Four: Knight + King

04 – Knight + King

“So you’re saying…” began Arthur slowly, “Tricia here pushed you into the tree hole, and then the other three chased you down here?” Elly nodded, and Arthur frowned a little, fiddling with his porcelain tea cup. “How odd. I’ve never heard of tree holes leading to other places.”

“Neither have we,” sighed Rianne, taking another drink from her tea cup. “We don’t know how to get back to our place, and we don’t even know much about…Cardverse.” The King pursed his lips, crossing his ankles under the table. “We don’t know how long it’s been since we’ve been disconnected from our own world.”

“Plus,” added Reese, “We also don’t know if the flow of time here in Cardverse is different from our own. For all we know, days could have already passed, and our own families are looking for the four of us.” Arthur thought about that, now playing with the silver spoon in hand.

“I find it hard to believe, ladies, my apologies.” He replied, frowning. “From your expressions though, the confusion, and your manner of dress, it does seem that you four aren’t really from this area.” Internally, they were relieved.

“Hey, how did Alfred find us, by the way?” Tricia couldn’t help but ask. “I don’t think he was just riding his horse with Matthew up behind for fun.”

“I can sense whenever a newcomer arrives into Cardverse,” Arthur explained. “In fact, I’m the only King who can do so; therefore the others rely on me.” His tone turned a little smug at these words. “I had the feeling, and sent Alfred and Matthew to check out the crossroad. Seems like my feelings weren’t wrong.” A small smile played on his lips.

“That’s cool,” Elly commented. Arthur gave her a smile.

Her heart skipped a beat.

“Speaking of Kings,” Rianne interrupted. “There are other kingdoms here, right?” Arthur snapped out of his trance and nodded, clearing his throat.

“Yes, yes – the other kings.” He looked out the window. “Allow me to explain Cardverse…all in all; there are four main kingdoms here. The one you four ladies are currently in is the Kingdom of Spades.” Arthur stood up, moving quickly to a map framed and hung on the wall.

He pointed to an area decked red. “This place is Herzen, but as I like to call it, the Kingdom of Hearts. The ruler of that area is King Ludwig Beilschmidt.”

“This yellow place…” Elly noticed his nose wrinkle a bit. “…is the Kingdom of Diamants or Diamonds for me. The ruler of this place is King Francis Bonnefoy.”

“On the other hand, this green area is Tréboles, or the Clovers. The ruler here is King Antonio Carriedo – Carriedo or Hernandez, I’m not really sure. I’ll make sure to ask next time,” he added to himself quietly. Reese noticed that he ignored a forest like area, just below the crossroad.

“King Arthur, what about that forest south of the crossroad?” she asked.

Arthur’s face darkened the slightest bit.

“The Forest of Relisotai…is a place not to be dwelt upon, Miss Reese.” He managed, turning away from the map and walking back to the table where the four girls sat. “Dark things have occurred there, dark events that are not suited for this conversation of welcoming and such.” He fixed his coat and sat back down, taking a long drink from his tea, which was now probably cold.

Still silence filled the air, and the girls hastily drank, except for Rianne, who had finished her own beverage.

“Now…I can’t let you girls stay elsewhere, not with this weather.” Arthur was thoughtful. “I don’t think you can support yourselves outside, and I don’t trust the weather nowadays. For the moment being, you may find refuge within the castle of Spades.” He smiled kindly at the four.

“Thank you,” Elly managed, blinking. She didn’t expect this. At all. Arthur waved it off.

“It’s not a problem – now, I’ll have to call Alfred to lead you lot around the castle…” he stood up. “Stay here for the time being, yes?” before they could say a word, he quickly walked off, appearing to be murmuring things to himself.

Elly caught a few words.

“Yes, Ms. Fairy, a few arrangements for tonight…”

Ms. Fairy?

Elly turned her head, and her eyes widened. For a split second, she thought she saw something floating in the air, which looked like a small ball of light. When she blinked, it was gone. “D-Did you see that?”

“See what?” answered Rianne, quirking a brow.

“…never mind.”

* * * * *

“Arthur’s nasty when he’s angry,” chuckled Alfred, rubbing a raised bump on his head. The four girls exchanged wry looks as the Knight led them around the castle. “I just meant is as a joke, and he goes off and hits me…” he stopped in front of two wooden doors next to each other, and looked over the four. “Alright, so Arthur asked me to tell you that you ladies will be staying in these rooms for the meantime, two in a room.”

