For a short moment, when the Spades champion was believed to be the winner, the council members were simply ecstatic. And it was soon ripped away from them. The rider cheated and he was exposed in front of the whole Shuffling. Arnold was furious.
"You failure of a man!" he grabbed him by the collar then pulled down so he could be on his knees. "You know of the purpose of the Shuffling, you were bestowed the honor to come and participate at one of its events. The entire Kingdom would kill to be in your place. And you cheat?! Like a commun peasant?! Do you not realize the graveness of what you've done?!"
"M-My Lord!" he bowed, his forehead touching the grass. "I have no words to express my shame! I gave in to peer pressure!"
"Peer pressure?! Ha! A true Spades does not shake at such petty things! You could've been on the top three, won the bronze medal! But instead, you were greedy! And that greed brought you here now! At my feet, pleading for mercy!"

"[A King shall not stand any disrespect.]"

Arnold wanted to punish him, make him pay for putting him, the others, and the entire Kingdom of Spades to shame. It was important that the people here knew that the council members had nothing to do with this cheater.
"Marquis of Spades, please."
Arnold's eyes widened. The King of Hearts was now beside him, whether he got here by magic or sheer speed, he didn't know for certain. His hand was grabbing his wrist, preventing him from taking out his sword. Despite the calm smile on the King's face, Arnold did put up a silent fight, trying to move his hand. But it was no use.

"[The pest again.]"

"You..." he inaudibly whisper before speaking. "This is Spades business, your Highness."
"Ah, but this happened during the Shuffling. As the Master of Ceremony, it is I who should resolve the matter, as I said I shall do."
The King finally let go of him and took a step back, his hands behind his back. Arnold faced him.
"You said you would find out what happened, and now we know what happened. Thank you very much, I shall take it from here."
"You?" he tilted his head, looking impressed. "How refreshing to see such autonomy from such a young man."
"Is that sarcasm?" his eyes narrowed.
"Oh I'm told I'm not so good at that sort of thing." he said with furrowed brows. "Anyhow, if it makes you feel better, you could join me as I look for a suitable punishment, along with the new, true results of today's chariot race." he smiled, his eyes narrowed. "I would be happy to take you under my wing for today."

"[He thinks you're weak. Make him pay! Make him pay! Silence him once and for all!]"

Arnold could feel his hand shaking, yearning to grab his sword again. But instead, he closed it into a tight fist.
"Heh." he forced a smile, glaring. "It's just like the King of Hearts to stick his nose into other people's business."
The King's eyelid twitched. Somehow, Arnold knew he struck a chord. Somehow, he knew the King had something to hide. Not in general, he knew every member of the nobility had something to hide. But specifically now, something big, something he doesn't want anybody to know...
"What do you know of your own business, young Marquis?"
"What did you just say to me?" he spoke in a graver voice, unable to hide his animosity anymore. "What are you insinuating exactly?!"
"Oh nothing harmful." he raised his hands. "It's okay to not be much of a businessman, I have quite some trouble myself. Except when I know a situation is out of my area of expertise, I know how to hand over the reins to someone better qualified than me. Some might say, someone who's more worthy." he said that last sentence quietly.
Arnold was hit with a sharp pain, non-physical, which was the worst kind. It only made this boiling feeling of rage twist his stomach more.
"Oh yeah? You wanna go there?! Listen here you little sh-"
"That is enough my Lord!"

The two men looked over to see (Y/n), walking up to them and facing Arnold, standing between him and the King.
"One would think that two weeks into the Shuffling, you would learn how to keep your temper in check." she spoke again with a stern voice.
Arnold was taken aback. He looked at the King, then back at her.
"Are you serious?! You're taking his side?!"
"His Majesty is right, this concerns him as well. This happened on his estate. He's inviting you to deal with the matter together – which is an honor – and you're just acting so... Rude!"
"An honor?! Please." he rolled his eyes. "You know he said it out of pity!"
"Well then if you don't want to build a good relationship with the King of Hearts, that is your prerogative."
"What are you saying right now-"
"I'm saying that if you don't want to act like a mature adult, fine!"

Arnold's eyes widened, his expression fell. That 'fine' was too loud for anyone's comfort. She yelled at him. She was angry.
'Have I really become a burden to you?'
"But in that case, my Lord, I shall respectfully ask you to step away and let the adults deal with this situation. Maybe Countess Gwendolyn could take care of this."
"Actually, I think I would rather take care of this with you."
She turned to the King, looking at him with big eyes.
"You seem to have a good head on your shoulders." he smiled.
She blushed. Arnold scoffed.

"[He's turned her against you! Make him pay!]"

He wanted to ask if they could speak privately. But when he stepped closer to her, the King quickly stood beside her. He glared at him, his sadness turning into anger yet again.
"You..." he leaned closer to her. "You are blind."
Her expression saddened. Not wanting to risk changing his mind upon seeing it, Arnold quickly turned away and left. He locked himself into his room and held his head. Two opposite voices were hitting his skull from the inside at the same time. His own, ashamed of disappointing (Y/n) yet again. And the one from his nightmare, still ordering him to kill the King as if he was standing right in front of him. He took out his sword and threw it across the room, afraid of what he could do with it. His vision blurry, he stepped back into a corner of the room and let himself slide down to the floor, holding his head.

