Miscalculation
November 7, 2023 at 2:46 PM
It was yet another cloudy day, making the mental hospital Claymore adquire that creepy appearance once again, but inside its walls, there were two patients without a shred of creepiness.
Feliks was sitting on his bed doing his nails, and Ivan lying on his and calmly reading one of the books available in the hospital. He was secretly relieved that his strange relationship with Feliks (whatever kind of relationship it might be) had not been affected by the story he had told him a couple of days ago. In fact, his roommate's only comment had been "your wife is a bitch", however, Ivan knew that this wasn't true, Elizabetha was no bitch at all... if someone had deserved to be insulted, then rather him. But Feliks never mentioned it nor accused him, even after having heard the part where the king had threatened Elizabetha and Roderich with cutting off their heads; it seemed as though he was easily accepting Ivan's dark side under the effect of the drug, and that made the latter feel good in a certain way.
The two of them were fully concentrated on their respective activities, until someone knocked on the door. They looked at each other, wondering who would be polite enough to knock before entering, since the men in white definitely weren't.
"Go open," commanded Feliks, moving his hands, so the king put his book aside and got up, walking to the door, where nurse Emma got a bit startled at the sight of the huge Ivan smiling at her.
"Young Feliks, it seems that you are needed," he said, before she could pronounce a word. The other man went to the door, and the nurse started to breathe a bit more calmly.
"Emma, beautiful, to what do I, like, owe the pleasure of your visit?" Feliks asked, as if he was in his own home and not in a hospital room.
"I just came to give you this, a little gift from my part," she answered, taking a red nail polish out of one of her white uniform's pockets.
Feliks' eyes started to shine, and a smile appeared on his face as he took the gift.
"Emma, you're a treasure!" he screamed happily and wrapped her up into a hug, making her laugh. "For this, I'm sure that you'll get a super hot boyfriend like your friend Antonio," Feliks promised, while Ivan was trying to get a look at the present, not understanding the reason for that outbreak of emotions.
"Of course, before that happens, my brother would have castrated every man in the world," Emma joked, remembering her jealous older brother.
"No, gorgeous, you do, like, deserve a good man. If I wasn't, like, totally gay, I would already be after you," the charming Feliks said.
"Then it's a shame that you are," lamented Emma in an exaggerated way, slightly infected with his drama. "But now I have to go before someone notices that I have left my post." She looked around in the hallway, hoping to not get caught.
"Alright, then, like, thanks a lot for the gift," Feliks answered and took her hands. They approached each other and pretended to kiss the other's cheeks, however, in reality, their lips never touched their skin.
After this, Emma laughed and headed back to the pharmacy.
"Emma!" Feliks called her, making her stop and turn around. "Is the door to the roof open already?" he asked. The nurse looked at him with slight reproach, but then smiled and nodded, resuming her way.
"Does that mean that we can go to the roof?" Ivan inquired. During these last rainy days, the door, through which they used to sneak out, had been kept closed.
"It does, my dear Ivan, let's go!" His roommate didn't have to say it twice. The two of them basically ran out of their room to the emergency door.
They walked up the stairs, eager to feel the cold breeze of that cloudy afternoon, but as soon as they got to the last step and opened the door, the weather laughed in their faces, and it started raining.
"Oh no! Like, for real?!" yelled Feliks, looking at the water falling on the roof. "Totally horrible!"
"Oh, come on, young Feliks, this is not so bad," said Ivan, smiling like usual, and stretching out his hand to let the drops land on it.
"It is! For my hair! Do you know what the humidity does to it?" the other asked, pointing with both index fingers at his head, at his straight blond strands.
"So if the humidity is bad, then let's get soaked." And with these words, the king finally stepped out on the roof, welcoming the rain and raising his face to receive it better, without caring that he was getting wet.
"Do it yourself, my hair and I are totally leaving." Feliks turned around, but as soon as he was about to descend the first step, he felt Ivan's giant wet arm wrapping itself around his waist from behind and tugging him away.
"Hey! What're you doing?" screamed Feliks, putting up a resistance, but in vain, since the other was just too strong.
"Let's get soaked together," replied the king, lifting his roommate with one arm. The latter yelled out in surprise and even louder when he ended up hanging over Ivan's shoulder and feeling the icy rain on his back.
"No, Ivan! Let me down!" he commanded, kicking and punching Ivan's back, but the other was just laughing like a little child, carrying Feliks, who was trying to cover his head with his hands.
"Feel it, it is like the rain is washing away all your worries," said Ivan and spun around, making the other man screech like a girl once again.
"The only thing it's washing away is my hair conditioner!" screamed the now completely wet Feliks, still struggling and attempting to save himself from the water. Ivan, however, didn't allow it.
The king stretched out his hand and raised it slightly, wanting to feel the raindrops on every pore of his skin and laughing because of how good that cold let him feel. Why shouldn't he, after all? He was also laughing at the way Feliks was pouting, pretending to be angry, but perhaps just exaggerating like he always did.
"Ivan, let me down! Like, if you don't, then I swear by Christian Dior that I'll strangle you with your scarf!" the latter threatened and grabbed as well as he could an end of Ivan's scarf, but the king ignored him.
That felt so good, even better than the pill Feliks had given him a few days ago, and even better than talking to him on the roof on a peaceful morning. It felt great playing under the rain, accompanied by him.
"Just a bit longer," he said, laughing and running to the other end of the roof, still having Feliks on his shoulder. The latter screamed once again and clung to Ivan, fearing that he might fall down any moment. The king reached the tall bars that were protecting the roof and breathed in as deeply as he could, filling his lungs with that icy cold, closing his eyes and opening them again while exhaling. Looking at the cloudy landscape and the hospital's garden where someone was carrying a black umbrella, spinning it around and moving it from side to side... a someone Ivan managed to recognize.
"Joker..." he said quietly, while watching Peter play with his umbrella, running through the garden and shamelessly undulating his tail.
Ivan let Feliks down, and the other gave him a shove for having gotten him soaked, but the king barely reacted, following Peter with his gaze.
"You're, like, a super idiot, just look at me. What are we gonna tell the gorillas when they see us like this?" Feliks complained, with no intention to hide from the rain anymore, since he was already wet to the bone. "Majesty, I'm talking to you!" he tried to catch the king's attention, who was still looking down. Finally, Feliks turned his gaze in the same direction, spotting the little blond. "And what's this kid doing here? Is he maybe someone's son?" he asked, really intrigued by seeing a child in such a place.
