The fencing competition was going wonderfully! Arnold felt in his element, he was earning victory after victory. Sure he had to admit that he was being a bit sloppy. But that was only because he was having so much fun, like during the talent show, he'd add a little pizzazz for the audience! And they would love it! They'd applaud and cheer, and he noticed how (Y/n) was being the loudest of them all. It made his heart jump with joy.
'I'll definitely win the cup!'
He eventually went up against the Queen of Clubs herself! He knew of her reputation and knew he was already at a disadvantage, he never got to see her skills while she could've watched him for the entire competition...
"Arnold, right?" she asked as they faced each-other.
"Queen of Clubs." he nodded.
'It doesn't matter. I just have to take her off guard.'
"I only have one request." he got in position. "Don't hold back."
She smirked and did the same.

At first, when the fight started, Arnold was pleasantly surprised. Throughout this competition so far he had to go easy on everyone to make the matches interesting to watch, but the Queen's skills were of another level, one equal to his. He hasn't had a real challenge ever since he bested all of his tutors!
Arnold knew that if this was a real fight, if it weren't for all these rules, all these technicalities and formalities, he would've won a long time ago. But it went on for a while, and she was treating this like this was a lesson and she was a tutor.

"[She doesn't take you seriously.]"

It was like she wasn't taking him seriously! And she'd often make some witty comment thinking she was being clever. And the whole audience was eating it up too! He has been winning non-stop since the beginning of this competition, why was everybody cheering for her now?! And she'd always end her sentence with a high-pitched giggle!

"[So annoying.]"

'So annoying! I have to win! The Spades need this!'
As the fight went on, Arnold's desperation and frustration built up into something different, something burning. That feeling went into that last strike when he spotted an opening and hit her so hard it knocked the air out of her and went flying, colliding against a wall.

His heart dropped. The audience gasped. For a silent moment, he was afraid he had killed her, and he could only imagine the terrible consequences that would follow. But she stood up and she seemed okay. Both relieved and ecstatic from his victory, Arnold took off his helmet and laughed loudly as the crowd cheered!
But it wasn't cheering for him. For a moment he believed that things were turning around for him, but the crowd always found a way to give him the short end of the stick.

"[But you earned it.]"

Despite the perfect run he has made during this competition – On his first try! Something not even the Queen of Clubs achieved! – he would never be put at the top, not as the sole winner. After all, this is a friendly competition, they're all friends here, nobody truly loses. But nobody truly wins either.

"[Even she doesn't care.]"

'Surely she isn't-?'
He looked over to (Y/n) and his heart sunk. She was also looking at the Queen, relieved. He scoffed. Was she not on his side? When did she start to care so much about the Queen? When did he stop being her priority?

"[It's not fair.]"

'This isn't fair!'
And so, he yelled out his feelings. Although he was addressing her, it looked like he was addressing the audience. At some point, the Queen of Clubs made another one of her stupid comments, with her voice that, at this moment, Arnold found particularly annoying. It took everything he had in him not to punch her in the face. He was so hectic, like he was losing himself...
"My Lord, please!"
(Y/n)'s loud voice snapped him out of it.
"I humbly beg of you! Please calm down!"
Panting slightly, Arnold looked around him. He saw the King of Hearts, closer to him than before, a glove in his hand, glaring at him. He was about to challenge him to a duel. Arnold looked back at the audience, the people who applauded him not even an hour ago, now looking at him like a hot-tempered child. Again. He looked back at (Y/n), she had a pleading look on her face.

"[She thinks you'll mess up even more if you keep going.]"

With a frustrated groan, he threw his sword on the ground and rushed out of the room. He was sweating, not from the match.
'Okay. What is up with this voice?!'
He thought nothing of it at first, thinking this was just his nightmares coming to haunt him during the day. But this voice has been intruding his thoughts very often now. Arnold found an empty salon room and went up to the window, looking blindly at the horizon.
"[Hey voice in my head. Who are you?]" he whispered with a grave expresion.
A moment passed.

"[I'm here to help.]"

"[Cool. No thank you. Go away now.]"

"[I'm here to help you become King.]"

"[I don't need your help. And I don't want it either!]"

"[You do need it. She surely isn't helping.]"

"[If you say one bad thing about her, I will find where you come from and I will destroy you.]"

"[Why isn't she helping?]"

Arnold pursed his lips. He didn't answer, but his doubtful thoughts spoke for themselves.

"[Why is she looking at you with such pity? Why is she having a grander time than you? It's not fair.]"

