired.

"Just about, give me about ten minutes to get Alfred up and ready." He stepped back to let him in. "You look like you didn't even sleep."

The Jack walked forward. "I send bird ahead to Despoint and settle mess of the Spades Blades."

Arthur proceeded to make himself look presentable after shutting the door and walking in front of a mirror. "I'm sorry you had to. Whot was the result of the Spades Blades when you fixed it?"

"All I do is calm people down. aru. Everyone else planning how to get rid of everything."

Arthur nodded, "As I suspected. Will you wait outside? I will wake the King."

Once the Jack left, he eyed himself in the mirror one last time before going to Alfred's bed and shaking him a bit. "Alfred, it's time to leave for Despoint, get up now."

The King opened his eyes a small fraction only to shut them again. He gave a groan. "Noooo, sleeeep nooow..."

"Noooo, get uuuup nooow." The Queen tugged off his covers. He blushed as he noticed that Alfred was nude as the day he was born.

Alfred curled up into a ball. His ignored the pain of his shoulder at the movement. All he wanted was sleep! Was that so wrong?!

"Alfred, come on, we're going to be late." He climbed onto the bed and over Alfred to get better access to him. "Noooo, waaaake." He started to gently lift the other by putting his arms around his waist and tugging him up carefully.

Alfred suddenly curled against him. "You're so warm..."

Arthur looked at him, unamused by his antics. "And you're asleep again." It amazed the Brit how fast the other could fall asleep. He moved away from the other, going behind him instead, and now trying to carefully lift him out of bed.

Alfred smiled, he was actually barely awake and enjoying the heat radiating off Arthur. "Mmmm..."

"I don't have time for this, Alfred." He almost slammed him back on the bed, but halted. He had never asked but always wondered what that cowlick was doing there, standing so perfectly in the air. It was amazing to see it like so, and Arthur wondered if it was the same as the Jack of Hearts' curl.

With a smirk and no warning, he reached over and gently wrapped his fingers around the cowlick.

Alfred let out a yelp as he skyrocketed up. Both hands went up to slap Arthur's hands away. He didn't even recognize the pain in his shoulder. "NEVER DO THAT AGAIN!" He screamed at Arthur.

His cowlick was important. Only some people had them. They actually had a purpose. These special pieces of hair were marks of those with what some people called a sacrifice soul. These people were, deep down beneath their personality, unselfish and willing to sacrifice. It was also very sensitive to touch.

The Queen, wide-eyed, leaned back away from the other. "I'm sorry," he murmured, almost inaudible. His heart was beating furiously, having been startled by the sudden shout. Maybe it didn't have the same function as Feliciano's curl.

Alfred, whose breathing was not calming, jumped off the bed. "Never again," he warned as he walked toward his closet.

"Whot the hell was that?" Arthur asked him, standing from the bed to go to his side.

Alfred turned around. His chest wrappings were showing red as he wounds reopened. "I said never again!"

The older grabbed his arm and eyed the bandages. "You reopned your wounds." He started to take the wrappings off, grabbing the new ones and a wash cloth that had been in his pocket.

The King stood still and let Arthur do as he pleased. His blue eyes still filled with silent anger.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, looking up at the blue-eyed male as he wiped the blood from the wound. He grasped a new cloth from a basin on a nearby table and started to slowly clean on top of the wound. "I didn't know whot it was, and I needed you to get up. I didn't expect it to be so painful."

"It's not painful as it is shocking." Alfred left off that it was also arousing to his body to have it pulled. Nantucket, as he called it, was a pain at times.

"Well, I apologize for touching it." He started to wrap the gauze around the injury again. "I wasn't expecting it to be as such."

Alfred sighed. He couldn't really stay mad at the other. "Ok, help me dress."

Arthur nodded, threw away the used materials, helping him dress into the appropriate attire. His hands worked diligently and carefully, smoothing out his clothes once they were on. He eyed the King up and down, making sure everything was fine. He nodded once he was done, not wanting to speak in case he got upset again.

