House of Cards

That morning was a bit warmer than the previous days, the sky unusually clear, and the sun shining so bright that it was impossible to look up without squinting. Yes, this was one of the days the Jack of Hearts loved, so it wouldn't be odd to see him in the palace's gardens, enjoying the excellent weather, but that exact morning was an exception. Feliciano was standing outside the room that was reserved for the King and Queen of Hearts, in the hallway in front of a huge window with a view over the garden, directing his gaze nowhere in particular and letting out uncountable sighs. A deep anguish had positioned itself on his chest since last evening... when the four kings had disappeared. "Feliciano," Kiku called him, leaving the room and looking at the jack's absent expression, who didn't notice his queen's presence. "Feliciano," the latter repeated a bit louder, making the servant do a little jump. Seeing Kiku, Feliciano immediately lowered his head. "Yes, my lord?" "You are distracted, even more than usual," commented the queen with his typical calm and imperturbable tone. "Forgive me, my lord, I will try to be more watchful... ve~" replied the jack and even his voice sounded disheartened. "Are you worried about Ludwig?" questioned Kiku, placing his hand under Feliciano's chin, revealing the other's worried expression that darkened even more and even his eyes lost a bit of their shine after hearing the king's name. "Ve~ we have heard nothing from him during the entire night. Even though the guards of all four kingdoms were sent out, not a trace of them has been found, nor of the jokers... I am afraid that something bad happened to the king or that he is in danger," answered the jack, trying to stay calm. "He will be fine, Ludwig is a strong man who can take care of himself, and you know it, since out of all people, you are the one who knows him best. Even a lot better than myself, I dare to admit," Kiku tried to reassure him and started to walk, being escorted by Feliciano. "Ve~ don't say things that could be misunderstood," asked the jack and stopped at the same moment as the queen, who turned around to him with a small mischievous smile. "Am I misunderstanding something here?" he asked. Feliciano's cheeks turned red, and his eyes started staring at the ground, as if he wanted to perforate it with his gaze. "Y... Yes... the king and I are just master and servant... nothing more." The jack's voice was almost a murmur. Kiku resumed his path, being followed by Feliciano again, who kept his head low. "Ah Feliciano, every time I see you and Ludwig, I always ask myself who the most ignorant of you two is: the one who does not see the obvious or the one who is struggling to not let the first one see," commented the queen. Feliciano just remained serious without saying a word, knowing that it was useless to argue with his master when the latter was right. The two of them continued walking through the palace's hallways in silence. Everyone had decided to stay there, in the palace, until further notice or news concerning the kings would arrive. The Queen and Jack of Hearts continued straight on, until arriving at the main hall, where the other queens were talking to their own people, and where the captain of the Kingdom of Heart's imperial guard was also staying. Kiku put on his serious expression again, and Feliciano followed a few steps behind him, trying to seem a bit more serious as well, but in vain. The queen approached the soldier, who was wearing the kingdom's symbol on his silver armor and who straightened his back after having bowed and raised his chin, as the royal was standing in front of him. "Do you bring any news about the king?" asked Kiku, noticing the soldier's nervousness. "No, Your Majesty, we have searched the entire land, but it seems as if he was swallowed by earth," the latter answered, slightly afraid of a scolding. Hearing that, Kiku took out of his black kimono's wide sleeves a fan of the same color, decorated with red hearts, opened it and put it in front of his face, hiding his mouth and thinking about something, before giving a reply. "This cannot be possible. Extend the search to the frontier, if necessary. They cannot have gone too far in just one night," commanded Kiku. The soldier was listening, still remaining firm. "Also try to cooperate with the men from the Diamonds, Clubs and Spades, we all have the same objective, after all," added the queen, considering the possibility of working together. "But Your Majesty..." the soldier tried to object, receiving a piercing gaze from his queen's dark eyes, which were the only thing the latter showed from his face. "Captain, there is no room for our controversies with the other kingdoms in this situation, if we want to find the king... no, the kings, we have to work together. Do not worry, I will talk to the other queens about it," he clarified, turning to his right, where Elizabetha was standing, accompanied by her jack, and seemed to be yelling at the captain of her own guard. "Do you believe that they will want to cooperate with us?" the soldier asked Kiku, while they were both watching the other queen. "Of course. My task is to convince them to do it, so please go do yours now," Kiku