Upon almost starting a fight with Wally, the King of Spades became a little heated. It was too much for poor Arnold. But he was a strong kid, he handled it without passing out. The next day was a blur. It would've continued to be that way if it wasn't for... Someone knocked at the door.
"Arnold?"
He looked up, (Y/n)'s voice brought him back to reality.
"I'm sorry if you're resting, but I just wanted to-"
He opened the door, startling her. She saw the bags under his eyes and grew concerned.
"Did you not sleep well?"
Did he even sleep at all?

"I stayed out late." he said without thinking. "What do you want?"
"I... It's the masquerade ball tonight. We're getting ready."
He looked at her dress. One of her best.
"Got it." he said before closing the door again.
In the middle of changing, a butler came in, holding a trail with a single glass.
"Pardon me, my Lord." he bowed. "Her Ladyship asked me to serve you a glass of orange juice. She said you might need vitamins."
Arnold paused. Was she worrying about him?
"...Leave it here." he continued to put on his suit.
"Would you like some help changing?"
"No."
"Very well." he bowed again before leaving.
Once he heard the door close, Arnold turned to look at the glass placed on his desk.

"[She just doesn't want you to hold her back again. You don't need her pettiness.]"

Petty? Arnold wanted to protest and say this wasn't her style at all. But at this point, he believed he didn't know anymore...
Once he was ready, he looked at himself in the mirror. Those eyebags were really noticeable. He didn't think his 'I'm-working-so-hard' excuse would cut it this time, not after all the parties he's been going to lately. Thank goodness his mask covered them. To be quite honest, he would've much preferred one of those cool masks that were basically part of a costume, like almost everyone wore at the masquerade.
Things went well for a while. But then the noise in the plumbing was heard once again and Arnold tightened the grip he had on his glass.
He's been thinking. That sound would worsen his headache, he even began to hear it in his nightmares. He knew other people could hear it too, so he knew he wasn't crazy. The noise, the voice, its hatred for the King of Hearts, letters flying around, the headaches, the way he would space out sometimes. He had a gut feeling that all these things were somewhat connected.
He started to think that that noise was actually some kind of message. A message that something bad was about to happen to him. Like something coming closer... It scared him.
"Arnold!!!"

Arnold flinched while others gasped. He quickly turned around and his eyes met (Y/n)'s. Her voice at full volume startled everyone into silence.
"What is wrong with her?" someone beside him whispered.
This irritated him . But he was more preoccupied by the look on her face. She looked horrified, like she just witnessed a murder.
"Th-There..." she gulped. "A man, he tried to attack you."
His eyes widened, and he quickly looked around.
"Who?"
"An attack?" "During the Shuffling?" "Attacking the young marquis?" the other guests whispered.
"He..." (Y/n) took a deep breath. "He was wearing all black, and a bear mask."
"A bear mask?" someone asked.
Arnold kept looking at each individual person around him who would fit that description.
'Even just the suit.' he thought. 'They could've very well taken off their mask discreetly.'

"Yes, he was right behind him!"
"I see no one here with a bear mask."
Indeed, but Arnold kept looking.
"Because he just...disappeared."
While the crowd whispered amongst itself, not believing her, Arnold had a bad feeling about this. Some man trying to attack him, then disappearing without a trace of mana...?
"I knew he had ill intentions, but when I tried to catch him, he disappeared! I then saw him approaching the Marquis and he disappeared again!"
"...Lady (L/n)!" someone spoke up, almost laughing. "Are you perhaps suggesting that there is a ghost haunting this castle?"
At that moment, Arnold stopped and looked at her. Ghosts, maybe that was what connected all these strange things that have been happening to him. Was she thinking the same way? Was she being haunted as well? (Y/n) was a firm believer in spirits and ghosts, surely if she was in the same situation as Arnold, she would think the castle was indeed haunted.
The King of Spades knew that this was a crucial moment. Things could take a big turn in one direction or another depending on her answer.

Her eyes met Arnold's. And he prayed for her to say yes. One last thing that connected them, something he could hold on to.
She kept looking around at the crowd and forced out a laugh.
"A ghost?" she said. "N-Nothing of the sort, no! We are in the most secure place in the land. That's just silly!"
The other guests laughed, agreeing with her. Arnold exhaled, only now realizing he's been holding his breath. Her new friends came over to take care of her and escort her out of the ballroom.
Heartbroken yet again, Arnold turned back to his own 'friends', whoever they were, and continued their previous conversation, whatever that was. The plumbing made that noise again and Arnold felt like puking, but this time he drank and ate a lot in order to make this terrible taste go back down his throat. He handled it well.

"[You don't need her.]"

'She certainly doesn't need me.'

