Cut Losses
Anybody with an inkling of how the inner gears of the Spadian castle worked could attest to the mostly silent struggle in the upper echelons. Of the three ruling in the triumvirate, the Queen and King were chosen by the Timepiece clocks, while the Jack was chosen by the Spadian Deck.
The Jack, although often overlooked in the public eye, could mean the difference in the reign of the three sovereigns; there existed a long tradition of choosing Jacks to weaken the power of a king or queen deemed unfavorable, especially if the Jack threw their lot in with the preferred monarch.
With the current king hailing from common stock, the elitist Spadian Deck predictably chose a jack of noble stock to match the blue-blooded queen. The Wang family was old -even older than the Spadian throne- and jumped at the chance; a quiet exchange behind the scenes and the position was secured.
The Spadian Deck had made a grave error in their assumptions, however.
"Would you like to join me for tea, your Majesty?"
The current King of Spades whirled around rather inelegantly as if jostled out of his thoughts, an apologetic smile on his face. "I uh...the Queen...he shouldn't mind too much..."
("I don't really like tea that much. Coffee's the drink for me!")
Was that perhaps disappointment in his voice? The embarrassed flush pointed to a yes. Yao suppressed his smile and inclined his head. "Don't worry. I'm sure it can be arranged another time, ah? Go ahead, it wouldn't be good form to keep the Queen waiting."
With a grateful smile the king rushed off and Yao shook his head. A grave error indeed.
Kind of short but hey, I'm alive!