Trudging back and forth in the muddy ground, Jack started the day before the first light broke the horizon. He only went inside once when Gerda said he'd been asked to have breakfast with the Nordheims, which had been uneventful, and then spent the remainder of the day trying to avoid the summer sun's wrath.
In truth, he didn't mind that he didn't interact with the family all that much. It meant little distractions and he could avoid saying the wrong thing to anyone. Gerda was the only one who spoke to him periodically. She would ask him how he was sleeping, if he wanted her to start making coffee for him in the mornings, little things to make conversation and show she understood the life of a laborer.
She reminded him of one of the elders back in his commune, Ulv. He was often beside Jack when helping him pick the crops and tend to the animals, telling him stories of his youth. Jack felt like Ulv had wanted to be like a father to him... Even while his father was still around. There had been a small rivalry between Ulv and Jack's father, but a friendly one as far as Jack knew. They grew up together, but once Jack's father married and had a family of his own while Ulv remained single, it made people believe he'd begun to resent him.
Once, Ulv said to Jack when they were alone, "If anything ever happens to your daddy, you know I'd be there for you, right?"
Being seven, Jack was none the wiser to how strange that statement was and he nodded and went about his day playing.
Ulv was in Jack's thoughts as he worked in the Nordheim's yard. He began to wonder to himself, Maybe he was just lonely. He didn't have a son and was close with my father growing up. That didn't make his behavior after Jack's parents passed away any less bizarre. Ulv practically threw himself at the chance to adopt Jackson. His parents weren't even cremated yet when he started telling Jack how happy he was going to be living with him, that he would get to play with his pet dog every day.
There were times he'd even ask if Jack wanted to sleep in the same bed as him. Jack always declined.
Jack wound up only living with Ulv for a few months until the elders it wasn't 'appropriate' for Jack to be there, and he was moved into farmstead's orphanage where he'd be with other children. The elders knew something Jack didn't, and frankly, he was all right with never knowing even though the explanation was glaringly obvious in the back of Jack's mind.
Right now all Jack could think about was the heat, how his hair and shirt were both stuck to him from sweat. The rain had left behind a nice breeze and he thought it was safe to take advantage of it, as no one else was around and he was a fair distance away from the manor. Jack peeled off the shirt.
Even back at home, Jack didn't like anyone seeing his body... he didn't even like to.
With that said, the feeling that someone was watching him nagged at him, but he brushed it off. He didn't notice anyone at the windows, so surely it was nothing.
...
When Jack finished his bath and was drying his hair, Gerda knocked on the door.
"Jackson!" She called from the other side, "Herr Nordheim's invited you to play cards with him." Agnarr loved to play cards. He regularly invited a group of men over to play late into the night, sometimes starting right after dinner. Everyone could hear their ramblings and laughter and the shuffling of cards from upstairs.
"Tell him I don't know how to play cards." Jack said, not eager to be humiliated in front of his employer, but Gerda returned right as Jack finished dressing himself.
"He says they're doing teams and they need one more player."
Didn't he need money to play? That's how Jack always heard cards were played. Dutifully reporting downstairs as he was requested, Jack said directly to Agnarr, "Sir, I–I'm happy you asked me to join you all but I don't have any money to bet with."
"Nonsense," Agnarr laughed, "if you lose, I'll pay for it. Better yet, if you win, you'll get to keep it!"
Jack still wasn't convinced. At the table were Agnarr and two other men Jack had seen visit time and time again but still didn't know their names. All he knew was one wore glasses and the other didn't. Jack knew what could happen if he refused his boss in front of his friends, how humiliating that would be for the both of them. He forced a grin, "Right, of course." And he took a seat beside Agnarr.
Jack could smell how tipsy they already were. One was smoking a pipe. Mead was offered to Jack, but he refused. He wouldn't deny that he'd had a nice buzz the first time he tried it, but since he was technically on the job, he knew he shouldn't tonight. Despite their intoxication, they gauged their decks of cards with a sharp focus.
It was a game of Spit. One of speed.
The man with glasses placed a card down and it opened the floodgates. Jack struggled to keep up with them as he laid down and drew cards.
When they lost, Agnarr cursed, but with a smile on his face. His friends laughed and began to throw out quips about cheating and other mischiefs. Jack was lost among them—he silently waited for them to gather the cards so they could shuffle them. The man without glasses shuffled while the one with glasses took a swig of his drink.
Agnarr noticed Jack staring at the floor and he said, "You know, ever since we hired Jackson, there's been a string of good luck in this house." Jack tried his damndest, but he side-eyed him like he'd lost his mind. "We finally got some rain, which'll be good for the crops. I got a letter from my father saying my mother's health is on the rise. Even my daughter's mood has been brighter."