Arnold was on his way to another party when the Countess' scream was heard the next night. He was one of the people who came running to where it came from. Once he arrived, she was already gone, along with the guards who escorted her and the King of Hearts. The crowd that has gathered was talking about some dark magic that was used to kill the Countess of Rummoli. Arnold saw the black liquid on the carpet and his heart sunk. He recognized it. It was the same liquid he puked out after his argument with Catherine and Gwendolyn.
He quickly left and went to bed. He didn't sleep much, however. His nightmares would now wake him up, and when he'd go back to sleep, it would be to go through another nightmare. He had a lot of questions, but each time he tried to figure out what was going on, his headache would get a lot worse. For now, he just wanted to forget about it.
The next day, there was the big lunch party, everyone would be there and Arnold knew that last night's attack would be the subject of every conversation. He was the first to wake up and he asked a maid for a report. Apparently, the Duchess of Tarock was telling everybody that her friend was attacked because the two of them have exposed the Lady of Spades' shady background, or lack thereof. It made him frown.
"Do people believe her?"
"Not that we've heard of, my Lord."
His eyes narrowed. There was only one way to find out. He prepared himself for the day, used magic to hide his eyebags and went out.

Came to find out, everybody assumed he did it, even Lord Kolton and his friends.
"And here is the dark magician of the hour!"
"Oh come on, we don't know if it was him who did it."
"Who else could it have been?!"
Arnold listened to them silently – talking about him as if he was standing right in front of them – until finally they addressed him.
"Was it really you?"
"...If I've done it, do you think I would tell you?" he smirked with a raised eyebrow.
They laughed. Arnold didn't know why he didn't just say no. All he knew was that people might turn their attention to (Y/n) if he did.

As time passed, Arnold noticed the shift in people's attitude towards him. Be it the duel from the ball on the first week or the mystery man at the masquerade, at the end of the day, nobody got seriously hurt and everything was over and done by the next day. This was real. Someone was attacked by dark magic and was in a critical state, on the verge of death. Whoever did this was very powerful and shouldn't be messed with. Since Arnold was suspect number one, nobody would look him in the eyes, nobody would stand in his way. He liked that. He liked how he felt like he now had genuine authority.
For once, despite the circumstances, the spotlight was on him and him alone. And he saw an opportunity.
"My Lord?"
He turned to see (Y/n) walking towards him. He felt his heart tightening. She must've heard of what happened. Was she suspecting him as well? How will she react? Should he deny he did it now?

"[Don't back down. You don't need her.]"

"My Lords." she curtsied to the rest of the group he was with.
"Aaah little Spades Lady!" one of the men said as the rest of them smiled, now that she had greeted them. "What a pleasure to be in your presence!"
"Truly an honor!" another one said.
"You flatter me." she bowed her head. "If my Lord, the Marquis of Spades isn't busy, may I request a moment of his time alone?"
The men looked at Arnold, who inhaled and cleared his throat before looking at her, cool and collected.
"Certainly, you may." he nodded.
"Thank you." she took a step aside for him to lead the way.
He led the two of them somewhere deeper into the gardens, out of sight and out of earshot. Once he faced her, now that they were alone, he once again felt all these emotions threatening to burst out of his chest. He folded his arms as if it could push them down.

"What?"
"Arnold I..." her expression twisted in sorrow. "I'm sorry."
His eyes widened, his mind went blank for a moment.
'What?'

"[What?]"

"You were right, I was blind. I neglected you- I neglected everyone!" she held her head, closing her eyes. "So many things are happening right now, and now someone attacked the Count's mother and everybody thinks it's you. And I promise I'll-"
"You don't think I did it?"
She paused and looked at him, she seemed surprised.
"No. No, of course not. Of course you didn't do it." she stepped closer. "You would never."

Arnold frowned and looked down, unfolding his arms. Once again, conflicted thoughts and opposite feelings filled his head, along with memories of everything that happened during this Shuffling. He didn't know what to make of all of this, of her. She's been brushing him aside all this time and the last few times she bothered to talk to him was to yell at him. Now she was apologizing and saying he's been right all along. But this didn't feel like a victory to him. Why now? Now that people finally stopped bothering him, she wanted it to stop? For things to go back to the way they were, when he was just a hot-tempered kid in the eyes of everyone? Did she not want him to ever be in the spotlight? They could use this to their advantage and she chooses to go the honest route?
After everything that happened, she still considered him a child. After everything he did, she still couldn't believe he would ever harm someone.
He felt her hand holding his.
"I'm sorry..." she spoke softly. "The last thing I want is to hurt you. You know that."
But she did. She did hurt him.
She tilted her head so that she'd be within his sight. She had that look on her face again! He hated that look! She looked like she was about to cry.

"[Because she finds you pitiful. Ever since you told her your biggest secret. All you are is a tragedy to her.]"

Arnold turned his head away. His mind became clouded again, it wandered. His gaze grew distant.
"Arnold I-"
He saw (Y/n)'s hand approaching his face. With a sharp inhale, he slapped it away and stepped back. He reacted this way, not because he mistook her gesture for an attack, although it did catch him off guard. He knew what she was trying to do and he rejected it. They looked at each-other in silence. (Y/n) was in shock, holding her now red hand.
Finally, Arnold inhaled and cleared his throat. He relaxed and fixed his posture.
"I'm not hurt." he looked at her with a cold expression, his voice clear and stern. "I'm through."
At this moment, Arnold made a decision. (Y/n)'s plan was initially to blend in with the rest of the nobility in order to be accepted. But no matter what, it would always backfire for Arnold while she flourished and thrived. He's grown tired of waiting for her to pull him up her pedestal so they could share it. It was now clear to him that she was content with her new friends and he'll stop trying to reach for her.
'So I'm a burden. Well I release you. You won't have to worry about me again. We can go our separate ways.'

