The moment Alfred suddenly disappeared before their eyes, everyone in the Gathering hall went into a small panic. One second the Spade King was standing before them and in the next second he was gone. It happened so suddenly that everyone almost believed that something otherworldly had spirited him away. At first they believed that Gilbert had something to do with it, but the Joker merely stated that Alfred was now in the Elder Tree garden. Before Yao could even attempt to get any answers, Gilbert suddenly told him,

“If I were you I’d go check on him before he throws a fit.”

Yao was keen to snap at the Joker for daring to suggest such a thing but they couldn’t continue without Alfred. Plus Yao had a strange suspicion that something bad was about to happen. With Ludwig’s permission they went on a quick ten minute break so Yao could locate his King and do that they all could get their heads wrapped around all this chaos.

With that all sorted Yao left the Gathering Hall and briskly made his way to the Elder Tree garden, wondering how Alfred got there in the first place. He would never use his powers to warp out of such an important meeting, he would’ve noticed straight away if he did. It worried him that something like that could happen right before their eyes. Whatever the reason he had to get to Alfred fast as something was urging him to be quick.

Within minutes he was in the Elder Tree garden, noticing already that something was amiss. A couple of gardeners were standing near what appeared to be a hole in the wall, the pile of rubble thankfully no where near the Elder Tree itself. It was painfully obvious who caused such a mess and where he could be, at least he didn’t have to look too far now. As he approached the ruins of the wall the gardeners noticed him and stepped out the way, their faces full of concern as well as confusion.

“My lord Jack,” started one of the gardeners, fiddling with one of his tools, “the King... he just punched a hole in the wall and-...”

“I’ll deal with this,” declared Yao, “return to your duties, but before that would you kindly send some guards this way. We need to sort this mess out.”

The gardener nodded and trotted off. After he left Yao studied the mess and the hole in the wall. It was a peculiar sight as the hole shouldn’t be that deep. In fact it looked like there was a passageway inside and when he squinted he could just make out a stone staircase near the back. The only logical sense was that it was indeed a passage of some sort, but according to the palace floor plans such a thing should not exist around here. He knew stories of secret passages floated about, even Alfred as a child fantasied about looking for such a thing, but Yao had no idea there was one right here, in the Elder Tree garden of all places. Heck, how did Alfred know where to find it? It was obvious that given this was the only part of the wall damaged, he knew exactly where to strike to reveal the hidden passage.

Stepping inside, minding his feet as he entered, he gazed about to study it some more. It appeared that no one had been in here in a long time, the amount of spiderwebs and dusts was a clear sign. Why would someone seal a place up, and what purpose did it serve? It didn’t look like a place to store tools nor did it appear to lead anywhere else. After this whole mess was sorted he was going to have to consult the Palace plans a few times. He ventured further in and took care as he walked up the steps, they looked a little unstable and some of the slabs were loose. It was getting harder to see, but his eyes quickly adjusted to the dimness and there was some light though not a great deal. When he eventually reached the top of the staircase he found a set of doors that had been forced open, a rusty chain broken upon the floor. He walked through and found himself in what appeared to be some sort of ancient living room. Rotten bookcases surrounded him with books than might as well as be dust at this point. The furniture was barely standing and looked like it would crumble the moment he touched it. A fancy looking antique tea set caught his attention, and he wondered who used it. In fact what on Earth was this room used for? Was someone living here a long time ago? Was it a guest room of some sorts? Why was it hidden away?

Although he was quite curious as to what this place was or who even dwelled in such a room, he spotted someone slouched in front of what appeared to be a old fireplace. Stepping closer he instantly recognised who it was.

“Alfred!?”

Yao approached the young King, concerned at how he got here and why he was in such a state. He sat there completely still and didn’t appear to notice Yao approaching him from behind.

“Alfred, are you alright? How did you get here?”

Alfred did not move. He just knelt there, staring into the empty fireplace. Yao had to bend down so he could shake his back, hoping it would snap him out of it.

“Alfred, snap out of it!”

For a second Alfred did nothing until he at long last looked up at Yao, the Jack taken aback by what he saw.

Alfred face was belonged to a man who had fallen into deep despair. It was like staring into the face of a child, though his eyes lacked the innocence of one as they appeared to be devoid of any hope. Alfred looked like he wanted to cry but was so riddled with misery he was unable to shed a single tear, it was as if he just learned of a terrible tragedy that nothing else in the world could compare to it. He no longer looked like the confident King that Yao had come to know and somewhat respect, he now looked like a lost and hopeless man, drowning silently in his own sorrows.

