The dream was starting to fade. He couldn’t quite remember the dream he had that night and as his conscious was slowly starting to awaken, all he could do was cling onto that dream as best he could, even the memories of it were starting to slip through his fingers. It was hard to make out but he felt like he was doing something with someone he cherished, something enjoyable, something wonderful. Alfred groaned as the sound of knocking was almost bringing him out of his slumber. He chose to ignore it as continuing his blissful sleep felt far more appealing, to reach out to that dream that brought him peace. He then heard the sound of a door opening, sharp and frantic footsteps and someone suddenly screaming his name directly in his ear.

“Alfred!”

Jerking upwards, Alfred finally opened his eyes and looked around. The daylight was illuminating his bedroom, birds outside were singing, and Yao was standing over him appearing flustered, as if he had been running a marathon.

“Alfred, do you realise what time it is? And did you seriously fall asleep in your clothes!?”

Looking at himself he cringed when he realised that he did indeed fall asleep in his clothes, and his fine clothing had ended up looking creased and untidy, his tie out of shape and his white shirt looking like something that just came out of dirty laundry basket. Even his hair was in a mess for he could feel it was out of shape and some of it was in his eyes and mouth. He rearranged his glasses and gasped when he spotted the clock on the wall and the time it displayed.

“I’m late,” he shrieked as he pushed himself off his bed, only to end up falling on the floor. He jumped back up and tried to run to his washroom. “I gotta change, I gotta wash, I gotta-...”

“There is no time,” snapped Yao, dragging him towards the door that lead out of his room. “You were supposed to be there ten minutes ago!”

Without even thinking about it, Alfred warped himself out of Yao’s hand and ended up in front of the door that lead to the Gathering hall and thankfully no one was around to see him in such a state. He checked himself out in a nearby mirror, cringing at himself and the mess he was in. He did his best to make himself look presentable but by the time he had finished, Yao had already made his way down.

“I told them you were taking care of a last minute proposal,” stated Yao, aiding Alfred in straightening up his loose tie, “just go in, apologise for being late, and get on with it.” Yao then pulled what looked like a juice box out of his pocket, snapped the straw in place and shoved it in Alfred’s mouth before he could even ask. “The Heart Queen is still resting, the Club Jack is currently absent, and the Joker is still in there but the Heart King is keeping him under control.”

As Alfred drank the contents of the juice box he realised it was actually some sort of energy drink as he was getting some sort of buzz from it. It was actually waking up his work out mind.

“Just relax and go in there like nothing is wrong, and don’t forget to apologise,” commanded Yao, pulling the empty juice box away and quickly dusting Alfred’s coat. “Hopefully no one will notice the state of your uniform, as long as they don’t look at you for too long.”

Although he had literally just woken up, and was dreading for showing up late for the continuation of the Gathering, Alfred couldn’t help but smile at how keen and hardworking Yao was. Even after going through so much, Yao was always there to pick up the slack.

“Yao... I-...”

“Talk later, get in there now!” Yao then began shoving him towards the door.

Alfred realised Yao was right, there was no time more mindless chatter. He was already running late for an important meeting and had to quickly get everything back on track. Taking a deep breath, and checking himself over one last time, Alfred opened the door. Inside all the other courts were already seated and looked like they were in a deep discussion, but the moment they noticed Alfred’s presence they ceased in their chatter and looked over at him. Gilbert who was still laying atop the table looked up and waved at him with a cheeky grin plastered upon his smug face. As Alfred walked in he noticed that the Club Jack was indeed missing along with the Heart Queen. He knew why Kiku was absent but where on Earth could Roderich be? Alfred could only assume that Ivan sent him off to do some work. Hearing a noticeable cough from Yao, who was walking behind him, he realised he had to quickly offer his apologies for his absence.

“Sorry about that everyone,” he said in the most casual tone he could muster, “work never duds, you know how it is.” He slid into his seat, making sure he didn’t appear too untidy. “So what did I miss?”

Francis was the one who answered him, and Alfred chose to ignore that raised eyebrow he had whilst staring at him. “We were actually discussing the issue that Gilbert here shared with us yesterday; the secret he was ordered to conceal.”

“That’s right,” cackled Gilbert, sitting up onto his rump and swinging side to side. “It’s a doozy of a secret!”

“I see,” replied Alfred, trying to look professional, “would you mind filling me in?”

Ludwig sat up, more so than than usual. “We were trying to figure out the best course of action to get Gilbert to reveal this secret and we actually came up with an idea-...”

As Ludwig spoke of what they had planned, Alfred’s gaze wandered round the table. He only just realised that all the other court members didn’t look their best either, even Francis was looking a little untidy than he would ever allow himself. He was certain that both Ludwig and Feliciano were wearing the same attire they wore yesterday, and there were dark circles under their eyes. Maybe after what happened with Kiku neither of them could go to sleep. Erika’s dress looked like it had been forced on and Alfred actually spied a button that was inserted into the wrong hole. Basch appeared to be worn out and, though he was clearly the best looking one out of the lot, Francis even looked like he didn’t even try to look his best. Ivan was trying to keep his smile on but looked like he was completely uninterested with what was going on, and Elizabeta’s hair was messier than usual. Were they all running late this morning? Were they all up last night until the early hours?

