Notes:
I’m working on this as best I can but I’m currently on a course, not giving up on it, your comments inspire me to continue :)

WARNING: This chapter contains mild violence, mention of blood, and physical contact without consent

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Staring at the empty seat next to him, Alfred could not help but wonder what it would be like when Arthur would be the one sitting in it. It was the chair reserved for the Spade Queen, but since there hadn’t been one for over a hundred years it had remained empty and only brought out as tradition or possibly to remind the Spade Kingdom of what they lacked. Though it was never used it was as pristine as ever, as if it was just waiting for someone to sit upon it. Arthur would make an excellent Queen, Alfred was certain of that. His sharp tongue and superior attitude along with his dignified pose and gentlemanly personality would make the Spade Court seem more wickedly intimidating and appear more powerful. However the chair remained empty, but Alfred knew it wouldn’t be for long.

“I’m still... having trouble understanding all this.”

Ludwig’s troubled voice brought Alfred’s attention back to the meeting taking place. The Heart King appeared that he was desperately trying to understand what was being discussed, but he was having a hard time doing so. He wasn’t the only one, the Diamond Queen and Club Queen appeared equally bewildered by all this. The Club King said nothing but seemed to be in deep thought, and all the Jack’s with the exception of Yao were just trying to make sense all of this. The only ones who seemed to have an idea of what was going on was the Diamond King and the Heart Queen, as well as Alfred.

“I can understand why you’re having trouble Ludwig,” spoke Francis, “and even I trouble believing in it, but if there is one thing I know about our world is that there are things that exist that make little sense.”

“That doesn’t really explain this whole... situation,” said Elizabeta suddenly. “So you’re saying that Alfred here has been mysteriously visiting some garden for the past month without anyone noticing and meeting with someone he only just realised was the Spade Queen... and you’re expecting us to just accept all that?” Elizabeta meant well, she just couldn’t believe it as did the others.

“I have to admit that ever since arriving here, I’ve been feeling an odd presence,” confessed Erika sheepishly, “could it be that little girl you were referring to?”

“Do no be ridiculous Erika,” scoffed Basch suddenly, the Diamond Jack addressing his Queen in a bold manner, “you can’t believe such a tall tale can you?”

“The Spade King wouldn’t call for a Gathering unless it was needed,” retorted Yao.

“If he even understand what it’s meant for,” muttered Ivan under his breath, smiling as if he meant it as a joke.

“Ivan, I’m fairly certain that young Alfred here would not suddenly announce a Gathering with no good reason,” defended Ludwig, “even if I still have trouble understanding it.” With a sigh the Heart King glanced over at Alfred. “ I terribly sorry but... could you confirm what you just told us?”

Alfred sighed heavily. When he announced that he was hosting a sudden Gathering it got the other courts buzzing with curiosity and excitement, even he himself could not deny how thrilled he was to take part in it, let alone host it. Erika tried to pry the information out of him, Ivan asked if it had something to do with him, and even Ludwig offered to assist Alfred in setting it all up, given his impressive experience when it came to things like this. Alfred remained professional and waited until the Gathering took place before he told anyone anything. He waited until a day passed after announcing and once all four courts had gathered in a special chamber within the palace, Alfred told them all the reason he arranged it. At first they all thought he was playing them for fools but Francis and Kiku backed his story, and the whole thing left them dumbfounded.

It wasn’t the news that the Spade Queen had been located at long last that confused them, in fact they were rather intrigued with that part, it was how Alfred came to discover him and all the other things in between. The strange little girl, the bizarre things the Jokers told him, the odd dreams, the garden, the fact that no time passed when he was in the garden, everything that Alfred had told them was like something a child would make up to fool their parents. They began to bicker amongst themselves, trying to make sense out of it until Ludwig pleaded with Alfred to repeat what he had told them, leaving him with no choice but to do just that. Even after repeating the tale once more, it left everyone at the table feeling confused and a little worried.

“So let me simplify this as best I can,” said Ludwig as he folded his arms with a frown. “For the past month you’ve been suddenly finding yourself randomly transported from your palace to a garden, without anyone realising. You spend up to an hour or more there but when you return to the palace no time has passed and no one notices you’ve been gone.” Alfred nodded to confirm it so far. “In this garden you’ve been meeting with a man, who you recently confirmed is the Queen of Spades and that he has been locked up against his will. This is all you know apart from that a strange little girl is the one responsible for sending you there, but you’re the only one who has seen her so far?”

“Pretty much,” confirmed Alfred.

“I still find this hard to believe,” declared Roderich all of a sudden. “What evidence do you have that can confirm all this?”

Alfred didn’t have a lot of physical evidence. The only thing he had was the sketch Feliciano drew of Arthur from his mind, and even that wasn’t convincing everyone. It was the current issue at the moment; was this man truly the missing Queen of Spades and how was he going to prove it? His word wasn’t going to convince them fully, but it was all he had.

“Is he truly the Queen of Spades?” asked Ludwig.

“I saw the mark on his body,” answered Alfred.

“You never noticed it before?” Ivan was still smiling and it was starting to annoy Alfred.

“He had his shirt off at the time.” Francis made a small grin at that answer, but quickly straightened his face when Ludwig glared at him. “Look it doesn’t matter how I came to learn of it, what matters is that I have confirmed the identity of the Queen of Spades and he is trapped and needs our help.”

There was silence for a moment until Elizabeta broke it. “Why didn’t you tell us about this strange phenomenon that was happening to you before?”

Alfred cleared his throat as he thought up a suitable excuse. “I didn’t think it was necessary to alert the other Kingdoms to a personal problem. I was investigating it on my own but I did seek council with Francis and Kiku. It was only after I realised who he was that I decided to hold this Gathering.”

Yao seemed rather pleased with how Alfred handled that, bearing a faint smile of pride.

Ludwig then looked back towards Francis. “What have you to say about all this Francis?”

