Chapter Eight: Monarch Meeting
Soon after the ceremony, all the guests had gathered into the Reception Hall. The former King and Queen, George and Amelia, were sitting in a pair of silver thrones beside the two gold-plated thrones that they once sat upon. Their hands were entwined, as they observed the guests.
Wang Yao stood beside them, a proud look on his face. Once he was notified that everyone had entered the hall, he stepped forward, and called out to the guests. "People of Spades, Monarchs of our neighbouring Nations; please welcome the new King and Queen of Spades, Alfred and Arthur!"
Two Spadian guards pulled open the large doors, allowing Alfred and Arthur to step into the hall; they were met with cheers and cries of 'Long live the King and Queen' and 'Congratulations'.
Alfred gazed out at the people he now ruled over, grinning brightly as he waved to them, his arm entwined with Arthur's. The other blond held his head high, smiling courteously at the people around him. They made their way to their thrones, Alfred sitting down, and making himself comfortable in the new throne. However, Arthur stepped away from him momentarily, causing the King to raise an eyebrow in question.
"A-Arthur…? Where you goin'?" He spoke up, tilting his head slightly in confusion.
The new Queen stepped in front of Amelia, kneeling before her. The former Queen glanced down at him, recognising the next part of the scriptures. Arthur handed over the gold band of the veil, the net brushing against his fair skin, as he placed it into the other's hands. "Thank you for all your tuition, my Queen. I will do my best to continue on your great work, defend the power of your country, and preserve the happiness of your people." He smiled at her, delicately.
Amelia accepted the veil, wrapping the fragile net around the gold band to keep it tidy. She then got up, and asked for Arthur to stand, which he complied to. She pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. "I'm sure that you will do the Spade Kingdom, George and I, and, most importantly, Alfred proud. You'll be a wonderful Queen."
The green-eyed male blushed softly at the former Queen's kind words, nodding definitively in response, before returning to Alfred's side, taking a seat upon the throne that was now his.
Once the guests had settled down once more, Yao stepped forward. "Now for you to greet the Monarchies of the neighbouring Nations. First, Hearts Kingdom." Three figures, clad in red, stepped forward; Alfred recognised the tallest male, a stern blond with blue eyes, that was Gilbert's younger brother.
"I introduce to you, my King and Queen, Jack Feliciano Vargas, Queen Honda Kiku, and King Ludwig Beilschmidt of Hearts," Yao spoke authoritatively, bowing graciously before the other Monarchs. The Hearts Monarchy bowed before the new Spadian King and Queen.
Alfred and Arthur glanced to each member of Hearts, one after the other. Their eyes first locked onto the Jack, a short, seemingly bubbly, character. Feliciano's hair was a light brown, with an odd curl peeking out on the left side of his head, his eyes shone amber; a bright smile never seemed to leave his face. "A pleasure to meet you! I do hope we can be great friends, Your Royal Highnesses!"
"Feliciano. Remember your place; there may be comradery, but friendship is dangerous if something were to go wrong between our Nations," the blond King spoke up. His icy blue eyes met the Italian male's amber, causing him to go silent, the smile diminished, but never completely disappeared. The King turned to face the new Monarchs again, "Apologies for my Jack's behaviour, King Alfred."
"Hey, Ludwig. Relax, it's totally fine! Outside of politics, it'll be great to be friendly with one another, right?" Alfred grinned brightly, his sapphire eyes sparkling. However, the German male kept a stern look on his face, but nodded in understanding.
The Queen took his King's hand, causing Ludwig to glance down, Kiku's dark eyes silently pleaded for the other to remain calm. The King's blue eyes softened slightly, and he nodded to his Queen. "A pleasure to meet you, King Alfred, Queen Arthur." The Asian male bowed before the two as well, his face like a blank canvas. His eyes were dark, and held no obvious expression. The two Spadian Royals conversed with Hearts, before they stepped back.
Yao stood forward again, "I introduce the Monarchy of Diamond Kingdom. Jack Vash Zwingli, Queen Lili Zwingli, and King Francis Bonnefoy." Again, three figures stepped toward the thrones, bowing before the Spadian Royals, instead they were dressed in yellow and gold.
"Bonjour, Alfred," the King spoke up, his deep blue eyes shining with intrigue. "Nice to see you've settled down, after you complained so long about finding someone. Luckily, your Reine appeared when he did, huh?" He chuckled heartily, his Adam's apple bobbing softly in his throat. He held his small Queen's hand, gently brushing his thumb against her knuckles.
Alfred laughed, "Yeah, it's really great that Arthur came into my life when he did, otherwise I'd have been forced to marry someone else." He reached over to his Queen, taking his hand in his own. The English male turned to look at his King, a soft smile on his face; though he tried to retain an authoritative stance in front of his people, and the other Monarchs.
Francis, and his Queen and Jack, stepped back from the thrones; Yao stepped forward one more time. "Finally, I introduce the Monarchy of Clubs Kingdom. Jack Roderich Edelstein, Queen Elizabeta Héderváry, and King Ivan Braginski." One more time, three figures approached the newly crowned King and Queen of Spades, clad in green. They knelt to the two, before standing up straight again. The Jack said nothing, whereas the Club Queen congratulated the two on their marriage.
