The Clubs: Dear Snow
"Thank you for your great work, Lord Roderich. This land owes much to you. Please seek medical aid from Lady Katyusha immediately. May I dismiss him, my King?" King Ivan had been startled by the just and firm voice of the Queen, who looked at him with blatant concern. Not for him, obviously, but for the Jack before them who looked like he could freeze any moment. The silly Jack had gotten himself lost while distributing supplies to the nearby Lafinnd city and managed to get caught in a snowstorm. Luckily, he survived.
"Hmm," Ivan mumbled, one hand waving dismissively. "You may dismiss him, Queen." Seeing the relieved smile on the blonde haired woman, Ivan put on a small smile as he put his hand on the Queen's cheek, startling both the Queen and the Jack. "In fact, you can go with him to ensure that my clumsy sister provides our precious Jack her best care. Please, go."
The look on Miss Héderváry's face had been the happiest since the Clubs chose her to be his Queen, and Ivan appreciated it. She rose from the throne, faced him, curtsied, and descended the steps slowly to take the Jack's offered arm. They both looked really happy to be able to stand next to each other, Ivan really felt bad about it.
He could still remember the day Natalia came up with the prediction, angry and upset that she wasn't the one who had been chosen by the Clubs to be the Queen herself. He remembered the day his older sister returned home from one of her journeys with a dirty girl in a servant clothing, bearing the Club on her chest.
Ivan had warmly welcomed her, smiling as he took her by the arm and kissed the back of her hand. The girl had ignored him, wordlessly and angrily accepting her fate as the chosen Queen of Clubs. Natalia had been livid when she saw the blatant disrespect and had tried to cut the dirty servant girl head off with her precious scythe. But as soon as a greenish glow repelled Natalia's attack, they all become convinced that this girl was the true Queen of Clubs.
Ivan remembered watching her take the Queen's Oath, swearing to uphold this lonely kingdom for as long as she lives. And Ivan had heard her cries across his own room. And so, Ivan gave her his scepter once, allowing her to choose her own Jack.
The Jack whose freedom will be taken away once he bore the same Club mark as both he and she had. The Jack who was willing to give up so much just to be with her...
And she came back, happy and smiling with the blue-eyed brunet by her side. Ivan, of course, had welcomed him as warmly as he had her.
It made him quite jealous, really. Not of Miss Héderváry, of course. But of the fact that Ivan never really could choose a Jack of his own. Nobody could ever sacrifice that much just to be with him. Ivan might be the King of the largest kingdom in the land of suits, but he was also the loneliest person in the whole Club domain.
Taking a deep breath, the King of Clubs stood up from his throne and adjourned to the empty room. The entire space was as white as the snow outside, hinted with green they could never have. Ivan walked towards the balcony, letting the snow fall gently into his body.
His palace resided in the capital city of the Kingdom of Clubs, the Asirus. It was also the biggest city in the entire Club domain in the Land of Suits. The city lived up to its nickname as the White Jewel, something that still made Ivan's heart warm in snowy days.
"Asirus is so beautiful, I wish everyone would just come to my house..." Their relationship with the other kingdoms were not as well as he wanted to believe. The Spades had always been in bad blood with them, what with their king brash and young and immature, thinking that he always had to won his wars against Clubs. The Diamonds had always feared their winter, so they shy away from him the moment their frail little queen fall ill to a disease she contracted during her visit to Woynar town just by the border of Club and Diamond. And the Hearts, the Hearts were a Kingdom by the sea. They never had any interest of his snowy lands.
Ivan shook his head as he was reminded of the last meeting he had with the King of Spades. It hadn't been the greatest of occasion and he really didn't want to remember it again.
Quite suddenly, Ivan could feel a pair of slender hands touching his stomach, embracing him in a hug.
"Brother," his beautiful little sister whispered, her voice content as she tighten her arms around him.
Ivan smiled.
"Natalia, what did I tell you of hugging me without notice?" Still, his voice still sounded kind and he could feel her nodding on his back. Ivan turned around to face his younger sister, a kind, inquiring smile on his face.
"I have your letter, brother." She handed him a white letter with red embroidery of hearts. Ivan's eyes widened in surprise. "This is-"
"A letter from the Kingdom of Hearts. Their King wished to forge a bond between our two kingdoms and, with your permission, let his Jack visit in a fortnight to survey the place before their King and Queen made their journey here."
Ivan's heart could almost melt in joy. Finally, another kingdom had tried to understand him! Another kingdom had offered their hand just to know each other, not for war! A wide smile crept up to Ivan's lips as he put the letter inside his coat.
"Come then, Natalia. We have the entire fortnight to prepare for our precious Jack of Hearts!"
This time, King Ivan Braginski wanted to make it right.