"Arnold?"
He spun around and saw (Y/n) stepping into the room and closing the door behind her. The look on her face made him frown.
"Don't look at me like that."
"I just want to talk to you."
"You don't have to!" he turned away. "I know I messed up again, I know! It's just...It's so frustrating." he ran a hand through his hair. "Everyone here just treats me like a child, even when I do good!"
There was a moment of silence.
"Heh. But you wouldn't know that, since you're never there." he looked back at her. "You're always mingling with the higher-ups."
"That isn't my fault." she calmly said. "You know I can't refuse these invitations."
'You sure are happy to go play with them though.'
"...Right." he nodded, bitter.

"What you said back there..."
"It was true!" he exclaimed.
Sure, he could've phrased it better but...
"That was so...two-faced of them! Acting like I wasn't even there!"
"The Queen is the Queen. People will indeed favor her no matter wha-"
"But I'm the future King." he tapped his own chest.
(Y/n) sighed, her shoulders dropping.
"Arnold..." she exhaled.
This hurt him. Why did she look bothered by the subject?

"They all know this." he said. "You know this. You're the one who told me I was the logical next in line to the throne. You promised-"
"I know. I know! I know..."
'Why does it feel like you just want me to shut up?'
"But I told you," she said as she stepped closer. "one does not go from a Marquis to a King just because no one is standing in his way. You need the approval of everyone."
"Of them?!" he gestured towards the door. "As if they were even worthy of their own title, they are deemed so just because they were born lucky!"
"Not them specifically- Of course the opinion of the people back home is more important. Just-" she stood in front of him and joined her hands together as she inhaled.
'Why does it feel like I'm bothering you? You're the one who offered to help.'
"Just picture this for me." she exhaled. "We come back from the Shuffling, triumphant, with partnerships, business dealings- All of the tools we need to help our Kingdom flourish! And all the credit would go to you."

He frowned.
"Would the others even agree to that?"
"I'll take care of Catherine and Gwendolyn when the time comes." she said without hesitation. "Arnold, listen, I know that... With the turn the course of my stay here has taken, we cannot spend a lot of time together. But I can assure you that everything I do, I do it for the benefit of our home, and for you."
Arnold looked down with pursed lips.
She hesitated for a moment, then took his hand in a loose grip. He looked down and she tilted her head so he would see her smile.
"I promised, remember?" she said under her breath.
The problem was that Arnold could only truly understand and accept someone's feelings of any affection through actions. He was never a man of words. (Y/n) promised she would help him and always assured him that she supported him. She said it so many times, and showed it on so few occasions, her words held a little less meaning to him each time.
"...Yeah." he squeezed her hand, speaking just as quietly.

He wanted to stay like this longer, until this felt right. But after a moment which felt shorter to him, (Y/n) cleared her throat.
"You should go back and apologize, to the Queen at least."
He felt his heart getting tighter in his chest.
"...You're not coming?" he looked at her.
"We can't go back together, I'm sorry. We need people to think that you came to apologize on your own accord. That way, they'll think you're mature."
'So I'm just a kid to you too.'
"Great..." he mumbled.
"Hey." she tapped the underline of his chin with the side of her index. "Chin up. I'll come back just a short while after you."
The thought of spending the rest of the event with her gave him courage. He straightened his posture, took a deep breath and went to the venue where the after-party was being held.

He spotted the King of Hearts and Queen of Clubs, talking to each-other. He made his way to them, preparing himself to show some humility.

"[In front of the pest? Where's your pride?]"

"Arnold my boy!"
He looked over to see Lord Kolton and his friends, waving at him. Arnold waved back and the Duke gestured him to come join them. Arnold glanced at the King and Queen, who noticed him upon hearing his name and just stared at him. Anrold did not get a friendly aura from them, and besides, it would be disrespectful to ignore a Duke. So he went to join his 'friends'. As he walked up to them, Anrold felt a tightness in his chest again. What will they say after the tantrum he just threw?
They congratulated him. Gave him all the praises he's been yearning for. Saw everything his way. Not only them, but other people came over to congratulate him. Arnold could sense that those were fake compliments and they were just saying this so that they would be on his good side. Yes he won, yes if it was a real fight, the Queen would've been shamed out of her throne. Yes those were skills worthy of royalty. Yeah those might not have been genuine opinions, but isn't it the result that counts?