asked, closing the fan by slapping it with an authoritarian gesture against his palm. The other man just dedicated a distrustful look at Queen Elizabetha, then another one at Kiku, who didn't get rid of his firm and maybe a bit cold expression. In the end, the soldier didn't say anything else, just bowed as deeply as his armor allowed it and took his leave, with loud steps that resounded through the entire hall. "Ve~ people have the wrong idea about Queen Elizabetha, she is a good person," commented Feliciano, looking at the lady in green. "But also a strong woman and this tends to intimidate and displease some men," said Kiku, opening his fan for a second time in order to discreetly watch the Queen of Clubs, who was in front of the gigantic man with the club-symbol on the breastplate of his armor. "I have already told you to continue searching everywhere, even until the end of the world! And keep doing it even if you reach the territory of Diamonds, Hearts or Spades, I will take care of any problem that could arise," exclaimed the queen with her hands on her hips, bending slightly towards the soldier. "But Your Majesty, it's not that easy to cross frontiers just because of a whim," objected the man, trying to speak louder than Elizabetha. "Whim?" she repeated. "You call your queen's orders a whim? I am doing everything I can in order to find the king and these actions are necessary, they aren't decisions that are taken lightly!" spat Elizabetha at her subordinate, who was looking angrily at her, not even trying to hide it. "I know, but I can't just blindly follow the orders of a..." he stopped, before finishing his sentence. "Of a woman? Do not tell me, mister Captain, that you are underestimating me just because of that." The queen was trying to control herself. "I meant to say that a lady cannot take decisions of such magnitude, this is the king's job, and in his absence, it might be better if the jack would suggest what to do," explained the man, who seemed to be biting his tongue to not yell at Elizabetha. She shot him a look that could kill. "The jack's job is to serve and advise. If the king is not there, then the queen has the duty to take his place. I wear the crown, I am the queen and Ivan is not there right now, so make an effort to ignore my cleavage and my skirt and go do what I ordered you to, otherwise I can dismiss you from your position as well and this time it will be 'on a whim'," threatened Elizabetha, enjoying how the soldier's face twisted in an expression of fury that he forced himself to suppress. "As you command... my lady," grumbled the soldier, bowed reluctantly and turned around. Elizabetha waited until he was far enough to be able to complain in peace. "What an obnoxious guy!" she said, pouting and angrily inflating her cheeks. "Do not let yourself be seen like that, or they will get a reason to think that a woman is, in fact, driven by her emotions rather than by her reason," recommended Roderich, who had been standing behind her and watching the scene in silence. "If I were driven by my emotions, I would already have ripped off his head and used it to decorate the palace," replied Elizabetha, sulking. "It seems that the king has already infected you with his manias," joked Roderich with his serious expression. The queen didn't respond to that, but her anger seemed to subside at the mention of her husband. "Ivan... I wonder where he is right now," she questioned with worry in her voice. The jack noticed that and frowned. "Tell me one thing, Your Majesty: can it be that the king's absence is afflicting you so much due to the fact that he has managed to capture your heart, after all?" he asked with a hint of annoyance, staring at the queen and waiting for her answer. Elizabetha opened her eyes a bit wider and turned around to him. She was smiling again. "Oh, I cannot believe what my eyes are seeing," she said in a mischievous tone. "What?" "Roderich, the ice-cold Jack of Clubs, is jealous!" She tried to suppress some giggles. He looked offended. "I am not jealous... it was just a question," he contradicted, knowing that he had been found out. "If this is the case, then let me answer you with a no... Ivan and I are connected in a certain way due to the royal mark, besides I can't deny that I feel a certain appreciation for him, but my heart is already pounding for someone else," she replied, walking towards her jack and discreetly entwining her pinkie with his, careful to not be seen. "Roderich, would you play the piano for me? This morning has been very stressful and listening to a melody would do me good," she asked, without letting go of him. Elizabetha was the only one able to soften the always firm expression of Roderich and even make him show a little smile. "I cannot refuse a direct order from my lady," he responded. She smiled, let go of his finger and started walking away, being followed by her servant with the glasses in a natural way, ignoring the commotion that was taking place at the other end of the hall, where the future queen Lilly was being pressured by her own guard's captain. The man, who was wearing an armor with the symbol of his kingdom, was besetting her with questions, giving her barely time to answer. She was so