“By the way, supper is every seven thirty in the evening, the same place where you guys had tea. Oh!” Alfred blinked, “We’re also going to have three guests tonight. I don’t know who yet because Arthur was being a geezer about it, but we’ll see later, right? Now, pick a roommate and…er,” he made a face. “…room up, I guess!”

Rianne and Elly headed to the door on the left, while Reese was dragged by Tricia to the one on the right. Alfred watched, amused, and walked off, leaving them alone for the time being.

Inside the left room, Rianne sat on the bed with silver-colored sheets. “It was nice of him to let us stay,” she noted, lying back on the bed. Elly merely sat on the one with dark blue sheets, staring out the window. “It sure does rain an awful lot, doesn’t it…?”

“It’s starting to clear up, though.”

“Well, that’s good – the better the weather, the sooner we can find a way out of here.”

“Rianne, we don’t even know how we got here – if you count the mysterious tree as a way, then all we have to do is find a tree, hop in it, and hope we get back to our world.” The other girl frowned a bit, running her fingers through her hair.

“If only it were that simple.”

“Guess we’ll have to rely on Arthur – King Arthur – for some time, then.” Elly sighed. “I wonder how long we’ve been gone from our world…” images flashed in her head. Her parents worried, phoning the police and talking worriedly to the parents of Rianne, Reese, and Tricia. Wondering where the four girls went, not suspecting the hole down the tree in Rianne’s garden…

“I’m guessing a few hours – Elly, Alfred said that there were going to be…guests, right? Aside from us?” the brunette nodded. “I’d find out if I could, but I don’t want to get on the King’s bad side after seeing the bump on Alfred’s head.”

“Funny, isn’t he?” the words slipped out of Elly’s mouth before she could stop them. “He’s like…there’s a word for it, but I can’t really remember it at the moment.” Rianne watched her friend curiously as she talked. Elly crossed her ankles, staring out the window. “…I don’t know. I’ll ask Reese for the word when I can.”

Rianne let herself smile, sitting up.

“Fancy him, don’t you?”

Elly’s face flushed a brilliant scarlet.

“Nonsense. We just met him.”

“It’s still possible.”

“Oh, yeah? Since when?”

“Since now.”

“Rianne, do me a favor and stop reading those romantic books you love.”

The black-haired girl protested, “I’m just saying! There’s no need to be so touchy and sensitive, you know…” she cocked a brow. “Unless I’m right, and you do like the thickly-browed King of Spades-”

“His brows really are thick, aren’t they?”

“They are – what’s the reason why you brought this up?”

Elly gave her a deadpan look.

“No reason. This conversation is over and done with.”

* * * * *

“That’s it, Manchester…” Arthur murmured to the dark brown owl, attaching three rolled up papers on its hind leg. “You know where to go, yes?” the owl hooted in a confident manner, and Arthur chuckled, stroking its wing with a slightly affectionate expression. “Alright, then. Fly now.” The animal made another noise and flew off the window mantle, leaving Arthur behind inside the castle.

“Are those for the other Kings?” came a voice.

“It may be none of your business, Alfred,” the King frowned. “But in case you’re really curious, they are. Manchester was going to bite my finger in excitement, that owl…” he turned around, expecting to see Alfred’s cocky grin, but felt like punching himself at the sight of Matthew instead. “Ah – Matthew, I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I thought you were Alfred…bloody hell, and I thought I’d stop confusing the both of you.”

Matthew laughed.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said in reply. “It’s perfectly understandable, Alfred and I being half-brothers and all of that…”

“Still,” he sighed. “It was rude for me to assume that you were your sibling – I forgot to ask this, but when you picked up the four ladies, did you see anyone?”

Matthew blinked.

“No, I didn’t. When I arrived, it was Alfred and the four.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive…if anyone were there, I’m pretty sure Alfred would be yelling at them or something ‘heroic’, as he says.”

“Point taken…Matthew, I want you to make sure everyone is on their best behavior for tonight. We’ll be having…a meeting of some sort.”

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

* * * * *

Nighttime quickly passed, and Elly noticed that Arthur was watching the window anxiously. There was a small look of concern on his face, and she could tell that the others noticed, too. At an unexpected moment, Alfred ran in, grinning widely.