Francis coughed a little. “The moment I arrived in the Spade Kingdom, Alfred told me of what was happening to him. I’ll admit I thought he was trying to make a fool of me at first... but as I listened I had, how do you say, a gut instinct that he was telling the truth. In case none of you had noticed he has changed quite a bit since his coronation. I also couldn’t deny there was something odd happening around him.”

“A gut feeling and a change in character still doesn’t prove anything,” muttered Elizabeta. “I’m not trying to offend you Alfred but if we are to believe that this man is the Queen of Spades then we need proper proof before we make any drastic decisions.”

Alfred was not offended at all, it was common for people from the Club Kingdom that they would not believe anything unless they had physical proof. Elizabeta was just trying to make certain that this whole thing was not just some elaborate game. Ivan still seemed deep in thought though that smile of his had yet to vanish and Roderich was just taking notes. Ludwig was also having difficulty understanding any of this, given his very forward personality, but he was trying and Kiki noticed. In fact Kiku was looking a little uncomfortable for some reason. Feliciano looked like he was trying to stay awake and Basch was constantly poking him to make certain he wouldn’t. Everyone was debating amongst themselves wether to believe or not and Alfred had used all his cards... he just needed someone to play theirs if he had any hope of convincing them.

“I’ve actually seen this man in one of my dreams,” said Kiku at last.

Now that seemed to grab everyone’s attention, it even got Feliciano to sit up. Since Kiku’s dreams were practically prophetic and they never once lied to him, everyone was ready to listen to what he had to say. Alfred was waiting for this for he knew that of Kiku confirmed that he saw Arthur in his dreams then they would believe him, though he wondered why Kiku had been holding back until now. Maybe he just wanted a dramatic pause before the reveal, but he wasn’t the type of person to do such a thing.

Kiku stood up and told everyone of his dream. “In the dream there were four open graves, each filled with a silver casket and the little girl Alfred mentioned pointing at him... at Arthur.” Kiku then looked riddled with guilt and glanced over at Alfred. “He... spoke to me...”

Alfred blinked. “What?” That wasn’t what Kiku told him the first time he heard this story. “You said he didn’t say anything.”

Kiku looked downward. “I didn’t want to... upset you,” he confessed, “what he said and what happened next was a little distressing.”

Alfred felt his heart thump hard against his ribs and a chill made it’s way up his spine. He was a little upset that Kiku lied to him but was also dreading the reason why he lied to him in the first place. Kiku wasn’t the kind of person who wouldn’t keep secrets for no good reason.

“So, what did he say?”

There was small pause as Kiku mentally prepared himself. “He asked me, why was I there. That I shouldn’t be there. I asked him where I was. He said that place was his eternal prison, that it was a place that existed constantly but never existed in the first place, and that he was a willing prisoner. I tried asking him who he was and why he was there in the first place... but...” Kiku paused and looked over at Alfred worriedly.

“What? What happened next?” asked Ludwig.

Kiku closed his eyes and sighed heavily. “He... vomited a large amount of blood... a lot of it... within seconds I was surrounded by a lake of blood, all of it from him. It flooded the graves and the Earth around me. He was in pain.” Alfred felt his chest tighten as the horrid image flooded into his mind. “I tried to help him,” continued Kiku, “but the little girl stopped me. She too was bleeding and in pain, she was crying out in agony but she told me not to interfere... that I was not the one to fix this, that I couldn’t fix this, that there was only one who could fix this... and then I woke up.”

Once Kiku had finished the entire room was filled with silence. Each person was trying to understand what on Earth the dream meant, trying to understand its true meaning. Four open graves with silver caskets. A little girl who was in pain. A mysterious man who was the Queen of Spades and a willing prisoner, vomiting up a lake of blood until the entire ground flooded. Alfred was also curious as to what it all meant but he was too concerned as to why Arthur was involved in it and why he had to suffer in such a way. That wasn’t his only problem for it seemed there was still some uncertainty about Arthur’s identity, each member of the Courts talking amongst themselves as they tried to figure it out. It also appeared they were now more concerned about Kiku’s dream as none of it sounded good.

“Is it possible there is a disaster coming?” asked Erika. It was what the were all thinking but she was the first to say it. “I’ve been feeling like there is something off lately, like the world around me is struggling to keep everything in order.”

“Our crops have also been turning up short lately, nothing to fret over but it’s been bothering me for a bit, we’ve even struggled a bit with some of our gardens and wildlife,” confessed Francis, “we assumed it was just a bit of bad luck... but I can’t help but wonder... it’s like our land is rotting.”

“It may be nothing... but reports in the Club Kingdom have shown that the temperature has dropped much lower than ever recorded,” revealed Roderich.

“We’ve had many periods of when the temperature dropped at record levels,” announced Ivan, “and we’ve made all the necessary arrangements to be safe. The strong winds have made it a little hard but we can handle it.”

“We’ve experienced some minor floods in our lands actually,” confessed Ludwig, “nothing major... yet.”

Feliciano suddenly appeared alarmed. “They not all connected, are they?”

It was a thought on everyone’s mind but no one wanted to answer, or rather they didn’t want to say it. Alfred didn’t even realise the other Kingdoms were dealing with such matters, even if they were trivial there was something about them that was setting off alarm bells in his head. The Heart Kingdom did get floods every now and then but not this time of year, and it was approaching summer so the temperature in the Club Kingdom should be what it normally was. Even the Diamond Kingdom had the occasional bad crop period but to hear that they were actually concerned about this was something to ponder over. They weren’t exactly emergencies but there was something about them that was setting off alarm bells.

As the others talked amongst themselves, Alfred beckoned Yao over. “Hey Yao, there hasn’t been any weird things happening in our Kingdom, has there?” he asked in a hushed tone.

“Nothing really our of the ordinary,” replied Yao as he went through his notes, “though... after hearing what they said I took a peek at the recent geological survey and... nothing really to worry about but there have been a few more tremors of late.”