His eyes continued to wander round the table until they at last reached the vacant chair beside him, the extravagant chair meant for the Queen of Spades.

It suddenly dawned on him about his latest visit with Arthur; how he was relieved to see that Arthur was alright, despite having a little cold, how they bickered a little much to his amusement, and how the pair of them rested upon that bed and spoke about how their first date together would play out. Alfred went all out with his imagination though he was sincere in what he told him. Arthur’s smile whilst listening to him was enough to warm up his own heart, and even brought a small smile to his face. However it quickly vanished when he realised that he only had one last visit with Arthur. Just one last time to see the man he adored with all his heart. One last opportunity to get Arthur to reveal his location in the hopes of finding him faster and freeing him from his prison. He completely failed to get the information out of him last time and he knew he only had one last chance to get it. He wasn’t sure when his next visit would be but he had to be ready for it and no matter what he had to get Arthur to tell him something, anything to help him figure out where he was located.

“I said, what do you think Alfred?”

Alfred jerked when he heard his name and looked up to see everyone was looking at him. “Um... ‘scuse me?”

Ludwig sighed. “I suggested that we Kings take turns in requesting Gilbert to reveal this secret if his so we can clear this all up.”

“Say what?”

“We don’t know who ordered Gilbert to keep his secret, so we were going to take turns to command him to reveal it to us.”

“Sounds like a fun idea,” giggled Gilbert.

It sounded like a decent idea but it looked like the other Kings weren’t onboard with it.

“I am curious, what happens when one of us commands him and he reveals this secret?” asked Ivan, his smile still present. “Is that King going to get interrogated as to why he ordered a Joker to conceal a secret regarding the missing Queen of Spades!”

There was a brief moment of silence. “We’ll cross that bridge at some other time,” sighed Ludwig.

“But what if the command was given to him by a past King?” asked Erika.

“It should still work,” insisted Ludwig.

“Still sounds like a waste of time,” scoffed Basch suddenly.

“Got something to hide?” teased Ivan.

The accusation caused Basch to actually snarl at the Club King, as he was clearly far more irritated than usual. Erika grabbed Basch by the arm and quietly commanded him to behave whilst Francis quickly cleared his throat. “Now, now, there is no need to point fingers already.”

Alfred was about to join in to keep order at the Gathering when Elizabeta cut him off. “Maybe we don’t have to do this.”

Everyone suddenly stared at her. Alfred couldn’t help but wonder why the Club court was so against the whole idea. Maybe they were indeed hiding something, or maybe they were afraid that by doing this would cause Gilbert to reveal something they didn’t want to share?

“Then what do you suggest Elizabeta?” asked Ludwig, trying to conceal a yawn.

Elizabeta straightened herself out before answering. “We just ask him,” she said as she pointed at Gilbert.

That seemed to confuse everyone. Erika fumbled with her fingers as she tried to make sense of Elizabeta’s suggestion. “But... he can’t reveal who-...”

“I know, he can’t tell us who was responsible for hiding the Queen of Spades away,” explained Elizabeta, “however we CAN ask him who ordered him to keep the secret.”

Everyone glanced at each other. It actually made a little sense. Gilbert claimed he couldn’t tell them who was responsible for locking Arthur away, but surely he’d be able to reveal who it was that told him to keep silent about it. It was actually the perfect loophole to the Joker’s logic and make get them an answer without causing tension between the other Kingdoms.

“That might work,” murmured Ludwig.

“It’s a good idea actually,” said Francis with a sigh of relief.

“I’m onboard with it,” chuckled Ivan.

Alfred actually liked that idea too and he knew he had to commend Elizabeta for coming up with a smart idea.

“As long as we get the answers we need I’m in for it,” he said as he looked up at the bored Joker. “Gilbert, can you tell us who ordered you to keep the secret regarding who imprisoned the Queen of Spades?”

Gilbert yawned and lazily stared at Alfred. “Hmm? Yeah sure, why not.”

Finally they were actually getting somewhere. “Ok then,” continued Alfred, not realising his heart was thumping really hard. “Who was it? Who ordered you to keep it a secret?”

Gilbert’s face formed his signature sly smile and he sat up, scooting a little closer to the young King. He answered loud enough for everyone to hear and his answer was something that no one was expecting to hear.

“A King of Spades did.”

The entire room went silent. The words that Gilbert spoke still echoed fresh in everyone’s minds as well as the walls of the hall they occupied. All of the courts could only stare at the Joker in disbelief before slowly turning their gazes towards Alfred, who could only stare back in utter confusion.

“W-what!?” Alfred stammered as he stared back at the Joker.

“I told you,” huffed Gilbert, “I was ordered by a King of Spades to keep the secret regarding the Queen of Spades.”

Alfred was completely lost. “But that... that...”

“That makes no sense!”

Everyone was startled by Francis and his sudden loud and angry voice. He actually stood up and glared daggers at the Joker. “Why would the King of Spades order such a thing?”

Gilbert shrugged. “Because he didn’t want anyone finding out, duh.”

“But... But they spent years trying to figure out where their Queen was! This doesn’t make any sense!”

“Jeez, if it bothers you so much why don’t you ask him?” scoffed Gilbert as he pointed at Alfred.

