It was a beautiful day in the United Kingdom's of Diamonds-Spades, a vast place united by my good friends Francis Bonnefoy and his wife, Victoria Kirkland. They were engaged when I was the Ace of Diamonds, the military commander of the ninth legion of the Old Kingdom of Diamonds army, when the job of being Ace of Diamonds was a true role.
My name is Antonio, and I am the leader of the Fernández Carriedo family. I didn't know everything I knew about my past until I was 15 years old, and it was thanks to the intervention of Mother Vesta, our former pagan goddess of the home. She helped me take a step forward when it came to my worst fears of abandonment.
I took a deep breath as I entered the house I had once built with the mother of my firstborn son. That little Roman style villa in which the rest of the lineage of our former king lived in hiding still had a lot of sentimental value for me. This family included the heir to the Imperial House of the Vargas family and the future King of Diamonds. Why the house had so much value represents the relationship I had with Sarita Vargas. She was my first love, so I'm still very fond of her even though we didn't have our happy ending as we wanted when we were young.
I returned to Sarita's house that day to care for our son Dante and the children she had with her late husband, Alboin Ferrum. All this while she was working at her prized ice cream parlour after 13 years of forced exile.
As he approached me, I watched Dante, who looked much like his mother with reddish hair and hazel eyes. It seems that he was somewhat concerned by the expression on his face.
"What happened, Dante?" I asked. "I have noticed that something disturbs you, my son."
I smiled at him and put my hand on his shoulder. "The problem, whatever it is, will be solved," I told him. "Just tell me, aren't your brothers bothering you?"
"No. It's not about that!" He screamed. "You know what it's about, don't pretend you don't-eh!"
I didn't know what was disturbing my son at that moment. It could have been anything about the short but difficult life he was forced to live because of his future role in our kingdom. Sarita and I also worried about our situation because we had to hide him so that scoundrel Roger Bonnefoy, Dante's uncle, wouldn't kill him.
It was obvious that Dante wanted to tell me something, but what? I asked myself.
"You know you shouldn't hide anything from me, Dante," I told him. "Tell me what's on your mind, so we'll do our best to fix it."
We fell silent as Dante got ready to say something to me. "Is there no way to fix this?" He asked me
I was confused by those words, and I asked him, "Is there no way to fix this? What do you mean by that? What happened?"
"ENOUGH WITH THE QUESTIONS!" he yelled at me
That took me by surprise. Was my son so upset that he started to reveal himself? It wasn't the first time he'd yelled at me like that, but this time was different.
"You won't yell at me like that... Remember that I'm your father, Dante!"
Dante's face returned to its normal colour, and I knew he had calmed down. Sighing, he began to speak more calmly. "It's just that I... do I have to ask you something-eh... and is it about the curse?"
My blood ran cold at the time. The curse? I thought this family curse would end with me deep inside, but clearly, it didn't. I learned that Queen Clotilde cursed my mother and the two generations after her with a love struggle between me and my children against others for the love of the person we loved. There is so much death and destruction involved. This curse will end in the second generation after my late mother, reunifying the Kingdoms of Diamonds and Hearts.
I know that my son, Dante, is the third generation of my family and the future King of Diamonds. Still, I don't think the last part of the prophecy will come true. He's been getting too close to that girl. Oh, what's her name? Ah, yes, now I remember her name is Catarina, and I have noticed that he has become more cheerful and willing after meeting her.
I appreciated that Dante had a friend like Catarina, but I didn't allow them to get together anymore, and the reason was more because of my fears than anything. Catarina's mother was that woman who had abandoned me. I also felt the need to protect my entire family since Roger and his wife had manipulated everyone into getting in the middle of the dispute that Roger and I had since we were children. I felt guilty for not telling my children, but especially Dante about the curse. I understand Dante should know the truth so he could take his rightful place in the Kingdom, but I had denied him that for years trying to protect him.
"Sit down, Dante. I have some things to tell you, my son," I told him, stepping aside for him to sit beside me.
Dante looked at me with wide eyes and sat next to me. We were quiet a little longer until I heard someone knock on the door. "Wait for me here. I'll be right back," I continued.
I stood up and went to see the door. "Ciao, Tonio," Sarita's voice chimed when I opened it. She looked the same as the last time she saw her.
I smiled at her and took her hand, kissing it. "Hello, Sarita," I told her. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be working?"
"I came to check on you, plus it's time to eat something," she said. "I thought I'd make something to eat for you too..."
I was somewhat relieved that she was here with me as I was about to tell our son the true story of what was happening to us.
"Of course," I told her . "Sarita, I need your support. I have to do something I should have done long ago."
When I took her other hand, she looked at me with a confused face, and I told her, "I have to tell Dante the truth, the whole story."
I felt her brush my hair out of my eyes, and she smiled at me, "Of course, I'll help you with this-eh. I know how much this story still affects us."
"Thank you very much," I told him.
"You're welcome," Sarita said, and I let her into the house. We entered the living room, where Dante was waiting restlessly. "Your mother and I have to apologize for denying you the right to know the truth about this story, Dante," I told him as his mother sat on the other side of the couch.
"We wanted you to have a joyful life without the great weight of the curse on your mind," Sarita continued. "But you're already the exact age your father and I were when we met after the battle of Actium, so we'll explain everything to you."
Antonio, 13 years old
The Kingdom of Diamonds was a very different place when I was young, as we had an empire that stretched from Judea to the east and Gaul in the west.
I would have had a happier childhood and adolescence in the world I grew up in if it weren't for a woman. She was the second wife of King Romulus, your maternal grandfather, and her name was Clotilde Bonnefoy.