And as soon as he pronounced that question, Ivan suddenly turned around to him and grabbed his arms.
"I have to speak to him!" he exclaimed, confusing Feliks.
"To whom?"
"To the joker, this child!" The king let go of his roommate and ran to the door and the stairs, followed by the latter, who was trying not to slip.
"Hey, hey, like, Ivan, calm down," the blond commanded, catching up to him and grabbing him by his clothes just at the middle of the stairs. "Ivan-baby, how are you planning to speak to him? Have you forgotten that we're being watched, huh?" he inquired, starting to feel an freezing cold in his entire body due to his soaked clothes.
"I have to find a way to get out into the yard, through the door of the entertainment room or whatever!" Ivan was almost desperate. Feliks noticed this, scolded himself and sighed.
"Ok, ok. I'll help you, but you'll owe me a giant favor, Majesty," he finally said, and a smile appeared on Ivan's face.
Feliks whispered something into his ear, and then they both continued to walk down the stairs. His plan was simple: he would distract the men in white, while Ivan would be sneaking out into the yard. The door was never closed, since everyone was being constantly watched in the entertainment room.
They reached downstairs, calmly crossed the emergency door (dripping wet) and were heading to said room as one of the men in white noticed in what conditions they were and wanted to address them. But suddenly, Feliks seemed to be attacked by a fit of madness, starting to run to the center of the room, shoving several tables to the ground and screaming like crazy, upsetting the rest of the patients. Ivan used that moment to run to the door that was now unsupervised, since the men in black were too busy trying to catch Feliks, who was running around, throwing things, shouting, shoving patients and making an incredible mess.
In the meantime, Ivan successfully went out into the pouring rain again, spotting Peter who was still playing with his black umbrella, his odd tail undulating like a snake.
"Got you," murmured Ivan, aware that the boy wasn't seeing him due to standing with his back to him. So, being close, he grabbed him by the tail and held him up in the air.
Peter yelled out in pain, but before he could protest, he saw the King of Clubs in person, showing him his creepy smile.
"Ma... Majesty," was everything the little joker could utter, becoming as pale as a sheet.
"Joker, how are you doing?" asked the king politely. The child gulped.
"Fine... until now," he admitted.
"Glad to hear that. Do you not intend to ask me how I am? What bad manners you have, little one," inquired the adult, and Peter cursed at Gilbert for having sent him to the hospital to "take a look at Ivan".
"I... I do. How are you, Majesty?" he asked, forgetting all that bravery he had shown on that day in the palace when the four kings had still been together. Well, having Ivan so close and holding him by his tail wasn't a very calming situation, so to say.
"I would like to say 'fine', but unfortunately this is not the case due to a certain someone who locked me up in a madhouse," the latter answered, approaching Peter even more. "As if that someone wanted to make me understand that I am crazy myself... oh... if that person knew what real madness is, they would have never even gotten the idea of putting me in here." The boy shuddered at these words.
"Bu-But no one thinks you are crazy, Majesty," Peter defended himself. "You were brought here to learn a lesson..."
"One that only someone crazy could teach me?" asked Ivan, tightening his grip around the unusual extremity of the boy who let out a quiet pained sound, but then looked at the king, this time directly into his eyes. He seemed to examine the King of Clubs, who was waiting for his words. Finally, the child spoke with a blank expression on his face.
"Take a good look around, even something like happiness can be hidden among craziness," he said in a serious tone. A strange silence followed that was suddenly broken by the joker himself. "Majesty, I don't want to end our entertaining conversation, but... it seems that things inside are getting complicated." He pointed at the building Ivan had left a few minutes ago. The king looked into said direction and saw Feliks getting finally caught by a bunch of men.
"Feliks," said Ivan, suddenly letting go of Peter, who fell to the ground, and running back inside, where he saw three men in white pressing Feliks to the ground: one was on top of him, the second holding his arms and the third his feet, while Feliks himself was struggling and still screaming, but still noticed that Ivan had returned.
He showed the king a grin... one so typical for him, before one of the men in white stuck a needle into his arm and injected him with something that seemed to be a tranquilizer. Feliks' grin vanished, his body stopped resisting, and his eyes slowly closed.
"Feliks!" Ivan screamed, wanting to come closer, but one of the men stopped him, however, not by force since he felt Ivan's death stare on him, one that petrified him for real, while Feliks was carried away by the other two.
"Gilbert... Will the king be able to see the happiness hidden among the lies of a troubled mind?.. I hope so for you, otherwise we will lose our heads," muttered Peter, who was hiding under his broad umbrella, though he was already completely soaked from his encounter with the king.
The boy dedicated a last gaze at the hospital and its rooms before climbing the huge metallic fence and leaving. He was jumping over the puddles just for fun, spinning the umbrella and whistling a song that Gilbert had taught him once, when he had been smaller, and they had been spending their days wandering through the big Nation of Cards from kingdom to kingdom. For a moment, he felt like returning into that time again and couldn't help but smile. After all, it also had his benefits to be an orphan raised by someone like Gilbert.
After having walked around aimlessly under the rain, he finally decided to head to the orphanage where the King of Diamonds was currently living and whom he hadn't visited for quite a long time. So he ran there over the wet streets, splashing around again until reaching the orphanage's facade that he crossed without any effort. Well, Gilbert had obviously infected him with his habit to do extravagant and supernatural jumps.
The joker hopped into the building with his still open umbrella, where he was taken for just another child of the orphanage. Then he saw Lovino, who was walking around with his hands in his pockets and in a foul mood, like always.
"Lovi, wait," said Antonio, trying to catch up to the latter, who seemed to ignore him on purpose. Hearing this, Peter stopped in front of Lovino, covering himself from an invisible rain and preventing him from resuming his way.
"Out of my way, kid," the teenager commanded with the mafioso-tone he had practiced for years.
But Peter just grinned at him, accentuating his childish and mischievous features and ignoring what was supposed to be an intimidating aura.
The boy finally closed his umbrella and pointed it directly at Lovino who had to move back a bit, before it would poke him in the eye.
"What an irony," said the joker, still grinning and making the teenager raise an eyebrow. "In one life: far away from each other. In another life: together for such a long time, but gotten separated in the end. Is it perhaps destiny for these twins to never be together?" he asked, slightly tilting his head and without stopping to point at Lovino. The latter frowned, only getting that the kid was talking about him and Feliciano.