Everyone’s eyes then returned to look upon Alfred, who was just as confused as the rest of them. Alfred stared back, uncertain what to say or even do. He looked over at Yao who was just as bewildered as he was. None of this made sense; why would a King of Spades command a Joker to keep a secret about the Queen of Spades? Why would they want to keep something like this a secret? It made no sense, it was like purposely sabotaging their own system.

Before Alfred could even ask Gilbert anything, the door to the hall suddenly opened and Roderich walked in, unaware of what had transpired.

“Apologies for being late,” he said as he wiped his hair back, “I just had to gather a few things.” He took his place and couldn’t help but notice the odd tension in the room. “Did I miss something?”

Before anyone could answer him, Ivan was the one who spoke first. “It turns out we’ve all been lead on some wild goose chase, courtesy of the Spade Kingdom,” he snorted.

Alfred growled at the accusation but before he could defend himself, Francis had already jumped in. “Now see here, I know full well that the Spade Kingdom has been working tirelessly to see out their missing Queen!”

“Then explain why it was the Spade King who commanded the Joker to keep it a secret?”

“I’m certain there is a reasonable explanation for all this,” insisted Ludwig as he tried to keep order.

“What would that be? That the Spade Kingdom has been playing us for fools?”

“You can’t just start throwing accusations around like that!”

“Then you explain what this all means!”

“It doesn’t give you the right to assume such things!”

The bickering exploded into a full out argument as everyone started snapping and shouting at each other. Alfred could only watch at the chaos erupting around him. Ludwig was angrily trying to get everyone to calm down, Feliciano whimpered and jumped behind him out of fear, Erika was trying to keep Francis from getting even more riled up, Basch was confronting Yao who was just as angry at the accusations thrown at his Kingdom, Elizabeta was getting angry at Ivan but was also defending him, whilst Ivan himself just sat there and was determined to get his point across, whilst poor Roderich stood there completely lost. Gilbert was just relaxing on the table whilst munching away on popcorn he conjured up, taking pleasure in what was going on around him.

This wasn’t what Alfred wanted. The whole purpose he arranged this Gathering was so he could get everyone to help him locate Arthur and save him, not to turn all the Kingdoms against each other. He was just as confused as they were all, he could not understand why a King of Spades was ordered to conceal a secret regarding the missing Queen. He knew for certain that he himself never ordered such a thing, and his father was obsessed with the mystery itself, so then who ordered such a thing? He was trying to think but listening to all the voices around bark out angry tones was only frustrating him.

He wanted Yao’s advice but he was currently trying to keep Basch calm whilst also trying to update Roderich on what was going on. He wanted to ask Francis for his aid but he was stuck in a heated debate with Ivan whilst Ludwig was trying in vain to calm them both down. The whole Gathering was a complete mess and that bastard Gilbert was just watching the whole thing like a show, laughing every time someone did something he found amusing. He was getting more irritated by the second and all this shouting was only making it grow faster.

He couldn’t take it anymore and in a very loud voice he demanded, “would everyone shut the hell up!”

He then slammed his fists so hard onto the table it almost split into two, causing Gilbert to sit up and cautiously took care where he was. It did the trick as everyone suddenly went silent and all looked at Alfred, the young King clearly had enough.

“Now I’m just as confused as the rest of you,” he barked, his face turning an angry shade of red, “and I don’t understand any of this, but it still stands that my Kingdom lacks a Queen and the Joker now knows something about it. So if you would all kindly take your seats so we can figure this all out, NOW!”

Almost like trained dogs they all sat back down and remained perfectly still. None of them had never really seen Alfred get angry before, even Alfred himself was a bit surprised at that outburst he made. He must’ve been channeling Arthur or something.

He straightened his tie and politely said, “thank you.”

“Surely you can understand why this has upset us,” said Elizabeta suddenly. “For a hundred years the mystery of your missing Queen has had us all dreading if the same thing would ever happen to us. Now we learn that it is your Kingdom that had something to do with it.”

Alfred pondered for a moment until something jogged his memory. He recalled what Peter the Joker had told him over a week ago. “There was a cover up,” he stated.

“Beg your pardon?” Ludwig had to be sure he heard that right.

“Back at that fair I held I ended up accidentally summoning the other Joker, Peter,” explained Alfred, “and he revealed to me that Gilbert was involved in a cover up of some sort.”

Gilbert suddenly scoffed and folded his arms in a huff. “That little shrimp really loves to spoil the fun sometimes.”

“So... a previous King of Spades was responsible for all of this?” Francis appeared to be in complete shock.

“It seems so,” sighed Alfred.

“But that makes no sense,” insisted Erika, standing up and appearing more troubled than her King, “removing any member of your court, especially the Queen, is like dooming the entire Kingdom. Why would anyone do such a thing?”

Alfred turned his gaze to Gilbert. “He knows,” he said in a determined voice, “and if I’m right I can command you to reveal your secrets.”

Gilbert shrugged. “You can I guess,” he muttered, “only there is a catch.”

Alfred had to resist shouting at him. “And what would that be?” he hissed.

Gilbert smirked. “She won’t let me.”

She? “Who are you talking about?”

