Yao could not believe how bad this day was turning into. Everything was going great, the Heart Court were warmly welcomed, they settled in perfectly, they were even in a decent mood and everything was going according to plan, nothing to worry about at all, he was actually starting to relax and not dread the arrival of the Club Court. To hear that Alfred suddenly smashed the dining table he and the two other visiting Kings happened to be dining on at the time nearly made him faint. The moment he found out he apologised to both Kings, who were both not too bothered by it but were still slightly concerned as to why the Spade King has a sudden outburst. Ludwig assumed he was stressed due to the upcoming dinner party and Francis admitted he suspected something else was bothering him.

“Why did he do that?” hissed Yao as he dashed up the stairs towards the King’s office.

Alfred had been in a good mood all morning so why did he randomly destroy a piece of furniture? This morning he was acting like he was on top of the world, completely love struck according to Francis. Yao was still a little skeptical about that as he was certain Alfred hadn’t been seeing anyone, at least anyone he was aware of. He couldn’t risk him having another outburst especially when the King of Clubs arrived. Their relationship with the Club Kingdom was still a little tense and he couldn’t risk Alfred damaging it. One way or another he was going to have a serious conversation with him and get to the bottom of this once and for all.

Approaching the office he let himself in, not even bothering to knock. “Alfred, what the hell has-... what is all this!?”

The office was a mess. Open books and charts littered the floor, the portrait of the world map was covered in arrows, circles and crosses, and Alfred himself was currently flipping through the pages of book. His eyes looked frantic and he had the expression of a madman seeking out something unattainable.

“Alfred!?”

“Not now Yao,” snapped Alfred, tossing the book aside and grabbing another one.

Yao was stunned at Alfred’s attitude but he wasn’t going to listen to him. “Not now!? You destroyed a table, an expensive table I might add, in front of the Diamond and Heart King!”

“I’ll buy another one,” huffed Alfred, his focus darting back between the book in his hand and the chart he had rolled out on his table.

“That’s not the point!” Yao couldn’t believe this. “What possessed you to do that!?”

“Yao, are there any towers or large buildings anywhere in our Kingdom, like near the outskirts or something?”

“Are you listening to me!?”

“If you don’t know then go find out!”

Yao had enough and marched over to Alfred, not caring that he was stamping over charts and ripping them. He ripped the book out of his hands and glared at him intensely. “What has gotten into you? Why are you acting like this? Is it stress? Are you sick? In case you have forgotten you’re the King of Spades and you represent the entire Kingdom and it doesn’t make us look good when you destroy furniture in front of important guests!”

Alfred looked pissed and frantic all at once. “You don’t understand Yao,” he snapped, “I have to find him! I have to get him out!”

“Who? What are you talking about?”

“Arthur! I have to find Arthur and get him out of there!”

“Who’s Arthur-... wait, is this that imaginary friend of yours?”

“He’s not imaginary!” Alfred said that so loud it made Yao jump back. “He’s real and he’s trapped and I have to find out where he is so I can get him out!”

Yao couldn’t believe it; Alfred had finally snapped and was delusional. Why did this had to happen right before an important dinner party!? “Alfred, you’re stressed-...”

“I’m not stressed dammit! I just-... are there any private prisons you know of? Weird people who lock up people and steal their hair?”

Yao bit his lip. The young King had completely lost it, there wasn’t an ounce of sanity in his eyes, he was focused on finding this person he clearly made up. He had to do something to get him to calm down or else he’d rip the entire palace apart, he remembered the last time he threw a tantrum and he wrecked an entire floor of the palace.

Before he could say it do anything there was a knock at the door. “Hello?” The door opened and Francis’ head popped in. “My, my, my, what a mess.”

Yao was a little relieved Francis had decided to show up, hoping he could talk sense into Alfred, but when Kiku walked in after him the Spade Jack almost screamed in horror. Alfred had already embarrassed himself in front of the King of Hearts, he didn’t want him to offend the Heart Queen.

“Is everything alright?” asked Kiku, gazing around at the messy office, “Ludwig was concerned after what happened during lunch.”

Just as Yao was about to give an excuse, Alfred suddenly dashed towards Francis. “Francis, does your Kingdom have tall towers or private prisons or estates owned by weird guys who pick people up for no reason!?”

