Numbers of his Life
Story by: VeNgEaNcEoFrAiN
Disclaimer: Hidekaz Himaruya owns every personified country as well as this Cardverse AU ideas, I merely exploit his ideas for my own personal uses muahahah! Everything else is purely fictional, any resemblance to other stories is purely coincidental – I don't really know if there's a similar story around but this idea just popped up in my head so I decided to write it (all I can say is great minds think alike). Some fundamental ideas like how the pocket watch chooses the royalty in Spades is kept in this story. I would like to credit the person coming up with the idea but I think it'd probably be hard to track who started it. If you think I violated copyright laws, erm, I can take it down if you send me a mail or review.
Summary: Time is what chooses the royalties of Spade and the same Time chose Arthur in the 21st century universe as Queen. Will this Prof survive in that universe? Cardverse!AU USUK and other possible pairings.
Author's note: Hi! Hope you didn't wait too long for the 2nd chapter. I was intending to finish the 3rd before posting the 2nd but oh well... Anyway a funny quote I discovered while searching for words. Idk how I came across this but, heh, here goes: "Close your eyes and think of England." Go google that and have a good laugh ;P Oh oh! Special thanks to these people for writing reviews: CelestielCiel, Kem, Jet Set Radio Yoyo and MintMilkTea!
And I hope you would enjoy Chapter 2!
Chapter 2: Destiny of two
"Your Majesty, your Highness, the next batch of people is ready for your inspection." A noble bowed in respect to the two sovereigns of the kingdom. He gestured his hand towards the direction of the doors separating the beautifully garnished throne room and the corridors. "…" A lack of response from the King earned questioning looks from both the Jack and the other present in the room at that time. The Jack, knowing precisely what was on the King's mind, asked the noble to step aside for a while. "Shall I send them to the waiting room first well, his Majesty takes a break?" The well-dressed noble asked concernedly after realizing the atmosphere in this room. "Yes, aru. His Majesty is very tired working against the war threats from the Kingdom of Hearts. Ask those people to wait in the waiting room until his Majesty summons them." The raven haired royalty instructed before the other excused himself.
"Thanks, Yao." Came a low, chipped voice from the only other person in the room. Yao found himself looking at him with much worry. There was really nothing he could do at the moment except to do his best in internal affairs while his King dealt with decisions and external ones. The lack of a Queen definitely took a toll on this Kingdom. For any functioning Kingdom, the King does the decision-making, policy-passings, in other words, he called the shots; the Queen takes care of the defences, education, socializing with the people and court as well as, foreign matters with the King; while the Jack takes care of internal discrepancies like finance, allocation of land, court problems and etc. Now that the Queen has yet to be found, the responsibilities of the Queen were split between the King and the Jack.
"It's good to take a break from now and then, aru. Alfred, as the King, you need to take care of your body. We may have to go to war with Hearts, if anything goes wrong. Selection of the Queen can come later after we settle this." Yao explained. Not that he was wrong, but really, the way the Kingdom is functioning right now, it seems as if the Queen's position can be void for a while – just that both of them have to work harder.
The other figure let out a loud sigh before he gazed at the little pocket watch shaped like a Spade intently. For one, the clock had stopped running after the death of his mother along with the Queen's clock – the giant round clock with roman digits that seemed to be practically unmovable by sheer weight. But then again, he'd never seen that clock move until the day his father died. Alfred heard from his mother that the clock never works until they had to choose a new King or Jack; and the Queen was chosen by his pocket watch which will start running again when the future Queen were to be close. The hour hand always pointed to the King, the minute hand to the Queen and the seconds to the Jack. He never understood how he could tell time with this malfunctioning thing. It never told time for all he knew. "I wish the new Queen would show himself or herself soon. I need all the help I can get." He thought.
"I'm gonna' take a break in the gardens." With that he left the room and headed for the beautifully groomed gardens. Yao gave a small smile at Alfred knowing the reason the blonde was heading there. Then, he gave a small sigh at how cruel this world was to this kingdom and its King.