“You know, the little girl who’s name you pretend not to know.”

That was something Alfred had not expected and it shocked him once more. Gilbert could only be referring to the mystery girl, the one who had been sending him to Arthur’s garden. Why? Why did she ask Gilbert to continue to keep it a secret? What was she hiding from him?

“Ok, now that doesn’t make a lick of sense,” snapped Basch suddenly, “how can some girl order you to disobey an order from a King?”

Gilbert cackled. “Oh but she can,” he laughed, “she’s not a normal little girl. In fact calling her a little girl is a bit insulting, but she’s at the centre of all this. She knows exactly what’s going on, she knows all about Alfred’s boyfriend, and she is the part of the reason we’re not all dead yet.”

That got everyone’s attention. They all stared at him after he revealed that tad bit of information. “What do you mean,” barked Ludwig, “Gilbert, what are you talking about?”

With another cackle, Gilbert lazily stared at his watch. “Oh but I won’t tell you, your Queen is about to.”

Before Ludwig could ask the door to the Gathering hall opened with a loud thud. Everyone looked up to see Kiku standing in the doorway, looking out of breath and still in his nightwear. He did not look at all well and should he resting back in his bed, but his golden eyes were telling everyone that he had no intention to go back to lay down. He staggered in and Feliciano was the first one to dash to his side and support him.

“Kiku,” snapped Ludwig out of worry, “you should be resting! Go back to your room, please.”

“No,” gasped Kiku, grasping the table for support as Feliciano aided him into his chair. “There is no time. We are running out of time. You must let me speak!”

“What do you mean?” asked Alfred, concerned with Kiku’s health but even more concerned with whatever it was that got him so worked up. “Kiku, you’re not looking 100%. Maybe you should-...”

“I need to tell you all something important,” argued the Heart Queen firmly. Taking a sip of water from a glass Feliciano poured for him, Kiku swallowed hard and stared at everyone at the table. “The world... the world is going to end.”

The tension in the room suddenly grew even more heavy than before, and they could only stare back at the Heart Queen in sheer shock. It was one thing after another. First a supposed cover up was almost uncovered and now the end of the world was coming? Although the reveal was completely out of the blue, everyone seemed to believe what Kiku was true without question, as if they knew deep down that it was indeed approaching. Kiku was still trying to catch his breath but he was still determined to keep talking to inform everyone of what was going on.

“I dreamt of our world ending,” he gasped, “the Club Kingdom completely frozen over, the Diamond Kingdom rotten over, the Heart Kingdom submerged under a vast lake, and the Spade Kingdom in complete ruin. I watched it all happen around me.” Kiku was clearly shaken by what he saw.

Everyone else was frozen in horror. Kiku’s Dreams never lied and if what he said was true than they were approaching the end times. Before anyone could ask, Kiku continued.

“But I saw something else,” he gasped. He then looked over at Alfred. “I saw him again, your Arthur. He... was locking a silver door. Then the world went back to normal. I’m not sure what it means but... I think Arthur, or rather the Queen of Spades, is the key to stopping this catastrophe.”

Before Alfred could ask, Francis suddenly cut in. “Are you certain about this? Are you absolutely sure this true.”

“Oh it’s true,” laughed Gilbert suddenly. “Unfortunately a certain someone did something very naughty and caused the inevitable end of the world. Everything that Kiku said will come to pass... maybe.”

Everyone suddenly stared at Gilbert. “Wait a minute... you KNEW about this!?” snapped Elizabeta, her face expressing such anger that even Ivan shifted away from her a little.

“Of course I did,” boasted Gilbert, who seemed oddly proud of this fact. “It’s my job to know such things.”

“Then why the hell didn’t you say anything about this before!?” shouted Roderich, the poor man expressing horror as well as anger.

Once more Gilbert smirked at them. “You never asked.”

Elizabeta looked ready to lunge at him but both Ivan and Roderich held her back. Francis was wiping his brow with a handkerchief whilst Erika was sitting in absolute shock. Even Ludwig wasn’t certain how to handle any of this.

“We... we need to get this all in order, to make sense of it,” he declared, though he seemed conflicted about it all.

It was all they could do at the moment, to both collect themselves and to hopefully make sense of it all. It took a few minutes though it allowed Kiku to relax and catch his breath whilst Gilbert continued to lounge about on the table, despite everyone wishing he’d go away they knew he had to remain until everything was settled. So from everything they learnt so far it was a King of Spades who ordered Gilbert to keep a secret hidden, a secret that was very possibly tied to some cover up involving the Queen of Spades. They don’t know why nor did it make any sense but it was fact right now. Although Alfred should have the right to command Gilbert to reveal the secret he was unable to, as Gilbert stated that the mystery girl asked him not to and he had to obey. This should not be possible but Gilbert insisted that the girl had the power to do so. On top of all that Kiku had a prothetic dream about the end of the world. It came completely out of nowhere but even Alfred realised that he should’ve seen it coming. The other Kingdoms felt foolish as they should’ve seen it coming but no one could predict that the incidents they witnessed in their realms were leading to the end times. However there was hope as Kiku had stated that in order to prevent this they needed to locate the Queen of Spades, or more specifically, they had to look for this Arthur Kirkland.

