(In case you missed this at the end of the previous chapter) Recap: Anyone expecting that? Anyhow, in case any of you are confused, here is a small recap. So after murdering Arthur's father, the three brothers waited for a new King to be announced before they could seize the throne from their "less than deserving" younger brother. Prior to this chapter, probably after the royal wedding, the three tied Matthew up to lure Gilbert to giving them weapons that the Jokers had such as bombs and guns and modern technology in exchange for Matthew's life; the first example of utilizing love as a weakness. AKA if Gilbert gives the weapons Matthew will be spared and if not Matthew will be killed. Simple. They were able to get the weapons information from their youngest brother, Peter, although nobody knows exactly how. The same process for Alfred as they tricked him into going out for drinks while chaining him to a bomb except for one difference: the brothers wanted Arthur and Alfred to die rather than with the two Jokers when they just wanted weapons. With the two dead, the brothers would be able to trick the Jack's Clock into making them the new rulers of Spades. However, the two were able to run away, but Alfred was caught escaping. Instead of killing him, the three casted a memory erasing spell thinking that Arthur died in the tower. I hope this made everything up to this point much clearer XD
Author's Notes: First off I want to apologize because this chapter is really shitty since I wrote this half asleep on the plane and now I am kind of upset since I have to sleep on the couch, as usual. What a great vacation, right? Anyhow I guilted my dad into letting me use his laptop (because my sister is being a bitch and not letting me use hers) but, originally, this was written on my iPod; hence why it is so shitty. But I wanted to keep writing and uploading chapters :) Okay talking about the story. Anyone expecting Arthur's brothers to be the culprits? It was a bit obvious from the beginning. But the more I thought about it, I started to want it to be Yao. He was always doing so much for the two and was never given enough credit...but I decided that Yao would be completely loyal to Arthur and Alfred. Also I am so sorry for always making the British Isles the evil characters. I love them, but they make such good evil characters. I mean, seriously, they have always been jealous of Arthur being Queen since they are better magicians since they are only their mother's blood. By the way Arthur was supposed to be King but that story was explained in chapter 1 and he is also worse at magic because his blood is mixed between both King and Queen making him have both qualities but weaker than they should. ALL MY READERS AND REVIEWERS DESERVE GOLD MEDALS FOR THEIR AWESOMENESS XD! THANK YOU~ I seriously cannot believe this story is almost at 100 followers! ACK! You are too kind! Now I bet you want to read this chapter, so I hope you enjoy!
Warnings: Strong language and more magic.
Disclaimer: I do not own hetalia.
"Your majesty!" Iain called a tad out of breath from running from the clock tower and around the castle's architecture to find Yao, with faux tears streaming down his freckled face.
Yao turned around in his indigo cushioned desk chair, his face souring from his usually content smile to a frown, mimicking Iain's expression, and asked "what is causing you distress, Iain?"
"It is Arthur and Alfred. I think they, err…" he said trailing off into his fake tears.
The raven haired man's bronze eyes began to well up with tears. "They are dead?"
"I saw them go into the clock tower, something about wanting to be alone, and then it blew up!"
"Blew up?" Yao asked a bit confused. Only in stories from prior to the Great War contained tales about things exploding, and he never expected it to happen again. The only other kingdom with those advanced weapons would be the Jokers, but they wouldn't use them to kill the Spades' royals. Would they?
Iain nodded, his disheveled red hair falling into his puffy green eyes. "Nobody has seen either since."
The Jack looked into his hands with disappointment in himself for not being able to stop Arthur from finding Alfred. "What should we do? There is nobody to take the throne and it took so long to find a King."
"We are Arthur's brothers, after all. We can keep the lineage from dying out," he said placing a hopeful, yet devious, hand on the elder's shoulder.
"I do not know about this," he said warily whisking Iain's hand away. He was the Jack when Arthur's father told the kingdom not to put his step-sons on the throne. With Arthur gone, however, this made circumstances completely different than in his father's situation.
"We cannot mourn our losses too long. As much as I would hate to admit it, Arthur was a wonderful royal, as well as Alfred. They could have accomplished much, but we must move on."
Yao nodded, and subtly wiped a tear away with his creme colored handkerchief. "To think our kingdom just had a full deck…"
"Our kingdom will have three days to mourn before we conduct a short coronation ceremony. Do not fret, my Jack, my brothers and I will plan the entire thing." The Jack nodded and silently wiped the last of his lukewarm tears. Straining a smile, he said "that is very thoughtful of you." Iain nodded, leaving alone the Jack to finish his mourning, before walking out of the library.
"So, is everything going according to plan?" William asked cheerfully with a poised orange eyebrow.
"Not so loud, dumbass," the older redhead growled cupping his hand over his mouth. William wiped his older brother's hand away with one swift flick of his pale wrist. "Well…is it?" Iain nodded with a grin "and he doesn't expect a thing."
"Who are you and how do you know my name?" Alfred asked glaring daggers at Arthur.