Clotilde thought that she was superior to everyone else, including her husband because she believed that she was the descendant of a Jewish rabbi who helped marginalized people by performing healings and miracles. He also spread "The Good News" of the Kingdom of the invisible God of the Jews throughout Judea until he was accused of sedition. Romulo sent him to the cross, and his followers, called Christians who included the wife of that rabbi and his daughter had to flee from those lands - referring to the version of Christianity that existed in Languedoc at that time when the Merovingians were the kings of gaul - modern day france - they believed that descendants of Jesus and Mary Magdalene since the name Clotilde is the name of the first Merovingian queen
Queen Clotilde of Diamonds was the mother of your uncle, Roger, aka "the French bastard" and was even more cruel than him. There are many words to describe her, but I will classify her with one. "malicious," I remember it vividly. I had lived in the Imperial Palace with Romulus and Clotilde since I was born, and had been waiting for the return of that woman who abandoned me every morning before going to school as the years passed by… she never came back.
Clotilde always mistreats me, but a day when I was barely 13 years old greatly impacted me. I had returned from military school and was walking through the halls of the Palace towards my chambers when I ran into her.
"Watch where you walk. Are you blind or something!"
I couldn't move because I was frozen with fright when I saw that she stood over me and began to insult me. "Well, look at you. It's as if you had walked through the city upside down! You are a useless, unhappy bastard, dammit!"
I didn't dress like my adoptive family back then. I was happy wearing an Iberian-style tunic with Roman sandals. However, it was not enough for Clotilde.
It didn't seem like Clotilde's insults were going to end. "Listen to me well. You will never be royalty! You are nothing but a —!"
Suddenly, there was someone who took her off me. It was her firstborn, Francis, who saved me from her clutches.
"Are you okay, Antonio?" Francis asked me. I noticed him somewhat worried and embarrassed by the actions of his mother.
Clotilde's eyes widened in shock when she realized her son had saved me. "Francis!" she yelled at her and grabbed his arm. "How dare you treat your mother like that! You will sleep in the street if you do it again!"
Clotilde was satisfied after she yelled at her son and released him. So she went her way, and she disappeared, leaving her son to collapse to the ground.
Romulus's eldest daughter, Francis's sister and my best friend, had told me why Clotilde mistreated Francis. She told me that another tragedy happened 13 years ago where the king's first wife died, and Clotilde paid too high a price because the Gaelic soldiers ended the life of the former Queen of Diamonds.
"Thank you, Francis," I took a deep breath as I helped him to his feet, and we left the Palace.
"You're welcome, Antonio," Francis said. "Hey, how about we practice a little?"
"Well, that sounds like a great idea," I replied as we walked towards the training camp.
… thirty minutes later
We were ready for the day after we arrived at our military training camp and made do with our equipment. Fighting with our wooden swords was both mine and Francis's favourite activity since we were practicing to become legionnaires, soldiers of King Romulus's imperial army. I had done it almost daily until every move I made with my sword became instinct. Of course, we couldn't fight because we had to do the Military Sacramentum before that. Still, it was closer to the real experience.
Many future soldiers from our kingdom's army showed up while we fought. We seemed to have impressed our comrades with the fight, and we began to hear our names being called out to see who among us would win that fight.
The sound of the people cheering my name distracted me, and I lost control of my hand, causing Francis to "stab" me. The crowd of military companions yelled and then left as fast as they appeared.
Francis put his sword aside and put his hand on my shoulder. "Nice try. Maybe you would have won if you hadn't been distracted by people shouting your name," he laughed as he ran to store his equipment away.
We left to meet another childhood friend after we finishing training. It was Gilbert Beilschmidt, the Prince of Hearts, and by chance, we found him sitting on the trunk of an apple tree. He was picking the ripe apples and throwing away the bad ones.
"Hello, Gil," I yelled, hitting the tree trunk to get my friend's attention.
After a few minutes, Gilbert finally peaked his head out of the apple tree's leaves. His white hair and red eyes were remarkable and different from those we knew because he had albinism.
"Hey guys," he said with a laugh as he climbed down from the tree. "You guys look like disasters. Guess that you did well in training?"
We nodded "yes," and Gilbert handed us each an apple. When we finished eating, we told him about our fight and meeting with Francis's mother.
"Seriously speaking, what does Romulo see in that woman?" he asked. "I would not have married her if the same thing that happened to him had happened to me; forgive me, Francis, I know she is your mother."
"No, you're right," Francis said. "Luckily, my sister never blamed me for her mother's death..."
A memory of her came to me with the comment Gilbert had made. She was always close to Francis despite his mother's actions. She had been in the Temple of Vesta for five years now and I've wondered that every day since Clotilde forced her to become a vestal priestess.
Gilbert continued to laugh as he threw out the center of the apple he was eating. "Yeah, forget about her... have you guys seen any girls around here recently?"
We looked at each other, somewhat blushing, when we heard that comment from our friend's mouth. "No… not recently…," Francis said, ducking his head.
Gilbert smiled at me, looking at me and asked, "And you, Antonio? I'm sure they have gone crazy for you, hehe."
"I'm sorry, my friend," I told him. "I have nothing to say about it."
Gilbert fell dramatically and started laughing as I pushed him. "Hehehe, just kidding, guys," he told us. "You should have seen the looks on your faces when I asked you that question."
Gilbert found himself battling two legionnaires in practice after he looked at Francis and then at the pile of apples on the floor.
"Forgive me!" he yelled at her, trying to scale the tree trunk. We were laughing as our attack ended when he begged us for forgiveness. "I have to go home!"