Even Francis was taken aback. “What?”

When Francis didn’t give him the answer he wanted, Alfred turned his attention to Kiku. “Kiku, does your Kingdom have stuff like that!?”

Yao felt like throwing up, how could Alfred ask them these kind of questions? It was like he was trying to convince them he was wanted nothing but trouble.

Thankfully Kiku was calm and in a gentle voice he asked Alfred, “what is this about, please explain?”

Without warning an explosion of words erupted from Alfred’s mouth and they cane out insanely fast that barely anyone understood him. “I went to the garden during lunch with Francis and Ludwig and I met up with Arthur again and we chatted for a while about stuff and I tried to get him to go outside so I could confess to him but he came up with a million excuses as to why he couldn’t so I tried forcing him to go outside and he told me he couldn’t anyway and I realised he was locked up he didn’t live there at all and I tried asking him again where he was so I could go rescue him but-...”

Kiku planted his hand firmly across Alfred’s mouth, silencing him.

“You went to the garden again, learned that your friend is actually imprisoned, so I assume you are now trying to locate where he could he which is why you asked Francis and myself about private prisons in our Kingdoms... is that correct?”

Alfred nodded furiously and Kiku removed his hand. “I have to find him and get him out! I have to-...”

“Hold it! Hold everything!” Yao stepped in and he now looked absolutely furious. “This is whole thing is over your imaginary friend!?”

“He’s not imaginary Yao,” snapped Alfred, “he’s real and he’s in trouble!”

“Do you expect me to believe that you’ve been disappearing into thin air to go to some strange garden with a strange man? Next thing you know you’ll be telling me he’s the one you’ve fallen for!”

“Um... actually...” Francis tried to get a word in but Yao had reached his boiling point.

“Oh for the love of-... Alfred I’d expect this from a child, but you’re an adult and on top of that, you’re a King!” Yao looked like he was ready to pop a vein. “I don’t have the time nor patience to deal with your fantasy worlds!”

“It’s not a fantasy world, Yao,” argued Alfred, “the garden is real and Arthur is real and I’m going to find him and get him out of there!”

Yao was about to shout back but instead he took a deep breath and calmed himself as best he could. “Alfred, you need to focus on the dinner party, and you need to apologise to your guests. This whole farce is-...”

“Yao, I’m being serious here. I need to find him, I need to-...”

“Alfred! Asking other Kingdoms about private prisons and secret prisoners is not something a King should be asking! Now drop this whole pretend thing right now!”

Alfred grimaced. He was just going round and round with Yao, his stubborn Jack refusing to believe him. “Francis, you believe me right? Tell him!”

Everyone looked over at the Diamond King. “I do believe you Alfred, but I can’t exactly convince him. I believe you with my heart but someone like Yao here needs physical proof.” Francis bore a regrettable smile and no one could really blame him.

“I would appreciate it if you would stop fuelling his fantasies Francis,” sighed Yao.

“It’s not a fantasy!” snapped Alfred. “Kiku, what about you? You believe me right?”

Kiku flinched a little as all eyes were now on him. He looked back and forth between the three of them and appeared apologetic towards the young King. “I’m sorry Alfred but I’m going to have to side with Yao. I just find the whole story unbelievable. You vanishing in front of others without their knowledge into a garden with no one realising is like something out of a fairy tale.”

Alfred felt like he was falling into a swirling hole and he didn’t know how to get out. He felt like he was wasting time, he could be using it to seek out where Arthur was imprisoned. Yao and Kiku didn’t believe him and Francis couldn’t prove anything to back him up. He wanted to convince them all what was happening so he’d have a better chance at finding Arthur and rescuing him but how could he do that when he didn’t have the full support of his court?

“However...” He glanced back up to see Kiku was thinking about something. “There might be a way to prove wether your story is true or false.” The Heart Queen went over to the desk and picked up the phone, dialling a number and waiting for someone to answer. “Hello? Yes, it’s me... I’ve spoken with him actually... he’s very sorry about that... terribly sorry about this but could you send Feliciano down to the Spade King’s office with his sketchbook? ...no, I’m just helping him with something... alright, thank you Ludwig.”

As Kiku places the phone down, Alfred appeared confused. “Why did you ask for your Jack and a sketchbook?”

