So here we are with the Hearts Kingdom. It stars Ludwig/Germany as the King, Japan/Kiku as the Queen, and Italy/Feliciano as the Jack. Enjoy!~

The Two of Hearts

Ludwig Beilschmidt once had an older brother and his grandfather. He didn't know what happened to his parents, as no one was left to tell him the story of why they were no longer around him. His brother was caring and kind, but always seemed to know just how to get into trouble with others. Because of his attitude that he had, Gilbert was chosen to be the one in charge of mischief and chaos in countries, or more commonly known as the Joker.

Unlike the King, Queen, and Councilor, the Joker's were chosen by the jury. They served for life, and weren't re-chosen when the King and Queen and Councilor died. Sometimes the lifespans got off track, but normally they were the same The Joker was known for going around and just pulling pranks on the kingdoms. Since Gilbert was found in the Kingdom of Hearts, his main targets would be the Hearts Kingdom and the Cloves Kingdom. Some other Joker, named Peter, would watch and pull pranks mainly on the Diamonds Kingdom and the Spades Kingdom.

It had been 10 years since Ludwig had last seen Gilbert. Jokers were known for distancing themselves from people, to make leaving them easier, but Ludwig had kept the small hope alive that Gilbert wouldn't just forget about him and move on. Gilbert had left his young brother alone when Ludwig was the young age of 7, and Gilbert was 15. Then, when Ludwig was 12, his grandfather died, leaving Ludwig all on his own. Luckily, Ludwig found a job. Pouncing on his chance, Ludwig quit school and started working full time to pay for his house that was all that he had left of his life before everyone left him.

When the Royals died, Ludwig didn't feel the excitement and anticipation that everyone else seemed to feel upon getting the news. He felt sadness, even though he had never known them in person. They had been good leaders, and manage to keep them out of the war that that Spade Kingdom had wanted. So while everyone was out celebrating, thinking that this could be their chance at being memorable, Ludwig went home to mourn the fact that no one seemed to care that three great leaders had died.

"I'm home," Ludwig called to an empty house. His heart almost broke when nothing answered him, even though he knew nothing was all that he had. Suddenly though, Ludwig heard a meow, and looked down to see his loyal cat around his ankles. Ludwig almost forgot about his cat, which he named Germouser, despite how the cat seemed like him in a cat form.

"Hallo Germouser, don't worry I didn't forget you," Ludwig said as he bent down and picked his cat up.

Together, the two went into the kitchen, where Ludwig cooked a bunch of wurst for the both of them. His house seemed more quiet than usual, every sound that he and Germouser made seemed to echo. When the meal was done they went into the living room, where Ludwig picked up his favorite book. Yet try as he might, the novel just couldn't capture his heart. His thoughts were on the leader that he had lost, on his dead grandfather, and on the brother that he hadn't seen in years.

"Germouser, life's just hard isn't it?" Germouser stared up at his master with his big blue eyes, but didn't do anything otherwise.

"It seems that everyone I like ends up going away somehow," Ludwig sighed to himself. His cat went back to sleep ignoring his master.

"You know, I always wanted a dog," Ludwig said casually, picking up his book. Germouser immediately bolted up, giving Ludwig a hard glare, but all Ludwig could do was laugh at the flustered expression that coated his cats face. An hour later Germany was in bed, his cat at his side and feeling a bit better about the day.

Wen Ludwig awoke the next morning, he felt more refreshed than he had in a while. There was an energy around him and he felt happier than he had in a while. It was so different, since Ludwig wasn't normally a morning person. He went into the bathroom, slicking back his golden hair and brushing his teeth. Before his cat had even woken up, Ludwig was out the door and out to work, more than ready to take on the day.

"Hey Ludwig!" A neighbor called, drawing Ludwig out of his thoughts and turning him to talk to his neighbor. The neighbor was nice enough, but Ludwig had always been too busy to talk, he hadn't even bothered to learn the young man's name.

"Ja?" Ludwig knew he could be intimidating at times, so he tried to be as relaxed as possible. It seemed to work as his neighbor relaxed more.

"The Queen and Councilor were chosen already! Can you believe that?" The man was panting from excited, looking about ready to burst.

"Really? That was fast."

"Yup! Apparently the Queen is a Japanese kid from the Spades Kingdom," Ludwig raised a brow, but while uncommon, it wasn't impossible for someone from another Kingdom to be chosen to rule another, "and the Councilor is this Italian guy who's pretty dimwitted. Now everybody's just waiting for the King to come forward!"

Ludwig knew that much. If the marks had appeared on the Queen and Councilor, then someone in the Hearts Kingdom was the King and just not saying it. Maybe they didn't even know, since some people are just too busy to check hourly like some. Ludwig was sure though that someone would come forward and say they were the King soon enough. The good thing about their Kingdom was that they got barely half of the number of fakes that the other Kingdoms get. It was strange but people followed their heart here, and so it led to let lying and cheating. They had their share of it, but it was significantly less than the other nations.