Before he could even ask what put him in such a state, Alfred suddenly wailed and buried his face into Yao’s neck, clinging to his back desperately to seek some form of comfort. Yao was startled at first, not used to such contact from someone like this, but as Alfred began sobbing uncontrollably into him, all he could do was gently pat him on the back.

A few minutes passed and Alfred continued to shudder in his arms, and it appeared he no longer had anymore tears to shed. Yao didn’t want to be harsh but there was important matters to deal with and he needed Alfred to get back into a fit mental state. He needed Alfred to be a King right now.

“Alfred, calm yourself please,” he asked gently as he could, pushing the young King away from him.

It was a struggle at first but Alfred released him and slumped backwards. Tears no longer fell down his face but he continued to sniffle.

With a sigh Yao pulled out a handkerchief and began to wipe Alfred’s dirty face. “Calm yourself please,” he asked once again, firmly yet gently. “We have a crisis to deal with Alfred and we need you. The kingdom needs you. You have to guide us in through this time of need.”

Alfred released a shuddering sigh. “What’s the point?” he suddenly spat out.

“What’s the point!? Alfred, the Kingdom, or rather the whole world is in danger and we need you to be the King of Spades right now!”

“Who cares!?”

Before Yao could ask him what he meant by that, Alfred rose up and began to pace around the ancient room. The way he moved was frantic and his body language was displaying pent up aggression. His mood was changing from a woeful one to an angry one, and the Jack knew he had to watch what he said, for he couldn’t risk the young King from lashing out.

“Alfred what are you saying?”

Alfred stopped dead in his tracks and glared at him. “There’s no point! I don’t care if the world ends! He’s... he’s not here anymore! He was here the whole time and I didn’t realise it until it was too late! I... I lost him!”

Without warning he suddenly kicked the old coffee table across the room, the piece of furniture disintegrating the moment it smashed against the wall, the tea set that had been resting upon it smashing upon the floor. He didn’t stop there, grabbing the dusty couch and effortlessly tossing it against the rotten bookcases, both the couch and the bookcases collapsing into broken lumber.

“I’m never going to see him again,” he shouted out in anger whilst lifting one of the bookcases and throwing it against a wall. “I’m never going to hear his songs! I’m never going to listen to his stories! I’m never going to have an argument with him! I’m never going to see him ever again!”

As he continued to scream and shout in rage whilst wrecking the room around him, Yao could only stand back and watch hopelessly as his King was loosing his mind before him. What could’ve triggered such rage and misery? He had never seen Alfred act like this before and he was uncertain on how to remedy the situation. As a Jack his main concern was with this impending doomsday but he was torn between that and his desire to help Alfred with whatever it was that was making him act like this.

Before he could even think of a solution, Alfred had stopped. He stepped on something that made a loud crunch and he moved his foot to see what it was. After the dust had finally settled he could see that it was one of the teacups, now nothing more but a small pile of broken china. He then fell to his knees and picked up one of the largest prices, his eyes swelling up with tears as he stared at it.

“I’m... never going to see him again,” he sobbed. Once again he broke down in tears and cried as tears fell down his face.

Yao took a cautionary step closer and kneeled down beside him. He wanted to help Alfred but he needed more information, and he had s feeling that getting this information out of Alfred was only going to upset him further.

“Who are you talking about Alfred?”

Alfred sniffled and looked over at him. “Arthur,” he whimpered.

Arthur? “What are you talking about? We’re going to find him remember? He’s the Queen of Spades.”

Alfred shook his head. “No... we can’t... this place... this was his room.”

Yao was taken aback by that. “What? What do you mean?”

“He lived here Yao! Or rather this was where he was imprisoned over a hundred years ago!”

Yao almost fell over backwards upon hearing that, he had to make certain what he heard was right.

“I beg your pardon, but-...”

“He was here Yao!” snapped Alfred, “this was where I was met Arthur, in this room!”

