House of Cards

The twins were standing in front of each other, separated solely by the fence that was marking the distance between them. Feliciano couldn't stop giggling while trying to get as close as possible to his brother, though the bars were insisting on keeping them separated. "Why are you so late, you idiot?" grumbled Lovino, without letting go of Feliciano's hands that were still intertwined with his. "Ve~ sorry," apologized the younger one with a smile, not able to hide his happiness from seeing his brother. "Did you make sure that nobody was following you?" asked the older one again. Feliciano just nodded, calming down Lovino. But only for a couple of seconds, since, before the latter could even allow himself to relax his eternal frown, he noticed the presence of Ludwig, who was watching them from a certain distance. Almost as if by reflex, Lovino pulled the younger one's hand, making him press his entire body against the fence, in a vain attempt to get him away from the stranger. "Who is this?" inquired the older brother, perforating Ludwig with his eyes, who straightened his back once again. "Excuse me for my lack of manners, it was not my intention to interrupt your meeting. My name is Ludwig, and I am here because your brother was so kind to let me-" But before he could continue, Feliciano managed to escape his brother's grip and covered the king's mouth. "I invited him to eat! Ve~... that's it," said the younger twin, laughing nervously. Lovino looked reproachfully at Feliciano, crossed his arms, and commanded him to get closer again. The latter obeyed, and as soon as he was in front of his twin, the other punched him powerfully on the top of his head. "Ve~!" whimpered Feliciano, placing his hands on his head. "Why did you hit him?" yelled Ludwig, ready to run to Feliciano's defense, but Lovino asserted himself first. "That's not your business," he raised his voice and then turned back to his brother. "And you, why are you inviting strangers to eat?" "Ve~ he's not a stranger, he's Gilbert's friend," responded the other. Lovino punched him again on the same spot. "I told you to stay away from that chicken head!" he scolded him, while Feliciano started sobbing like a little child. "Hey, I know this is a matter between you brothers, but I cannot allow you to harm my jack," said the king firmly, as if he was  challenging Lovino, forgetting that this wasn't about his servant. "Io faccio quello che voglio con mio fratello (I do what I want with my brother)," said the older one in his native language, knowing that Ludwig hadn't understood even half of his words. "Feliciano, stare lontano da questo tipo e anche testa di pollo (Feliciano, stay away from this guy and the chicken head)," he continued in a more serious tone, still mistrustfully eyeing the blond. "Ve~ Ma il fratello, lo sai che è mio amico Gilbert e Ludwig è una brava persona, ma è un re che si è perso! (But brother, you already know that Gilbert is my friend, and Ludwig is a good person and not only that, he's a lost king!)" answered the younger twin, grabbing the bars again. "Già grande per credere in queste sciocchezze. (You're too old to believe such nonsense)," replied Lovino, getting closer to his brother and looking him firmly into the eyes. "Non possiamo fidarci di Feli nessuno, solo io e te (We can't trust anyone, Feli, there is only you and me)," he almost whispered to him, while Ludwig was looking from one to the other, trying to figure out what they were saying. "Ma... (But...)," the other tried to object. "Ma niente. Feli, si sa che la gente sembra essere impegnati in separati, ed è molto vicino a tornare insieme, non hèches perdere all'ultimo momento. (No buts. Feli, you know that people seem to insist on separating us, just a little bit, and we can be together again, don't screw it up at the last moment.)" warned Lovino, trying to not sound too strict, because he could see the sadness in Feliciano's face. "Ve bene... (Alright...)," murmured the younger one, lowering his head. Lovino started feeling slight remorse and let out a short grunt at seeing his brother like this, so, in a rough movement that was supposed to be a bit more gentle, he placed his fingers under his twin's chin and made the other raise his face again. "It will all be worth it," he said, finally stopping speaking Italian. Ludwig was able to understand him now, though he didn't know what the teenager meant by that, he just noticed that Feliciano was trying to smile during what seemed to be a discussion. "It's time for you to go, that dumbass Antonio is going to arrive soon and could see you," said Lovino, looking over his shoulder, making sure that no one was approaching them. "See you tomorrow, then," replied Feliciano, stepping away a bit, but before he could leave the fence for good, Lovino grabbed him by his coat's sleeve. "Where do you think you're going without the blessing? Yesterday I couldn't give it to you, so come here." "Ve~ but, brother... Ludwig's watching us," muttered Feliciano, embarrassed, shooting a sideways glance at the king, who really didn't have a clue what they were talking about. "Yes, and God as well, so don't make a fuss and come here." Pouting and with a face slightly reddened from shame, the younger one approached his brother, who formed a cross with his fingers and started crossing his twin, first on his forehead and then on his lips and chest, while reciting a prayer, and after that, formed a big cross from the other's forehead to his shoulders and navel and finally let Feliciano kiss his fingers. Then the younger did the same with his brother, while Ludwig was observing their movements with full attention, as if it was the oddest ritual he had ever seen in his life. "Done, and now go, or you'll get caught," Lovino chased him off, sticking his arms through the gaps between the bars, shoving Feliciano, who simply laughed, since it was Lovino's fault that he was still there. So he left, waving his hand, followed by Ludwig, who shot a last glance at the older twin, and the latter did the same, almost perforating him with his eyes. "Your brother is difficult to deal with," commented Ludwig while walking, when the fence was far enough behind them. "Ve~ sorry, he's just a bit... jealous..." Feliciano defended his brother with a smile, being aware of how jealous the older one really was. "And this is why he hits you? I do not see how this could make any sense," objected the king in a disapproving tone, remembering the punches the supposed jealous brother had given Feliciano. The latter laughed. "He doesn't know how to express himself properly, but with time you'll notice that he's a good person. The best in the world!" he exclaimed, even rising on tiptoe. Ludwig raised an eyebrow.  "For me, it is difficult to believe your words." "Ve~ people say that all the time, but I don't care, because I know, I know that my brother is good-hearted and the best and that we'll always be together," Feliciano assured, letting out a few laughs. "You sound very sure," said Ludwig, hearing sounds that seemed to be steps behind them, but ignoring them, thinking that it was just his imagination. "This is because I am sure of it," replied Feliciano, intertwining his hands behind his back and dreamily looking up at the sky. "Lovino's my other half, after all... we have to be together forever..." he commented gently, still gazing at the moon, without noticing that Ludwig had stopped as soon as he had heard that. Why did this comment... hurt...?, the king asked himself while watching how Feliciano's back was slowly getting farther away from him and feeling as if the latter was going to disappear in the darkness of that empty street. And the sound of these steps kept getting louder... Wait... steps? Emerging out of his trance, Ludwig turned around, trying to see who was following them, but all he could spot was a figure running towards them, without giving the king time to react at all, passing him like lighting and moving into Feliciano's direction. "FELI!" yelled the already familiar voice of a certain silver-haired man, who had immediately thrown himself at the other, wrapping his arms around his waist, picking him up and spinning him around. "Gilbert!" was everything Feliciano could say. Finally, he was placed back on the ground, though he felt a bit nauseous. "H-Hi," he greeted him, swaying a bit to the side. Almost by instinct, Ludwig stood before him, in front of that Gilbert, who this time didn't possess any horns on his uncovered head. "Hey Feli, did Lovino get you a bodyguard or something like that?" Gilbert asked, eyeing the blond from head to toe, who was getting ready to attack if it should be necessary. "No, don't you remember him? This is Ludwig," Feliciano tried to remind him, standing next to the king, who was still insisting on not lowering his guard. "Uhm, no... I don't," replied the other, approaching Ludwig, who didn't let himself get intimidated by that, though Gilbert was actually only wanting to have a better look at him. "You're weird, Gilbert..." commented Feliciano, making the other laugh. "Kesesese, you are the weird one, Feli, you're sometimes talking about things I never did," he answered, patting the boy's head as if he was a puppy. "No, you're the one who forgets them." Gilbert just shook his head at these words, thinking about the nonsense Feliciano was always saying. "Alright, so tell me, Feli, what are you doing on the street at this time?" he wanted to know, checking the time on his wristwatch. "I... was on a walk with Ludwig," attempted the other to lie. "And you?" he inquired, wanting to change the topic. "I was going to the orphanage. Toño and I wanted to go drink something, I mean, it's Friday, and he's there with a bunch of brats! What this man needs is a good beer," said Gilbert happily, while Ludwig was not averting his eyes from him, almost as if he was waiting for him to get out his horns and tail, to have a pretext to attack him. "I see... well, have fun, and we need to go," said Feliciano, making a few small steps backwards, pulling at the king's shirt, making him follow, despite the other looking like as if he didn't want to leave before having given the albino a few nice punches. "Alright, take care, and don't worry, I won't tell Antonio that you were meeting Lovino," replied Gilbert, turning around and walking into the opposite direction while hearing Feliciano ask how he could know that. But it was just way too easy to read the boy, the worst liar in the world. Gilbert went into the same direction the Italian had come from and put his hands into the pockets of his jacket while humming a song that had stuck in his head. From time to time he was also singing aloud because no one else was nearby, until he could spot the big fence of the orphanage and a grin appeared on his lips. He loved going partying with one of his best friends. He stopped in front of the fence and tapped the gate with a coin, waiting for Antonio. And he didn't have to wait long, since he could already see his friend from a distance, accompanied by a child and another guy, perhaps a volunteer. "Who is this?" asked Francis, seeing the silhouette of someone waving his hand at Antonio, who waved back and took Matthew's hand with the other. The boy was so tired his eyes were closing, but he forced himself to keep being awake, in fact, he had spent the entire day with these two. "It's Gilbert, a high school-friend," replied Antonio, while they were approaching the fence. "Gilbert... where have I heard this name before?" wondered Francis, closing his eyes and trying to remember while walking. When Antonio went ahead to let Gilbert in, the king finally opened his eyes again and saw someone in front of himself, whom he thought to be that tricky joker. Gilbert entered the garden, greeting Antonio with a hug and ruffling Matthew's hair, who was half-asleep and barely reacted. Francis, however, froze. His eyes were wide open and his mouth tried to pronounce something, but in vain. He was even pointing at the red-eyed one with his finger. "And you are...?" asked Gilbert, to what Francis just... "You petty ruffian!" shouted the King of Diamonds, throwing himself at Gilbert. "You damn joker, creature from hell itself!" Now he was even climbing on the other's back, who was screaming from surprise and trying to defend himself, but Francis clutched his neck with every intention to strangle him. "Finally I have caught you, unlucky devil! And now you will pay for having tried to assassinate the King of Diamonds!" he screamed without letting go of Gilbert, who was shaking his body, trying to get the other to fall off. "Francis! What the hell's the matter with you? Let go of Gilbert!" commanded Antonio, letting go of Matthew, who had abruptly woken up due to the chaos and was watching the king lose all his glamour... "Antonio, take this "little prince" off me, he'll kill me!" begged the albino, until the Spaniard finally managed to separate them. "The fuck is wrong with you?!" screamed the rescued Gilbert then. "What did you expect after having appeared so cynically right in front of me?" spat Francis at him, still being hold back by Antonio, while the startled Matthew was hiding behind the king's legs. "What are you talking about? I don't even know you," replied Gilbert. "Keep on pretending, Joker, but not even hiding your corns and tail will you be able to deceive me nor save yourself from the sentence that will await you once we are back in my kingdom. I will even send you to the Kingdom of Clubs, so that Ivan himself can judge you. And he will not have any pity," threatened the enraged Francis, while Gilbert just shrugged, not knowing if he should take that threat seriously. He had heard a lot of them during his life... but this one... sounded like a bad joke. "Fran, Fran, calm down and better put Matt to bed, you're tired and hallucinating," Antonio tried to calm him down, starting to worry about the king's mental