WARNING! (sounds serious, huh? owo): There is some content that for some might be disturbing at the end of this (and I'm not talking about the horrendously long author's note). It is something close to torture, I guess, sort of... Unlike the rest of this it's not very fluffy, let's just say that. I don't know if it would count as M-rated, but I'm keeping this T for now. I think you'll realize when it's about to come, so don't like don't read! You won't miss anything too important if you skip it – promise!

Arthur felt like he could strangle the boy, but of course chose against it, and rapidly began to fiddle with the hood of his cloak instead.

Alfred gave the princess a weird and quizzical look once the fabric was shadowing his face, which was answered with a half-hearted glare. Arthur couldn't bring himself to be genuinely mad with the boy – he was oblivious to what trouble he'd just caused, after all.

"I see. So you're the reason Alfie has been running off to the woods lately. I'm Eleanor Frank, Alfred's mother. It's a pleasure to meet you... Artie, was it?" Arthur reluctantly met the mild gaze of the priest and swallowed the lump that had stuck in his throat. She was smiling and extending her hand towards him.

"Right; I'm Artie. It's a pleasure meeting you as well, Mrs Frank," the princess replied a bit too hoarsely for his own liking, shaking the hand in a not-so-confidently way, unlike what he'd been taught by Yao. Eleanor Frank hadn't changed much since Arthur last saw her, if at all. Her eyes had the same comfortably warm chocolaty colour and her hair a darker shade of blonde – much like Alfred's, the royal now concluded. The shorter of her wheat-coloured locks framed her face in a rough heart-shape while the rest was braided and put up in a knot on the back of her head. Arthur recognized the black robe as that of a priest's and knew that the cloth hanging from her shoulders came in multiple colours and was a part of the outfit – he knew this because the Royal Priest, who also ran the church of the city's western district, always wore identical clothing. Now that he thought about it, he actually didn't know why it was Mrs Frank and not Mr Thomas who'd visited them – or Aunt Liz, to be more precise – at the castle. Arthur hadn't paid it a second thought back then, but he was curious now. Mr Thomas wasn't likely busy, since the King would have been his top priority, but perhaps he'd gone somewhere like Diamonds, Clubs, or Ace? He wouldn't have visited Hearts at least, that much Arthur was certain of.

"How very polite of you, Artie," Eleanor chuckled and squeezed the royal's hand affectionately before letting go. "May I ask... how did Alfred introduce himself to you?"

"Introduce himself?" Arthur echoed uncertainly.

"Just as you told me to, Mom! 'Nice to meet ya' and all," Alfred cut in and subconsciously puffed his chest out a bit, feeling proud and wanting praise.

"Did he really now?"

"Yes, ma'am," the princess immediately replied as Eleanor looked at him for confirmation, not wanting her gaze to linger on him for longer than necessary.

"Well done, then, Alfie, I think my lessons might finally get through to you." Alfred craned into his mother's touch with a light blush as she ruffled his hair.

"Anyway, we need to get going now. I'm gonna show school to Artie."

"O-oh, you are? Don't you go to school, Artie? Is it really okay to come with Alfred today?" Eleanor once again turned to Arthur and the royal felt himself shift a little under the gaze. If she'd actually recognized him she'd said so by now, Arthur figured, so perhaps he was worrying a bit too much? Before he could answer though, an energetic yet hesitant voice spoke up.

"I-it's okay! We uh... convinced Arthur's parents that he'd get a day off! School starts soon, so we'll leave now... Bye Mom!" Alfred quickly blurted out and before Arthur could register what was happening, he was dragged out through the church's gates while watching a very bewildered woman stare after them. It had stung a little at the word 'parents', but those grief-filled thoughts immediately flew away as he saw the face Alfred was giving him. The boy had the widest and brightest grin Arthur had ever seen stretching all across his face. The sky-blue eyes were shining with a new glow Arthur had yet to see, and when the boy finally laughed, the royal couldn't help but join in. His hood had since long fallen off his head and the wind was now gently blowing through his blond locks for the second time of the day. He absolutely loved it.

They passed around a corner and Alfred finally started to slow down. Both of the boys were panting – though Alfred almost unnoticeably while Arthur quite heavily. The princess looked up to find them surrounded by the brick buildings of the city. Some of them were of a dampened red-brownish colour while others were of grey stone. Flower arrangements adorned the black balcony railings, decorating the houses with different shades of blue and purple and sometimes greens and yellows as well. Very few pink hues could be spotted, but they were still there unlike the colour red that the streets had been completely stripped of.

A few people that were out walking shot the boys curious glances and amused smiles. They were mostly adults on their way to work, but school children could also be seen, either walking to school with friends or parents. Everyone seemed relatively content and happy in the warm morning sun and the day was looking full of promise. Arthur hadn't set his expectations that high for he knew that while this outside world was tempting and inviting on the outside, it still had its darker half, which was filled with cruelties the young royal could never imagine. But now that he was surrounded by the smiling faces of the people – his people, he reminded himself – all of that was forgotten and put behind the sweet curtains of this dream-like world. The fact that he would rule over all these people passing them by came as a shock to Arthur, and the fact that he'd be ruling over millions more was frightening, yet, strangely enticing. Of course he'd known about this practically ever since he was born, but being out there amongst them, walking around just like them, gave him a whole different perspective of the weight the responsibility was putting on his shoulders.