Kiku smiled calmly. “I should explain whilst we wait for him. In the Heart Kingdom we hold special court cases depending on the situation, and we use Feliciano to carry them out, after Ludwig convinces him. You see his special talent as the Heart Jack is to draw the truth.”

Alfred was still confused but Francis seemed to understand. “Aha, I see what you’re doing.”

“This is a waste of time,” huffed Yao.

“What?” Alfred looked around, “What is he talking about?”

Kiku had to explain further. “Feliciano is a talented artist by himself, but as a Jack he is able to see the truth in a persons heart and bring it to life in one of his drawings. He merely just has to listen to what a person says and peers into their heart to see it. However if the person is lying then the drawing will look very... different.”

“It’s actually very effective,” insisted Francis, “didn’t you use it to solve that case about the missing child a few years back?”

“Yes, and thanks to Feliciano we were able to find the culprit and rescue the child,” continued Kiku. “The father pretended that the child ran away, caused a huge uproar in the Kingdom. Some blamed the mother and others were convinced it was a local huntsman, but when the father told his story to Feliciano, he drew a child trapped in a dark room. After some throughout interrogation from Ludwig the father then admitted he locked his child away in a cabin to spite on his own wife, who was actually cheating on him with the huntsman. Quite the story if I must say.”

Alfred actually recalled that story. He never looked into how the case was solved but was glad the child was found safe. Still, what did any of this had to do with what was happening right now?

“So you’re going to use your Jack to look into his heart to see if he’s telling the truth about this garden?” Yao rolled his eyes. “Seems like a waste of time.”

“Wait? What?” Alfred looked over a Yao with a bewildered look. “He’s going to do what now?”

“It’s nothing to fret about Alfred,” insisted Kiku, patting him on the shoulder. “You see, Feliciano can only draw the truth. He can’t draw fantasies or lies unless he’s not looking into someone’s heart. If he peers into your heart and is able to draw this Arthur of yours then it’ll convince Yao and myself that you’re telling the truth and if he can’t-...”

Kiku then glanced over at Yao, the Spade Jack sighing. “It’s true, the Heart Jack is able to capture the truth so if he does end up drawing this fantasy man of yours... then I’ll believe you.”

It sounded like it was his only option. If Feliciano could truly convince them all by using his unique power then Alfred was willing to give it a try.

A few minutes passed until at last Feliciano knocked at the door. “Hello? Kiku? Am I at the right place? I got lost a few times back there.”

Kiku opened the door and the feeble Heart Jack stepped in, a sketchbook in his hand along with a case of pencils. He glanced around and seemed intimidated by the state of the office. Kiku suggested they move to another room as Feliciano was quite skittish, so Yao escorted them to a small drawing room that was only down the hall, reminding Alfred to clean up his office after this was all over. Once in the drawing room Kiku invited Alfred to sit down and had Feliciano sit across from him.

“Feliciano, the King here has been meeting a man in a garden without anyone noticing. It’s a bit hard to explain but we’re having a hard time believing him at present so I want you to look into his heart and seek the truth.”

“Oh is that it?” Feliciano seemed glad for some reason. “I thought you were going to make me do something crazy, haha.”

Kiku sighed and patted him upon his head. “You know I’d never make you do anything like that.”

“Ludwig does sometimes,” whined Feliciano.

“So what now?” asked Alfred, curios as to how this whole thing was going to play out.

“You just sit there and let him work his magic,” chuckled Francis.

“It won’t take long,” promised Feliciano as he opened up his sketchbook and plucked a pencil from his case. “Just think about this person of yours, I’ll be able to see him.”

As Feliciano stared at him it was then that Alfred realised he never got a good look at his eyes. He always had them squinted or half closed so it was hard to see them but now he had them fully opened. They were golden brown in colour and in his left eye, right in the middle of his pupil, was the symbol of the Heart Jack. It was almost intimidating to have him stare at him like that but Alfred sat perfectly still and allowed him to get on with his work.

“So who is this man? Is he nice?” Feliciano stared at him as he asked his questions.

“His name is Arthur... Arthur Kirkland,” answered Alfred, “I visit him in his garden. I don’t know exactly how or why I go there, but I see him once a day. He’s quite the personality but he’s nice.”

