Arnold's mother was a victim of her King's boredom.
She caught his eyes during a banquet. He sent a guard to go tell her that the King of Spades asked to see her, alone. Very few people – including royalty – have seen him up close. This was the opportunity of a lifetime, she couldn't say no. Now, she loved her husband, but when such a powerful man charms you with empty promises of a fake future where she would never be in need of anything, you can't say no to that.
They spent one night together. And that was the last time she ever saw him.
A few months later, Ivan heard from his butler that a woman was begging to see him, saying she was pregnant with his child and was ready to leave her husband and become Queen. Ivan knew this was a lie, as he couldn't conceive a child. After all, there could only be one immortal being in this world. He confidently denied her claims and asked his butler to make this liar leave.

Arnold's mother was devastated. Her husband accepted her back despite her adultery and told everyone that the child was his. That way, there would be no scandal. Throughout her pregnancy, her husband was supportive, for he still loved her, but there was a certain tension between them that never went away, for she left before they could resolve it.
Arnold was born with an incredible amount of mana. His poor mother was too weak to handle it and she passed away...
In one last prayer, she simply hoped that her child would become a good person, greater than his father.

Arnold knew who he was for as long as he could remember. His mother's husband would constantly remind him of that.
"You're not my son." he would say. "Remember that, but don't tell anyone, I don't wanna deal with a scandal."
"Who's my dad then?" he asked once he developed a sense of curiosity.
"The King. But don't think that makes you special. If you were, he would've accepted your mom when she asked for help. If he denied her, he's gonna deny you ."
Every conversation between them eventually circled back to this topic. As a child, Arnold has accepted that the King wasn't his father, not really. A real father wouldn't leave.

He's never seen a painting of his mother, since her widower threw them all away, out of both grief and resentment. But he's been told by the servants that he resembled her. They had the same pink hair. He also had the King's black eyes, but no one would know. At first, Arnold thought of changing his appearance to make himself look more like his father. But then, he came up with an idea after the two of them went to a fancy party with their fellow nobles. He and his friends got into trouble, but the crowd's eyes were pointed at their parents. Once  they were back home, Arnold got spanked, scolded and sent to his room without dinner. This wasn't the first time this happened, but tonight, his father was being harsher than usual. As the young Marquis wept, that was when he got his idea.
'I'll become the best son ever! He won't get in trouble because of me anymore! I'll make him proud! I'll make him proud!'
"I'll make you proud..." he sobbed.

Once young Arnold turned eight years old, his father hired a lot of tutors for him, experts in various fields of education his father deemed fit (mostly sports and fighting). The young Marquis thought his father heard his wish – some kind of fatherly sixth sense perhaps – and so was very thankful for him. The reality of it was that he did it because, that way, they wouldn't have to see each-other often.
Arnold was a rather slow learner. Not getting it right the first time frustrated him, especially on the occasions where his father would pass by and notice his mistakes.
"Stop slacking, Arnold!" he once said after said child tripped during sword fight training. "Geez, don't make me waste my money on these guys."
"Sorry Dad!"
"Real men don't say sorry, kid, they improve and do better! And I'm not your dad!"
'Right. I'm not worthy of that yet.' he stood up and went back to sparring with his tutor.

By the time he turned fifteen, Arnold had outdid all of his tutors, there was nothing left for him to learn. The young teenager has become more robust, more to-the-point. He kept calling his father 'dad', and at this point, he wasn't corrected anymore! Arnold thought it was because he's finally earned the title of son, something that made him really happy. The truth was that his old man has become tired of correcting him every day.
Now that Arnold didn't have a need for lessons anymore – though he would still train regularly – him and his father would see each-other more often. They would rarely talk, however. Arnold always believed it was because his old man was one of few words. So he was content with simply being in the same room, doing their own thing like his presence wasn't bothering. To him, this counted as father-son time. He would always cherish these moments.

"Dad?" he once asked before his old man could leave the room.
He just turned towards him as a reponce.
"Do you think I can become the new King when ours die? I know it must remain a secret but, if I become King, I'd take you with me. We'd be super rich and powerful then."
His dad laughed. Arnold felt embarrassed, he didn't like being laughed at. He didn't like that kind of attention.
"Only the King choses who replaces him, and it's always some guy no one's ever heard of." he said.
"But what if it's me this time?"
"It won't be." he frowned. "Focus on preparing yourself to manage this estate and its business before you even dream of becoming royalty."

And with that he left. Arnold pondered over this. It was true, his dad worked really hard on his family businesses when his grandfather died – or so he heard, from his dad – he should do the same! Arnold then began to study business by himself, ready to live the life of a Marquis and never ask for anything more. As long as it made his father proud and happy. For a slow learner like him, all that paperwork stuff turned out to be the hardest thing he's ever been taught.
Before he could get a grip of the basics, a year later, the King of Spades was found dead. Soon after was the Great Departure. Arnold's father was one of the first ones to leave. The young man woke up one day and realized his father was gone, along with all his important documents and all of his money.

Arnold didn't have any money of his own, thankfully he found an old jewelry box hidden somewhere in his father's room. It was a woman's, which he found strange. It was his mother's, but he didn't know that, he hadn't thought about her since he was eight. Thanks to these jewels, he managed to pay his servants and keep his house in check for a while. Until his father comes back, so he said. While the Grand Departure was happening throughout the Kingdom, Arnold went about his days like nothing happened. Sadly enough, there wasn't much difference compared to before. But Arnold felt the difference, he felt it deeply...
The moment he understood his father wasn't coming back was when he received a letter appointing him member of some new High Council, gathering all of the remaining nobles to lead the Kingdom of Spades until they found a new King. Arnold was surprised.
'He didn't choose a random guy no one's ever heard of?'