"Well, look at that," the man began to deal the cards, "seems you've brought some sort of black magic here from Denmark." He joked.
They were trying to get him to speak, to which Jack acquiesced. All he did was mumble, "I wouldn't say 'black magic,' but I did come here at a good time." He then counted out loud to himself in a whisper as he set up his decks of cards, flipping the last ones over.
"I'll need some black magic to win this damn game against these arses." Grumbled Agnarr, ready for the new round. They began laying down their cards, all concentrating. Even with the advantage of not being drunk, Jack still had a hard time keeping up in this new game, but following what the others were doing made it easier. He always learned by doing, and never by someone trying to verbally instruct him.
Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime. Oldest saying in the book.
"That's not ascending order!" One man exclaimed to Agnarr.
"A spade is higher than a club, dipshit!"
"And you say I'm blind!"
The round was over before Jack even knew what was going on.
"All right, last one for the night." Agnarr said, shuffling.
"Looks like your good luck charm didn't work for you tonight."
"Ah, we've got one more round. Isn't that right, Jackson?"
Jack awkwardly grinned. As Agnarr was dealing, he saw Elsa creeping down the staircase—she looked surprised to see him at the table with the men. Jack bashfully ducked his head away and began organizing his pile. Elsa disappeared into the kitchen without being noticed. The round began.
There was chatter all over, tensions were high.
"Go on."
"Two cards."
"Don't fuck up the piles."
Jack didn't know if it was his observational skills or just a lucky deck, but somehow he had the right card for every pile. Jack hastily slammed down his last card. He was out.
"He's out! He won!" The man with glasses hooted in disbelief. The table cheered, patting Jack's shoulder like he was their closest friend. All the while the young man felt like he'd run a marathon, not sure what had happened. He looked over and saw Elsa tip-toeing back upstairs with a mug in her hands.
...Was she smiling to herself? She looked at Jack for a short moment and disappeared out of sight.
Agnarr took the betting money and as they were getting ready to leave, Jack offered to put the cards away and clean up the table just so he'd have the excuse of sneaking away to bed after. Agnarr walked his friends out, which gave Jack time to finish up and reach the stairs.
"Jackson."
He stopped mid-step and turned around to see Agnarr handing him some cash. Surely he was playing a joke. "Sir?"
"Your half, you won tonight."
Jack was taken aback. "It's your money, Herr Nordheim. What would I even do with it?"
"I dunno, save it? Buy a pair of shoes that fit you properly?"
Jack realized what he was saying made sense. He didn't want to look greedy, but the moment he saw his employer handing him the money he wanted to snatch it out of his hand just to see if it was real. He gingerly took the small handful of speciedalers, "Thank you."
"Good game. Perhaps I should have you on my team more often." Jack could only chuckle awkwardly, knowing he'd won by luck alone. "I'm going outside to smoke a pipe. Good night, Jackson."
"Good night, Sir." Jack nodded and waited until Agnarr was out the front door to continue upstairs. He pondered the money carefully. It wasn't much, but it was a good bonus to his regular pay. Jack didn't spend any of his earnings on anything—he knew he needed to save it to secure his own future. But now that he had a little extra, a nice pair of boots didn't sound too bad.
When he reached the top and was almost in his room, he heard Elsa say, "I didn't know you played cards." He nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard her and he turned to look at her. She had a wry grin on her face.
"I don't."
She giggled mirthfully, "And yet you came out the victor."
Jack rolled his eyes, "It's because I was the only one who wasn't drunk."
"Oh, give yourself some credit. My dad's been losing money betting on that stupid game for years." She came closer. Lit only by the single lamp in the hall, her face was covered in shadow, yet her eyes still had an uncanny glow.
Jack quirked a brow, "He's a gambler?"
Elsa folded her arms, "Just don't let him hear you call him that." She scoffed. "You really did him a favor tonight, I'm sure he's grateful."
"Maybe so," Jack muttered, noting how she seemed to be pensive about something. Her eyes seemed to shyly move towards the floor and then back to his. Eyes so blue, skin so white, lips so red. How he would love to close the distance between them, take those lips and taste her... "Um—" Jack shuddered, feeling something inside him tingle, "I've got to get to bed."
Elsa herself seemed to snap out of a trance and stammered, "Oh, yes. Me too." They both backed away to their respective rooms, both unsure who closed the door first. "G-Good night." She said and latched the door shut before he could reply.
Jack then lied awake in his bed... her almost ethereal beauty a torment that wouldn't let him sleep.