Cardverse Hetalia ~ Kingdom Of Spades ♠️

Chapter 37 - More Questions than Answers

The next morning, the maid was already making her round with a silver trolley consisting of a coffee set, a small tea set and two trays of breakfasts covered in silver lids. The maid eventually reached the master bedroom, Gently knocked on the door three times and waited until a voice could be heard from inside. "Come in." A voice could be heard, letting the maid know she can enter with breakfast for the king and queen. Upon entering the room, the maid noticed that Alfred was already awake and just finished dressing himself.

"Good morning, your majesty." Emily said, drawing Alfred's attention to her. He smiled while looking over his shoulder. "Good morning, Emily. What have you brought for breakfast?" He asked in a calm voice. She responded as she placed the silver tray on the table. "Two stacks of pancakes. one with a jug of honey and the other with maple syrup, sir." The young king smiled while approaching the tray after completing his look. He had a feeling that a certain member of the castle may have recommended this for that morning. "Thank you. They smell amazing. Too bad that Arthur is still sleeping..." He spoke while glancing over at his lover, still peacefully in his slumber.

Emily enquired about the next course of action. "Would you like for me to wake them, your majesty?" She asked. Alfred briefly turned his face to Emily before shaking his head. "Let him sleep. I'm sure it won't be long before he awakens. For now, leave him be. Thank you Emily." He replied. The maid bowed in acknowledgement before leaving the room, closing the door behind her. Being careful as to make as little noise as possible, Alfred cautiously lifted the lid off of the pancakes, going for the one with maple syrup as he felt that honey was better for Arthur than maple syrup. He was able to eat his breakfast without disturbing him. After gently packing up the plate, he drunk his first cup of coffee and took his beverage along with him as he headed for his office for work. All the while, Arthur was still sleeping peacefully.

Shortly after, the sleeping queen found himself accompanied by a family fluffy animal on his bed as a wake up call. He opened his eyes to see Snowbell sniffing and licking his face. He chuckled before petting the creature. "Good morning Snowbell, thank you for the wakeup call. You're too sweet." He responded calmly before carefully emerging from the bed and putting on a purple gown. He noticed one empty plate of pancakes and another plate with its lid still covering the second pile and smiled once he saw the warm pancakes with honey on the side. He looked over to Snowbell with his grin still on his face. "Someone remembered what I like, hey Snowbell?" He said, and the small rabbit nodded in response.

Once the young king arrived in his office, he noticed a red envelope with a heart on the back. He tilted his head to the side as he picked up the letter for a closer examination, he saw on the back that the sender was from Ludwig. "Ah, it's from the King of Hearts, as he promised." He thought to himself. He proceeded to open the letter carefully with a brass letter opener and retrieved the contents from inside, which consisted of one letter and a small note on red paper. He first read the letter that said;

Dear King Alfred,

As promised, I wish to invite you to the kingdom of hearts so we can discuss our future business enquiries over coffee for tomorrow at 1 o'clock. I look forward to seeing you and to host our conversation.

Kind regards, Ludwig.

P.S. The queen requests for you to bring your queen to talk to them during your trip. He didn't explain why but I thought I should inform you in this part of the letter just to let you know. And don't worry, your queen will be safe with mine.

Alfred was intrigued about the extra note at the end of the letter. "Kiku wants to see Arthur, huh?" He commented to himself. He saw the note which was sealed but the top red "For Arthur."

Without question, he made his way to their quarters where he saw Arthur just setting off himself and caught up to him. "Oh, Good morning Al..." Arthur said before Alfred held out the note. "This is for you and you only. It was in the letter from the Hearts. I can't read this so I thought you should." Alfred spoke before passing the note to Arthur. As soon as the queen received the note, Alfred headed straight back to his office without another word, leaving a rather mystified Arthur indeed.

Shortly after, he made his way to Yao while still feeling confused. "Alfred just passed me this note and said it was from the hearts but he can't read it." He explained. At this time, Yao was reading up on potions and weapon making just because. He looked up before speaking. "So, what did it say aru?" He asked. Arthur opened the note up to read a few sentences.

You look familiar. I can see what you are. I can help you see when you come.

Both men looked at each other and pondered for a moment. Arthur sighed as if he didn't know what to think of it. "I don't know what Kiku is saying from these statements..." He said. Yao raised an eyebrow at that moment. "How do you know it was Kiku that wrote this note?" He asked. Arthur shrugged before responding. "Because...he was the only royal that spoke to me in person during the coronation. He's probably curious to find out more..." He answered. Yao felt concerned before speaking his mind. "...or what you may not know about yourself already, aru." He said. Arthur focused on his friend before asking his next question. "What are you implying, Yao?"

"Well, before coming here, you seemed to have no idea about yourself or what you are as a person. Especially for someone who possesses power beyond a human. What if Kiku reveals something you didn't know...maybe he might give you another way to use your power or...reveal what..." He drifted off. Arthur leaned in as if intrigue had taken over. "Reveal what?" He asked, pressing for an answer.

This time, Yao was hesitant to answer and remained silent before speaking again. "Nothing, Aru. You won't know until you go there tomorrow. Arthur sighed in defeat before he nodded. "Okay. I'll wait until tomorrow. I'll be in the library, Yao." He spoke before proceeding to leave the potion room. Yao couldn't but sigh sorrowfully. He didn't know what to say that would make things better for him.

Time passed until the sun was just out of sight from the window frame, indicating the afternoon. At this moment, Arthur had finished reading for the time being and proceeded to the garden to attend to the flora that are free from their snowy sleep. Though parts of the courtyard and castle are still covered in snow, the roses have been addressed so they can bloom. Arthur smiled at his work and began trimming the thorns. His solitude was brief as he sensed the presence of another person nearby. The queen paused and twitched his head slightly to the right.

"Come to see me, have you, Matthew?" He asked as he rose from the floor, turning his attention and his body to the Ace. He smiled before answering him. "Of course. I came to see how you were today." He spoke softly. The queen passed the note to Matthew before delivering his response. "Certainly intrigued to know why Kiku sent this cryptic note." The young man was confused as he proceeded to read the note. Despite reading the note, his expression remained the same before speaking again.

"Could there be something missing or some other secret he might know?" He asked. Arthur could only shrug in response. "Not a clue. He said he recognised me and wanted to help me after Elizabeta spoke about her experience...Let's just say it struck a nerve..."

Matthew approached curiously. "In what way?" he asked. Suddenly, and without warning, Arthur and Matthew saw what could only be described as a titan with wings descending over them with a wail of agony echoing the air, accompanied by a crashing sound into the woods, causing the ground to tremble under the two men's feet. A trembling that was also felt by Alfred in his office. Though less intense, he still felt it and raised concern for him. "What the heck was that?" He said before shifting from his chair to the window, spotting his spouse and his brother advancing into the woods. 

"And where are they going?" Baffled by their actions, he immediately headed for the door in order to follow suit.

TO BE CONTINUED