“Arthur, they’re here! Matthew’s bringing them in just as you said!”

“Oh, bloody spiting hell, they’re this early?” he leapt out of his seat, straightening his tie and starting to fuss. Alfred tried calming him down, and Rianne tried asking on who had arrived. Who was so important, and why was Arthur stressing about the newcomers all of a sudden –

Her breath hitched.

Six people came into the room.

Tricia found herself staring.

The first was a pair decked entirely in the color green. The taller of the two had a warm smile on his face, a green hat on his head. His long cloak reached his thighs, and tight-fitting brown pants graced his legs, with dark ankle shoes on his feet. His skin was tanned, eyes a lime green. There was also a bandage on the right side of his face, just below his cheek. Beside him was a shorter man, wearing a scowl on his lips. Contrasting the man beside him, his skin was quite olive-hued, with his eyes a tinge of hazel. His arms were folded over his chest, and he wore a dark green, long-sleeved top with the cuffs folded over, black pants, and knee-high boots laced up. A prominent feature was his curl, which was on the right side of his head.

“Tsk – Antonio, why did you have to bring me along?!” the shorter one demanded, angry in tone. The one named Antonio merely grinned, ruffling his companion’s hair.

“Now, now, Lovino,” Antonio replied smoothly, “Be polite in front of Arthur, yes?”

“Tomato bastard,” he grumbled.

The second pair, this time, was decked in varying shades of yellow and orange. Reese wrinkled her nose at the tall blonde, whose wavy hair reached his shoulders. His gentle blue eyes did not match the smirky look on his face, and she found him rather…unlikable. This man had on an elegant cloak reaching the floor, colored a dark shade of orange. His pants were orange, shoes the same color. Beside him was a shorter man, his long brown hair tied into a single, simple ponytail. He had an exasperated look on his youthful face, eyes a dark shade of brown. His coat merely grazed his stomach, showing off his slim body, covered by a yellow top and orange pants.

“Frog,” Arthur spat.

The blonde cocked a brow.

“My, Arthur, that’s not the way to treat a guest, hm?”

“Get your sorry arse down on the seat, Francis.”

“I’d like it much more if you sat on me, ohohohohon~”

“Your Majesty, manners!” the other snapped.

“I’m just teasing, Yao.” The blonde winked, causing Yao to frown, disgusted.

“Aiyah…”

Rianne’s cheeks flushed.

The last pair composed of two tall men, the other only slightly shorter than the first by an inch or so. The shorter had platinum hair and red eyes, as well as a smirk on his pale complexion. A hand was on his hip, and he appeared quite protective of the one next to him. He bore no cloak, and his sleeves appeared to be folded, reaching only his elbows. The pants were black, shoes the same color. The one next to him, however, was a sturdy-looking blonde with icy blue eyes. There was no clear expression on his face, only a slightly exasperated one. His cloak was the longest, sweeping the floor slightly and buttoned up. The pants were the same as his companion’s – black, and the color of boots were the same.

“Ladies,” Arthur spoke sharply, looking at the four, “These are the other Kings of Cardverse, and their Knights. The one in green is Antonio Carriedo, the King of Tréboles, and the other is Lovino Vargas, his Knight.” Antonio waved cheerfully at them.

“Good evening, ladies!” he chirped. Tricia laughed in return, and Lovino muttered a word of greeting as well.

“This blonde arse,” Arthur glared at Francis, “Is Francis Bonnefoy, King of Diamants. With him is Wang Yao, his Knight.” Yao bowed respectfully, and Francis walked forward to Reese, bowing to her with a small grin.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, madam.”

“Likewise,” she said back, a little crept out. Francis didn’t notice.

“And of course, this is Ludwig Beilschmidt, the King of Herzen. Beside him is Gilbert Beilschmidt, his brother and Knight.”

“Good evening.” Gilbert smirked.

“Hah, nice to meet the awesome me, is it not?”

“Antonio, Francis, and Ludwig,” Arthur continued, “Come with me. We have something important to discuss. Alfred and Matthew, accompany the Knights. And, ladies…” he paused. “Feel free to peek around the castle or talk to the Knights. They don’t bite…except for Gilbert,” he ended darkly, soon moving out, the three Kings following without another word.

Still silence filled the air.

“Tsk, that bastard never tells me anything,” Lovino sighed. “So, ladies – how exactly did you end up here, eh?”