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

The fact that he agreed disturbed him. For now, he'll just enjoy the fact that things turned out better than expected.
"Where's your trophy Arnold?" someone asked. "Go get it! Don't let people who just watched the show keep it from you!"
"Oh yeah, true!"
He looked around and spotted Catherine and Gwendolyn, the coveted cup on the floor beside them (It was too heavy for them). With a huff, he went up to them.
"'Scuse me ladies." he said as he picked up the giant cup like it was nothing. "I believe that belongs to me."
"Arnold wait- Woah!" Gwendolyn's eyes widened. "You're strong!"
"I won for a reason." he gave them a smug look before going back to his group to show off the symbol of his strength and victory.
A while passed and Arnold was having a great time. At some point he looked around, it would seem that (Y/n) still hasn't come back. Now that he thought about it, he forgot to apologize, and anyway he missed his opportunity. So he thought this might actually be a good thing that she wasn't there.
"Say Arnold." one of the Duke's friends leaned closer to him. "You wanna get outta here and go where the real party's at?"

"Oh guys, come on." Lord Kolton nudged his friend. "He's just a kid."
"The kid just decimated the competition and defeated the Queen of Clubs!" he laughed. "I think he can handle it. At least let him make his own decision."
Now, this party was 'real' from the perspective of men that are twice- maybe three times his age. It probably wasn't the kind of fun Arnold's young mind was thinking of... And that was exactly what Arnold wanted! Besides he didn't want to be here when (Y/n) comes back, she'll certainly talk to the King and Queen once she does.
"Yeah! Let's go!"
And just like that, they left the party and went to another part of the castle. There were fewer people, yet the party itself was a lot more intense! The music was louder, nothing but loud voices and laughter, there was a faint cloud up on the ceiling because almost everybody was smoking. Being the only one below thirty-five here, Arnold was offered some juice or tea. He said, quote, 'fuck that' and picked up a glass of wine. He refused to stand out as the one kid in the room. He followed the others' lead at first, before he got the gist and could be on his own so he could stop following them around. He would rather be followed. With these guys, he didn't have to act humble.

"Marquis of Spades!" someone across the room exclaimed. "The musicians say they know some Spades music! Wanna show us what you got?!"
"Is that a challenge?" he raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "That'll just be another win in my pocket! I bet you my footwork is faster than the drummer's hands!"
He said the magic word. Suddenly there was a lot of money for and against him. He won. Someone challenged him to that game with the little ball and the three cups. He won, even exposed the game master for cheating. Game after game, drink after drink. Arnold was a king tonight! He stood out exactly the way he wanted.
"One more game!"
"Bring it." he leaned back in his chair.
The man took out a knife and placed it on the table. Arnold's smirk fell and he picked it up. He thought for a moment before turning to a pretty lady who was one of his audience members tonight.
"Do you trust me?"
"Uh...No." she looked around, laughing as if he made a joke.

Not saying anything, Arnold offered his hand, a smirk forming on his face. The two of them looked into each-other's eyes before she gave him her hand. She gasped when Arnold suddenly grabbed her wrist and placed her hand on the table. He then started to tap the end of the knife in between her fingers. Usually, players of the knife game would pick up speed, as the fastest player to not injure themselves would win. But Arnold went full speed right away. The poor woman cried and covered her eyes in fear, but the blade never touched her. Finally, Arnold hit the center of the table, making the knife stay vertical. He let go of the woman, who quickly left, and leaned back again with a big smirk.
"Anyone wanna challenge that?"
He looked at each person at the table, who all avoided looking at him. Arnold laughed loudly before leaving the table.
"Woooh!" he exclaimed, raising his fists in victory. "Someone get me another drink!"

Arnold came back to the Spades quarters in the middle of the night. After saying goodbye to the people who accompanied him – whoever they were – he closed the door and pressed his back against it. During this party, he has earned the respect of a lot of people, has made himself known and has made a lot of new connections.
Arnold felt like dying.
The loud music hurt his eardrums, the smoke gave him a headache, the alcohol was disgusting and the people were dumb sheep! He felt sick. He was drunk. He quickly went to the bathroom and puked in the bathtub. He was found by a maid who quickly went to his aid. She fetched him some water which he drank in one go.
"You..." he pointed at her, panting. "You don't tell her anything. You don't tell anyone." he looked into her eyes with a piercing stare. "I came back and went to bed. Got it?"
"Y-Yes, my Lord." she nodded. "You have my word."
Refusing that she helped any further, Arnold wobbled to his room and let himself fall on his bed. He was tired, so tired...

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

Sure, it all worked out for him at the end of the day, and that party may have been fun, but only in the moment.
'I feel like shit.'

"[To be a king means to show only strength and never weakness.]"