health. "I am not hallucinating! Let me look for evidence that he is the devil I am talking about." Francis shoved Antonio forcefully to the side, approached Gilbert and grabbed his head to search for the pair of corns in the latter's silver hair. "Hey, don't touch my awesome hair!" protested Gilbert and did a jump when he felt Francis' hands on his back, lifting his t-shirt and palpating the entire base of his spine (and maybe going a bit lower as well), trying to reveal his tail. "Help, this is sexual harassment!" screeched the albino. "This guy wants to rape me!" he added, separating himself from the king, who wasn't looking angry anymore, but rather offended. "Believe me when I tell you that I have touched more than just the parts I touched on you and also much better bodies, so do not feel so special and think that I have that intention with you," Francis defended himself, while Antonio was covering Matthew's ears and the slightly afraid Gilbert hugging himself. "Fran! Enough! Put Matthew to bed and go to sleep as well, ah, and apologize to Gilbert," ordered Antonio angrily. Francis just put his hair behind his ear and looked as arrogantly as he could at Gilbert, who stepped a few meters away from him. "For this time, you have saved yourself, Joker, only because I do not have the proof to accuse you, but look out, Devil, because the King of Diamonds always gets what he wants. And right now I want your head," the king threatened him again, turned around and walked off. "Do not stay behind, boy, you have to go to bed before falling asleep on the grass," he ordered Matthew, who shot a look at Gilbert and then followed Francis, who was walking with elegant, long steps, swinging his arms and holding his head so high that he was emanating authority and elegance. "Why did you attack Gilbert?" asked the boy, almost running to be able to catch up to Francis. "This Gilbert is none other that the reason why I am here, far away from my kingdom," replied the king, going upstairs angrily. "So he is the evil wizard?" exclaimed the little one, excited and breathing heavily, since he had to almost jump from step to step to keep up with the adult, who was now walking straight through the hallway to the dormitories. "Exactly. Look at him, appearing under my nose without any shame! Defying me!" the latter grumbled, entering the dormitory and heading to Matthew's bed, waiting for him to sit down on it. The boy jumped on the bed, looking excitedly at Francis. "But he doesn't seem evil, he's Antonio's friend, and I've never seen him doing anything bad," said the child. Francis suddenly looked thoughtful. "Appearances can deceive... I know that this joker is planning something," he muttered, looking at Matt. "The time has come for you to help me." Hearing that, the boy got on his knees on the bed to be a bit more at the king's height and nodded. "Watch him carefully, every time he comes and is together with that other servant. If he does something suspicious, inform me immediately," the latter ordered. Matt was listening to him with attention, as if his life depended on that mission. "Alright, now that you know your duty, get changed and into bed." Matthew took out his neatly folded pajamas from under his pillow, changed into it and laid down. Francis covered him well with the blanket and took off the boy's glasses, as if it was a routine of several years. He did it so naturally that not even Matthew himself found it weird that only he was getting so much attention from the king, contrary to the rest of the kids who were already asleep in their beds. "Francis..." Matthew called him, before the latter could turn off the lights. "Can you let me see your mark one more time?" he asked, hoping that the king wouldn't get angry. Francis didn't look pleased, but still accepted, extending his arm and exposing the squiggly yellow diamond that Matthew liked so much, since the first time he had seen it, in fact. "No clue why it seems so interesting to you," the adult commented, crossing his arms. "It's beautiful," was everything the boy could say, hiding his chin under the blanket. The king didn't answer, just turning off the light and leaving the dormitory, walking to the hallway's window with his eyes directed at his mark... contrary to Matthew, he was seeing it as a curse. Francis let out a sigh, trying to ignore this mark that had been with him his entire life, and looked out of the window, spotting Gilbert, who, for some strange reason, was now alone and wearing the hood of his sweatshirt on his head. "I will get you, Joker!" yelled Francis from the window. The silver-haired one turned around with a grin on his lips. "And I will wait for you, Your Majesty," replied Gilbert quietly from the yard, noticing Francis' silhouette moving through the hallway. The other Gilbert had already left together with Antonio a while ago to go to a bar, so the joker was taking advantage of this to do a round and to escape Peter's scoldings for a bit, having fun watching the King of Diamonds. "Now that I think about it..." murmured the joker to himself while walking through the orphanage's garden. "I still haven't visited the club." Having said this, he headed to the gate and jumped easily over it to the other side, as if it was small and insignificant. Like it was already his habit, he was jumping from roof to roof with his hands in his pockets, thinking that Peter was perhaps right now looking for him like crazy in the Nation of Cards. Yes, he would eventually go there, too... the queens and jacks had earned a bit of his incredible attention, as well, after all, but before that, he would have a look at Ivan. How was the feared King of Clubs coping with the fact of being locked in with a crazy guy? Because, if Feliks was there, then he had to be crazy... just how he himself had said so during his first encounter with Ivan. The joker finally reached the austere and almost depressing-looking hospital and managed to get in, since this was child's play for a joker. After all, he had already gotten into the palace of the Nation of Card's capital, a place full of soldiers, so a hospital was nothing compared to that. He was hopping like a small child through the hallways and going around from door to door, until he reached the king's room, where the latter was already sound asleep, murmuring in his sleep once again and begging to not be left alone... curled up into a ball on the bed, hoping to protect himself from some invisible danger. The joker saw through the tiny window on the door that the king's groans seemed to wake up Feliks, who carefully stood up, tiptoed to Ivan, gently ran his hand through the other's hair and bent down a bit to whisper something into his ear. Something that seemed to calm Ivan down a bit. "His Majesty being comforted by a crazy one... who would have thought that..." muttered Gilbert, leaving Feliks and Ivan alone. Feliks sat down on the edge of the king's bed, waiting for the latter to calm down completely and