Cardverse Hetalia ~ Kingdom Of Spades ♠️

Chapter 2 ~ From Slave to Servant

The next morning, Arthur still felt weak from the day before. It was obvious that the treatment from the seller and the months of painful slavery had taken a heavy toll. He tried to reach the sink but fell over. Alfred, who dressed in his shirt and waistcoat ran over the minute he saw his new servant on the floor.

"Arthur! Hey, why are you out of bed?" He asked with concern. Arthur couldn't hold himself up. Alfred was holding his frail body in his arms. Arthur was breathless. "Sorry master... I was trying to attend to my duties but I was sh-" "What duties?" Alfred interrupted. Arthur looked at his master with confusion. "You do not have duties yet until you've recovered. My father recommended for you to regain your energy before you can work. With your condition, you need to heal properly." Alfred's tone was of annoyance but not towards Arthur, but towards the negligence of the man's health.

Alfred picks Arthur up and puts him back on the bed. "Right, Thomas is preparing food. Once I've given you a bath and new clothes, you will eat as much as you can. Do not force feed yourself. I'm aware that you've been starved most of your life but don't give me the 'I'm not that hungry' excuse. Do you understand?" Alfred demanded. Arthur could detect the anger in his new master's voice but it wasn't threatening in any way. "Y-Yes, master." Arthur spoke with a shaky voice.

A while later, Alfred and Arthur were in a gold style bathroom and Arthur was in the warm water with many colourful bubbles. This was the first time in a long while he had ever been bathed like this. The only times he was washed was with buckets of dirty water or much worse...

Alfred was cleaning his new servant's back, his mind wondered as he was washing over the scars and injuries that Arthur sustained. How can people treat slaves as if they are animals? Arthur's health was so poor when he got here that after I hugged him, he fainted in front of me. Though we were lucky to get him out of that before he was on the brink of death, he still needs to recover from the entire trauma that hung over him. His scars are painful reminders of how heartless people can be.

Alfred dried Arthur off and provided him a cotton white gown to wear for until he reached his room. "Alright, your old clothes are abysmal for the dress code of our servants here. From now on, you're not a slave to us, you're a servant. Okay? Now in here I have some temporary clothes that I asked Fritz to provide you with until your new servant outfit is ready. He said your figure was the smallest to work with but he believes after you've eaten and recovered enough, you'll be a much healthier state. Am I clear?" He said. Arthur nodded in response. "Yes, master. Crystal clear." He said. Alfred chuckled "Another thing, call me Alfred when you are around me, okay? You don't need to be that formal in my presence." He said gleamingly. Arthur corrected himself. "Y-Yes, Alfred."

Once Arthur was pampered and dressed, one of the maids comes in to let the men know that food has been served in the dining hall and the two of them leave the room as the amber sunset emulates in the sapphire room.

In the dining hall, there was lots of food on the table. It turned out that Arthur's new master is planning to dine with him. Alfred thought this would be a perfect opportunity to break the ice with his new servant. Being brought up with manners and patience, Alfred didn't want to jump into questioning him until he was ready to answer. Not long after Arthur had eaten enough, he saw that his master hasn't even touched his food. This left him confused and concerned. "Sir?" He spoke calmly, at first Alfred didn't respond until he felt a pair of eyes staring at him.

"Hm? Oh sorry. I will be eating it but I'm just not hungry right now." He said shrugging off his low esteem. Arthur ended up pushing Alfred's plate towards his master, leaving Alfred confused. "You told me not too long ago that I needed to eat as much as I can. I don't want you to let the food go to waste." He said. Alfred couldn't help but chuckle, knowing Arthur was right.

Once Alfred was finished, he gently set Arthur's plate and his own aside before he hunched forward onto the table. "So, Arthur. Just out of curiousity..." Alfred asked with uneasiness in his tone. He took a deep breath before finishing his question. "How long have you been...working for?" He asked. Arthur sighed before responding.

"A lot of my life...There hasn't been a time where I wasn't sold off to someone. Either that or I spent my days in dirty cells, much like a prisoner." He answered quietly. Alfred felt his heart sank again. The idea of not even been brought up properly with a happy childhood or a lively adult life. It was just like a pauper's story except they are treated much worst...

The next morning, Fritz informed Alfred that the new servant's uniform has been finished so Alfred took the pleasure of dressing the servant from a shaby slave boy into a polished and refined servant dressed in velvet blue. Alfred smiled after dressing him and asked him to face the mirror.

Arthur's new uniform consists of a snow white shirt, indigo waistcoat that felt like velvet, black bowtie to compliment the trousers and noir polished shoes. Alfred was lurking behind him beaming, as Arthur was speechless for what he now looked like. He hardly recognised himself a few hours ago, let alone a couple of days but now, he looked more like someone who would serve at the castle of Spades. "Now there is our servant. It really suits you Arthur." Alfred complimented and Arthur turned to face him. He bowed before him. "Thank you mast- I mean Alfred." He said gratefully. Alfred raised Arthur's chin. "You are very welcome." He smiled.

END OF CHAPTER 2