“Tremors?”

“We get them from time to time but only on the outskirts of our realm. Lately there have been an increase but it’s not like the Kingdom is going to collapse and crumble away.”

It was then that the memory of what the strange girl told him in his dream many nights ago came flooding back into his mind.

“The Kingdom of Clubs will freeze. The Kingdom of Hearts will flood. The Kingdom of Diamonds will rot. The Kingdom of Spades will crumble. The whole world will fall to ruin.”

It couldn’t be a coincidence. After hearing what was happening in the other Kingdoms, Alfred could not help but think that they were indeed connected. Was what the girl told him coming to pass, and if it was then what exactly was he supposed to do to prevent it? The world will fall into ruin unless he finished what he supposedly started, but what was that? He never got a straight answer from her but deep down he knew that somehow it was connected to Arthur. He didn’t know what the connection was but he was certain it was there.

“I don’t mean to be rude but I think this meeting has gone off track,” declared Ivan suddenly. The Club King was met with a few gazes from the others whilst he continued to smile. “I believe we were discussing if this person young Alfred here has been meeting in his bizarre fashion is indeed the Queen of Spades. Whilst we can all agree that we are dealing with some minor issues in our own realms, and Queen Kiku’s dream does indeed cause need for some concern, I do not believe we are in any immediate danger. Besides I think we can all agree that locating the missing Queen is the highest priority if we wish to restore complete order in our realms.”

Although Alfred was indeed keen to convince everyone about Arthur, he was surprised that it was Ivan who was rallying everyone back to the original topic.

“You are correct,” sighed Ludwig, “but everyone here is still unconvinced, and I doubt that both Alfred’s word and Kiku’s dream are enough to sway them.”

This was true. Not everyone was convinced and Alfred needed everyone to be onboard before he started making plans on seeking out Arthur. Kiku’s dream didn’t exactly indicate that Arthur was a Queen, just a random man he dreamed about and his word alone wasn’t going to convince them. Fortunately he knew one way to make everyone believe him, however he knew that this method wasn’t going to sit well with everyone, but he had no choice.

“May I suggest that we... summon a Joker.”

His suggestion was met with disgruntled groans. Alfred was not the only one who disliked having a Joker in their presence, however a Joker could only speak the truth when asked and they always seemed to know a lot more than they let on. All Alfred had to do was ask the right questions to get the truth out of them.

“It would be the quickest way to confirm,” muttered Elizabeta, “unfortunately it’s also the most headache inducing route, especially if it’s that Gilbert.”

“It is true,” replied Ivan, who almost made a frown. “I agree to it.”

“I have no problem with you calling one,” sighed Ludwig. “I’ve dealt with them many times so I know how to handle them.”

“It better not be that brat,” huffed Francis, “But I’ll agree to it.”

With the other King’s approval, Alfred slowly raised his hand to his chest. He could see the uneasiness in their eyes and even Yao was looking a little anxious. Basch was tightening his grip on his concealed weapon and Francis was trying to move away from the table without anyone noticing. Even Roderich looked like he was trying to hide behind Ivan whilst everyone else was mentally bracing themselves for the inevitable. Jokers were nothing but trouble and bringing one into a Gathering was like setting off fireworks in a crowded room, it was a bad idea. Alfred had a gut feeling for which Joker was going to come and he was determined to get him to spill the truth.

With a deep sigh he uttered the words, “knock, knock.”

“Who’s there?”

Alfred glanced up and standing dead centre on the table, as if he had been there the entire time, smiling at him with a smug grin and his red eyes illuminating the dim room was Gilbert.

“The King of Spades.”

Gilbert chuckled at Alfred’s response and glanced around the table, the other court members looking up at him with disdain. “Well, well, well,” he mused, “it’s been a while since I’ve been to one of these. It looks like a full house... well-“ he glanced back at Alfred with a cheeky grin “-almost a full house.”

“Please keep this brief Alfred,” requested Ludwig, “ask him your queries and send him off.”

“Aww Luddy,” whined Gilbert, falling forward onto his stomach, resting his head upon his hands and kicking his legs in the air behind him, that grin of his seemingly growing wider. “Don’t be mean to me. When you were little you wanted me to be your big bro.”

Ludwig instantly went red in the face. “C-can we just get on with this.”

Alfred agreed, wanting to get answers out of Gilbert before he found a way to keep his secrets, even though a small part of him was dying to know why a young Ludwig wanted such a troublesome creature like Gilbert for a brother. “Joker, I need to ask you something.”

“Come now Al,” pouted Gilbert as he sat up and crossed both his arms and legs, “we’re friends, right? You can call me Gilbert. Or Gil. No wait, I like Gilbert.”

“Fine whatever,” sighed Alfred, “Gilbert I need to ask you about-“

“Elizabeta! You’re looking as ferocious as ever.” Gilbert completely ignored Alfred and shuffled closer to the Club Queen. “Kill anyone lately?”

“It might be sooner than you think,” she stated with an eerily friendly smile.

Alfred grimaced as it was painfully clear Gilbert was trying to sabotage his attempts at getting answers. It also didn’t look good to the other courts that he was unable to control the situation he had created and he had to get it back under his control fast.

“Gilbert, I have a question that demands your answer regarding Arthur.”

Gilbert looked up at him and made a devilish smirk. “Arthur? Arthur?” He was obviously playing dumb but before Alfred could say anything Gilbert suddenly clapped his hands and said, “Oh, you mean this Arthur?”

Before anyone could say anything Gilbert’s body began to change shape, just as it had done when he changed his form into Maria Somerset and, much to Alfred’s shock, he had taken the form of the man he longed to see. Upon the table now sat a man with messy golden hair, green eyes with a pair of ridiculously thick eyebrows, and a scrawny build of a body adorned with beautiful decorated clothing. Alfred almost believed for a split second that it was indeed Arthur who was sitting before him upon the table.

