It was very early in the morning. Alfred had woken far before the sun had even thought of gracing the horizon. He sneaked past Matthew's bed, with only a bundle of clothes in his arms. Once he exited the room, he made his way up the winding stone stairs. The Castle of Spades was large and complicated, built to confuse enemies. If one did not know the corridors, one could be easily lost. Alfred, having spent most of his early life here, had little trouble skirting from hallway to hallway. There was just one problem.
His boots made apparent thunk thunk noises on the floor and at almost every turn Alfred was sure he was going to be caught and forced into a punishment far worse than cleaning the library.
His boss knew that the library cleaning was far from a punishment for him. Alfred loved looking through History books. Plus, he got to spend time with Arthur.
Arthur.
Their relationship was very strange. Alfred heard the rumors Arthur did not—things saying that they were secret lovers or that Alfred was an enemy from Clubs trying to weasel his way into the Royal's trust.
Alfred had thought a lot about those rumors. At first, he was absolutely disgusted by the idea that people could think these things of him...but...
Recently, being Arthur's lover didn't sound all too bad. Alfred was deeply, ridiculously, and hopeless head over heels for that royal.
But he could never bring himself to court him.
Arthur was older, smarter, and destined to be greater. Plus, he was going to be a Queen. He would have more hardships then, he didn't need to worry about Alfred too.
Besides, he was destined to marry the King. Whoever that was.
Usually, the King is the first born male child of the previous King and Queen. But in times where they had only girls, there was the Magic.
The Magic chose who would best guide the kingdom, and it revealed itself by use of the clocks.
Alfred had never seen nor heard anything of the clocks besides that. He knew they hadn't been used for a few hundred years for that particular reason, but he figured they'd be used now, considering Arthur's future Queen-ship.
Alfred was jolted from his thoughts by the sound of footsteps. Panicking, Alfred ran behind the nearest structure: a pole. Alfred was glad it was so dark.
Voices started at the end of the hallway, and Alfred recognized them as fellow Royal Guards.
"Yeah, I've been worryin' about His Majesty, Arthur. I mean, it's like the Magic hasn't touched him at all! He has never once shown exceptional strength."
Alfred cringed. Even the guards were becoming suspicious.
"Maybe he's just modest? I mean, what else?"
The voices were now right in front of Alfred. The blonde held his breath.
"You ever think that maybe...His Majesty isn't gonna be king at all? I mean, the magic way over rules birthright. I was thinking that maybe it chose someone else."
The footsteps went right past Al, as did the voices that accompanied them. Alfred only heard the last bit of their conversation.
"Yeah! What if it turned out to be that Al kid? Damn, that kid is strong!" The guards laughed at the preposterous statement, and turned the corner.
Alfred emerged from his hiding spot. He had never considered being destined as the King. But that was ridiculous! Why him?
Alfred shook out his head and continued on his path. He shouldn't do so much thinking so late at night. It was making him funny.
When Alfred finally arrived at Arthur's door, he pretended to relieve the guard of his nightly duty (as he often did since becoming a Royal Guard.) The man simply nodded and slumped away tiredly, giving him a quick slap on the back and a "g'night."
Once the man had disappeared, Al knocked sharply on the door.
"Who calls?"
"The Hero, of course!"
Alfred smiled as he heard a muffled exasperated sigh, and the door being unlocked. "Come in, you twit."
It was still dark, almost pitch black as it had been in the rest of the castle. "Hey Artie!"
"Don't call me that. And happy birthday."
Alfred laughed. "Not yet! But thanks! Are you excited?"
Arthur huffed. "I'm terribly guilty that I'm neglecting my duties and leaving with you. You're lucky that your birthday just so happens to fall on the particular date it does, or else Yao would never let this happen."
"Huh? What about the date?" Alfred asked, handing Arthur the clothes he had brought.
Arthur took them. "It was the day my parents died. Yao leaves me alone. I usually use today to just relax."
Alfred's mouth dropped. "Artie! You should have told me sooner! I wouldn't have made you come with me!"
Arthur shrugged and then removed his shirt. Alfred tried not to stare. "You can't miss what you never had. I don't remember my parents. Sure, I've heard stories of how valiant they were. But that's all."
Alfred looked to his feet. "Still," he said. "Your parents were awesome people. I've read a lot about them in the history books. They said they were the first King and Queen to really fall in love with each other without the Magic's help."
Arthur tugged on the brown tunic Alfred had given him. "Yes..." He murmured. "In that aspect, I respect them."
Conversation died as Arthur removed his pants. Alfred blushed up to his ears and quickly averted his eyes, thanking the Magic yet again that it was so dark.
He only turned back when Arthur complained. "How the bloody hell do you put on this thing?"
Alfred looked over to see a very confused Arthur, holding up a small strip of leather that had a few metal pieces attached to it.
"Jeez, Artie. It's just a belt! Don't you wear those all the time?"
"Yes, but never one this crude! There's not even a buckle!"
Alfred laughed and took the belt from the Royal. He went around behind him and looped it around his middle.
"Wh-what the bloody hell are you doing?" Arthur spluttered.
"It's supposed to go there. I figured the tunic would be too big on you, so this makes it less baggy. That's why I got you some of Mattie's pants, too."
Alfred tugged the belt into place and then stepped back and admired his handiwork.
Arthur was standing in front of him, slightly ruffled. The tunic was really too big on him. But Alfred thought that made him look even cuter. Plus, it was more reasonable for blending in. Commoners often wore hand-me-downs.
"It's itchy." Arthur complained.