nervous that she didn't know what to say or do, after all, this was the first time for her having to face a situation like this. King Francis hadn't taught her during that short time how to deal with that yet, and her brother was busy with other things at the moment. "Your Majesty, what should we do now? We already have covered the entire capital, even our own territory, you have to make a decision right now," demanded the soldier, approaching the girl, who was stepping back, crumpling the creases of her dress. "Ah... I think that... " she began, trying not to stutter, but was interrupted once again. "We do not have any more place to search, however, the other kingdoms seem to want to extend their searches. Would it be correct to do the same?" asked the man, who was rather seeming to test his queen instead of looking for an answer. She was looking around, as if hoping for someone else to save her from that situation. "Y... Yes, maybe this will help..." answered Lilly, not very sure of her words. "But what if the other kingdoms take it as an invasion?" he insisted, staring into her green eyes, while she was once again stammering and looking for the right words to answer. "The Kingdom of Spades is willing to cooperate with the others, so feel free to organize a search in our lands," intervened Arthur, coming to Lilly's rescue, who was looking at him as if he was God himself and even wanting to cry from relief. The soldier shot Arthur a look of slight distrust, who didn't let himself be intimidated. And then at his queen, who understood that she had to act firmly. So she forced herself to speak loudly. "You have heard His Majesty, continue the search and do not stop until finding a clue... please..." she added, not being able to forget her old habits. The soldier said no more, instead bowing his head and leaving. Once he was gone, the two queens exhaled as if they had been holding their breath that entire time. "I thought I would die, this was the first time I was giving orders to a soldier," commented Arthur, placing a hand on his chest. "Me too, I was so nervous..." agreed Lilly and turned towards him. "Thank you so much for helping me," she said. Arthur unconsciously lowered his head as a sign of submission.  "I just did what I thought to be right. I hope this was not an intrusion," he said. Lilly giggled and rested her hand on the new queen's shoulder, while Yao cleared his throat behind them. "Lord Arthur, there is no reason for you to lower your head, you are a queen as well," she reminded him. Arthur straightened his back on the spot, looking embarrassed. "So-Sorry, I am still not used to this... or I rather still cannot grasp that all of this is real," he remarked, slightly blushing. "I understand, a few months ago I was just part of the court as well, and now I am called queen and have to make difficult decisions," said the girl, stroking her wrist, where a yellow diamond mark was, considerably smaller than the one King Francis had, barely covering part of her wrist and almost looking like a tattoo, made due to mere vanity. "It is also probably difficult for you to have His Majesty Francis as your king," he said, trying to sound natural when mentioning Francis, because he had never liked that king, despite not even being from the latter's kingdom and not knowing him in person. "Why are you saying that?" asked Lilly with real curiosity, while Yao was just listening to them from a remarkable and silent distance. "Well... I have heard that King Francis tends to be... how should I put it?... a bit frivolous," he answered, trying to not make it sound like an insult. But Lilly just started laughing again, covering her mouth with her hand to maintain the decorum like a good and well-educated lady. "I do not deny that, but King Francis is a very attentive man despite his flaws. As soon as I was presented as the queen, he showered me with gifts and attention, is always taking care of me and also cares for his kingdom." "Look at that... I have never thought that the King of Diamonds was possessing a side like this as well," said the really surprised Arthur and then smiled a bit friendlier. "So this means that His Majesty Francis is going to be a good husband for you." But these words made Lilly's cheerful expression disappear and be replaced by a forced smile. "This is not true, Lord Arthur... Francis may be thoughtful and good to me, but I know very well that he will never see me as a woman... I am nothing but his queen, the one who will be sitting next to him on the throne, and this is it. Everything he wants apart from that, he can easily buy... be it affection or pleasure," she explained, upsetting Arthur a bit. "What do you mean? Has he..." "Lord Arthur, I agree with everyone that I am still a child, but I am not stupid... Francis buys the things I cannot give him yet, and this does not bother me, to be honest. After all, it is not like I was in love with him. It is true that I have taken quite a liking to him during that short time, but I wish that he thinks of me as his companion and friend, nothing more," she said, still with that slight melancholy in her voice. "But you are going to get married soon, right? So there should be at least a bit of love," commented