“I can even do the accent,” chortled Gilbert, smirking with Arthur’s face, “cor blimey! You twat head! Bloody hell where is my tea? I could kill for an ale! You’re all a bunch of idiots!” Gilbert laughed with Arthur’s voice.

It was almost nightmarish to see Gilbert fool about in the form of Arthur, even the way he talked seem to mock him. It was insulting and he wanted nothing more than to shout at Gilbert, ordering him to cease this horrendous display. Yet it was also like a dream as this was the closest thing Alfred ever had to physically touching him, to finally have Arthur this close enough to hold. In the furthest corners of his mind thoughts about reaching out to take hold of him were becoming louder and louder. He wanted to reach out and grab him, he wanted to feel the softness of his skin, his hair, feel his breath and inhale his scent. He wanted to so much but he had to remind himself that despite this looking like Arthur, despite it sounding like him, it wasn’t him. It was just a ridiculous man who had shifted his form into someone else whom he happened to cherish.

He was about to command the Joker to stop but Gilbert seemed to be a step ahead of him. “I bet you want me to say things to you, words you’ve been fantasying about,” giggled the Joker, still using Arthur’s voice. “You want to hear things like; Alfred you’re so strong and handsome! Or even, Alfred you make me feel so alive! Or better yet, I cannot deny these feelings Alfred, I want you! Take me Alfred! Take me!”

Alfred went red in the face as Gilbert continued to make a fool of him. It was even more difficult as he continued to say such lewd things with Arthur’s voice. He tried to command him to stop but Alfred was now having a hard time controlling his own voice. “Stop it,” he said, but it came out like a squeaky plea.

“Sorry old boy, didn’t quite catch that,” chuckled Gilbert as he leaned closer. “Could you repeat that? Please? Alfy dear?”

His heart was thumping so loud Alfred was certain everyone else could hear it. He wanted to shout at him but he couldn’t, he couldn’t find the will nor strength to do so. He could only stare into those green eyes that Gilbert had perfectly mimicked.

Thankfully, before Gilbert could try anything else, Ludwig had grabbed him by the ear and yanked him away from Alfred. “Cease this behaviour at once Gilbert, and only speak when you’re spoken to! Try anything like that again and I’ll vow to never summon you in the Heart Kingdom ever again!”

That seemed to have worked as Arthur’s form melted away and Gilbert now sat there with a look of worry. “But I’ll never get to see you or sweet little Feliciano!”

“Exactly,” snapped the Heart King, Golding his arms and glaring up at him. “Now listen to Alfred and answer his questions!”

“Tch... Fine, fine,” muttered Gilbert with a pout. “You’re such a buzzkill.”

With the Joker now looking as if he was ready to behave, Ludwig turned to Alfred and motioned him to carry on. Alfred was still a little worked up over what happened and felt like an idiot for being made a fool of, but he had to get this back on track and thanks to Ludwig it looked like the Joker was going to cooperate. He sat up and straightened himself out, clearing his throat and looking at Gilbert with the most serious expression he could muster.

“Arthur Kirkland... the man I’ve been visiting in the garden... is he the Queen of Spades?”

Gilbert rolled his eyes and blew air past his closed lips. “He is.”

His answer made the others present at the table chatter amongst themselves frantically. Now it appeared that they did indeed acknowledge that Alfred had indeed located the missing Queen of Spades. That was one hurdle over and done with but he wasn’t quite at the finish line yet.

“Where is he?” demanded Alfred, wanting to keep the ball rolling.

Gilbert’s answer was not a positive one. “I dunno,” he mumbled with a shrug.

“What do you mean you don’t know!?” snapped Alfred.

“I. Don’t. Know.” Gilbert looked fed up now. “I can’t see where he is.”

Alfred looked around and he could see that the others were starting to show great concern. How could Gilbert not know, he should be able to locate any member of the four courts without even trying. He had to think, he had to ask Gilbert something that could help locate Arthur. “Well... do you know where his garden is?”

“I do.” Alfred almost smiled and was about to ask the location of the garden when Gilbert said, “but he’s not there.”

“What?”

“He’s not there. He’s not in the garden.”

Alfred felt a surge of panic begin to swell up inside him. What did he mean by that? How could Arthur no longer be in his garden? He was always in his garden, it was his prison after all. Did he escape after his last visit or was he moved somewhere else? If Gilbert couldn’t locate him, how on Earth was he going to find him? Horrible thoughts began to plague him and he began to dread that he’ll never see Arthur again.

“Who locked this Arthur away?” asked Francis suddenly, quickly noticing that Alfred was no longer in a fit state to continue. “Who locked the Queen of Spades up? How did they do this? How did they find the Queen before we could?”

Gilbert lazily gazed over at the Diamond King. He then raised a finger to his lips and smirked. “Can’t tell.”

“What do you mean you can’t tell!?” Elizabeta now stood up and glared daggers at Gilbert. “You are bound to answer any query given to you by any member of the four courts regardless who summoned you!”

“True,” replied Gilbert, “but I can’t tell.”

Before Elizabeta could demand why, Erika cut her off. “Someone has ordered you to keep your lips sealed.”

Gilbert clapped his hands with glee. “Correct my dear Queen.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Basch appeared confused.

“A Joker is indeed bound to answer any question from any of us,” explained Erika, “unless they were ordered to keep something a secret.” She then looked round the table, her gentle eyes now glowing with a serious dread. “The only ones who can do that is one of us, or to be more precise, only a King can order a Joker to conceal a secret and only that King can command him to reveal it.”

“Correct again,” laughed Gilbert, clapping away and playing ignorant to the foul mood that swept across the room.

