"You're in an unusually good mood today," Yao remarked from the short side of the dining table – his current seat as Jack.

"Not really," Arthur replied, indifferently poking around a pea on his plate.

The young royal had had a smile – more or less noticeable – plastered on his face since he returned from the woods. A few maids he'd met in the hallways even stopped at the sight and asked what had brought upon his joyous mood. Arthur simply told them it was nothing and continued his stroll, but the faint hint of pink on his cheeks hadn't escaped the maids' notice.

"Where have you been all afternoon?"

Arthur looked up from his half-eaten meal to meet the gaze of the Jack.

"The Holy Woods."

A sigh.

"You truly enjoy going there, don't you, your Highness?"

Arthur stiffened at the formal addressing, but nodded none the less – smile wavering a bit, but not completely disappearing. "Yes, quite."

That was how the conversations usually were at the castle – choppy and stiff.

It used to be so much more lively when the former rule was still alive; the two women would always talk loudly and exaggerate, asking for Yao's and Arthur's opinions on lots of random questions and asking them to take sides in arguments – thus bringing them into the conversations. Everything had grown quiet after their passing, not only at the dining table, but the entire castle seemed to mourn their absence, even now years after.

The Jack and future Queen said their goodnights before departing once dinner was over – Arthur heading to the Queen's quarters while Yao went to the library to finish off some of his overflowing work.

Arthur was still smiling as he closed his eyes for the last time of the night.

"Please concentrate, your Highness."

"I am concentrating."

"Yes, but please do your work more properly. There is no need to rush, we have all day."

No, they didn't have all day. Or at least Arthur didn't, he didn't know and couldn't bring himself to care about Mr. Väinämöinen.

The small man had been shipped over all the way from Ace only to tutor the Spadian princess. It was usually an easy job, for Arthur was very gifted and ambitious and always engaged in his studies, but today it proved to be an almost impossible task.

Tino Väinämöinen had never seen his student this inattentive before. Sure, he worked through and read all his assigned texts quickly, but did so very absentmindedly and didn't really seem to remember anything of what he was taught. It appeared as if he just wanted to get it all over with as soon as possible.

"Done!" Arthur exclaimed and slammed his pen down at the now full paper, rising from his chair and preparing for his escape of the room when Tino cleared his throat.

Arthur watched exasperated as Mr. Väinämöinen gestured to yet another bunch of blank papers and flipped open a new page in his textbook.

"Sorry, your Highness, but we are still not quite done yet."

Arthur sighed and scanned the open pages in his book before turning to look at the golden clock placed on the desk; it was ticking at a deceiving pace Arthur could've sworn was way too fast for seconds.

"Sir, can we please make an exception?"

"An exception?" Tino echoed, arching a blond eyebrow.

"Yes, I understand that I cannot skip out on the work completely, but would you please consider the possibility of me doing it outside – and on my own – instead?"

Tino seemed to ponder the idea for a moment before answering, "I suppose we could make an exception. The weather is really nice after all... But it's only for today! And only if you can make sure to concentrate and do it more properly."

"Yes, of course! Thank you so much, sir!" Arthur quickly gathered his things before hurriedly walking towards the door, shooting his tutor an appreciative smile before leaving. Tino was a bit taken aback by the last gesture, but still returned it. It was a long time since he last saw the royal smile like that.

"ARTIE!"

Arthur looked up from his book at the peculiar call. His gaze landed on a pair of blue eyes, framed by blond fringe. The royal tried not to smile, but felt the corners of his lips betraying him.

"Greetings Alfred. You do realise my name is 'Arthur', right?"

"Of course I do! Artie's a nickname. Sounds cute, doesn't it?"

Arthur's face immediately turned red and he started to stutter something incomprehensible. Alfred only laughed.

"What are those books, by the way?"

"Oh, yes, I usually have lessons at this time o' day, but my tutor gave me permission to do the work here instead."

Alfred looked thoroughly shocked at this.

"WHAT? But it's Sunday! There's no school on Sundays!" Alfred exclaimed and climbed up on the wall. Arthur scowled at how easily he'd done it – he himself had struggled quite a lot before managing to finally get up, and he didn't look forward on watching the face of his maid as she came upon his used-to-be pure, ivory dress shirt.

"Ah... Well, I have a private tutor. I don't go to a public school."