"What are you saying about me and my brother?" he inquired, grabbing the umbrella and pulling it closer, together with the still grinning boy (what luck that it wasn't Ivan who was doing this).
"No... your destiny of the two of you is not to be separated... it is just linked to someone else," he added without answering the question and seeing Antonio finally arrive.
"Lovi! I told you to wait," the latter complained, catching his breath and noticing that Lovino seemed to argue with a child again, and it was that strange kid he had only seen once. "Lovino, I told you to not fight with the kids," he scolded him, making him let go of the umbrella. However, Lovino didn't stop glaring at Peter, who opened it again and hopped away.
"Hey, it's bad luck to open an umbrella indoors," Antonio warned him.
"Don't worry, I have my luck under control," said Peter and shot another glance at the two guys who were watching him leave.
"That brat was talking about Feliciano," said Lovino, almost with rage in his voice, since he hated it when people were talking so casually about him and his brother, as if no one else besides themselves would know what was representing their relationship. No one else in the universe would ever understand.
"Maybe they got to know each other when Feli was still here, he's good with kids," said Antonio with a smile, remembering that when Feliciano had still been living in the orphanage, he had used his free time to play with the smallest kids and help Antonio and the other few staff a bit.
"Feliciano is good with everyone," Lovino corrected him, without taking his eyes off the direction Peter had disappeared to.
"You're good as well, Lovi..." commented Antonio, slowly patting the other's hair, letting his fingers patiently run over these chocolate-colored strands that matched the boy's eyes.
Lovino perceived the touch and Antonio's sweet voice... and had, for just a split second, the feeling... that this wasn't a fraternal caress.
"Shut up, you bastard," he commanded, retreating one step, startled. "Y-You said you wanted me to help you with something," he stammered, slightly nervous and turning his head to the side, away from Antonio. Unconsciously placing his hand on the place where the other had touched him.
"Ah yes, Artie, that mean guy, has sent us books, instead of bringing them himself," Antonio complained, pouting and pretending to be angry, while walking together with Lovino through the hallway. They were discussing some things on their way, passing the dormitories, where Antonio spotted Francis and Matthew sitting on a bed and talking. The Spaniard smiled. Despite his strange fits, Francis was an attentive person, especially with Matthew.
"Hey, boy. Do you know why the other children seem to be so depressed? Just entering in here makes me want to cry," asked Francis. Matt was sitting in front of him, cross-legged and holding his polar bear in his arms.
"Because they weren't adopted, I think. They're always like this every time this happens," replied the little one, shrugging, as though he wouldn't understand.
"And you do not mind?" inquired Francis with curiosity, carefully examining Matt's reaction, who raised his shoulders once again.
"Well, no... I've never had parents and am really not interested in having any," he answered without looking at the king, instead tracing circles with his finger on Kumajirou's artificial fur.
"Does that mean that you do not know them?"
"No... my mom left me here shortly after my birth, and I know absolutely anything about dad... that's why I don't want to have new parents. What's the point of having them if they can just abandon you whenever they want?" The boy tried to not seem affected, but couldn't help taking a long breath, as if he was holding back tears.
Francis was seeing himself in Matthew... equally small and with similar thoughts concerning his progenitors.
"Francis, you don't want to be adopted either, right?" asked Matthew, looking up. The king smiled, thinking that it would be ridiculous to get adopted at his age.
"Why do you think that?" he asked, omitting his thought.
"I don't know... I felt it when you were discussing with Antonio the other day, I know that you don't have parents either and that you don't want to be adopted. Did they abandon you too after you were born?" The boy lifted his glasses to have a better look at Francis, whose smile suddenly vanished and got replaced by a serious expression.
"No, boy... I was not abandoned..." he replied, unconsciously placing his hand on the diamond on his arm, tracing its lines as if each one of them represented a year in his life as king.
"So they died? Some kids are here because of this, because there was no one else who could take care of them. I suppose that your parents were king and queen and when they died, you got the throne, right?" Matthew asked, moving a bit closer to Francis, who let out a long sigh.
"No. I was already born a king, this is all." He felt that the child had joined him and was caressing his diamond as well, having fun with it again and smiling while perceiving the mark's texture.
"It's better like this. To be king and to have everything you want... without parents who can abandon you... and if you feel lonely, you can just buy them. Everyone has a price, you said so yourself," commented Matthew, still concentrated on the mark. Francis said nothing... after all, the boy was telling the truth. "Say, Francis, how much does a person cost?" asked the little one innocently, without any trace of malice, very different from how that question could be expressed by an adult.
"Two thousand five hundred gold coins," Francis answered directly, averting his gaze from the child and also his mark, staring into nothingness and losing himself in bitter thoughts.
The boy produced a sound as though he was thinking very deeply about something, until he finally looked at Francis and placed his small hand on the king's symbol.
"This is too little, I thought it would be much more," Matthew commented, taking Francis out of his thoughts, who looked at the boy's naive little face and couldn't help but let out a few elegant chuckles, covering his mouth with his hand.
"Do you really think that?" he inquired. The little one didn't understand why he was laughing.
"Of course," Matthew assured. "And a king can't be so cheap anyway, a king like you should cost sooooo much, so much that no one could ever have enough money to buy you." He raised his hands, hinting at a giant mountain of gold coins... and Francis felt a strange lump in his throat, one that made it impossible for him to pronounce a word. So he just put his hands on Matt's face and moved a few of the latter's blond strands always covering it, smiling at him.
"Little one, you are truly the most peculiar thing I have ever seen in my life, and I have seen a lot," said the king. Matthew once again didn't understand what he meant by that, since he thought that he was an absolutely normal child.
"Francis... if I manage to collect a lot of money one day, can I adopt you then? But not as a dad, because they abandon you... but, no clue, just you and me," he asked and imitated the adult, moving the long, wavy locks away from Francis' face, who usually never ever allowed anyone else to touch his hair.
"You want to adopt me?" he inquired, moved by Matthew's innocence. The boy nodded very seriously. "But if you do, you would have to adopt Lilly as well," added Francis, watching how some of his strands were escaping Matt's little hands, who tried to move them again to see the king's face better.
"Who's Lilly?" the little one asked with curiosity, still having Francis' big hands on his head.
"She is my future queen and a very special person, one that you cannot simply adopt and neglect," the latter explained. Matthew frowned a bit.
"Can't there be just the two of us?" he asked, showing that he didn't want to share the king with anyone.