for his nightmares to disappear. "Ivan-baby, just what is tormenting you so much?" asked Feliks, noticing Ivan's labored breathing. Because Ivan kept on dreaming, he knew that these dreams were projections of his biggest fears, of feeling that loneliness he had been suffering from his entire life. No one could get close to him because he was the supreme ruler, no one could get intimate with His Majesty, no one could be more than a simple servant for him, who had ended up becoming the most-feared king of them all... no one should attempt to touch that icy heart of his... The king was just someone occupying the throne, as if the mark, that was designating him as such, had taken from him the right to be a person... he simply had to wear the crown on his head, watch out for his people, stop being human and just live as the King of Clubs. "Don't leave me alone..." he was again begging in his dream, suddenly feeling the rays of sunlight directly on his face and finally left that torture of dreams, looking at the barred window, rubbing his eyes and searching with his gaze for Feliks, who was already up and gathering his hair into a ponytail, fixing some strands with several hair clips. "Good morning, Majesty. Are you, like, super ready for another new day?" the latter asked, putting the last clip into his hair to keep it out of his face. "Good morning, young Feliks," greeted Ivan, sitting up in his bed, and just how the other had said, he was ready for another new day, even if he didn't want to. The two patients got ready and left to eat breakfast, or swallow the stuff that was called breakfast there. Then they spent a while at the "entertainment"-room, since the door to the stairs leading to the roof was guarded by one of these gorillas dressed in white. So they didn't have any other choice than to cope being with all the others in the same room. While Ivan was reading one of the books from the bookshelf, Feliks was doing his nails with a file he had been allowed to keep only after a long discussion, because it was considered too dangerous for the other patients... as if he didn't already have a collection of dangerous objects among his belongings. The hours were passing extremely boringly. Ivan had almost finished his book and Feliks didn't stop looking at the emergency door, until the guy in white was called somewhere. Feliks didn't care in the slightest, where to, but as soon as the man was gone, he grabbed Ivan without a word by the wrist and started to drag him away. The king let the book behind and was forced to run with him. The other didn't let go until they had managed all the stairs. "Finally, almost freedom!" exclaimed Feliks, opening the door to the roof and feeling a refreshing breeze. "How nice, I felt like I was going to suffocate if I spent more time there," said the relieved Ivan, taking a deep breath. "Like, these guys are torturing us really horribly, locking us inside these four walls," commented Feliks, leaning against the bars and looking at the yard, while the king was sitting down on the floor, just enjoying the breeze and feeling it move his hair and the ends of his scarf. Both of them fell silent, each one immersed into his own thoughts. From time to time, they heard the sounds of the street and sometimes voices coming from the building or simply some little birds landing on the big fence. Everything was calm, until... "Ah!" yelled or rather groaned Feliks suddenly, as a clear sign of frustration. "I want to get out of here! I want to go shopping, I want to go dancing, I want to drink a cappuccino, I want to have sex, for God's sake!" he screamed, making Ivan blush with the last part. "Toris... come, at last, get me out of here." he complained finally and rested his forehead against the bars, letting out exaggerated and pretended laments. "Young Feliks, you are always talking about this Toris. Who is he exactly?" asked Ivan, trying to hide his embarrassment due to the other's indecent scream and sexual frustration. After hearing that question, Feliks couldn't help but turn around with a big smile on his lips and placed his hands on his chest, letting out a long sigh. "Toris is something like my wonderful prince, the one I'm waiting for to get me out of here," he answered with another sigh. "And why has he still not arrived?" inquired the king, and Feliks' happy expression disappeared, getting replaced by an angry one. "Because he's in Lithuania right now, I already told you that we got separated... our parents, like, never accepted that their firstborns turned out to be homosexuals. What would society think? How could they have gay sons? To hell with them," he cursed, spitting on the floor and losing his image of a diva for a moment. "I do not see anything wrong with two men being together, this is absolutely normal for me," commented Ivan, remembering that in his kingdom, two men could get married if one of them had the queen's mark on his skin, just as Kiku and Ludwig or Arthur and Alfred. "Yeah, right? Toris, like, doesn't see anything wrong with it, either, even when he was still heterosexual, before I made him gay, of course..." Feliks said with an evil chuckle. "Toris has always been the only one to see more in me than the things everyone else sees..." He looked towards the yard again with a certain melancholy. "Since I was a child, I knew that I was 'different', and the others always excluded me because of it. They bullied and even hit me, but Toris was the only one who never cared that I was wearing skirts, high-heels and make-up... that I wasn't like the rest," he said now with a little smile on his lips and let out a genuine sigh. "Wouldn't it be easier to be like the others, then?" Ivan interrupted him. "If you were like them, you would not have had any problems, no one would have excluded you... and you would not have been alone," he said, seeing Feliks smile again and put his hands on his hips, as if he was about to pronounce the most important speech of his life. "Listen here, Ivan, dear: being mocked and loneliness hurt..." He came closer with long steps, swaying his hips, and squatted down in front of the king. "But betraying yourself in order to fit in... hurts even more, like, horribly." His emerald eyes were staring into the other's violet ones, a gaze so intense that it made the king shudder. "But enough about me, you still have to tell me about your wife, because I, like, haven't forgotten it. I mean, it was totally a shock for me to hear that you're married." Feliks sat down in front of Ivan, excitedly waiting for his words. "And what do you want to know about her?" asked Ivan with a smile, not understanding the reason for so much enthusiasm. "Everything! I wanna know how she noticed you... well, don't get me wrong, you're totally hot, but, like, your personality isn't the most pleasant one..." Feliks commented, without wanting to offend the other. "Tell me! How's she?"  