Yao glanced around. This room was where Alfred met Arthur? This was the place Arthur had been trapped in? It couldn’t be, this place was a wreck and unsuitable for anyone to live in. Yet Alfred had stated that it was over a hundred years ago? That explained why the room was so old but that didn’t explain the rest of it. If Arthur was the Queen of Spades and he lived here a hundred years ago, then why didn’t anyone know anything about him? As far as he was concerned there was no mention of an Arthur in the Queen of Spades legacy. None of this made any sense. Why was the room unheard of? Why was it sealed off? Why was a Queen of Spades kept in here and why wasn’t he mentioned in their history books? And if any of this was indeed true, then what the hell happened a century ago?

As much as he wanted answers himself, Yao had to calm Alfred down fast. “Alfred, we should return to the Gathering,” he insisted, “maybe the Joker knows what-...”

“The Joker?” Alfred’s miserable face suddenly twisted into one full of rage. “He knew... HE KNEW! HE KNEW THE WHOLE DAMN TIME!”

Before Yao could stop him, Alfred vanished before his eyes and he could only guess that he had returned to the Gathering hall, only with a murderous intent. Fearing that Alfred would make a bigger mess out of this disaster, he jumped out and was about to run back to the Gathering hall when a couple of guards finally showed up, entering the room quickly and cautiously.

“My lord Jack,” greeted one of them, “we came as soon as the gardener alerted us? What has happened to the King? What is this place?”

Yao had no time to explain and issued them a command as he briskly made his way to the exit. “Investigate this room at once and take extreme care as it’s very old. I want to know what this place is and why it was concealed, and anything you find report back to me at once.”

With that he then ran as fast as he could back to the Gathering Hall, wondering just what other secrets had been kept from the them and the rest of the world.

———————————

There were so many emotions swirling around in him right now. Sadness. Misery. Guilt. Grief-stricken. Wretched. Bitterness. Those were just a few of the feelings that were currently dominating his current personality. It was enough to almost push him into a bottomless pit of depression, one that which he would never be able to climb out of and he wouldn’t care if he did or not. He just wanted to curl up and wait for the world to end, as he couldn’t see the point in living in such a place any longer. It was what he wanted to do more than anything, but the moment he returned to the Gathering Hall and the moment he locked eyes with Gilbert the Joker, all of those emotions were replaced with unbridled rage. Gilbert did nothing but smile at him, as if he already knew what Alfred had just gone through and was basking in the aftermath of it all for his own twisted amusement. A desire to unleash his wrath had quickly taken over him and without even acknowledging the other members of the four courts, he started marching towards the Joker.

“Alfred,” cried out Francis, rushing over to his side, “what happened? Where did you-...”

Alfred effortlessly pushed him out of the way, his eyes locked on the smiling Joker. Francis yelped as he hit the floor and could only look up at Alfred with a face full of disbelief. Seeing him treat the Diamond King in such a way made everyone gasp out loud, unable to believe that he would do such a thing to an old friend.

“How dare you,” snapped Basch, ignoring his Queen as he approached the angered Spade King. “You have no right to-...”

Just as he had done with Francis, he shoved Basch out the way. The Diamond Jack fell to the floor, grimacing as the action had caused him to feel a sufficient amount of pain. Elizabeta held Erika close and Ivan stood in front of them to shield them, recognising that the Spade King was currently blinded by pure unbridled rage and getting in his way was not a wise choice. Even Feliciano ducked behind Ludwig who was still debating if he should interfere, and Kiku could only watch as he was still too weak to do anything.

Gilbert merely sat there, amused to see the Spade King glare at him with eyes that would even make the sturdiest of men cry out for their mother. As Alfred stood before him, he just smirked and asked, “so, did you learn anything?”

That caused Alfred to snap and he grabbed Gilbert by the collar, dragging him off the table before slamming him back into it, the sturdy table cracking in half from the sheer power of Alfred’s strength. If Gilbert were a normal human he would’ve been killed instantly, but he merely grunted in discomfort as his body collided against the table. Everyone jumped back as the table collapsed, the Joker immediately laughing at the whole situation.

“YOU KNEW!” Alfred continued slamming Gilbert against the ruined table, the furniture being reduced to broken and unrecognisable pieces. “YOU KNEW THIS WHOLE TIME, YOU SADISTIC SON-OF-A-BITCH!” He then threw the Joker against the wall, the surface shattering after Gilbert collided with it. “WHY!? WHY THE HELL DIDN’T YOU TELL ME!?”

Gilbert slumped to the floor, bits of rubble falling on him, but he looked back up with the same grin. “You never asked.”

