Queen's High
Chapter Three: It's All In The Cards Pt. 1
by PrettyGothGirl
All Standard Disclaimers Apply
Spoilers: Post X-3: The Last Stand, non cure ending, not Origins compatible.
Summary: Rogue's simple recruitment mission turns into a battle of wills as she tries to capture the attention of a certain Cajun, and gives him a very bad day.
Author's Note:A big Thank You to my beta reader, Lost and Never Found! For a full cast list with pictures, check out my fiction livejournal prettygoth_ink. 99% of the card decks mentioned in the next two chapters are real if you want to see their backs better. The one deck that isn't is the tourist deck and I based it on a deck I saw in San Francisco.
Remy's day started off well enough. He'd gotten up comfortably after the sun rose. Tante Mattie had made his favorite breakfast, which was pretty much anything Tante Mattie deigned to make for breakfast or else one felt the back of her hand. Papa didn't have a job for him yet, so he had another day to rest up and enjoy being home in his favorite belle ville for the time being. He'd left the house, gone to his favorite café to get a café au lait and read the paper. It was his nice, safe morning routine.
The barista, the owner of the place and one of his very favorite people, smiled at him and pushed a card at him with his coffee. "A pretty lady asked me to give yah dis, Remy." She said with a knowing grin.
Remy glanced at the card briefly. She'd given it to him face down so all he could see was the back. It looked like a normal playing card, Bicycle brand with the two wheels and the angels colored red. He swiped it with his coffee. "Merci beaucoup, cherie." He said and smiled at her.
He took the card and his coffee, sat down at his favorite small table out on the sidewalk and turned the card over.
The two of hearts, the lovers card, signifying the meeting and joining of two souls in a solid partnership. There was romance in the air with this card.
Written neatly in black sharpie in the middle was the letter B.
Remy stared at it, coffee forgotten. He had no idea what it meant or who had sent it. Was it a warning? Or a proposition? What did 'B' mean? Was it an initial? Was it some sort of single letter message to go with the rest of the card? He had not a clue.
His day was shot to hell.
Rogue glanced around the bike shop. She couldn't see anybody but the door was open and the lights were on, the general mode when a place was open. Plus, it was after nine in the morning. She saw the silver service bell on the counter. She grinned, leaned against the counter and used the palm of her hand to press down on it. The chime rang through the still quiet shop.
"Comin' just hold yer horses!" Someone shouted from the back.
Rogue snickered. "Take yer time sugah." She called back. "Ah'll wait 'till yah'll are decent."
A man in dark blue coveralls and a nametag that read Joe came from the back door wiping his hands on a rag. "Well, Ah don' know nuttin' 'bout dat." He muttered and then blinked when he got a good look at her. He quickly rubbed the stubble on his face with the back of his hand. "Allo doll, what can Ah do for yah?"
"Just a little favor." Rogue smiled and pulled out a deck of cards and slid off the top one. She turned it over, the three of hearts. "Ah've got this friend of a friend and they tell me that he's a client of yers and Ah really need to get him a message." She set the card on the table.
The guy rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, if yah need his number, Ah don' t'ink Ah can do dat."
Rogue shook her head. "That's fine, sugar. If yah could pass it along, Ah'd be more than happy." She said and picked a pen out of the can he kept them in. She wrote an E between the hearts and slid it across the counter with a fifty dollar bill. "Would yah see that this gets to Remy Lebeau? For me, sugar. Ah'd be ever so grateful."
He eyed the card with the cash and glanced at her. She smiled big at him. His eyes dropped to her cleavage and then back to her face. "Ah can do dat, doll."
She reached over and ran a finger along his jaw. "Thank yah, ever so much." She almost purred. She shoved away from the counter and turned to go.
"Wait, what's the message?"
She turned her head. "It's all in de cards. Just give him that card. He'll get it, eventually." She said and left the shop. She mounted her motorcycle and roared out of the shop, making sure the mechanic saw it.
The mechanic stared after it, his hand reaching for the phone. "Dat is one fine lady and one fine bike." He muttered.
Remy's phone rang and he fished it out of his pocket. His ID said 'Joe's Bike and Auto' and he frowned. He didn't have anything over at there being fixed. He answered. "Allo."
"Remy, dis is Joe. Ah got a message for yah."
"Well, t'en tell Remy."
"Ah can't, Ah'm supposed to give it to yah." Joe sounded amused. "It ain't really a verbal t'in'."