Too exhausted to even entertain any conversation with that voice, Arnold fell asleep. He had another nightmare. Him and (Y/n) were having a conversation before joining a party. She reasured him, told him things would be okay, that she'd put a good word for him, that she would help him in any way she could. Each new sentence of her added a new chain around his ankles, waist, wrists, neck, and they would get tighter as well. When she was done and said that it was time to go, she went in while he couldn't move anymore. Everybody saw her and applauded while the doors closed on Arnold. He could still hear laughter from behind the doors.

Arnold had his first hangover the next morning, he stayed in bed for almost the entire day. At first he wanted to quickly recuperate, since (Y/n) will very likely try to talk to him first thing in the morning, since they didn't see each-other last night. And Arnold wanted to skedaddle out of here before she could see him. He ordered for breakfast in bed and took this opportunity to ask if (Y/n) was still sleeping.
"Actually, she left."
"What?" he frowned.
"She said she was 'catastrophically' late."
"Late to what?"
"I don't know."
"...Mmh." he looked down at his trail. "Also why are there fruits in my breakfast?"
"Um..." the maid's eyes darted around (the same maid who helped him last night). "I just figured you'd need some vitamins after you came back-"
"I came back and went to bed." he glared. "What am I, a rabbit? You can mess with my diet when I ask, thanks."
"Of course, my Lord." he bowed her head. "I apologize."

After eating and dressing up for the day, Arnold exited his room and walked past (Y/n)'s room. The door was opened, and he heard two birds singing inside.
'Two?'
He looked inside and saw the bird from the hunt with another one just like it but wearing a harness. They were both flying around the room. But what was shocking was the letter they were chasing, flying around the room as well.
"What the-?!"
Without thinking, Arnold rushed in. The window was cracked open and the letter slipped out. The birds couldn't go out and they quickly flew out of the way of Arnold, who opened the window wide and leaned over the sill to grab the letter. He looked at it with big eyes, not looking away from it as he leaned back into the room. A moment passed. He looked at the two birds, baffled.
"Did you do that?!"

The birds chirped. Arnold looked out but couldn't see anyone who could've made the letter levitate. Which made sense, he didn't sense any spell being used.
"Unless it's very powerful magic." he mumbled, looking back at the folded letter. "But using magic like this to make a piece of paper fly?"
He inspected the letter, there seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary. He unfolded it and read.

Dear (Y/n) (L/n), I apologize for the early message and for the abrupt manner in which I sent this message. I simply thought that a more direct and personal correspondence would be more fitting. There are important matters I would like to speak about with you. I shall be in my office for the entirety of the morning, please join me at your earliest convenience. Sincerely, King Wally Darling.

Arnold's face twisted with cringe as he read. Once he was done, he thought for a moment.
'Is the King the one trying to make the letter go away?' he thought. 'Like he doesn't want anyone to know he's seeing (Y/n).'
Now, when Arnold caught the letter, the King of Spades would've clicked his tongue if he had one. He wanted (Y/n)'s sudden leave to confuse Arnold, to leave him in the dark even more. But this was turning out even better than he thought it would!
Not wanting to stay in her room for too long, Arnold went back to his with the letter to read it one more time.
"Personal correspondence." he mumbled before sticking out his tongue and gagging. "Does that mean it'll be just the two of them?"
He turned around in his chair to look at Blizzard, laying on his bed. Arnold scoffed.
"What is this guy's deal?" he looked back at the letter. "Baiting her with 'important matters', this isn't a fuckin' game!"
He rubbed his face in frustration and looked back at the rabbit. He leaned over and handed the paper to him.
"Eat it."

Blizzard sniffed it, but did nothing more.
"Come on." he taped the paper to the pet's mouth.
Blizzard didn't like that. He stomped his back legs in indignation before turning away. Arnold groaned as he rolled his head back.
"For once I'm giving you permission!"
He thought for a moment.
"Can rabbits be trained to tear paper to shred on command...?" he squinted his eyes with a grave expression.
With a long sigh, he leaned back in his chair and faced his desk. On it were some papers that (Y/n) gave him before the Shuffling. It reminded him of something.
"Oh yeah." he adjusted his seat before grabbing a quill and some ink. "Gotta do this stupid homework or whatever."

After they were invited to the Shuffling, (Y/n) and Arnold would have private conversations. During the High Council meetings, she would lay out the different objectives they had to reach as representatives of their Kingdom, how to rebrand themselves, who they must create a network with, etc... When it was just her and Arnold, she would give themselves a mission.
"A lot of powerful people left our Kingdom, and they stole things that only twisted the knife deeper into our wound." she told him. "We must find them, bring them to justice, and get back all that was stolen. Things will go much smoother for us this way. Our first step would be to look for any Spades people during the Shuffling."
"You really think they'd attend?" he raised an eyebrow.
"At least one or two, which is a start. They've been running freely for months, They're bound to think they're above consequences."
"And they'd show off their freedom in plain sight at the Shuffling..."
"Maybe." she nodded. "We should keep an eye open. And if we don't, then we ask the guests. I made a list of the nobles who ran away after the King died." she raised a page. "And another list of the guests who have any connection with these people." she raised another page. "Along with the type of connection and shared background they have, and I listed them by order of priority."
"Where do you find the energy to do that?"
"My thirst for justice." she responded without hesitation, with a determined look.
That made him laugh.