Alfred had been listening and his worst fears were coming to life. Gilbert knew who locked Arthur up but was commanded by one of Kings to keep it a secret. The new question now was, who ordered it? Which King locked up Arthur and commanded the Joker not to reveal the truth? He glanced around at Francis, Ludwig and Ivan. Was it truly one of them? Francis was like a big brother to him. Ludwig wasn’t the type to do such a thing, and even though Ivan seemed like the obvious suspect Alfred didn’t believe that it was him. Even the other Kings were looking at each other with suspicious eyes.

“There is no need to start accusing anyone anything,” stated Kiku quickly as he could easily detect the growing tension, “we don’t know what exactly Gilbert was commanded to conceal, and for all we know they probably had no part in this... situation.”

“Aw Kiku, you’re so considerate,” chuckled Gilbert, “But there are two things I can tell you.”

Everyone looked back at Gilbert as the Joker gazed upon a watch wrapped round his wrist. “In exactly 20 seconds, Alfred is going to visit his boyfriend in his garden again.”

Alfred felt a wave of confusion wash over him. “W-What? But you said he wasn’t in his-... how do you-...?”

“But before that,” said Gilbert, cutting off Alfred before he could ask his question, “I suggest you get comfortable my dear Heart Queen, you’re about to take a nap.”

Kiku flashed a rare look of frustration and stood up. “What are you-...”

Kiku paused and his face expressed an odd look, as if someone had just struck him across the face and was left speechless. He stood perfectly still and everyone stared at him with worried gazes. Just as Ludwig was about to speak to him to get his attention, Alfred watched in horror as Kiku’s eyes rolled back into his head and he staggered, loosing his balance and fell. The other Queen’s gasped in fear, even Feliciano yelped as he watched his Queen fall towards the floor. Alfred, bring the closet, pushed himself off of his chair and reached out to grab him before he got hurt. It felt like everything was slowing down as Alfred reached towards Kiku, the Heart Queen now completely unconscious as he was about to collide with the hardened floor. Alfred managed to get a grip on him and held him before he could hit the ground.

“Kiku! Are you ok!?”

Alfred stared down at his arms but Kiku wasn’t in them.

He blinked and realised that the floor wasn’t blue and made of marble anymore but was now a decorated rug. He looked up expecting to see the other members of the four courts but instead found himself back in Arthur’s room. The fireplace was roaring away and a tea set had been laid out, steam still rising out of the half empty cup. There were dark clouds outside the window, and from the look of them they were going to unleash a terrible rain very soon. Alfred returned his attention to the room and even though it was indeed the place that he relaxed in with Arthur’s company, Alfred felt something was off. It seemed almost untidy even though it actually wasn’t. The books were indeed on the shelves but it looked like someone had ripped them all off and then shoved them back in no proper order. The ash bucket near the fireplace had not been emptied and it looked ready to spill over the rim. The cushions upon the seats were deflated and unorganised and even the tea set looked like it had been used again and again without getting washed. It was stuff like this that would get Arthur riled up.

Alfred couldn’t explain it but something felt off. Not just the room but the atmosphere itself. However his desire to see Arthur again pushed all those petty thoughts out of his mind as what the Joker had just told him still lingered.

“Arthur? Arthur? Are you here?”

He was about to start searching the room when he spotted movement. He looked up and spotted Arthur, his arms filled with strange looking sheets. Arthur has only just noticed him and he stared at him without saying anything.

Alfred could only sigh with relief, for he had feared that he would never see him again. “Arthur you’re alright. Thank god, I thought-...”

Arthur said nothing but he suddenly scowled at him and stomped towards the exit.

“Arthur?”

Arthur did not reply and slammed the door behind him. Confused, Alfred could only follow him, walking through the door like he had done many times before.

“Arthur? What’s wrong?”

He peered down the stairway, just missing him as he continued to briskly make his way to his garden, making no attempt to acknowledge him. Alfred chased after him and could only wonder why Arthur was in a foul mood. Was it because of his last visit? Arthur did seem unusually upset upon discovering that he was the King of Spades. Was that why he was angry? He was used to seeing Arthur in a foul mood but this one felt off just like everything else.

Alfred entered the garden, many of the plants and flowers were already covered in protective sheets. The sky above him was dark and gloomy, and there was a strong breeze blowing through the air. The ground appeared wet and Alfred could only assume that Arthur was trying to protect his garden from the oncoming rain. He spotted a few damaged plants and wondered if that was the reason Arthur was upset. He didn’t know, he wasn’t sure, but he felt like the reason Arthur was angry had something to do with him and he had to fix it.

He heard loud tapping and followed it until he spotted Arthur hammering a peg into the ground near one of his rose bushes. He appeared completely focused on the task at hand but Alfred really needed to talk to him.

“Arthur, I’m so glad to see you again. I thought I was-...”

“Leave.”

Alfred stopped dead in his tracks. Arthur sounded really off. It was like a mix of anger and calmness mixed together with a bitter cold, it was really unsettling.

“Arthur, what’s wrong?” There was no reply, just the constant tapping of the hammer against the peg. “Arthur? Arthur, talk to me? What did I do? Is... is this about me being the King of Spades? Why has it upset you?”

As Alfred continued to talk, he couldn’t help but notice that Arthur was now frantically smashing the hammer against a now dented peg, as if he was hoping to block him out with the irritating sound. He made no attempt to look up at him, intentionally ignoring him as he hammered away. Alfred was starting to get frustrated, he hated it when he was ignored and after what happened back at the Gathering he wasn’t in the mood for this.

“Would you please just tell me what I did? Why are you-...”

“I said LEAVE!”

Arthur suddenly ripped the dented peg out of the ground and threw it at him. Alfred flinched and almost forgot that he was physically unable to touch anything here as the peg just went right through him, smashing a potted plant behind him instead. He stared at the damage to the poor ruined flower before looking back at Arthur, who was already fumbling to get another peg into place. He didn’t even seem to care that he just ruined one of his precious plants.

“What’s the matter with you?” Alfred dared to take another step closer. “Why are you angry? What the hell did I do?”

