Disclaimer: Standard Applies.
Rating: T
Notes: Cardverse AU. One small switch, instead of Francis being the King of Diamonds, in this he is the Queen of Diamonds.

The Heart of Spade.
Authored by: CanalaveCoast

A terrifyingly live silence hung in the air, crisp and threatening as it dangled in the midst between two particular individuals both shrouded in darkness in a room without windows or doors or halls. The silence was deafening as it surrounded them, squeezing a palpable ethos out into the open: an ethos that was invigoratingly pounding through every last molecule in the darkened space. The atmosphere alone was abuzz with the quintessential essence of life as it allowed the greed of such a silence to consume all else. Of the two figures both clad in fine riches of various blues and purples, one stood while another remained seated in a chair wrapped with all the finery of a magnificent throne. Between them a finely crafted gem, a small spade hanging on the end of a silver chain, glinted delicately through the buzzing gloom as the silhouette of the standing gentleman crossed before that of the seated King and placed down a single card in his lap. Not a word of exchange was dealt between the two as the King ignored the card and turned his fine head away from his Queen. The Queen, bowing in response, was a bit obvious in displaying more than just a slight irritation at this action. It was not the first time, nor the last that he would be rejected by the King and refuted in an attempt to keep tradition alive by the necessity of the kingdom and the Queen's anger simmered enough to cause a stubborn silence to tinge the vibrant atmosphere that pulsed through both their bodies. Fine, if that was the way it was to be played again: so be it. Without a single utterance of excuse, the Queen turned on his heel and disappeared into the darkness leaving the King alone once again. It was only then that the regal being lifted his delicate hand and gazed at the underside of the card which had been placed in his lap. Pointed horns, fanged jaws and a silver tipped tail sharp enough to stab and kill with a single flick gazed back at him, the Joker's smile a gentle threat in the gloom.

Arthur sighed heavily, feeling as if the weight of the entire kingdom was literally sitting atop his shoulders, forcing him into the ground further-further, and with more vigor after each step he took. The mantle was going to be dropped, the cape of furs flung off and the crown atop his head was going to be thrown against the wall one of these days, the bitter Queen thought to himself as he reclined tiredly into a chair. Somewhere in the castle halls a young blonde was being escorted to the entrance parlor as the Queen simply simmered in exhausted rage at his regal counterpart, the all too stubborn King of Spades. Why the King had to insist on being such an insufferable git, Arthur could never fathom but instead grew increasingly tired of the too old charade that seemed to constantly require more than what should be obligatory of the Queen's attention. He could not help being caught up in these thoughts on more occasions than the one which presented itself as a guard approached, knocking hurriedly against the door to Arthur's study.

"Your majesty, one of the patrols you sent out under a specific White Rabbit injunction has returned," he said urgently. "Your personal attendant has also been located, upon the… subject's request to be such." For a moment, the guard allowed for his confusion to shine through the statement but was soon righted as his Queen raised a brow, looking none too pleased by this news.

"Where is the subject?" he asked simply and plainly.

"In the entrance hall, sir. If you'll follow me?" Arthur stood gracefully, hoisting himself up by both arms of the chair before turning to follow the guard through the castle. The Queen was silent along this walk, allowing his mind to turn over the thought of what could be his new attendant's first request. Infamy was not a stranger in the kingdom of Spades and if there was one friend to this acclaimed infamy it would be the Queen's reputation for being rather impossible to please with his gruff, irritable nature and nearly omnipresent exasperation with the King. Why anyone would ever request to become his attendant was a question which should have troubled the Queen and did, in fact, as he entered the grand hall.

Standing there, looking amused and a bit pleased with himself was a young blonde man with an unruly cowlick and delicate glasses framing his sapphire eyes. A full patrol stood in line behind him, the officer entering with Arthur quickly falling into place amoung them as the leader of the guard stepped forward.

"Your majesty," he greeted with a quick, curt bow. "We found him along the East border in the territory of the Black Queen and clearly under the jurisdiction of the Queen of Diamonds." The leader of the guard motioned to the blonde man. "He has the mark, just as you said and is indeed the son of a Joker. He requested, upon being brought in, to take the position as your sole, personal attendant although we don't know why."

The Queen was silent a moment, allowing himself time to look over the blonde man standing before them. "Has anyone else seen the mark?" he asked after a pause.

"Nobody, sir."

"Good. Yao?" The Queen turned to someone standing just in the shadows. The Jack of Spades, Wang Yao who was third in the court hierarchy, was also present and stepped forward upon this summons.

"Yes, sir?"

"Debrief the guard on all they know and write a report to be left in my office. It seems we have found our little King." The Queen muttered, stepping forward as the young blonde man smiled cheekily.

