"Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore." – Andre Gide

The Dragon's Stronghold

Alfred usually thought of silences as synonymous to empty voids. That they were there because nothingness needed to be called something. That they were weightless, insignificant, nonexistent.

But the silence hanging over their dinner was different.

The night found the twins glaring daggers into their cold dinners. The unfortunate mashed potatoes and lamb chops suffered Alfred's wrath as he methodically reorganized his plate only to churn its contents once more while Matthew's sat in cold indifference.

"The sun has set," Matthew mumbled as Alfred flipped his uneaten lamb chomp over.

Busy hands paused as azure eyes flickered to the window. The pitch-black night sky seemed to mock him from outside—the sun had long disappeared behind the horizon without the twins noticing. Instead of pointing it out, Alfred simply replied with, "They'll be here soon."

It was the night after the fall of the dam—the night after they found out of their ranks. After Yao had bowed to him, the Jack blabbered on about the centuries and man power they had exhausted in order to find them when they were right here all along. Rendered speechless at this discovery, Alfred and Matthew merely stared open-mouthed as the Jack rejoiced.

The King-to-be threw his fork down in defeat. The mundane task of rearranging his plate had lost its charm. Matthew caught his eye for a moment before the brothers sighed. Alfred stretched his arms, grunting after a satisfying pop. There was a dull soreness on his body. There always had been since the birth of his blacksmithing business.

It was that same soreness, if not a little more than usual, that gave Alfred the comfort of an old friend. He and his brother had spent the entire day severing the handful of ties they had to the village—made easier thanks to their self-imposed isolation. Matthew, after meeting his lumbering quota for the day and resigning from the company, had assisted Alfred in finishing then delivering the last of his orders. They had been hard-pressed for time, but they had managed.

Sunset. That was the agreed time that they would be fetched then taken back to the capital. That was how long they had to make a choice; take the throne or stay in their mountains. Maybe Alfred was just being bitter, but the way Yao had worded the question was much nicer than the repeated version in his head.

"Forgive me, bowing immediately to you has been trained into me for years. However, the throne is a choice. Whether you want to be crowned is entire up to the two of you. Yes, ruling the kingdom would be easier with a full Suit, but not impossible for an incomplete one."

"Even if the missing member is a King?" Matthew questioned Yao.

"King, Ace, Three—it doesn't matter if the there are enough members of a Suit. The Diamonds itself has been running without a Queen for far longer than the Spades have without the two of you."

"Only in times of peace," Alfred had muttered, surprised at himself. "These aren't peaceful times. The full Suit is needed."

Yao only smiled. "Have you made your choice?"

Alfred scoffed, glancing at the bags he and Matthew packed a few hours prior. As if we could really go with the other choice, he thought bitterly, raising the glass of cold water to his parched lips. All that was left to do was to join the Jack's caravan back to the capital, meet the rest of the Suit, be crowned by the Queen—

Constriction of the throat. Cessation of air. Then water flying from his lips into all directions. "What the—?" Matthew exclaimed as coughs wracked his brother's body. "What's gotten into you?"

Queen. Alfred took a moment to catch his breath, dragging an arm across his mouth. How could I forget that Spades had a Queen? Oh shit, do I have to marry her? The realization of being a king had yet to catch up to him, but remembering that a queen actually existed was not helping his nerves settle.

"...fred...Al!" Matthew was practically shaking him. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah," he answered shakily. "Uh-yeah, I'm fine."

Matthew rubbed his shoulder for a while then stopped, lost in his own thoughts. "We've always kind of known, haven't we?"

Thankful for the distraction from his thoughts, Alfred turned all his attention to his brother. "Always known what?"

Pulling at his sleeve, Matthew revealed the Ace's Insignia on his shoulder. "An 'A' and a Spade. You have a 'K' and a Spade. It doesn't take that long to put two and two together."

Alfred sighed. "So you're saying that, for over two-hundred years, we've been subconsciously ignoring the fact that you and I are Ki—are supposed to go the capital?"

"Am I wrong?"

Growling slightly, Alfred crossed his arms and slouched further in his chair. He didn't like the creeping sense of dread on his stomach. Shit.