There was so much to take in and in such a short amount of time, but as Kiku stated there wasn’t much time and they had to come up with a strategy fast.

“So, if what Kiku stated is true, then we need to locate this Mr Kirkland?” confirmed Erika.

“It seems that way,” sighed Ludwig, “according to Kiku, he might be the key to prevent this doomsday.”

Although Alfred was ecstatic for this was what he wanted all along, he felt something was off. He wasn’t certain what it was but it felt like there was a nagging sensation in the back of his mind.

“Well this should be easy,” proclaimed Francis as he looked over at him, “Don’t you visit him in those strange circumstances? Have you asked him where he is located?”

Alfred bit his lip. “I... tried...” He trailed off but it was clear to the others that he had no answer for them.

“Well there is always the next time, right?”

Alfred couldn’t bear to tell them that he only had one more chance to do so, his final visit with Arthur was something he both dreaded and anticipated.

“Um... if I may?” Roderich cleared his throat, glancing down at Ivan who gave him an assuring nod. Roderich then pulled out a file. “At the request of my King I was looking into this Arthur Kirkland, trying to pinpoint his whereabouts.”

“You... you what!?” Alfred was shocked that Ivan had been conducting his own investigation into Arthur’s location.

“It was you who piqued my curiosity about this man Alfred,” stated Ivan with that casual smile of his. “When you told me he managed to grow five Elder Trees, I was eager to meet the man myself. Maybe learn a few things.”

Although Alfred cringed at the idea of Ivan locating Arthur before him, he couldn’t really afford to care at this point.

“Anyway I checked all the birth records recorded in all the Kingdoms,” continued Roderich, “I hoped that if I knew where he was born I’d have an easier time locating him.” Roderich then frowned as he placed the file on the table. “I was unable to find any record about the man. I kept searching, checking every single record until I came across this one.”

At first Alfred lit up at the thought of having something to help them find Arthur but Roderich didn’t look at all pleased with himself.

“Unfortunately this file doesn’t make any sense. If I may Alfred, are you certain his name is indeed Arthur Kirkland?”

“Of course it is,” insisted Alfred, uncertain what the Club Jack was getting at, “he told me it was the name given to him at some orphanage-...”

“In a rural village located a few days northeast of your Kingdom?”

Alfred blinked after Roderich cut him off. It was true, Arthur said he was born in some village but he didn’t realise it was that close, if was indeed the same village. If it was though, then why was Roderich confused about it all.

“I don’t mean to change the subject,” said Feliciano suddenly. Everyone glanced up at the Heart Jack, who was oddly quiet about the whole doomsday thing. Feliciano looked over at Gilbert and asked, “what exactly is the cause of this... d-doomsday?”

That... was actually a valid question, even Kiku was intrigued by this. If the end of the world was coming then what exactly set it off? Gilbert only mentioned that someone did something bad, and whatever that bad thing was it had doomed the entire world.

Gilbert yawned and stretched out before answering. “Four Elder Trees were slain.”

The moment he revealed that, Ivan actually gasped out loud in shock. Everyone else were equally horrified upon learning this. What kind of maniac who chop down not one but four Elder Trees? Gilbert didn’t seem to care too much for some reason.

“Who-... who would do such a terrible deed?” demanded Elizabeta, “harming a single splinter upon an Elder Tree is just asking for a catastrophe to happen!”

Gilbert then looked over at Alfred yet again. “You’ll see.”

Alfred didn’t like the way Gilbert said that. “What do you mean?”

“My dear Al, you’re about to enjoy your final visit with your dear sweet boyfriend,” giggled Gilbert as he shifted closer to the Spade King, “and when you come back, you’re going to learn things you wish you never knew.”

“W-wait,” gasped Alfred, standing up suddenly that it knocked his chair over. “How do you know?”

He waited for Gilbert to answer but the Joker just stared at him, completely still. Alfred was about to grab him when he looked round the table and noticed something was off. None of them were moving. Everyone was completely still as a statue, even the Joker. It was like being inside a painting and he was the only thing that could move about. Looking around Alfred realised that his chair he thought he knocked over was now just hanging just above the ground, and a bird that was flying past the window was just hovering in the air. He glanced at his watch and saw that it wasn’t moving at all. It suddenly dawned on him that somehow time had stopped.

How? How did this happen? He wasn’t doing this, so then who was? Before he could even think about activating his own powers, he felt something grab his hand. He looked down and gasped when he saw the strange girl clapping onto him, but she wasn’t alone. There were four other children, just as strange looking as she was. They were all looking up at him, smiling innocent grins, as if they were playing some sort of game.

“Who... who are you?”

The children looked at each and one of them said, “he can see us.”

“Of course I can see you! Who are-...”

Before Alfred could finish his question, the children tugged at him arm and Alfred cried out as he fell forward. Everything started to blur and stretch around him, and it felt like he was getting pulled in all directions. Soon he was unable to tell the difference between up or down, left or right. It was almost as if he was floating in some sort of void.

Yet as soon as it had happened it was all over and Alfred stumbled back onto his feet, wheezing heavily as he tried to still his beating heart. He looked around, thinking he was still in the Gathering Hall but he instantly recognised it as Arthur’s room. His heart leapt at the realisation and he turned round, looking for where Arthur could be.

