"I now give you the Queen of Spades!" A voice rang above the cheering.
It was a bright, sunny day in Spades. Celebration was abound, decorations were strewn over every available space, people proudly adorned their finest purple and navy clothing. This was a time for Spades. A woman stood over the large marble stairs that led to the castle. The King (crowned a year before) was at her side, waving. "Long live Queen Elizabeth!" The crowd shouted.
"Oh, Robert," the Queen whispered into the King's ear, "this is...more than I ever imagined. And to think, we are to be wed soon."
King Robert's smile softened. His eyes were glistening. "Yes. I love you, my queen." However, Elizabeth thought she could sense a hint of sadness somewhere in his voice...
Soon the ceremony was in full swing. Food and drink were plentiful, plates never emptied, and the glasses seemed bottomless.
But after the dancing and the wonderful displays of talent, everyone was ready to drop. They trudged from the castle, leaning on one another. Officials from all over Deck climbed back into their carriages, knowing they'd regret tonight in the morning.
"Now, my Queen," the King said, grasping Elizabeth's hand, "we have one finally duty to attend to."
The Queen's eyes widened. "The Seeing!"
The King bowed his head, staring at his feet. "Yes."
Elizabeth clasped either side of his face. "Robert, what is wrong? You never did tell me what you Saw. Please, Robert. Let me help you..."
Elizabeth felt a few tears trickle onto her fingers. "Please."
The King merely took the Queen's hands in his own,holding them at her sides. "No, my love." He sniffed. "I'm afraid you cannot help me. You don't know what you are saying..."
The Queen fretted about her King for a few more minutes before he finally turned away, one hand still clinging to her desperately. "Come, let us not dither about."
The King led the Queen down the dim halls, some remains of the party strewn here and there. He took her to a familiar room: The Time Room.
When the King had first fallen in love with Elizabeth, he had taken her to this room. When she touched the clock, it had begun ticking. The King was overjoyed. His love was to be his Queen! But now, the room was not filled with joy and celebration. Instead, it held foreboding.
The Queen strode to her designated clock, staring at it confidently. She would face the apparent grim future. She was prepared to.
She spared Robert one last final glance. His eyes were still watery, but his face was determined.
The Queen gave him a quick smile before turning back to her clock.
It's hands were ticking wildly, as they had been ever since she touched the clock. She raised her hand. She realized it was trembling. Taking a deep breath, she extended her fingers, and grazed the clock. It stopped ticking.
"Wh-"
Suddenly, the floor disappeared beneath her. All that was left was the clock, still not ticking. Blackness.
Then, she felt a rough wind push at her clothes. Tearing at them. She closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, she was in a small room. Robert was standing at a fireplace, pacing.
"Robert!" Elizabeth exclaimed, trying to move towards him. But she could not. She was stuck.
"Robert! Robert!" Elizabeth shouted. But he did not turn his head.
Suddenly, a door behind Elizabeth slammed open. Robert whirled around an stared right through her. "It's a boy!" The maid cried. "It's...it's a beautiful boy..."
Robert's face lit up and he ran out of the room, following the maid. Elizabeth was pushed towards them also, into a new, dimly lit room.
She almost screamed. On the bed, covered in sweat, and damp towel on her forehead was...
...herself?
She looked half-dead, overweight, and completely spent. Yet for whatever reason, she wore a faint smile. Then, Elizabeth looked down. In her arms was a rich purple bundle. And inside, was a newborn baby.
Elizabeth analyzed her son. He truly was beautiful. He had the largest green eyes she had ever seen, and even now they sparked with intelligence and elegance.
But the scene faded.
Sound. The first thing she processed was sound. It was horrid. Screams of the dying, cannons, squealing horses, clanging swords...
The it was smell. The putrid scent of blood hit her, then smoke.
Then finally, she could see. The first thing she saw was the banners: Spades and Diamonds next to one another, Hearts and Clubs on the other side.
No. Oh...no, not this...
She then saw herself, near enemy lines. She was on a white stallion, in full armor, casting amazing spells. She could feel the power from here.
But then she faltered. "Robert, no!" The King was on the ground, knocked off of his horse. The King of Clubs stood above him, laughing. "A downfall to you all!" and he plunged the sword into the King's chest.
Elizabeth heard herself scream, both the one watching and the one in the image. Robert's eyes dulled. He turned his head to his Queen, and gave her one last smile. She screamed.
The image faded again.
Now it was quiet, dead quiet. The soft scent of roses was all there was at first, but soon a dull white light lit up a new scene.
Two news graves sat under a flowering tree. The light was pale, even though it was around noon. The graves were modest but detailed. Flowers were strewn about them, almost piling to one's knee. All of them were black, navy, or purple. There were only three figures under the trees, a light breeze ruffling their clothes and hair.
"They saved us," one figure sobbed. "They saved all of the kingdoms."
Another figure, a man with white hair and red eyes, turned to someone Elizabeth recognized as her good friend Yao. "Jack Yao," the red eyed man said. Jack? He's going to be the Jack?
"You are now in charge of Spades, I wish you luck. We won't meet again. Well, not in the way you think we will." Then the man cackled, a slithering, snaking laugh, and turned to the bundle in Yao's arms. "And you," he told it, "You're gonna have one hell of a time, kid. But hey, I'll see you later!"
Then, in a poof of white smoke, the man disappeared. Leaving only a fading "Kesese~!" behind.
Suddenly, the clock was in front of Elizabeth again. The room was dim. She felt dizzy. Elizabeth stumbled backwards. Then she heard it.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
Her clock was ticking again! Though, instead of sparring movements as it had done before, the hands were moving similar to that which the King's was, steady and strong.
Elizabeth fell to the ground. Pain shot up her spine. The visions flashed before her eyes once again. She felt a heavy hand on her shoulder. Turning, she saw her King's face, grim and teary.
Elizabeth burst into tears. "No! I won't let it happen, it won't happen!"
Robert bent down and took his Queen's hands once more. "Elizabeth, love," he began, rubbing soothing circles into her palms, "We must. It is life. It is to save our kingdom. I assure you, my vision was quite the same as yours."
"Wh-what did you see?" Elizabeth sniffed, rubbing at her eyes. The King pressed his lips together. "I saw, that as I lay dying, you use all of your magic to destroy the armies. Too much magic. It was brilliant power, there was a terrible screech and blinding white light, and then it was just Diamonds and Spades. But you were not moving. I assume I died not to long afterward."
Elizabeth pulled Robert into a hug, and cried on his shoulder. "No human should have to witness their future."
"But, my Queen," Robert said, rubbing her back, "If we had not seen this future, there is a chance it wouldn't have happened at all."
Roberts words have so much depth ;A; JUST SO BEAUTIFUL.
So, this explains some of the background. Robert and Elizabeth are clearly Arthur's parents, if you couldn't figure that out. Next chapter will be back with Al and Artie.
Hey guys! Sorry this took so long but my friend was gonna beta this. She took too long, so I updated anyway. Once she's finished I'll upload the grammatically correct chapter ^^
Thanks for all the reviews!
-Mallory