Seven: Gathering Together

07 – Gathering Together

Tricia had no idea why Reese seemed stony, and why Francis had a few bruises on him. So when Matthew asked her about it, she merely shrugged and blinked, confused as well like the half-brother of Alfred, who was teasing Francis about his injuries. Scooping up a piece of toast, she picked her knife and spread butter on it, listening on eagerly at the King of Diamonds and Knight of Spades interact that morning.

“She knows how to aim, and aim well.” Francis remarked, sending Reese a coy smirk. Said woman merely glared at him with flushed cheeks, crossing her arms and looking away. Alfred made a disgusted face, preparing to strike Francis with a nearby paper, which looked totally harmless. “Mademoiselle Reese is fit for the battlefield.”

“Make any more remarks about me, and I’ll give you what you deserve.” She spat. Francis acted like he didn’t hear.

“Feisty, aren’t you? I like that.”

 

“One word: barf.” Commented Alfred, sitting next to Elly, who was nibbling on a small piece of toast covered in jam. “Hey, have you seen your other friend?”

“Rianne? She’s out in the gardens,” Elly replied. “Where’s King Arthur?”

“He’s preparing something to eat.” A small shrug came from Alfred. “I hope it’s edible.” At that, Tricia snickered, moving closer to the two.

“It can’t be as bad as the time Reese ruined our spaghetti.”

“He burned water.”

“Wha – is that even possible?!” Elly gaped. Alfred nodded.

“Worst cook out there. I think I should go help him out, he might burn the kitchens…again.” Tricia only laughed more at that, but Elly stood up.

“No, I’ll do it. I know how to cook a couple of meals, and they’ve tasted decent.” Alfred blinked, watching her with his blue eyes.

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“If you say so, then. Take that door,” he pointed at one down south, “And you’ll find him. It’s a big area, not so hard to locate people.” And off she went. Alfred looked at Tricia, who was merely smirking and eating. At the same time, the two members of the Herzen royalty and Rianne came in, Gilbert talking to her eagerly. The girl seemed to wave off his teasing and sat across Tricia, with Ludwig taking the seat on her right and Gilbert the one on her left. She didn’t seem to notice and frowned, looking at the empty seats.

“Where are Elly and…King Arthur?” she was unused to addressing the King as such. Hell, she was unused to the place. Nonetheless, she had to abide by its rules and act carefully, she recalled Elly telling her the night before. “I know for a fact that she’s already awake.” Matthew’s eyes glanced over at the kitchen, and she found her answer. Gilbert yawned and propped his feet on the table, snatching up a piece of toast. Ludwig sent his brother a look, but the red-eyed Knight didn’t seem to notice, chewing slowly.

“Elly’s helping him cook breakfast. It’s good she does, I don’t trust Arthur with any cooking supplies.” Alfred shot her a grin. “She claims she can cook – is that true?”

“Real,” piped Tricia. Reese merely nodded, doing her best to ignore the blonde man who kept winking her way. “She made a nice batch of cookies a few weeks ago.” Alfred sighed in relief, looking over at Matthew, whose attention was averted.

“Oi Mattie, what’s up?”
 

“The owls have arrived,” he said, standing from his seat and pointing at the open window, where a dark brown owl was flying. It swooped in and landed neatly on Matthew’s arm, the man stroking it gently on the head and taking off a scroll attached to its leg. “Good job, Manchester. Maria will handle you, now.” It hooted and flew off, Tricia, Rianne, and Reese watching curiously. “Maria is a lady in Spades who manages the owls,” he explained. “Arthur hired her because he couldn’t handle them at first.”

“She’s pretty kick ass,” Alfred inserted. “I’ll introduce her next time.” turning to Matthew and the scroll, he asked, “So, who’s it from and what’s it about?” the shorter of the two unrolled it and read quickly, and as he did, a frown passed on his lips.

“Ivan.”

The temperature in the room seemed to go down by a few degrees. The two Kings fell silent, and Gilbert’s expression turned dark. Alfred was impassive.

“He’s requesting for a meeting.” Matthew’s eyes met Ludwig’s. “At Herzen. All the Kings have to go.” Ludwig’s blue eyes didn’t blink as he stood up, Gilbert doing the same thing a split second later.

“Does he state when?”

“In a few days, I’m guessing.”

“Gilbert.” The Knight nodded, putting a serious expression on his face that Rianne preferred and yet disliked at the same time. “Alfred, tell Arthur our thanks. We have to go back to our kingdom and make the necessary preparations.”

“But – what about the rest of breakfast,” Alfred tried, but Ludwig had already spun on his heels and quickly walked to his room, most likely going to pack up his things and leave.

