King of Strangers- Germany x Reader (Part 1)

You were out of breath, panting unlike anything you’d ever seen or heard before. The thief disappeared into the woods before you could recover, becoming a flash of colour within a few seconds. Much as you’d have liked to go after him, you supposed it was better to count your blessings; both you and the man you’d seen fighting with him before were fine. Sure, you had a few scratches, but that was all. And you could just blame those on thorns if anybody asked.

You turned back to the man behind you, taking his appearance in for the first time. He was tall, towering above you like some kind of oak over a small grove of ash trees, with pulled back blond hair that was starting to come loose in some places. He was panting too, but didn’t display the same kind of exhaustion as you; hell, his blue eyes were still burning with a deep, glaringly obvious hatred as they met yours. You swallowed, remembering that you were a foreigner here. And the real reason you were here.

Alfred had been born first, by approximately fifteen minutes. And ever since then, he’d been given pretty much a free ride through life; knowing that no matter how badly he fared, there’d always be something he’d be given a place in the world. It was because of that he had a more carefree youth than you, messing around and generally frustrating everyone around him while you practiced sword-art, hunting, fist fighting- something, hell, anything that meant you might have a place in the world other than the King’s sister. Admittedly, you were technically the Ace of the Kingdom of Spades, but in reality that meant very little- only that, should a war ever occur between your kingdom and any other, you would be the warrior who would ride at the head of the Kingdom’s soldiers. And, given the current situation, a war had seemed very, very unlikely.

You see, the Four Kingdoms hadn’t had a war for centuries. Admittedly, there had been little border skirmishes, but that was nothing out of the ordinary. In general, the Four Kingdoms- The Kingdom of Spades, its heart a towering clockwork metropolis that almost seemed to have a life of its own, The Kingdom of Clubs, a group towering factory chimneys in the centre of an icy wilderness playing the part of its hub, The Kingdom of Diamonds, its city spiralling out from around a stone banked river, and last, but certainly not least, The Kingdom of Hearts, soulless castles and gothic cathedrals that seemed to stretch into the sky for the sole reason of taunting deities forming its centre of government- had no real quarrels with each other. In public, that is. For decades, every single one of them had been stockpiling, waiting for one of the other kingdoms to make a first move. It was The Kingdom of Hearts that seemed to pose the greatest risk to you, mainly because it directly bordered your Kingdom and also because the relationship between your two kingdoms had always been a little… ‘strained’, to put it mildly. Conventional war strategy was worthless- a new approach had to be taken- taking over the enemy from the inside. In a word, spying. Which was what your brother had requested your presence to discuss.  

Back then, you had no idea he’d have asked this of you.

“You really think I can just walk into their kingdom, declare I’m no longer loyal to you and they’ll accept me with open arms?” Every word tested your ability to resist the urge to shout them across the room, to let Alfred know how stupid the idea really was. He stared at you blankly and you sighed, then continued. “Besides, even if they do believe me they’re still not going to let me have access to anything of importance.”

Alfred’s lips turned up into one of those pouts, that made him seem both adorable and infuriating at the same time. Turning his head to the side, highlighting the fact he still didn’t do up his ties properly, his blue eyes met your (e/c) ones. You couldn’t refuse that look, and he knew it. “Please little sis, please”, he whined.

Inwardly cursing your loyalty to your brother and the Kingdom, you accepted, knowing full well that this plan was unlikely to work. The instant you agreed, your brother’s face lit up. “Awesome! There’s a horse just outside the building for ya and-”

You interrupted, “Wait, so can you go over the plan again.”

“Alright- so you’ll go over to the Kingdom of Hearts and say that you’re not loyal to us any more. They’ll take you in, because they’ll think you can give them our secrets and stuff. Meanwhile, when you’re in the palace, because they’ll definitely let you stay there, you spy on their king and steal their secrets! Anyway, after you do that, you send us what you’ve found out by pigeon and after that we’ll come and rescue you secretly. Sounds like a plan, right?”

He grinned widely. You, on the other hand, were still sceptical. “What happens if they catch me?”

“You’re smart; you’ll think of something. Any other questions?”

Later on, you would regard the decision you made then as one of the stupidest you ever had. A decision that later lead you to make one of the most difficult decisions of your life- probably the hardest, now that you thought about it.

“No.”

It had taken you about three days to reach the border between the Kingdom of Spades and the Kingdom of Hearts. Admittedly, you could have gone faster, but you wanted to spend as much time in the territory you knew as possible- keeping your horse fed and watered and collecting supplies. You had no idea what was in the Kingdom of Hearts, what risks, obstacles or foes you would encounter, so tiring your horse before you even entered unknown territory would not be a good idea. And now you remembered why you had felt such caution. Still gasping for breath, you continued to look up at your company, noticing how even the fur lining of his red cloak seemed to bristle. He seemed to freeze for a moment, before slipping one of his hands down to his sword. You hissed, drawing your own sword and preparing to face him. But he didn’t prepare to attack you. Instead, a noise like thunder started to echo around you, the clattering of what sounded like hundreds of hooves. You sheathed your sword and prepared to run, but in an instant you were surrounded by a circle of horsemen, knights, you noted to yourself, each one of them holding a sword to your throat. You froze, bile rising in your throat; they really meant to kill you. Swallowing, you kept still, flinching when a deep voice broke the silence.

“Stehen nach unten. Sie ist nicht eine Bedrohung."

Almost immediately, the knights parted like a sea, revealing the man you had just saved, striding towards you, almost growling, kicking up small clouds of dust as he did so. You stiffened.

“Put your weapons down.”

You drew your sword and threw it in front of him, missing his feet by a few inches. A shame, you muttered to yourself, such a shame.

A knight dismounted and rushed forward to pick it up, receiving only a brief glance from what you assumed was their leader. After she, you assumed it was a she from the slight wobble in her hips, pulled herself back onto her horse, the man who slightly resembled a tree (you really had no idea how else to describe him) came even closer to you, never losing eye contact. Your instincts were in overload; on the one hand you wanted to run like hell, but on the other you wanted to punch him in the face. Clenching your fists at your sides, you did neither.

“[Name] [Surname], the Ace of Spades”, he said finally, never changing his facial expression, “I have heard a great deal about you.”

“Who are you?”

There it was; the question you knew you shouldn’t have asked. The group of knights stiffened on their horses, each shifting slightly so they had better access to their weapons. You bit your lip.

“I am Ludwig”, he said finally, “The King of Hearts.”

Oh Lord, you thought, this was going to be interesting.