Alfred picked up Arthur's textbook and started to skim through it, his eyes widened the farther he got. "The text is so small! You seriously read this?" He said and handed the book back to Arthur. "Oh my God, your handwriting! Are you kidding me? You're amazing, dude!"

The boy had caught sight of Arthur's notes, all written in slim script, and was clutching the papers with his jaw hanging open. This time it wasn't only heat, but pride as well, that flowed up to Arthur's head.

"Thank you."

"You're, like, really good, huh? Is that why you're not in school with the rest of us – because you're some kind of prodigy?"

There was a short silence as Arthur pondered how to answer. "I suppose you could say that; yes," he settled for.

Once again it wasn't as if he'd completely lied. He shouldn't have any need for a bad consciousness, but something in the back of his mind still grimaced as the words left his lips.

"Wow! Dude, that's so cool! I wish I was special like that. People only know me 'cause of my dad – son of the navy captain, ya know? There really ain't nothing special 'bout me," Alfred said with a sad shrug.

It all sounded so wrong to Arthur – and not only because of the boy's weird accent, which he'd without doubt picked up from years at the harbour.

Alfred wasn't special? But most of all; he wanted to be? Why would anyone ever want that? Arthur himself would do anything to be normal – live a normal life in a normal village, surrounded by normal people who went on with their normal lives. And that liberty of doing anything he wanted without being told he couldn't, couldn't because that would be improper for the future Queen.

With all of these thoughts swarming in his head, Arthur only stared blankly at the other boy.

"Now... why would you ever want that? Aren't you happy with your life as it is?" Arthur asked and thanked his voice for not wavering.

"Of course I'm happy! I just gotta work really hard to live up the expectations my family has. They want me to be like dad, and so do I, of course, but there is pressure, ya know? They don't expect as much from my cousin, for example... Have I told you 'bout Mattie, by the way?"

Arthur shook his head.

"Oh, well, he's my cousin! Matthew's his name, but I call him Mattie, so you can do that as well. He's a bit quiet and shy around people, but I really like him! He always brags about being older than me though, but he really isn't! Our birthdays got, like, two days between 'em, so that doesn't count, right? Everyone also says we look like twins, but we're not really alike – at least we don't think so – so please don't say that if you see him... Anyway, besides the age-thingy he's really awesome! I'm sure you'd love him if you ever met. He lives in Diamonds, so we haven't met in a while. I usually go with dad when he visits during summer, but since he's at Hearts I won't see him this year. Sad, but hey, things are-"

Alfred once again went into a talking rant, and Arthur nodded, making small notes in his papers occasionally – he'd already known he wouldn't have any time for actually working once Alfred arrived, so he'd hurried beforehand.

"-It's so awesome! Do you like apple pie, Artie? Or Arthur... Can I call ya Artie? It really fits you!"

Arthur blushed slightly and glued his eyes on his assigned text. "I-I suppose, if you insist."

"Great! I'm gonna call you Artie then... So do you like apple pie, Artie?"

"I'm not sure... I do like blueberry pie though."

"What do you mean you're 'not sure'?"

Should he lie? No, he'd already decided to not lie to Alfred. The castle's policy for desserts was quite odd. Since the main colour for the Spades nation was blue, they only served desserts under that colour scheme. Arthur didn't understand why this was necessary, but he'd been told it had something to do with old traditions. Since apples were either red or green, Arthur had never been served apple pie.

"I've never eaten it before."

Alfred gave him a weird look.

"You're kidding, right? You've never eaten apple pie before?"

Arthur only shook his head.

"Well, my mom's making apple pie for dessert tonight... Do you wanna come over? I'm sure she'd be happy to have you there."

'Yes!' Arthur almost wanted to scream, but never did since he knew it was impossible. Even if Alfred's family didn't know about his title, he still wouldn't be allowed alone outside of the castle residence. Sneaking out wasn't really an option either since his presence was expected at dinner.

"T-thank you for the kind offer, but I'm afraid I'll have to decline. I'm not allowed on your side of the wall, remember?" The words left cuts in Arthur's throat, but he swallowed and tried to keep a good face.

"Oh... Yeah, sorry, I kinda forgot 'bout that..." Alfred said with a genuinely sad voice. "But I could still bring some, right? I can take some with me tomorrow!"