As if those words had pushed Alfred over the edge, the young King cried in rage as he charged towards him. However a large pair of arms suddenly wrapped round him and he found himself unable to move. He frantically looked around only to find that it was Ivan who was holding him back.

“LET ME GO! I’M GOING TO KILL HIM!” Alfred struggled to free himself but Ivan held him tight. “LET GO!”

“Alfred, for once in your life could you settle down and listen to reason,” argued Ivan, finding it increasingly difficult to hold back the stronger King.

“Yes Al, listen to the big ol’ Club King,” teased Gilbert, standing up as if nothing had happened.

“Shut up Gilbert!” barked Ludwig, “stop provoking him!”

As Alfred continued to struggle, Yao had finally entered the room and he could only look around in shock at the scene before him. Two members of the Diamond Court on the floor, most of their guests cowering beside the ruined table, the Heart King currently trying to get order back, whilst the Club King was restraining an enraged Alfred, who was screaming bloody murder at the Joker. It was chaos, complete and utter chaos, and he had no idea how to fix it.

It was then that Kiku rushed over to Alfred, planting his hands on his cheeks and forcing the angered King to look at him. “Alfred, cease this at once! You’re going to loose yourself!”

Alfred cried out in rage, ignoring him. “LET ME GO SO I CAN KILL HIM!”

Kiku took drastic measures and suddenly slapped him so hard across that it actually made Alfred pause and some sense returned to him. “If you do not calm yourself you’ll be trapped in a never ending storm of bitterness and rage! You are the King of Spades and we need you, the Kingdoms need you. Think of of your realm! Think of Arthur!”

At the mention of Arthur’s name, Alfred suddenly stopped struggling and stilled himself in Ivan’s arms. He breathed heavily as his mind cleared, his thoughts of Arthur helping to clear away the anger inside of him but unfortunately replaced it with bitter woe. He slumped forward and sniffled pitifully, the reality of the situation returning to him. Even if he did beat Gilbert into a pulp it wasn’t going to bring Arthur back.

“He’s... gone...” he croaked.

Yao dashed forward, taking Alfred gently from Ivan’s hold and holding onto him for support. It seemed that everything had finally calmed down for the moment, but the events that had just transpired was still fresh in everyone’s mind.

“Would someone explain what the hell is going on?” snapped Ludwig, wanting to get this troubling situation back under control.

Gilbert laughed out loud as he brushed the dust off himself. “Oh relax, Al here just found out his boyfriend ain’t around anymore.”

Everyone looked at the Joker confused. They knew he was speaking of Arthur but they didn’t fully understand what he meant. Francis stood back up and assisted Basch before joining the others, Erika rushing over to see if they were alright. Ivan flexed his arms as the strain from holding back Alfred actually wore him out, Roderich rushing over with a chair for him to rest on. Ludwig ushered Feliciano to come out of hiding now that everything had settled and the room had returned to some sort of order. Although they wanted to know what the Joker meant, they were all trying to get themselves back in order.

“Tell me Joker,” hissed Alfred suddenly, standing back up and glaring at him, “tell me right now what the hell is going on!”

At first the Joker did nothing, he just looked around the room with a rare look of uncertainty. With a sigh, Gilbert walked back to the destroyed table. With a simple kick the whole thing suddenly reformed back into one piece, as if it had never broke in the first place. He then hopped back onto it and stared down at all of them.

“It seems that it’s finally time to tell you the story. The story of a King of Spades and his ill-fated Queen.”

He clapped his hands and, from out of nowhere, a small theatre box appeared beside him upon the table. The curtains parted and revealed itself to be a shadow play. Music began playing from somewhere and the lights in the room dimmed. As Gilbert spoke, shadow puppets began to dance about, and all anyone could do was watch and listen.

“A hundred years ago a King of Spades came to rule this land after the passing of the previous King, and he was obsessed with his power and might, as all Spade Kings tend to lust for. His desire was to be remembered as the most powerful King of all time, and it was his aim to keep it like that throughout history, wanting no one to surpass him. However he was warned by the dying Queen that the new Queen of Spades would not only be more powerful than him but that their legacy would outlive his own. Enraged he ordered his loyal soldiers to seek out the new Queen and bring him to the Kingdom in secret. They found the Queen before anyone else knew and dragged him before their King. The King could see the raw power emanating from the new Queen, his only blessing was that the Queen was both clueless about his potential and his influence upon the realm.”

Gilbert leaned against the theatre box as it acted out the tale he told.