"You made me realize that I need to follow my own plan," he said. "take matters into my own hands. I'm done relying on you. I am sick and tired of having you hold my hand and drag me along like a child." he took a deep breath, calming himself down before he could get too worked up. "I'll be more independent, more mature. Happy?"
He started walking away.
"Wait, Arnold!" (Y/n) called out for him. "What are you going to do? What is your plan?"
"I'll just do what you do," he glanced back at her. "make the best of my situation."
And so, he went back to the party and made an announcement, declaring that he was indeed the one behind the attack last night. He said he acted as a King would, for the sake of one of his peers and challenged the guards – or anyone really – to do anything about it. And nobody did, everybody was scared and Arnold felt amazing.
'Now that feels like progress!'

"[See? You don't need her.]"

"Ha!" he shook his head with a smile then drank his glass of wine in one go.
It tasted terrible, but at this point he was used to the taste, enough to not let his disgust be shown.
"Alright, let the party continue!" he gestured towards the musicians to go ahead before going back to his group.
"My, my." Lord Kolton smiled. "Who would've thought you could be so theatrical."
"The little guy is becoming a man!" one of the men laughed and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't touch me."
There was a pause. Arnold stared into the man's eyes, who removed his hand without a word. Arnold could feel the tension in the air that he just created with only three words and it made him smile.
"So guys." he said, taking another glass of wine. "Any new golden shiny pocket watch you bought since the last time I saw you?"
The men took a moment to speak. Something was different about this kid and it made them unsettled.
"Uh, I do have one actually." a few of them nodded.
Arnold chuckled.
'Of course you do, you dumb bastards.' he thought as the conversation continued.
"Marquis of Spades."

Arnold's smile fell and he turned around to see the King of Hearts.
"Yes?"
"May I speak to you in private?"
The other men gulped.
"I'm afraid you've come in the middle of a conversation, your Highness."
"Oh I'm certain this won't take long." Wally smiled. "Shall we?"
Arnold frowned. But he sighed, placed his glass on a nearby table and told him to go ahead and lead the way. Despite the music still playing, he noticed that nobody was talking and he could feel everyone's eyes on the two of them as they left. Arnold looked back at them and they all avoided his gaze. With a huff, he looked at the back of the King's head. He mentally prepared himself. No matter what, he will not let the King of Hearts ruin his day.

Wally took them outside of the garden area, out of sight and earshot. Once they faced each-other, a moment of silence passed. The voice in Arnold's head began to yell again.
'[Shut up! Let me handle this!]'
"Imagine my surprise when I heard you took credit for the attack on the Countess." the King spoke.
"Took credit?" he raised an eyebrow. "Do you not believe my own confession?"
"More like I was impressed that you would simply announce it to the entire Shuffling like you were certain would be free of consequences."
Arnold looked around, down at himself then back at the King.
"Do you see me restrained?" he opened his arms. "Am I in a jail cell?"
Now, Wally knew that the dark magic used for the attack came from that black butterfly he saw the other day, and his first suspect wouldn't have been the young marquis...if it wasn't for the young marquis. When he looked at him, he sensed a familiar tension. At this moment, Wally truly believed the crown of the Ruler of Spades was cursed. And with his magic sens, he noticed how the marquis has grown in power since the last time they talked. With that in mind – despite what Lady (L/n) said – Wally couldn't help but consider the possibility that Arnold was indeed behind this. Besides, that kid was seriously getting on his nerves.

"You seem to have a newfound confidence." he tilted his head.
"I just stopped worrying about things that I felt held me back."
"Well, it sure left Lady (L/n) quite upset."
Arnold's smile fell. Wally felt he struck a chord.
"The poor lady begged on her knees for me to leave you alone, you know?" he sighed, turning his head to the side. "Her kindness truly knows no bounds... I heard that she was quite secluded before your King's death, which makes sense then why she's so kind." he glanced at him. "She hasn't met anyone who didn't deserve it. And even if she did, I'm willing to bet she wouldn't know."
Arnold's eyelid twitched. Hearing this guy talk about her made him sick. He could literally feel that burning feeling twisting his guts into knots.
"...Why don't you say what's really on your mind?" he leaned closer.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Wally faced him.
"It's just us here. Man to man, come on." he nodded upwards. "Be honest for once in your life. You'll see that it's very freeing."

A moment passed, the two of them could feel the heavy tension pushing them down, but they never lowered their gaze. Wally narrowed his eyes, but he didn't say anything, even though he really wanted to.
"Heh. Of course." Arnold smirked and leaned back. "So now what? Will you arrest me? Because I'm not going down without a fight."
"Oh Marquis, you yourself should be honest." Wally tilted his head. "You just want to fight."
"...And what if I do?"
As he said that, Arnold took off his glove and held it in his fist. He raised it to the King's level for him to accept the glove. Wally didn't move a muscle. He looked down at the glove, then stared at Arnold for a long moment.
"...Alright."
Arnold let the glove fall on the ground. Wally turned around and walked away, the young man following him.
"Don't you want to get a witness?"
"I'm sure this won't be worth their time." the King responded, unbothered.

