Alfred turned and stared at the clock. "How long...?" He asked.
Yao tilted his head. "Excuse me?"
"How long have you known?" Alfred yelled, turning to Arthur. "You knew this whole time, didn't you? That's-that's the only reason you've ever given me the time of day, isn't it? That's the only reason you were friends with a commoner! Because I was to be King!"
Arthur's eyes widened. His previous demeanor melted into shock. "Wh-w...Alfred, what are you saying?"
Alfred backed away towards the door. "You never really cared about being friends, did you? You just spent time with me because you had to, because I was gonna be King!"
Yao's lips pressed into a thin line. "Alfred, that is no-"
"Shut up! You've all been lying to me!" Alfred yelled. "You don't care about me! You lied!" Al turned and fled from the room.
He ran past the guards. "Al, wait!"
He kept running. He didn't look behind him or stop until he had made it back to his quarters. He collapsed on his bed, refusing to cry. He was in love with the Queen. He was the King. But...
What? Arthur had probably always known he was going to be King. Alfred never asked, but he always wondered why a Royal would befriend a Peasant.
Alfred heard footsteps approaching him. That's strange...he didn't remember the door opening. But Matthew had always been quiet. "Mattie?" Alfred sniffed, lifting his head from the pillows.
Instead of his brother's soft voice, Al was bombarded with a harsh laugh. "Sorry, kid. But I'm not your brother."
Alfred sat up and whirled around. There was a man in his room. He wasn't very tall, but what he lacked in height he made up for in posture. His arms were crossed, his head was tilted back, and he was grinning from eye-to-eye as if Alfred had just told him the funniest joke. Said eyes, by the way, were a blazing red. His hair was pure white, almost matching his pale skin.
"Wh-who are you?"
The man scrunched up his nose and made a buzzing noise. "AGH! Wrong question!" He smiled. "I think you should ask what am I."
Alfred felt fear coursing through his veins. "Why are you here? And yeah, what are you?"
The man laughed, and then walked closer to Alfred. "There we go!" He exclaimed heartily, sitting down on next to Alfred on the bed. "Those are the right questions. But see here, kid. If I answer your questions, you gotta answer mine. Deal?"
Alfred scrambled to stay a reasonable distance away. But for some reason...he felt like he could trust this man. Maybe it was because he was smiling, or maybe it was because he seemed familiar...
Alfred nodded. "Deal." The moment he said the word, he felt a tingling sensation on his lips. "Ah-wha-?"
The strange man laughed. "Ah, don't worry, kid. It's just the Magic. My deals are a bit...binding. Kesesese~"
Alfred shivered. Magic...
"Alright, kid. I don't got all day so I'll make this quick." The man shifted, and began to use a lot of hand motions in his speech. "I'm here to help you, so stop freaking out, okay? Oh-and I'm a joker. But you can call me Gilbert."
"A joker!" Alfred gasped. Jokers were great beings. They were timeless, powerful, wise people who belonged to no kingdom and followed to rules. That is, besides the laws set down by magic. They are said to be the servants of Magic itself, helping destiny become...well, destiny.
"Ah, man! I love it when I get to tell people that! You should see the look on your face!" Gilbert laughed, slapping his knee. "Man, makes me feel awesome." Gilbert sighed, looking about the room. "Heh. Nice place you got here, King Alfred."
Alfred didn't know what to do at this point anymore. He was so passed his comfort zone, it was unfathomable. He had gone from happily training, to being told he was king, to talking with a Magical being who's existence he doubted not moments before. And yet, he still found a way to stiffen at being called King.
"How do you know I'm King?"
Gilbert looked Alfred straight in the eyes. Red clashed against blue, and for a moment Alfred's entire life flashed before his eyes. Gilbert chuckled carelessly. "Well, I know everything."
Alfred didn't doubt him.
"What's going on? Why am I King? Why so sudden and why are you even here ? Are you real?"
Gilbert ruffled Alfred's hair and laughed. Alfred wondered if he ever did anything but laugh. "Whoa there, sport! Calm down!" Alfred backed away from the hand. Even though it had felt nice...
"Alright, kid, here's the deal." Gilbert said, bending down as if to share a secret with the boy. "I'm here to help you—like I said. Man, stuff is about to happen that you're gonna be freaking out. You're King because you're King. No other reason. Just accept it. And yeah, I'm as real as I am awesome. And that makes me pretty damn real."
"Wait-what do you mean 'because I'm King'? That doesn't make any sense! And what about JackYao and Ar-The Queen?"
Gilbert smirked and lifted his eyebrow. "Ah, don't be like that! Eyebrows didn't do anything. Trust me, man. It's all in your head. In fact, if I didn't know any better (but I do) I'd say that your just using that as a little excuse to cover up something else~"
"That still doesn't answer my question." Alfred pouted.
"Ah, jeez kid, you sure are stubborn. Okay, you're King because the Magic chose you to be King. Same with all the other Kingdoms and all the other Royals. The people there just have different ways of figuring out who's who. And don't ask why the Magic picked you. If I told you, your head would explode." Gilbert laughed at Alfred's horrified expression. "Just messing with ya! But seriously, don't ask."
"O-okay..."
Gilbert stood up and turned to face Alfred, clapping. "Now! You done with your questions? I have a few in exchange."
"Uh..."
"Great! Alright, first one (this one is the best! So much fun!) Do ya love Arthur?"
Alfred stumbled. He blushed. His eyebrows dipped in confusion. His palms began to sweat, his whole body was a mess of emotions and confusion. "I...I don't know. I don't know anything right now! I mean, this has to be a dream...yeah. I mean, none of this makes sense. At all. And I mean, even if I did love him, he doesn't even like me."
"Why do ya think that?"
"I'm just a peasant! I'm just some boy from the country who was trying to meander his way through the army. Arthur...he's like...amazing. He's the Queen. He's super smart, he's got these awesome powers, he always knows what to say..."
Gilbert snickered. "Think you just answered my questions."
Alfred blushed.
"So, you're gonna be King. Whether you like it or not. But why don't you like it? Wouldn't that make you the same level as Arthur, wouldn't you love him then?"
"Being King is someone else's job! You're in charge of an entire kingdom! And I love Arthur already! It's just...I can't...It's complicated."
Gilbert walked to the other side of the room, and picked up Matthew's bow. "Heh, trust me kid, I know." He inspected the bow as if it were a questionable coin. "Kid," Gilbert said, setting down the bow. "Life is hard. Especially your life. Love is hard. Especially your love. You've got a hell of a responsibility on your shoulders. You're confused, you're desperate, you're out of your comfort zone. I get it, I know. But ya see Kid, you've got a heart. And a good one at that. Really, you don't need to be in your comfort zone or know everything to use that." Gilbert walked towards Alfred and pressed a thin finger to his chest. "You've got enough heart to make up for everything else. But kid, you gotta learn to trust it. 'Cause if you can't trust your own core, what can you trust?"
Gilbert pulled away. "Well, I'll be seeing you around, Kid. I know when. But you don't."
Then with a cackle, he disappeared in a cloud.
Alfred rubbed the spot on his chest. Had that really happened? What is going on?
Honestly, Alfred was beginning to question his sanity. Again.
I LOVE GILBERT SO MUCH. There's a lot of deep stuff in here. It's just so touching ;A;
Now, if you guys are like "OMG! Alfred's being so dramatic!" you need to understand that he's not very confident (yet) when it comes to making decisions. He's also been completely pulled from his normal life. He's almost hid from the real world and embraced denial. It was easier for him that way.
Sorry for any mistakes! I'm American!
-Mallory