All For One and One For All [A Cardverse Story]

Friends Long Lost and Newly Found

♠️

Alfred refused to speak to anyone for a week. Arthur's body was prepared for his funeral, but Alfred refused to take part in the planning of it. He spent most of his time in his and Arthur's bedroom, staring out the window to the gardens where Arthur died. Most of the planning was done by Yao, stepping into his role as Jack and running the kingdom in the absence of the King. Alfred finally came out of his room on the day of the funeral.

To outsiders, it was as though nothing had happened. The King wore his suit and crown with the watch held in his right hand. But to the keen eye, the change was obvious. His suit seemed a bit too large on him, the crown too heavy, the watch clutched too tight.

At the funeral, Alfred still didn't speak. Arthur's body was placed in a small floating casket and was to be pushed out to sea. Alfred stepped into the water and lead the casket out a few feet. He refused to have anyone help him. He leant down to kiss Arthur's cold lips and murmured, "Goodbye, my love." He pushed the casket out to sea.

-

It did not take long for the kingdom to fall into disrepair. After the Queen's murder, the people became frightened that one of the other kingdoms would soon declare war on them. With people's paranoia came illness. Many people began to work beyond their capacity, causing them to get sick from exhaustion. The viruses they were contracting doom mutated and became a new plague.

The people living in the poorer regions of Spades were contracting the plague very easily and were dying at an alarming rate. It seemed to be even deadlier than the virus from the reign before the present one. It was called the Queen's Plague, as it came so soon after his death. The people called out to the royal family, but King Alfred wouldn't answer.

He was still distraught over his husband's death and could barely support himself. It would take almost a month for him to get back on his feet and get back to running the kingdom. But by then, half of it could be dead.

So Yao stepped forward and tried to pull the kingdom back together. He urged the people to remain calm as help was on its way. He visited orphanages to comfort the children, he visited to hospitals to comfort the elderly, and he visited the poorer regions to comfort the sick. Anything to remind people that the royal family was still there and would help them.

And that was where it all went wrong.

Yao was warned not to maintain contact with any of the plague carriers for too long. But his heart broke for the people who were sick. It reminded him of years before as a child in Hearts, when his parents had died in the plague. And so he comforted the sick people, and they were grateful to him.

But oh, did it cost him. It wasn't very long until Yao became sick as well. His increased exposure caused him to contract the plague. Unless he somehow had an immunity, he would be dead in a maximum of three days. Three days of sickness and suffering. He requested that a message be brought to the castle.

When the messenger was before him, Yao told him the message: "Tell Alfred I'm sorry I couldn't save Arthur. And tell him I'll see him on the other side, crazy bastard."

♥️
Fifteen Years Ago

Hearts was overrun with sickness. A new plague had come about, and with it many people in the kingdom were dying. Young Wang Yao, a poor citizen of Hearts, sat at the foot of his parents' hospital beds. He had contracted the illness the previous week, but had miraculously gotten better. His parents were not so lucky.

A few beds over, an obviously wealthy family was weeping over the bed of a young girl. So that's the one consistency with illness, Yao thought bitterly, It doesn't care if you're rid him or poor. The young boy at the foot of the girl's bed looked to Yao and said, "My name is Kiku. Are those your parents?"

Yao started slightly, "Yes. Is that your sister?" Kiku nodded. He looked to his mom and tugged on her sleeve. She turned to her son and then to Yao. "Mummy, his parents are sick," Kiku said, "Can we take him home?" The woman looked uncomfortable, "I-I'm sure he has other family that would be more than happy to take him in."

Yao looked up at the woman, "I'm sorry to intrude ma'am, but I have no other family. Both of my parents are dead," he glanced at the hospital beds, "Or soon will be. And I have no one else." The woman frowned at them and then turned to her husband. The two had a rapid conversation in a language Yao did not understand. The man soon turned to him and said, "What is your name, boy?" He gulped, "My name is Wang Yao, sir."

The woman shot her husband a harsh glare before smiling kindly at Yao, "Well then, Yao, would you like to come live with us?"

-

Kiku and Yao became fast friends. Kiku taught him the ins and outs of being the child of a Lord and Lady. Yao comforted the younger boy when his father had too much to drink and they could hear the screaming voices through the manor.

It was only five months before Yao decided he would run away. He had originally been unbelievably grateful that they had taken him in, but Lord Honda was beginning to grow annoyed by him. He had been fine with Yao originally, but he soon began to see the boy as a waste of family resources. Lady Honda welcomed him with open arms, but her kindness could not outweigh her husband's anger and drunkenness.

One night, Yao tied many of the linens in his room (previously the Honda's daughter's) together and chucked his makeshift rope out the window. He was halfway down the rope when Kiku stuck his small head out of the window. Sometimes the young boy would come to Yao's room if he had a nightmare. Tonight was no different.

Kiku's mouth turned down in a frown, "Where are you going?" Yao looked up at the younger boy with a grin, "Running away!" Kiku cocked his head to the side, "Why?" Their 'father's' drunken yell was heard from inside the manor and Yao scowled at the wall, "That's why." He grinned up at Kiku, "Come with me." The younger boy looked hesitantly behind him before turning back to Yao, "I-I can't."

Yao hesitated again before he continued to climb down the rope. He didn't look back when he reached the ground and disappeared into the night.

-

Yao didn't know how long he had been running. Hours? Days? He wasn't sure. Perhaps he had accidentally wandered into the Outerlands. Maybe he was hallucinating the massive castle in front of him, but it was his best shot.

He stumbled towards the castle, still unsure whether or not it was an illusion. When he reached the path to the grand entrance, he collapsed. The last thing he heard was frightened screams and someone yelling to fetch a doctor.

The boy woke up a few hours later to a kindly blonde woman dabbing at his head with a damp cloth. She gasped and yelled out, "He's conscious!" A blind man soon appeared at the bedside and gave Yao a kind smile. "What's your name, sport?" he said. He opened his mouth and coughed out, "Wang Yao. Citizen of Hearts."

The woman frowned. "Hearts? Well you're a long way from Hearts, my dear. You're in Spades." The man, presumably her husband, gave Yao a curious look, "Did you run away?" Yao froze up instantly and muttered, "Y-Yes. The plague killed my parents and the people who took me in weren't very nice." The man and woman exchanged a look before they grinned at him.

"Well," the woman said, "You're more than welcome to stay with us. We have a son about your age; I imagine you two would get along famously."

♠️♣️♥️♦️

Alfred and Yao very quickly became friends. Wishing a few months of knowing each other, Alfred asked Yao to be his Jack when the time came. The boy had agreed. Yao was there to hear Alfred ramble about a beautiful blond boy with the greenest eyes and how that boy would be his Queen. Yao was Alfred's best man at the royal wedding, and his comfort when his father and later mother died. They were the best friends that Spades had seen in years.

Yao died the next morning. Only one Spade remained.

[<3]

so imagine in this universe that when all three members of the royal family were dead then that specific kingdom would fall

I'm really excited to show you guys where this story is gonna go. I've had it planned out for months