Arnold's fists shook in anger. He took a deep breath, thinking that whatever he was feeling right now, he could use during their duel. He followed the King of Hearts to the race course, which has been taken down and turned back into the training grounds it previously was. They stood in the middle of the field, alone, and took off their capes and jackets. While Arnold took out his sword, Wally snapped his fingers and made his sword appear in the air. He grabbed it but didn't take it out of its scabbard. He then looked up at the Sun to see its position.
"When the clock strikes 2pm?"
"...Sure."
"Let's lay down the rules first." he rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt. "No magic."
"No tapping out." Arnold said as he stretched. "It stops when one of us dies."
"Oh come on now." he shook his head, amused. "You know that can't happen."
"You people of Hearts are too soft." he got in position.
"No, it's just a barbaric rule."
"Then maybe you're just too weak."

Wally just hummed. The two of them waited in silence after that, contrasting the voice in Arnold's head, nagging him over and over about killing him and make him 'pay for everything' like his death would solve all of his problems.
'[Let me fuckin' concentrate! You want me to win or not?]'

"[You won't win without my help.]"

'[Watch me.]'
And just like that, the voice went quiet and Arnold breathed a sigh of relief. The bells rang once, twice and as soon as it did, Arnold dashed towards the King. He went straight to him before suddenly changing his trajectory to strike him from behind. Wally jumped out of the way and kicked him on his side, sending him flying. Arnold landed on his feet, sliding for a couple of seconds, leaving two trails of dirt on the ground. He quickly looked for the King, but he wasn't within sight, like he just disappeared.
Wally was suddenly behind him, swinging his sword horizontally. Arnold swiftly crouched down, grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it in the King's face. He easily swatted it away, but it was enough of a distraction for Arnold to kick him in the ankles, making his opponent fall back just as he stood up and raised his sword. Wally placed his hands on the ground above his head and backflipped out of the way. The sword came in contact with the ground with such force that it created a small crater. Arnold looked up to see the King of Hearts standing there, the end of his still unsheathed sword on his forehead.
"You're dead."

Arnold glared at him before slapping the sword out of the way with the back of his hand.
"Unsheath your blade, then maybe I'll take you seriously!"
"You're good, I'll give you that." he stepped back.
Arnold ran towards him again. Wally blocked his attack and slid his sword to the base of his opponent's, then with a circular motion, he disarmed him and threw Arnold's sword in the air. Wally looked at it go up for a moment, thinking he might have overdone it.
"Ohohoho you shouldn't have done that!" Arnold laughed.
Wally looked back at him, and next thing Wally knew, his sight was blocked by a fist. He managed to block it just in time, but it was this close to hit him in the face. He swung his sword to make his opponent step away and to create some distance between them. The young Marquis had a huge grin on his face.
"You think just because I'm weaponless I'm not armed?" he raised his fists and jumped up and down lightly. "I'm the Spades champion at every sport there is! Boxing included!"
Wally didn't say anything, but he narrowed his eyes, his expression graver.

He attacked vertically, Arnold dodged and tried to punch him in the face again. Wally deflected his attack by opening his arms, pushing Arnold's out of the way. The young man took this opportunity to try and take the sword from him. Still being in its scabbard, Wally was able to flick it out of his hand, making it rotate around his neck then grabbed it with his other hand. He then hit the back of Arnold's neck with the handle, giving him the opportunity to put the sword on his neck and trapping him between his arms, choking him. Only lightly though, which to Arnold was a stupid mistake. He grabbed the sword and suddenly hunched over, making Wally go over him and fall down on his back, letting go of his sword. He looked at Arnold standing over him, then looked up.
"Heads up."
Arnold followed his gaze and saw his sword falling towards them. They both got out of the way, but once it was within reach, Arnold grabbed it and pointed it at an unarmed King.

"You're dead!" he said with a big smile, panting.
Wally glared at him and picked up his sword.
"Alright. Since we can't kill each-other, let's say this stops when someone taps out." he said as he unsheathed his sword.
"I never agreed to this rule!" he glared back.
"I don't believe that matters."
Arnold clicked his tongue.

There was a few more rounds to this duel, each of them would last a little longer every time. And each time, the rules would get a little looser. At some point, Wally had a cut on his cheek. He paused the duel and healed himself with magic.
"We simply can't go back to the party in such sorry states, you understand." he smiled.
Arnold let it pass, under the condition that he could heal any future wounds of his as well (despite not knowing any healing magic).
During a particularly heated moment, Wally was so close to cutting Arnold's head that the young man used a magic shield out of instinct. They paused and agreed that the use of defensive magic would be allowed in case of other close calls like this.
The duel continued. It's been a while since any word was spoken At this point, Arnold was putting all of his strength into every strike. The clashing of their weapons sometime created a shockwave that would crack the ground beneath them. Good thing the training grounds were far away from both the gardens and the castle. Still, back at the lunch party, people could hear distant noises, and from the higher floors of the castle, if someone was to look towards their direction, they could see explosions of dust and dirt beyond the trees.