"Of course not. Lilly has to share my throne with me, this is her duty as a future queen," said Francis, separating himself a bit from the child and letting his long hair fall over his face again. But the boy didn't really seem to be convinced.
"But I don't like girls, they're ugly and yucky," he said, crossing his arms while still holding Kumajirou.
"Do not talk like that, boy, women are wonderful, and you have to treat them as if they were made out of the finest crystal. However, I think you are still too young to understand that," explained the king, looking at Matthew, who, indeed, didn't understand how girls could be "wonderful and delicate". "One day, you, too, will be captivated by a lady, and this will be the day when you will understand my words." Francis mischievously pinched the tip of the kid's nose, who rubbed it after that.
"Did that happen to you?" asked Matt, to which the king couldn't help but smile, as though he was remembering each and every one of his adventures with several "ladies-in-waiting" and also a few young naive men who had let themselves be carried away by the innate charm of the King of Diamonds.
"Oh... I have been a victim of so many charms... but let me tell you that others have fallen to my magic more often than I to theirs," the adult assured, letting out a suspicious laugh, while caressing his spare beard and recalling some fleeting love adventures.
"I don't understand..." murmured the boy, who was honestly not getting anything.
"Come, let's go to Antonio, he said that new books have arrived, and I want to pick out some before the others could get them," he changed the topic, got up from the bed and took Francis' hand. The latter rolled his eyes and snorted.
"Oh no, that young man always wants to give me new tasks every time he sees me. He forgets that he is dealing with the supreme ruler of the Kingdom of Diamonds, his impertinence exceeds the limits," the king complained, being almost dragged through the hallway.
"Don't be like that, come," asked Matthew, tugging at him, until reaching the stairs that were producing their typical creaking sounds. They were still giving Francis the impression as though they would collapse any moment.
In a room next to the stairs, Lovino and Antonio were unpacking books from cardboard boxes. Although, it was worth mentioning that they weren't alone: a young albino with a malicious grin was helping them.
"You came back, you devil!" Francis exclaimed as soon as he spotted Gilbert, who didn't get time to react, since the king had already thrown himself at him and they both landed on the floor.
"Francis, no! Not again!" yelled Antonio, while the latter was trying to lift Gilbert's t-shirt in order to reveal the tail.
"Why me?! I don't even know you!" Gilbert protested under Francis' body, struggling with him, while Lovino was watching them and laughing his head off. And Matthew was standing a few meters away, not really knowing what to do.
"Lovino! Don't just stand there, help me to separate them," asked Antonio, attempting to pull Francis off Gilbert who was crawling on the floor and trying to escape the king's hands while the other was searching for proof of him being a joker.
"Why should I? This is too funny," said the teenager, still laughing, until Antonio finally managed to separate the panting Francis from Gilbert who was arranging his clothes, still being on the floor, and fearfully looking at the angrily snorting king.
"You're crazy! That was the second time! The second time of you trying to rape me, for fuck's sake!" yelled the albino, breathing heavily as well.
"Do not talk nonsense, Devil, if I wanted to do that, I would have already done it, and you would not have even put up any resistance. I do not want your deceitful joker-body, but proof so I can lock you in a dungeon, and then sentence you to hang!" threatened the king, being grabbed by Antonio who feared for his friend's security.
"Toño, that guy needs help, or he really ends up stealing my second virginity one day," said Gilbert, reflexively putting his hands on his backside and looking at Francis, who was still glaring at him.
"No one's going to steal anything from you, Gilbert, and you, Fran, are really mistaking him for someone else," Antonio told the king, but the latter didn't believe a word.
In the meantime, Matthew was watching the scene, wondering as well whether Gilbert really was that evil wizard, since he didn't look dangerous from his point of view. While thinking about that, the boy heard someone call him making little sounds, so he looked around and spotted behind his back a blond child with blue eyes who looked a few years older than him and was indicating to him to come closer, moving his index finger. Matt quietly left the room, using his ability to pass unnoticed to his advantage for the first time, quickly arriving to where the other boy was and realizing that he had never seen him in the orphanage before. They looked at each other for a while before speaking.
"You've gotten pretty close to the king during the last days," Peter said finally, using his umbrella like a cane. Matt was surprised, since, to his knowledge, only a few people knew that Francis was a king, so he just nodded, and the little joker turned his gaze to the room where the aforementioned king and the others were still having a discussion. "I think that it won't be very difficult for the King of Diamonds to learn his lesson... I suppose he'll be able to return to his kingdom soon," commented Peter in a casual tone, slightly scaring Matthew.
"Soon? But... I haven't saved any money yet!" he exclaimed with his quiet voice, looking a bit desperate.
"Why would you do that? His Majesty is already rich enough," Peter asked. The other boy lowered his head and started playing with his fingers.
"Because I want to adopt Francis..." he answered shyly, making the joker widen his eyes.
"It seems that you've grown more fond of him than you should... oh no, this is bad," said Peter as a lament, putting his hand on his forehead, knowing that Matt's plans were impossible. He shook his head, snorted and looked at the boy who was still holding his head low and blushing a bit from the embarrassment of having told him about his adoption plans.
"Don't think too much about the future, boy... otherwise you won't be able to enjoy what you have now," the joker said and left, feeling like an adult for being able to give advice to someone younger than him.
Smiling to himself, he lamented that Gilbert wasn't there to witness his display of maturity. And just as he was thinking about that, he bumped into someone on his way.
"Here you are, Peter! Complaining that I'm disappearing and then doing it yourself," the older joker scolded him. Peter frowned slightly.
"At least, I'm notifying you when I do it, you're just leaving without a word," the boy reminded him in an annoying tone. Gilbert ignored it.
"Yeah, whatever. What are you doing here?" he asked, walking together with the other along the hallway until leaving the building.
"Just taking a look at the king... I think we never considered the fact that this world's people could get so close to the kings. This could cause trouble," said Peter with slight worry, being forced to open his umbrella again in order to not get wet. But Gilbert took it from him and bent over with his back turned to the boy, indicating to him to climb on. Peter did it without thinking twice, he had always liked being carried on the other's back.
"Nothing to worry, Peter, the kings are aware that this isn't their world and that they shouldn't get too involved with the people from here. I'm so awesome that I've calculated absolutely everything, kesesese," Gilbert bragged, walking in the rain with Peter on his back who was holding the umbrella.
"I hope you're right... by the way, where are we going?"