“Just keep it for yourself,” Gilbert said, and looked at Francis, who was watching him with a frown. “Francis, make sure to alert Yao of this.”

“I will,” he replied, and the Knight went off after his brother.

It was quiet for a few moments until Arthur and Elly came in, both carrying trays of food. The King blinked, seeing the two empty chairs where the Herzen Royalty was supposed to be sitting. “Well, where did those two go?” Alfred came forward and quickly told him of the scroll from Ivan, and the King’s green eyes widened in shock.

“Ivan? At Herzen? Where is that scroll?” hurriedly, Matthew handed it over and Arthur read it once, twice, and then thrice before dropping it on the table along with the tray and hurrying off, talking to himself with Alfred chasing after him.

There remained Francis, Matthew, and the four girls.

“…I’ve never seen him like this,” commented the King of Diamants. “Or Ludwig. Admittedly, the last time Gilbert was serious…” he shook his head, his blond locks following the movement. “It was a long, long time ago.”

Reese broke the tension. “Who is Ivan, anyway?”

 

“A high official in Cardverse,” answered someone from behind. Wang Yao came in, arms folded over his chest. “Good morning. I heard about the news, I passed by Alfred and Arthur just now. Francis, I need to talk to you about this.” The King stood and followed his Knight out, leaving Matthew alone with the four.
 

“You four…” he paused. “Have your breakfast with me.” The four only nodded uneasily, giving each other small glances that questioned the behavior of the Kings and their respective Knights. Throughout the meal, Matthew attempted feeble small talk, but it wasn’t successful. He could tell there was a lot on their mind.

 

* * * * *

 

“What does the bastard want?” demanded Gilbert, sliding on his horse-riding gear. “We have a lot on our plates since that stupid letter about the Flush – is he that much of a bastard that he wants to trouble us more?!” Ludwig merely kept silent, pacing around the room repeatedly.

“Ivan isn’t wholly bad,” he said. “Just…”

“A sick man with a fetish for the sickest things you can imagine?”

“No. He’s that man we all love to hate.”

“Nicely worded.” Gilbert laced up his shoes. “But I still want to beat him to a pulp.”

“This could be about the Flush,” Arthur muttered, with Alfred merely watching. “What a troublesome bother. I thought I could ignore the issue because it’s got a long way to go, but when Ivan requests meetings such as these, they don’t turn out very well.”

“Anything when it comes to Ivan is never good.” He shot Arthur a look. “Gilbert and I know that well. Sometimes, I wonder why he’s in that position in the first place.”

“I do as well, but there’s nothing we can do about it.”

“If it’s about the Flush, though…” blue eyes drilled into green. “You need to find a ruling partner as soon as you can. As much as I don’t like to admit it, you’re the best leader that Spades has had for some time.” Arthur was about to protest at this, but Alfred went on. “Find one as soon as possible. Spades is the only family I have left.”

 

“You have Matthew,” Arthur tried.

“I don’t mean it in that way. This Royalty is the closest thing to home.”

 

* * * * *

Away from the Spades and over at the Tréboles, Antonio looked up and wiped the sweat from his brow. Harvesting season was near, and he could tell just by the ripening of the tomatoes surrounding his castle. Lovino was fetching some baskets to collect those that were ready to be picked, but Antonio wished they could hold on for a little more time.

“The riper the better,” he told himself, “I hope Lovi comes with the baskets soon.” He carefully plucked one off and put it in his own basket, which would soon overflow with the red fruit or vegetable, he didn’t quite know. Looking back at the castle, he frowned slightly and called for his Knight.

“Lovino! I’m in need of a few more baskets!”

“Yeah, yeah, you bastard! Can’t you shut your yap up and wait?!” a slight trace of a ‘ve~’ sound came right after, and he smiled to himself, recognizing Feliciano immediately by his voice.

“Lovino, Lovino, wait! I’m carrying my painting materials!”

“I can’t wait forever, dammit!” the older brother snapped. “Just hurry your ass!”

“You know you worry about me~”

“Ack, j-just shut up!”

Spotting a much younger female ahead of him, Antonio recognized her immediately and smiled brightly. “Dear Jasmine, join us! It’s better to collect tomatoes as a pack!”

However, his smile went away as she staggered back.

 

A Joker stood in front of said Jasmine, snatching a tomato from her grip and taking a large bite. He grinned wolfishly, wiped his mouth, and threw it away, the tomato rolling on the fertile soil. Antonio felt something spark up inside him, not only for his anger towards the vile being, but also for the wasted piece of food that he adored so much.
 

Lovino took the words out of his mouth.

“OI, BASTARD! GET TH’FUCK AWAY FROM THE TOMATOES!”