On the first morning of the Shuffling, they heard from the servants that, excluding them, there was one Spades person. Sir Leopold Casterham, ex-Viscount who stole a bunch of property acts from the royal castle to monopolize the entire mining business in the Kingdom before running away from the land.
"We have to get an audience with him." (Y/n) told Arnold once they were alone.
"Are we gonna rough him up?" he asked with an anticipating smile.
"Oh we won't force him to give back the mines." she said with a small frown before rolling her eyes. "Buuuut, if he really doesn't want to listen... We'll have to be more convincing, which is where you come in!" she pointed at him, smiling. "You're a Marquis, and he's not even a noble anymore. Plus you're great at intimidating people."
"Ha! Yeah..." he nodded, smirking, already coming up with scary lines he could tell.
Fastforward to before the fencing competition, as everybody was coming in and chatting. The two of them have caught wind that Mister Casterham would be attending a dinner party tomorrow. They exchanged a look, silently agreeing that they couldn't talk about it here with so many people around. Sadly, they couldn't talk about it again...

That didn't stop Arnold from updating his info sheet. (Y/n) would sometimes hand them out if they needed to keep tabs on a plan, and she'd always nag him about never updating his info sheets. But now he did: 'Casterham goes to a party tonight.' (Y/n) would also nag Arnold for the lack of details on his info sheets. He called that homework. For once, however, he was happy to do it. This was their plan, they worked on it together. This was a mission for the Kingdom of Spades, it was very important and they had to act quickly. No way (Y/n) would ignore that. Sooner or later, that meeting with the King of Hearts and his 'important matters' will be over and she'll come back and get to the real business, the work behind the scenes, the important stuff.
And so, Arnold went about his day, often checking on the Spades quarters to see if (Y/n) came back yet. He grew a little more irritated as the day went by and she still hasn't come back.
'If she doesn't come back for dinner, I'm going to the King!' he thought.
Finally, he received some news from her. A maid told him she came back to quickly change before leaving again.
"Did she say where she was going?"
"She didn't have time, but she did change into one of her best dresses."
'So it's something important...' he thought. 'She never mentioned going somewhere before...'
His eyes widened. Could it be that she was going to a dinner party, to the dinner party?!

He would get his answer the very next morning. Once everybody woke up, (Y/n) presented the mines' property acts to him and the other council members. She looked very proud of herself. Catherine and Gwendolyn rejoiced with her, as far as they knew, this was just a nice surprise.
"Isn't this amazing Arnold?!" she looked at him.
Arnold couldn't find the words. Even if he did, he would've stayed mute, for he would be yelling. She forgot.
(Y/n) was so excited about her day, she forgot that her initial mission to retrieve the mines was to be carried out with Arnold. And for that, he was heartbroken. But at the same time, he's never seen her this happy before. They got the mines back, this was a huge victory for them.
'So only results matter.'
"Arnold?" she tilted her head. "Isn't that great?"
"...Yeah."
"Be more enthusiastic will you?" Catherine gave him a light hit on the back. "This will surely create a huge domino effect back home, won't it Lady (L/n)?"

"I very much hope so!" the lady checked the time. "Oh, I have to go!"
"Already?" Gwendolyn looked at it as well.
"Yes!" she said with a bright smile. "We planned another meeting and I believe King Darling is a very early bird so he must already be there. Here." she gave the documents to Arnold. "Send them back to the castle." she winked. "Alright!" she quickly went to her room to get some documents. "You guys have a fun weekend!"
"The King's an early bird also?" she raised an eyebrow. "Wow, you two make a great pair."
"Huh?!" she looked at her with big eyes. "Me and-?! What? Why would you say that? Huh?"
"I meant as business partners."
"Oh! Oh..." she cleared her throat. "Right."
There was an awkward silence. Gwendolyn blinked twice, a bit disturbed along with the other, as they've never seen Lady (Y/n) act like this before. Catherine smirked.

"What did you think she meant?"
"Nothing! Gotta go!" and with that, she left.
Arnold frowned. What was that? He didn't like what it entailed one bit.