Ivan seemed to think about that question for a while and raised his hand to his chin, trying to remember all the things that were making his queen's personality unique. "Well, you see... Elizabetha is... she is a very beautiful woman, though she was wearing men's clothes when we were introduced to each other, she has never liked dresses," he narrated, laughing at the memory of the first time he had seen her, being 16 years old and dressed like a guy. "However, she is not only beautiful, but also really strong and does not let herself get intimidated by anyone, much less by men. She is explosive, and it seems that she cannot take it if she cannot say what she thinks. Also, she only calms down when listening to piano music and is very sentimental when she thinks that no one is watching. Elizabetha is a great woman, without any doubt," he continued, while Feliks was listening, spell-bound.  "And how did you two fall in love? Did you, like, see her for the first time, there were some sparks, and you decided that she was the right woman for you? Or was it the, like, super boring story about friends becoming a couple and then getting married?" the latter asked, hoping to hear a passionate love story, but Ivan just smiled. "None of that, Elizabetha does not love me at all, she is in love with someone else and has been it even before getting married to me," he explained, shrugging the matter off as if it wasn't a huge deal, but Feliks seemed completely baffled by this response. How could this guy say that his wife was in love with another man, as if this was nothing? Feliks was about to complain due to the other's lack of interest in such a delicate topic, but before he could do that, the door to the roof opened and revealed the nurse Emma, who was looking around, searching for the only two patients brave enough to mock the men in white and get there. "There you are, Feliks, it's time for your therapy, and you know that the doctor doesn't like it when you are too late," she scolded him, putting one of her hands on her hip and holding the door open with the other. "Emma, gorgeous, you just interrupted a super interesting story," grumbled Feliks angrily and pouting. Ivan laughed. "There will be enough time for it later, and now go," she commanded. He snorted and got up. "We'll continue this later, Ivan-baby," he warned the king, and left together with Emma. "It seems you are getting along very well with Ivan," said the nurse while they were going downstairs. He chuckled and lovingly took her by the hand. "Nothing important, beautiful, we're just talking sometimes and that's it." "Yeah sure, this 'talking sometimes" has become 'spending the whole day together'." "You're exaggerating, Emma, if I wanted to spend the whole day with someone, then rather with that sensual man, who's your childhood-friend," said Feliks, biting his lower lip at the mere thought about Antonio. "Well, Antonio's already taken, just so you know," Emma informed him. He frowned slightly. "That's okay, I still have my Toris, after all, and having him, I don't, like, need anyone else," said Feliks happily, still walking hand in hand with Emma. She suddenly stopped, looking a bit sad after hearing his words. "What's wrong?" he asked. The young woman tried to force a smile and shook her head. "Nothing. Let's hurry, the doctor's waiting for you." The two of them continued to descend the stairs to the emergency door, where they had to let go of each other's hand to avoid misunderstandings and larger problems. "Don't cause the doctor any problems," warned the nurse, since Feliks used to behave arrogantly towards the medics. "See you later," she finally said, watching him walk to one of the doctor's offices, and returned to her workplace. She would have some free hours now and decided to go to the book store and pick up a book she had ordered there. So she took off her headpiece, put on her sweater and grabbed her purse to leave the hospital. The young woman was walking on the street wearing her headphones to make the walk to the slightly far away store more fun. Maybe it would have been better to just take the bus, but she preferred to walk, hoping that Feliks' wish would come true, and she would lose a bit of weight that way. Listening to the music of her mp3-player and singing in a barely audible voice, she reached the corner where that old book store was located. Accelerating a bit, she headed to it and spotted a young blond guy with blue eyes, who was sweeping in front of the shop. "Good afternoon," Emma greeted him, supposing that he was an employee. "Good afternoon, Miss," replied Alfred cheerfully and saw her enter the store, while he stayed outside to continue his cleaning task. "Arthur made me get up really early today," he complained, stopping for a moment to rest his hands on the broom's stick and his chin on top of them to let out a big yawn, knowing that the lady couldn't see him anymore. "Why does he always want everything to be clean?" he muttered, slightly frowning and thinking about it while watching some passerby on the street. "No, I shouldn't think like that!" he suddenly exclaimed, straightening his back again. "This is my work and I have to do it, otherwise Yao would never believe that I worked for real and won't let me in peace." He started sweeping again, making sure that everything got nice and clean. It was boring, as he had to admit, but no one said that working was easy. Besides, his people on the fields never complained, so he shouldn't either, otherwise he would be a disgrace of a king. A few minutes later, Alfred saw the blond lady leave the store with a book wrapped into brown paper. Arthur came out to see her off and then turned his gaze to Alfred, who was way too concentrated for a task as simple as his. "When you have finished, you can enter and continue with the bookshelves," he said, looking at the spotlessly clean sidewalk. "Sure, just a moment..." answered the king, first happily and then his voice became a bit quieter as he saw someone on the other side of the street... "Alfred?" asked Arthur, waving his hand in front of the other's face, who was still following a certain person with his eyes. The store owner looked into the same direction and spotted an asian-looking guy with long black hair tied into a ponytail and walking to the other side of the street. "Yao..." said Alfred, and a big smile appeared on his lips. "Hold this for a moment!" He almost threw the broom at Arthur and started running after the supposed Yao. "Hey Alfred, wait!" yelled Arthur, letting go of the broom, about to follow Alfred, because he didn't trust that boy and even less, if that person wasn't the one the latter was thinking. He did a few steps to catch up with him, but stopped, remembering that his store's door was open. So he returned, locked it and went on his way again. "Damn you, Alfred, you know I can't run!" he cursed, walking as fast as he could, without straining his body too much, since he knew that his weak heart wouldn't bear him running at the same pace as Alfred. In a matter