Chapter 2: King and Queen of Hearts
"You girls had enough of a beating already?" Briar asked smugly, lifting a haughty eyebrow.
A groan erupted from around a small, oval table around him.
Briar simply chuckled mockingly before he reached out and grabbed the playing cards from in front of the girls before he stacked them in his hands. He shuffled them randomly, eyeing Tris, Sandry, and Daja who were seated around the table. They were pouting pretty bad. And that's what Briar liked to see.
"Aw, don't be sad, girls," he leaned over and winked at Tris, who was fuming, "you're losing to me. It's not hard to do."
Tris's face was scrunched up, showing that she was plainly angry. "I don't get it; how do you keep winning?" She folded her arms across her chest and leaned back in her chair.
Briar raised his eyebrows before shaking his head sarcastically, "I'm just a man of many talents."
Tris snorted at that.
Briar laughed.
Sandry shook her head before she leaned back in her chair and sighed. She glanced at Daja and Tris before saying, "It's a trap you know. He's a evil spy, sent here to corrupt young minds."
Daja laughed. "I've suspected this all along," She glanced at Briar, who was putting on a face that was meant to make him look innocent. It just made him look suspicious. "But he doesn't stop there. No, he's got to humiliate us in the process."
"Humiliate you!" Briar exclaimed, putting the deck of cards on the table. "Hah! I haven't even made you girls put money in the pot yet! Wait until I start taking away your stuff before you talk about humiliation."
Tris glanced at him, anger still seeping through her eyes. "I think you're using a cheat method. You stacked the deck or something. Nobody wins seven straight. . ."
"Eight," Briar corrected absent-mindedly, watching himself shuffle the deck of cards.
"Oh, whatever," Tris spat back. While doing so, a crack of thunder sounded in the distance.
"Tris. . ." A warning voice said from above. Lark popped her head from the stairwell and gave Tris a warning glance.
Tris took a deep breath, trying to relax herself. "Sorry," She mumbled quietly. Lark simply shook her head and chuckled, before she headed back upstairs.
Stretching out, Daja yawned. "Well, I'm beat for the night. I'm heading to bed." She stood up, before looking at the rest of her friends at the small oval table, "Anybody wanna retire with me?"
Tris gave one more exasperated look at Briar, who winked smugly at her, before saying slowly, "Yeah, I guess so. Niko and me have to get up to do some early training." She got up from the table and stretched. Tris glanced at Sandry, who was concentrated on Briar's shuffling of the deck, before asking, "Sandry, Briar? You going too?"
Sandry licked her lips. She was hunched on her elbows, glancing deviously at the deck of cards in Briar's hand, thoughts running through her brain. Merely glancing at Tris and Daja, Sandry shook her head. "I'm just starting to get good that this. I wanna play again."
Briar's head jerked up in surprise. He smiled crookedly at Sandry, "What? Haven't had enough punishment?"
"You're just afraid I'll beat you!" Sandry argued back, meeting his stare confidently.
Briar laughed before shaking his head. "You bet I am!"
It was true that Sandry had been the best in the card game that the four had been playing for the last few days. Of the girls at least. Briar had already knew how to play, so he had the upper hand. However, the girls were pretty pathetic at the game even for beginners. Sandry however, almost beat him in the last match they had. That was never good in Briar's eyes. He did enjoy a good competitor however, and Sandry was one.
He slapped the deck on the table and stared challengingly. "All right," He started, "Let's see what you can do, Milady. The final match off." Taking the cards in his hand, he shuffled again and started to deal to him and Sandry.
Daja rolled her eyes, "You guys are really weird. Okay, have fun. I'm off to get some sleep."
Tris stayed only a little while longer, staring at Briar, who never had taken his eyes off Sandry. Then, as she took a deep breath, shrugged. "Daja's right. You guys are strange." Tris headed toward the stairwell, "Good-night, you guys."
"Good-night, Tris," Sandry called back to her, biting her lip and keeping a watchful eye on Briar.
" 'Night, Coppercurls," Briar said back, hearing Tris huff in exasperation. She really didn't enjoy Briar's new, invented nickname for her.
And that left Sandry and Briar alone. Sandry realized how rare that actually was. The four of them had been really bonded lately, due to the recent adventures that had occurred. She hadn't found the time to just talk to one of the four separately. Especially to Tris. She and her had to deal with some issues of the heart that were going on. But that could be dealt with later. Right now, Briar's ego had to be taken care of. And that would be fun to do.
Briar handed Sandry her last card before he leaned back in his chair. "Okay, milady," He said calmly and smugly, "here we go. Get ready to lose." He winked at her before he looked at his cards.
"We'll see about that," Sandry retorted dryly before she peered at her cards also. She instantly frowned. A King of Seas, a Ten of Cups, and Commander of Nobles -- a combined total of thirty. Way too high.
She quickly threw the Ten of Cups off to the side and drew another card. This one was a Ten of Darkness. Sandry smiled mischievously. The Ten of Darkness subtracted ten away from the Ten of Cups so it gave her a new, combined total of Twenty. A near perfect score. Only a perfect twenty-two or a Mages Array could stop her now. And Sandry highly doubted that Briar had that.