Wally didn't have his sword anymore and Arnold was preventing him from getting it back. Although Arnold had no problem with fighting a sword using only his fists, Wally wasn't as good as him in that regard. So while the marquis was throwing big pieces of rocks at him – from the cracks and craters they've created – the King of Hearts retreated behind the trees. The rocks knocked them down, sometimes even went through them like arrows through flesh. Wally quickly thought of a plan and began to pick up trees and throw them at Arnold.
'This is getting stupid!' the young man frowned.
He dodged the projectiles and when a particularly big one was coming at him fast, he readied his sword and cut it in half with a swift vertical movement. The two halves separated, revealing the King who had been running behind it then jumped, knowing how Arnold would react. With his opponent's arms down, Wally pressed his foot on his face and used it to jump again then land behind him. Arnold groaned and quickly rubbed his face. He turned around and saw the King crouching to pick up his sword so he dashed towards him and held the blade to his neck before he could even grab it.

The two of them stood still. Wally turned his head to look up at him. Arnold was out of breath while he only breathed deeply. He smiled.
"Your hands are shaking. You'll miss. I won't."
The marquis' eyes narrowed while the King's grew bigger, along with his smile.
"Hold still."

Next thing Arnold knew, he was pushed to his knees. The King of Hearts held both his and his own sword and crossed them behind Arnold's neck, trapping him. The young man was speechless and as he looked into the King's piercing eyes, for the first time, he was scared of him.
"That's what happens when I don't hold back."
Arnold's heart sank.
'This whole time, he was holding back?!'
He could now see the difference between the two of them in terms of both strength and stamina. He was out of breath and didn't even have the strength to stand up, the King was barely panting and still had the energy to hide the small cuts and bruises he endures during this fight. Arnold realized he didn't even have any serious injuries, he just put everything he had into those last ten minutes.
Against the King of Hearts, he couldn't win.

"[I can lend you the strength you need.]"

The young man hung his head down. Wally sighed and relaxed.
"You can't fight anymore." he removed the swords and leaned back. "I guess that makes me the winner." he smiled and let Arnold's sword fall on the ground. "I haven't had any exercise in a while, thank you for this match."
He put his sword back in its scabbard and walked away.
"Stop."
Wally froze and he could swear his heart stopped beating for a moment. Unsure, he opened and closed his hands. He could still move.
"What did you-?"
He turned around. The Marquis of Spades was jumping towards him, sword in hand and aiming for his head. But this wasn't the young man he fought. This was something far darker. Out of instinct, Wally used magic to break the sword into pieces. He grabbed the individual by the face as he fell down and used another spell to knock him out. He let his opponent fall down as he quickly stepped back, his heart beating out of his chest.
The Marquis of Spades was unconscious. But for a moment, he looked like someone else, he felt like someone else. Something in his eyes changed, even his voice sounded different...

Wally huffed and crouched in front of the boy to heal him and wake him up. Arnold couched and opened his eyes, which widened when he saw him.
"Let's agree that this match never happened." Wally said. "If anybody asks, we agreed you wouldn't receive any punishment and you gave your word you'll make amends personally, away from the public eye. Understood?"
Arnold gave him a nasty look, but he didn't say no.
"Good." he patted his chest before standing up and walking away as the young man sat up. "Let's go back now. You don't have to come with me, but please don't take too long." he looked back at him with a smile. "I don't want people to think I killed you. And I'm sure you wouldn't want that either." he made his cape and jacket float back to him and left.
Once alone, Arnold looked at his hands, closing and opening them again and again, as if to make sure he had control over them. Last thing he remembered was feeling exhausted after realizing the King was going easy on him this whole time. And the voice told him...
"...[Did you do something?]" he whispered.
A moment passed, he heard nothing. With a sigh, Arnold stood up, used magic to look presentable, put his jacket back on and went back to the party. He didn't see (Y/n) there, and he was glad.

Upon his return, a lot of people asked how his private conversation with the King of Hearts went. Of course he didn't give the answer the King told him to say. After a while he brushed off the questions and went on with the party. At some point however, Arnold began to feel something. It wasn't from the duel, it was an internal pain. Like his insides were growing, threatening to tear his skin apart. He had no idea what was going on with him, but with his resolve and his glamour, he kept presenting himself as confident, relaxed, cool and collected.
Eventually Lord Kolton and his friends offered to go to where 'the real party' was. Arnold – as he was used to now – accepted and they left the gardens to go back to the castle. After his 'confession', Arnold was given an extra special treatment, he was even called the future King of Spades. In this room were some of the most powerful people in the world, and he could bring them to their knees simply by asking. He finally bent the crowd to his will!
But as time passed, Arnold felt worse and worse. He went to the bathroom at some point and almost collapsed when he closed the door behind him. He dispelled his glamour and looked at himself in the mirror. He was very pale, his eyebags were even more prominent. He splashed his face with water and put his glamour back on. With a huff, he went back to the party and ordered a tonic drink. He stayed at that party for as long as he could handle. When he reached his limit, he left without a word and went back to the Spades quarters.