"[Love.]"

'Love?'

"[Love makes you forget things. Love blinds your mind and heart.]"

"Pffff." he shook his head as he went on about his day without another word.
'[They barely know each-other, no way!]'

"[But they see each-other often.]"

Arnold's expression became grave. He couldn't deny that.
Indeed, (Y/n) has made some new friends that now occupied her days. They were royalty, so the spotlight was on her. She'd receive more and more letters each day, so much that she had to have a maid sort them out by order of how important the sender was! She was even invited to tea time by a princess!
But Arnold knew how nobles worked, he's seen it up close. Being friends with royalty wasn't making her a higher member of society, but a celebrity, which was a completely different thing. Her situation hasn't changed, she still wasn't taken seriously, the only difference was that now, people were nice to her and that was only because of her connections. When he tried to hint at it the next morning, the others told her to just ignore him.
'Oh she does enough of that already.' his frown deepened.
"You must have a lot to do today, despite tonight's event." Catherine told her. "Are you on time?"
(Y/n) checked the clock and gasped.

"You're right, I have to go!" she rushed to her room to grab some things. "The birdwatching club invited me back! And this time, I'm pretty certain Frank will be there!"
Everyone's eyes became wide open. Arnold felt his heart sink.
"...'Frank'?"
Frank Frankly, the King of Diamonds. They were on a first name basis.
"Alright, have a good day everyone!" she passed by them, waving. "I'll see you tonight at the ball!"
And with that, she was gone. But Arnold was still thinking about this.
'Does she call the King of Hearts Wally?! Or the Queen Julie?! How can she get from respecting the boundaries of monarchy to being best friends in just two weeks?!'
"Can you believe that?" he looked at Catherine and Gwendolyn.
"I know, right?" the latter nodded. "That shocked me, Lady (Y/n), on a first name basis with royalty." the two women exchanged a smile.
"Do you think she calls the King of Hearts by his first name too?" Catherine raised an eyebrow and the two of them giggled.
Arnold huffed and left.
'Can never have a serious conversation with these two!'

Later that evening, there was the Shuffling's costume ball. Arnold was dressed as the nutcracker, from the ballet of the same name. He at first wanted something cooler, like maybe a domovoy, but (Y/n) said they shouldn't dress as anything scary.
"But domovoys are protective spirits!" he protested. "They're cool, not scary!"
"Yes, but the sad truth is that nobody here but us knows of our folklore. We can't risk scaring them."
From the look on her face, she didn't like this either. He could tell she was uncomfortable with her own costume as well, although she said she just needed to get used to it.
Once they arrived, the High Council members had to separate, for they had to interact with certain people. Except (Y/n), whose status obliged her to stop whenever someone addressed her. Arnold offered to accompany her, so that at least she could get away from those below his title, but she turned him down.
"You have your own duties, Arnold. Don't worry about me." she smiled.

He sighed. Now he had to pretend to care about these people alone. At some point he heard a familiar laugh and looked over to see her and the King of Hearts dancing. His eyes widened and his nose turned up.
"Aww, these two sure look like they're having fun." the people around him commented.
"The King must've been the one to invite her to dance!"
"Either that or she's...very bold."
They laughed. If Arnold didn't promise himself he wouldn't make a scene anymore, he would've hit all of them, man and woman. As he suspected, they still didn't give her the respect she deserved. As the night went on, every now and then, he would check the dancefloor to see if these two were still dancing. They were, and they looked very happy about it.
With who her new friends were, she could afford to have fun, while Arnold, Catherine, Gwendolyn and Brahms were still victims of the crowd's cruel stares, mocking questions and ignorant comments. But what truly frustrated him was the fact that she didn't realize the reality of the situation. She was blissfully ignorant. She was supposed to be clever. Why couldn't she realize that she was basically leaving them behind while she gets the whole cake?

"[Love makes you forget things. Love blinds your mind and heart.]"

Arnold had to face it. Some kind of puppy love was growing between her and the King of Hearts (although he didn't know if the feeling was genuine on the man's end). Arnold felt an inexplicable rage growing in his guts.

In addition to that, he felt conflicted. Catherine and Gwendolyn both assured (Y/n) that with all the hard work she did ever since she joined the High Council, she needed a break and should be having fun. Arnold acknowledged that. But not when she's getting completely sidetracked!
That night, he had another nightmare, the one where the nobles partied while he slowly died outside. But this time, the ending was different. By the power of this need for justice, Arnold rose from the rotting flesh, stepped into the party, killed whoever was wearing the crown and sat on his new throne while everyone bowed to him. He woke up with a headache.
Enough was enough for Arnold. He wanted to confront (Y/n) the very next morning, but she took off very early, since she had such a busy schedule. He knew he would have the opportunity to see her once lunch time has passed, the council members purposefully arranged their schedule for the day so that they could spend some time together. But guess what? She was late!
'Oh yeah, leave a whole hour early for the princesses, but do take your time with us.'
And the plumbing's been making noises all day, which was not helping his headache. When she finally came in, she just said hello without apologizing for making them wait!