Arthur, feeling stupid, because he was aware himself that King Alfred was against marrying him. So how could he dare to say something like that? "But there is, just not the romantic kind of love," replied Lilly, smiling again, as if there was nothing wrong about that fact. "And you are just going to accept that?" murmured Arthur, clenching his fists while thinking about how cruel that was. Angry that such a young girl, almost a child, was denied the right to fall in love at such a young age, just because she had been born with a mark she had never asked for and that was condemning her to be with someone who preferred gold coins to get everything he wanted. "I am a future queen, lord Arthur, my destiny is literally marked on my skin, and it is my duty to comply with it, no matter what might happen," she answered, and he noticed that she was looking more mature all of a sudden. But it lasted only for a few seconds, since she relaxed her expression a bit after that and returned to her previous one, the one belonging to a child. "This is the path our life has prepared for us, and we cannot do anything, however, we can choose how to follow that path, so I will try to remain optimistic and strong, even though I am now terrified of what could happen. And you should do the same," she continued. Arthur felt relieved hearing her talk like that. "I will try to follow your example, lady Lilly." "Your Majesty!" Vash suddenly called. Lilly turned around to him. "Forgive me for leaving you alone for such a long time," he apologized. It seemed that he had been running to the hall. "Don't worry, brother, I had the pleasure to enjoy a conversation with the new queen," said Lilly, who was never treating her jack as a servant, but as the one he was: her brother. "The pleasure was all mine," said Arthur, looking at Vash, who seemed to be mistrustful of anyone who dared to approach his little sister. "Alright, I have to leave now, but I hope we could have another conversation very soon. When all of this has ended and the kings are back, please come to the Palace of Diamonds for a cup of tea, I will wait for you and His Majesty Alfred," invited him the young woman kindly. "We will come, of course," accepted Arthur, making her smile. Lilly said goodbye to Arthur and Yao and left together with her brother, still struggling with that ostentatious dress she had surely gotten as a present from King Francis. "Yao..." Arthur called his jack. "Yes, aru?" "Are things always like this?" the queen asked his servant, who didn't seem to comprehend. "I do not understand your question, aru," said Yao. Arthur turned around to him, and the latter lowered his head out of habit. "I mean, if the kings and queens are bound to what a mark on their body dictates them... for example, getting married without any feelings..." said the queen, thinking of Lilly and also of himself. "Or resign yourself to not doing what you desire due to living under the circumstances of being a king..." He started to walk, being followed by Yao. "Is this looking like a bad life for you, aru?" answered the jack with another question. Arthur sighed. "I would rather say a difficult one. On the fields, we were working until exhaustion, but at least we had the satisfaction to live our lives as we wanted. Here, however..." he continued, still walking and stopping from time to time, so that Yao could catch up to him and walk by his side. But the other was always staying behind him, what was making the queen a bit desperate. "It is different, aru," completed Yao his sentence. "No one said that being part of royalty was easy, in reality the kings are the ones who have to make the most sacrifices, aru," he explained, still following his master with his hands hidden in his wide sleeves.  "King Alfred as well?" inquired Arthur surprised, since he had always seen Alfred as someone strong and powerful, who was doing whatever he wanted despite his young age. "Of course, aru," replied Yao as though it was obvious. "Why, do you think, is he so rebellious otherwise, aru? Always giving me headaches with his whims, sometimes I do not even know how to make him understand that he has obligations as a king and is not a common person, who can make nonsense. Ah! But he insists on ignoring me, it is hopeless, aru," complained Yao afflicted and then angry, making Arthur laugh a bit, who didn't expect to hear something like that about the king he had always seen from a different point of view. Now he seemed to get to know another side of him. Both kept walking along the hallway while Yao was narrating some of Alfred's follies, for example that one time when the king had tried to run away from the palace or visit a house of pleasure together with King Francis, but had been discovered before even entering it. The more stories Yao was telling, the more was Arthur realizing that King Alfred was just a young man who was thirsty for freedom, but sadly condemned to being locked in a golden cage. "And every time I tell him that something is dangerous, he says that it was no problem because he is strong. Strength is not everything, aru! Seriously, sometimes I would like to smack him on the head to make him see reason, but then I would rather end up on the gallows than make