And it really scared him. He would be ruling the nation alongside a King and Jack obviously, but as of right now he felt very lonely. Yao had been Jack throughout most his aunt's rule, despite his rather youthful appearance, and would probably retire soon, Arthur had sadly concluded. There hadn't been any announcements or even recommendations for a new King either, and Arthur had only vaguely overheard the matter being discussed in the council. Since Arthur's own existence was almost completely unknown to the world there were no noble families who'd offered a first-born son or daughter either. The owners of the royal titles were usually first-born children and would preferably be so, but there were exceptions lest someone was found more suitable for the throne.

Arthur actually had older brothers. Three of them, even. They had a different father though, and were therefore not in any position to claim the throne as it was Arthur's mother who had royal heritage. Arthur had never met any of them, and he wasn't sure if they knew he even existed. He doubted it – they probably believed Arthur had died with his mother during his birth. And even if they did, they would probably just come crawling to him for power or money or something of the sort, the princess figured. If that was how it was going to be, then he'd rather not acknowledge them at all. It was better the way it was.

"So you've never been here before either?" Alfred's voice snapped him out of his train of thought.

"No, I have actually, though only vaguely," Arthur answered the other boy. He watched as Alfred seemed to ponder on something, but before he got a chance to voice his – what Arthur assumed would be – question, the young royal was quick in interrupting. "Sorry, but I couldn't help but notice... You and your mother don't share the same last name?"

He received a quizzical look.

"Yes we do," Alfred insisted.

"But I thought your name was Jones, and your mother clearly said that hers was Frank."

"Oh," Alfred's eyes lit up with understanding, "well, my name is Alfred F. Jones. The F is for Frank. Mom's family's been running the church for, like, thousands of years or somethin', so when she married dad she chose to keep Frank. Dad's last name is Jones. Had I been a girl I wouldn't be expected to take after dad and my name would've probably been J. Frank instead." Arthur gave a thoughtful nod, but before he'd entirely processed the new information, Alfred spoke again, "Look, Artie, there's school!"

The princess shifted his gaze from the terracotta-coloured houses to where his friend was pointing.

Arthur could see a wall of flowers rise up behind a corner – and as they got closer he was able to make out the black metal fence which was holding the floral adornment up. The slightly darker colour of several rooftops also revealed itself as well as two open gates in which children were swarming through.

"Is that the school?" Arthur asked.

"Yep, sure is," Alfred chuckled when he saw the astounded expression on his companion's face.

"It's beautiful."

"Really? I guess. I've grown quite used of seeing it. You should see the canal though! It's on the other side of school and it's real' pretty. It's full of water lilies right now, how awesome is that?"Alfred had paused just outside the gates and was pointing past it where Arthur could see a stone bridge on which flower boxes were hung, containing abnormally big, but very beautiful, bellflowers. He couldn't see the actual water, or lilies, in the duct though. "We can follow it down to the harbour after school – class'll start soon," Alfred said before tugging Arthur through the school gates. His grin was as wide as ever and he held his head up high, practically skipping forward with uneven strides. Arthur held his posture in a similar manner with a practiced strong facade, but his constantly flickering gaze betrayed his anxiety. His long and – despite his age – gracious steps became ragged and choppy when trying to keep up with his friend, so he quickly gave up on those and settled on a mixture of walking and jogging instead.

"Hey, Al, good morning!"

Alfred came to an abrupt halt which caused the unprepared royal to bump into his side slightly. He followed the leading boy's gaze as it searched over the schoolyard and settled on an energetic-looking boy.

"Oh, Michael! G'morning!" Alfred shouted in reply and started leading Arthur towards the boy. "This is Michael," he burst out once they were facing each other. "He's my very best friend here. Michael, this is Artie! He and me decided that he'd join me in school today."

'So this is one of his friends,' Arthur thought to himself. He'd expected Alfred to have tons of friends – he appeared to be a very social person, after all – and he wasn't surprised that Michael was one of them. Even though it was considerably fainter, he also seemed to radiate a certain kind of warmth, but not the same freedom as Alfred. His eyes had a golden colour and their shape – that to a certain amount reminded Arthur of the Jack's – gave them an almost feline look, but they made him look more charismatic rather than hostile. Michael's hair had a golden hazel colour and was slightly curly. His fringe had all been combed up in one way in an attempt to rid it from his eyes, but most of the locks just barely failed to cover his right amber orb – the rest of his hair looked like it might have been combed even and caringly that morning only to later be ruined by the wind and movements of the young boy. His clothes had probably looked proper and prim that morning, too. The white shirt he was wearing was loosely tucked into his shorts, but tucked in all the same – besides the three of them, no one had bothered even trying dressing in a proper manner, and instead their clothes were picked to be as practical and adjusted for movement as possible.