“You get kidnapped?” Feliciano actually paused and appeared concerned.

“In the beginning it was... kinda like kidnapping, but I like going there now. I go during lunches or meetings but when I’m at the garden, no one notices I’m gone.”

“That’s some story... a little scary for my tastes.”

Alfred couldn’t help but notice how Feliciano shivered in fear and decided to tell him more about the garden in the hopes to settle his nerves. “It’s a really gorgeous place, he grew everything there himself. He has roses and herbs and he’s actually growing-...”

“I like roses,” sighed Feliciano, “I like giving them to Ludwig, he acts a little weird about it though. Anyway I think I got enough from you so let’s see how this comes out.”

Francis, Kiku and Yao stood behind Alfred, the only sound in the room was the scratching of the pencil against the paper and the humming from Feliciano. He’d glance up at Alfred every now and then but then look down at his work. The minutes dragged on and Feliciano continued sketching, leaving Alfred to wonder what he could be drawing. He was hoping that it was indeed Arthur and his garden so he could prove to Yao once and for all he was telling the truth but now he was starting to have doubts. Kiku said Feliciano could not draw fantasies so what if ended up not drawing Arthur? What if Arthur was just a thing in his mind? What if it was all made up? Why was he getting all worked up like this? Maybe it was fear; fear that Arthur didn’t actually exist and that he never get to meet him. He couldn’t bare the thought.

A few minutes passed until at last Feliciano placed his pencil down and stared at his finished drawing. Alfred held his breath as the Heart Jack stared at it, eager to see it himself but at the same time was a little scared as to what he was going to see. He began to fret when he noticed the way Feliciano reacted to his own work, his small body was trembling like mad. In fact he looked absolutely terrified.

“What’s the matter Feliciano?” asked Kiku, slightly concerned with his Jack’s reaction.

“This... this...” He then threw the sketchbook on the table and hid underneath it. “That’s a scary looking man!” he wailed, “you didn’t say anything about a scary man! Waaaaah!”

Feliciano wailed like a baby from under the table, causing Yao to groan and Francis to laugh. Before Kiku could even try to coax him from his hiding spot, Alfred picked up the sketchbook and peered at the drawing, gasping at what he saw.

“This is him!”

The sketch was incredibly realistic and Feliciano had managed to draw Arthur in his garden, capturing a moment where he was tending to his roses. It was almost like a black and white photograph, Alfred felt like he could reach in and pull him out. He had every detail about him captured, from his skinny build to his messy hair, he even bore that cute scowl of his, though to the artist himself it was apparently terrifying. The sketch of Arthur merely stared at him silently, his hands occupied as he plucked away at his rose bush. Behind him was the stone wall of the garden including one of the Elder trees he had been growing, though Feliciano had just drawn a normal tree. It was a gorgeous sketch but it made Alfred feel triumphant as at long last he had proof that Arthur existed.

He jumped up from his seat and showed the other three men. “This is him! This is Arthur and his garden! Now do you believe me!?”

Francis peered at the sketch. “My, you were not kidding about those eyebrows,” he chuckled, “but he is kinda cute.”

Yao could only stare in disbelief. “This is... him?”

“Yes this is him,” declared Alfred with a proud smile, “now do you believe me, Yao?”

Yao still looked a little unconvinced. “I... I don’t think-...”

“That’s him,” said Kiku suddenly. They all looked at Kiku who was staring at the sketch with intense eyes. “That’s the man I saw in my dream.”

Although he was ecstatic about getting more proof about Arthur’s existence, Alfred suddenly became very interested in Kiku’s words. “You dreamed about him? When? Where?”

Kiku frowned as he continued to stare at the sketch. “The one with the little girl and the four open graves,” recalled Kiku, reminding Alfred about the strange dream he had about the strange girl. “She pointed at him and he just stared back at me. I called out to him but he didn’t respond... I remember him appearing... sad, as if he too was grieving over those graves. As I approached him...” Kiku went silent, as if he didn’t want to continue.

“What?” Alfred grew more desperate. “What happened!?”

“He just... vanished... and the dream ended. That’s it.”

“That’s it?”

“That is all I’m afraid.”

Alfred was slightly disappointed with that answer, hoping that Kiku’s dream could’ve given him answers, shed some light on Arthur’s location. In fact he couldn’t help but notice that Kiku seemed to be holding something back, that he was concealing something.