Matthew shifted in his own seat. "It would explain why we've stayed in this village, in these mountains, for as long as we have."

"Born seven centuries ago. Signed five centuries later," Alfred muttered miserably.

"Two hundred years ago, we were supposed to join the Suit—"

"But look how the country's doing," Alfred interrupted. "For two hundred years, it's been standing on its own."

Matthew looked alarmed. "What are you trying to say, Al?"

Alfred scratched his golden locks frustratingly. "I'm saying, why now?" Thoughts began to form in his head. Thoughts that he could not fathom the origin of. Thoughts that woke him from his slump. Thoughts that he could not stop himself from sharing with his brother. "Isn't it a little too convenient? The one time that we couldn't defeat the assassin is also the same time that Yao comes to the farthest reaches of Spades to find the King and Ace, which just so happen to be us."

"And the dam. Only the magic of an experienced Suit could keep it together after what you—after what happened," Matthew quickly amended at his brother's grimace. "Wh-what are you thinking? That someone planned this? Or simply the will of the Hand?"

"I don't know," Alfred sighed. "Either the Hand has something big planned or something important is about to happen." The soreness of his body had intensified a bit. Not enough to hurt, but enough to alarm Alfred. It was a different level of soreness from the usual one after day's worth of hammering metal.

Then Matthew hit the bullseye. "Are you having second thoughts about going to the capital?"

"No." Alfred's response was immediate and without doubt. And that scared him. He could think of a million reasons to stay as far away from the capital as possible. But he knew he couldn't. For Hand's sake he knew he could not.

"That's good. We're going to have to face this—whatever this is," Matthew sighed.

"You don't have to," Alfred heard himself say. "If you really don't want to…"

"It would be too quiet around here without you, bro," Matthew replied with a smile that lifted some weight from Alfred's shoulders. "Besides, you wouldn't last a day without me."

Alfred scoffed, not one to back out of a challenge, especially from his brother. "What are ya talking about? You do realize that when we get there, we are going to be requires to socialize. Last time I checked, that's not exactly your forte."

"Oh I don't think I have to worry about that. Not when all their attention would be, as per usual, focused entirely on you, my King," Matthew teased.

His smiling face immediately dropped. Alfred had flinched and gone deathly pale. He was just teasing me, dammit! Why am I feeling like this?

"H-hey, Al, I didn't mean-no, not like that-I just—" Matthew stammered, dark purplish eyes wide with worry. He was out of his seat and rounded the table in half second then knelt beside his brother.

Guilt pooled in Alfred's stomach. "Y-yeah, I know Mattie. I know you—didn't mean that." He let Matthew pull him to a hug then sighed into his shoulder. "It's true though. The entire kingdom's eyes will be on me. Expecting only Hand knows what."

"They'll be expecting a lot from the entire Suit. They—we rule over them after all. Running a country; it's not a one-man job. You're not alone, bro. You never were."

Hand bless you. Alfred felt his eyes sting. Matthew was right. He would not last a day without his brother.

There was a knock on the door.

Alfred had expected Yao at the door, but when he opened it, Jett flashed them a smile while Malcolm shivered miserably. Shouldering the packs, the four of them braved through the accelerating winds and the icy teeth of the snow swallowing their feet. Not even the furs they were wearing helped with the journey to the Jack's camp.

The trip was short, but the early winter made it long and somewhat eventful. Unless they wanted to yell over the wind, conversation was damn near impossible. There was a moment when the wind died, and Jett refused to let the opportunity go to waste.

"Living together for as long as we have, the Suit doesn't usually address each other with formalities unless it's for show," Jett explained after he thumped Malcolm in the back of the head after he had referred to Alfred as 'Your Majesty'. "Or if the Queen is in a particularly bad mood."

Alfred had then proceeded to slip into a shallow brook. Once he was out, they had to hurry to the camp, not wanting the King-to-be to catch a cold before they depart for the capital. He seemed to be more nervous about the Queen than being a King.

