The room Feliciano led Kiku to was completely red, a contrast to the blues he had grown up with.
"If you need anything, just call a maid," Feliciano said. "Me and Ludwig sleep in the room next door, and Lovino's down the hall. You can meet all the advisors later, okay?"
Kiku nodded. "Of course."
Feliciano bounced back and forth on the heels of his shoes. "Hey, Kiku? Can I see your mark?"
Kiku's face flushed a violent shade of pink. "I-I suppose, your Highness."
"You can just call me Feliciano," the Jack said.
Kiku slid his sleeve down his shoulder, revealing a large red heart printed on his skin, decorated with splatters of his natural skin color.
"Whoa," Feliciano said. "That's so cool! Mine is really plain."
Kiku moved his sleeve back. "I see."
Feliciano moved over to the window and moved one of the curtains aside. "You lived in Spades Castle, right?"
Kiku nodded. "Hai. My adoptive brother, Yao, is the Jack, so our family was able to move there."
Feliciano smiled. "That's cool! My brother is Lovino. Ludwig was really nice and chose him as the Ace, so we could stay together!"
"That is very kind of him," Kiku murmured.
Feliciano didn't seem to notice the melancholy tone in Kiku's voice. "Yup! Ludwig's a really sweet guy."
A knock sounded on the door, and a maid stepped in.
"Jack Feliciano?" she asked. "The advisors are holding an emergency meeting."
Feliciano made a face and turned to Kiku. "Come on, let's get this over with."
"Me?" Kiku asked.
"Of course!" Feliciano exclaimed. "You're the next Queen, after all. They probably want to meet you!"
"I see," Kiku murmured.
Feliciano grabbed his arm, ignoring Kiku's squawk of protest, and pulled him through the halls. The walls were draped with red tapestries adorned with hearts of all shades of red and pink. Lovino met them down a flight of stairs, in front of a large redwood door.
"There you are," he said. "Come on. We need to hurry up."
"Why'd they call a meeting?" Feliciano asked.
Lovino scowled. "They want to meet their new Queen, of course. Don't worry. If they try and pull anything, I'll just set them on fire."
"Lovino!" Feliciano squeaked. "You can't just do that!"
"Why not?" Lovino demanded. "They're just annoying." He tapped the door, and it swung open, crashing against the wall.
Kiku followed the brothers in, gaping at the room in front of him. The vaulted ceiling was covered in paintings of all kinds, all in a red scheme of some sort.
"You're here," Ludwig said, ignoring the murmurings of the nobles and diplomats gathered.
Feliciano skipped over to his seat. Lovino grabbed Kiku's arm and pulled him over to the head table.
"Attention!" Ludwig roared, and the room went silent. "Thank you. I'm sure you all have heard of the visitors from Spades earlier today."
"Of course we have," a black-haired man said. "Why do you think we're here?"
"That's Stefan Kovachev," Feliciano whispered in Kiku's ear. "He's an Eight."
Kiku nodded. "Thank you, Feliciano-san."
"Yes." Ludwig shook his head. "In any case, they came with very important news for us."
"And what's that?" a man with strawberry blond hair said. "They've declared war? Clubs is breathing?"
Kiku winced.
"That's Alexandru Constantin," Feliciano muttered. "He's a Nine."
"Please," Ludwig sighed. "In any case, I would like to announce the newest member of the Court of Hearts." Before they could speak, he gestured to Kiku, and Feliciano dragged him to his feet. "I present to you Queen Honda Kiku."
The room was silent for a full minute, and then the nobles burst into loud protests.
"But he's from Spades!" Stefan exclaimed.
"Do we have proof?" Alexandru asked.
"I vouch for him!" Feliciano exclaimed. "I saw his mark."
"He has the right aura," Lovino admitted.
"But how are we supposed to know you're telling the truth?" Stefan demanded.
"Enough!" Ludwig roared. "The clocks have chosen, and I expect you all to abide by their decision!"
The voices quieted. Ludwig pointed to a man with a white mask. "Adnan, you and Karpusi will begin planning the Ceremony. Please invite the royals from all of the Suits, if you don't mind."
"Yes, your majesty," the masked man said.
"Then you are all dismissed," Ludwig said. "Kovachev, please bring me the reports from the Knallrot and Zalez districts. Constantin, I would like those for Trandafir and Fuoco."
The nobles left their seats, shooting angry glares at the royals at the head table. The masked man prodded the man next to him, who automatically slapped him.
"Well, that could have gone better," Ludwig sighed.
"I apologize, Ludwig-san," Kiku murmured.
"It's not your fault," Ludwig said. "Feliciano, could you keep an eye on them for now?"
Feliciano nodded, taking on a mockingly serious face. "Yes, sir! Don't worry, I'll make sure Kiku's completely safe!"
Lovino rolled his eyes. "Do I have to entertain the tomato freak at the ceremony?"
"Yes, you do," Ludwig said. "You have to entertain all of the other Aces."
Lovino cursed. "Well. I'm off to drown myself, then. Don't follow me, idioti."
"Whaat?" Feliciano asked. "Fratello, don't drown yourself!"
"I was exaggerating, stupid!" Lovino growled, walking towards the doors.
Ludwig shook his head. "I need to go to my office. Feliciano, can you… entertain Kiku?"
Feliciano nodded. "Yes, sir!" He grabbed Kiku's arm and flashed him a smile. "Come on, Kiku! Let's go find some dinner!"
Chapter 2 is here! I've been watching a lot of HetaOni videos, and some sad CMVs, so... meh. But, I finished, so whatever! In any case, I should probably do translation notes and who the characters are, but first, I'd like to apologize for the awkward first scene. In any case, the characters without official human names in this chapter are Stefan Kovachev, or Bulgaria, and Alexandru Constantin, or Romania. Hai is Japanese for yes. Idioti is Italian for idiots, and then... the province names were found on Google Translate. Their translations don't matter so much, so you can look it up if you like.
The provinces are basically smaller areas of the kingdom. Each of the kingdoms have them. They're not a big deal... I think.
Until next time!