44. House of Cards
Date Written: March 29, 2019
Date Posted: February 29, 2020
Characters: Veneziano, Monaco
Summary: Veneziano tries to make a house out of cards. Monaco wants to play a game.
Notes:
"Monsieur Italy!" A lovely voice rang out. "That's not how you play!"
Italy, who had been idly playing with a deck of cards, looked up sheepishly at the beautiful young woman. Like the rest of the Romantic Nations, Monaco was blessed with an outward beauty that hid her true strength. Unlike the rest of her Latin siblings, she was… not as easy going. After all, she had to work her way out to become just a little bit independent from her closest neighbor, France. Despite that, today, she was wearing casual clothing and a smile that just barely hid a shark's grinning maw.
"Ciao, bella! Don't you always play with Seborga?"
She nodded her head before gradually sitting down across from him. Although she was young, there was a glint in her eyes that showed how mature she really was. With a shark-like grin, she placed her chin in the waiting hold of her palm as she looked him over.
"He's being annoying again and you look a little lonely." She cast a glance at the deck of cards he was mindlessly shuffling in his hands. "How about one game?"
"And lose all of my money?" He shook his head as he began to divide the cards into stacks. "Romano pickpocketed me a few hours ago so I have nothing of value."
Monaco cocked her head to the side. "How about a game with no stakes?"
"But playing with rules is so restrictive!" Like a small child, he threw his cards onto the table and took a pair of cards. A jack and an ace. Not a bad hand. Although they were new, some of the edges had been worn down and a few cards had a few creases on the corners. Monaco observed as he took the pair and set them against each other to form a small pyramid. "Why not make a house of cards?"
Monaco's eye twitched.
"Playing a game would be so much more fun. Just one small shift in balance—" She tapped a well manicured finger on the table. Not surprisingly, the poor structure and material of the pyramid fell with a slight whoosh. "—See! Look, barely any pressure and it all goes to pieces!"
The Italian chuckled at her disdainful expression.
"Perhaps… we could use this opportunity to help build one that is bigger and stronger."
"Ha! You actually have the patience or the concentration for that?"
He regarded her like how a father would regard a petulant child before once again offering a handful of cards that were fanned out.
"You forget… I've spent centuries crafting art from the barest of materials: paint, stone, charcoal, and other media. A deck of cards fashioned into a pyramid? It will only be a fraction of the effort that I would casually spend on any of my personal projects."
Monaco bit back a retort.
Knowing that he had the final say in the matter, The auburn haired young man smiled a bright smile before handing her half a pile of the scattered cards.
"I was thinking of making a large pyramid with tons of room and layers and—Oh! We should open more decks so we can use more cards and—!"