"Hello, Artie! My name is actually Mikael, but Al and everyone else can't pronounce it properly, so feel free to call me Michael if it's easier," Mikael said with a bright smile. There was something mischievous and feline about his smile as well, but it was too playful and childish to consider unnerving.

"Ah, okay, that's a quite unusual name," Arthur said and returned the smile a little hesitantly. He didn't want to get too acquainted with anyone besides Alfred for obvious reasons; it wasn't like he was going to make a habit of sneaking out to the city.

"Yeah, my mother's family fled here from Ace during the war 100 years ago, so I'm half Aceish! Cool, eh?"

"Yeah, Michael always brags about how well he knows the language – it's of no use here, dude!" Alfred said before Arthur got the chance to open his mouth. He'd clearly felt left out from the short lack of speaking.

"Oi, that's rude," Arthur glared at his friend, who puffed out his cheeks and guiltily averted his gaze. "I think that's quite impressive. You speak Aceish?"

"Ah, yes, and it's okay; he's right after all," Mikael shrugged indifferently. "Cheng and Rick are inside, by the way. And Wei told me he was sick yesterday, so he's not coming. I'm gonna go to the classroom now, anyway. You guys coming?" The brunet boy motioned with his thumb towards a pair of wooden doors at the last sentence.

"Yeah, we're coming soon. I'm just gonna show Artie around first," Alfred said smilingly and tugged gingerly at Arthur's loose sleeve. They agreed to meet later in the classroom and Alfred started leading the royal towards a grander entrance than the doors where Mikael had entered. Some children looking about their age and others clearly taller and older were strolling around in a huge swarm, which gradually grew thinner as people disappeared through doors. "Right, so this is sorta like the main hallway, but I don't really have any lessons here. I have most of my classes in the same classroom, but stuff like B Language and Magical Practice are in other places. This hallway here-"

"Watch it, kiddo!"

Alfred let out a yelp as an older boy grabbed his shoulder and roughly shoved him out of the way, making him stumble backwards and knock an unprepared girl into the wall. The older boy did not seem to care as he uncaringly passed by, closely followed by three other boys who made bad attempts at hiding their lazy snickers. Alfred sent their backs a defiant look, but didn't speak up. Once the four boys had disappeared through a door a bit further down the corridor, Alfred let out an exasperated and irritated sigh; something that looked rather odd of him to do, Arthur thought. "You'd do better to just stay away from those guys. Don't ever go near them. They're just a bunch of idiots, anyway," Alfred said once he met his friend's puzzled and angered look. The other students walking around them seemed to just mind their own business and walked on indifferently – as did the girl Alfred had accidently bumped into.

Arthur gave him an uncertain nod and watched as his guide's face lit up slightly as they started to walk again. "Right, so this hallway is where most of the eighth graders classrooms are, I rarely go here, but the cafeteria is just a bit further down. C'mon." Alfred patted the other's shoulder twice, indicating him to follow, as he set off jogging to reach the desired room quicker. Their feet made soothing and dampened sounds as they ran on the dull stone floor and Arthur found himself meeting questioning gazes of teenagers who eyed him weirdly. He realized that he was still wearing the dark cloak from before, and even though the hood wasn't up again, he was sure he looked quite strange, if not suspicious. Arthur quickly pulled out the pin that kept the fabric around his shoulders and picked it up into his arms instead. Alfred had already stopped a bit ahead of him and was swinging back and forth on his feet while waiting impatiently.

Arthur went to his friend's side and stepped out into a bigger, and seemingly empty, room – which actually looked more like a hall – full of tables, benches and chairs. The wall on their left side was of brick like the rest of the building, but the right side was made of glass with pillars of stone that held up the roof, which was wooden, Arthur noticed. Outside, there were a bunch of children and teenagers standing on a plain of grass, observing a teacher who was gesticulating dramatically in the air.

"What are they doing out there?" Arthur asked curiously and turned to Alfred who'd followed his gaze to the small gathering.

"A Magical Practice class, dunno which level, but a lot of eights and nines are there, so it's probably pretty high," he answered thoughtfully and then turned back to Arthur again. "Do you practise magic, Artie?"

"Ah, yes, a bit. Mostly spells though, and curses when I grow older. I haven't tried combat magic," the royal said after a moment of thought.

"Wow, that's cool! I got zero magic skills, but then again, no one in my family really does. People tell me I'm as magical as a rock," Alfred laughed, the vibrant sound echoing funnily in the large cafeteria. Arthur returned the laughter with an amused smile. He'd never really valued his magical abilities that much before, mostly because he'd always taken them for granted. He knew that Angelique, for example, didn't practise magic, but for him it had still always felt like such an obvious thing. But things natural for him inside the castle weren't perhaps as usual for the people outside.