However, the King simply stared at the Spadian Queen, his violet irises haunting with a sense of knowledge and understanding. "A pleasure to finally meet you Arthur, I've heard an awful lot about you through Roderich, and Elizabeta. How does it feel now to be Queen? Your family must be very proud?"
Arthur lifted his head, holding a stiff upper lip, "I am honoured to become Queen, and lucky that I shall spend the rest of my life beside Alfred. My family have said they are proud of me, but I shall miss them, now that I have moved into the palace." He glanced over at his family, standing nearby; he raised a hand, waving to them, to which they all responded back with a smile.
"Da, I see. Well, I'm sure you will do a fine job of running the country. As long as you play by the rules set within your Scriptures? Udachi, Arthur." The Russian male chuckled mischievously, before stepping away alongside his Queen, and Jack.
The Spadian Queen took a deep breath in through his nose, he would not let the other's words get to him. He would simply relax, and enjoy the rest of his day with his family, and Alfred.
The party was soon in full swing, people were dancing to the music played by the chamber orchestra. Couples were united together as they spun in circles across the dancefloor. Arthur could make out Alistair dancing with his mother, whilst Eire, Eoin, and Peter danced together in a three; the youngest chuckling brightly.
"Please excuse me one moment, Alfred," Arthur spoke up, his partner nodding in response. The Queen rose from his chair, and exited the room. Sadly, he was suffering from a small headache, although it was nothing serious, he just needed a moment to clear his head, and be away from the loud noise for a short while. He shut the door to the ballroom behind him, and he walked down the corridor, sitting in a chair along the wall. He tilted his head back, resting it against the wall, shutting his eyes in thought. However, his thoughts were soon interrupted by footsteps advancing toward him; he opened his eyes, expecting to see his partner walking to him, but he did not expect to see this particular person.
"Dobryy vecher, Arthur," the Club King spoke up, his violet irises sparkling with intrigue. "How come you're out here all alone? Wouldn't you rather be in the hall dancing with Alfred, or your family?"
"Good evening, Ivan. I just needed a breather, today has been stressful for both of us. I just have a slight headache," he smiled softly, trying to act natural in front of the other male.
"Ah, well, there's one thing you must understand, Queen of Spades. I know who you are; I know your family history," Ivan spoke up, growling slightly. "Your family, the Kirklands, were a bunch of sorcerers and magicians. Your family moved to Spades, about one hundred years ago, after one of your family members, I believe your great-great grandfather, murdered the Ace of Clubs. We've held a grudge against your family since then. That's why magic was banned, despite your family trying to plead innocent, and your great-great grandfather being executed by the King of Clubs at the time."
Arthur's eyes had widened, sweat dripping from his brow. "H-how did you know my family history…?! You can't say anything! Wang Yao will kill me, and my family, without fail!"
He chuckled darkly, "I won't say anything… I'll just wait until your King finds out your disgraceful secret, and abandons you. It'll be more interesting." Ivan walked away, but not before looking back to the Queen over his shoulder, "If you want to be safe, I'll happy accept you into my Kingdom, since I lifted the ban off magic, if it was used for good. The only price you'll have to pay… is that you leave Alfred, and become my Queen instead. Think about it… If you care about your family, and your own life…" He walked back into the ballroom.
The new Queen of Spades shivered slightly, burying his face into his hands. Soon after, he returned to the party, danced with his King, family, and Alfred's parents. He avoided the Club King's judgemental glare.
At the end of the night, once all the guests had disbanded, and Arthur's family had settled down in their rooms within the castle, Arthur and Alfred went to their room, for their first night together as a married couple.
The shorter blond changed into a pair of silken indigo pyjamas, climbing into bed, pulling the bedsheets around him. He focused his eyes on a book, flicking through the pages, while Alfred had a shower before bed.
Soon after, the blue-eyed male stepped out of the attaching bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist, revealing his sun-kissed skin to his new partner. "Whew! What a busy day," Alfred breathed, running a towel over his wet hair, drying it carefully. Arthur glanced up to him, a smile on his face, as a chuckle escaped his throat.
"I agree with that statement," he set his book aside, leaning back against the plush pillows on the bed. Alfred was now dressed in navy blue pyjamas, as he climbed into bed beside his husband. He pressed a kiss to Arthur's cheek, lying down next to him. The green-eyed male reached over and turned off the lights in the room.
"C'mere, Arthur~" Alfred opened his arms to the other, which Arthur gladly accepted, curling into his arms. "I love you, Queen Arthur~"
"And, I love you, King Alfred~" Arthur laughed, knocking their foreheads together gently, before being pulled on top of the other. His face flushed pink, as Alfred dragged him down into a passionate kiss. Their bodies entwined; desperate to feel one another's skin after such a long time apart.
Author's Note:
Apologies that this chapter was up late! Like I said in my update, on my profile, I was finishing off an assignment for university, that was due yesterday. All my work is now up to date; however, Lower Your Ghostly Sword, the first ending, will be uploaded tomorrow, hopefully in the morning if I can do it.
Hope you all enjoy the chapter, see you next week!