There were a great number of things Arthur could tolerate with a reasonable amount of silence.

The fact that their supposed king would sneak out at night and return in the early hours of the morning smelling of the sweet floral scented liquor often found in high-end pubs would only earn a glare and slight mumble. The times he returned with rumpled clothing, his hair a mess and a satisfied grin on his face Arthur would only roll his eyes and continue reading his informant over his morning meal. The latest exploit of childish behaviour, what new expensive toy he had found and eventually broken, or that the guards had to bring him back several times because he could not return on his own all showed little more than disapproval out of the bushy browed queen.

Except for today. Today the line had been crossed and the queen's scream could be heard echoing across the castle grounds…

"MY ROSES!

Only a few attendants brave enough attempted to slow the second in line to the throne as he stormed down the halls to the perpetrator's room. Although it was designed to withstand an invasion by the enemy the large door could not fend off an attack by the irate queen as he shoved it aside and shouted at the top of his lungs, "What have you done?!"

A groan was heard from within the tangle of blankets on the master bed which became louder after Arthur, unsatisfied by his initial response, stomped across the room and threw open the curtains to flood the space with the bright morning sun.

"What the hell?!" The king called in return from within his blanket cocoon, wincing as the sound made his head spin.

"That is what I should be saying!" Arthur spat, going to take a stance beside the bed with his arms folded. "You need to explain to me what happened!"

Another groan and the blonde head of Alfred appeared within a small crack made of fabric only to disappear a moment later. "Artie, it's like 7 in the morning!"

"The time is not relevant here!" the queen continued on, anger making his cheeks flush. "You need to explain why the auto is parked in my flower garden!"

"Oh." Alfred laughed and pulled the blanket further over his head. "Funny story…"

"Enlighten me…" Arthur growled in a tone that promised consequences if he was not appeased.

Still chuckling, Alfred stretched and fully emerged. "Well, I met up with Tony…"

"Tony?" Arthur scoffed. "That creature is nothing but trouble!"

"Yes, Tony." Alfred whined, "You need to stop being so harsh to him. I thought you supported mythical being rights or something."

"I am not even sure what sort of creature he is! And it is justified when every story you tell begins with you and Tony getting together ends in a way that I will not like!"

"Look, abridged version. There was Tony, a couple of girls and a street race…." Alfred smiled and leaned back against the pillows as the various fragments of memory came back to him of the evening's events. "I won, in case you were wondering. Anything else you want to know?"

Arthur blinked once and then twice. "That is by far the worst thing you could have given to me for an excuse!" he roared, enough for the few trying to listen in to flinch.

"Artie, what is the big deal?" Alfred raised an eyebrow at the shaking second. "This isn't even that bad. I doubt it even made headlines."

"My garden is more important than any embarrassing story the informant can gather on you." The queen hissed. "Do you know how long it will take to repair the damages you caused?"

"So? Why don't you magic up some replacements or something? Oh, wait…." Alfred laughed, "I guess you couldn't."

There were a great many things Arthur could tolerate or ignore to the best of his ability, however adding insult to his lack of magical abilities on top of destroying the precious garden he put so many hours into was not helping the situation any. Becoming uncharacteristically quiet, Arthur trained a serious glare down at the younger ruler. "Alfred, you know full well that magic does not work like that regardless of skill." He sighed and turned back towards the still open door as Alfred looked on curiously. "You have left me no choice," a pause for effect, "I will have to speak to the council."

The smile disappeared quickly from his face, but he fought to regain his cocky composure. "What do they have anything to do with this?" he managed to ask in a fairly calm voice.

"They have been highly critical of your actions and believe it reflects poorly on our nation if their king cannot conduct himself in a manner befitting his position." He glanced over his shoulder and would have almost felt pleased at how terrified the other's face was at the news that the real leaders of the country were not pleased with their figurehead. It would have been far more satisfactory if the roses had not suffered the consequences. "Until now I have been the one saying you would eventually outgrow this childish behaviour, but now I think I agree with them."

Hurried rustling as Alfred fought the blankets to escape his bed. "You can't be serious!" His feet hit the floor intent on chasing down the queen already part way down the hall. "What do they plan to do?"

Initially the plan to straighten him out involved cutting him off for a period of time, though the discussions always seemed to counter that Alfred had many friends with money, meaning it would likely not be enough to truly teach him any sort of lesson. For that reason, an improvement to their suggestion was made and it was time to fulfil it. "You will not have the same funds that you usually do," Arthur informed him and the expected pleading groan followed, "and you will be going on a diplomatic trip until we deem you fit enough to return to your duties here."

His steps slowed. "A trip? I make you mad and you're sending me on vacation?" Alfred's grin was back as he crossed his arms to watch Arthur's retreating back. "Where am I going? Diamonds have the best weather this time of year or Hearts with all those beautiful ladies…?"

"Clubs."

"Clubs?!" Alfred choked out, picking up the pace once again and trying to catch him before he made it too far down the hall. "Why there of all places?! There's nothing there and we don't even get along!"

"We are hoping that you will improve relations during your time away." Arthur threw back as he did not lose stride in his march, Alfred now a step or two behind. "You are to be on your best behaviour, if such a thing is possible for you."

Not one to give up the king matched the quickening pace. "No way they would agree to that! Especially the king…!"

"He already has." Arthur informed him, "He said if ever the time arose we would be welcome to send you there."

"He agreed?! Ivan agreed?!"

"Yes, Alfred." Arthur reached the doors at the end of the hall and pulled them open. "The when will be decided within a day or two." He stepped through and turned on his heel to stop the younger from following by pull the doors shut. "You should pack your bags."