"We're going to visit the Spade, just so you can stay calm. Our kings aren't such idiots, you'll see." And with these words, they headed to the King of Spades, who was in Arthur's house at the moment, since the latter was allowing himself a little break from all the books at least that day, a Sunday.
So there were the two of them now, sitting in the living room in front of the TV. The king was staring at the screen as if hypnotized, while tightly hugging a sofa pillow, while Arthur was just watching the movie with a bored look on his face. It was a low-budget zombie movie.
"I'm serious, I will order to monitor every cemetery in my kingdom... as soon as I see Yao, I will," said Alfred with fear, watching the living dead leave their graves in the classic scene of a hand suddenly appearing from under the soil in front of a tombstone.
"Alfred, that's fiction, something like this is never going to happen," Arthur contradicted, bored, taking a bit of the popcorn from the bowl between them on the sofa.
"Don't tell me it's fiction when I'm seeing it with my own eyes. Look, they're eating people!" the king exclaimed, shuddering at the sight of the terrified people running away from a horde of dead bodies that were walking clumsily dragging one foot.
"And I thought the great King of Spades wasn't afraid of anything," the other mocked him with a smile, taking another handful of popcorn.
"This is right! I am the strongest king of the entire nation!" Alfred declared, even getting up from the sofa. The slightly surprised Arthur blinked a few times.
"Sorry, Your Majesty, it was not my intention to offend you," he said with sarcasm. This seemed to calm the king, who sat down again, hugging the pillow once more and returning his attention to the movie.
"You are forgiven," he replied without averting his gaze from the badly made-up zombies who were devouring a poor woman and causing the king to grimace from repulsion.
"Hey Alfred, I was wondering these days..." Arthur began.
"About what?" the aforementioned inquired, closing his eyes for a moment when the bowels became visible in the scene and opening them after it was over.
"Why are you so obsessed with being strong and powerful?" The shop owner turned his gaze to Alfred, who was still staring at the TV.
"Well, because I want to be strong," the latter simply answered, palpating the sofa until his hand reached the bowl and grabbed a bit of popcorn.
"Yes, but why?" Arthur insisted, feeling that it was really not easy to understand that guy.
Alfred seemed to think about that for a bit while munching on his popcorn.
"I made that promise to myself when I was younger..." he replied, now looking at Arthur, who was carefully listening. "Right after a fight with Yao," he added with a smile, remembering the reason for that promise and his fixation on becoming the most powerful king of the whole Nation of Cards:
The King of Spades, who had just celebrated his fourteenth birthday, was walking through his palace’s long hallways, followed by his faithful jack as always, who had well calculated the walking speed of his hyperactive master.
Alfred had his hands in the pockets of his dark coat, and his smile was maybe a bit bigger than usual, because the day before had been his birthday and he was feeling proud to become more and more of an adult each day and therefore more independent. Soon, he would be able to go together with King Francis to these places the other always told him were for big people. But oh well, the King of Diamonds was the oldest of the four of them, so he had a lot of experience with the outside world… so different from him who was forced to live in a bubble called palace.
Suddenly, the boy stopped, making his jack also slow down abruptly and almost trip.
“Yao,” said Alfred, turning around, and the latter lowered his head. “Raise your head and straighten your back!" The servant, who was used to the king's weird quirks, hesitantly obeyed, but didn't look directly into Alfred's eyes. The teenager approached him with a suspicious grin, making the other nervous.
Alfred lifted his hand to his head and moved it over to Yao's. His grin became bigger, and he giggled.
"We already have the same height," he commented proudly, noticing that he didn't have to look up anymore to meet his servant's eyes.
"Exactly, my lord, you have grown very fast, aru," agreed the other, lowering his head again. The young king laughed loudly and put his hands on his hips.
"And I will continue growing, Yao. I'm going to become even taller than you and be the strongest king of this nation!" He let out another "heroic" laugh.
"I hope so, my lord, but in order to manage this, you have to put a lot of effort into your studies and your responsibilities. You know very well that strength is not everything, aru," Yao reminded him. The boy frowned. He hated studying and everything that brought him academic obligations.
"Studying is boring! I prefer a thousand times the fencing lessons, they are really fun!" he exclaimed, pretending to hold a sword and fighting against an invisible enemy.
"The goal of your fencing lessons is not to be fun, but to teach you to defend yourself if it should be necessary one day," Yao lectured the king, who stopped his pantomime and looked at him, sulky.
“Of course, as if that could happen... I'm kept under surveillance all the time," he complained, remembering that he was always accompanied and surrounded by people when leaving the palace.
"This is necessary, my lord, I cannot allow something bad to happen to you, aru," Yao said, following His Majesty, who didn't reply, just muttering something to himself about being strong and not needing protection, and even less from someone as scrawny as Yao.
"My lord, His Majesty King Francis has come to visit you," another servant announced, taking a deep bow when he arrived in front of Alfred. The latter got excited.
"King Francis? This is strange, he has not announced his visit, aru," Yao commented, as his king hurried to the encounter with the other one.
"Francis!" he yelled, starting to run, and Yao a few steps behind him.
"My lord, you should not run through the hallways, this is bad manners, aru," the jack scolded him, trying to catch up. But Alfred ignored him and opened one door after another, until he reached Francis, who was accompanied by Vash.
"Francis! Francis!" the young king screamed, almost out of breath, since the hallways in his palace were incredibly long.
"Hello, Alfred. You are very excited, as I can see. Since when are you so happy to see me?" asked the other king, honestly surprised, as he saw how Alfred was coming running towards him, with Yao trying to follow, a bit frustrated that the boy was never listening to him.
"Since that time you told me that you'd have a surprise for my birthday," the teenager answered, smiling from ear to ear.
"Oh yes, so you really remembered it. Vash, please..." the older king asked his jack, stretching out his hand. His servant placed a long box, decorated with a bunch of gemstones, on it. Then Francis gave it to Alfred, who opened it with enthusiasm. But as he saw the content, slight disappointment appeared on his face.
"A chain?" he asked, raising the thin black chain that had tiny sparkling diamonds in some of its links.
"This is a strap made out of black gold and diamonds for your pocket watch. No clue how you are able to use such common metal for such a relict," said Francis, proud of his exquisite gift of precious metals and, of course, diamonds, his trademark.
"Ah... thank you," replied Alfred in a not very happy tone, taking out his spade-shaped watch and giving it to Yao, so that the latter could attach the new chain to it.