“The King locked up the Queen in a secret prison, located in a forgotten place deep within the palace. His plan was to keep the Queen trapped there, to hide him from the rest of the world so that none knew he existed. To completely erase him from history so than none would ever knew he existed and thus secure his immortal legacy. He terrorised the poor Queen, convincing the naive creature that he was unwanted in the Spade Kingdom and too dangerous to let loose upon the world. He convinced him that he was a living curse and a danger to all and that he was condemned to be trapped there until he died. The Queen unwittingly believed the King and chose to remained imprisoned.”

So far the Joker’s tale had everyone in shock.

“You mean that a King of Spades locked away their Queen?” gasped Erika.

“It’s what I just said,” huffed Gilbert, “though I told it better.”

“But... but you said it was a hundred years ago,” stammered Feliciano, “and the Queen a hundred years ago was a woman named Maria Somerset!”

Alfred recalled his last visit to the garden, where he saw both Arthur and Maria Somerset. He knew for a fact that Arthur was the Queen of Spades, although Maria Somerset was the official last Queen of Spades. It then dawned on him that when he stared at her in the garden and at her mark he couldn’t feel the power from it. He looked back at Gilbert, the Joker smirking at him as if he knew what he was going to ask.

“Maria Somerset... she wasn’t the Queen, was she?”

Everyone glanced over at Alfred as he said that.

“No... she wasn’t,” replied Gilbert. Everyone then looked back at the Joker, their eyes widening. “Maria Somerset wasn’t the Queen of Spades.”

That made no sense to anyone but it had them all trapped in silence.

“But she had the mark,” claimed Elizabeta who was completely confused, “there were records of other Kings and Queens meeting her and recognising her as the Queen of Spades!”

“Oh she did bear the mark,” chuckled Gilbert, “worked like a charm it did.”

“P-Pardon?”

Gilbert then skipped over towards her and gently took her hand. “You see I was called in to do a little magic trick,” explained Gilbert, and without warning he pricked her finger.

Elizabeta winced as blood began to seep out of her finger but before anyone could do anything, the Joker began pulling the blood like a piece of thread. Everyone watched transfixed, including Elizabeta, as her own blood was gathered up like a fine red thread. Gilbert then pulled it away from her body, her wound vanishing as he did. He then began weaving the blood thread around his fingers, as if he was playing cat’s cradle, looping and twisting it around his digits, before revealing it to everyone as the mark of the Queen of Clubs.

“Quite the trick,” he cackled, as he suddenly clapped his hands, the mark of the Queen of Clubs now imprinted upon his palm.

No one could deny as they stared at it that it looked like an exact copy of the Club Queen mark. If it wasn’t for the fact that Elizabeta was standing right there with the mark just above her breast, everyone would assume that Gilbert was the Queen of Clubs. However the mark, at least in their eyes, didn’t feel real. To anyone else who wasn’t a member of the four courts it looked genuine.

“The King of Spades called me up to do this trick upon a woman named Maria,” continued Gilbert, wiping the mark of his hand with ease, “A simple wench who he plucked up to be his perfect Queen, and wanted to make certain that everyone believed that she was the Queen of Spades.”

After that little show and the explanation given to them, everyone suddenly came to the same conclusion.

“She... was a false Queen?” asked Francis out loud in a shocked tone of voice.

“Yep!” declared Gilbert with a grin. “The only truth about her was her perfect and sexy body. Other than that she was no Queen, she only carried the title and the privileges that came with it.”

The room went silent.

“Then... if she wasn’t the Queen,” began Ludwig as he tried to make sense of all this, “who was?”

Gilbert then looked Alfred dead in his eyes as he spoke of the name. “The true Queen of Spades was a man named Arthur Kirkland.”

At the mention of that name, everyone suddenly looked over at Alfred. Their eyes were a mix of pity and confusion as they couldn’t quite understand what was going on. Alfred could only stare back, the pain in his heart was overwhelming as the truth was revealed.

“Your Arthur was the Queen of Spades from a hundred years ago,” continued Gilbert, “locked away by the King to protect his own legacy. Doomed to rot in a prison, in a world that did not know he existed nor care for his existence.”

As Gilbert explained, it was all starting to make sense. This whole time they were all lead to believe that Maria Somerset was the last Queen of Spades, only now they knew the truth; she was a fake. The true Queen has been locked away, erased from history only that they just learned of his identity. A horrible realisation hit them all and their eyes were either full of pity for Alfred or disbelief to accept this truth.