They stayed in the cafeteria for a few more brief moments and watched as the Magical Practice teacher produced a shimmering, red light out of thin air with a simple hand gesture before Alfred decided it was time to continue the tour. They went through several more hallways and Alfred pointed out the rooms for the B language rooms, music, art, and battle class. It turned out that the school was two separate buildings with one of them containing most classrooms while the other held larger spaces like the auditorium and dancing hall. They were connected by a gravel passageway framed by damp grass. Shrubbery were scattered a little all over the schoolyard and also covered most borders of the outer borders, creating neat hiding places between the bushes and floral-adorned metal fence. "We'll have good use for 'em later during break," Alfred told him.

After wandering around in a few more hallways, Alfred jumped to a halt in front of one of many wooden doors. "Right, here we are!" he exclaimed brightly and pushed open the door.

"Good morning, Alfred. I see you brought your friend?" Arthur found his gaze locked on an older woman who eyed him curiously from behind a desk. She looked to be in her thirties, had dark, curly hair that framed her face neatly and intelligent dark brown eyes.

"Good morning, Mrs Jacobson! And yep, this is Artie," Alfred exclaimed with a large grin and stepped aside to let Arthur into full view.

"It's a pleasure meeting you, Mrs Jacobson, was it? Thank you for having me here today," Arthur said with a small bow and extended his hand, blushing slightly as he saw the surprised face the teacher was making. She was quick in smiling though, and returned the greeting with a firm handshake, telling him that he could take the seat next to Alfred's since his classmate was sick.

Arthur followed a beaming Alfred to two desks positioned in the very middle of the classroom. He was introduced to Richard, a brunet who claimed himself to be really good at football, and a dark-haired boy called Cheng who was sitting next to Mikael by the window – which was facing a light well, since the room wasn't connected to the building's outer walls – and was told that their first subject was math.

Alfred greeted seemingly everyone that passed through the door, making sure to introduce Arthur, even if it was just vaguely, until the lesson finally started and Mrs Jacobson greeted them all, now as a whole, and told them which pages to work with. All of the children picked up their books, pencils and erasers – and some their rulers – before pages could be heard turning in a chaotic ensemble.

Arthur settled on watching Alfred at first, quite surprised at how enthusiastically the boy was scribbling down numbers; he himself wasn't a big fan of math and he couldn't understand what it was that captivated Alfred with it. He didn't observe him for long though, for Mrs Jacobson came over and asked if he wanted to work with the same exercises as the rest of the class. Arthur didn't see why not – it sounded a lot better than just sitting there and doing nothing for a good hour – so he was lent a book, a couple of checkered papers as well as writing equipment. Mrs Jacobson asked if he knew how to work with the equations they were currently learning, and left after opening the correct page when Arthur assured he did. He was also quick in discovering that it was all stuff he'd both learnt and mastered probably more than a year ago, so he was quick in finishing and was surprised that he hadn't thought it as boring as he usually did. At first he just put down his pencil, straightened his back and waited, going back to observing the other children – though Alfred mostly – but then Mrs Jacobson's voice broke his examining trance.

"Oh, my, are you already done, Artie?" Arthur averted his gaze from the blond boy and looked up at the teacher who had once again approached him. He could feel Alfred's as well as several other's gazes landing on him, but didn't chance any glances.

"Yes, ma'am," he answered and couldn't help but feeling a bit embarrassed over the attention he was getting.

"That's quite impressive! There's still twenty minutes left, so you can continue on the next page if you'd like."

Arthur gave a subtle nod and bent over his desk again. He couldn't help a gaze at Alfred though, and was met by a beaming face with sparkling eyes and a praising thumb up. He might have imagined it, but he could have sworn Alfred scribbled even faster after that, looking even more determined to solve the equations. After a while longer, Mrs Jacobson called out that class was over and that they'd have a twenty-minute break before they'd be heading to their next lesson – which was music, so they wouldn't return directly to the same classroom.

Alfred all but attacked him with a big hug once they were out in the hallway again. "Mmmm, you're awesome, Artie! How did ya get so smart?"

"I-I'm not smart. Those were simply things I'd already learnt," Arthur answered shakily, cheeks getting uncomfortably warm from the public sign of affection – he wasn't used to getting hugs at all, even less amongst others.

"Still, you're totally awesome, not just 'cause you're good at math!" Besides intensifying his blush, the compliment made him want to laugh. Alfred truly thought too much of him; he was completely hopeless at math – and hated it, too – and he'd never thought of himself as smarter than others his age, though of course he hadn't really met that many. Because he was tutored privately he figured that it went faster and smoother than classes at the communal schools, Mr Väinämöinen had told him that he was gifted, but Arthur always took it as hollow flatter.

Arthur thanked Alfred despite his thoughts and received an encouraging pat on the back before he was released.

They had to focus on getting to the music classroom, so the break was mostly spent walking there while talking and joking with Mikael, Richard and Cheng. When they were outside the door of their destination, the conversation started to drift to Arthur though, much to said person's dismay. He'd managed to smoothly evade most questions though, and was relieved when the door finally opened and a brunet with, a bit too large, beard and heavily lined spectacles appeared. He motioned the waiting children inside and the lecture started.