Tomorrow. Arthur hadn't even thought about tomorrow. He hadn't dared to hope, but to Alfred it apparently was like the most obvious thing in the world.

"Yes, of course, that would be very nice of you. Thank you very much," he said with a smile.

Alfred was positively beaming at him now. "I will then, it's a promise!" he exclaimed and held out his hand, all fingers securely tucked in his palm except for his pinkie, which he was offering to the other boy.

Arthur gave him a quizzical look and eyed Alfred's finger suspiciously, before he asked what he was doing.

"Duh, it's a pinkie-swear! It's what you do when you want to make sure the other definitely keeps their promise."

The royal continued to eye him sceptically, but extended his hand none the less. Alfred smiled and hooked their pinkies together, shaking their hands up and down before letting go. "See? Now it's for sure!"

Arthur felt himself smile at the alien gesture and the warmth that tingled through his hand.

"What is on your side of the wall, anyway?"

The smile was gone within a second. "Ah- ehm... well, you see..." Arthur should have seen that question coming, but for some reason he hadn't and was now completely unprepared. "It's not much really... only a few buildings." Once again he'd gotten around it without lying.

"Oh... but you live there?"

"Yes, I do," Arthur replied, trying to keep his cool and thanking his voice for its stability.

"Ah, do the buildings lie in the woods? How big is your side, anyway – the castle isn't too far away is it? Oh, have you ever seen the castle up-close?"

Arthur felt overwhelmed by all the questions and his mind desperately fought to keep up. The whole telling the truth – though not entirely – was proving to be much harder than he'd thought.

"We-well, some of them lie in the woods... And I'd say it's quite big." He let the questions about the castle unanswered on purpose, hoping that Alfred would forget about them.

"Oh... well, have ya ever been in the castle?"

'Bullocks!'

"Well... I've... Yes, I've been inside of the castle." Arthur frowned with uneasiness when he saw Alfred's expression light up with awe.

"Really? Wow, that's amazing! The closest I've gotten is outside the front gates... What does it look like – on the inside, I mean?" Alfred asked and leaned forward, eyes almost sparkling of excitement.

"Ah... It's very... sophisticated." The way Arthur said the last word almost made it sound like a question.

"Oh, well, is it nice? Mom told me it's incredibly pretty! And is it true that they have sapphire flowers there? I've always wanted to see one of those."

"I suppose it is, and yes, there are sapphire flowers... Wait, your mother's been inside the castle?"

"That's so awesome! And, yeah, my mom's the priest of the church just outside the woods; I always forget its name. Anyway, she went there five years ago when the King died – it was a while ago, but-" Alfred stopped himself when he saw the shocked expression on Arthur's face – the royal was staring straight at him with the emptiest eyes Alfred had ever seen. "Artie, are you okay?"

"What happened to Aunt Liz?" Arthur asked when a very tired Jack emerged from the King's bedroom. Yao gave him a sympathetic look before turning his head down.

"I am sorry, your Highness, but I'm afraid your aunt won't wake up again."

"So she's dead?"

Yao was startled at the straightforwardness of the seven-year-old, but nodded still. Arthur might be young, but he was not ignorant. He'd known about the seriousness of his aunt's disease for a quite some time, and had since long accepted the probable outcome. Even though he'd cried nights upon nights when realising this, he couldn't find anything to keep the tears from flooding again. And so, the young royal cried, tears streaming out from his emerald eyes at a rapid pace.

"Is the poor princess alright? Why isn't anybody with him?" Arthur heard a distant, female voice ask.

"We'll attend to him in a minute; Hearts is currently at our borders and we need to keep the city calm, if we don't act correctly chaos might break loose," Yao said before hurrying down the hallway.

Arthur felt a presence near, but didn't bother to look up until two arms closed around him and gentle hands started stroking his back, albeit a little hesitantly. He caught sight of blonde hair tucked into a messy bun and a bit of black clothing, but his position made it impossible for further inspection.

"There, there, sweetie, it will be alright."

Arthur hadn't realised he'd started hiccupping until the woman patted his back soothingly. Arthur sat there in his armchair and let himself be comforted for a short while more before the woman pulled away.

"I hope you'll excuse me for my inappropriate action, your Highness, but it looked like you could use a hug. I shall join your aunt now, princess, but I can assure you that you will be fine. Everything will be just fine, okay?"