Alfred nodded back and slowly walked toward the castle's main entrance. "Let's go."

The older male followed after him, Yao right beside him. The three made their way to the exit, where the carriage that they were sharing was waiting for them. The King and Queen always shared one, as did the Jack and Ace. Thankfully, the carriages were a double option. The inside could be seats or could be transformed into a bed by folding down the seats. An invention Alfred loved and was proud to be called his own.

"Would you like to pull the seats down?" Arthur questioned. He could see Yao out of the corner of his eye asking Isabel the same.

"That would be wonderful. I am still tired," Alfred admitted.

The older pulled down the seats, taking the pillows and blankets that were in a basket that hung above their heads on the ceiling of the carriage. He set up the makeshift bed as neatly as he could, and then climbed in before turning around and reaching out a hand to help Alfred in.

Alfred took his hand greatfully. The green-eyed male assisted him, helping him crawl inside and situate himself without hurting his arm. The King laid down in the bed, smiling as he got under the covers. "A bit uncomfortable but doable."

Arthur smiled small at him. "I'm glad." He looked down at his hands nervously. "Um, if you want, I could lay down beside you and we can talk, or..."

Alfred was already off in dreamland. The green-eyed male frowned and laid beside him, gazing at him and pushing his hair away from his face. He hoped that the meeting with the other Kingdoms wasn't as harsh as he believed. This was going to be more important than ever. They had to do their very best.

Arthur must have fallen asleep as well, because he was startled by arms around his waist and Yao knocking loudly on the door and exclaiming, "You two so fat and lazy aru! You get up now, we late!"

Alfred only groaned and held the source of the warmth tighter.

The Queen sighed, and tried to sit up. "Give us a few minutes, Yao!"

"No, you out now!" The Jack shouted back.

'Whot did I do to deserve this...?' Arthur sighed, and proceeded to shake Alfred roughly, trying his best to avoid his injury and succeeding. "Come, Al, get up now."

The King opened his eyes. He blushed as he noticed the position he had Arthur in. However he was comfortable, so he stayed put. "Yes?"

"You're hugging me right on my hips and Miss Jack of Spades is out there hollering away for you to get up."

"I hear perfectly, aru!"

Alfred laughed loudly as he released Arthur's waist. "Well you can tell Miss Jack of Spades that she needs to chill or I'll send her to Clubs to have the weather do it for her.

Arthur started to laugh, but he was stopped short when the door to the carriage opened and two shoes came flying from seemingly nowhere, one hitting the King and the other the Queen. "Miss Jack of Spades hit you with shoes because you stupid. You get out before Miss Jack of Spades kill you and take you both on her own, aru!"

The youngest rubbed his head as he quickly stormed out of the carriage. "Yao! What if you hit my shoulder?!"

The older frowned and crossed his arms, standing up to his full height, which wasn't much. "That your own fault! You no get up, aru! Now we late to own meeting!"

"I was injured! We have an excuse! Calm your tits!" Alfred jeered in return.

"That no excuse for sleeping, aru! That laziness! I always taught be on time or else you fail, aru!" He poked the taller's chest as he spoke. "You get yourself in place, child!"

Alfred rolled his eyes. He turned to Arthur. "You ready yet?"

The Queen, who had been stifling laughter, let out a short snicker; "I'm waiting for you two children!"

"I not child, he child!" Yao argued.

Again, Alfred rolled his eyes. The blue eyes turned to the city. Despoint was a major city on the Madea River. It had cobble stone streets, a mixture of brick or mud houses (depending on your income), and a big stone castle. The castle was called the Tooth, as it was a major military base of Spades. Tall and imposing, the Tooth offered the high royals of each Kingdom the maximum security. It had over 200 maids and servants, and somewhere over 4,000 military officers. Most lived in the town and had families. It was Alfred's third favorite castle in Spades.