He saw (Y/n) and the others ready to leave for the play – he had almost forgotten about that – and told them to go without him before locking himself in his room. He heard voices on the other side but did not care to listen to what they said. He collapsed onto his bed and curled into a ball, covering his mouth with one hand and grabbing a fistful of hair with his other.
'Don't puke don't puke don't puke don't puke don't puke-' he told himself over and over.
Things were going well so far. He must not show any weakness. If he did, people might think he's not worthy and (Y/n) will be proven right: that he was just a pitiful kid and she'll look at him with that sad look on her face again! Arnold refused to let that happen. Before getting ready, he called for a servant and asked for food, lots of it. He ate anything that was presented to him in the hopes it would get this horrible taste out of his mouth.
As he looked at himself in the mirror, he considered not going to the play. But it was an official event, he knew he had to go.
'She'd ask even more questions if I don't.'
Indeed, (Y/n) will surely bombard him with questions, about his 'confession' and his private talk with the King of Hearts, more because she's in love with the King and less because she cares about him, he bet.

The play started soon after he took his seat in the audience, the two of them didn't have time to talk. So Arnold enjoyed the show, preparing himself for an interrogation. But (Y/n) left during intermission to talk to the King – which made Arnold roll his eyes – and when the play ended...
"Alright, what a play!" she lightly hit her lap and turned to him. "Arnold, am I right to assume that you'll be spending the rest of the evening with your friends again?"
Arnold frowned.
"Well then, I hope you have fun and we wish you a wonderful dinner." she smiled and quickly left, followed by Catherine and Gwendolyn.
He felt his heart ache. Was this some sort of punishment? Despite what he said, he didn't expect her to stop caring this quickly. He huffed and left as well. He considered skipping dinner and going straight to bed, but he had a feeling (Y/n) would be there, so instead he crashed a friend's party. Since he actually didn't have anything planned for tonight. He stayed in his seat, resting his head on the palm of his hand, looking upon these people he swore looked the same, in this party he swore was the same as all the other ones he's been to.

"Arnold what's wrong?" one of his 'friends' asked. "Why do you look so glum?"
Arnold looked at the man, wondering who he was.
"I'm bored." he sighed.
To that man, the host of the party, it was important to keep this kid entertained. After all, with how things were going, he was going to be King of Spades! Also if he was bored, he might get angry, and nobody wanted him to get angry at them!
He called on the person with the lowest status in the room and had them stand against a wall with various fruits in their hands and on the top of their head. The other party attendees knew where this was going and wanted to partake in this game of knife-throwing.

"Haha! Oh my stars he's crying!" "Come on man, act your age!" "We didn't even touch you!"
"Arnold, join the party!" the host handed him a knife.
Arnold stared at the man standing by the wall. He was a Baron from another kingdom, he looked out of place here, like he was dragged here for entertainement. He was old enough to be his dad, his face was red, stained with snot and tears, and he was shaking like a leaf, keeping his eyes closed so as to not witness the crowd's glee upon seeing his suffering. Arnold clenched his fist and finally looked at the host.
"Why don't you go stand there?"
"Haha... What?"
He took the knife and stood up.
"You..." he pointed at him with the knife. "Go stand there." he then pointed at the wall.

A moment of silence passed.
"Oh what?" he smirked. "You're too scared? You don't trust your friends?"
The crowd laughed. The host gulped and went to take the Baron's place, who quickly left the party without saying a word. The game continued, this time with Arnold playing. It was pretty much the same except this time the crowd was laughing at someone else who was crying. While everybody was purposefully missing by a long shot, Arnold hit the fruits on his first tries and would hit the wall as close to the host as possible sometimes.
"Alright friend!" he smirked, rotating his last knife in his hand. "Let's see how good those reflexes are!"
He threw the knife, this time aiming for the bullseye. Paralyzed by fear, the host just closed his eyes. There were gasps and the room fell silent. Feeling himself still breathing, the host opened his eyes. The knife was this close to touching his forehead, but it was stopped by Arnold's magic.
"My reflexes are good."
The scariest part was that, at this moment, he looked bored again. But then he burst out laughing along with everyone when the host fainted. From then on, Arnold would put more effort into acting like he liked being here.

He came back to the Spades quarters in the middle of the night. He quickly loosened his tie and undid the first two buttons of his dress shirt. He had difficulty breathing, so much so that he fell down and couldn't stand up. He stayed like this for a while, but he did everything he could to make as little sound as possible. After a while, he managed to regulate his breathing. He went to the kitchen and drank water, a lot of it, to wash down the alcohol. Even though he only had one drink this time!
That's because it wasn't the alcohol. And it hasn't been the alcohol for a long time now.
Just then, he realized something. He hasn't heard the voice in his head ever since the duel. He narrowed his eyes.
'[You there?]'
Silence. Arnold huffed and went to his room.
'Must've realized I'm doing just fine on my own!'
The King of Spades would have laughed if he could.

