Cardverse Hetalia ~ Kingdom Of Spades ♠️

Chapter 14 ~ One Uneasy Night In The Castle

Arthur's focus improved as he saw his saviour above him with damp sandy blonde hair and ocean blue eyes staring down at him, breathlessly before speaking in a concerned with a touch of disbelief in his voice.

"What the hell were you doing down here? Why were you in the lake like that?" He said panting before dropping onto his legs, still by Arthur's side. All Arthur could do was sigh before looking over to his master. He would sit up but Alfred's hand was holding his shoulder down. "I'm sorry sir..." He said anxiously. "I was hearing the call again...I ended up here...the next thing I knew, I saw people with markings everywhere before everything went black..." He finished.

Alfred's expression dropped as he looked towards the water. Arthur kept looking over to his master before asking him a question. "Master Alfred...How did you know I was here...?" He said softly. Alfred didn't turn his face to answer, not because he didn't want to answer. It was because he was hiding his tears that were coming down his face quietly. "I...I don't know how...the room turned into a wave of clocks circling around me. My right hand burned with pain and my veins started to crawl when I heard your voice. It was like listening to an animal sufficating in a body of water. For a brief second, I saw a lake and so I transported myself to here...Then..." He said before taking a breath to finish his sentence. "I saw you lifeless at the bottom of the lake so I pulled you back up onto dry land. You weren't breathing so I had to revive you." He said with a sad grunt. Arthur slowly sat up.

"But why?" He asked. "Why would you...risk your life to save me...?" He asked cautiously. Alfred could only look over with a tear stained face, calmed but still sad. "I was..." Alfred spoke hesitantly. "I was scared that I would lose you..." He said while looking down. Arthur's expression fell with a sense of guilt. Had he not have followed the voice in the first place, he wouldn't of caused so much trouble for his own master. He slowly approached the young man while keeping his head low. "I'm sorry master. It won't happen again." He said calmly. Alfred sighed in response. He was frustrated that the incident nearly led to his only friend to losing his life to the cold perils of the lake, but instead he looked over to his servant with a stern look. "You better not break your word on that." He said, to which Arthur felt ashamed with himself. What he didn't expect was a hug from the master as a softer tone left his lips as he spoke.

"You are my closest friend and I don't want anything to happen to you. Please do not put your life at risk like this again. Promise me that, Arthur." He said. Arthur didn't know what else to do but to hug back. "I promise, sir." He said, allowing the youthful man to warm his cold soaked body, which at this point was progressively shivering. Alfred allowed the servant to wear his gown until they returned to the castle. They both had to warm their bodies with a warm soak before going to bed to avoid the risk of hyperthermia. Arthur was sat at the edge of the bed, contemplating how much of a troublesome servant he really was. Alfred returned with a glowing aura of energy around him as he breathed a sigh of relief for feeling warm and cosy again. Arthur however felt angry with himself that he painted himself as a cold-hearted slave all over again.

Alfred sat on the bed before noticing the servant giving a guilty hunched pose at the end of the bed. "Arthur? Are you still upset about earlier this evening? Don't worry about it. You're okay and that's the key thing, yeah?" He spoke lively, trying to give a sweet small talk to cheer up the servant but to no avail. Arthur slowly turned his head towards his master. "Are you... are you sure that I'm not...you know...a nuisance to you...?" Arthur asked with a shaky tone. Alfred's expression fell as he lifted his posture sitting on the bed. "This again, Arthur?" Alfred started with an annoyed tone. "You are not a nuisance to me at all. You have not been a nuisance since you walked into this castle. As you should know, I have been nothing but careful and caring to you and yet you still can't seem to be positive with yourself. It's like you don't want to change as a person despite being freed from being a...you know..." He spoke calmly. Arthur sighed. "Just because I'm not a slave anymore doesn't mean I don't remember the agony and torture of being one. It's not easy to start a new when all I did in life was live through hell and abuse..." He said calmly. Alfred went closer while pouting like a child. "Well, you can at least try, Arthur. You and I have lost people that are important and we both had our hardships. I'm trying to help you, Artie. What more do you want me to do?" He asked.