♠️ Exceptis Centrum ♠️ ✔︎

Chapter 22

Yao could not believe how bad this day was turning into. Everything was going great, the Heart Court were warmly welcomed, they settled in perfectly, they were even in a decent mood and everything was going according to plan, nothing to worry about at all, he was actually starting to relax and not dread the arrival of the Club Court. To hear that Alfred suddenly smashed the dining table he and the two other visiting Kings happened to be dining on at the time nearly made him faint. The moment he found out he apologised to both Kings, who were both not too bothered by it but were still slightly concerned as to why the Spade King has a sudden outburst. Ludwig assumed he was stressed due to the upcoming dinner party and Francis admitted he suspected something else was bothering him.

“Why did he do that?” hissed Yao as he dashed up the stairs towards the King’s office.

Alfred had been in a good mood all morning so why did he randomly destroy a piece of furniture? This morning he was acting like he was on top of the world, completely love struck according to Francis. Yao was still a little skeptical about that as he was certain Alfred hadn’t been seeing anyone, at least anyone he was aware of. He couldn’t risk him having another outburst especially when the King of Clubs arrived. Their relationship with the Club Kingdom was still a little tense and he couldn’t risk Alfred damaging it. One way or another he was going to have a serious conversation with him and get to the bottom of this once and for all.

Approaching the office he let himself in, not even bothering to knock. “Alfred, what the hell has-... what is all this!?”

The office was a mess. Open books and charts littered the floor, the portrait of the world map was covered in arrows, circles and crosses, and Alfred himself was currently flipping through the pages of book. His eyes looked frantic and he had the expression of a madman seeking out something unattainable.

“Alfred!?”

“Not now Yao,” snapped Alfred, tossing the book aside and grabbing another one.

Yao was stunned at Alfred’s attitude but he wasn’t going to listen to him. “Not now!? You destroyed a table, an expensive table I might add, in front of the Diamond and Heart King!”

“I’ll buy another one,” huffed Alfred, his focus darting back between the book in his hand and the chart he had rolled out on his table.

“That’s not the point!” Yao couldn’t believe this. “What possessed you to do that!?”

“Yao, are there any towers or large buildings anywhere in our Kingdom, like near the outskirts or something?”

“Are you listening to me!?”

“If you don’t know then go find out!”

Yao had enough and marched over to Alfred, not caring that he was stamping over charts and ripping them. He ripped the book out of his hands and glared at him intensely. “What has gotten into you? Why are you acting like this? Is it stress? Are you sick? In case you have forgotten you’re the King of Spades and you represent the entire Kingdom and it doesn’t make us look good when you destroy furniture in front of important guests!”

Alfred looked pissed and frantic all at once. “You don’t understand Yao,” he snapped, “I have to find him! I have to get him out!”

“Who? What are you talking about?”

“Arthur! I have to find Arthur and get him out of there!”

“Who’s Arthur-... wait, is this that imaginary friend of yours?”

“He’s not imaginary!” Alfred said that so loud it made Yao jump back. “He’s real and he’s trapped and I have to find out where he is so I can get him out!”