Arthur shook his head thinking Alfred was just joking with him. He had to be joking...right? "We do not have time for your bloody games, Alfred!" he exclaimed tugging on Alfred's muscular arm.
Instead, he stood firmly in place and said stubbornly "why should I go with you? I don't even know ya!"
He sighed looking into blank Alfred's pale blue eyes realizing he was completely serious. "Okay, I will answer all of your questions if you answer mine first, got it?" He received a nod from the golden blonde and continued by asking "what is the last thing you remember?"
"I was cutting a slice of cake for my brother for our birthday, and that was yesterday right?"
Arthur's eyes widened realizing his brothers' plot. They erased all of his memories regarding Arthur including becoming King. "You do not remember a knock at the door?"
Alfred paused for a moment and then shook his head. "Nope."
Arthur rubbed his temples feeling a migrane growing. "This is bad."
"Why?" he asked tilting his head.
"You lost six months of memory. I am your Que-husband, Arthur," Arthur explained leaving out the royalty part. He figured this was already too much for him to handle, why add that he was King?
His sapphire eyes widened. "No, I can't be married! And to someone like you!"
"There is nothing wrong with me," he pouted crossing his arms over his chest; he almost completely forgot Alfred's initial reaction when they first met and how much he detested the upper class.
"What about your eyebrows? You would think someone who wears these kind of clothes would, at least, wax their eyebrows."
"What is that supposed to mean?" he asked shielding his eyebrows. Is that what Alfred really thought about him? No, it couldn't be. This wasn't the real Alfred. His Alfred loved his untamed eyebrows, or at least never said anything against them. "They are perfectly normal sized!"
"And what about my job….and my brother?"
"He is a Joker," he explained not wanting him to have to run back to his home, given that would probably be one of the first places his brothers would expect them to hide.
"A Joker?
"And we should be moving," he stated tugging on Alfred's arm once more.
"Why? Don't we have a home?"
"We did; yet new royals came to power, and let me just say we are not the friendliest with them," he said not completely lying.
"Oh," he said looking at the ground awkwardly as the two walked side by side. The greenery began to thicken as they continued deeper into the forest. "So, how long were we together?"
"Six months but we just recently got married."
"Oh," he repeated awkwardly. He asked himself how could I forget my own wedding? He continued the idle conversation by asking "got any family?"
"I would rather not go there," he said solemnly not in the mood to explain the situation to him for the moment.
Alfred nodded. "That's cool."
For the next couple of minutes, the two walked in silence both watching the branches of the ominous trees roof the dark clouds beginning to form above them.
"Oof!" Arthur yelped falling over onto his feet.
"Are you okay?" Alfred asked rushing beside Arthur who was clutching his leg in pain and lying on the ground.
"Yes, yes, just what did I fall over?" he asked struggling to get back onto his feet once more. When he finally did, he brushed the imaginary dust off his, now grass stained, white shirt and slacks.
Alfred shrugged pulling apart the dew sprinkled grass to reveal a small metal door. "Where do you think it leads?"
"Somewhere safe, probably," Arthur said pulling open the latch to the bomb shelter built before the Great War.
"Are you sure about this?"
"What!? The all mighty Ki-Alfred is afraid of the dark?" he teased after jumping inside the shelter, almost forgetting that he was not going to tell him that he was the King, for his protection, no other reason.
Alfred pouted. "I am not afraid!" Right after Arthur, he slithered into the hole, a bit more carefully than his husband, and the two closed the door behind them. "That's just great! There are no candles!"
"Shhh…" Arthur hushed and chanted a small spell that released a fiery red glow to his hand. In seconds, a flame illuminated out from his pale hands.
"Whoa! You can do magic?"
"Not for…long," he stated with a pant feeling his energy draining. "Find a candle…quickly."
Alfred nodded looking around the compartment, his footsteps echoed off of the metal flooring. Low metal walls engulfed the two from all four sides, the shimmering light of the flame bouncing off. On the north wall was a shelf holding cans with words neither blonde could read, since it was in a dead language. The south wall had an old overstuffed couch sitting in front of a large box with two probes sticking out from it. In the center of the room was a table for eating and one small cot with one blanket. "
Wait! What's this?" Alfred asked noticing a string hanging down from the ceiling above the table. "Maybe it does something!" Without Arthur's consent, Alfred pulled the white string lighting up a small bulb, making them fall over in shock from the light illuminating from the lamp.
"What is that? Fire?" Arthur asked with a worried face.
The two stared at it for a couple of seconds before Alfred proposed "it looks harmless, and it is lighting up the room."
"I am still not too fond of that," he replied nervously but ended his magic flame anyways out of exhaustion.
"Relax Oliver."
"Arthur," he corrected with a dark glare.
"Of course."
"Anyhow, you should be getting some sleep," while I go to the marketplace, he added to himself.
"I am a bit tired from all that walking," he admitted sheepishly and lied on his back on the cot.
"That is okay," he said planting a soft kiss on Alfred's forehead. Maybe not telling him about being the King of Spades was not such a bad idea, he thought to himself. "Rest up, we have a long day ahead of us."
To Be Continued...