They would be working with instruments for the day's lesson and Alfred was quick in grabbing something the young royal had learnt was a guitar – they didn't actually have any at the castle since it was relatively newly invented and not in tradition, but he'd still heard of it – and Arthur received a violin from the teacher, which he'd said he played earlier when the question was asked during his short introduction to the musician. Personally, Arthur thought that his friend was quite gifted with the foreign instrument and he listened mesmerized as he played for the first whole quarter of the class. Alfred told him he was going to make an original song and was currently trying to find a good comp and just played random chords for the time being, Arthur recognized the terms from the fewer piano lessons he'd been given and didn't question it further, instead he just leaned forward to absorb the melodious and rhythmic sounds.

Alfred was soon embarrassed by the intense attention, however, and asked Arthur to let him hear him play instead. "I tried to learn the violin at first, but it didn't really work out," he said with a chuckle.

Snapping out of his momentary trance, the princess obliged and picked up the forgotten instrument, placing it in the correct position beneath his chin. He drew the bow over the strings a few times first, testing the sound, before starting on a piece he'd memorized from his lessons. Arthur usually preferred to keep his eyes closed when he was confident he knew a piece enough in order to get entirely swallowed by the melody and simplify the flow of feeling he put into the playing, but about halfway in he chanced a glance at his audience and was met by a similarly beaming face he'd been earlier during the previous class. Arthur also realised that Alfred wasn't the only one observing – or rather admiring – his playing, seeing that as good as the entire class was staring at him now. Arthur tried not to swallow too noticeably because of the discomfort it would cause and shyly shut his eyes again. He finished with a vibrato on the last high-pitched note which he mentally praised himself for pulling off rather impressively – he'd been having trouble with it a lot in the past and rarely managed it on too long tones.

He was met by applauds and a couple of cheers once he opened his eyes again and lowered the violin. His face was burning, he knew, and uncomfortably impressively so. The praise he got after that was in a disturbingly large amount that ended up with the teacher asking him a bunch of questions about how long he'd played, who'd taught him, and so on. The future Queen of Spades was left with a relieved, yet warm and proud, feeling in his chest as he walked out of the classroom at the lesson's end, accompanied by a very gleeful Alfred.

Arthur proved to excel in the rest of the subjects as well – he'd since long passed his record in blushing for one day, and not even half had passed yet – and was more than embarrassed when lunch break had finally arrived. Lunch was served with a small buffet of two main courses to choose from, one being very spicy while the other was close to completely bland – but that was what the others told him, the princess himself didn't find anything wrong with the latter dish –, as well as a salad table. Alfred told him that if they hurried with eating they'd have more time for playing a game later – the schoolyard wasn't really big enough for any sports since most space was occupied by Magical Practice classes, so they only did those after school if their parents and homework allowed.

Arthur found it hard eating quickly though, for Cheng and Alfred kept cracking jokes, leaving all five at the table in laughter. They still finished at a relatively good time though and went over to the other side of the school where a lot of shrubbery were seemingly randomly placed.

"We usually start here," Alfred said and looked around, searching for more children that usually joined the activity. "Do ya know how to play the Wave Game, Artie?"

Arthur gave him a confused look and shook his head.

"Right, how about hide n' seek?"

"Yes, I know that one," Arthur said and followed as the other three boys went over to a small group of children.

"Well, it's sorta like hide n' seek; someone will be 'it', count to fifty and everyone will run and hide. When 'it' finds someone they will follow 'it' when 'it' continues to search though, so a line behind 'it' might be created. Now, everyone who's still hiding must try to wave to those who are found without being seen by 'it'. If someone from the line sees a wave they wave back and then they run and hide again, so it's good to move and follow 'it' if they walk around the school instead of staying put."

"Ah, I see," Arthur said with a nod. "That must be quite frustrating though."

"What do ya mean?"

"With everyone running away all the time."

Alfred chuckled lightly. "You bet it is! We usually have to change 'it' after a while when they complain too much."

"Hey, you guys gonna join?" a tall brunette shouted from where she sat on a large boulder. There were five additional girls as well as three more boys in the group, the brunette seemingly taking on some kind of 'leader' role.

"Yep! Wei's sick, but I brought Artie here with me today, so we're the same number. Artie, this is Mel, she can be a bit bossy, but she's still cool."

The girl pouted as she jumped down from the rock, punching Alfred playfully on the shoulder before turning to Arthur. "I'm Melanie, but Mel is fine, too. Nice to meet you. Oh, and if Alfred's told you something about me, don't believe it, 'kay?" she said before squinting, focusing her gaze on Arthur's face, unnerving said boy. "Your eyebrows are funny!" she exclaimed at last, as if she'd made a huge discovery.

Arthur only sighed, exasperated, by the remark – what was it with girls commenting on his eyebrows? – Alfred, on the other hand, returned the previously thrown punch slightly harder and with a frown. "They're not funny – they're awesome. You're just jealous!"

Melanie stuck her tongue out in an immature manner, but didn't retort.

They'd already decided on a girl called Charlotte being "it", so they were able to start the game quickly. Charlotte stood and faced the boulder, hands preventing her from peeking out of the corners of her eyes, before starting to count loudly.