him listen to me, aru..." Rather than a conversation, this seemed likes Yao's laments about his difficult task to discipline the king, but Arthur absolutely didn't mind listening to him. After all, he always had a fixation with the young king of Spades. As they were advancing into the insides of the palace and the jack continuing with his eternal complaints, the melody of a piano started to sound. The two representatives of the Kingdom of Spades stopped for a moment to better enjoy the music that seemed to come from one of the rooms nearby. "Who could be playing?" asked Arthur, listening to the notes that blended into a song, and resumed his path, peeking into every room in the hope of finding the musician. "Maybe the Jack of Clubs, he is the only one I know who can play the piano, aru," answered Yao, following his queen, who was searching everywhere with curiosity, until finally finding a hall with a large golden grand piano. Solemnly sitting there, Roderich was moving his hands over the ivory keys, being that concentrated that he didn't notice the piercing gaze Queen Elizabetha was dedicating to him while leaning against the other end of the piano, resting her face onto the palms of her hands. The jack was closing his eyes and smiling occasionally, sometimes opening them to look spellbound at the keys, caressing them gently like the delicate body of a lover made from strings and wood. Elizabetha was meanwhile humming the song, stepping away from the piano a bit and swaying her body to the rhythm of the ballad. At some point, she spun around her own axis, letting her dress turn with her, raising into the air as if it was dancing together with the queen. Arthur was watching them from behind the door, and Yao therefore as well. Elizabetha danced towards the bench where Roderich was immersed into his own world and playing for her, and managed to get next to him. From one moment to the next, she placed her hands gently on Roderich's, making him immediately come to his senses and look at his queen, who was now in front of him, leaning against the keys and producing a detuned sound in the process... then she leaned forward a bit and her long hair fell like a waterfall, covering part of her cheek and her face and hiding the kiss she was placing onto the jack's lips, who kissed her back without any resistance. Neither of them knew that they were being observed. Arthur let out a stifled scream at that sight, especially at how naturally Roderich was stroking back the young woman's hair to kiss her better and laying his hand on her neck, pulling her closer towards him. Elizabetha placed her hands on his shoulders, deepening the definitely prohibited kiss. "What is the matter, aru?" asked Yao, when the slightly agitated Arthur started to retreat. "No-Nothing, let's go," ordered the queen, giving Yao light shoves, while the latter was turning his head towards the room, trying to see what was upsetting Arthur so much. The latter was almost forcing Yao to leave that place. They went back from where they had come from, walking past a large window, from where the entire garden could be seen. There, the Jack of Hearts was relaxing for a while from his duties, while his queen was busy with some issues he didn't have anything to do with. Feliciano was walking next to the rosebushes, running his fingers over the flowers without touching the thorns. His head was filled with thoughts about King Ludwig and how he was probably doing right now, far away and maybe in danger. That mere thought was causing him to feel a tightness in his chest that made it hard to breathe, and his eyes got drowned in tears, despite everything Kiku had said to calm him down. "Ve~ my lord... are you alright?" he wondered out loud, without paying attention where he was going, passing from the roses to the irises and from the irises to the lilies, finally reaching the fountain that had a marble sculpture of the symbols of the four kingdoms. The jack continued walking and due to not looking at his way, couldn't help but trip over a stone, almost having fallen directly into the icy fountain water. However, luckily someone managed to grab him from behind by his clothes, stopping his fall. "Ve~! That was close," he said, still being held and seeing his reflection in the water. "You should pay better attention where you're walking, kesesesese," said an arrogant voice, laughing in that odd way that made Feliciano turn around on the spot, meeting the joker, who let go of him and started to laugh again when he saw the jack's fearful expression. "I... I will call the guards!" threatened the latter, trying to retreat from the silver-haired man, but bumped into the fountain's edge. The joker just shrugged, not looking intimidated at all. "Do it, but if I manage to escape, then you won't get any news about the King of Hearts," said Gilbert, turning around and pretending to leave. "Wait!" exclaimed Feliciano, tugging at the joker's odd tail, in a desperate intent to not let him go, the only one with perhaps reliable news about his master. "Tell me everything you know about my master! I beg you!" he implored with pleading eyes. The joker grinned with strange malice and turned around again. Now he was behind Feliciano, wrapping