“Don’t you dare ask me such things, you bastard!” Arthur threw another peg at him and once again it just phased through its intended target and hit another unfortunate plant pot.

“What are talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb!” If looks could kill then Alfred would already be six feet under as Arthur’s face portrayed a man who was way too angry, it would put Ludwig to shame.

“I seriously have no idea what I did to piss you off,” insisted Alfred.

“Liar!” Arthur then stood up and viciously glared at him. “Was this whole thing just a game for you? Was I just some creative distraction for you? How dare you do this to me!”

Alfred had no idea what Arthur was talking about but he could see that those angry green eyes of his were on the verge of unleashing a torrent of tears. “Arthur, I don’t-...”

“STOP LYING TO ME!”

Arthur then threw the hammer at him but all it did was smash other potted plant, the broken pottery now barely resembled what it used to be. Alfred tried to think of what to say as he could detect the pain in his voice, but Arthur wasn’t allowing him to get a single word in.

“You horrible bastard,” cried Arthur, grabbing more pegs and throwing them at him in vain, “you're a cruel selfish brat. How... how could you do this to me! How could you!? I hate you! I never want to see your stupid face again! Get out of my garden and never come back! Don’t you ever come back!”

He could only stand there and watch, no longer flinching as the pegs were flung at him. Alfred was at loss of what to do. Arthur continued to curse him and, honestly, his words hurt more than the pegs probably would. What did he do that got him this upset? He wanted to ask but every time he tried to open his mouth, Arthur would cut him off and yell horrible things at him.

“I told you to get out!”

“Why!? What did I do?”

“Just go away!”

“Tell me, what have I done!? Arthur please, I’m really confused-...”

“Shut up, you lying brat!”

“Arthur-...”

“Go away!”

“Arthur, please-...

“I said go away!”

Arthur has thrown another peg at him but he lost his balance and he ended up falling face first onto the ground. Alfred approached to check if he was alright and as he drew closer he could see that Arthur’s small body was trembling. He could hear the small sobs that he had been trying so hard to hold in but he no longer had the strength to hold back the tears.

“Why did you do this?” Arthur sobbed into his arms. “How could you use me like this?”

Alfred kneeled down and tried to be as gentle as he could. “Arthur, I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“What do you mean you don’t know!?” Arthur glared up at him with tear filled eyes. “How could you not know? Why have you been coming here?”

Alfred was really lost. “I told you before, I don’t know why I’m coming here. If I knew how exactly I was coming here, I’d be trying to cone more often.”

Arthur went silent as he recalled that Alfred had indeed told him that he had no idea why he was coming to his garden. “You are a horrible person,” he sobbed.

Biting his lip, Alfred stared down at the weeping man. “But I’m glad I come here because I get to be with you. I get to talk with you, I get to hear you sing, I even put up with your tantrums, but I enjoy every second of it... and soon I’m going to figure out where you are and bring you back to the Kingdom of Spades. I swear Arthur, I will find a way to release you from this prison, and then we’ll get to spend every second of every day together.”

Arthur said nothing at first but stared down at the ground with saddened eyes. He then formed a bitter smile and sat up to dry his eyes. “You truly have no idea... you really are an idiot.”

“What are you talking about?” Alfred scooted closer. “Look, this will cheer you up. I just held a Gathering and I managed to convince the other three courts that you exist! I had to call a Joker to prove it, but it worked! With their help I’ll be able to find you sooner rather than later.”

Arthur didn’t look at him but shook his head in disbelief. “You really don’t know... you have no idea where you are right now.”

“Of course I do,” insisted Alfred with a confused smile, “I’m in your garden.”

Arthur slowly looked up at him and Alfred felt a surge of worry as he stared at that miserable face, a face that was devoid of all hope. “You can’t Alfred.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You can’t find me Alfred...”

Alfred felt his heart beat fast out of panic, fear building up as the idea of Arthur giving up on him was slowly becoming a reality. “Y-Yes I can! I’m really close, I am! I’m going to find you, I’m going to save you! It’s my duty as the heroic King of Spades! I will, I WILL save you! I swear, I promise!”

Not a single word he uttered seemed to convince him, and Arthur could only stare at him with pity. “Alfred... just forget about me.”

“NO!” Alfred grimaced at the very suggestion. That horrible memory of the nightmare he had not long ago began to resurface. “Never! I’m not ever going to forget you! Never, ever, ever! Don’t you dare say anything stupid like that again!” Alfred wanted to pull Arthur into a hug but knowing that he couldn’t only hurt him even more.

“Alfred... we can’t be together.”

“Yes we can and we will be!” Alfred really wanted to smack some sense into Arthur, but since he couldn’t he had to rely on his words, now sounding strained and desperate. “I’m the King and you are my Queen! We’re meant to be together! It’s fate!”

Those words only seemed to upset Arthur even more, gently hugging himself as if it was the only form of comfort he could get. “If only...”

“What? What are you talking about? Arthur, you have to tell me where you are so I can get you! Please Arthur, please just tell me where you are.”

Arthur sighed and wiped his eyes. “Alfred... you already-...”

“Who is Alfred?”

The two men looked up upon the sudden voice cutting through the air and standing close by was the horrid man whom Alfred believed was Arthur’s captor. He had somehow crept up without either of them noticing and stood there glaring at Arthur whilst holding some notebook, his expression looking furious and frantic. He even looked a little unbalanced and was giving off dangerous vibes. He clearly heard what Arthur had been saying and Alfred had a gut feeling that this was not going to end well. Arthur himself was mortified to see him and also realised that his conversation had been overheard by the unwanted visitor.

“Alfred? Um... he’s n-no one.” Arthur stammered as he stood up, his feeble attitude he had overcome whenever in this man’s presence had returned, much to Alfred’s dismay. “He’s just a-a pretend friend I-...”

“Do not lie to me you wretched creature!”