Arthur broke Alfred out of the mini-trance. "Are you going to stand there and admire the scenery all day long?" He intruded on his thoughts, shaking his arm and gesturing to the building where the meeting was taking place, which had only two floors but was shaped like a long 'L'. "Are you every going to come to the meeting?"

The taller blinked. "Sorry, let's get going then." He started to walk, "I know how excited you are to see Francis."

"Oh, I'm just aching with joy and love to see him," the Queen murmured, rolling his eyes. "I bet you're just as excited to see Ivan."

"Yup! I am going to run up and kiss him, I missed him sooo much!" Alfred said with a sultry tone. "Tall and handsome."

Arthur laughed as they entered the building. "That's a disturbing image!" He turned behind him to look at Yao. "But we all know who Yao missed, don't we?"

The Jack blushed. "Y-you be quiet, aru," he mumbled quietly, looking away with rosy cheeks.

Alfred smile at Yao. "Ohh! Kiku! I missed you sooooo much. Let's skip the meeting..."

Yao's face only brightened. "N-no, I would never-"

Arthur joined in as they walked into the door. "I saw them kissing during the break last time. Did it go anywhere?"

Alfred smirked. "I bet it did." His blue eyes shined with mischief.

"W-we only did a bit of kissing, we no make love in public, aru! Kiku and I only do that in private!"

A throat was cleared, interrupting the Jack from finishing and informing the group that there was now a group of high royals they were in the presence of. Alfred and Arthur immediately stifled laughter, but Yao blushed and gave a squeak in fear, his long sleeves covering his face as the Queen of Hearts in mention had an equal reaction.

"You're all late," Ludwig, the King of Hearts, glared at them sternly. "To your own meeting zat you're hosting."

Alfred glared in return. "I am sure you got our raven with the message? If you didn't well then, we have quite the story." He sat down in his rightful place across from Hearts. "I am positive you would find it...interesting..." His tone was teasing.

The other King rolled his eyes. "I'm sure it is interesting, seeing as your excuses are alvays 'believable'."

The rest of those present at the Deck Meeting looked over to King Alfred.

Alfred smiled as if he won the lottery. "You see, I once knew this guy. Now this guy has a crazy older brother. Now this older brother always liked to get attention, even if it mean causing others harm. So naturally when I was in the Spades Blades, the older brother got angry and decided to attack my Queen." He reached up and exposed his bandages. "I took the hit and am injured." He waited for a second for the information to sink in. "You wouldn't perhaps know the older brother that did it...would you?" He smirked. "I think the rules are the same in Hearts as they are in Spades. If one attacks the Queen, the attacker's family life is collateral."

Almost instantly, Ludwig groaned. "Verdammt...zat's my bruder's fault, not mine. I didn't even know he had gone to your event. I apologize for his actions."

The King of Spades smiled, "That still doesn't excuse him. I demand an apology for my Queen or I will use that ...pesky law that we both have." He leaned over and picked up a glass of water. "I give you a month, maybe two before I make my claim."

The tall blond growled and seemed to start to say something, but stopped, shaking his head.

Francis, on the other hand, the King of Diamonds chuckled, a hand resting in his slightly-scratchy chin. "You 'ave become very, eh...protective of your Queen lately. Could it be you two 'ave finally declared your amour for each ozer?"

"Be quiet, Frog," Arthur snapped quietly, having seated himself beside Alfred, to his left to be exact. "You're not amusing in the slightest."

Francis shrugged, but still kept his eyes on the Spades' King.

Satisfied that the King of Hearts was forced into silence, Alfred decided to take control of the meeting for once. "So as we are late, why don't we skip the 'pleasantries' and get down to business? I am sure we all want this to end quickly...for our own reasons," Alfred said still smiling but now looking at his Jack to his left.

Yao flushed scarlet before it turned into a glower. "You ugly person aru."

"Let it go, Al, he's suffered enough," Arthur whispered to him.

Nodding, Alfred called out to the Queen of Hearts. "Kiku, would be so kind as to start us with the agenda for this week and a half?"