He saw a golden opportunity: simply go to that Council, announce that he was the King's secret son and become King. But when he arrived at the royal castle and met his fellow council members, he remained silent about it. He intended to wait until they addressed the subject, but when they listed who fled the country (so that everyone was up to speed), his father's name came up.
They said things about him, mean things, speculated about why he ran away, maybe the tax fraud allegations were true, maybe he had another family in another country, maybe he just didn't want these new responsibilities. Arnold stared into space. This was the first time he's heard about his father and the man in question wasn't here. He didn't know he had that kind of reputation...

"Your father left?"
Arnold was snapped out of his thoughts and turned to the 'low-rank' end of the long table. At the farthest seat down was a lady who looked at him with a sad expression. Who was it? Lady (L/n) or something, he's never heard of her before.
"Yeah."
His monotonous answer seemed to make her even sadder. She placed a hand over her heart.
"I'm so sorry..."
The council members moved on with their list and Lady (L/n) was quick to pay attention. Which Arnold was thankful for, for he couldn't think of anything to say. He frowned, confused.
'What's her problem?'
And that was his very first interaction with (Y/n) (L/n), the Lady of Spades.

Upon hearing of his father's reputation, Arnold gave up on his initial plan. Being an illegitimate son would put his father's name to even greater shame. He refused to let that happen.
'I'll become King because I'll deserve it.'
"Well it's pretty obvious, isn't it?" he said once the question of the King's replacement came up. "'Cause..." he looked around, then pointed at himself. "I'm of the highest rank here."
The High Council members looked at each-other.
"Aren't you a child?"
"I'm sixteen!"
"So a child." Lady Gwendolyn raised an eyebrow.
He glared at her. He didn't like these guys already. Upon presenting him with all the issues the Kingdom was facing, Arnold couldn't say he was ready for the role just yet.
"But..." Lady (L/n) spoke. "He should at least be the head of the Council. He is a marquis, after all..." she looked down upon seeing everyone's eyes on her. "We should respect his title, I think..."
The others approved, not without hesitation. Arnold was glad that at least one person here had some sense.

Now that he was head of the Council, Arnold thought he had it in the pocket. Being a leader is easy, you just have to tell others to do the work for you, that was what his father did. But it only worked when the people you lead know what they're doing, and as it turned out, nobody in the HIgh Council knew what they were doing. As previously established, they've never dealt with this kind of responsibility, duty or power before. Everyday was spent being overwhelmed, stressed and lashing out at each-other while the Kingdom outside slowly burned. Arnold didn't want to do this anymore. He thought maybe that was why his father left, and now he envied him.
Then one day, out of nowhere, Lady (L/n) came in with a stack of papers and blueprints.
"I spent the night in the royal library! I've done some research!" she exclaimed before going on a presentation about agriculture that lasted for hours.

And just like that, she became the brains behind every operation of the High Council. Although she would always ask Arnold if he approved of her plans. He would say yes every time, even though he only understood a portion of what she said. He would even pretend to ponder over that decision. (Y/n) always believed him to be genuine, but everybody else could tell he was just pretending. The other council members wouldn't hide that they viewed the lady as the actual head of the council while Arnold was just its representative. She would always humbly deny it, which made it worse for Arnold.
What was her problem? Why was she being so snobby? He thought maybe she was trying to get into the nobles' good graces, being low-ranked and all. Maybe she thought she would get something out of this...?

Feeling the little authority he held slipping away, he demanded the members' respect anytime they'd badmouth him or call him by his first name.
"Arnold," Gwendolyn said. "within this room, we are all equal. We're on the same boat here, we're trying to improve the Kingdom."
"She still calls me Lord!" he pointed at (Y/n), who flinched when she was suddenly brought up in this conversation.
"Huh? Oh, well..." her eyes darted around. "Of course I do, I have respect for all of you."
"You don't have to be so formal." Lady Catherine smiled at her. "We can all be friends."
"Friends?" Arnold's face twisted. "Do you hear yourself? Are you guys just throwing monarchy out the window? If there's no order in this room, what's gonna happen out there, huh?"
"Right now is an exception." the Count of Spades said. "We are faced with a very unusual situation, and we've all agreed that we would work together."
"You guys did. I just received a letter!"
"Oh you would love to be in charge, huh?" Gwendolyn tilted her head with a frown. "You really are your father's son."
Arnold suddenly stood up, slamming his hands on the table, creating a gust of wind throughout the room.

"You don't speak of my father, ever."
"Why are you always defending him? He abandoned you, so he couldn't have been that great a fath-"
"Say that again!" he hit his fist on the table. "I dare you!"
There were loud gasps. Arnold looked down and realized he had broken the table in half. He looked back at everyone and saw the shock and fear in their eyes. He groaned loudly in frustration and stormed out of the room. It has always been his response whenever things became overwhelming: he'd walk away. He knew things could get out of hand if he stayed any longer. He would normally go to his room, but since he wasn't home, he opted for a small empty salon where he began to walk in a circle.
"My Lord?"
He quickly turned towards the door to see Lady (L/n). Oh great.
"What?" he asked, his anger still present in his voice.
"I just...wanted to make sure you were okay."
He gave her a weird look, like he wasn't convinced.
"If you think you're going to get rewarded for showing the respect my title deserves, you are mistaken." he said. "Let's make that clear, first of all."
"The thought was far from my mind, I assure you."

