1. Chapter 1 (1/2)
there was always a king, a queen, and a jack. a chain of three that bound the kingdom together.
in the kingdom of spades whose emblem glowed blue, in its castle with a million rooms, in its limestone towers and gold-lined walls, in its vast ballroom with crystal chandeliers, in its exquisite throne room which radiated wealth, in the chambers of the king and queen, in the royal blue silks of their bed, lay the bodies of the two, who now lay at rest.
two old men, bound by the spadian symbols blooming from entwined palms, were now watched over by the young jack as their bodies lay unmoving.
yao, but a nineteen-year-old boy from the east, having served under the two old monarchs for scarcely three years, now felt overwhelmingly vulnerable. for so long, he'd looked too them for guidance and strength; they were his anchor. he'd felt so small under their gaze—gazes that were so proud and ever comforting. now, they were gone, and a new king and queen would take their place.
would they be kind? wise and old? would they be young, and innocent, to be
ought up in spoiled wealth and empty palace halls?
whoever they might be, yao would watch over them. he would fulfill his duty as jack. he would not let something akin to this happen ever again.
"clean the blood," he said to the maids. "take the arrows from their chests," he said to the servants. "open the gallows," then, with narrowed eyes said to the guards, "and execute the murderers."
when alfred heard that a new kid would be moving into their orphanage, he expected somebody exactly like him and his friends. well, they weren't all alike. they were unique snowflakes, all of them, like miss amelia always said. but they were all around the age of six or seven, some shyer than others, some a bit louder. they were all friends and they all played together. they loved candy and running and joining miss amelia's sing-a-longs on thursday nights.
but the new kid, arthur, he was… well, he was a stick in the mud.
now, alfred knew that sounded mean, and he would never say that out loud, but truly the new kid was exactly that.
alfred was the first to see him. he'd gotten a good amount of candy from his seventh birthday just a day before so he saved a bar of chocolate as a gift for the new kid.
he crept down the stairs on the morning of july 6th, and peaked out the corner into the homely lobby.
miss amelia was conversing quite bubbly with a woman who was a bit shorter, whose hair reached her knees and eyes covered with glasses. by her legs stood a tall boy, perhaps nine years old, looking tired and grumpy and had the largest eye
ows alfred had ever seen.
his hair was blond, like his own hair but lighter, and his eyes were green like the forest in the spring. like gems gleaming quietly in the firelight.
alfred decided he liked his eyes, and resolved to tell him so.
so when miss amelia waved goodbye to the other woman and led her to the door, alfred bounded from his spot and met with the new kid, who now stood alone in the middle of the lobby.
he looked surprised at first, then questioning at the chocolate bar waved in his face. then he scowled at alfred. "what do you want?"
"hi! my name's alfred. i heard you're the new kid, right? anyway, it was my birthday two days ago and i got a bunch of candy so-"
"i don't care about your birthday. what do you want?"
"oh," alfred blinked, taken aback. "i uh, well, i wanted to give you this chocolate bar!"
arthur regarded him cautiously, a scowl still plastered on his face. alfred shifted, but he would not be deterred. maybe the new kid was just grumpy, is all.
"i don't want your chocolate," he finally said.
alfred's tiny heart must've
oken. he was only trying to be nice! why was this kid mean to him?
miss amelia came back, then said something about it being nice meeting arthur.
arthur? that must be the new kid's name.
she took the older boy by the hand and led him around the corner, but not before telling alfred to go upstairs and sleep for it wasn't even
eakfast time.
alfred felt upset. but then, maybe it wasn't the new kid's- arthur's fault. yeah, he must be upset too. alfred would just have to make him happy. miss amelia said he was a hero; he could make anyone happy! and that was just what he was going to do.
"arthur! arthur!" alfred cried, speeding between crowded
eakfast tables and sprinting past children to reach the kid with huge eye
ows who sat sulkily under an apple tree, all alone.
"arthur!" said alfred, out of
eath, holding up a chocolate bar in triumph. the new kid scowled up at him, but did not move.
"you again? i said i didn't want your chocolate!"
"but why? don't you like chocolate? i saved it especially for you, and i was hoping we could be friends, you know?"
"no, i don't know. and kids like you will never be my friend. now sod off and leave me alone!"
when arthur yelled, alfred jumped back. just a bit. he wasn't afraid.
arthur was practically growling now, but alfred did not want to give up. the new kid was definitely not shy, so maybe he was just nervous? sometimes kids get angry when they're nervous. it happened a lot of the time, when aspiring parents came around looking for children to adopt.
or maybe arthur was just upset that he was now an orphan. maybe his parents died or something. alfred would be gentler this time, a bit more soft-spoken though he knew that wasn't like him at all.
"hey," said alfred with a gentle smile. "i know this place might be weird and new to you, but it would be really good if you made some friends. we're all really nice here and we get along together, and i'm sure i'm not the only one who wants to be friends with you. i promise, i'll be really nice to you, arthur! so what do you say?"
alfred held out the chocolate bar again, hoping against all hope. "this chocolate bar's the really good kind! you don't have to take it, though. just say so." he smiled, but arthur didn't.
"i told you to sod off,
at!" arthur huffed. he stood, taller than alfred, and sneered down at him. "i don't know you, and i don't want to know you. but i know your kind and i'm not trusting you one bit. now leave me alone!"
he stomped off, back into the mess hall, leaving alfred close to tears with a lonely chocolate bar. why was arthur so mean?
alfred didn't believe that bullies existed, even though he's heard of them. maybe arthur was a 'bully' but just needed some love. that must be it. that had to be it. alfred wouldn't give up until he made a friend of arthur. he would be sure of that!
"alright class! open your workbooks to page fifteen and answer the questions!" miss amelia's voice was a happy chirp. she bounced over the heads of cross-legged children sitting in the grassy garden, excitedly flipping through their books ready to answer questions about the princess and the pea, a legend old as time from the kingdom of clubs.
"psst, hey, arthur," alfred called to the tall boy who sat close to him. well, he sat close to arthur in the first place, even though he was at the very back of the crowd and alfred usually liked to sit at the very front.
"arthur, arthur!"
"what?" the other hissed. he had his pencil in an iron grip.
alfred offered an apologetic smile. "hey, do you know what, um, eks—excuse- no. um, this word, ex-"
"exquisite." arthur grumbled.
"wow, you can pronounce that? what does it mean?"
"it means really fancy or really nice or something like that. now, go back to your work or i'll tell miss amelia."
"miss amelia's nice," alfred said with a thoughtful smile. arthur didn't yell at him this time! "do you like her?" he asked.
"she's too nice. but everyone likes her, i suppose." sighed the elder boy.
alfred blinked, once again bewildered. "suppose? what does that mean? gee, arthur you sure do know a lot of words! you're really smart, you know."
it may or may not have been a blush, but arthur's cheeks seemed to redden just a tad. his scowl, however, deepened somehow, yet his words did not match his expression. "t-thank you. it's just a basic word! nothing to fret over. and uh, that means 'i guess'." the words were strings tumbling out of his mouth. flustered and timid, he went back to his workbook.
hmm, maybe alfred had somehow
oken through this time. he smiled. it would only be a matter of time before he could truly call himself arthur's friend. "hey, arthur? what does, um, this mean? a-ack, a-quick, uh- aching-"