Kiku nodded sheepishly, standing up slowly as he gathered his papers, and walked to the now empty podium. "Discussion and pranning of new treaties to herp Kingdoms and strengthen arriances; discussion of economies and reports of each one from Jacks; expranations on repairs to roads and bridges in own Kingdom and borders to herp travel to ozer Kingdoms; and trade imports and exports to ozer Kingdoms."

There were several nods that came from around the room. It usually started with the Jack of Clubs, then Diamonds, Hearts and finally Spades. Then the whole process restarted with the Queen of Clubs. Another revolution and the Kings spoke. It was also not uncommon to hear the Ace speak during the meeting at any given point in time during the meeting.

Elizabeta smiled as she turned to her husband, "Go on."

Roderich, the Jack of Clubs, smiled at her and made his way to the podium swiftly. He sat the (most definitely extremely) organized papers into carefully precise piles before he took the top bunch and began his statement.

"Because of recent tensions zat have started to form throughout certain Kingdoms, ze Kingdom of Clubs proposes zat a new alliance must be formed by all four Kingdoms in order to prevent var, ensure za safety of zeir people, und uphold peace longer for za next generation of royals."

Alfred was nodding at the suggestion. Yao narrowed his eyes. "What kind Alliance does Clubs suggest? What are rules, aru?"

"Zis alliance covers ze major grounds: all Kingdoms vill ensure peace in any vay. Anyvun who cannot comply to zem vill be asked to cooperate. If zey are unable to do zat, zey vill be asked to leave. Any Kingdom zat declares war on anozer must have all Royal Court members' confirmation or else zere vill be no var, five major explanations as to vhy you vant var, und you must give evidence to zese points. To make sure zere is no tension between each Kingdom, each Jack may contact ze ozer Kingdoms, schedule a weekly visit to create stronger alliances, reduce uneasy feelings, und ensure peace viz one anozer."

Alfred nodded. "With this how much time do you expect us to spend away from our Kingdoms? If we send for others to many times, we might as well just have an ambassador."

"Ze travel intervals vill be separated, at least vun every other two monzs. For twelve monzs, it is expected to visit six in total, two to each Kingdom. And ze points of all four Royal Court members going is to have us closer to ze ozer members, instead of having zem close zrough vords and not physical."

"Six, aru? That long time away for royals."

"Ve understand zat; you can send eizer all or vun of your Royal Court members, as long as all four go at least vun time."

Alfred frowned. "All four? That leaves the Kingdom very weak if all four have to go at one time."

"Zen you can space it out. For a single monz, you can send vun every week to za Kingdom. Ve just need all four members to go twice to each Kingdom to create a bond viz ozers." By now, Roderich seemed irked that there were small faults coming into the plan. Arthur seemed a bit worried that he would start to get a bit snappy if there was another plan.

"I arso am thinking this courd cause more tension than ease it," the Queen of Hearts stated. "Tension is best avoided."

The Jack of Clubs rolled his eyes and slammed the papers in his hand on the podium. "Vell zen you geniuses come up viz a better plan! How else are ve supposed to prevent var?!"

Alfred looked around the room and stood up. "Who is going to war? We have peace! There is tension, but there will always be tension. Unless Clubs isn't telling us everything..."

"If Clubs vas hiding somezing, vould zis be proposing a treaty to make sure no var happens?"

"To make sure you have allies when you start war, aru."

Roderich gave a forced smile. "Zat is vhy ve're proposing a treaty, to make sure everyvun has allies."

"Are you pranning to bring us to war?" Kiku asked.

"Look, zis is getting too out of hand," Elizabeta, the Queen of Clubs, intervened. "Ze point of ze treaty, is to ensure safety, protection and peace for all. Everyvun, I'm sure, vants to have a positive feel in their alliance viz anozer Kingdom. Vhy don't ve give zat strength?"

Alfred narrowed his eyes, still suspicious. "What else does the alliance detail?"