"And if it's to lecture me on 'oh we gotta work together, never give up, things will get better' then don't bother." he rolled his eyes.
"...I know I would be angry as well if someone disrespected my father."
His expression fell.
"Especially if... I knew parts of him others didn't." she stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. "It sure is easy for people to criticize when they don't know the whole story." she smiled, her eyebrows furrowed.
"Yeah, same for compliments. You don't know anything either."
"I-I never said I did." she raised her hands, shaking her head. "I'm just trying to cheer you up."
Arnold glared. Now he felt insulted.
"Cheer me up? What am I, a baby? Do you see tears anywhere?" he gestured towards his face. "I don't need cheering up, I never needed it. I know I'm right. I know my father was good to me."
She looked at him, that same look she gave him when they first talked. He hated that look.

"He gave me the best tutors in the kingdom! Think for a second!" he tapped his temple, getting angrier. "He always pushed me to work harder everyday! That was tough love! That's how he worked- That's how we work!" he tapped his own chest. "We didn't need words, we didn't need cheering up, none of that bullshit! He wanted me to get better! And I did, I got a lot better! I bested all of my tutors. I went through competitions and won first place for every one of them. Even when I broke my ankle, I stood right back up and waited until I won the cup to go to the doctor! I would stay up to train all night if I had to until I'd get it right! And it was worth it! My dad proudly showed off my trophies and was complimented by everyone for having the perfect son! I did it all for him!" he hit his own chest a couple of times. "Because I love him! He knew that!" his gaze wandered as his voice trailed off. "He...knows. He knows I love him."
His bottom lip started to shake, his eyes grew teary. A question came up in his mind that he's been avoiding for a long time now:
'Why did he leave if he knew?'
Next thing he knew, (Y/n)'s arms were around him, hugging him tightly.
That was the first hug Arnold has ever received. He didn't know what to make of it, but it didn't feel horrible. And so he lingered in that hug, despite not hugging back.

Lady (L/n) never spoke a word of what happened, but it was clear that something in Arnold changed. He trusted her more, gave her the credit she deserved. He realized she wasn't like all the nobles he's met in his life, she was as genuine and as honest as she could be. She would always lay out all the pros and cons of every option available. She wouldn't try to push the council's operations in a direction that would benefit her assets. Actually, she couldn't, since she didn't own any. As time passed, she developed a real passion for that geopolitical complicated stuff, something Arnold will always find weird.
And she was weird. But not in an annoying way... In fact, she was really nice, and smart. Probably one of the smartest people he's ever known. First one being his dad.

After months of working together, the members of the High Council have gotten to know each-other and so have gotten used to their coworkers' antics. But Arnold felt the closest to Lady (L/n), he recognized her hard work and even sympathized with her situation. She spoke about how her parents died and how they used to be quite secluded... It now made sense to him why she was so nice to everyone, she hadn't yet met anyone who didn't deserve kindness.
It took him a while to gather his courage, but he trusted her enough now. One day, he invited her over to his house for tea. After being served, he asked his maids to leave them alone.
"When I said I was the logical replacement for the throne, it's not just because it's true." he said. "It is true, but on different levels. I'm also...the King's biological son."

(Y/n)'s teacup slipped through her fingers. For a split second, she looked absolutely horrified. But when the teacup fell onto the carpet (not breaking, thankfully) she quickly snapped out of it and picked it up, apologizing for spilling tea.
"How... Why... Huh?" she looked at him, baffled. "Did... Did the King know?"
He shook his head.
"Why did you keep it a secret for so long?"
"And it will remain a secret." he made her promise not to tell anyone before further explaining. "I promised my father I would. If I'm gonna be King, I want to be strong enough to earn the title."
Lady (Y/n) looked down and thought for a while. The room fell silent. Unknowingly, Arnold clenched his fists, telling her in his head to hurry up and say something already. Finally, she stood up and went around the table to kneel before him. It caught him off guard.
"Arnold." she spoke softly, taking his hand in between hers, and looked him in the eyes with a determined look. "I promise you. You will become King. I'll do everything in my power to make it happen. It is your birthright, and I won't let anyone take it from you."
Arnold's eyes widened. He nodded and she hugged him, a little tighter than last time. Once again, he didn't hug her back.
Birthright. This word would stick with him for a long time.

When the Shuffling was approaching, Arnold was thrilled at the idea of mingling with royalty, of being so close to his goal! But with all the rules him and the others had to follow, he became a lot less enthusiastic. Their traditional dark clothes would stick out like a sore thumb, so they wore lighter shades of blue. They had to be nice to everyone they met, regardless of titles. And most important of all, they must not associate themselves with the late King of Spades.
"What if they disrespect us though?" Arnold asked.
"Just don't give them a reason to do that." (Y/n) shrugged.
That made him frown. To him, this confirmed that she didn't go out much prior to working with the High Council.