“But... But Alfred was meeting with him!” shouted Francis, realising that Alfred’s love may be a doomed one and couldn’t accept it, it was too cruel. “He met with him and spoke with him and-...”

“He wasn’t meeting him in this time period,” huffed Gilbert, dismissing Francis’ desperate attempt to fix this situation. “I mean I was surprised that he never noticed, given that he’s supposed to be the King of Spades.”

Alfred bit on his lip for he realised the answer. “I... I was going back in time, wasn’t I?”

Gilbert clapped his hands. “Indeed you were! Everyday you were going back a hundred years to meet your boyfriend. Talk about a long distance relationship!” He cackled viciously at his own joke.

It actually made sense, despite how painful it was. The reason why time stopped here whilst Alfred was in the garden, he had been unwittingly going backwards in time without anyone, even himself, realising it.

“B-But Maria Somerset was recognised by all four Kingdoms as the Queen,” continued Francis, still keen to prove this whole thing had to be a lie, “it was stated even in our records.”

“True, true,” yawned Gilbert, “that’s why I told her to carry some essence of the true Queen on her when around the other courts. Like his hair or something. As long as she had it on her no one would be able to realise she was a fake.”

Alfred recalled whenever that man took Arthur’s hair during his visits, taking small locks of it for reasons he now knew. As more and more evidence was given to him, the more his heart felt like it was being crushed. Even Francis appeared to be distraught, knowing full well that Alfred truly loved Arthur, but to learn he existed in another period of time was like the cruelest thing fate could do to a pair of lovers.

“But the King continued to grow more paranoid with his trapped Queen,” continued Gilbert, ignoring their pain, “he feared he would kill himself, thus giving birth to a new Queen and expose him. So to keep him occupied from thoughts of death, he tasked him with growing a garden. It did its job and for a while the King relaxed, his secret safely concealed and his imprisoned Queen accepting his fate. However as the years passed his paranoia continued to grow, like a cancer in his mind. Not even the bosom of his perfect false Queen was distracting him from the fear he dreaded so much. Would Arthur betray him? Would he escape? He knew he had the power so why didn’t he use it? As he kept a close eye on his trapped Queen, he soon discovered that the Queen was talking to someone in his garden. Someone that no one could see.”

Alfred gulped when he realised where this was going.

“He tried to figure it out who he was talking to until eventually he called me to find out. So I told him, he’s speaking to Alfred. He asked me, who Alfred was, and I told him, he’s a future King of Spades.” Gilbert cackled again. “He went mad with rage, believing that Arthur was planning to overthrow him and replace him, just as he had done to him. I calmed him down by telling him, he can’t overthrow you.”

“What did you mean by that?” asked Alfred suddenly, as what Gilbert had said made no sense. “If Arthur was as powerful as you say he was, he should’ve easily overpowered him!”

“True,” admitted Gilbert, “However Arthur unwittingly planted something in his garden that was sapping away all of his power, or rather feeding off it.”

“The... Elder trees?” It was the only thing Alfred could think of.

“Correct,” stated Gilbert, “Ivan, you know how Elder trees work right?”

Looking over at Ivan, the Club King sighed before answering. “Elder trees feed off magic, according to our popular theories. The more powerful the magic, the more powerful they become.” Ivan then appeared truly troubled and looked over at Alfred. “He... grew five, yes?”

Alfred nodded in response.

“Then... he must’ve been an insanely powerful Queen,” admitted Ivan much to everyone’s surprise, “to sustain five Elder trees without realising it?”

“Oh yes, Arthur was a powerful Queen... a dumb one if you ask me but a powerful one,” agreed Gilbert, “if he had been placed on the throne as the rightful Queen, he would’ve ushered in a golden age for the Spade Kingdom... unfortunately he realised it too late. The Elder trees in his garden leeched off his power and rendered him weak, unbeknownst to himself.”

Alfred couldn’t believe it. If Arthur hadn’t planted those trees then he would’ve had the power to free himself. It was like a horrible cruel twist of irony that the garden he cherished so much was the reason he couldn’t escape.

“However those trees met a grisly fate,” sighed Gilbert, “the paranoid King eventually figured out what Arthur was growing in his garden and was convinced that he was going to use their power to overthrow him. Unlike Ivan here, he had no idea of the true terror of these trees and foolishly cut all but one of them down.”