Arthur didn't even have time to scan his surroundings for a hiding place before he was suddenly pulled into a sprint by Alfred who'd grabbed around his wrist. The boy seemed to realize that the grip was uncomfortable for the princess, however, for he let go to take his hand instead.

The only thing Arthur could indistinctly make out from the run was that they were heading for the fence and his assumptions were indeed confirmed when Alfred turned them both around and pulled him with him behind the bushes. Arthur let out a high-pitched yelp as he was brought down on his bum, but was silenced by a warm hand that closed over his mouth. He turned around to glare confusedly at Alfred and was met by a mischievous smirk covered by an index finger, indicating the other to be quiet. "Hush, she might hear us," Alfred whispered with a wink and Arthur nodded.

The wheat-blonde retrieved his other hand and put it snugly around the royal's stomach instead, pulling him closer. "You need to pull your legs further in; your feet are still poking out in the sunlight."

Arthur let out an agreeing "hmm" and obliged, pulling his legs up as far as he could to his chest.

It was an exhilarating feeling, hiding like that, and the fact that he shouldn't be there in the first place only added to fuelling it. His heart was beating at a frantic, but strangely pleasant, pace, and he was surprised to feel Alfred's beating just as fast; he did that kind of stuff practically every day, didn't he?

Arthur felt a sudden blow of warm air on his neck as Alfred sighed and leaned forward to put his chin on his shoulder. "Man, isn't she done yet? Fifty seconds passed, like, ages ago," he whined and Arthur chuckled quietly.

The princess tried to lean forward in order to catch a glimpse of "it's" whereabouts, but Alfred only tightened his grip – this time adding a second arm – around him. "Don't! She'll see you!" he whispered.

"Right, sorry," Arthur whispered back and settled against the other again.

They sat like that for a while, hearts beating rapidly and Arthur hardly dared to breathe, but then they heard a call from somewhere to their left.

"I can see you, Ju – behind the corner!"

Arthur saw two feet come into view under the leaves as Charlotte ran along the school's wall and an additional pair soon came and met them.

"Ah, she's found Ju," Alfred breathed. "Let's stay here for a while longer though, till they've walked around the corner or so, 'kay?"

Arthur nodded and they went back to waiting in silence again, occasionally hearing other's names as well as their hiding places being called out by a girlish voice.

"Where did ya learn all that stuff, by the way?" Alfred finally whispered when he couldn't bear the silence any longer.

"What... What do you mean?" Arthur murmured back hesitantly.

"Well, you know a lot more than any of us. Like, all those cities you just counted up, it was like you knew them all by heart – I swear I've never even heard of half of them. Wellington for example, where's that?"

"Just along our south-western border," Arthur breathed, even though the question wasn't directly related to him, the course of topic was uncomfortable. "I just read a lot that's all."

"Yeah, but-"

"I think she went around the corner now, shall we follow?" He could feel Alfred's reluctance, but the boy still rose to his feet and pulled Arthur with him.

"Yeah, let's," he said and they stepped out of the bushes, leaving the comfortable hiding place. "C'mon!" Alfred was smiling again and motioned with his hand for Arthur to follow him to the school wall. Alfred said that they had to be quiet as they sneaked closer to the corner. He tried to listen for sounds that would reveal the whereabouts of Charlotte, how far away she was and how many she'd found. He wasn't able to make out any distinct sounds amongst all subtle noises that flew around the school though, so he decided on peeking around the corner of the building instead.

He didn't see her at first, but by the time he heard an "Aha! You there!" it was already too late and he swiftly retreated back around the wall.

"Go, go, go!" he exclaimed and quickly ushered Arthur with him into another run. They didn't escape to the bushes along the fence this time though, instead kept running along the wall.

Alfred pushed Arthur in front of him and around the next corner just in time to hear a victorious shout. "Found you, Alfred!"

Said boy sighed loudly but smiled, still. "Hurry and go before she comes!" he whispered hastily to Arthur and winked. "Someone's gotta save us, right?"

Arthur snorted despite the subtle burning feeling on his cheeks and nodded, turning around to continue his run along the building's wall until he found a fit hiding place. The wall turned inwards rather quickly, revealing a small courtyard between the backsides of the auditorium, dancing hall and corridor that connected them. Arthur ran into the open square but didn't dare to look back around the corner in case Charlotte had followed and would spot him, so he began to look around.

There wasn't really much there; a few flowerbeds and bushes only. A tunnel-like passage that he figured must lead to the other side of the halls was the only thing sticking out. Seeing that he really didn't have many options, he threw one glance back before sprinting for the passage.

He almost instantly bumped into something though, letting out a surprised cry and stumbling backwards before he thankfully gained his balance again. There wasn't that much light in the passage, save for the one at the end of the tunnel, so he found it difficult making out the silhouette of the blocking object. Something smelt really weird though – that he knew.

"Hey, kid, watch it!"

'Okay', Arthur thought, 'so it is an angry and very-much-alive blocking object.'