During the welcome banquet on the first day of the Shuffling, Arnold was reminded of one critical thing. He had an enemy. A life-long enemy which he hated with all his might: the crowd.
A collective of eyes scanning him for any mistake or slip of the tongue while babbling behind his back. It will never be convinced of anything unless someone powerful enough steps in and changes their entire worldview, for it would agree to anything they say.
Arnold was a marquis, which to him was one rank away from a King. And these guys he was talking to were way below him. The reason why he talked to them was because they were friends...used to be, he supposed. He knew that the Kingdom of Spades and its people had a nasty reputation, but in the past, no one said anything out loud because they all feared the King. Now that he was dead, there wasn't any need to hide their disdain and ignorance anymore.
They asked him questions about how the Kingdom was doing these days. Did the witches take over? Did they go back to their roots and feast on dead birds? Offenses disguised as jokes.
'Everybody who eats meat feasts on something that's dead!' he wanted to shout.
But he contained his anger, he knew he had to. He promised (Y/n) he wouldn't make a scene. But if he stayed here any longer, he might not guarantee what would happen next. Where was she? These guys were such kids, he needed to talk to an adult. Mind you, they were a year older than him.
He felt great relief when, as he pretended to listen to one of his 'friends', he noticed (Y/n) in the crowd and immediately excused himself to go to her.

"One more minute and I would've punched one of them." he spoke under his breath, just loud enough for her to hear.
"Was it that bad?" she spoke in a similar volume.
"Never leave me alone with these fools again."
"At least people are talking to you. I feel like I'm one with the walls here."
"Well then please, let's trade places at once."
In reality, he wouldn't trade places, even if they both wanted to. He didn't want her to have to deal with all the crap he just went through.
They spent the rest of the event together, and it was much more enjoyable that way. Time passed quicker when they were together.

The next day, upon hearing from their maid what people thought of them, he was revolted to find out that (Y/n) was being greatly disrespected. He thought that because she was of low status, no one would pay attention to her. Could it be because she was with him for the entirety of the evening...? (Y/n) seemed to be thinking nothing of it and Arnold knew she herself couldn't do anything about it anyway.
'Sure is easy for these assholes to punch down.' he thought.
Today, he was invited to lunch by the Duke of Diamonds, Lord Kolton, a friend of his late uncle. He said in his letter that he wanted Arnold to start the Shuffling by seeing a friendly familiar face. Arnold wasn't sure about the familiar part, he's only seen this man once or twice when he was little, but (Y/n) said it would be great to have him as an ally. So Arnold went to his quarters.
"Arnold boy!" he patted his arms. "Look how tall you've become, you're a young man now!"
"Thank you, Lord Kolton." he nodded with a smile. "You don't look any smaller to me."
The Duke laughed and placed a hand on his shoulder as he led him to the table.
"Come, let's dine!"

There were all of his father's favorite dishes, and a lot of food in general. Arnold wondered if it was really going to be just the two of them. He did appreciate the fact that the Duke added some Spades dishes to the menu.
"Mmh, so, Arnold." the Duke said, his mouth full. "How was the banquet last night? We didn't get to talk."
The young man took a moment to search for the right words.
"And no need to be uppity about it." he added. "Relax, if you have something negative to say, it won't leave this room, that I promise." he smiled and crossed his heart.
Arnold smiled. His shoulders relaxed.
"I met up with old friends I made last time I was here. But it felt like I was the only one who grew up."
"Yes... You are indeed in a situation where you can't be a kid anymore."
Arnold looked down.

"I heard you were stuck with your governess."
"She's not my governess!" he glared.
"Then who was she?" he faced his food as he cut a piece of meat but still looked at him.
"She's uh..." he shrugged. "She's the Lady of Spades. We work together at the High Council."
"You work together? I thought you were the head."
"Well, she's really smart."
"Eh, being smart isn't everything in this world." he shook his head with a shrug.
"Are you saying you're not smart?" Arnold titled his head with a smirk.
Lord Kolton laughed.

"Smart and clever aren't the same." he pointed. "And besides, you could be the smartest man in the world, try to outsmart a sword to the throat!" he laughed again.
Arnold smiled but didn't laugh.
"So how was it? Spending the whole night with her?"
"It was fine or whatever." he shrugged.
The Duke raised an eyebrow.
"She treats you with respect right? You know how women can get."
"...How?"
"Very motherly. I'm just making sure she respects you is all."
"She does." he nodded.
He realized how quickly he answered that question. Should he have actually thought about it a little longer...?

"Well then. Everything is fine, good." he nodded. "...Still, if you get tired of how...'smart' your Council members are, you can always come to me."
"Thank you sir."
They talked more about sports, horses, the cottage in the countryside the Duke bought, along with a new golden pocket watch. It might have been very materialistic and superficial to some, Arnold acknowledged that. But for him – who for a year had to deal with complex geopolitics every day – this was a nice change of pace, a breath of fresh air. He wouldn't say he made a friend that day, but he felt he would take the Duke up on that offer of paying a visit to him again.
And he would do it a lot sooner and a lot more often than expected.

Then, the sword incident happened. And that bratty Count of Rummoli had it coming! He insulted his dad, he insulted Arnold, he had to pay!
Now, Arnold may or may not have lost himself in the heat of the moment... But he wasn't going to kill him! Just maybe a deep gash or something, deep enough to leave a scar so that that jerk wouldn't forget him.
When he was stopped and saw (Y/n) grab his blade with her bare hands, he forgot about everything. Then she yelled at him. He's never seen her this angry before. Even if the music was still playing at that moment, he would still only hear her voice. Not even his father would yell at him in public.
His eyes would always fall back on her hands, closed tightly so that she could hide the bleeding. But he watched as drops of red fell onto the clean floor.
Once she was gone, the music started again. The Count of Rummoli – who's been standing next to him this whole time – looked at him.
"Look man, I-"
Arnold picked up his sword and walked away, exiting the ballroom through a different door.

'Idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot-' he thought, along with other harsher insults, as he went back to the Spades quarters.
He went to his room, the image of (Y/n)'s glare still haunting him. He gripped his hair in frustration as he walked in circles. He looked at his sword and froze. There was still blood on it. Her blood. Arnold quickly found a handkerchief to wipe it away. But no matter how hard he tried, it would never completely go away. He let out a cry of rage and threw the sword away, it landed on the other side of the room.
Arnold then covered his face, pressing his hands onto his eyes and let himself fall back on the bed. He didn't cry. He didn't let himself cry. All that effort exhausted him and he fell asleep.

He had a nightmare that night. He was surrounded by darkness, nothing else in sight no matter how far he walked. The ground beneath him shook and turned into a mud-like liquid. Arnold tried to escape, but with each step he only sank deeper. He tried calling for help, but he couldn't make a sound.

"[I recognize you]."

Tendrils came out of the ground and wrapped themselves around him, pulling him down.

"[I know you]."

Arnold woke up in a cold sweat, out of breath, with a headache and a terrible indescribable feeling in his stomach... He's never had nightmares like this before...
'That voice was creepy as hell.' he thought as he wiped the sweat off of his forehead.

He stood up and changed. It would seem he was the first one awake for once. He went to get breakfast but stopped when he saw the large amount of letters coming in. His heart twisted. Were these all complaints?
"Good morning my Lord." one of the maids said. "Here is your mail." she handed him a couple of letters.
He blinked twice, perplexed.
"Who are all these for?" he gestured to the others.
"These are addressed to Lady (L/n)."
This made him feel even worse. He believed he ruined everything and she was dragged down with him. But then the flowers came in. Catherine and Gwendolyn woke up and they began to talk about how popular 'Brave-Bloody-Bare-Hands' has gotten.
'Oh.' he thought. 'So I get humiliated and she's rewarded for it?!'
For some reason, he was more angry about this than he thought he would be. He even walked out on her when she finally arrived. Out of the few letters he got today, only one was supportive of him. It came from Lord Kolton. And so he went to his quarters.

On the way there, everybody he passed by would stare at him, even when he stared back. They would only stop when he asked if they had a problem. The invitation he received from the Duke was for an afternoon outing, so when Arnold showed up early in the morning, he was asked to wait in the living room while the butler went to fetch his employer. He waited a while before the Duke came in, with a Lady by his side. She was all dressed up while he was still in pyjamas.
"I'm sorry our morning was cut short." he kissed the back of her hand. "Shall I expect to see you at the next official event?"
The lady giggled and nodded before leaving, waving at him.
"A pretty thing she is." he nodded to himself.
"Did I interrupt something?" Arnold asked.
"No, no no no. If anything, you're a lifesaver." he tied his robe before finally looking at him. "Arnold! You sure are early."
"Right, sorry about that..."
"Nonsens, it's always good to see you!" he shook his shoulder.

"It's just... I just wanted to spend time in friendly company."
The Duke slowly nodded.
"...Do you wanna talk about it?"
"No."
"Then I won't ask." he nodded one last time and stood up. "Let me just go change and we can sit back and enjoy a lazy morning."
Arnold appreciated that. Next thing he knew, they spent the morning together and had lunch together. At some point in the afternoon, some of the Duke's friends came in. He told them there was a change of plan and they would stay inside after all.
"Well thank the stars for that!" one of them said as they all took a seat. "If I have to hear about that woman one more time, I will pull my ears out!"
"By the way, Arnold right?" another one leaned forward. "I saw your duel last night, you are a great swordsman!"
"He takes it from his father!" the Duke slapped him on the back.
Despite still feeling terrible about that duel, Arnold couldn't help but feel happy with these praises.

"A shame it was interrupted." another of the Duke's friends said. "That woman was really careless, she could've gotten killed!"
Arnold felt a twist in his stomach at this notion.
"Can you believe that people are calling her the real ruler of Spades?"
"What?" he frowned.
"Yeah. Everyone fell in love with her brave and selfless act, which I personally don't buy. Nobody does something that grandiose – during the Shuffling! – without knowing the attention they would get."
"Really...?" Arnold's gaze wandered.
"You really think this is the first time someone forced themselves into the spotlight?"
The young man's frown deepened. Were these guys saying that (Y/n) did it on purpose so that people would think of her as the ruler of Spades? He shook his head.
"No, she wouldn't do that." he said. "That's not her style."
"If you say so kid." the man raised his hands. "Just saying, we all have to watch our backs in this business."
"True. But not with her. She..."

He looked around to make sure no windows or doors were opened, the other men leaned closer, curious.
"She swore she would help me become king." he whispered to them.
"Aaaaah!" they all leaned back, nodding.
"But wait." Lord Kolton frowned. "Then why did she stop you?"
"Huh?"
"You were going to win, a duel you started for your father's honor- And trust me, he would've felt even more disrespected if you didn't do anything. You would've started the Shuffling with a bang- in a positive way of course."
"Eh, you know women!" the man beside him hit his arm. "They don't think violence solves anything."
"Well she might have had a point." Arnold shrugged. "I actually had places to be today, but since I knew I was gonna be mocked, I canceled my plans."
"I disagree, kid." one of the men said. "You should get out there and show these bozos that you're no coward!"
"I don't wanna deal with them right now..." he looked down.