"Here we are, mates," Jett proclaimed as their group of four barreled through the becomings of a blizzard and into a the utopia of warmth and shelter that was their tent. He was pulling Alfred with him to find dry trousers that would fit him while Matthew joined Malcolm in feeding the fire in the center.

"You know, the tent we woke up in nearly twenty-four hours ago didn't have a fire, yet it was much warmer than this one," Matthew started as Jett let out a triumphant yell and threw a pair of dry trousers at Alfred. He gave him a displeased look but was pleased to have dry clothing.

"Those tents were magicked by Yao," Malcolm explained as their brothers joined them by the fire. "He made it so that the tents radiate warmth on the inside to match the coldness on the outside."

"Why doesn't he just do that to all the tents?" Matthew asked watching as Jett prepared hot soup for all of them.

"Jack Wang may be the oldest living thing in the planet, but even he isn't the best Spell-wielder in the four kingdoms, mate. It takes no small amount of skill, energy and talent; magic," Jett explained, filling four cups with soup.

Try as he might, Alfred couldn't hold back the snort that escaped him. He immediately covered it up by taking a swig from the scalding soup when Matthew gave him a cold stare. Alfred was a firm believer that magic was just an illusion criminally clever minds used to sucker a little more extra change from unsuspecting people. He pointedly ignored the memory of Yao summoning for them the previous night. No way that was magic. It was a pretty traumatic day—we probably didn't notice when he put it there.

"You're a nonbeliever, aren't you, my King—I-I mean, Alfred," Malcolm quickly amended when Alfred nearly dropped his soup.

"You might wanna keep that little tidbit to yourself, Alfred," Jett laughed after throwing a glare at his younger brother. "We're Suits! Each and every single one of us can use magic and has an affinity to it."

"You're Suits as well?" Matthew asked, although not surprised for a reason. Alfred found it peculiar that he himself wasn't surprised with this new information.

"Now that hurts!" Jett exclaimed, grabbing his chest in feigning a stab wound. "You both live in the Eighth Province of Spades, and you don't even recognize your own Provincial Suit? That's cold, mates. That's cold."

The twins, although not surprised, did not know how to reply.

Luckily, Malcolm saved them from having to respond by waving to his brother and saying, "Jett Kirkland, the Eight of Spades, and I'm Malcolm Kirkland, Six of Spade, at your command."

Alfred fought down the grimace at the slight formality. Even something as simple as a joking allusion to his title was enough to make nausea bubble in his stomach."You two have this, uh, th-this….you know, I'm not quite sure how to put it. Like this aura about you that is somewhat similar to the Jack."

"That'd be the magic," Jett replied, finishing his soup before continuing. "Believer or not, you're going to get acquainted with magic sooner than later. Especially with Arthur as your Queen."

The soup that had been sitting comfortably in Alfred's stomach threatened to greet the air again. His vision blurred from tears and pushed down whatever tried to come up through his throat. Coughing and hacking filled the tent accompanied by thumps on his back. "Are you alright?" Matthew whispered from somewhere behind him.

Alfred rubbed his eyes then slid his hand through his hair. "Yeah, I'm alright." I'm lying. I'm not okay—how the hell am I supposed to deal with a Queen? You know exactly how my previous attempts with romancing females always went up in flames—wait. "Did you say Arthur?"

Jett looked incredibly concerned. "Damn, you guys really are isolated—actually no, that doesn't make any sense. Seven centuries you two have been in this country, and you don't even know your own Queen?"

"I wasn't kidding when we didn't care for the business of Suits," Matthew defended as Alfred screamed internally.

"Anyways, Queen Arthur Kirkland," Malcolm offered, "is our cousin is known as the greatest Spell-wielder in all of Deck."

He's a dude. Queen Arthur—a dude. Holy shit. The. Queen. Is. A. Dude. A dude!

"He's also our cousin," Jett picked up the explanation. "Bit of a short-tempered prick that one. He may not look like much, but don't forget this: he's been running this country—doing the King's job on top of his own queenly duties—generations before you were born."

Before another thought crossed Alfred's mind, there was a rustle of fabric behind then. "First lesson in becoming a King: although you would have the highest authority in the entire nation, the final and ultimate decision would be the one that you and Arthur agree with."