“So this whole time you’ve been teleporting to some random garden with this weird man and you didn’t even try to convince me!?”

Alfred glanced over to see Yao was standing back up and he was looking somewhere between angry and horrified. “I did tell you, you didn’t believe me!” snapped Alfred.

“Well you... you should’ve tried harder! Dammit Alfred this is dangerous, this is way too dangerous! You’re being randomly taken to a stranger’s garden against your will!? What if this is some sort of trick or worse, a curse!? I’ll have to alert the court, I need to make calls, I have to double, no, triple security!”

Yao was now starting to panic after at last realising that his King’s life was being toyed with by unknown forces, and he didn’t know how to handle it.

“Yao, relax,” pleaded Alfred, “I’ve figured most of it out.”

“Figured what out? Why do you go there? Who sends you there? Is that man? Is that... weird girl you were telling me about!?”

Alfred sighed and took Yao back to his office after Kiku allowed Feliciano to leave, letting Alfred keep the sketch of Arthur. Once back in the office Alfred explained everything as best he could to Yao, showing him all the information he gathered, everything he had learnt in this past month about his strange visits to the garden, the mystery girl, and Arthur himself. He pointed at everything he wanted his Jack to see and told him every crucial detail in the hopes he could see something he couldn’t. Yao said nothing but listened, his eyes scanning every single word upon the whiteboards as if he was uploading it all into his brain like a computer. In the past he just stared at them as if they were scribbles made by a child but now he stared at them with focus, keen to understand what they all meant. Both Francis and Kiku listened in as well, hoping they too could learn something new about the whole thing, keeping silent as Alfred went on and on. He continued to tell Yao everything, including how he learned that Arthur was in fact imprisoned and that he had been stuck there for five years, and now he wanted to get him out.

Once he finished, Yao took a minute to process all of it before he finally said, “but why though?”

“Why?”

“I mean, why you? Why does this... strange girl send you? Who is this girl anyway? What is her goal?”

Alfred sighed. “She doesn’t tell me anything about her, but she did tell me that her goal was to fulfil Arthur’s wish.”

Yao rubbed his brow and groaned. “None of this makes any sense. None of it! A strange girl sends you off to some prison garden to grant someone’s wish!? Why? For what purpose?”

Alfred had been asking that very question for weeks but the only thing he knew was the mystery girl was doing this so he could do what needed to be done, whatever that was. Yao looked like he was about to grow some grey hairs as he rubbed both his temples. He went over to the water fountain and poured himself a glass, gulping it all down in a matter of seconds.

“So you’re still going to this garden? I take it you went during your lunch with the other Kings?” Yao glanced over at Alfred, still bearing a look of stress but a much calmer expression. “And now you want to go on some rescue mission?”

“I have to Yao,” insisted Alfred.

“But why?”

“Because...” replied Alfred, bearing a small smirk, “I’m a hero and the job of the hero is to help those in need!”

Yao slumped where he stood. “That’s it!?” He hated it when Alfred used that excuse.

“I also love him,” declared Alfred proudly.

That answer made Yao blush like crazy and his lips tremble, he even took a clumsy step backwards and clutched onto the side of the desk for support. He was used to Alfred spouting nonsense but this one took him completely off guard. Kiku politely blushed and hid his face under his hands, whilst Francis quietly squealed like a schoolgirl.

“Are you... are you serious!?” stammered Yao, trying to get this all straight as best he could.

“Yes,” replied Alfred as he folded his arms, “I love him and I want to find him and rescue him.”

Yao was speechless, Kiku had to turn to hide his red face and Francis continued to giggle and squeal with delight. Yao could not believe any of this. This whole time Alfred had been disappearing to some fantasy garden and had now foolishly declared his love for some stranger he met in this strange place. He had some suspicion that something weird was going on with Alfred, but he didn’t think that it was all this! He felt angry at both himself and at Alfred, angry that he didn’t believe him in the beginning and angry that Alfred had been treating it like a game. Now he was declaring his love for this... strange person and right in front of the Diamond King and the Heart Queen.

“Alfred... do you even know this person? I mean, you said he was locked up. Is he a criminal? Did he commit a crime or-...”