"You do not seem very pleased, Alfred. I spent hours choosing a good gift!" Francis said, offended. Standing behind him, Vash rolled his eyes, remembering that this wasn't an exaggeration at all: his lord had complained all the time about the lack of elegance of the objects the servants had presented to him as possible gifts for the King of Spades.
"This is not it, I'm very thankful, I just thought you would give me something else," the younger one replied, making Francis think.
"Something else?"
"You know... that 'other thing' you promised me before my birthday," said Alfred without a hint of discretion. Both jacks exchanged looks of suspicion, and a little malicious grin appeared on Francis' lips.
"Ah yes, I remember," Francis said, and Alfred got excited again. The King of Diamonds approached him a bit, lowering his voice. "You want to go to that place for adults I talked about so much, right?"
The boy nodded. Yao cleared his throat loudly to draw attention without directly interrupting the conversation.
"Excuse me, Your Majesty, but my lord is still not old enough for such places."
"I am!" Alfred contradicted angrily, without knowing that his idea of "places for adults" was completely different from Francis'.
"I think the same, my lord, His Majesty Alfred is too young for these clubs you use to frequent," Vash intervened, who wasn't going to allow his lord to pass on his vices and bad habits.
"Vash, you are talking as if I would visit seedy dumps," said Francis in a mocking tone, being well-aware that he was going only to the best houses of pleasure in his entire kingdom. Or simply taking the most beautiful court ladies or young men into his bed.
"Don't decide in my place, Francis has promised to take me a long time ago..."
"Sorry, Alfred, but the jacks are right, you still are way too young. I think I have failed to consider that fact," Francis replied. The younger king looked at him as if he had been betrayed.
"But you promised!"
"And I do not intend to break my promise, you just have to wait a bit longer." As soon as he said this, the older king bid farewell, leaving Alfred with his mouth open. When Francis and Vash had left his palace, he turned around to Yao and ripped his watch with the new chain out of the latter's hand, glaring at him.
"This is your fault, Yao!" he snapped at his servant.
"What is my fault, aru?" the jack inquired, keeping his head low and noticing the king's anger.
"That Francis hasn't kept his word! You just had to intervene!" With long steps, Alfred headed to his room, being followed by the jack.
"My sincerest apologies, my lord, but you are too young to go to these places His Majesty Francis pretended to take you, aru," Yao explained, walking with his hands behind his back. His master snorted.
"I am big enough to know myself where to go or not to go, but you want to keep me locked in this cage all the time! You don't let me live, it seems that I even need your permission to breathe!" the latter screamed without even looking at him.
"Of course not, my lord, this is only for your own good."
"My good, my good... No, rather for yours, so that the rest of the court doesn't bother you, because your work is to watch over me! You don't care about me for real!" The king entered his room and slammed it shut right in Yao's face, even making him jump back.
Then Alfred went to his giant bed with baldachin and threw himself on it. Lying on his stomach, he took off his glasses and buried his face into the blankets, breathing heavily and wondering why it was so hard to understand that he just wanted to lead a normal life. Just like the peasants in his kingdom, who were working at his age, participating in village festivities, meeting their friends after their work in the fields was finished, courting girls and simply living... that was it. But no, he was different, he wasn't like the rest, he was "special". That last thought made him snort, and he placed his hand on his side, just where his mark was, burying his fingers into it, furious with that thing for having robbed him of the opportunity to be a normal boy.
The young king spent the rest of the afternoon in his room, ignoring Yao who was calling out to him from the other side of the door, almost begging him to finally come out, and be it only to eat. But Alfred didn't listen, in fact, he had reached a conclusion: if he wasn't allowed to leave the palace... then he would do it without permission.
He waited until it started getting dark and headed to his wardrobe, taking out the simplest clothes he could find (at least, he had a more discreet sense of fashion than King Francis). He changed his outfit and put on a wool beret, trying to cover his blond hair, letting only a few strands at sight. Next, he wrapped a scarf around his neck, hiding half of his face, just making sure that he could see well.
He nodded, removed the bedsheets and tied them together, creating a long improvised rope, just how he had read it in several books. After tying it around one of his bed's legs, he hung it out of the window, took a deep breath and climbed out. The boy felt like a real adventurer, especially as he noticed how his heart started to pound at the sight of how high he was above the ground. But he still continued descending, thanking his luck that could compete with King Ivan's today, since there were no soldiers nearby guarding that part of the palace.
Alfred ran as fast as he could through the garden, wondering why the hell it was so damn huge, and reached the fence protecting the palace, climbing it without any problems thanks to all the times he had ignored Yao when the latter had prohibited him to climb on trees. And there he was now: outside, alone and free to do anything he wanted. So without wasting time, he descended the street, looking around with wide eyes and hoping that his pupils were able to capture everything around him: the merchants, the horses who were resting and drinking water, the kids playing tag on the public square, the ladies and gentlemen on an evening walk, the tea houses where some men were smoking cigars and talking about politics, and the red-haired boys bullying a younger one with blond hair and green eyes, who was trying to protect himself from them and managed to escape their grip, making them run away.
This world was so different from what Alfred was used to seeing inside the palace or when going out with his convoy of soldiers while people were bowing in silence at his sides. Here, everything was natural and full of life.
Excited, he continued entering various alleys, exploring every corner of his kingdom and finding it almost funny that the people calmly passing him didn't have a clue that he was their king. He kept walking, and the streets became more and more empty and unkempt, but he didn't care.
"Child..." suddenly, a hoarse voice called out, making Alfred turn around and encounter a man dressed in rags and coughing from time to time. He slowly approached the young king, who waited for him.
"Could you maybe spare a coin for me, a poor sick man?" the other asked him in a pitiful tone, stretching out his wrinkled, dirty and trembling hand.
"Excuse me, I don't have money," Alfred apologized. He had never carried coins in his pockets in his entire life.
"Then how about that chain?.. It looks expensive," suggested the man, coming closer and closer. Alfred looked at the chain on his watch, Francis' recent present.
"I'm sorry, I can't give it to you, it is a gift," Alfred apologized, naive enough to think that the guy would understand. The latter, however, didn't seem that sick any more all of a sudden and roughly grabbed the boy by the arm, who felt a knife's blade on his throat before he even got the chance to do anything.