Days passed, they all seemed the same to Arnold: a collection of parties where he had to command respect, authority and had to look as clean-cut as possible. He would feel sicker and sicker. He would feel the eyes of the crowd even when he was alone and he could still hear its laughter. If he wasn't out partying, he was locked in his room, trying to keep himself together.
"You seem a lot happier these days, Arnold." Catherine once told him, not looking happy. "Glad you're having the time of your life now that Lady (Y/n) left."
His mind went blank for a second.
"What?"
"Yeah. She was gone as soon as we got the letter from home. Did you not realize that she left?!" she glared.
She kept talking about how insensitive he was, but Arnold had stopped listening.
He didn't realize she left. Nobody told him, and he'd see her so rarely that he didn't notice the difference. Looking at the date, he realized her birthday had passed as well.
This took a toll on him, and the King of Spades took full advantage of that. As the kid suffered these torments, his mind would grow weaker.

Arnold could feel himself changing. The voice in his head was back and it kept tormenting him, saying every thing that would hit him the hardest. It would say things not even Arnold knew about! He would plead it to stop, asking why it's doing this. It would just keep talking.
One day, he couldn't take it anymore. He took a some paper and ink and wrote.

(Y/n), I'm scared. I don't know what is happening to me. I'm being haunted and it's making me sick. It's changing me and I'm scared. I'm so so scared. I'm so sorry for being horrible and I promise to be good. Please help me. I don't know what to do. Love Arnold.

He didn't realize that he didn't put a comma before his name. Maybe it was on purpose...
He called for a messenger bird and sent it away with the letter before going back to his room, exhausted. Like writing those couple of lines was the most physically draining thing he's ever done.

The bird flew high in the sky. Before it could leave the estate however, it was shot by something invisible and fell down, dead.
It was too late to call for help now.

"Remember the giant power vacuum that the King's death created, since he had no heir and no one wanted to take his place?" (Y/n) asked as her and Wally rode away on their horses.
"Yes."
"...That wasn't true. The King didn't know but..." she looked at him. "Arnold is his illegitimate son."
Wally's eyes widened in shock.
"I didn't want to tell you at first because you said you wanted to get rid of everything the King of Spades left behind. But if what you say is true, if the castle itself is the King, then..."
"He must've realized by now that the two of them share the same blood."
She nodded.
"I knew Arnold was changing for the worse, I knew it! But it might not have been his own doing after all. All these strange happenings around the castle, you and I both believed we were being tormented by the King's ghost. And we were, but we got away, we left! Arnold didn't!"
They exchanged a look. They've been gone for almost a week now, who knows how the marquis' situation has developed since then...

On their way back to the Kingdom of Hearts, they took as little breaks as possible. When they spotted the royal estate in the distance, it was the middle of the night. The adrenaline coursing through their veins enabled them to feel tired. And because Wally was awake, once they entered the castle grounds, he felt it. Even Lady (L/n) did. A heavy pressure coming from inside these walls. They knew this couldn't be good. They made their way to the Spades quarters, to see if Arnold was there. Lady (L/n) quietly entered and rushed to his room.
The door was open, the room was empty and she found his pet rabbit...
"He's not here!" she told Wally once she stepped out.
She looked panicked, as pale as a sheet.
"Then let's follow the source of that pressure. Let's hope we're not too late."
He ran. She tried her best to keep up with him. Her heartbeat was out of control. She had a terrible feeling about this.

Indeed, Arnold wasn't in his room, he hasn't gone partying either. In his slumber, he simply stood up and left. He wandered the halls with a blank look in his eyes, which have turned white. His skin was changing color as well, starting from the tip of his fingers then slowly going up his arms. He went to the throne room and passed by sleeping guards. He opened the door, which woke them up.
"My Lord, the throne room is closed for the night."
Arnold didn't listen and stepped in. The guards thought he was ignoring them and so became a little more insistent, until one of them blocked his way.
"Sir. I must ask you to lea-"
The young man grabbed him by the neck singlehandedly and held him up, choking him. The other guard was shocked for a moment before stabbing him on the side, a simple flesh wound so as to not kill him but just make him stop. But Arnold's consciousness wasn't there, and whatever controlled him wasn't feeling his pain. The lack of reaction terrified the guard and he called for backup.

A dozen guards came. 'Arnold' killed them all, this time before they could alert the rest of the castle. As this happened, a thick black liquid crawled its way from beneath the white tiles and towards the throne. Once he was the only one alive, he walked up the small set of stairs and walked to the throne. The black liquid gathered into a mass and formed a crown. 'Arnold' picked it up and put it on his head. While still retaining its form, more liquid flowed down to cover his head while more of it came from beneath and crawled up his body to drown him. It was at this moment that (Y/n) and Wally stepped into the room.

They were simply paralyzed upon seeing the state of the bodies and when they looked up to see Arnold, now just one black moving mass in a vague humanoid shape. He grew taller, larger, and turned around. He exhaled, his breath visible in the form of a puff of steam. Two eyes opened but they weren't Arnold's. Yes they were black as well, but these had red pupils. These were eyes that both (Y/n) and Wally knew too well. The Lady began to shake.
"M...My King."
And he spoke, in a voice that wasn't Arnold's.
"My wife."

[Stay tuned, cause there's two chapters or so left to this story! 👏]