Arthur squinted and was able to make out enough features to recognize the guy that earlier had shoved Alfred into the wall. He suddenly felt very unsure as he saw the other three boys that had accompanied him before as well, leaning against the walls of the tunnel while watching him with questioning and hostile eyes.

Arthur decided on trying to just ignore them and began to walk again as indifferently as possible. The first boy – and obviously the leader of the pathetic squad – grabbed him by the collar though, and shoved him against the bricks of the wall. Arthur let out a grunt at the sudden assault but managed to keep his head from impacting with the building behind him.

"Ye were with Jones before, eh? I don't like that kid, cheeky and spoilt little brat who thinks lives on his dad's fame," the leader spat with spite in his eyes. "Yer probably the same, cocky little annoying bastard, aren't ye?"

Arthur gulped rather audibly as the guy leaned over so that they were at eye-level. He was now able to trace to odd smell to a piece of what looked like paper the older guy held in his hand, it was reeking at one end and the smoke found its way to Arthur's eyes, making them water.

"Li, stand guard," the guy commanded and one of the other boys immediately ran off to the other tunnel's end, still watching his leader's actions.

The royal tried to squirm a little against the tight hold beneath his throat, grabbing the assaulting arm with his hands, but found it to no avail as the boy was more than a head taller and far physically bigger and stronger.

Now he was truly scared.

Instead of looking brighter like it should've, the shadows of the tunnel just appeared to crawl closer, enclose everything in further darkness. He could hear mocking snickers from the three-member-audience and the stench from whatever their leader was smoking was making him choke.

"Let go," Arthur finally managed despite his fear and thanked his many lessons of vocal training for keeping it resolute.

The guy in front of him chuckled at that, a disgustingly hoarse and sickening sound Arthur thought, especially as the stench of his breath was blown all over his face. "Why would I do that? I'm bored and yer entertainin' enough."

Arthur whimpered as he was pulled forward only to be knocked back against the wall again. This time he couldn't keep his head from colliding with the bricks and let out a cry of pain as it connected unmercifully with the stone.

"See?" said that hoarse voice and equally disturbing snickers echoed from behind it again.

Whether it was out of an adrenaline kick or subconsciously planned attack, he really didn't know – all he knew was that his legs were kicking out at full force the next moment, colliding with his assaulter's leg and stomach vigorously.

The older boy cried out and let go of his collar, taking a couple of steps back and falling to his knees, clutching his belly. Arthur immediately jumped for the opportunity and tried to run, making a frantic leap towards the end from which he had come. Something grabbed around his ankle though, successfully stopping him abruptly and sending him crashing to the ground with a shrill cry. His hands had shot out at the last moment and took the damage instead of his face, getting scratched roughly as he was pulled back over the cold ground by his ankle.

He was turned around before he was straddled by the older boy, who was looking infuriated now, eyes ablaze with rage.

"YE FUCKIN' BRAT!"

Arthur flinched as the guy bellowed straight in his face, letting out a scared whimper. The three boys who still stood and watched were howling with laughter now, not helping with easing the royal's horror.

He wasn't sure whether to be surprised or just thoroughly panic-stricken when he was grabbed around the throat, his vital air support efficiently cut off.

"Stan, what the fuck are you doing!"

The laughing squad had quietened down and was now panicking just as much as the choking boy.

Arthur didn't know what happened around him but the hands around his throat were finally removed, so he could've cared less, busy gasping for air like a fish was for water after being without it. The weight keeping him trapped on the ground never left though, and as his blurry, tear-filled vision finally sharpened, he saw that his assaulter – Stan – was still straddling him. Even though he looked a tad less angry than before, his face was still scrunched up in rage. Now he also held a newly lit smoke, which was still burning faintly at one end, emitting that horrible-smelling smoke.

"Right, so me mates and I decided we could do this in a funnier way, ye'd like that, huh? Ye fuckin' little brat." Stan glared and sneered down at him at the same time and Arthur started to cold sweat, panic returning again.

Stan grabbed both of Arthur's wrists and successfully pinned them above his head, leaning forward with the smoke close to his face. "I fuckin' hate ye," he spat in the royal's face and slowly blew out a breath of smoke for added effect. "Ten minutes and I already hate ye!"

Arthur noticed that the previously amused trio now had turned silent and was watching the scene with nervous expressions, shifting where they stood as if thinking that the assault had gone a little too far, as if wanting to intervene but not daring to. That didn't calm him one bit.

He didn't know why he hadn't thought of it before – but then again, he actually hadn't managed to think much at all in the last ten minutes, his mind being a frightened mess – but now he finally took a deep breath and screamed, not very high-pitched and desperately but rather powerfully and demanding, as if ordering someone to help him or his assaulter to get off him.

Stan looked surprised at first – maybe shocked, even – but was quick in regaining his senses and thrust a hand over the princess' mouth. "Shut the fuck up!"he growled.

Then a smirk was on his face again, more taunting than the previous ones, and Arthur wasn't quite sure what to think. Had he missed something?