"Look, boy, give me that chain, and nobody gets hurt. Understood?" The man was pressing the knife against his skin, but the strongest king of the nation couldn't allow a poor devil like that to simply attack him, so he kicked the man's shin, making him let go for a moment, which Alfred used to flee. But the other caught up to him, tugging at his beret and revealing Alfred's blond hair and a big part of his face. "If this isn't our king!" he exclaimed, surprised, holding the young king by the hair from behind. "You don't see that every day, King Alfred, in person!" The man laughed with his hoarse voice, while Alfred was trying to free himself. "I wonder how much I get for you, Majesty."
Suddenly, a saber appeared, shining in the darkness.
A hand tore Alfred out of the man's grip, and the saber cut the assailant's chest, making the latter scream out in pain. Among all that commotion, Alfred managed to spot Yao wielding his weapon with elegant, but strong movements, and then shaking it to get the blood of that ragged guy off the blade.
"Try to hurt my lord again, and not even a hundred reincarnations will be enough to pay for your actions," he threatened him, forgetting his typical filler word while speaking and icily glaring at the man, who raised his hand to his bleeding chest. The wound, however, wasn't that deep.
"The jack... I... I didn't want to do anything to His Majesty, I just... wanted a coin," the criminal justified himself. Yao pointed the tip of his saber at the other's Adam's apple, drawing a drop of blood.
"No one allowed you to speak," the jack spat, under Alfred's baffled gaze. "And now run, and if you dare talk to anyone about what happened and about the king, I will find you, cut your tongue and feed it to the rats. Scram!" he commanded. The man let out a screech and ran away the best he could with his bleeding wound.
"Yao, that was incredible!" Alfred exclaimed, his eyes shining due to having seen his jack for the first time in action. "You have to teach me this, from now on, you should be the one to give me my fencing lessons, and..." But before he could finish his sentence, the jack turned around and gave him a powerful slap in the face, making the other not only turn his face but even back off a few steps in order to not fall to the ground.
Alfred's eyes widened even more than before, as he was feeling his cheek burn. His glasses were a bit out of place now.
"Just what were you thinking?! Do you have a clue what you made me go through? I have searched the entire town for you, praying for your safety! If I hadn't arrived, that man could have hurt you!-" But Yao couldn't finish speaking either, since this time, it was Alfred who slapped him back.
"Remember your place, Jack!" the king screamed at the top of his lungs, addressing Yao for the first time without using his name. "To raise your hand against your king... you are not that different from that poor devil," he hissed, looking at Yao, who had his face still turned to the side, with his eyes covered by his long black hair and his cheek as red as the boy's.
"No, my lord... I am just worried about you, aru." Yao slowly moved his head, but didn't raise it.
"A servant's task is not to worry about me, but to obey my commands, nothing else," said Alfred, emphasizing the word "servant", reminding the other who he was.
"Looking out for your well-being is my task as well, aru."
"Yao, just look what a hypocrite you are, I know that you don't care about my well-being, that you only watch over me, because the court is telling you to, otherwise you will get into trouble."
"Your words surprise me, my lord... you know very well that my concern is sincere, aru," Yao said quietly, without looking up. Alfred approached him and grabbed his clothes, tugging him into his direction.
"You are not my father, so just do your job and serve me properly," he commanded. Yao cast a hurt gaze at the still angry Alfred, until the latter finally let go of him.
"Even if you say that, my lord, I have to watch out for your safety, aru."
"My safety?! No! To keep me locked in, this is what you watch out for! Me, the prisoner, damned by that mark! I have never asked for this, Yao, the same way you have never asked to serve me, however, no matter what you say, I will not let this thing continue to control my life! I will become so powerful that I won't need anyone, anyone to stand behind me with the pretext to protect me! Strength will set me free!" the king exclaimed, looking directly into Yao's eyes. "And I won't need you, either."
"Then, my lord, allow me to give you advice as your... servant..." pronounced the jack with his voice still trembling. "Be careful to not let your strength destroy what you have around you." Then he lowered his head again in a submissive manner.
The next day after all that mess, Alfred was safe in the palace once again, sitting in his study room, pretending to read one of these gigantic books he was forced to study. Naturally, he was accompanied by his jack, who, since last night, had only been talking to him when it was absolutely necessary.
The young king was peeking at Yao from time to time, regretting his words from earlier. He had just said them in the heat of the moment, and, besides, wasn't able to stay angry at someone for a long time, and even less at his jack who was his only friend, and not only a mere servant like he had said.
In the middle of that slightly uncomfortable silence, Yao took out his beloved pipe and raised it to his lips in order to light it and enjoy the tobacco that was helping him relax.
"I've told you so many times to not smoke that stuff," Alfred said between clenched teeth, wanting to break the tension, since he knew that this was the only thing where Yao never obeyed him, the only subject he was rebelling against the king. This time, however, was different: as soon as he heard it, the jack put out his pipe without a word, surprising Alfred a bit.
"You put it out... you never do that..."
"My obligation as a servant is to obey my king without objections, aru," Yao replied coldly. Alfred, suffering from his conscience, started groaning as though he was in pain.
"Ah! Yao, you know that it wasn't my intention to say these things, I was just angry," he said, looking at him, embarrassed. "You know very well that you're more than just a servant for me..." He lowered his gaze again, and there was once more silence. And just as he started to think that the jack would not forgive him, he perceived the smell of tobacco and looked up again, seeing that Yao was smoking calmly.
"I told you to put it out."
"My lord, this is the only thing that helps me to calm my nerves, aru," responded the jack, smiling with his pipe between his teeth. Alfred smiled back, understanding that he was forgiven. "And now continue with your lesson, please, aru," Yao commanded, taking the pipe into his hand and pointing at the books.
Alfred obeyed and continued studying, sometimes looking at the smoking Yao and remembering last night's events: thinking that only one thing of the ones he had said was, indeed, true: he would become strong to not need anyone else, strength would give him the freedom he was longing for so much.
"And this is what happened... though I don't think that I'm strong enough yet..." Alfred finished his story.
"Why are you saying that?" asked Arthur, who had been listening very closely, obviously ignoring the parts with the other being king and things like that.
"Because I'm still locked in a cage. I wasn't able to do anything, Arthur!.. To make friends other than Yao or the other kings... to walk freely through the streets of my kingdom, to work, to get lost while being in the mountains..." the king said, turning his gaze back at the TV for a moment, where the movie was still playing, exactly at an erotic scene of the protagonists having sex without any specific reason. "And I never did this, either..." he admitted with slight embarrassment.
"There's no hurry for that, you're still very young," Arthur comforted him, shrugging it off.