As Yao explained Alfred's "first lesson", the four sitting around the fire scrambled to their feet. The Eight and Six bowed down to the Jack while Alfred and Matthew shuffled on their feet, not knowing what to do in the presence of the newcomer. If you have any questions about the Queen, you are welcome to come ask me. The Jack is, of course, the right hand of the Queen."

"What about the King?" Matthew questioned curiously. "Who is his—or her right hand?"

"That would be you, the Ace."

"Jack Wang," Malcolm voiced. "I had thought that we would not be departing until morning. That you would personally inform us, when the blizzard had passed, that we would be heading back to the castle."

"I'm afraid there has been a change of plans. The scouts have encountered another scouting party. It seems that the Heart Royals are on their way to the Spades capital as well." The Jack paused and looked thoughtfully towards his future King and Ace then turned to the other Suits. Alfred's stomach churned. "Prepare his Majesty's and the Ace's horses. It would be in our best diplomatic interest that the foreign Suits don't know of them just yet"

Before he could ask why he and his brother had to stay secret, Alfred found his pack in his arms and a dark black cloak that made him look anonymous. Matthew received the same objects then were steered by the Kirklands out into the cold.

Apparently, their identities being a secret applied to anyone, not just the Heart Royals. Under Yao's instructions, Matthew and Alfred were watched over by Jett and Malcolm. While they were free to converse with the people in the caravan, revealing their identities would only incite complications.

Matthew didn't particularly mind. Once he becomes the Ace, normal conversations would be a luxury of the past, so he savored it as much as he could. When we wasn't exchanging pleasantries with the people or trading stories with Malcolm or Jett, he worried about his brother.

Although Alfred would deny it with every fiber of his being, he had a hero complex. Matthew thought that his brother would be ecstatic with the idea of secret identities—even if it only lasted for a day or two. Instead, the usual epitome of a social butterfly was slouched on his horse with the scowl of an old vulture.

He had assumed that this strange behaviour was due to his impending kingship and the discovery of a male Queen. However, when his twin brother nearly slid off his horse, his worry increased tenfold.

"You're not okay," Matthew hissed as he and Jett steadied Alfred.

"I'm fine—stomach's acting up," Alfred slurred.

Up close, Matthew could see sweat beading his forehead and a strange paleness invading his tanned skin. "I know you—you could be asleep on that horse not fall off no matter the terrain. What is happening?"

"Don't know," Alfred grumbled.

Matthew turned to Malcolm. "Even just for a moment, Is there a possible way we could stop—?"

Alfred grabbed his arm. "No."

"What do you mean 'no'?" Matthew hissed. "If your stomach hurts, then sitting atop a moving horse is only making it worse. Not to mention you look dreadful."

"It'll be better once we're in the capital," Alfred said, straightening his posture in a fruitless attempt to comfort his brother.

"How does that make any sense?" Matthew returned, but he received no answer when Alfred's face turned into an alarming shade of green.

Once they were sure that Alfred did not need to stop and empty the few contents of his stomach, Matthew repeated his question to Malcolm.

"It could be his kingly intuition," the Six replied. "The King is the personification of the people of the kingdom after all, and the capital would be his heart. Although there aren't any crises in the capital, the situation isn't satisfactory to the people. That could be affecting his health."

"Will he get better?" Matthew asked worriedly.

"He's your brother. You know better than anyone if he'll be alright."

Matthew took a moment to gather his thoughts. Alfred may be the openly protective of them, but by no means did that mean that he was more protective than Matthew. "He'll be alright. But how does he know that returning to the capital will alleviate whatever pains he's having?"

Six Kirkland shrugged. "The King needs his people as much as his people need him, I suppose. See, we Suits aren't born with these Insignias—just the characteristics; longevity, durability, intuition—but we aren't Signed by the Hand until we are ready to serve in our positions. You two were Signed two hundred years ago. It doesn't affect you as much, but to the King, the people are his entire being."

"I can't say that what you just said makes any sense," Matthew replied, shifting his gaze to where his brother was being carefully watched by Jett, "but I can't say that any of this makes sense either. I'm guessing it takes time to grow accustomed to this."