“Arthur!”

He heard faint sobbing. Recognising it instantly, he followed it into the main room and found Arthur, sitting on the floor but his face buried in one of the cushions on his couch. He was fully dressed and seemed healthier, but he was in an obvious poor state of mind.

Alfred ran over and fell to his knees before him. “Arthur! Arthur, it’s me!”

Arthur’s face peered out from the cushion, his eyes swollen and red. He then sat up and wiped his eyes, trying to tidy himself up as best he could.

“You... you came back,” he choked as he dried his eyes. “You have poor timing as always.”

Alfred tried to smile back but he was too concerned with Arthur’s condition. “I can’t help it,” he said in a dry witty tone of voice.

“Well you really need to learn proper etiquette,” scoffed Arthur as he dried his eyes. “Timing is everything you know.”

It sounded like Arthur was trying to force himself into a fairer mood but was having difficulty with it. Alfred cringed as he wasn’t certain how long he had left here. This... it suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks but this was his last visit with Arthur. No more chats in his garden, no more amusing arguments, interesting conversations, amazing stories, and no more Arthur. No matter what he had to get Arthur to tell him where he was, he just had to.

“Arthur... lets go into your garden quickly,” pleaded Alfred, “I really need to-...”

“I can’t,” sobbed Arthur, his tears starting to reform. “He... he took it from me.”

“W-What?”

Arthur wiped his eyes once again. “He’s lost it Alfred... he thinks I’m trying to do something to overpower him. He threw me in here and had forbidden me to go back to my garden. He said he’s going to lock me away somewhere else where I can’t even see the sunlight.”

And with that Arthur broke down and cried all over again. Alfred could only stare back at him with horror. To imagine Arthur to be condemned to a fate already worse than the one he was currently in was like a nightmare coming to life. He clenched his fists and knew that it was now or never.

“Arthur, you have to tell me where you are! You have to tell me where I can find you. Please Arthur, I can save you! I can free you! We can be together, you just have to tell me where you are.”

Arthur dried his eyes again but the tears kept falling down his cheeks. He looked up at Alfred and smiled sadly. “You know, I really enjoyed your visits.”

What was this? Why wasn’t he telling him?

“Arthur, please-...”

“It was like a dream come true... I enjoyed every second of it. I only wish... I only wish we could be together.”

“But we can Arthur!” Alfred was close to tears of his own, forming out of panic and fear. “Please Arthur, please tell me where to find you!”

Arthur fell silent and glanced around his room. “I had a dream last night... about what our first day together would be like. There was dancing and singing and so many beautiful things to see and do. I wanted to sleep forever if it meant I could stay there... but... dreams don’t last forever. Like everything else, it eventually ends and we’re powerless to stop it. All we can do is wish for time to slow down, maybe even stop, just to live in that blissful moment forever. I wish I never woke up that day. I wish I dreamed forever... but if I didn’t wake up..,” He looked up at Alfred, the smile he was making was trembling. “If I didn’t wake up I’d never see you again.” Arthur then leaned as close to Alfred as he could. “I wish I could hug you. I wish I could listen to your heartbeat, to feel your warmth against mine. But I never can... you’re like a dream... you’re going to end soon... and I can’t stop it.”

Alfred wanted to hug Arthur just as much as he did, but he knew it was impossible. He just wanted to scoop him up and take him away from all this. Take him to the furthest reaches of the world and live a life of bliss together, where every single day he would cherish him like the treasure he was. He wanted it so much that it hurt, his chest tightening at thought of it never coming to pass.

Fearing he’d go back any second, he tried once again. “Arthur... you have to tell me... I’m begging you... please tell me where I can find you.”

“Alfred-...”

“PLEASE!” Alfred himself was beginning to sob uncontrollably. “Please Arthur, please! Please tell me, I’m begging you... please...”

Alfred wept as it felt like no matter how much he begged he wasn’t going to get his desired answer. There was silence for a while, apart from the sobs Alfred was making, the two men sitting there in silence.

“Alfred,” began Arthur in a gentle voice, “I bet you’re a fine King. I truly believe that you are a King who is loved and adored by your people. I would’ve been honoured to be your Queen... but you need to understand, I cannot be your Queen.”

“Why not!?” Alfred shouted at him, feeling like a child throwing a tantrum. “Why the hell not!? Why!? Tell me!”

Arthur smiled at him bitterly, holding back the tears as best he could. “Because... because I already have a King.”

Alfred stared at him bewildered. “W-what?” He wiped his eyes and stared at him, trying to make sense of what he said. “Arthur... w-what do you mean?”

Before Arthur could reply the doors to his room flung open and in walked that horrid man from before. Alfred gasped in horror as the wicked man stood there looking deranged, and his blood ran cold when he saw that the man was holding an axe in one of his hands. The man glared at Arthur before lunging at him, grabbing a fistful of his hair and pulling him away from Alfred. Arthur cried out in pain as he was dragged across the floor and out of the door.

“You disgusting little witch spawn!” The man kicked Arthur down the stairs, following him down as he tumbled down the cold stone steps. “You will regret pay for your transgressions against me!”

Alfred scrambled to his feet and could only chase after them. “Arthur!” He called out to him and watched as the horrid man continued to drag his beloved Arthur back into his garden.

