Cardverse Hetalia ~ Kingdom Of Spades ♠️

Chapter 12 ~ Secrets

That night, Arthur was asleep in his own quarters just past the hour of three. Arthur was still in his sleep until he began to twitch, which led to involuntary reflexes and then to violent thrashing on the bed. His breathing was quick and restless, like he was having a hard time to breathe. In his mind, what he saw was the reason for this motion. A man hovering over Arthur who was smiling and constantly changing expression.

You are such a good little boy, Arthur... Consider yourself luckily you little-

How dare you f*cking disrespect me you dirty rat!

Oh yeah, does it hurt? Savour this because you'll get more you runt!

Be a good boy and obey me, understand? Or punishment will be one you'll regret.

Don't you dare disobey me again you fucking waste of space!

Arthur woke up screaming before breathing heavily. He was shaking all over, frantically looking around his room to make sure it was a dream. He lowered his head and tried to control his breathing. All he could think about was what he just saw in his mind. An old owner he once knew of that gave him the worst treatment out of everyone that owned him before. He felt himself tear up and he held his head in his hands. Not long after that, the bell for the master's quarters started to ring, making Arthur jump a bit to see his master needs him. He looked down to his gown and didn't bother to change, believing he'll be punished anyway.

He advanced to his master's bedroom to find that one of the doors was already open. Arthur paused for a moment confused. He wasn't sure why this was but the silence was broken by a familiar voice. "It's open for you to come in, Arthur." Alfred said. Arthur nodded to himself and he continued to the quarters. He entered to see his master drinking water near the window. Arthur closed the door behind him. "Bad dream?" Alfred asked. Arthur nodded. "Yes sir, but how did you know?" He asked. Alfred smiled and pointed to one of his ears. "Let's say I have the hearing of an eagle. I heard your scream from up here. I haven't been able to sleep anyway so I managed to catch wind of it." He said in a calm tone. He got up from his chair and went to sit on the bed, patting his left side as an invitation for Arthur to sit with him.

Arthur slowly approached him and sat next to Alfred. "So, did you want to talk about it?" Alfred asked. Arthur at first didn't respond. He sighed and started in a soft tone. "Well..." he started trailing off for a moment.

"...There was a man...someone I once served...He was looking down at me...he was called Master Blackwell..." He said, almost hesitant to continue but forced himself to anyway. "He...He hit me...kicked me down...punched me till I bled...he even said things like I'm a waste of space and one that I didn't understand at the time such as I am one lucky little skank..." He said, twitching at the last part.

Alfred was confused about the last part. "Why did he call you a skank?" He asked. Arthur gulped and looked to him. He wanted to say it but found himself stuttering and tearful. "He...He said that because he...He used to..." He couldn't finish and ended up bursting out into tears. Alfred reacted quickly and held him close. He stroked the back of his crying servant's back, trying to calm him down and ease the pain.

"Shhh...easy buddy..." Alfred spoke softly and rocked him back and forth. Alfred started to realise that letting his servant sleep alone left him vulnerable to his memories and haunted dreams. So, from tonight onwards he wants Arthur to sleep in his quarters with him. Despite the impression this could give to the outside world let alone the servants and family, he didn't care. He cared for his servant too much for him to suffer mentally and emotionally.

Alfred broke the hug and allowed his palms to rest on the now calmed down servant. "You sleep here with me tonight and I'll sort something out so that you can sleep easier from now on, alright?" Alfred asked to which Arthur didn't hesitate to answer. "Yes, Alfred." he responded with a nod. The two of them spent yet another night asleep. Every now and again, Alfred woke up to check up on Arthur who was sleeping peacefully next to him.