Alfred walked pass the enclosed corridors to the opened end leading to the outside. Beautiful plants twined around the arbors lining the path leading to the gorgeous garden. Many lilac blossoms of Wisteria draped from the arched portions of the arbors. A slight draft of wind brought a few loose petals dancing along with it. The sight was truly a magnificent and romantic one. If only his new Queen can see all this and appreciate them as much as he does. Then he'd be able to proudly boast about how this magically wonderful garden is maintained by no one other than the King himself. Well, of course, his mother started the whole garden thing and little Prince Alfred would wade around her and help. He never thought of being chosen as the King by the clock when his father died. The whole bloodline thing didn't work for the selection but somehow it did for him – pure coincidence maybe?
Every single time he walks through this path and down the stairs towards the fountain situated at the centre of this terraced garden, all of his worries and troubles seem to vanish for a while. The fragrance of the rose hedges on each terraced levels would calm any troubled soul particularly when it's the season where all those blue roses littered the bushes and bloomed brilliantly. He carefully plucked out a rose, avoiding the thorns skillfully and gave it a quick sniff. "This one will do." He said as he approached the graves located just a distance away from the fountain. A pair of exquisitely craved tombstones stood erect off the ground; surrounding them are a few purplish plum blossom trees in full bloom. Several petals floated in midair before falling around the graves. Azure eyes focused on the names engraved onto those tombstones before placing the freshly plucked flower onto the space in front. He took a seat on the cemented floor next to the graves.
"Dad, Mom, it's me again, Alfred. I know you'd probably think I'm a nuisance by now Dad but I'm really in need of advice and luck. Mom, when's my Queen going to appear? How's he or she going to be like? Will I like him or her? Will we get along well? I hope he or she would give his or her heart for the Kingdom. Dad, how is Mom like when she first met you? Did you two get along well?" He averted his gaze to the skies above. The cerulean skies were decorated by beautiful cotton like clouds. A light breeze lapped onto Alfred's face and whispers sounded close to his ear, seemingly answering all the questions the young King asked. "Is that so, mom, dad?" He lifted his arm, pointing it towards the sky. His fingers flexed and stretched in attempt to grab the clouds high above from the perception on the ground. His eyelids slowly flutter close to ease himself into the serene environment.
Suddenly, violent gusts of wind whipped through the garden, shaking the trees and bushes wildly. The King's eyes snapped open after sensing the imminent danger. Flowers, petals and leaves became airborne chaotically. Twigs snapped and some managed to cut the King's face. He could only squirt his eyes and hold out his arms protectively in front of his face while trying to find the source of a squall of such magnitude. All the winds seem to concentrate at a single space on the other side of the graves. He growled and gritted his teeth at the invisible force. His instincts kicked in almost instantaneously to prepare himself for the attack. "Who's there? Show yourself!" With that, the winds blew even stronger, vortex-ing around that same spot threatening to suck Alfred into it. He ducked and pressed himself closely to the cemented surface while his fingers held firmly onto the curb. A faint silhouette began to take shape inside the vortex. Thoughts of how he should ambush the attacker when he materialized starting running through the wheat-haired head; currently, one stood out from the rest – much like his cowlick. He let go of his grip on the curb and allowed the forces to carry him towards the target. With arms spread out, he tackled the materializing person. Both of them rolled some distance away from the centre due to the collision as the winds died down, sending flower petals dancing gracefully as they fell to the ground.
"Oww oh bollocks ouch, I think I broke something." Said the figure, now trapped underneath of Alfred. He squirm a little trying to move the heavy weight on top of him. Alfred stared at the man with confused eyes. He has never heard of such strange accent even though this world is full of other accents. What got his attention more was those 'things' on his face. What are those? Eyebrows or uncontrolled growth of black mosses? The said man's brows that slid to a frown when he discovered the weight wasn't shifting at all. His eyes slowly opened to see what exactly kept him from getting up. What Alfred saw were lush emerald eyes, greener than any forests that he had seen, deeper than any oceans that he had come across. "Such breathtaking eyes…" He breathed out his thoughts not realizing the other heard him.