his arm around the latter's hips and placing his other hand on the jack's cheek, forcing him to look at him. "Before that, better tell, why you are so worried about His Majesty," commented Gilbert, staring with his red eyes into the other's almond-colored ones, who awkwardly averted his gaze. "Because he is my master," lied the jack, hearing the joker's laughter near his ear. "A lie, everything you say is just a vile lie." Gilbert started putting his hand into the joker's clothes, who got scared when he felt the latter's hand reaching his chest. "The poor Jack of Hearts, so madly in love with the King of Hearts... who has to endure seeing his beloved being married to someone else..." started to recite the joker, approaching his mouth to Feliciano's ears even more, who felt as if his heart was being stabbed with these words. "The sad jack, who was waiting and waiting for the queen's mark to appear on his own chest, but in vain," continued Gilbert maliciously, caressing the left side of Feliciano's chest. "The miserable jack, who chose his love even over his own family in order to stay at his loved person's side." Feliciano's body was now trembling in his hold, whether from fear or due to everything he was saying to him. "The unfortunate jack, who cannot bear the weight of his own love anymore... For how long will this jack be able to continue his vow of silence before collapsing? Kesesese," asked Gilbert finally in a cruel tone. "Ve~ Why are you saying these things?" said Feliciano, struggling a bit and managing to free himself from the joker's embrace. "What do you even know about me and my feelings for the king?! I have already resigned myself to be nothing but his servant a long time ago and his trust is the only thing I am now hoping for... I... am just his advisor, nothing more. Queen Kiku is the one who occupies a special place in my lord's heart, and I am happy for that, because the queen is a honorable, generous and virtuous person. I am not regretting neither having remained silent nor having surrendered to an illusion that would not lead me anywhere, so your words are needless." He seemed to be forcing himself to talk like that, which made Gilbert grin even wider and wrap his arm around the jack from behind once again, pulling him closer. "If this is the case, then come with me," proposed Gilbert. This time, he seemed to be serious. "Free yourself from that load and stay with me... Jack... no, Feliciano... I was watching you for such a long time." He was pulling the latter even closer, who widened his eyes at the joker's words. But then shoved him away. "No! Of course not, this would be betrayal of my lord and my kingdom," denied Feliciano, and the red-eyed man put on his arrogant expression once again. "I knew you would say that. Everything you have told me just now was nothing but a big act... but if this is what you wish, then who am I to stop you?" said Gilbert, walking backwards. "Now I have to leave, Jack, but rest assured that I will continue to visit the queens and also their servants, of course," he added, doing one of his abnormal jumps and landing on top of the fountain, winking at the jack. "But you didn't tell me anything about my lord, ve~!" spat the latter at the joker, who had forgotten it. "Oh yes, no need to worry about His Majesty, he's in good hands. Almost, as if you were watching over him yourself, kesesese," answered Gilbert, making a kind of inside joke, jumped again and disappeared. Gilbert landed on the edge of the wall that was protecting the palace and walked on it, extending his arms to not lose his balance, until spotting his companion's black horned hat and blond hair. So he jumped to his side, only to receive a scolding from the boy. "Stop your nonsense, Gilbert, you can't get involved with the jack," said Peter, who had been waiting for Gilbert on the other side of the large wall. "You're talking like an old man, there is nothing to worry about. We both know that the jack is madly in love with the king, and the king with the jack, but he is just too stupid to realize that," replied Gilbert, shrugging off the issue. Peter shot him a reproachful look, he seemed to be able to read the silver-haired man's mind. "It's that, in reality, you weren't trying to get closer to Feliciano, the Jack of Hearts, right now... but to Feliciano Vargas from the other world. He's the one you are always watching," the younger joker corrected Gilbert, who looked at him almost angrily. "It seemed as if you were hoping for this Feliciano to reciprocate your feelings, because you know that you cannot be together with the one from the other world." Now Gilbert was looking really angry, but didn't say anything and turned his back to Peter, starting to walk, dragging his tail along the floor, with snake-like movements. "Be quiet, Peter. We both know that I am not the only one longing for something from the other world... right?" he asked the boy, turning around to him with such cold eyes that they sent a chill down Peter's spine. The latter didn't say a word, just following Gilbert. Each one of them was immersed into his aspirations and impossible wishes, since jokers were also suffering from their own fates and burdens they had to carry on their shoulders.