Remy closed his eyes and thought about rubbing his temples. Who had a physical message for him at nine in the morning that they'd entrust to Joe? He could think of a few names and none of them were really messages that Remy wanted to receive nor were they messages that Remy would entrust to Joe for very long. "Remy'll drop by."
"Today?"
"Soon as Remy can."
"Bon."
Remy shut the phone and stood up, gathering his paper that he hadn't even gotten to read. He took the last swig of his now cold coffee and left waving at the barista. He stuffed the two of hearts in his back pocket and the paper into his saddlebag, maybe he'd get to read it sometime today. He mounted his motorcycle and drove across town to Joe's shop.
Joe was waiting for him in the big garage door, one hand in his back pocket the other holding a well worn white mug filled with whatever sludge Joe considered coffee. Remy dismounted and walked across to him, grinning. "Bon matin, Joe."
"Good mornin' indeed." Joe grinned. "Always a good mornin' when a fine lookin' femme is mah first customer. Too bad she was lookin' for yah." Joe mock scowled at him. He pulled out his hand and held it out. "Here's yer message."
Remy rocked back on his heels and took the small card from him. "Dat's it." It didn't look like the same style of card that he'd gotten from the barista.
"Dat's it." Joe nodded. He smirked. "Expectin' somet'in' more?"
Remy turned the card over, three of hearts. "Dunno." He muttered without lookin' up.
"Fine ride she had too, wouldn't have minded getting' a good look at it." Joe took a gulp of his coffee.
There was an E written in blue ballpoint ink between two of the hearts and it was the same hand writing as before. The three of hearts meant new opportunities with a chance for betterment, a cause for celebration or festivities, love and happiness. It was something that was not to be missed. He tried to digest the meaning and put it in perspective with the other card he had. It still wasn't making any sense. Joe's words caught up with him. "She had a motorcycle?" Remy asked.
"Yeah, a fine looking Suzuki, customized."
Something in his stomach settled down like a rock and it felt like dread. "She didn't have two white stripes in her hair, did she?"
"Yeah and fine…" Joe trailed off. "Well, she was pretty." He said and flushed. "Yah know her, Remy? She seemed like she wanted to know yah."
Remy turned the card back over. It was a tourist style deck you could pick up at any chain drug store with a picture of New Orleans' and the city's name in a fancy script going up the side. "Non."
"Too bad."
"Oui." Remy shrugged and put the card in his pocket with the other one. "Merci Joe."
"Yah don' sound too sure 'bout dat."
Remy glanced at him. "Remy ain't."
Joe chuckled. "Good luck."
Remy grimaced. He might just need it.
Later that day
Rogue stopped by the alley again. The same guy was there with his hat and his scraggly hair and the general attitude of watching the street. She shut off her bike, kicked down the stand and pulled the key out of the ignition. She wasn't stupid. She approached him.
"If it ain't de pretty gal again."
She grinned at him. "So Ah am, sugar."
He shook his head. "Remy ain't here yet."
Rogue couldn't help it. She smirked. "Ah know. He's been runnin' unexpected errands all mornin'. He'll be a bit late." She cocked her hip and pulled out the next card from her stack and turned it around her fingers, pressing the edge of it to her lips. "Don' worry, he'll make it."
The man chuckled. "Yah seem sure 'bout dat."
"He wouldn't miss his game now." Rogue flipped the card again and winked. "Would yah be so kind to give this to him when he arrives? Might wanna add somet'in' on about bein' late and just missin' me." She dug a pen out of her pocket and wrote the letter I under the middle heart so it looked like the heart itself was the dot for it. She pulled out another high denomination bill and held out all three to him.
"Keep yer money, sha." He said.
Rogue shook her head. "For yer time."
He sighed. "Sha, Ah live bettah dan yah do, keep yah money. Ah'll see dat DB gets yer message, all of it."
Rogue bit her lip and then nodded. "Merci, sugar." She subtracted the money and he finally took the card and the pen. "Yer a good one."
He smiled. "De chilluns have not'in' to fear wit' me on watch."
She nodded at him, one warrior to another and mounted her bike. She started it up again and rode away certain that Remy would get her message.
Remy arrived about ten minutes later. He parked his bike and ran his fingers through his long hair. He glared at the road for a moment. He hadn't had a moment's peace since Joe called him. He dismounted his bike and took off his shirt, stalking towards the alley. He needed to just relax and get away from the damn cards.
"DB," the lookout said. "Yer late, mon ami."
Remy stopped and looked down at him. "Remy's been runnin' errands." He almost snarled and took a breath. "Desole."