The owner of those eyes felt heat rising to his cheeks. He developed a slight blush when he realized the person atop of him was complimenting his eyes. But wait..? What was the person doing in the first place? What was he going to do? He mustered all his strength to push the man off of him. The man gave a little yelp when he got pushed off in a surprise. That caused his train of thoughts to derail beyond recognition. What was he thinking? He thought his assailant's eyes were beautiful? He shook his head slightly before regaining his stand. "Who are you and why have you attacked me? Were you sent by the Kingdom of Hearts as a spy?" The voice demanded.
"I would like to ask you the same thing. First of all, I don't know what the heck you're talking about. Second of all, where is this place? Third of all, why did we end up in the position earlier?" Blue eyes narrowed on the suspicious figure. Alfred noticed the dressing of this suspicious man. His clothes look nothing like those he'd seen – a collared pale blue shirt slightly dirtied from the rolling just now, a pair of dark-coloured trousers slightly shorter than his leg length revealing his pair of pale purple socks and a pair of leather shoes. The man felt uncomfortable at Alfred's constant staring. It felt like he was checking him out, so he faked a cough to get his attention off of his body, "You should stop staring; it's making me feel uncomfortable. Fine, I'll answer your questions first. I'm Arthur Kirkland, and I did not attack you. I don't even know you in the first place. And what's Kingdom of Hearts? I've never heard of that, where on Earth is that?" Arthur shifted his weight from one leg to the other while waiting for a reply. His eyes avoided contact with the other.
"You don't know what Kingdom of Hearts is and you don't know who I am? That's new… What's Earth? And oh, I guess I'd introduce myself. I'm Alfred F. Jones, King of Spades. And regarding that position just now, well, I thought you were an assassin so I kinda' pounced on you before you could attack. Sorry if I hurt you." Alfred apologized while thinking that Arthur wasn't really a threat at all. Well, from the looks of it, he seemed under-equipped for such a job. No scepter for channeling magic, no proper attire, and not to mention, he looks out of this world! But oh, maybe he's some really powerful wizard from some god-forsaken place that doesn't need a scepter. Oh crap.
"It's 'kind of' not kinda. God, I swear all Americans butcher my country's language. And Earth is Earth. It's a planet we live on? You've never heard about it?" His fuzzy brows furrowed into a frown. He started eyeing the attire of the only other man in the garden. He had white undershirt with a slightly crocked persian blue tie holding the collars in place. That was covered with a double-breasted waistcoat with two straight rows of buttons running vertically down the length. He did catch a glimpse of the notched lapel design of that palatinate blue waistcoat. He wore a pair of tan trousers and a pair of brown leather shoes similar to those Arthur was wearing. The main cornflower-coloured, long-sleeved, high-collared coat fit him nicely and ended at a decent length just below his knees. He noticed 2 peculiarly-shaped symbols down the lower portions of the buttons column. He took it those two symbols signifies the Kingdom of Spades or rather the King of Spades. "Truly patriotic I believe. And how is this lad even a King. He can't do his bloody tie properly." Arthur's eyes narrowed at that crocked tie around Alfred's neck and scowled.
The taller of the two quirked his brow in question, with a slight stutter, he asked, "W-What's American? Why can't I say kinda? It's my Kingdom and my freedom to speak however I like! And what's that scowl for? It makes you sound so evil and mean when you're actually nice and cute." Uh-oh… He didn't actually think that way right? He didn't actually say that out, did he? He gulped nervously before stealing peeps at the other. From Arthur's range of emotions – from a perfectly embarrassed face to a wonderfully pissed-face – the King was sure he wanted to steer clear of that.
"American is a nationality. You're American when you're born in America or have stayed there long enough and you'd probably spend your life trying to butcher English." Somehow Arthur felt nice enough to suppress his anger and explain the terms without murdering this person right in front of him. Well, he did compliment him in a way.
"English? I'm not American for one, I'm a Spade. I don't speak whatever is English; I speak Spadian and probably a bit of other kingdom's language – Diamiate, Heartish and Clubsque. And I have to say, you're speaking pretty fluent Spadian. If I didn't know, I would have thought you grew up here!"
"But from what I'm hearing, you're speaking fluent English, not those gazago-what languages."
There was a pregnant pause. Both pairs of eyes made contact while the owners' brains worked out what the heck was going on.
"You mean I'm speaking Spadian?" A prompt nod was given by the young King.