He ran down the steps and through the doors, running out into Arthur’s garden. What he saw horrified him, causing him to stop dead in his tracks. Arthur’s beautiful garden, that he worked so hard to create and spent hours caring for, was completely wrecked. Flowers were crushed, bushes were pulled out and overturned, the herbs and other plants were now unrecognisable, and even the birdbath had been crushed. It was like a war zone and Alfred could only look at it with heartache. The only things left untouched were the five Elder Trees, the beautiful trees left to stand over the ruin that was once a paradise of a garden. Who could’ve done such a thing? Who would dare destroy such a beautiful place? No wonder Arthur was in tears, to see all of his hard work destroyed and ruined would’ve easily crushed him.

He heard a loud yelp and look over to see the horrid man standing over Arthur, who was laying sprawled in the floor. In a fit of panic he ran over towards them, not sure what he could even do in a situation like this but hoped that there was something he could try.

The man continued to shout at Arthur, who was struggling to get back up. “You thought you could hide this from me!? Thought I was too foolish to notice! Well you can’t fool me, you little freak!”

The man raised the axe and Alfred feared that he was going to strike it at Arthur.

“Please,” choked Arthur, spitting out blood, “it was never my intention to use them against you!”

“Liar!” The man then kicked Arthur across the face. “If you think you can overpower me than you can think again! I won’t let you!”

The man then left Arthur’s side and started to march towards one of the Elder Trees, that axe of his raised and ready to strike. Alfred gasped in horror when he realised what the man was about to do, and when Arthur noticed he actually screamed in terror.

“NO!”

Arthur scrambled to his feet and made a bad dash for the man, reaching for the axe and trying to wrestle it out of his arms.

“Are you mad!?” shrieked Arthur, desperately trying to get the axe away from the man. “You’ll doom not only yourself but the whole world!”

“Let go!” barked the man, “let go or else! I command it!”

“Harming an Elder Tree will bring ruin!”

“Liar!”

“You can’t do this!”

“I can and I will! Now I command you to let go!”

“No!” shouted Arthur, using one of his hands to reach for the man’s collar, “I won’t let you! I won’t let you ruin the Kingdom like this!”

“What right do you have to command me!?”

The man grew more violent but Arthur was not letting up. Arthur than snarled at him and shouted, “because I’m the Queen of Spades, you unworthy bastard!”

Arthur then tugged at the man’s collar so hard that it ripped but it also caused him to loose his footing and fall backwards. The man then slammed a foot down on Arthur’s chest, causing the poor man to cry out in agony, and Alfred was certain he heard a rib snap.

“Get off him!” shouted Alfred, glaring at the man, “Get off him now... you... what?”

Alfred stared at the man’s neck that had been exposed after Arthur ripped the collar apart. There imprinted upon it, just under his ear was a mark. A mark he knew all too well. It was the mark of the Spade Kingdom... the mark of the King of Spades.

“W-What...?” Alfred staggered backwards. “What is this?” He presses his hand against his chest. “But... But I’m the King of Spades! I am!”

The man sneered down at Arthur whilst Alfred stood there completely mortified by what he saw. “You may think you are the Queen of Spades, but as far as the rest of the world us concerned you don’t even exist! No one is coming to rescue you! No one one cares that you’re even here! Your words mean nothing! You will stay here until you’re old and grey, and no one will ever learn of your existence!”

Arthur gasped in pain as he tried to push that foot of his chest. “You... you don’t deserve to be King,” he wheezed, “someday a King will come who’ll be far more worthy than you could ever hope to be! And you’ll be forgotten! A mere part of history that no one will care for!”

The man’s scowl grew even more and he pressed his entire weight down onto that leg that trapped Arthur. Before Alfred could even try to think what was going on, a loud shrill voice echoed across the garden.

“Edward! Edward, why are you here again?”

Alfred looked up and saw a woman. For a second he didn’t recognise her but as she walked towards the man and Arthur, he suddenly realised who she was.

“It... it can’t be,” he stammered.

That perfect figure, that beautiful face, those golden brown locks... he had seen her before. He knew exactly who she was. There wasn’t a single person who didn’t know who she was.

“Maria Somerset?”

The last Queen of Spades, the final Queen before they ceased to exist. Her face was in every history book and her paintings existed in every museum around the world. How could she be here? Why was she here? Arthur was the Queen, how could there be two of them? Was it the Joker playing another trick? What the hell was going on?

The man glared at her. “Not now Maria,” he spat, “now go away, I’m dealing with this annoyance.”

Maria stamped her foot down hard on the ground. “It’s not fair Edward,” she whined, “I thought you made me your Queen so you didn’t get overshadowed by this freak! Yet you always come up here behind my back! What’s he got that I don’t?”

“I ordered you to go back inside!” The man then stepped off Arthur and approached Maria. “We’ll discuss this later, now go! I’ll buy you that dress you had your eye on to make it up to you.”

“Oh fine,” spat Maria, stomping off. “Play with your stupid toy. When you want a real Queen, I’ll be in my room.”