Malcolm chuckled. "It certainly does, but not as much as you think. You'll find yourself strangely comfortable living in the castle. You were meant to live there after all."

There was a moment of silence—not an awkward one, just a lack of topics to discuss. Unfortunately, in that silence, Matthew's worries about his brother only increased. I need a distraction. "What exactly is the job of the Suits as a whole?"

It was Jett who answered him. "Rule over the entire kingdom, of course! Well, there is a Council for each kingdom that creates major changes, but those changes aren't official without the approval of the all present Royals. We, as Suits, ensure that those decisions are in the best interest of the people. We don't involve ourselves with minor political squabbles unless the people need us to."

"And how do you know what the people's best interest would be?" Alfred asked. Apparently, Jett's loud exclamation was enough to distract him from whatever he was feeling. Hand bless him.

Jett dropped his voice, forcing Matthew and Malcolm to steer their horses closer. "It would just be a gut feeling, but as the King you would know exactly what the people are thinking and would be able to make the right decisions."

Green flooded Alfred's face again. Nevermind.

Matthew rubbed his brother's back while Malcolm smacked his. The Six gave them an apologetic look. Another silence descended on the two pairs of brothers. An awkward one this time.

"So," Matthew offered, turning to Jett. "You mentioned that the, um—" he glanced at Alfred then whispered, "Queen is your cousin."

"Yes, he and his brothers."

"Brothers?"

"That's right, mate. Arthur is the youngest son of the main branch of House Kirkland. When he was Signed, his elder brothers went through heaven and hell to make sure that they were in the Suit. They mean well, but they're assholes—don't tell them I said that—and unfortunately, you'll have to meet them."

"I mean no disrespect to the Queen nor House Kirkland, but, uh—did Arthur help them claim their ranks?" Matthew asked warily.

Jett looked offended for a second but quickly adopted his usual smile immediately. "Pardon me. I should really get used to that question."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean any—"

"Nah, don't worry about it!" Jett smiled, slapping his shoulder. "At least you're asking the right questions. Anyways, many thought that was exactly what had happened, but he didn't. If anything, Arthur would probably have made it a lot harder for them—in the Kirkland family, there is no coddling, there is no shortcuts. That's the philosophy that's been trained into us for generations."

"The Kirkland brothers," Malcolm chimed in, "care a lot for each other. But if you ask them, they would deny it to their graves. The older they are, the more protective they get. That's why the elder three decided that they wanted to be in the Suit. To support Arthur even if he didn't need it."

"That's very nice, actually," Matthew said softly. He had no doubt that if he and Alfred were in that situation, they would do the same.

"Damn right it is," Jett sighed. "Just remember that when they seem like complete jackasses."

They rode for more hours. Matthew watched as the landscape changed from a mountain range to flat prairie. The sun was high in the sky by the time they reached a small forest. When he looked back, the mountains that Matthew knew to be home were a mere shadow, barely visible in the clouds that shrouded them.

Spades' capital city was relatively near the mountain range, its northern border with Clubs. There was a time last century were tensions between the northern Clubs and the Southern Spades were near a boiling point. Enough so, that the Spades feared an invasion. Matthew remembered several soldiers in their village which was closest to the border. He remembered that he and Alfred had led a group around the mountain, ensuring that crossing such an untamed and colossal mountain range was suicide. If the Clubs wanted to get into Spades, or vice versa, they would have to go around the mountains extending their march by nearly a month.

"Is Yao with the Heart Royals that he mentioned earlier?" Matthew asked. He usually had Alfred to thank for scaring away silences. His conversational skills need work.

"I believe so," Malcolm replied. "They would be somewhere in the front of the caravan. Which is why we are all the way in the end."

"Why is that?"

"Magical trace that you are so adamant in not believing," Jett answered.

Matthew chuckled nervously. Although he did not admit it, he shared his brother's disbelief of magic.

"Suits can sense each other," Malcolm explained. "The Queen rank is the best in sensing other Suits. For the King, it's sensing the people. The Jack; the Queen and the other Suits indirectly, and the Ace; the King and the people indirectly."