Elizabeta stood and strode over to the Clubs' Jack swiftly, shifting through some papers before she found what she needed, and handed him a slip of paper. "Here are ze major and minor points of ze alliance for you to see for yourself."

The King of Spades looked it over. "I see." Putting the paper away, he looked up. "You seem to have this all planned out. Does anyone else have an idea?"

"We have one!" The Jack of Hearts and lover to the King of Hearts, Feliciano, jumped up with a raised hand, but then sheepishly chuckled sat down when everyone gazed at him. "Ahahaha...pasta?"

"We were going to suggest one," Vash, the Diamonds' Jack, stated. "But we don't have an outline for it. We were going to ask everyone today about the idea."

Alfred nodded. "We didn't have a new treaty as we thought it best to keep everything the same. But if you all want one, I am sure we can come to an agreement." He grabbed several papers from his bag that a servant just brought in. "What Spades did instead was create several ideas for possibilities in each Kingdom."

"Could you please explain vhat you mean by your statement?" Roderich asked.

Alfred smiled and nodded. "Well, Clubs has already started to have a bad early winter. You would need replacements for things. Spades needs rock and coal. We could increase trade to improve the situation." He looked at Ludwig. "Hearts needs more food due to its surplus of people, however due to the waterways and trouble with bandits the food isn't always getting there. The government should sent guards with the supplies to guard the supply trains. Maybe set up a special department for it."

Both Kings of the aforementioned Kingdoms nodded, the Clubs' a bit too cheerful and the Hearts' firm.

"And I suspect you would leave us out?" Francis commented with a wave of his fingers. "If you do not remember, zere are four Kingdoms, not zree."

"We weren't leaving you out of anything," Arthur growled. "You didn't even let Alfred finish."

"I was just giving examples," Alfred explained. "Diamonds could start public works projects. You have enough money."

"Sounds like a plan." The King of Diamonds leaned back with a smirk. "But, I will only agree to it on two terms. Un," he held out a finger, "I 'ear your end of zis deal. Deux, I get to be wiz your adorable Queen for a long while, since you do not want him."

The Queen of Spades glared. "Don't get your hopes up on that last one because it's not happening!"

Now everyone turned to the King of Spades to see his reaction.

Alfred's eyes turned darker than Arthur had ever seen. His grip on the chair tightened so much his hands turned white. Yao was ready to grab on to him when Alfred did something expected; he smiled at Francis. "I see. Try it and Diamonds will be razed to the ground and you will die, okay?"

Francis smiled. "Are we 'olding feelings for our Queen zat should be discovered?"

Alfred's eyes narrowed. "We are trying to find a solution to our Kingdom's problems. Not flirt with others."

"Zat wasn't my question. Do you 'old feelings for your Queen zat involve l'amour?"

Ludwig stood up and slammed his hands on a table. "Zis is not vhy ve are here!"

"My apologies," Francis smirked, winking at the King and Queen of Spades.

"Just drop the issue, alright Al?" Arthur whispered to his King. "He's just trying to get under your skin."

"Fine."

The meeting continued as smooth as they could. So far, the main focus had been on the alliance, and each Jack had made a major point that had focused on building a tight alliance between the four Kingdoms. All four Queens had made their points, but before the Kings, which always ended up as the longest speeches, could make their statement, a break was called to talk to the other Royal Court members and organize their speeches.

Alright! Another chapter down. We are so close to 100 reviews! I never thought we would get this far! So thanks to you for reading the story and a HUGE thank you the AWESOME LadySkarlettofSkaro! She is a great rp partner and writer in her own right!

Notice~! The messages at the end of the chapter are for those guest reviewers or for those who have turned off the pms. I want to reach out to all! They will be after every chapter. I am sorry in advance if I miss you.

Dear Elisabetta,

Thanks for reading! I may add that Arthur didn't just let Alfred on the hook. It took them almost an entire year to be somewhat okay with each other. Even now they still fight, but its getting better! But don't worry! Alfred will get his!

Love,

CC101