The royal's next painful scream was muffled by the palm that still covered his mouth, but now that his hands were free he clawed desperately with them at the older boy's arms, digging his nails extra hard into the hand that was by his neck again, instantly regretting it though, as the hand pressed harder. He wasn't choked again, but he honestly thought that the feeling of being strangled was more welcome at that moment, anything but the unbearable, agonizing, burning pain at his throat as the still smouldering end of the smoke was pressed further into his pale skin. Even though he couldn't bring himself to blink, his eyes being wide-open with a horrendous mixture of emotions, tears were flooding down his face, and obviously had for some time now.

As suddenly as it was applied, the cause of the burning sensation was gone, leaving a very stinging, but still painful, feeling on his throat instead. He wanted desperately to claw on it, to cover it with something, add some kind of pressure on it, but Stan still held the smoke near his neck, so he dared not to move.

Arthur sent a pleading gaze down the tunnel, hoping to gain some of the other boys' sympathy that could make them stand up for their own opinions and turn on their leader, but the tunnel was void. They'd probably left before or while he was being burned, deserting him. Not that he'd counted on their assistance in the first place, but it still stung somewhat, and not from the burn on his neck or the large weight that was applied to his body. Arthur sobbed quietly, the sound almost completely mute under his assaulter's palm.

"This is so much more fun, don't ye think?"

There was that spiteful voice again, and Arthur wished he would never have to hear it again, ever.

"But do ye know what'd be even more fun?"

Arthur sent him a glare and started to squirm again, though subtly as to not accidently brush his skin against the smoke again.

"This."

Stan now held the smoke over his face, lowering it slowly, oh so slowly, for added effect. As realization dawned upon him, Arthur let out a muffled scream and clutched the other's hand desperately with his own, but Stan was strong and even if the pace was slowed down, the slightly glowing smoke was still getting closer and closer to Arthur's face.

A/N

Oh God... I'm a horrible, horrible, HORRIBLE person! ._. I can't believe I just wrote that, it went from completely fluffy and child-friendly story to... ehhh, that... I wasn't planning on making it that violent at first, really! My first idea was to just have some mean comments and Arthur being pushed to the ground, but no. Writing late at night and trying to exaggerate everything so that you won't fall asleep is no good way of writing... I know some people will hate me, and I honestly don't blame you. I did write that it wouldn't stay fluffy forever, but for a scene like that to come so early surprised me as well ._. I must say, that I do like it now because it contrasts to the rest of it, but I will probably hate it tomorrow when I wake up :P Wouldn't surprise me if it does... Anyway, was that bad enough for an M rating (I sure hope not!)? For now I'll keep it T with that warning in the beginning, but it really wasn't that horrible, right? I'm not very easily affected myself, so I'm a terrible judge when it comes to ratings, so please share your thoughts on the matter! It would truly help! ;^;

Now... ehm... This chapter is really long, but I also haven't updated it for a while so that sort of compensates for that I suppose? I haven't been able to reply anything yet because I was really badly ill with different viruses for two weeks and then had to catch up with school (most of this is written in a notebook), and I haven't been much on my computer (only reading fanfics on my ipod) before today when all I did was finishing this... *sigh*It's so late (or early o.o) that my eyes are burning xD I will reply to reviews tomorrow though, I promise! Absolutely promise this time! I really, really appreciate your reviews and this story wouldn't be alive without them ;w; So thank you soooooo much and please keep 'em coming :'3

Alsoooooooo, I just realized that I have yet to mention that English isn't my first language in this story (though you've probably noticed by now, huh? xD). Anyway, I'm still learning it and am relatively young (as much as I hate to admit it), so constructive feedback and corrections on grammar are very much appreciated! (Really couldn't thank you enough for this!)

(You don't actually need to read all this since it is mostly me ranting, but I've got some information of the actual story coming here)

So first of all; Mikael (yes, he is an oc who is not based on a nation – none of the oc's in this are!): The reason why I decided to "waste" time describing him is because he'll return later in the stories and I want him better introduced before that happens (don't worry he won't take much place).

Religion (you: gawd nooo!); so the religion of those church is not really Christianity (even though they're called churches). It will not be largely in focus at all, I just needed a few things explained for later in the story. The little religion you will see will be loosely based on Protestantism (a form of Christianity) because I am such myself and have more knowledge about it – so basically I'm just being lazy in doing research and inventing a perfect religion for this setting /shot. :'D (No need to pay this much attention, really! xD)

Languages and Ace: So making it easier for myself again (because I'm both incredibly tired and lazy right now), the language in Ace will be Swedish with the Danish "Ø's". Ace will pretty much exist of most countries that are not part of the official cardverse theme, with the nordics as majors. I am also currently learning French and German, so French in diamonds and German in Hearts in order to at least somewhat avoid entirely wrong grammar if I choose to use them. As for Clubs... I'd like for it to be Russian, but I don't know any so ol' google translate will deal with that when time comes xD

B Language = Foreign language

I'll explain about the Magical Practice and different styles in another chapter.

Okay, terribly long AN for terribly long chapter ._. ah well. Thank you so much to everyone who's still sticking with this, and reviews are much appreciated! :3