Although they already knew of this, to hear it again was shocking.

“I mean he tried to cut them all down, but the fifth one had already matured and not even the sharpest axe could dent it. So he left it there, sealed the garden up, and had the Queen locked away in a deep dark dungeon. He was so deluded with his paranoia and fear that he decided to execute poor Arthur to get rid of him.”

“W-What!” Alfred’s heart nearly stopped upon hearing that. He stumbled forward and clutched Gilbert’s jacket in desperation, looking at the Joker with eyes full of distraught. “He... was... he was killed?”

Gilbert pushes him away. “I said that he decided to execute him, I never said he did.”

Alfred sighed with relief.

“What are you so happy for?” sneered Gilbert. “Even if he was never killed, he would’ve been dead long before you were born.”

The reminder of this cruel fact left a sting in Alfred, though he was emotionally drained thus unable to react appropriately. “What happened to him?” he asked in a needy voice.

Gilbert shrugged. “He vanished.”

After a moment of silence, Alfred felt a tinge of stress. “That’s it?”

“Well I don’t know where he went!” Gilbert appeared embarrassed. “He just up and vanished! One second he was chained up in a dungeon, the next he was gone.”

The room was full of silence until Roderich spoke. “This actually made some sense to me,” he chuckled miserably, holding up the file. “These records I dug up... they’re over a century old. They tell of a child named Arthur Kirkland, raised in the local orphanage and who eventually left the town at the age of 18 under mysterious circumstances. I was certain these were all wrong... until now.”

The more evidence that was thrown at him was like a dagger piercing his flesh. Arthur, his beloved Arthur came from another period of time, a hundred years were between them and Alfred knew that they couldn’t break that barrier. His beloved Arthur was wrongfully imprisoned because of the paranoia of a deranged King, completely forgotten by time. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair at all. Arthur didn’t deserve such a horrible fate. He was a kind and caring man, with beautiful flaws. He didn’t deserve any of this and now... now he was gone. Just like the Joker has said, even if he grew into a ripe old age he would’ve died long before he was born.

“There is one thing I don’t understand,” stated Ivan suddenly. “You say that the four Elder Trees were cut down a hundred years ago?”

“Yep,” confirmed Gilbert.

“Then... why hasn’t there been any disasters? Any catastrophic events? Destroying four Elder trees should be enough to... end the world! If this happened a hundred years ago, why hasn’t anything happened?”

Gilbert’s eyes then darkened. “Oh that’s easy. You see after that silly King hacked the four Elder trees down, Arthur managed to get some of his power back. In order to save the Kingdom from certain doom, he sealed the four vengeful spirits of the Elder Trees into the roots of the surviving one, holding them back before they did any damage.”

Erika suddenly shivered. “You mean this whole time... that Elder Tree in the palace garden was holding back the vengeful manifestation of the deceased trees?”

Gilbert responded with a nod. “Yup, Arthur actually saved the world back then after sealing them away, though no one knew about it. It seemed that all the trouble was swept under the rug, but unfortunately the seal has grown weak over the years and soon it will break. The trapped spirts of the slain Elder Trees will be unleashed upon the world to carry out their long overdue vengeance.”

The room was once again filled with an unbearable silence as everyone took it all in.

“So... let me get this straight,” began a troubled Ludwig, wiping some sweat off his brow, “a hundred years ago a King of Spades locked up the true Queen and put a fake upon the throne. The true Queen grew five Elder Trees in a secret garden which the King destroyed all but one. The Queen sealed them away in the one tree that was not destroyed, and now the seal is close to breaking?” Gilbert said nothing but nodded. Ludwig then looked over at Alfred and his eyes were full of dread. “Did you know anything about this?”

Alfred cringed at the accusation and the way everyone looked at him was filling him with a sense of failure.

“I swear, we knew nothing about this,” stated Yao, who was just as troubled as everyone else. “We had no idea this happened in our own history, there was no record of it.”

“It was covered up,” replied Alfred bitterly, knowing from what he had learned that it was the only explanation why he and no one else in the Spade Kingdom knew. “They erased it all from history and modified it to fool the future generations. This whole time... we had been deceived by our own ancestors... and this is all my fault.”

Seeing that troubled look upon Alfred’s face, Francis stepped forward. “Alfred, this is not your fault!”