The lookout grinned up at him, showing a few missing teeth. "Yah just missed her."
Remy's eyes widened and he took off his sunglasses. "Qu'est-ce?"
The lookout held up the card. "Errands?" He asked and smirked. "Dat gal has yah chasin' yer tail." He said and tsked.
Remy stared at the card and in a daze reached out to take it. "Just errands." He muttered. He knew what it had to be. The back was blue with the logo of the New Orleans' Hornets on it, but the face? He knew what it had to be, he just wasn't sure of the letter. He turned it over and almost bit his tongue. The seven of hearts with an 'I' written on it. He didn't know what the 'I' was about but the rest of the card meant dangerous self-involvement, fantasies, lovesickness, daydreaming with unrealistic expectations. Was the 'I' for her? Or was it for him?
The lookout rolled his eyes. "What did yah do t'is time?"
"Remy didn't do nuttin'! Remy don' even know who she is!" Remy protested.
"Pretty gal like dat and yah don' know." The lookout tsked again and shook his head. "De famous Diable Blanc is slippin'." His yellowed eyes narrowed. "Perhaps yah are enjoyin' t'is."
Remy wanted to stomp his foot and would have if the lookout hadn't been one of the older Guild members who could beat his ass despite the fact he looked like a crippled old man. "Remy is not." He hadn't a clue what was going on and he wanted to tear his hair out, the different cards made it worse.
"Remy!" Henri shouted from down the alley. "Yer late!"
Remy groaned. "Remy's comin'." He sighed. "Merci for de message." He said, tucking the card with the rest and walked down the alley.
"Cuz," Emil bounced up to him, sun shining off of his red-orange hair. "Where have yah been?"
Remy rubbed his face. He was not going to hear the end of this, ever. "Runnin' errands." He muttered. "Dat femme." He started and then stopped.
"What femme?" Emil asked. His brow furrowed. This was the first time he had heard of any girl in relation to his cousin, at least in the past week.
"De one from yesterday." Remy said and glanced at Henri. "She blew me a kiss." He smirked and then scowled. "All mornin' she's been sendin' me cards." He raked his fingers through his hair and rubbed the back of his neck. "Been goin' all o'er town collectin' playin' cards with little letters wrote on dem."
Henry snickered. He couldn't help it.
"It ain't funny." Remy wanted to kick him. "One wit' my coffee, den o'er to Joe's and den de barbershop, and when all Remy wan's is de mail, dere's one de box wit' a note from de postmaster. Den, Remy gets a call from de bookie. So Remy has to head o'er dere t'inkin' it's somet'in' important. But no, it's just anot'er damn playin' card."
Emil gaped at him as did several of the other guys. Henry coughed once and then started to laugh hysterically. Remy glared at him.
"She's sendin' yah playin' cards." Theoren said and his mouth opened and closed.
"Let me see." Etienne said.
"Non." Remy growled. It was the suit of hearts. (He didn't even want to go into the fact they were from different decks of the same size.) He knew exactly how his family would take it. It was bad enough that four of hearts (inspiration, that spark of genius when touched by love, travel in his future and security) with the letter 'S' had been halfway across town from Joe's at his barber's and the back had been gold with the Saint's Fleur de Leis on it. His barber had almost not wanted to give it up. He was a huge fan of the Saints. Five of hearts (a perfectly ordinary red and white lattice back Bee brand card) had another 'E' on it and was an all around card with poor indicators (apathy, jealousy and relationship breakdowns) had arrived with his mail and six of hearts (regret, holding onto the past, a wave of good luck with hints of someone taking an interest) on a card with a one hundred dollar bill on it with a third 'E' had been across town from the post office. At least the two of hearts and seven of hearts had been given to him. If he had to run after another one, whenever he met that girl in person, he might just throttle her.
Or maybe he'd kiss her. She was a belle femme.
And worst of all he still didn't know what it all meant. He didn't like being toyed with especially when he wasn't the one doing the toying. To make matters worse, she'd just been here. If he'd been even five minutes faster maybe he'd have answers. It made him want to scream.
"Please?" Eitenne begged.
"Can we just play de game?" Remy scowled.
Henry smirked. "Sure."
"Bon." Remy sighed.
"But if yah lose, yah have to show us de cards." Henry finished.
Remy swore under his breath at him.
reviews are love, love me? (And I understand it's pure cupboard love.)
Next time in Queen's High: Rogue continues to torment Remy with a string of cards... will it ever end and what is her message anyways?