His words were met with only silence. He looked up and saw the adults looking at each-other. Arnold began to panic, he felt that what he said ruined the mood. The Duke of Diamonds spoke before he could.
"It's alright Arnold. We can just sit back and relax, right guys?"
The other agreed.
"But remember, kid." one of them pointed at him. "You can't run away forever."
Arnold felt uneasy, but the man then laughed as if that was a casual thing to say.
The group of men were served snacks and drinks and they began to talk about their day, their families, their earliest expensive purchase, pocket watches. Once again, very materialistic and superficial subjects. However, things took a turn when Arnold was offered alcohol.
"You ever tried booze before?" someone asked.
He shook his head.
"Ohoho boy let me tell you! This is one of the first steps you must take if you wanna become a man!"

He was handed a glass. He took it and glanced at the men staring at him. Hesitantly, he took a small sip of the wine and immediately gagged.
"Woah!" Lord Kolton quickly took the glass away from him and set it on the table, laughing along with everyone. "Wash that down with some water."
"I thought the people of Spades had a strong palette!" someone said.
"That either says a lot about this wine, or about Arnold!"
They all laughed again. Arnold frowned, he wanted them to shut up already. He took the glass again, catching everyone by surprise. He drank it all as quickly as possible and from the look on his face, it was not a pleasant experience. He finally put down the now empty glass and everybody cheered, congratulating him. This made him feel better.
"Alright that's enough wine for you!"
"Yeah, the Lady of Spades might scold him if he comes home drunk!"
"Oh gosh! He really is one of us now!"
Everybody laughed. Arnold drank only water for the remainder of the day, but the taste of alcohol lingered on his tongue...

Later that day, he apologized to his fellow council members for walking out on them this morning. They had their briefing. It would seem that (Y/n) had the worst day out of all of them, which made him feel terrible yet again. But then she told them she met the King of Hearts after she left the ball, and that they spent the rest of the evening together, alone. The King apparently apologized for letting this happen. 'This' being Arnold. He was angry, but he stayed silent.
Whether he was justified or not in that duel, this was a one-off, stupid incident that shall not happen again. That's what he thought at least.
And that was why, during the hunting event the next day, he followed (Y/n)'s plan. As much as he hated it. Catching a rabbit? When there were a bunch of mystical beasts around the forest?! He figured he could still fight them, just not bring them back. And so, he defeated eleven out of fifteen beasts.

He then had the strangest encounters. He was being followed and ended up chasing the stalker.
Finally, he saw them, and he stopped. Far away, he could make out a tall silhouette. Maybe they were far away, maybe it was because they were in a darker part of the forest, maybe his vision wasn't the best. Whatever it was, that person looked blurry. And he couldn't tell if they were facing him or not. He frowned, he wanted to go up to them and ask them what the hell their problem was.
But for some reason, that person was making his stomach twist. It was a very familiar feeling...
He approached, with slow steps, not leaving them out of his sight. None of them said anything. Arnold was looking for eyes to look at. And as he came closer, he started to make out two red dots. Or were these pupils...?

"[I know you]."

Suddenly, out of nowhere, (Y/n) ran past him. And she wasn't alone, with her was the King of Diamonds, the Queen of Clubs, the King of Hearts, a small red-haired child and some ginger guy. They didn't even notice him. Arnold only had the time to take a step back before the group was already gone. He watched them leave with a dumbfounded look on his face, completely confused. Was that really (Y/n)?!
'What the hell is she doing here with-?!'
He suddenly remembered what he was doing and looked forward again. There was no one, not even a shadow, not even a movement. And now that he looked around, the forest wasn't that dark. Not anymore at least...
For whatever reason, this left a bitter taste in his mouth. That voice he heard was the same from his nightmare! Where did it even come from? He felt his heart beating faster and he breathed deeply to calm himself down before concentrating on finding and catching that rabbit. And he did, very easily.

When he came back, he became surrounded by women and kids who praised him for how adorable his catch was.
"Oh can this little thing be any cuter?!"
"Its fur matched your hair too! How lovely!"
"What will you do with it?"
"Huh?" he blinked, taken off guard with the sudden question.
"You can't release it in the wild! Poor little angel!"
"Aww look at its eyes! So round and cute!"
"Will you keep it, Young Marquis?"
"Or will you give it to a lucky someone?"
"Oh if I was given a rabbit such as this one, I would fall head over heels!" the ladies laughed.
Arnold blushed. He was uncomfortable now.

"I'm sorry ladies but this is my new pet." he said, hoping this would shut them up and go away.
It did not.
"Awww for a tough young man, you sure have a soft heart!"
'Please kill me.'
When he finally left and looked for Catherine, he bumped into Lord Kolton and some of his friends. They just got back from their hunt, they had a fox, a badger and a deer.
"A rabbit eh? How cute."
"Heard it's your new pet too!" they laughed.
"If it was up to me, I wouldn't have brought back this one!" he quickly clarified. "I just figured that bringing a mystical beast would scare the kids."
"If you could bring back a beast-"
'I could've! I could've brought back all of them if I wanted!'
"-It would've been a great testament of your strength! Strength is scary but it's the greatest show of character one can do."