Ludwig and his neighbor parted their ways shortly after. Ludwig headed off to work while his neighbor did whatever he did during the day. Work was uneventful, just the same old boringness that every day was. Ludwig worked from dawn till dusk, thinking about what he had learned about this morning. He had thought for sure that by the end of the work day that the new King would have been announced, but there was nothing. So Ludwig went home thinking about where their kingdom was heading.

As Ludwig ate his dinner, he still thought about everything that he had heard. He thought about everything, even as his cat bugged him for more food and attention. For some reason, the thoughts of the nation refused to leave his mind. Germouser knew that something was wrong, and after a while decided that it would be better to leave his master alone. Ludwig went and decided that a nice long hot shower would clear his mind more than just sitting there.

Even in the shower, the thoughts wouldn't leave his mind. The hot water from the shower cleansed his overworked muscles, but the steam just seemed to fog his brain even more. His hair fell into his face, making him want to automatically push it back. It wasn't until he was washing his chest that Ludwig realized that something was on his chest, something that hadn't been there the night before.

There, almost like a birthmark, was the mark of the King. It was a blood red heart, rather larger than the marks for the other Kings, gold trim around the edges. On the center of the heart was a simple 'K' yet while it was simple it was elegant at the same time. It wasn't like the other marks of Kings either, the mark of the King of Hearts was noticeable, and was made to stand out against skin. So while it looked like it belonged there, it stood out and made the skin below it look paler than normal.

The soap ran down his legs and washed down the drain without doing its purpose of cleaning. Ludwig didn't notice though, his chest was just so much more fascinating. He poked at his chest, thinking, if not hoping a little, that it was just an illusion that his mind created. He poked at it, but it stayed there, and looked like it had no thoughts of leaving. So he scrubbed. And scrubbed. And scrubbed. He scrubbed his skin until it was red and raw, and looked close to bleeding. Yet still the mark remained. When Ludwig couldn't take the pain anymore and the skin around the mark looked more damaged than the mark itself, did Ludwig stop his furious scrubbing.

Ludwig left his shower, not even half clean, and wrapped a towel around himself. Then, with his hair still dripping wet, Ludwig picked up the phone to call the people in charge of these sorts of matters.

Kiku Honda had a rather large family, and he loved it. He loved waking up and eating his big brothers food, he loved spending time with his family and bugging his brothers and sisters. When Yao was announced as the Councilor for the Spades Kingdom, Kiku was ecstatic, but he kept it to himself. He went along with what his big brother had to do, and pretended that he was a little upset over everything, when in reality he was happy.

Together, his family watched as the new rulers were found, until finally, everyone was waiting on the Hearts Kingdom. Kiku was a bit eager to see what new ruler that the nation that was known for love would produce. The entire nation waited for the three new rulers that could help usher in a new era of peace after the war that the Spade's King had caused. Kiku felt his thoughts beginning to drift off to the war, but tried his best to resist them, choosing to think about the future instead.

After a couple of hours and not hearing a word from the Hearts Kingdom, Kiku's family got bored and decided that other things were more worth their time. Yao was busy with other duties, and everyone else just got bored. Kiku didn't though. He kept a keen ear out for anything he could hear about it.

Of course there was nothing. By nightfall Kiku gave up just like his siblings, and he went to his room to retire.

Kiku's discovery of his mark was nothing special. He was in the middle of taking off his clothing when his hand brushed over that juncture to where shoulder became neck, and he felt a little bump there. Moving over to the mirror that was his own private bathroom, Kiku saw the mark of the Queen of Hearts. It was a simple blood red heart with gild trim decorating the edges just like the Kings, except it had a 'Q' inside of it instead of a 'K'. He stared at it for a while, but he was a rational person, and he knew that something like this couldn't be faked. If it appeared on his skin, then he was the Queen of Hearts. Kiku did the only thing he could think of, he went to Yao.

Traveling there took less than five minutes, and he had barely managed to get past the guards since security was so tight where Yao stayed. Yao answered begrudgingly, only after Kiku had risen his from sleep.

"Aiyah Kiku what is it? I need to sleep," Yao groaned out, clad in the royal blue sleeping wear that was given to all the royals.

"Yao nii-san we need to talk," Kiku said. Yao stared at him, Kiku calling him nii-san had been something that had died out years ago, and it was saved for important occasions now.

"What is it?"

Kiku didn't answer with words. Instead he pulled down the collar of the shirt he had hastily thrown on, revealing the mark that adorned his neck. Yao stared at it for a while, before he finally made a move.

"Kiku, tell me that's not real. Just tell me it's not real," Yao stared at his brother, his chocolate eyes pleading that it was all some joke.

"It's not a joke," Kiku stared, his own brown eyes blank as usual.

"But you've lived in the Spades Kingdom since you were little! You haven't even been to the Hearts Kingdom! This has to be fake, just tell me it's a fake and we can all go back to sleep."

"While it's uncommon, it's not unheard of for someone to be chosen to rule a different Kingdom than they live in," a voice said. Kiku and Yao turned to see King Alfred and Queen Arthur standing there. Arthur looked awake and intrigued, but Alfred looked dead on his feet. Kiku bowed to them, while Yao just scowled at them.