"...I'm nineteen years old and still haven't kissed anyone..." Alfred confessed, watching the actors devour each other's mouth and rip off each other's clothes in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. Arthur couldn't help but giggle, trying to stop when he noticed the king's annoyed gaze. So he looked at the TV as well, listening to the exaggerated moans.
"In this case, Alfred... would you like to try it out?" he suggested, without even knowing what the hell he was saying. This was insane! The king was younger than him, almost like a naive child that hadn't lived yet, and he pretended to make use of him like that just because he hadn't had a partner in such a long time, that he was almost becoming asexual.
"Try out what?" inquired Alfred. Arthur's malicious side came back to life, just like during his teenage years.
"To kiss someone, I can show it to you," the shop owner explained, feeling like returning to the years of his crazy youth where he hadn't cared who he was making out with, be it a man or a woman.
Alfred gulped loudly, looked around nervously and at the TV that was still showing that scene. Then he turned around to Arthur who was completely serious, thought about it for a while and then nodded, fearing that his voice might betray him if he spoke. Arthur, being nervous as well but not showing it, moved the popcorn bowl aside and placed it on the table in front of the sofa.
"Close your eyes," he told him. The king squeezed his eyes shut so tightly that Arthur found it a bit adorable. He couldn't help but examine Alfred's face. A handsome guy, indeed.
Without wasting any more time, Arthur pressed his mouth against the king's, who immediately tensed up at the contact. Arthur's lips started moving slowly, so Alfred tried to imitate it, remembering that one time he had caught the Jack of Clubs and Queen Elizabetha kissing. They had been looking like leeches glued to each other. He hoped that it wasn't the case with him right now.
Arthur got a little closer. Alfred's movements were clumsy, but he slowly started to follow the other one's rhythm, so Arthur used this chance to put his tongue in. The king got startled and didn't know where to place his hands, so he just let them lie on his lap, while Arthur had already grabbed the younger one's face... sensing a strange necessity to stay like this forever, that odd feeling once again of already knowing him, of being connected in some way...
"Yeah, sure, the kings won't get involved with anyone from this world," said Peter, who was watching that kiss scene together with Gilbert through the window, hanging upside down, holding on to the roof with their tails.
"Ah... well, we both know that King Alfred isn't the smartest one..." replied Gilbert with a nervous laugh and scratching his neck. Peter was staring reproachfully at him.
"But it's not only King Alfred..." the boy commented, swinging with his tail and then jumping on the roof, together with the other joker. "King Francis as well and..."
Peter and Gilbert both turned to each other, almost as if they were reading one another's mind and started to jump from roof to roof without a word to Feliciano's house. It should be noted that Gilbert was going faster than Peter, who had to hurry up to not be left behind by the older one. Sooner than expected, the latter reached the Italian's home and looked through the window once again... fearing to discover something he didn't want to see.
Feliciano was in the kitchen, holding a wooden spoon in his hand and using it as a microphone. The radio ran on full volume, and he was doing a duet with it, though he wasn't really singing, just humming along to the swing melody that was filling the kitchen.
He spun around his own axis and tried the sauce that was in one of the pots. It was so delicious that he shuddered and widened his smile.
"Feliciano, do you need some help?" Ludwig entered the kitchen, seeing the dancing Feliciano.
"Yes, Lud, come and dance with me," said the latter, placing the spoon on the table and grabbing Ludwig's wrists. The king resisted a bit, but was finally dragged by the Italian, who was moving his feet and his body to the sound of the trumpets.
"Uhm... no, I do not dance," replied Ludwig, his hands in Feliciano's grip, who was moving them side to side while spinning around under them.
"What? People don't dance in your kingdom?" he inquired without stopping, trying to make the king move at least a bit.
"They do, during festivities," answered the latter, while Feliciano was enjoying the last notes of the song that finally ended, fortunately for Ludwig.
"And how do you dance there? Oh, teach me, Lud, please, please, ve~" Feliciano exclaimed with excitement. The other didn't look very sure.
"I am not that good... I do not think I am fit to teach you properly."
"Who cares, just teach me, I can do the girl's part. When grandpa was still alive and danced with Lovino and me, I always had to," said Feliciano, happily remembering the old times, when their grandpa would turn on jazz and swing music for his little ones.
"Feliciano... my jack did that as well. When I had to learn to dance for social events, he offered to do the part of the lady," commented the king with a smile.
"So teach me, then," the teenager repeated, smiling widely. Ludwig sighed as he noticed that the other didn't plan on giving up, so he stretched out his hand, and Feliciano took it. Then, the king wrapped his other arm around the boy's waist and put the other's hand on his shoulder, starting with the typical step that consisted in moving the feet in a square-shape.
Feliciano smiled while dancing with Ludwig, and the latter watching his feet, to not step on Feliciano's, since he only danced when it was absolutely necessary. In other words, when Queen Elizabetha asked him for a dance, just to make fun of his clumsiness.
"Ve~ you have to look me in the eyes, you always have to look at your partner," Feliciano indicated to him, so Ludwig had no other choice than to avert his gaze from the floor and to direct it at the teenager's almond-colored eyes, feeling extremely nervous without even knowing why.
"No clue why you said you weren't good, Lud, 'cause you are," Feliciano praised him and picked up his pace a bit, thinking that Ludwig would be able to keep up, but instead, the king stepped on his foot, making both of them trip. The only reason they didn't fall was the kitchen table standing in their way, and Feliciano managed to lean against it... but with the king almost on top of him.
"Ve~ this was close..." he said, without looking away from Ludwig's eyes, that were admiring the details in Feliciano's irises. The Italian, however, wasn't even trying to get him off himself, having his chest pressed against the king's, making their heartbeats and breaths meet, once again so close to each other that it was almost scary... but no, these two who were staring at each other, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, weren't the scared ones here.
"Gilbert... there is something we never considered," said Peter, watching them from a safe place. "What happens if Feliciano should fall in love with the king, just like the Jack of Hearts?" He turned to Gilbert, who was also witnessing the slightly compromising situation the two aforementioned were in.
The older joker had an unreadable expression on his always grinning and slightly malicious face... Peter, who had known him all his life, couldn't tell whether it was pain, anger, or helplessness. Everything due to a small miscalculation, capable of making the story that was taking place within the palace's walls of the Kingdom of Hearts, repeat itself in this world. A world where Feliciano's feelings could be reciprocated.
