Cardverse Hetalia ~ Kingdom Of Spades ♠️

Chapter 3 ~ Arthur and the King

It has been a week since Arthur set foot into the castle that he now lives in. It much nicer than the dusty and draughty cells they used to hold him captive in. As he was walking through the marble hallways in his new servant outfit he comes across the king of the castle.

"Ah, Arthur! Just the man I wanted to see!" The king beams with a smile. A rare occurrence for Arthur as most masters gave him a cold shoulder. Arthur gulped nervously. "Y-Yes your majesty?" he spoke trying to keep his nerves in check. The king laid a hand on the servant's shoulder. "No need to be nervous my dear boy, my son has chosen well. I only wish to have a conversation with you so I can understand you better, young man." He said, still smiling with a warm and compassionate approach.

Arthur heard from his master that the king was kindly but not to the level that he expected. "Well, we can't just have a plesant conversation in the middle of a hallway now can we? Come along, we'll talk in my office." Arthur agrees and follows the king closely behind. Inside the office was many shades of blue and purple which seems to bring life and colour to the room with the sun beaming through the windows. Along the wall stood a portrait of the family who lives at the castle, with many of the servants scattered around. The king walked up and stood beside the small man. "Ah, the many portraits of those who lives here. You see, Arthur, Family does not have to be restricted to blood relation. Many servants and maidens that came before you never felt love or compassion from their own. Most royals would turn them away for they see minority in them. I do not and neither did my wife. She saw the beauty, even in places you wouldn't expect to find a thing. That's why you are here in safe hands." The king said. He approaches the desk, gesturing to the servent to stand before it.

Soon the king sat in his chair and reads through the documents he managed to obtain from the slave seller. Surprising really because most don't care for the wellbeing of the slaves in question, but the king's curiousity was strong so he insisted to know.

"According to this you did have a family but it said they got sick and passed away..." He spoke softly. Arthur sighed. "That's what the sellers were told. The truth is your magesty, my parents were poor and were slaves just like me. Truth is, they were murdered by their master years ago when I was still 4. The master threw me out for dead but when the seller found me, he took me away along with the false assumption that only I knew the truth behind. Of course, looking down at me who would believe a worthless child?" Arthur chucked forcefully, holding back his tears.

The king could only feel sympathy for the servant. He continues reading. "You were very much working in such a hostile business for most of your life and it says here you were sold off more times than any other slave in the business." He said, looking up to him but to which Arthur didn't respond. Unphased by this gesture, the king resumed where he was. "You had 15 masters before us and 5 of them died of natural causes, 9 were murdered but not by you, and 1 arrested for..." The king paused. The last detail struck a chord within him and not in a good way. "Your magesty?" Arthur said softly. The king looked up and walked over to the servant. Arthur wasn't sure of what the king wanted from him. The king placed his hands on the man's upper arms, a gesture that could lead to comfort. "How bad did they...?" the king asked but didn't finish. He did not wish to mention anything that can trigger bad events for the servant.

All Arthur could do was hold back his tears, his eyes were watering but he refused to cry. The king sighed and brought the servant in for a hug. He rubbed the shivering man's back and rocked him side to side. "I'm so sorry that happened to you, Arthur. You will never be treated like that in this castle. You are human and you are not worthless. You mean everything to us." He spoke in a soft tone. Arthur kept crying, apologising over and over again.

"I'm sorry your majesty." He cried but the king didn't react. "You don't need to apologise, Arthur. You are important and you can be who are in this place. Don't be afraid to come and talk to us whenever you need to. Alright?" The king said. Arthur nodded in the hug. "Yes, your majesty." He said quietly.

Arthur returned to his room with red puffy eyes. He felt angry at himself for showing weakness toward the king and yet the King didn't treat him any differently. He felt more like a human being here rather than a pet slave that gets kicked around like a ragdoll. Arthur tries to push all of the emotions out of his mind but to no avail. He couldn't sleep that night so he stood out into a balcony, overlooking part of the kingdom, his thoughts seemingly floating away like a leaf in the wind. A sense of calmness he felt looking at the sapphire sky.

END OF CHAPTER 3