The man threw the notebook at Arthur, slapping him across the face before hitting the floor, the pages flapping about in the wind. Alfred could just make out words in Arthur’s handwriting that mentioned him, and small sketches of him that almost looked realistic. In another situation he would’ve been delighted to see such content about him, only it had been seen by someone who shouldn’t have known about in the first place.

“Leaving your wretched notebook laying about was foolish on your part,” spat the man, “I’ve read everything in there, including what you wrote about this Alfred person.”

Arthur fumbled with his hands and shrank back at the accusations thrown at him. “I-... I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Who is Alfred?” The man stepped closer towards Arthur. “Who is he? Where is he? How long have you been conspiring with him against me?” Arthur tried to take a step back but the man grabbed him by the scruff of his collar and jerked him forward. “How did he get in here!? Answer me!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” whimpered Arthur, “I swear!”

“Liar!”

Alfred gasped out loud as the man backhanded Arthur across the face so hard that it almost looked like his neck snapped. “Get off him,” he shouted, desperately trying to pull Arthur away from him but was unable to, much to his dismay. His hands just went through him, the two men continued arguing as Alfred tried to do something to split them apart.

“Who is he!?”

“I don’t know!”

“Stop lying to me or else!”

“I don’t know any Alfred!”

“You were just talking to someone!”

“That... w-was just one of my faerie friends, I swear.”

“Are you trying to mock me!?”

“No I’m not!”

“Do not lie to me Arthur, I know you’ve been plotting away in here. I know you’re planning to do something. You’ve been trying to find a way to overpower me! I know you have! You little trickster fiend! I should beat you into the ground.”

Arthur was desperately trying to free himself and cringed a little when his face was pulled in closer. “Please sir... you’re drunk.”

Alfred wasn’t sure how Arthur could tell if he was or not, maybe he could smell his breath or something. Then again as he looked at the man more carefully he could see signs that he wasn’t exactly all there. It was a horrible situation as Arthur was trapped in his clutches and he was unable to help him. It made him feel even more helpless and frustrated.

“Don’t you use that as an excuse with me!”

The man then pulled Arthur even closer and Alfred felt his blood boil upon seeing how close they were, their chests were practically touching.

“His he here? Is he hiding somewhere in this garden?”

“There’s no one here!”

“Is he watching right now? Hiding somewhere amongst your weeds? How about I give him a reason to come out of hiding?”

Without warning the man suddenly clasped his free hand upon Arthur’s backside, squeezing it hard. Arthur gasped out loud at the unwanted touch and tried to push himself away, his face already turning red from shame. “Get off! Let go!”

Alfred felt something snap inside him at the horrendous sight, seeing that wretched man groping Arthur, HIS Arthur. He tried lunging at the man but to no avail. He hit the ground instead and swore loudly as he pushed himself back up to try and do something to stop it. He cursed at both himself and the man, vainly trying to swat at him. “Get off him! Get off him or I’ll tear you apart!”

The man could not hear him as he continued to taunt Arthur. “I’ve read your notebook Arthur, I know all about your secret boyfriend and that you two have sharing affection for each other. If he truly adores you as you have stated in your fantasy writing, then he should leapt out to save you, yes? Like this hero you made him out to be?”

“There is no Alfred,” choked Arthur, his struggles becoming more frantic. “Let me go! Please!”

Arthur’s eyes did meet with Alfred’s for a split second and it hurt him to see the pain and shame in those green eyes of his. Not only that but he could he see the desperation, as if he was trying to call out to him for his aid. Seeing Arthur being mistreated in such a disgusting way was making Alfred loose it. Thoughts of crushing the man’s head between his hands, ripping his arms off and beating him to death with them, forcing him to choke on his own blood, and all other manner of violent ideas flooded into his thoughts. However Alfred was unable to do any of that, he couldn’t even push him away, he didn’t know what to do. It was frustrating and angry tears were threatening to spill out of his eyes. He had just promised to Arthur that he would save him, but he couldn’t do anything to help him and it was hurting him more than getting stabbed by a blunt knife.

“Arthur, punch him across the face and run! Run back to your room! Hit him and run!” Alfred pleaded with Arthur to fight back as it was the only thing he could do. “You can do it! Just punch him and run!”

“Where is Alfred!?” The man shook Arthur and he continued to grope him, his hand now crawling under his shirt. “Where is he!?”

“I-I made him up,” wailed Arthur, squirming as his desperation to escape only grew, “Please, there is no Alfred!”

The man paused at what he was doing and just stared at Arthur. “You made him up?”

“Y-Yes,” responded Arthur, nodding his head desperately, “I did, I swear it! He was someone I made up to help me cope.”

The man then sneered at him. “You are such a poor liar Arthur... it looks like if I’m to draw this Alfred out, I’m going to have to get creative with you. Maybe make one of your fantasy’s come to life?”

Arthur went as stiff as a board before screaming, “NO!” He smacked the man across the face from out of nowhere, so hard that it caused him to loosen his hold and allow Arthur to break free.

For a second Alfred had hope that Arthur would be safe but that hope was quickly dashed when the man grabbed Arthur by the arm, halting his escape. Arthur yelped and rugged at his arm desperately. “You little worm! I’ll make you pay for that!” hissed the man.

Thankfully Arthur snatched his arm free, ripping his shirt in the process, and he stumbled as he tried to get away and towards the door that lead to his room. Alfred could only watch and encourage him to run faster as the man was on his tail.

“Keep going Arthur! Hurry!” pleaded Alfred, his heart pounding insanely fast.

Arthur tried but the rain had already began to fall, making the ground slippery and unstable. It didn’t help that he was in a panicked state of mind, making his judgment and mobility greatly impaired. Thankfully the horrid man was also having difficulty, possibly because he had too much to drink or something, but as long as Arthur kept running he should make it and be safe. Alfred could do nothing but encourage Arthur to keep going, believing that if he made it to his room he could barricade the door and be safe from his tormentor.