Alfred laughed. "Well, sorry Arthur, but we can't all afford the highest quality silks. You're lucky I didn't put you in burlap."
"Burlap?" Arthur squawked. "Isn't that what they make potato sacks out of?"
"Yep! And it's really uncomfortable. So quit complainin' and c'mon!"
Alfred grasped Arthur's hand and led him out of the room.
Alfred ran all the way through the halls, never once stopping to catch his breath. Arthur was lagging and panting behind him. He wasn't out of shape. Alfred was just very very very in shape.
Arthur only had a few heart attacks when he thought they were about to get caught, but for the most part they made it outside unharmed. Arthur leaned against the castle wall to catch his breath. Once he finally had, he puffed "You didn't have to run so fast!"
But Alfred merely shook him off with a hearty laugh. The sun was beginning to rise, and it glinted off his teeth as well as his glasses.
"C'mon, Artie. We gotta meet Mattie at the stables. He's getting' our horses ready."
By the time they made it to the stables, the sun had risen considerably and the birds were chirping pleasantly.
"Mattie, bro!" Alfred called into the stalls. Matthew came out, wearing a similar outfit to Arthur's.
The Royal had only met the boy a few times, but he smiled all the same and nodded politely. "Good morning."
Matthew nearly fell over himself. "Ah! Your Highness! Forgive me I-"
"Dude, Mattie, stop. You're freaking him out."
Indeed he was. Arthur looked very out of place. He never did like people bowing to him or calling his "highness" or "majesty". Especially not someone that looked so much like Alfred.
"Please, just call me Arthur. Besides, it would rather blow my cover if you called me that in public."
Matthew shied away. "I'm sorry you- Arthur."
Alfred laughed to break the tension and swung an arm over his brother's shoulders. "Didja saddle Ace? I figure he's big enough for me and Arthur."
Matthew relaxed a bit and smiled. "Yeah, he's next to Ontario."
Alfred's smile brightened and he left to two blondes to go see his horse.
The horse was ridiculously tall, and almost just as wide. It's legs were probably powerful enough to shatter every singly bone in a grown man's body, but Alfred had no problem wrestling it's head into a fond hug. "Hey, Ace! I haven't seen you in forever!"
Arthur appeared at the edge of the stall, eying the horse skeptically. "You named him after an Ace?"
Alfred nodded. An Ace was the head of the military, and they ran the Kingdom if the Royals were unable to. "Yeah! One day, I'll be an Ace myself!"
Arthur rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes. Of course you will."
Alfred smirked and picked Arthur up by the hips without any difficulty, and then sat him on top of the horse. Arthur came close to kicking him in the face.
"I am most certainly capable of mounting a horse on my own, thank you! Though next time, a little warning would be nice!"
Alfred only stuck out his tongue and mounted the horse too. He looked the the stall next to him. "Ready to race, Matt?"
The normally shy blonde looked scarily determined. "As usual." He sneered. "Be prepared to loose, bro."
Arthur poked Alfred's shoulder. "What the bloody hell are you talking about? What race?"
To answer, Alfred shouted "GO!" and then spurred Ace into action. Matthew didn't hesitate to do the same.
The horses raced away from the stable. Alfred felt Arthur's arms grasp around him and he smiled secretively, egging Ace to go faster so that maybe Arthur would hold tighter.
As they passed the gates, a few people laughed and shouted "Happy birthday!" after them.
Arthur was left to wonder just how long the boys had been doing this race.
He squeezed Alfred a little tighter as the accelerated to even greater speeds. The road had turned into packed dirt and the castle was now behind them. In front of them was tall brick buildings and shops that Arthur was quite familiar with. There was even the back and the town hall.
But as they ventured on, Arthur found the buildings less and less familiar.
The people on the streets changed. Instead of long silky robes and tall hats, they changed to modest tunics and wide-brimmed hats to shade them. The buildings grew fewer in between until there wasn't any buildings at all, just fields upon fields that stretched on for miles. Arthur stretched his neck out to look at the countryside. He saw a few farmers look up from their work and wave. Arthur waved back, though his other arm stayed tightly around Alfred. The sun had risen so it no longer touched the horizon, and the world was bathed in a pale light.
Arthur smiled. His kingdom was beautiful.
Suddenly, the horses veered sharply and Arthur squealed. He clung tighter to Al.
He could feel the boy laughing at him.
After what seemed like hours of riding through a wheat field, they stopped in front of a homely cabin.
It was fairly large for that of a peasants, probably passed down through generations. It was two stories, with wide square windows and pale white paint. Ivy climbed up most of the far wall, and the roof was thatched hay. It resonated warmth and welcome, even in the summers heat.
Alfred got down from his horse. Arthur quickly followed, ignoring the hand Al held out to him for assistance. "Ma! Pa! We're home!" Alfred yelled, nearly deafening Arthur.
Matthew merely smiled and chuckled. "Al, go ahead and take Arthur inside to meet the folks. He's got a ton of adjusting to do if he's gonna be around all day. I'll take the horses for water."
"Cool!" Alfred smiled. "Thanks Matt! I owe you!"
Matthew took the horses reins and began walking away. "Yeah, I won't forget."
"C'mon, Artie! Time to meet the folks!"
DON'T YELL AT ME.
I'm going to update again tonight. It's just that this chapter was getting a little too long XD
Thanks you all for your amazing reviews! Really, I've never gotten better ones! You're so thoughtful and inspiring and I love hearing what you think! You guys rock ;A;
Like I said, I'll be updating again (to thank you XD)
Sorry for any mistakes! I'm American!
-Mallory