The young royal met the chocolate gaze of the smiling woman for a quick second before she stood and entered the King's bedroom, leaving Arthur confused and in lack of warmth.

"Artie...! Artie... Artie!"

Arthur woke up from his memory and realised that Alfred had been shaking him roughly. "Yes?" he said, and Alfred looked relieved.

"You totally just spaced out, are ya okay?" he asked and tightened his grip on the future Queen's shoulders.

"O-oh, yes, yes I'm okay... But your mother... she's the priest?"

"Yeah, she is. Why?"

"Oh, no, never mind."

"Okay then, you got me worried there," Alfred said with a light chuckle and loosened his grip of Arthur's shoulders, though not completely removing it. Arthur returned the laughter with a half-hearted smile.

"So do you live by the church?" He asked when Alfred grew quiet.

"Yeah, the white house on the other side of the graveyard. Have you seen it?" The royal shook his head. "Oh yeah, you don't go to our church either, do you? Sorry, I forgot."

There was a private chapel on the castle grounds where the usual Sunday mass was held, so that Arthur wouldn't have to go to a public church. Arthur really thought the whole thing was unnecessary and that the council overdid it. But since Arthur was currently the only one in line to the throne, the rule was being very overprotective of him, not even daring to really acknowledge his existence to the outside world. Of course the people knew that there was a child who would take one of the thrones on its sixteenth birthday – that was the only thing keeping the Spadians relatively calm – but no one knew about this child's gender, age, or appearance. Hearts would likely send assassins to kill it if they knew its identity – they'd already made several attempts at Yao when he went out in public.

"No, I do go to church. Just not that one," Arthur assured him when he saw the questioning look Alfred gave him – he was the son of a priest after all. The boy seemed a tad relieved at this and finally let go of his shoulders with a smile. Arthur had somehow forgotten that his hands were still there and sighed at the lack of warmth, it was a familiar feeling – albeit not nice – after the short flashback.

The conversation after that went on like the day before, with Alfred once again getting into a talking fit and Arthur listening amusedly. They were not sure for how long they'd sat there, but Arthur had somehow managed to get all his work done and Alfred was lying lazily on the wall on his back, watching the royal upside-down. It almost felt natural, like they'd been in the same positions for years, like Arthur had known Alfred for years. Alfred still didn't know much about Arthur though, but the royal found he much preferred it that way. Too much information and it might ruin everything.

It was first when he saw the yellow-orange glow on Alfred's features that Arthur realised how late it was, and he told the other boy about it. Alfred sighed and sat up with a groan before jumping down from the wall. He still stood by Arthur's side though. "So, I got school tomorrow. I'll probably be able to get here by four if I'm lucky... Can we meet here then? If you want to, I mean!" He blurted out the last part as if catching himself saying something inappropriate.

Arthur laughed before answering, "Of course I do!" Alfred seemed happy at this, for his face turned into a huge grin.

"Awesome! I'll bring ya some apple pie then," he said and winked. He shouted a quick 'goodbye' and then he was off through the woods again, the golden light and shadows rolling over his already glowing features.

Arthur couldn't help but grin himself, but the rest of his face didn't show any emotion of happiness – quite the opposite; his eyebrows were knitted together and his eyes had the most longing look to them. Was this all really a good idea, he couldn't help but wonder. Alfred could get in trouble, the whole kingdom could get in trouble if his identity came out, and Yao could get in trouble because he hadn't watched over him properly. Yet, Arthur couldn't bring himself to regret it, because he was happy. For the first time in five years, he was truly happy.

And he was selfish.

He knew that.

But with everything the world had already stolen from him; he figured he deserved to be at least a little selfish.

With those thoughts weighting his mind, he too decided to return home. The dinner would be served in an hour, he thought when checking the grand clock in the great hall. The room was indeed called great for a reason, and he pondered what to do while waiting as he walked down the hall. When he finally decided to read, he turned off and headed down a hallway that would eventually lead to his chambers. He was just about to take a flight of stairs when a voice cut through the hallway, stopping him abruptly.

"I saw you!"

A/N

Wow! Thank you all for your reviews/favs/alerts! They truly mean a lot! I'm glad you all seemed to like the first chapter, but I'm afraid to say that I myself find this one a little boring xD More stuff will happen in the next one though – I promise!

Please leave a review and tell me what you think so far! They're greatly appreciated and works as a writing fuel for me! :3