“You’re almost there!”

He looked back to see how far the man was and, to his horror, he watched as he picked up one of Arthur’s undamaged potted plants and hurled it at him. Despite being in a drunken state his aim was dead on and the pot smashed against the back of Arthur’s head, the poor man cried out in pain and fell onto his knees, grasping his head in an attempt to sooth the pain. The drunken man then made his way over towards him, raising his cane he carried with him always.

Alfred felt the colour leave his face and he looked back at Arthur to see he was still dazed from the attack. “Arthur! Get up! Now!”

Arthur groaned as he tried to get back on his feet but by then the man was already right behind him, that cane of his with the solid looking orb that decorated it now raised above his head. Without thinking Alfred tried to stand between the attacker and Arthur, hoping to shield his beloved from the deadly blow. He watched as it cane down to strike him, half expecting to feel some sort of pain from it... but it never came. In his moment of heroism he forgot about his own physical presence that did not exist here. The cane, along with the man’s arm phased through him and from behind him Alfred heard a sickening thud, the sound of a hard object colliding with flesh.

Turning round he could only watch in horror as Arthur’s body hit the floor and laid motionless in the wet dirt.

“ARTHUR!”

Alfred dropped down beside him desperately tried to take hold of his limp body, but every time he did his fingers just grabbed nothing but air. He tried again and again but it didn’t work. It was pointless, in the back of his mind he knew that it was impossible, but he kept trying and trying, tears of fear, anger and frustration falling down his face.

“Arthur! Get up! Get up! Please get up!”

There was no response and Arthur laid there motionless. Dread began to take over and Alfred’s frantic attempts to hold him grew more erratic. He cried out in frustration as his hands continued to fail him, pleading with himself to continue. He hated this. He hated feeling so damn helpless when the person he cherished more than anything was in dire need of aid and he couldn’t do a damn thing about it. He’d give up everything if it meant he could do something for Arthur, anything and everything. He was willing do anything if it meant he could save him but no matter how devoted he was to this silent vows he was still unable to take hold of him... and it crushed him every time he couldn’t.

A noise distracted him for a moment, looking up to see Arthur’s tormentor shuffling off, mumbling to himself some slurred words. Someone in the rain had called out to him and he left to follow whoever it was, leaving his victim unconscious and in a heavy rainstorm.

“Hey! Where are you going!?”

Alfred jumped back to his feet and ran over to the man, trying to stand in front of him and block his path. He hated to admit it but he was the only one who could do something to help Arthur, despite his burning hatred for this twisted creature.

“Go back! Go and help him you bastard!” Alfred shouted and screamed at him, but the man was unable to see him and continued to walk away. “You can’t leave him like this,” wailed Alfred, trying his hardest to stop him from leaving. “Please! Please help him!”

Once again the man ignored him, not even looking at him. Alfred cringed and glanced back at Arthur’s body, his heart lurching when he noticed that he was now semi-conscious and trying to push himself up from the dirt. Alfred sprinted back to his side, skidding down onto his knees and could only watch.

“Arthur! Arthur, are you ok?”

Arthur groaned as he weakly pushed himself up with trembling arms, but he only managed to roll over onto his back with the rain now hitting his face. His eyes were disoriented and Alfred cringed at the stream of blood that was trailing down his forehead.

“Arthur! You have to get up! Stay with me,” pleaded Alfred as he once again tried in vain to hold him.

Despite his condition Arthur did try to focus on him and opened his mouth to say something, but the attack had taken its toll and his head flopped back onto the ground, his eyes rolling upwards as they closed, a small moan managing to escape from his throat before passing out.

“No, no, no, NO! Arthur, no!”

Alfred tried screaming at him, tried to grab him, begging him to wake up. Even though he was kneeling right over him in a desperate effort to shield him for the elements, the cold rain continued to fall onto his still body, his clothes already soaking wet and even the blood was getting washed away.

“Arthur! Wake up!”

Again and again he tried to grab him, again and again he tried to pick him up to take him somewhere safe but nothing was working.

“Please, please, please!”

He didn’t know who he was pleading with but it was the only thing he could do.

“Please! PLEASE!”

Then he felt his hands latch onto something, he felt a small weight in his arms. A faint glimmer of hope shone in his eyes and he believed that he managed to pick Arthur up, that he was going to get him some help at long last. He stared down, expecting to see Arthur’s face but the unconscious body he held in his arms was not Arthur. The hair was sleek and dark, the skin was much paler and the body was much shorter.

“W-what?”

“Kiku!”

Alfred suddenly felt someone pull the unconscious body away from him and he looked up to see Ludwig, taking Kiku from his arms and tried to gently wake him up.

“Kiku, what’s the matter?”

“Waaah! What happened!”

“Is he alright!”

“Someone call for the doctor!”

Alfred looked around and found he was back in the Gathering hall, the other Kings, Queens and Jacks ignoring him as they all gathered round the unconscious Queen of Hearts. His eyes wandered between each person present in the hall until they landed upon Gilbert, still standing upon the table and was the only one who was looking at him.

“How’s Arthur doing?” asked the Joker, grinning mischievously.

Alfred looked back at the others. Ludwig was still trying to wake Kiku up, Feliciano was panicking on the spot, Elizabeta and Erika were trying to calm the Heart Jack down, Francis and Basch were assisting Ludwig, and Ivan only stood there with Roderich with a rare hint of concern in his eyes. Yao was already ordering the staff about to get a doctor and some pillows, completely oblivious to the state his own King was in. Kiku remained unconscious but was unhurt.

Although Alfred should be joining in to offer support, he took a step back away from them and fled from the hall, no one noticing him running like a dog out of hell.

Notes:
Originally this chapter was going to be waaaaaay darker, but due to the rating and the fact that I believe I’ve tortured Arthur and Alfred enough, I decided against it.