"Well it's a fake then. My brother can't be the Queen," Yao snapped, Kiku just stayed quiet.

"Come here, let me see that mark."

Kiku stepped forward and let Arthur stare at his neck. After a while he stepped back and seemed to come to a decision himself.

"It's not a fake, congrats Yao. It seems like your family is just teeming with Royalty."

Yao let out a frustrated growl, while Kiku let out an uncharacteristic smile towards Arthur. Arthur smiled back before he elbowed Alfred in the gut.

"Huh?" Alfred grunted, before he remembered what he was doing. "Oh yea, okay you three guards," Alfred gestured to three of his own personal body guards, "you three make sure that he gets to the Hearts Kingdom with a warm welcome from our Kingdom. If something happens and he arrives injured in any way, don't bother coming back."

Everyone was surprised by Alfred's normally carefree tone brought down to one of such great authority. The guards nodded and began to lead Kiku down to where he was going to be escorted to the Hearts Kingdom.

"Kiku Honda!" Yao's voice made everyone stop. Slowly, Kiku turned around to face his enraged brother.

"If you leave you will no longer be a brother to me. A family sticks together, and when you leave you won't be welcomed back," Kiku stared at his brother in shock, while everyone else had looks of pity or surprise on their faces.

"You have no right to declare something like that. Think Yao, you are basically telling another Kingdom that they aren't welcome here. You could be starting another wa-"

"It is fine, your majesty," Kiku cut Arthur off.

"Yao, you know family has always been important to me, but my sense of duty is also important. You were needed here, and so we came. I am needed somewhere else, so I will go. If it means losing a family in the process, then so be it."

Kiku left for his new life as the Queen of Hearts, leaving behind his family who didn't want to hear from him again. Alfred looked on with disbelief that a family could do that, while Arthur looked on with pity, for he knew what it was like to be shunned by people. Yao though, the most important person right then, just looked with resentment as Kiku walked with that pride that only the Queen could have.

Kiku Honda didn't take a second glance back.

Feliciano Vargas had a lot of friends. He only had one older brother, but he knew a lot of people. His grandfather had died when he was young, leaving just him and Lovino by themselves. Their friends, Antonio, Bella, and Ned weren't so much friends as they were a family. They all lived together, even though Ned and Antonio were constantly at odds. Feliciano was lucky though, he got along with almost everyone, including all the people in town.

Though even though Feliciano was well loved, he felt like the only person in the Hearts Kingdom who didn't find their special someone. Lovino had Antonio (even though Lovino claimed to hate him), and Bella and Ned had other people as well. His brother said not to worry about it, but of course it was all that he could think of.

When the news hit their small town, Antonio had to be the most excited out of all of them. Lovino just didn't care, but everyone else was interested in who would be picked. Feliciano was secretly hoping that one of them would be chosen for what he considered a great honor. Lovino refused to talk to Feliciano about it, saying that he 'didn't give a damn about the rich bastards'.

"Big brother Antonio! Who do you think will get chosen?" Feliciano asked, deciding that Antonio would be the best to talk to about it.

"I don't know Feli, we'll just have to wait and see."

So they waited. They waited until the sun got higher and higher in the sky, and then started to sink back into the horizon. There was nothing. After everyone had gone to bed and only Feliciano and Antonio were left, they started talking.

"You know, bug brother Lovino really does like you, he's just shy," Feliciano started. He loved his brother so much, but sometimes he was a jerk to those he should be closest to.

"Don't worry, I know. I don't mind anyways," Antonio said with a laugh. Feliciano laughed as well.

"What about you Feli? Anyone special in your life?" Feliciano blushed, and shook his head in a no.

"Don't worry about it, you'll find someone soon I bet. Anyone would be lucky to have you," Antonio's said kindly as he wrapped Feliciano in a hug. Feliciano hugged back. There was an itch on Feliciano's wrist, and he began to idly scratch it.

"Feli, what's with your neck? Let me see if you got bit by something," Antonio said, but he didn't even wait for a reply as he tugged Feliciano's hand away. Feliciano, always happy, let him.

"Feli…was this here before?" Antonio asked cautiously. Feliciano looked at him confused.

"What?" Feliciano asked before he looked down at where he had been scratching.

There on the inside of his left wrist was the mark of the Councilor of the Kingdom of Hearts. It was a small red heart, bright red in appearance. It could have been easily his with a simple bracelet. It was covered in a thin gold line, and a small 'J' sat right in the middle. It looked like a birthmark though, just something that belonged on his skin.

"No…that wasn't there before."

"Well it looks like we have a trip to make! You wake Bella and Ned, and I'll take Lovi~" Antonio said cheerfully before he went and ran into Lovino's room.

"Lovi!" Feliciano heard.

"CHIGI! Get out bastardo!"

Feliciano let out a laugh before he went to wake up the rest of their 'family'. It was the start of a whole new life for them.

So let me know what you think! Also the next chapter is about the Spades, what do you guys expect from them? Every review makes this story better, because I know what to work on!