of mere seconds, the king disappeared out of his sight, so he cursed once again between clenched teeth and continued walking along the street, looking into every shop and alley, hoping to find his hyperactive new employee. His heart was beating fast and hurting a bit, but it was nothing to worry about. He was entering the streets which Alfred surely could have passed, and luckily found him pretty soon. But not the way he had expected. "Yao, it hurts, let go of me!" screamed the king, attracting Arthur's attention, who turned into a corner and spotted Alfred... lying on the ground on his stomach with the Asian guy on top of him, twisting his arm. "I will, when I've brought him to the police, aru!" the other exclaimed, putting more pressure on Alfred's arm, while the king was punching the floor due to the pain. "I'm serious, Yao, I order you to stop. Let go of me this instant!" "Nobody orders me around, aru!" "I'm your king, obey me," protested Alfred, clenching his teeth from the pain. "H-Hey, let him go, please," Arthur intervened. The supposed Yao just shot him a mistrustful look. "Have you come to give me orders as well, aru?" he asked, without freeing Alfred. "No, I'm just asking you to please let him go," replied Arthur. "What did he do to you, anyway?" he asked, watching the other's skilful martial arts he was applying on Alfred.  "Well, this guy approached me and started to talk to me in an overfamiliar way. I told him I didn't know him, but he insisted that he was my "king" and I his servant. No one calls me servant, aru! And besides, I don't even know why a weirdo like him knows my name, aru," explained Yao, now looking at Alfred with indignation. "You're joking," the king managed to get out. Hearing that, Yao twisted his arm even more, making him scream and startling Arthur a bit, who feared that he could break it for real. "Wait, wait! Let go of him, please, he, uhm... he took you for one of the players of his role play game. Please forgive him," Arthur lied, putting his hand next to his mouth, so that nobody except for the black-haired guy could hear him. "He's a bit not right in his head, this is why he needs special attention..." The store owner faked an expression of sympathy for poor Alfred, who was wriggling on the ground. "This is unheard of! Why are you treating your king like this? I'm aware that I made you angry more than once, but this is way too much," complained Alfred, trying to get up in vain. "Told you so..." said Arthur. The other guy finally let go of Alfred a bit reluctantly, and the king immediately rubbed his hurting arm and shoulder. "Looks like you're telling the truth. But if he dares to approach me again, I will break all his bones, aru," warned Yao. "It won't happen again, I swear," assured him Arthur, helping Alfred to stand up, while the Asian guy was leaving, angrily muttering something under his breath that sounded like Chinese. "Hey Yao, where are you going?" asked Alfred, getting ready to follow the one he was thinking to be his jack, but before he could do even one step, the other grabbed his hurt arm, making him whimper. "No, where are YOU going? If I hadn't arrived, that guy would have torn your arm into pieces and the rest of your body as well. The hell were you thinking?" Arthur scolded him, slightly patting him on his wounded extremity. "Ouch, well, I was thinking about going after my jack. This is Yao! My servant, the Jack of Spades and right now he's getting away!" yelled the king, trying to run after him once again, but Arthur stopped him this time too. "Enough, Alfred, this guy is clearly not your servant, jack, friend, whatever..." "And why did he react to his name, then?" inquired the other defiantly. "Because the world is a small place, a lot of people have the same name. Remember that you yourself have confused me with someone else just because we have the same name. And now let's go back, I'll have a look at your arm," Arthur commanded, forcing the king to walk, who followed him, despite still pouting, looking from time to time over his shoulder, waiting for his servant to come back and ask for forgiveness. "You have a real talent to get into problems, I'm sure that this was how you managed to land in front of my store with that massive blow on your head. Taking on with people who know martial arts," he continued scolding Alfred without end, in fact the whole way to the book store. Alfred was just listening to his rant, rolling his eyes from time to time, he had never thought that there was someone apart from his jack who could scold him like that. They entered again, and the store owner ordered the king to head to the back room to examine his hurt arm and make sure that the attack didn't have mayor consequences. Alfred submissively obeyed and dragged himself to the small room at the back of the store, sitting down and taking off his t-shirt (Arthur had absolutely forbidden him to wear the clothes he had arrived in). "Alright, I'll place an ice pack on your shoulder," said the other blond, coming in as well and stopping all of a sudden when he spotted Alfred sitting there bare-chested, since he really hadn't expected him to have a six-pack (at least, not after watching him devour food as if the end of the world was near), but apart from his athletic shape, there was something else about him, something even more impressive: the big tattoo on his right side. The spade of a card's deck was engraved in his skin, from his hipbone all the way up to his last rib, completely black and full of squiggly details. Arthur cleared his throat, trying to regain his voice and to not make his sudden nervousness too obvious while approaching the young man, who was still rubbing his slightly swollen shoulder. "What a large tattoo," he commented, not being able to take off his eyes from Alfred's mark and also his sculptured abdominal muscles. "It's not a tattoo, it's a mark," Alfred corrected him, shuddering at the ice pack's contact with his skin and letting out a moan due to the slight relief in his affected muscle. Making Arthur even more nervous and gulp. "Wow... and what does it mean?" he asked, supposing that there probably was a meaning behind the figure on the boy's skin. "It's the symbol identifying me as the rightful King of Spades," replied Alfred. Arthur couldn't help but let out a grunt... that story again. "Let me have a better look," he asked, trying to change the topic from that stupid fairy tale. He carefully observed every detail and noticed that the lines forming the spade seemed to be embossed into Alfred's skin. Wanting to check that, he ran his index and middle finger over the mark, caressing the traces that had been there since the king's birth... awakening a strange feeling in Arthur that scared him and made him suddenly take away his hand, even moving it behind his back. "What's the matter?" asked Alfred with surprise. "Nothing, it's that..." started Arthur, trying to arrange his thoughts and emotions. "...that just now I had