Total Eclipse of the Heart (Royal AU Wally x reader)

Chapter One

[Disclaimer! I found this AU on twitter (created by NeonRoss) and wrote this fic based on the information available to me at the time (plus a few additional info given to me by the creator, which I'm greatly thankful for). So please don't expect this story to follow the "canon" plot, because I got ahead of myself...again.
Okay enjoy!]

When a ruler dies, there is a short period of time during which the ones in line for the throne make one last attempt to get to it first. A rather chaotic few days filled with paranoia, especially for those involved.
When a kingdom falls however, everyone jumps ship. Families, friends and partners take all of the money and valuable belongings they can carry and run away, lest they run the risk of losing the very things that give them power. When the King of Spades died mysteriously, without an heir to his name, it did not take a long investigation to figure out that it wasn't an accident or an illness that took him. Although most of the commun people believed he simply died of old age, the late king wasn't the most beloved ruler amongst high society. It wasn't that hard to imagine that his death was caused by someone. No one knew who did it, but no one wanted to take his place and maybe find out for themselves. The court of Spades had now less than half of its people. All of the high noble families ran away.

Which left Lady (Y/n), a low-ranked noble whose family owned the smallest estate in the kingdom, in the position of High Council member, with the mission of keeping her homeland from falling appart.

It was a mess. And the fact that she's had no experience nor knowledge on how to manage an entire kingdom – she could barely manage her own estate – only made her more restless. The few other council members were of great support to her, and they've all grown closer as a result, but that didn't change the fact that none of them were ready for this kind of responsibility, duty, and power. They were either too low ranked, or too young. It was often very overwhelming, to the point where some wanted to quit more than once. But she never gave up, she would always lift up their spirits, support them, and put them back on track.

She may be from a small family, but that family was formed with its kingdom. She's always held a certain pride for it, though she's never said it out loud. No one wanted peace and prosperity for the Kingdom of Spades more than she did. So she studied, she has read almost every book in the royal library, what was left of it anyway... History, geography, politics, agriculture, anything that could be helpful.
But it takes a lot of time to learn this much, and she simply couldn't afford it. Not when her home was in need at this very moment.
The fact of the matter was, they needed help, desperately so.

Thankfully, an opportunity would present itself: the Shuffling. A silly name for the most important ceremony in all of the land. Every ten years, the four courts – and allies from neighboring kingdoms – gathered in one place for a week and a half. Ten days to celebrate the founding of the four kingdoms. It was six months away.
"My father used to call it the Shamble." the young Marquis of Spades, Lord Arnold, sighed, curling a strand of his light pink hair around his finger as he lazily leaned on the council table. "Said it's all just one giant pageant contest."
"Then a pageant contest we shall attend!" (Y/n) exclaimed, lightly hitting the table with a determined look, she was standing at the end of it while everyone else was sitting by its length.

"But...we have nothing to show off." the Baroness of Spades, Lady Catherine, nibbled on her nails.
"We don't have to show off, we just have to show up. Show everyone that we are still alive and kicking!"
"Yeah, and be treated like the bad guys." Arnold rolled his eyes. "That, or being a laughing stock... I dunno which one is worse."
"Don't you see this golden opportunity? This is our chance to get in contact with the three Kings and Queen."
The council members looked at her with big eyes, some whispered amongst themselves.