"Sup Artie? Aren't you glad I found a way out of that stuffy old room? Francis taught me this neat little trick, to you know- keep the kingdom in peace with my body and all that but still be allowed to go around and do as I please. It's how the old kings used to meet and stuff, without sacrificing their kingdoms. Too bad I'm the only king awesome enough to actually do it anymore!" The man laughed childishly as Arthur eyed his King with nothing but exasperation present in his features. Yao and the guard had now left the room leaving, luckily, only Arthur to deal with the young blonde and his overly too revealing little speech about the private affairs of the court. It was true what he'd said though, Arthur did have to grant him the satisfaction of being right in that only the King of Spades was able to accomplish such a feat, whether he actually knew why or not. The young king held a lot of power in his wiry frame, possibly stemming from his overabundance of life and overtly exuberant personality, but none the less it was more than many past kings could ever claim and certainly more so than the other kings of the current suits. His oblivious nature and rather naiveté outlook was all what made it all bearable for the Queen as Arthur rested the urge to grind his teeth at the ridiculous nickname and mention of his one true rival, Francis Bonnefoy, the Queen of Diamonds.

"I've told you on countless occasions, it is Arthur-" he began but was quickly interrupted with an exaggeratedly bored sigh.

"Yeah, yeah whatever you say Queenie. How'd you know to send out a patrol for me? I thought I'd hidden my little plan pretty well considering how last time you just stormed out of my room without a word. Which was really uncool by the way, I totally wasn't done being all dramatic and shit." The young king's counterpart grumbled. In form, he was everything the King of Spades was aside from the clothing he wore which was peasant garb instead of the royal blues of the hierarchy. He was here, yet he was there- in the King's room, alive and keeping the kingdom in relative peace and fruition with his simple task of sitting and ruling without action. He was two in one, the king's consciousness in two bodies: both his own and both as real as the next.

"Arthur," the Queen repeated with an irritable scowl. "As per your silly scheme, you are not the only one Francis has been known to share information with upon occasion." Failing to note that such an occasion involved a grope on the part of the Diamond Suit and a nearly war inducing blow to the head on his own, Arthur frowned. He really ought to monitor more closely the sessions in which the Queen of Diamonds met with his King but often the Diamond's very aura was so repulsive, that Arthur could barley manage to be within 100 yards of the man without his nose curling and a snarky remark escaping his lips. The young king only smirked and offered a small shrug. "Now, moving onto a more curious matter," Arthur continued. "You requested from the guard, who knew not why they were ordered to bring in the son of a Joker, to be my personal attendant." There was a nod from the young king who ignored the obvious slight to his parentage and simply continued smiling. It didn't really bother him the way it seemed to deter everyone else that his mother was a Joker, banished to the realms of the Red Queen, and his father, the king of old. Their little love affair was not his problem except for the fact that it had resulted in his birth and, by default his becoming the crown prince. At Arthur's next, obvious inquiry of 'why' he could only shrug. Why had the King of Spades asked to become, in essence, the sole, mind you, attendant of his grumpy Queen when they already just barley managed to get by without causing the destruction of Spade on a daily basis?

Arthur awaited a reply that never came and after a small sigh, he resigned himself to the curiosity. "Fine," he said irritably, straightening. "Until you return to the single body of the King, you will be treated as if you are nothing but a simple servant- forced to work for food and shelter just as the rest. There will be one King and one alone obeyed in this kingdom and if you chose to be so childish as to neglect those duties then so be it. You, in this body- out of that room, are, as of this moment, no longer King Alfred but simply just Alfred. Your wish to be my attendant is also, hereby granted. No complaints, no arguments." Arthur paused to give his companion a moment to protest and claim that he would not stand for this, and was off immediately to return to his duties as king! Unfortunately, the king being what he was, gazed at his Queen for a moment, a solemn look on his face.

"Fine, now I'm hungry, whacha got?" he asked.

"You don't seem to be grasping the concept here…"

"You said I can't be king out here and have to act like a normal person unless I go back to that stuffy old room where I end up sitting around and doing nothing all day like a 'proper king' while being bored out of my mind." Alfred repeated back. "So fine, I'll be normal. But even normal people get to eat and I'm hungry!"

Arthur seethed in place. "You're always hungry!" he snapped back. Alfred simply shrugged, infuriating Arthur all the more. "Alright, look!" he huffed. "If you're going to be my personal attendant, we're going to have to get some rules down! Firstly, you don't make demands anymore. If we're going to play this game, then we're going to have to play by my rules or else I will force the guards to lock you in that room and be sure to find any and all enchantments to make sure you stay there! Secondly, any and all demands I make are to be seen to immediately, with no complaints! A man with as much cheekiness and gall as you have ought to be whipped until he's stripped of nothing but the carcass of his gentlemanly origins. Lastly, you're going to have learn some real manners if you're out in public, even as a servant. You'll be lucky if nobody in the kingdom recognizes you with your foul manners and-"

"You mean you'll be lucky," Alfred interrupted.

"Do not interrupt! That is a basic rule when it comes to etiquette." Arthur had to resist the urge to seethe even more so as Alfred rolled his eyes.

"C'mon grandpa, lighten up. I obviously can't be that much of a train wreck if you're bothering to give this a shot!" he beamed, throwing an arm around Arthur's shoulders. "I honestly thought you'd throw me right back in with the whole guard deal right away once you found out!"

"This could be an ideal learning situation and possibly the only chance you'll ever have to learn how to be a real king," Arthur hissed trying to squirm out from under his king's grip. Surprisingly, the young blonde held pretty tightly. "Don't make me regret this!"

Alfred only laughed.