the feeling as if I knew you all my life." He didn't even understand it himself. "I had the impression of having already seen you in some other place... or some other life," he added in a whisper, perfectly aware of how stupid and incoherent that sounded. Has it ever happened to you? That phenomena people call déjà vu... that feeling of nostalgia you get when you're entering a new place but sense that you have been there before? Or when you get to know somebody and have the impression of already having seen them somewhere?... Maybe this has really happened to us. Maybe we really have been to places, experienced situations, gotten to know people... but in a parallel world. Just like Arthur and the Queen of Spades. The queen was walking through the palace, with Yao behind him, watching his back from a couple meters away. It was a normal evening, everyone was already preparing to go to sleep and even the servants were finishing their last duties. Arthur was no exception. Right now, he was heading to his chamber to rest after another busy day of searching and giving orders. He was struggling to keep his eyes open, suppressing yawns from time to time and feeling his body demanding sleep. Arthur could almost picture his bed, imagining his huge mattress and his blankets... until a strong feeling attacked his chest, a terrible emptiness in his stomach forced him to stop and a sudden lump in his throat almost made him scream, while he was raising his hands to his chest.  "My lord, is something the matter, aru?" asked the scared Yao, seeing how Arthur was suddenly surpressing a scream and stopping with his hand on his chest. The queen didn't respond, not because he hadn't heard the question, but because that pressure in his throat didn't let him speak. As if he would break out in tears without any reason if he happened to say something. "My lord, are you alright, aru?" asked the jack, daring to approach his master, who was trying to take deep, long inhalations to catch his breath. "Y-Yes, I am," he answered, feeling his heart beat with such force against his chest that it hurt. "Are you sure, aru?" "Yes, do not worry, it's just that," the queen said, still panting and rubbing his chest to alleviate the pain. "That I suddenly felt anguish... no... rather nostalgia." Thinking that this didn't make a lot of sense. "It was very strange: from one moment to the next, King Alfred came into my mind, as if he was right in front of me," he tried to explain, remembering the image of Alfred, whose blue eyes were looking into his... staring into his... "It has to be your fatigue, my lord, during the last days we have done nothing else besides looking for Their Majesties. It has surely affected you, aru," commented the worried servant. "Yes, you are right..." agreed Arthur, still having that strange feeling in his body. "Go to sleep, I will accompany you to your chamber, aru," offered the jack, but the queen indicated to him with a movement of his hand that this wasn't necessary. "I am alright... and you better go rest yourself, see you tomorrow," replied the latter, hurrying to get to his room. A few meters away, he spotted the Queen of Hearts, walking into the opposite direction. "Arthur, good night," Kiku greeted him, followed by Feliciano. Arthur was about to lower his head, but then remembered Lilly's words: he didn't have to do this anymore, since he was now royalty as well. "Your Majesty, good night," he greeted the other queen back, his voice a bit forced. "You are a bit pale, are you feeling well?" asked Kiku, examining his face. "I have just suffered a slight decompensation, I am still trying to get used to the court's rhythm and my new responsibilities," Arthur explained, fearing that it was making him look a bit pathetic. "I understand. Contrary to what a lot of people think, being a queen means much more than just to wear the crown on your head. Oh, but I won't disturb you any further, please go rest," Kiku allowed him, noticing that he was almost begging to get to his room. "Thank you very much, good night, Your Majesty and excuse me," said Arthur quickly, and Kiku and Feliciano stepped aside, so he could resume his path. "Ve~ His Majesty Arthur does not look fine at all," noticed Feliciano, following Kiku, who was continuing to walk as well. "This was to be expected... moving from one world into another so abruptly is not easy, and even less now during that crisis we are facing," said the queen, heading to the main hall, where Yao was giving orders to some servants, indicating to them to look out for the Majesty of Spades very closely. "Yao, good night," greeted Kiku with a friendly smile, to what the jack immediately inclined his head. "Good night, Your Majesty, aru," he answered, while the other servants bowed and left. "Do you know how strange it still feels to be called that by you?" asked Kiku. Yao replied, without raising his head: "I am not allowed to call you any other way, aru." "Of course you are, you can always call me by my name," objected the queen, taking his fan out of one of his black kimono sleeves, opened it and hid half of his face behind it, while looking at one of the big windows in the hall, with a view of the night scenery and the impressive large full moon in the sky. "Would you accompany me to look at the moon tonight? Just for old times' sake," he suggested to the jack, who reflexively raised his head, looking at Kiku, hidden behind his fan. "With pleasure, aru." "Feliciano, you are free for today, see you tomorrow," ordered the queen to his own jack, who took a bow and obeyed. The Queen of Hearts and the Jack of Spades left the palace and sat down in one of the pavilions in the huge garden. A gentle breeze was blowing and moving the trees' branches, creating something similar to a murmur, the crickets were singing, and the night sky filled with stars was complementing the scenery. And the moon, of course, as well. Still holding the fan at his face's height, Kiku was watching the moon, while Yao was taking a long pipe out of his sleeves and lighting it up. He did a long inhalation, enjoying the tobacco's taste on his tongue, kept it in his throat for a moment and then let it out through his nose. "I have never thought that it would be possible to do this even after you have become the queen, aru," commented Yao, forgetting the formalities. "Or rather, I have never thought that my little cousin whom I have raised and who had to return to the Kingdom of Hearts when I started working as jack, would become a queen, aru." He smiled with the pipe between his teeth. "Life can take a lot of turns, cousin, and I went from living in a peaceful village in the east of the kingdom to sitting on the throne next to King Ludwig..." said Kiku, closing his eyes and thinking about his life back then, before having become royalty. "And I ended up being the nanny of another brat, after already having raised you and my other cousins, aru," grumbled Yao, breathing out smoke while speaking.  "Don't be like that, I know that you love being King Alfred's servant," objected the Queen of Hearts, hiding his face behind the fan. "How can I love it, aru? The king is hopeless, he never obeys me, never listens to me and is always getting away with everything... so frustrating, aru," complained Yao, now holding the pipe in his hands. "I wish he was a king like His Majesty Ludwig, but as it seems, destiny has given me the worst of the four, aru." "Still, the king could not live without you," the other comforted him. Yao showed a little smile. "This is right, His Majesty would be nothing without me, aru," he agreed, satisfied, and did another inhalation. "I just hope that he is alright at the moment, I'm worrying because he is too intrepid, cannot estimate how dangerous his actions are and is still very naive, aru." Now, Yao was sounding like a worrywart-father. "He will be fine, just like King Francis, King Ivan and Ludwig," Kiku tried to calm him down with his always imperturbable face. "It looks like you have grown fond of His Majesty Ludwig," commented the jack, casting a sideways glance at his cousin. "I have. Ludwig has become one of my best friends, and Feliciano as well, despite being my jack. They make me feel good and happy." "Glad to hear that your heart has finally found peace, aru," said Yao, shooting a strange look at Kiku this time. The latter finally lowered his fan and closed it, placing it on his lap. "Time has managed to appease it... this is all," he replied and stood up before Yao could add anything. "And now it is time for us to go to bed as well. The days have gotten longer and more tiring recently, so we need to rest." The queen dedicated one last look at the moon that was reminding him of evening talks on Yao's lap when they both had still been simple peasants, and he had been living in the Kingdom of Spades after his parents' death until being old enough to return to his homeland, the Kingdom of Hearts, far away from Yao, but near to the person who had stirred his heart... but this was a story for another time. "Go ahead, I will finish smoking, aru. After all, I have to take advantage of the fact that my lord is not here to scold me for my only vice." Kiku obeyed and said goodbye to the older one, entering the palace again, suddenly feeling all that fatigue that the conversation had made him forget. He walked through the entire hall to the stairs and the hallway that was barely illuminated by some candles whose shadows were projected in a scary way on the red carpet. The queen allowed himself to let out a yawn and wiped away the little tears that came out with it. He was about to reach his room when suddenly a door next to him got opened. "Feliciano, is something the matter?" he asked, seeing the latter peek out of the room. The jack got startled by the queen's presence. "M-My lord... n-no, nothing, ve~" he answered with a nervous laugh. "Are you sure?" inquired Kiku due to his servant's suspicious behavior, who closed the door, leaving just enough space to stretch out his head. "Of course," he replied. The queen seemed to judge him with his gaze, even closing his eyes a bit to examine every expression on Feliciano's childlike face. "I believe you. And now go to sleep, it is late," Kiku ordered. Feliciano nodded and closed the door completely, leaning against it and letting out a sigh of relief. Then he raised his head, looking at the joker Gilbert sitting on his bed. "That was close, kesesese," said the latter, undulating his tail. "But now I'm curious: why did you let me into your room? If someone happens to catch you, the gallows will be the most merciful punishment you can expect." "I want to make you a deal," said Feliciano in a frightened tone, making Gilbert raise both eyebrows and grin maliciously. "What interesting thing can the Jack of Hearts offer me and in exchange for what?" he asked, getting up from the bed and approaching Feliciano, who started to shake from the mere feeling of having that supernatural creature near himself. He took a deep breath and looked, still with fesr in his eyes, at the other, who was waiting for his words. "I am offering you myself," answered the jack, and his voice seemed to be about to break. "What?" Gilbert didn't quite understand what he meant. "I... accept your earlier suggestion and go with you," started Feliciano. Gilbert couldn't believe what he heard. "But in exchange..." Of course, there was always a but. "...you have to bring His Majesty back home." Gilbert couldn't help but let out a humorless laugh at these words. "So once again it is all about His Majesty," he said, walking towards the scared Feliciano. "You are even ready to sacrifice yourself for him... this is how deep your love goes." "I already told you that this is not the case, he is just my master... nothing more," protested the jack. The joker grabbed his wrist and threw him on the bed with one tug, positioning himself on top of the servant, who suddenly froze. "If this is true, then it won't be a problem for you to be touched by someone else," he whispered into Feliciano's ear, brushing his lips against the other's neck, noticing how goosebumps were appearing on it. "And you will be able to bear another person on top of you and their caresses, right?" Now he dared to place a little kiss on Feliciano's collarbone. The latter's breathing was labored. "Also, you will allow another man to possess your skin and let his hands wander all over your body," Gilbert continued to whisper, while touching Feliciano's cheek with the tip of his nose, pretending to reach his mouth. "I don't care, I can take it all," answered the jack with a broken voice, holding back his tears. Gilbert just let out another odd laugh. "Ah... Jack, recently there are nothing but lies leaving these lips," he commented, running his fingers over Feliciano's lips. "You don't want to go with me for real, but to stay with him forever." "It doesn't matter..." said Feliciano, staring at Gilbert with his almond-colored eyes. "It doesn't matter whether I go with you or stay here, whether I am touched by you or someone else." He finally let out his tears, slightly sitting up with Gilbert still on top of him. "It doesn't matter because the king does not love me! He never did, even though I had been in love with him my entire life... he does not feel the same for me, so I don't care anymore." Feliciano was crying bitterly, grabbing Gilbert's clothes and pulling him towards himself. "So come, do everything you want to me... just bring him back, let me see him for one last time! Please!" he screamed, leaning his forehead against the joker's chest, who didn't know what to say. "I want to see him... more than anything in the world... I want to see him," he cried, clutching the other's clothes and filling them with tears that weren't for him, making the devilish jester think what irony that was. How funny it was that he was able to change fate, to change reality... but not the heart of the one he loved.