“Yes it is!” snapped Alfred in bitter rage. “My Kingdom... my predecessor screwed everything up and I blindly went along with it. I was so proud of my Kingdom, believing it was truly a mighty realm only now do I see it for what it is; a cesspool built out of lies that has doomed its children! It locked away a man who didn’t deserve his imprisonment, it destroyed four sacred Elder Trees that will cause the worlds doom! If I was truly a King of Spades then I should’ve seen past all these wretched lies! I should’ve done something! I-..”

Before Alfred could continue there was a attention drawing cough from the door. They all looked up to see a guard standing there, holding something on his hand.

“Forgive me your highness, but we surveyed that hidden room and... we found this.”

He held up what looked like an old envelope, almost ready to crumble in his hands. As Alfred stared at it he saw the words written upon it. His name... written in a familiar handwriting. He sprinted towards the guard and carefully took it from his hand. He could feel how frail it was in his hands and dreaded handling it out of fear it would fall apart. He looked over at the others, knowing he had to stay to figure all this out but was desperate to read the contents of the letter.

“I... I’ll be right back... I gotta... I...”

Unable to think of another excuse he ran off, clutching that letter close to his chest. He ran and ran until he found himself in the Elder Tree garden. He looked up at the tree, remembering how Arthur show them off to him. In the corner where he punched through the wall he could see the men continuing to enter and exit, carrying boxes of things for them to investigate. Creeping over to a secluded section he sat down on the bench and looked at the envelope, his name written in a hastily fashion.

“Alfred F. Jones.”

His hands trembled as he carefully opened the envelope, reaching inside and pulling out a folded letter. He gulped as he opened it up and before him were words that began to echo in his mind with Arthur’s voice.

“Dearest Alfred,

If you’re reading this then I guess you finally figured it out. I’m so sorry you had to learn in such a way, I wanted to tell you but it was too painful for me to say. I can only imagine the face you’re making right now. I’m so sorry.

I realised it all when you showed me your mark. I was confused so I summoned a Joker and he told me everything. I was angry, I couldn’t accept it, but I had to. You and I are a hundred years apart, and there is nothing we can do to break down that barrier. As much as I wanted to find a way to be with you, it’s impossible. Please don’t despair.

I do not have time, the King has gone mad and destroyed four of my Elder Trees. I managed to seal them within Guinevere before I was taken away, delaying the inevitable. I know the seal won’t last so I tried to figure out how to appease the angered spirits, and that’s when I met her, the girl you told me about. She told me what I had to do. I escaped my cell and I just have enough time to write this letter before I go.

Alfred, I have to go to the Forest of Eternity and plead with the Grand Elder Tree to calm the spirits of it’s vengeful children. If I don’t then the whole world, your future, would be doomed. I don’t think I’ll be able to leave once I’m done, as is the nature of that forest. However if I’m successful then your future will be safe and I’ll happily meet my fate knowing this.

I’m truly sorry Alfred. I wanted to meet you in person so much. I wanted to hold your hand. I wanted to feel your hair. I wanted to stand right next to you and say all the things I wanted to say, but it seems that just isn’t going to happen. Please don’t cry.

It seems unfair that I have to say this on paper, but it’s the only way I can. I’ll never forget you Alfred, you made my days bright and full of life. I’ll carry you in my heart until the end. Please remember me.

I love you,

Arthur Kirkland.”

Although he tried not to, Alfred could feel the ancient letter scrunching up in his hands, his tears falling past his glasses on staining the old ink upon the paper. The words Arthur left him was like a shattered piece of glass piercing his already damaged heart and it took all his strength not to bawl loudly and disturb anyone in that garden. As much as he hated to admit it, it was the only truth that he had to accept.

Arthur was gone.

He fell to his knees and wept a stream of endless tears as this realisation hit him harder than before. His Kingdom lied to him. His beloved was gone forever. The world was doomed and there was nothing that motivated him to try and fix it. All he could do was cry.

“Alfred?”

A voice made him slowly look up and standing in front of him was the strange girl, her face full of regret and guilt.

“Alfred, you know now, don’t you? You know who I am?”

Wiping his eyes with his sleeve, Alfred nodded as it became clear who this girl really was.

“You’re... you’re Guinevere.”

The girl smiled gently and curtsied before him. “Yes Alfred, I am the Elder Tree that has stood here for a hundred years, waiting for you.” She stood back up and stepped closer.

“It’s time I told you everything...”