"And you say I'm speaking English?" The other figure nodded at him as an answer. Silence casted its net over the two of them. Not even a single chirp from the birds can be heard – just the light breeze rustling the bushes and the creaking of branches as company.
"What on earth is going on?"
"Again with the Earth thing; let me tell you, we're in the world of Trumps. You're in the Land of Water and the great Kingdom of Spades." Alfred beamed from ear to ear as he proudly introduced his land and his Kingdom. The silly grin turned into a frown when he noticed Arthur's reaction. He had given him an uninterested look and not uttering a word or making a reaction. "Oh come on, Artie. At least give some reaction when someone tries to boast about his achievements and knowledge."
A vein popped and a few cheek muscles twitched in response to the given nickname hardly 10 minutes into the conversation. "First of all, I do not recall being friends with you. Next, I think calling me Artie is not appropriate, I have a name and that is Arthur. Third, I simply cannot bring myself to believe that you are a King at all. I can't bring myself to think of how your people are suffering because of you. I can't even stand a minute just listening to you, you insufferable twat."
"You just did?" It was more of a rhetorical question. Arthur shot a glare at Alfred. He seemed to tick him off really easy – not that he was hard to but man, this guy is definitely on top of the charts. Not to mention but, he isn't exactly in his own world anymore. If this guy is a King, he should be able to get him out of this place… Right? Then again, this world seems rather interesting. The rose garden, the plum blossoms, the ambience, it was such a good place to have a cup of nice tea. Speaking of tea, he was enjoying his cup back in his room until that strange card fell out of his book. How could a gentleman miss his afternoon tea time?
"What time is it now and do you have tea in this, well, world?"
"Tea, yes. But I would recommend coffee instead and time, let me check." Alfred dug his hand into the side pocket of his coat and pulled out a spade-shaped clock subconsciously. While doing so he realized it was something that wouldn't tell time now and rolled his eyes at himself. "What the heck am I thinking? This stupid excuse for a.. Clock..?" Blue eyes now stared intensely at the pocket watch. He snapped out of the staring and proceeded to rubbing his eyes thoroughly and checked the watch again. Alfred gaped at the object and left his mouth hanging in shock.
"Is something wrong?" Worry conquered over the Briton's face.
Alfred's attention was split into two. One was interpreting what the clock was telling him and two, looking at Arthur and the clock back and forth frantically. "The.. The clock moved!" Indeed. The minute hand moved from its original position at 5 o'clock to the current position of 12 o'clock. The hand was also trying to stabilize its position like the other hands that were currently in motion. It was pointing at the figure standing right in front of him.
"Of course the clock hands moved. It is supposed to move, idiot." Arthur rolled his eyes in annoyance. Really now, a King that gets all worked up because a damned pocket watch moved its hands? Just what kind of world is this? "Y-You don't understand! When this clock moves, it means the Queen of the Kingdom is chosen. A-and it looks like you are the chosen one." Looks like? More like, that's a fact since the stupid thing was supposed to be revived in close proximity of the new Queen. This is great… The new Queen popped up right in front of Alfred when he least expected it. He'd already gotten into a fight with his new partner in life and obviously, left a pretty bad impression.
He watched the other's reaction to that statement he made. A twisted look of anger and confusion as brows knitted in the middle. "A Queen? Are you mad? I'm a bloody guy. How can I possibly be a god damn Queen?" He hollered. Alfred winced from the sudden change in volume. "Queens are but positions; gender doesn't matter in most Kingdoms. I hate to break this to you, my new Queen. In Spades, the King and Queen are supposed to be linked by marital status."
3.. 2…
"WHAT?" A shriek pierced through the skies. The wheat-head crouched down while covering his ears dearly in fear of going deaf. When the shriek finally ended, Alfred let out a half-hearted sigh and crept closer to Arthur. The frustrated figure hadn't shunned him away yet since he was probably too busy absorbing that piece of oh-so-shocking information, so he made some advances towards the other. He brought his new found Queen's hand to his lips, pressing against the back of it. Arthur eyed the whole process suspiciously and anger bubbling. "Well, don't take it this badly. I'm a good guy! I promise to take good care of you and-"
A punch connected with his delicate face.