"Where were you?!" he asked. "It's an hour after lunchtime, what kinda brunch did you have exactly?"
"Oh, yes. On my way back there were some...complications." she glanced to the side.
He raised his eyebrows.
"What happened?"
"I don't really...want to talk about it."
He scoffed. More secrets?!
"Oh let me guess," he smirked, frowning. "you were having too much fun. With who this time? A Queen? A Prince?"
"What? No. What are you-?"
"The King of Hearts maybe?" he leaned closer.
She blinked twice, taken aback. He's hit the nail!

"Why are you so mad? I thought..." she glanced at the two ladies.
'What? You expected me to believe you were putting in a good word for me to all your little friends? That you still had me in mind?'

"[Nonsens.]"

'Bullshit!'
"You're getting distracted." he pointed at her. "We're here for a more than important mission, you're the one who kept reminding us of that for months, and yet you're the one who is fooling around all the time!"
"Me?!" she pointed at herself, shocked.
"Do you think no one saw you and the King dancing together almost the entire ball? You kept giggling like an idiot!"
She blushed, frowning. Hitting the nail yet again!
"We're here for business (Y/n), you're forgetting that. Stop messing around-"
"I'm not!" she suddenly exclaimed. "I'm...I'm making friends, Arnold. For the first time in my life-"

"The first time?! Are you guys hearing this?" he turned to the two ladies, who just glared at him. "I guess the year we spent working together didn't mean shit compared to the two weeks she spent in the presence of royalty! Seriously, why am I the only one mad about this?!"
"Seriously, stop." Gwendolyn put down her book.
"Arnold. Please be honest for a second." (Y/n) spoke, getting worked up. "If you – if any of you – had met me prior to the King's death, to the Great Departure, would you have even bothered to even look at my direction?!"
"No, because I've never seen you in my life before!"
"Would you have been curious then? Not about my title nor my family, but about me?"
Arnold couldn't answer that question, but he knew it wasn't fair for her to ask it.
'That's just a what-if, you're leaving me behind now.'
"And if I hadn't helped the council, made up this whole plan. If I hadn't worked that hard, would you have then? Would you?"
Silence again. He looked down, clenching his fists.
'Your hard work and determination is what makes you you. I don't want a friend that isn't you.'

"I've...met people who like me for me. I'm having fun. I know it's hard to understand when you've been in this situation almost your entire life but..." she sighed through her nose, pursuing her lips and closing her eyes, before looking back at him with an almost pleading look. "Could you let me have this?" she said it as less of a question and more of a demand.
They looked into each-other's eyes for a moment.
"This isn't fair."
"I disagree. I believe I'm finally being given a break." she walked past him. "I have to go now, lest I'll be late for my next meetup."
"You're getting distracted (Y/n)." he turned to face her. "If you don't focus on what's important now, you'll soon regret it."
"Getting distracted? But my Lord," she looked back at him, unable to hide her frown despite her neutral tone. "isn't that the whole point of having fun?" she paused. "I have fun with my friends, you have fun with yours, alright?"
He frowned as she grabbed a few of her things before leaving. He clicked his tongue, his fists clenched. Despite his look of rage, he felt heartbroken.
'I guess you don't want a friend that is me.'

"Good job Arnold."
He looked at Catherine.
"Aren't you tired of being such a downer?"
"Aren't you tired of being ignored?" he glared.
"We're not being ignored, Arnold." Gwendolyn shook her head, exasperated. "Lady (Y/n)'s priority has always been the Spades Kingdom. She's not gonna forget all about our plan just because she just happened to make new friends."
"She's enjoying the luxuries of such friendships while we're still treated like witch scum!"
"That would've been the case even if she wasn't friends with the Kings and Queen!" Catherine exclaimed. "It's a work in progress-"
"There is no progress!" he hit the wall behind him, making a painting fall over while the other people in the room flinched. "We're halfway through the Shuffling and all we got are those mines. What the hell will be the point of them if the rest of the world still hates us? How's that gonna help us find a new King?"
The ladies' eyes widened, then squinted.

