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

Chapter Eight

She gasped.
"Have I perhaps walked by one of your creations when I walked through the halls of the castle?" she leaned a bit closer.
"Maybe." he chuckled. "I do tend to hide them in plain sight. Only a select few however."
"That's true!" Julie smiled. "When we were kids, he would stick up his drawings on top of the other paintings!"
That made the two women laugh.
"He thought nobody would notice!"
"I only did that a few times..." he mumbled.
"But yes, um..." (Y/n) tried to keep the subject going. "I know my Lord, the Marquis of Spades will participate however."
"Oh, cool!" Julie nodded. "How old is he again?"
"Seventeen." Wally answered for her.

"And what does he do?"
"Oh I don't want to ruin the surprise-"
"No I mean in general."
(Y/n) blinked twice. She didn't expect that question, and she felt a certain shift in atmosphere, but this was an opportunity to vouch for Arnold.
"Well, as the Head of the High Council, he has a lot of responsibilities and-"
"Oh! I thought you were head of the council!" she pointed.

"I..." she shook her head. "I'm really not."
"I dunno, you just have the..." she gestured towards her, up and down. "You just have the aura of a leader!"
Now, Lady (Y/n) was aware that, within the council, she was indeed the most active member, and that the others did regard her as such. But that wasn't how she wanted others to perceive her, for she didn't plan on staying in this position forever. She knew her fellow council members struggled to work, but as soon as they were ready, as soon as the Spades Kingdom was in a better situation, she will step away from the council, and she will go home...

"I'm just doing my best to keep up with the others, my Queen. If anything, I'm mostly there for emotional support." she chuckled.
"Emotional support?"
"Yes. Our current situation happened very suddenly, none of us expected it. And for some, it was too much to bear. Thankfully, I managed to cheer them up." she beamed.
"Oooooh I get that, it's the same with my sisters and me! So you're like the mom of the group!"
"I-" she stopped herself and stared into space, as if she's never thought about it that way.
Julie bursted out laughing and (Y/n) eventually chuckled, along with Wally.
"I suppose I am, yes." she nodded.
In her laughter, Julie bumped the table and, while Wally has lifted both his and (Y/n)'s teacup just in time like he knew that would happen, Frank's however was knocked over, and while he tried to catch it so as to not get tea on his lap, it got on his chest and face instead.
"Oopsie!" Julie covered her mouth.

"Oh no!" (Y/n) quickly took a napkin. "Here, let me-"
"It's alright." Wally said, putting her teacup back on its little plate.
With a gesture of his hand, a couple of maids walk over with a change of clothes and a screen to hide Frank while he changed. Meanwhile, the King of Diamonds loosened his collar, fuming.
"What the hell?!" he yelled at Wally. "Why didn't you save my tea too?!"
"I couldn't let anything happen to our guest, the Lady of Spades." he gestured towards her.
"You have two hands!"
"This is my favorite teacup." he raised it. "I wouldn't bear it if it was to break. You understand, don't you off friend?" he tilted his head with an innocent look.
Frank groaned as his head started to spin around. It took (Y/n) by surprise once again, but she noticed something that really shook her. A thick scar on the side of his neck.

"I'm sorry Frankyyyy!" Julie said, joining her hands together. "It's all my fault!"
"It's fine Julie." he huffed and stood up to go change. "I should've been more prepared."
(Y/n) watched him leave, still looking at the scar. Wally noticed her staring and smiled.
"Frank?" he called out. "Would you mind if our guest knows about your scar?"
She became tense. She really didn't like being put on the spot.
"Not at all." Frank responded from behind the screen. "It's from a failed assassination."
"What?!" she became paler.
"Yes. From my own people too."
"Oh no... I'm so sorry. It must've been really scary."
There was a pause. The three royals didn't expect such an observation. Everyone knew things like this were commun for people in power, therefore people assumed that they were used to it.