"What the fuck was that for?" Alfred held his throbbing cheek in protest. He swore that he'd never met such a rude and violent person like Arthur. He was the King of the Kingdom for god's sake! No one ever ill-treats the King or they shall be beheaded! Well, maybe not beheaded, since he wasn't one of those tyrant kings of other eras. Still, he was a King nonetheless. What King would he be if others found out his Queen just gave him a flying punch instead of a greeting kiss? Alfred scowled at that fact while trying to soothe the ache in the left side of his face.
"Perhaps the message hasn't gotten through into your head yet, would you want another?" The Englishman spat at him while glaring at his company. A quick shake of the head was the silent response. "Good. Now, how do I get home from here?" Arthur asked while looking around, searching for some sort of portal that could send him back home. Though, it'd be nice to hang around for a bit if he couldn't get home immediately. The garden is too fascinating, wonderful, and beautiful – there wasn't really a better word to describe it – to leave behind. Let's just say he was that captivated by the terraced garden.
"I don't know? We've never had people like you popping out of nowhere and coming from a place called Earth. I doubt even Yao knows where that is. Anyway, you can't really go home anymore. Since the clock chose you as our new Queen, you have to be crowned Queen and rule with me and my Jack. We really need all the help we can get. War is looming with the Kingdom of Hearts. Please, help us? And it doesn't matter if you agree or not, I won't take no as an answer." Arthur's brow twitched in response to the last sentence. He felt frustration build up within him. He wasn't even from their world! Why must he be dragged into this fiasco that he'd never be involved in? And this idiot is one sentence short of saying 'I officially own your life'.
As in reading his mind, Alfred explained, "Look, I know you don't belong here and you got forced into all this for god-knows-what reason. It's not going to get better if you keep thinking of the bad side. Look on the bright side! This is a new environment, new people, new everything! It's like living a new life! And you have the heroic me as a husband! How bad can it- Waa!" The young King got interrupted from another punch thrown in his direction. Unfortunately for Arthur, his punch got caught by Alfred and easily subdued in strength. "How the bloody hell is this git this strong?" He thought as he tried to pull his fist back from Alfred's grip. "One of these days, the newsflash in the markets would be "King Alfred murdered by his beloved Queen." Oh man, that would be totally embarrassing!"
Arthur fought down a blush. This daft was already treating him like they're married. Beloved? What the heck? He raised his free arm in preparation for another punch. It got stopped pretty effortlessly by the other who seemed to expect the outcome. With both hands trapped, Arthur could only grit his teeth in protest while trying to wriggle his arms free. One more sentence of teasing, he swore, he'd headbutt this guy. Alfred laughed heartily at the futile attempts. "Hey, you wouldn't know! Maybe you'd be so attached to this world, you'd decide to leave your world behind and join ours for good."
"As if I will. For one, the King already left me bad enough impression of what I can expect of this world." Arthur snorted though he noticed a slight expression of hurt flashing across Alfred's face. Feeling a little guilty of hurting the boy, he quickly added. "Well unless, the said person can turn it around, though I'd say it's a miracle."
"A miracle? That sounds like a job for a hero like me! I'll make sure you voluntarily stay, my dear!" His blue eyes sparkled with enthusiasm before curving into a brilliant grin. A little smile tugged the side of Arthur's mouth. For the first time in many years, he actually felt the fuzzy warm feeling. He couldn't help but feel that way. It felt good when your well-being was taken into much consideration and when you were given so much attention, you just felt loved – well, maybe not… Yet… Instead of sulking about how cruel life is to him by giving him such an unpredictable task, it was exactly like Arthur to take up the challenge. No matter how hard it is, he'd at least try. At least there was one place that needed him badly, not that he minds though. He vaguely remembered what his Belgium friend always said to him, "When life hands you lemons, you make something out of them like lemonade or lemon sherbet or lemon pie. All you have to do is to treat it as a beginning of a new journey and make something useful out of it!"
"A beginning of a new life… I can get used to that." He chuckled, leaving the Alfred raising one slender brow in confusion at the sudden change of mood.
Footnote: Back to wrecking my brains over chapter 3. I hope to start and finish chapter 4 by this weekend T_T. Hope you've enjoyed this chapter!