“No,” insisted Alfred, “I swear Yao, someone had locked him up for no reason.”

“And he told you this?”

Alfred bit his lip, his eyes darting away for a second. “He... doesn’t exactly give me a straight answer. Apparently there are things he doesn’t want to talk about.”

“Well if that isn’t suspicious I don’t know what is,” huffed Yao.

“Yao please,” begged Alfred, planting his hands on his shoulders, “you’re the best Jack I know, probably out of all the Kingdoms... no offence you guys.” Both Kiku and Francis dismissed it as it was almost fact that Yao was indeed the best Jack out of all four. “I need you to believe me and trust me; I really love him. I do. It hurts me to think that with every passing second he’s trapped there and all alone. I want to save him Yao and I want your help. So please? I’m asking you not as your King but as your friend.”

Yao was blushing again and was trying his hardest to keep his cool but after all that he couldn’t. Why did Alfred had to be so blunt? He sighed and rolled his head backwards.

“After the dinner party I will assist you, I will help you, but until then I want you to focus solely on the dinner party.” Yao gently forced Alfred’s hands off his shoulders. “This event is too important right now, but once it’s all finished I swear I’ll help. I also want you to focus on this dinner party! If you want to help this Arthur then rushing into this and throwing accusations at others won’t help him or anybody else. So for now just promise me you’ll keep calm, focused, and place your duty as King first?”

He wanted to argue against him but Alfred knew that Yao was right. With a sigh he agreed with a small nod and a smile. He knew the dinner party was a crucial event for all four Kingdoms and though he was keen to help Arthur, he knew he still had his role to play as King. Although it pained him to acknowledge it, Arthur wasn’t going anywhere. Still Alfred vowed he was going to help him no matter what, he was just glad that his Jack was now supporting him and now believed him about the whole thing. Who knows, maybe with his help he actually had a better chance at finding Arthur.

“Yao I promise I’ll put my whole attention on the dinner party but just to help me relax a little, do you know where he could be? Where in the world would they lock him up? All I know is that he’s in some sort of stone building, like a tower or something.”

Yao sighed as he looked at all the evidence, and unfortunately there wasn’t a great deal of it to make a good assumption. “If it’ll help clear your mind I’ll have a think.”

The Spade Jack then looked at all the notes, all the open books and charts that laid about, even organising them into neat piles as he went along. He even requested to look at the sketch one more time, hoping he’d see something that Alfred missed. It seemed there was something about the sketch that had him curious but Alfred wasn’t sure what it was. Maybe he recognised the tree in the sketch, though it looked like a normal tree. He checked every single detail with care, deep in thought as he cross-referenced all of the information before him as best he could. Alfred could only hope that Yao would indeed see something that he couldn’t, he may be a pain in the arse but he was good at his job and he had a keen eye for detail.

Then at last Yao said, “so to confirm, he’s locked up in some tower with some... pompous jerk, your words not mine, and he’s growing a garden?”

“Yes,” answered Alfred.

Yao frowned and muttered quietly, “no... he couldn’t...”

“What?” Alfred stepped closer. “What is it?”

Yao frowned. It looked like he knew something but he didn’t want to share it. “Before you even think about accusing him, I want you to know that this is speculation and nothing more.”

“What? Tell me please!”

With a heavy sigh, Yao explained. “Ivan, the King of Clubs, is known for running prisons that has their inmates grow gardens.”

Alfred felt his heart lurch at that idea.

“That is true actually,” admitted Francis, “he has them work in greenhouses or private gardens. It’s an odd punishment but an effective one, I’m actually planning on introducing something similar in my Kingdom.”

“It’s really a good program,” confessed Kiku, “it’s both rehabilitations the prisoners and provides the Club Kingdom with beautiful flowers.”

Alfred could only listen and try to take it all in. It actually made sense. Ivan had a freakish obsession with flowers, like a really weird and crazy obsession with them. He knew that Ivan had always envied the other Kingdoms for their warmer climates that allowed them to grow beautiful flowers, whilst the Club Kingdom itself was nothing more that a frozen wasteland. There were some places where flowers could grow, but not a lot to please Ivan. He had heard that Ivan had personally invested in gigantic greenhouses all over his Kingdom so he could have all sorts of flowers and exotic plants flourish. He even had one built into his palace, it was supposedly like walking into tropical island. Some of the greenhouses were even open to the public and he was still building more, some of them so they could grow their own crops instead of purchasing them from the other Kingdoms.