"Oh. So that's what this is about. This is about you becoming King!" Catherine pointed at him.
Arnold rolled his eyes with a groan.
"It is, isn't it?" she glared. "This whole tantrum is just because the Kings and Queen don't want anything to do with you and much prefer Lady (Y/n)! You've always thought you were a suitable replacement just because of your title. But let me give you a reality check. The fact of the matter is, you are nowhere near worthy of becoming King! You're just a kid!"
"Or maybe you're jealous that she doesn't spend time with you anymore." Gwendolyn raised an eyebrow. "You need to keep those abandonment issues in check. She can finally hang out with people her own age instead of babysitting you all the time. You should take this as a sign to try and work on your own for once."
"If anything, she deserves to be Queen! She's ten times the person you are!" Catherine pointed. "You're becoming a burden to her at this point!"
The two ladies suddenly turned pale. Catherine was a magic-user, and so could feel the dark energy suddenly emanating from him, like an aura of raw power. But even if she couldn't, both her and Gwendolyn could see that the look in his eyes was different as well. They've seen him angry, enraged even, but right now, he looked like he could kill them at any moment.

"...If we weren't of the same court, in any other circumstances, I would not stand this disrespect." he spoke in a deeper voice. "I have nothing to say to those below me, you can't use magic," he looked at one, then at the other. "and you can't even control your own marriage. You were so blind you didn't even see his infidelity until it was right in front of you. You are a joke to the Spades Kingdom."
"How... Who told you?"
"I have nothing to say to you." he walked past them and left the quarters.
He walked through the hallways of the castle with decisive steps for a while, until he began to wobble. He found a bathroom and quickly puked in the toilet. He coughed a couple of times before washing his mouth and making the taste go away. He noticed something black in the water he spit out. He wiped his mouth and kept his head down.
How did he know about Catherine and Brahms? What came over him back there? Why did he want to kill them so badly?!

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

"Urh shut up!" he covered his ears.
But the voice's words, the ladies' words kept echoing through his head, and pictures of (Y/n)'s glare kept popping up. He felt his headache getting worse. A bitter taste still lingered on his tongue like some nasty alcohol. The pipes make that loud noise again.

"[You're on your own. You don't need help.]"

"Shut up."

"[Take control. Let go of anything that pulls you back.]"

"Shut up shut up shut up!"
"Um, excuse me?" there was a gentle knock at the door. "Are you alright in there?"
Panting, Arnold looked back at the door, then back at his reflection. Whoever was at the door knocked again, voicing their concern. The young man straightened his back, made sure he looked presentable, then went to open the door. To his surprise, the voice belonged to the Count of Rummoli, who looked just as surprised and quickly took a few steps back.
"You!" they said at the same time, pointing at each-other.
"Who were you talking to?" the count leaned to the side to look into the room.
"I wasn't talking." Arnold said with a monotonous voice. "You're hearing things."
The lack of emotions – even negative ones – made the young man unsettled.
"It's all yours." he walked past him.

"I don't-!" he sighed and turned towards him. "I just heard you and... Sounded like you were in trouble."
Arnold stopped and faced him.
"What kind of trouble would I ever be in?"
"Oh I dunno." he shrugged. "Starting a duel to the death maybe?"
The young marquis frowned and scoffed. His facade of cool and collected nobleman easily disappeared.
"Hey, you started it!"
"I wasn't the one who took my sword out of its scabbard first!"
"The moment you decided you were safe mocking me, you signed a death wish!" he pointed at him.
"Oh okay! So it's cool now!" he exclaimed, obviously being sarcastic. "I'm not doing this again! Fuck me for worrying about someone who might need help." he walked away.
"I don't need help, especially not yours!"
"Yeah I can tell!"

Now alone, Arnold took a deep breath and thought back to his argument with the two ladies. The things they said... It enraged him. But then it turned into something more. And he realized that he felt the same way during the fencing competition.
That feeling... It was dark.
And that was the same feeling he felt the next day, during the chariot race, as he stared into the eyes of the King of Hearts.
A twisting feeling from deep within his guts... Rising up to burn his heart, and up again to tighten his throat.
Suddenly the audience boomed into applause. One of the riders just dodged an obstacle by doing a fantastic stunt! It snapped him back to reality. He faced the race course, breathing deeply to calm his fast-beating heart. He felt he almost lost himself in that moment.
The King of Spades' hatred for the King of Hearts rubbed off on poor Arnold. And the fact that he himself wasn't a fan of King Darling didn't help. Because of him, (Y/n) was keeping secrets from him, she drifted further and further away and she wouldn't turn back, whenever she did it was out of frustration or pity.
He tried to focus on the race, but his thoughts would wander...