Arnold pondered over this... He figured that even if that was true, it was too late anyway since he brought back his catch.
"Is this your first hunt Arnold?" Lord Kolton asked.
"First one on my own." he nodded. "Before that, I was always just accompanying my father."
"It's your first one? Aren't you seventeen?!" one of the men exclaimed.
"Your first hunt and you caught a rabbit, that's a great start." the Duke patted his shoulder. "They're quick little things."
Arnold frowned, he hated being condescended to. He found Catherine and quickly excused himself before going to her. He waited with her for a while. There was still no sign of (Y/n). People were coming back left and right, reuniting with their group and putting their captured prizes on the big table. It would seem that no one has managed to catch a mystical beast.
'I could've done it!' he couldn't help but think, unknowingly clenching the rabbit in his arms. 'Look at them fawning over a bear when I could've brought a dragon and five others like it with me! They would've known what I'm truly capable of! I would've destroyed the competition if it wasn't for this stupid-!'
He shook his head. He refused to think of her like this. Why was he so angry lately, he wondered.
"Where are you...?" he whispered to himself as he looked around again.

When (Y/n) finally came back, she was still with the two kings and queen. And she gave no explanation when she joined him. That upset him greatly. He understood that she was tired but, if she had planned on hanging out with royalty, she would've told him. She always told him everything, ever since she made that promise...

"[She's hiding something]."

Arnold shook his head. That voice again! It sounded like a whisper in his head.
He noticed a lot of eyes on them and he couldn't tell which one of them people were fixing their cold judging gaze on. (Y/n) ignored them however. They didn't talk much while waiting for everyone to come back. But Arnold found comfort in the fact that he and (Y/n) were the victims of glances, snickers and even secret bets. At least, he wasn't alone against the crowd. At least, they would have this to share in commun. To him, this was an undeniable connection between them, something that brought them together. If she saw that and understood what he was going through, then there was no way she would just brush him off.

Then there was this whole cheating scandal with Duke Lawrence of the Mao Provinces. He was actually one of Lord Kolton's friends. Arnold took notice of how none of them defended him when the King of Hearts disqualified him from the hunting competition.
Then the King of Diamonds was announced the winner, he then gave his catch to (Y/n), and following this, the King of Hearts announced he would give the birds of the same species that he kept in his personal zoo back to the Kingdom of Spades as well. Arnold's mind began to race. Did the three of them agree to do this? They were all hanging out in the forest throughout the hunt. Why didn't (Y/n) talk to the others about this? Why didn't she tell him about this?!

"[She's hiding something]."

'[No she's not! She's honest to a fault!]'
He replayed the interactions he's had with her ever since they met. Every single one of them. Even if he didn't want to remember, the memories would still resurface in his head.

The truth was that someone, or something, was looking through his memories. That something had its eyes on him ever since his anger first got the better of him during the ball. That rage, those black eyes, the amount of mana...
Bonds of blood can be very powerful if used in the right way. Someone who is powerful enough could come into contact with the other.
From deep within the castle, the King of Spades saw an opportunity. It would take time, but he learned how to be patient. He would take advantage of the kid's doubts and anger, make them cloud his mind and his heart. Little by little, for him to be weak enough.
And that turned out to be the easiest thing ever!

With (Y/n)'s reputation rising and her being just too busy to talk after the hunt and the whole day after, Arnold didn't know who to blame for feeling so...robbed. He thought maybe, if he could just talk to her once, things would be cleared up. He discreetly checked her schedule for the day and noticed she had some free time at the same time as him. She will most likely be in the Spades quarters then.
He arrived before her, so he was alone for a while. At some point, someone knocked at the door. He opened it and saw a tall caterpillar man.
"Howdy-doo young man!" he waved.
"I'm the Marquis of Spades." he folded his arms.
"My my! Sorry mister marquis." he bowed. "Do you happen to know if the Lady of Spades is here?"

Arnold frowned.
"Why?"
"You see, I'm Howdy Pillar, the royal blacksmith, here under my King's request to repair a ring of hers."
His frown deepened.
'Him again.'
"She's not here right now. Wait here until she comes back."
"Sure thing young marquis sir! You got it! I shall wait he-" and he closed the door on him.
Now alone again, Arnold walked in a circle. Once again the King of Hearts was roaming around (Y/n). And each time she was alone with him, she refused to talk about what happened, while she always asked him and the others to go into excruciating details during their briefings! That plus the thing with the hunt...
A memory came up in his head, something that one of Lord Kolton's friends said about people forcing themselves into the spotlight. Was this really not planned? Why was she so secretive about her time spent with royalty? Were they talking about him? It must be mockery then if she didn't wanna tell him. A million scenarios ran through Arnold's mind, he became more and more frustrated with each one.

He was snapped out of his spiraling thoughts when he heard (Y/n)'s voice behind the door, talking to the caterpillar man. He quickly grabbed a random book and layed on the sofa. Just then, his rabbit Blizzard hopped on his stomach.
"What the- Get outta here!" he harshly whispered.
Before he could push it off of him, he heard the door opening and he quickly opened the book at a random page and pretended to read. (Y/n) rushed across the room without even noticing he was there, even on her way out. He felt a pain in his heart.
"Bye." he said without looking.
He heard her gasp.
"Arnold." she exhaled. "I'm sorry, I didn't notice you."
"Someone's at the door for you. Told him to wait outside."
"...He can wait." she walked to him

She leaned over the back of the couch to look down at him, her eyebrows furrowed.
"I can ask him to come back tomorrow." she spoke in a softer voice.
He glanced away, not wanting to look her in the eyes. Faced with an opportunity to finally talk to her, Arnold felt a lot of emotions. He didn't want to risk letting them out all at once.
"Nah." he moved the book closer, hiding his face from her. "He was sent for you, by the King of Hearts, you shouldn't keep him waiting."
With a sigh, she left. Once he heard the door close, Arnold let the book fall flat on his chest with a sigh. Hanging his head back, he stared up at the ceiling with tight lips. A moment of silence passed before he heard the noise of shredding paper. He looked down and saw Blizzard munching on the pages of his book.
"Hey!" he yanked it away. "You dumbass! Paper isn't edible!"
He sat up and put the rabbit aside and walked away.