As she walked away Alfred could watch after her, completely uncertain at what he just witnessed. Nothing was making sense. That man was the King of Spades? Maria Somerset knew him? How could that be? What was going on? She shouldn’t even be here for she was the Queen a hundred years ago... a hundred years ago... a hundred years... wait...

“No... no, no, no.” Alfred looked round and realised that with the garden in the state it was in, it resembled some other place he already knew of. “It can’t be... it can’t...”

“Please!”

Alfred looked over to see Arthur trying to crawl after the man, who was now standing in front of one of the Elder Trees and was raising that axe over it.

“Don’t do it!” begged Arthur, “I cant let you destroy his future! I won’t let you ruin Alfred’s Kingdom!”

His plea fell on deaf ears and Alfred watched as the man struck the tree with that sharp axe. The moment he did Alfred felt something shrieking directly into his brain. He grabbed his temples and cried out in agony as it felt like was screaming inside his own head. The world began to spin and he fell backwards, crying out as the screams grew louder and louder.

“It hurts!”

“Stop it!”

“Help me!”

“Please stop!”

“No!”

“Help me!”

“Help!”

“No more!”

Alfred screamed in agony, squeezing his eyes shut in some vain hope it would help. He could feel blood oozing out of his nose, and it felt like he was getting crushed by some enormous weight.

“You’ll pay!”

“You’ll pay!”

“We’ll make you all pay!”

“How dare you!”

“How dare you!”

“Suffer!”

Alfred rolled onto his side and opened his eyes. Everything was a blur but he could just make out the person laying next to him. He could see those green eyes, those thick eyebrows, and that messy golden hair belonging to the man he loved.

“Arthur,” he groaned, trying to reach him.

Arthur was saying something but he couldn’t make it out.

“I...ove...ou.”

“W-What? I can’t hear you.”

“... ove...”

“Arthur?”

“............”

“Arthur!”

The world around him was starting to disintegrate, and Alfred could only watch as Arthur vanished before his eyes, his smiling face disappearing as the world around him went dark. The screaming noise had vanished, along with the ruined garden and Alfred found himself alone in a dark void. He slowly sat up and looked around, trying to find some sign of life.

“Arthur!”

He called out his name, hoping he’d answer, praying that he’d answer, but there was nothing. No sound. No nothing. Just emptiness all around. However he soon heard the faint sound of crying. For a second he thought it was Arthur but the sobs were of a higher pitch and sounded like it was coming from someone much younger.

Looking around some more he finally spotted a dreadful sight. In that dark void he saw the strange girl, hunched over and crying with her back to him. Around her were the four corpses of young children, their blood still fresh and pouring out of their small bodies. The girl continued to cry and cry, as if she was shedding endless tears in the hopes it would revive her fallen friends.

Before he could reach out to her, someone called out to him.

“Your majesty? How did you get here?”

Alfred spun round and found himself looking at a gardener, the elderly man appearing terribly confused with the presence of his King. Looking up Alfred realised that he had somehow returned to his palace and instead of ending up in the Gathering Hall, he was in the Elder Tree garden.

“Did you warp out of that meeting your majesty? Pardon my intrusion but I don’t think you should be doing that.”

Looking around the garden, Alfred studied every inch of it with careful eyes, ignoring the gardener as he continued to chatter away. The more he gazed about the secluded garden, the more he started to realise something familiar about it.

High walls.

The enclosed space.

A single Elder Tree growing in the centre.

It couldn’t be but the more he looked the more he realised where exactly he was.

“This... this is his garden.”

“Pardon your majesty?”

Alfred found his heart beating harder and harder against his chest as the truth was hitting him hard. He was unable to escape it as it was becoming a painful reality and try as he might he could not deny what his mind was telling him. Although there were many things different about it, he recognised the patterns in the walls and the whole shape of the Elder Tree garden itself.

This was Arthur’s garden.

He immediately looked over at a certain corner of the garden, a corner where the door that should lead to Arthur’s room was located. There was nothing there but a stone wall with sone vines growing along it. He marched towards it, his eyes completely focused on it and as he drew closer he could just make out that the pattern of the brickwork was slightly different in that corner.

The gardener chased after him. “Your majesty, are you alright?”

As Alfred got closer to that wall he raised his fist and without warning he smashed it against the stone. The gardener yelped and jumped back as the old brickwork crumbled away, turning into a pile of rubble at Alfred’s feet. Once the dust settled, Alfred looked up and gazed in disbelief at what he saw. The wall had been concealing a dark passageway, riddled with cobwebs and dust. He entered and could make out those steps, the same steps he would walk up and down with Arthur.

He walked up them, ignoring the cobwebs that clung to him, reaching the top to find a set of doors that were sealed shut with a rusty chain. Without any effort he forced them open, the chain breaking apart easily and falling to the floor, the doors groaning loudly as they had been opened for the first time in a long time.

Alfred entered the room and after his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he looked on with woeful disbelief when he realised where he was. Bookshelves filled with rotten books. Furniture falling apart with vermin nesting in the torn up cushions. A fireplace that had not been used in ages with a mound of ash. A tea set that had been left abandoned upon the coffee table, a single decorated tea cup sitting by itself with a small spider crawling out of it.

Taking a single step forward, Alfred fell to his knees as he now had no choice but to accept the truth.

“You were here the whole time.”