He had heard about the prisons in the Club Kingdom too. Where thieves, crooks and common criminals were sent to grow flowers for their King, to pay back their debt to society and better themselves as people. Other criminals like murderers and rapists were sent into the Forest of Eternity, as Ivan stated he wouldn’t dare accept a flower that was cared for by hands stained with blood and terrible sin. Still these prisons sounded more like resorts than actual prisons but Kiku did have a point, as the Club Kingdom had a very high criminal rehabilitation rate out of all the other Kingdoms. He even heard that nobles and lords tried to win his favour by presenting him rare flowers, hoping to please the intimidating King of the Club Kingdom. Some of these nobles even invested in their own gardens, all just to gain the attention of Ivan and win his praise.

Was that where Arthur was? In one of Ivan’s private prisons where he was forced to grow him flowers? Or was it a garden owned by a noble who used Arthur to please the Club King? It made some sort of sense but Alfred recalled that the climate in Arthur’s garden was actually quite mild and nowhere near cold enough to be in the Club Kingdom. Then again he might be in a giant greenhouse? He had heard that some of the greenhouses were big enough to fit an entire town into. Or maybe he was in a slightly warmer part of the Club Kingdom, close to the southern borders. It was like Yao said, all of it was speculation but it was something Alfred could not ignore.

“Alfred listen to me,” snapped Yao, noticing what his King was thinking. “Ivan is... a difficult person, but he doesn’t lock up people for no reason. In fact I’m not sure if he even has this Arthur of yours locked away, but he might know where he could be. Ivan always records where his flowers and plants have come from and who grows them, so he might’ve recorded something about your Arthur... possibly, I can’t say for certain.”

That was actually some good news but Alfred couldn’t ignore the fact that Ivan might be the one who locked Arthur away. He really wanted to question Ivan about all this but Yao was giving him that glare.

“Don’t you even think about accusing him of keeping your Arthur locked up,” hissed Yao, “we already have an unstable relationship with the Club Kingdom, I don’t need you wrecking it any further! I know Ivan rather well so let me ask him, so please promise me you won’t do or say anything stupid? Alright?”

Alfred clenched his fists at the thought that Ivan was laughing behind his back, keeping his beloved Arthur locked away. He really wanted to charge into the Club Kingdom and knock down every prison until he found Arthur, but Yao was right. The relationship between the Club Kingdom and the Spade Kingdom was rocky at best, and it had taken centuries for them to achieve some sort of stable peace. If he messed it up then it’ll be another few hundred centuries before they could fix once more. So for a change he was going to obey Yao and let him handle it.

“Ok I promise,” vowed Alfred.

Yao seemed relieved but he still appeared stressed. “I still can’t wrap my head around this. I don’t understand any of it but I can’t deny it any longer.”

Alfred shrugged. “I’m just glad you believe me now.”

Yao then glanced over at the Diamond King and Heart Queen. “I apologise about all this but could you please refrain from mentioning this to your courts? This is something the Spade Kingdom will handle, we don’t wish to trouble you.”

Francis smirked a little. “Relax, there is nothing more romantic than a hero vowing to rescue his one true love.” The way he said that made everyone cringe.

“As long as it doesn’t start any conflict,” sighed Kiku, “that’s all that matters... along with the hopeful recovery of Alfred’s beloved.” That made everyone, including Alfred, blush.

Once that was all settled Alfred asked if he could go back with Kiku so he could formally apologise to Ludwig for his behaviour, much to Yao’s relief. He also promised to clean up his office once he was done apologising and get that table fixed. Yao said he had to and process this all in his own office as he was still in shock that this was happening, and Francis was quite in a giddy mood after Alfred’s bold declaration. As Alfred walked with the Heart Queen back to his room, he tucked the sketch of Arthur away inside his inner pockets, silently vowing that he was indeed going to find Arthur and bring him back to the Spade Kingdom, where he’d safe and cherished.

Notes:
Originally this chapter was going to end with Alfred meeting Ivan but the chapter grew too long, so he’ll be in the next chapter ;)