That night, he had another nightmare. In the darkness, there were eyes staring at him from all angles. (Y/n) was beside him though, so he felt it would be fine, because they would be together. The eyes slowly became bigger and bigger. He grew scared. He reached for her hand but she wasn't there anymore. She was farther away, laughing with the two kings and queen. The eyes became everything around him, they began laughing as well and he covered his face as he heard (Y/n)'s promise resonating around him.

During the weekend, Arnold and (Y/n) finally had an opportunity to talk. She explained everything that happened during the hunt. And he told her how they almost literally ran into him in the forest.
"Oww, you should've said something!" she nudged him. "I would've felt more at ease if you were there with me."
He pursed his lips.
'Yeah? You looked like you were having enough fun already.'
"Well you all seemed really set on catching that bird. You were out of sight before I could say anything." he huffed. "Which actually leads me to my question..."
She leaned a bit closer, tilting her head.
"The two Kings giving the birds back, was that planned?"
She leaned back, surprised.
"Did you guys actually agree on this while you were all in the forest?"
"N-No..." she shook her head. "I was as shocked as you were. Couldn't you tell?"
Arnold didn't say anything. Because no. He couldn't tell.

Then there was the tea party. (Y/n) was invited to the middle of the labyrinth by the two Kings and Queen. He listened to the people around him, talking about how 'that lady sure was getting friendly with royalty'. People speculated as to why and it made Arnold sick to his stomach. Lord Kolton and his friends were all invited to different tables. So Arnold spent the tea party alone. He sent a note to (Y/n) and never got a response. Refusing to be humiliated any longer, he left.
Maybe there was a simpler explanation to all of this, he thought, maybe she just became friends with the three royals and forgot about their plan. Maybe she was still working on it and would soon invite him to tag along. There were a lot of possible explanations for this. But all Arnold could conclude was that, at this moment, he was alone and not where he should be.
That night, he had a different nightmare. A crown being taken away from him. Royals and nobles partying happily while he rotted in a ditch outside. Alone and ignored.

"[It's your birthright. By simply existing, you have earned it.]"

'That is the definition of birthright...'

The following weeks, his fears and doubts were only confirmed. (Y/n) was receiving letters from the King of Diamonds and the Queen of Clubs. She even expected a letter from the King of Hearts! And she looked very excited at the prospect! She kept more and more secrets from him, too! She didn't come back after the talent show, he even stayed up late, hoping to catch her, until he suddenly fell asleep. It was so sudden in fact he didn't realize that an unknown entity casted a sleeping spell on him.
He found out she's been hanging out with the three royals over brunch and they talked about art. Which was just ridiculous! And there was also...whatever happened between her and Catherine. When he asked about it during dinner, he ended up being yelled at!
"Alright. Whatever." he put his napkin on the table and stood up. "I'm not hungry anymore. I'm gonna go hang out with my friends."
"You have friends?"
Arnold looked at (Y/n), she looked surprised. Was it really that shocking that he would have friends? That some people would like him? ...Did she not think they were friends? For a moment, he didn't know what to say. He was hurt. He was angry.
"Yes!" he pressed before leaving, slamming the door shut behind him.

One could argue that Lord Kolton and his merry band of manly men weren't the greatest influence for Arnold. But they gave him what he felt he needed at the moment. They supported his actions and though they weren't the kindest to (Y/n), Arnold was now conflicted over his feelings for her. She was right now in the position she promised he would be in, that was the plan. That was their plan. Why couldn't she follow her own plan?! She would always follow her plans! Having other people not liking her, Arnold felt relieved for not being alone.
(Y/n) wasn't perfect, Arnold realized that and it took a toll on him.

"[She forgot about you.]"

From then on, Arnold would have a nightmare every night. Each one being one of his fears coming to life: the sinking, his crown being taken away, dying alone in a ditch, the KIngdom of Spades being left for dead, and many more. All of them would end the same way, him being forgotten and alone. Each night they would get more detailed, they would go on for longer, they would feel more real, and the feeling he would get in the morning would be worse and worse.

The fencing competition was tomorrow. Arnold knew that this would be his moment to shine. No one has ever bested him with any blade of any kind. He actually left his friends early so he could go train outside. He trained very early in the morning as well.
It will be fine, he thought, if one day wouldn't end in complete failure and humiliation, it would be this one!

[I had to stop here I'm sorry! This chapter was getting way too long! 😫
On a better note! I think now is a safe time to share my spotify playlist 😌 I'll put the link in the comments and on my account board, or you could just look up "Total Eclipse ♠️/♥️" and you should find it. Enjoy!
Also also! Here's a lovely fanart by seieumi_artz on instagram 🥰 giving me such disney vibes, it's so prettyyyy!]