"What about the Numbered Suits?"

"We are sense our provinces. You Lettered Suits sense the nation as a whole while we focus on each of our little sections of the nation. We basically give the capital a more detailed sense of the nation's status."

"That doesn't explain why we are all the way back here," Alfred grumbled beside them, talking for the first time in hours. Holy Hand, his voice has gotten hoarse. He needs help.

"Well, those senses extend to all Suits, not just the one for your respective kingdom," Jett explained as Matthew gave Alfred a flask water and ensured he drank all of it. "The two of you weren't surprised that when you found out we were Suits because you knew subconsciously. If you were to walk by the King Clubs or the Four of Diamonds, you would know immediately they were a Suit."

"But if the Queen rank is the most powerful in sensing other Suits," Alfred thought out loud, "wouldn't he or she still know that we are here?"

"That's what those magicked cloaks are for, Your Majesty," Jett answered, carefully watching Alfred.

The uncrowned King flinched and his Ace gave the Eight the glare of the century. "Forgive me, but you're going to have to get used to that. As soon as people find out who you are, they'll address you as that. You are the highest authority of the nation after all."

"I rather you wait until I am crowned," Alfred nearly growled then returned to his pained silent before Jett could even nod.

Never before had Matthew seen his brother snap at anyone. Sure, there were times when he whined and complained about someone or something that he encountered. But Alfred absolutely loathed making anyone uncomfortable. Even the most despicable man could stand before him and Alfred could still smile—albeit a sinister one—at him. Something is really wrong with him…

"So," Malcolm attempted to fill the silence, "did you know that the Spades Castle is also known as the Dragon's Stronghold?"

"Y-yes," Matthew answered distractedly, tearing his attention from Alfred. "I had heard that, although I never knew why. But I have a feeling that I'm about to find out."

The Six of Spades chuckled. "Well, the story begins long before the Suits Monarchy system was put in place by the Hand. The Land of Deck at that time was known as the Land of Chess, and it was ruled by two incredibly large and unbelievably powerful kingdoms known as Black and White. They were ruled by beings like us."

"You mean, immortal and have absolute authority over the land?" Matthew questioned, playing with his borrowed horse's red mane.

"Exactly, but they're way more powerful," Jett added. "There were legends of one Piece—that's what they were called as opposed to us Suits—that was so powerful that he single-handedly took down an entire invasion army with just a shield and a sword. Maybe there was some magic involved, but it happened long before even Yao was born. Details are very much blurry."

Matthew nodded then turned to Malcolm when the younger Kirkland continued his tale. "There was a war hundreds of thousands of years ago so fatal that the Hand himself had to interfere. He had apparently ended the war then split each country in half and stripped the Pieces of all their power."

"Did they become human?" Matthew asked, enthralled.

"Dunno," Jett answered. "All records of that time have either disappeared or been lost to time. What we do know was the many times that dragons were mentioned in the writings."

"Dragons?" Matthew gasped. He noticed Alfred turn his head slightly, listening to them.

"Yes, two of them," Malcolm picked up the story when a soldier called for his elder brother. "One for each of the Chess Kingdoms. They were rumored to be the center of the Pieces' powers."

"I'm guessing that one of the Chess castle used to be where the Dragon Stronghold stands now?"

Malcolm nodded. "The Spades capital used to be the White capital, and home to the White Dragon. It is said that beasts' magic still lingers in this land and has concentrated around certain people."

"The Suits?"

The Six shook his head. "Not necessarily. Remember, we aren't born Suits—we are born human. If the Hand sees potential in us, he Marks our souls, giving us immortality and an affinity to magic. When we are ready to serve the people, we are Signed."

"Are the dragons still around?" Matthew asked cautiously, trying to remember if he had heard anything about giant fire-breathing beasts from rumors.

"No, giant scaled monsters aren't exactly acceptable pets. It's called Dragon's Stronghold because it was their home in ancient history. Not anymore," Jett answered, galloping towards them and pointing towards the horizon. "And speaking of which, there it is."

Yeahhhh that's a lot of dialogue. Anyways, I really like how this story is progressing and I hope you guys do too. Please review! :3