"I call," She said, putting a little of intentional danger into her voice.
Briar, obviously shocked at her early call, looked up at her with surprise. "Getting confident at this, aren't we?" He asked while he smiled crookedly at her.
Raising an eyebrow, Sandry smiled also. "I suppose so," She stated, an distinct curl in her lip. Putting her cards on the table, she winked at him, "An even twenty. Think you can beat that, Plant Boy?"
Briar scrunched his lips together and shrugged lightly. "Don't know," He drawled, "Let's see." He put his cards on the table, laying them out for Sandry to see. A Six of Cups, a General of Oceans, and a Four of Coins -- a combined total of twenty.
"We tied!" Sandry exclaimed, nearly jumping out of her chair.
"So we did," Briar stuttered, a bit of surprise in his own voice.
Sandry crossed her arms across her chest and frowned. "Well then,
who won?" She looked up at Briar, her eyes
questionable.
"Well, positive card value beats negative card value. My twenty is all positive value-- yours requires a negative card. So you lose again, Milady." Briar grinned at her triumphantly before leaning back in his chair, his arms eased behind his head.
Her lips pursed in frustration, Sandry looked at him for a few brief seconds before shaking her head. "I don't believe you," She leaned in closer, looking him in the eye, "Is that really a rule?"
"What -- would I lie to you?" Briar asked her, trying to keep a straight, hurt face.
Sandry laughed, "Do you really want me to answer that?"
Briar shrugged before he finally cracked a smile. "I think I can handle the truth."
"Doubt it," Sandry replied back, subsiding her laughter into giggles. She picked up her last hand of cards and gave them to Briar, who took them and started shuffling. Her giggles managed to stop and all that was left was a bright smile. Watching Briar shuffle the deck of cards, she asked sweetly, "We'll have to work on Tris, huh?" To Sandry's pleasure, she sounded mysterious.
He stopped shuffling the deck for a little while, glancing at Sandry through his bangs. Then he chuckled, "Yeah, her card playing talents could use some major refinements."
"I meant getting her to stay for the party instead of crashing out on us," Sandry paused, searching for a change in Briar's face, "No fun without her, right?"
Briar looked up at Sandry before smiling, "What? You don't have fun with me?" He was teasing. Or at least, she thought he was.
She found her shoulders slump from aggravation. "Oh, yeah. A ball," She commented sarcastically. Briar chuckled lightly before she went onward, "No really, I do. But I bet you'd like to have her around, huh?" And, to Sandry's immense enjoyment, she saw a very small and almost unnoticeable blush creep on Briar's face.
"Yeah, well," He stuttered almost incoherently. Sandry could tell that he knew he was going through some kind of weird interrogation process. "I enjoy a tough opponent. That's not Tris," He managed to get out a reasonable sentence out.
Sandry was slightly impressed. And a bit flattered. Considering that Briar had beaten her at all the card games, her being his toughest opponent was very complimentary. She nodded at him, "Fair enough." Leaning back in her chair, she smiled at him warmly. To her surprise, he smiled back at her. Sandry rather liked his smile. She could see how Tris did too. . .
"Ready for another one?" Briar asked, a smile still on his face.
Sandry shrugged. The constant defeats had slightly dampened her enthusiasm toward the card game. But she didn't make any movements towards leaving. She didn't really want to leave quite yet.
They sat in silence for a minute or so; Briar was busy shuffling cards. Then, suddenly, Briar spoke up, "Hey, did you know some people claim that you can tell the future with a simple card deck?"
"A card deck? Oh, come on." Sandry looked at Briar skeptically. She hadn't thought that Briar was much of a superstitious kind of person.
He smiled at her before he blew a piece of hair out of his eyes. "Hey, I'm not saying it's true. I just know how it's supposed to work. Nothing less." Briar shuffled the deck again, watching Sandry's eyes light up with bright interest. Then, with a large thud, he slammed the cards in front of Sandry. "Cut the deck, milady."
Sandry looked at the deck hesitantly before she stared at Briar in surprise. "You're actually going to do this?" Her voice was almost teasing.
He stood up to come to Sandry's side before shrugging. "Hey, this could work," he leaned in close, so that his face was near hers, "plus, don't you want to know the future?"
She frowned at him. "All right, I'll do it." Then, feeling the cards underneath her fingertips, she cut the deck in half.
"Prepare to be amazed," Briar said mysteriously, in a fake accent. Sandry didn't know whether to laugh or groan. "Eight cards can tell your life -- and here we go." Briar took two cards from the top and laid them out on the table. "These are the origin cards. They represent your past." He turned the first card over. It was a Six of Nobles. Sandry creased her eyebrow. It had a picture of a royal couple sitting on stone thrones. Both of their faces were in shadows and the man held three swords, while the woman held three serpents of some sort. Briar took in a deep breath, "This card shows that this man and woman were in your past. The Six of Nobles shows that these people were strong and mysterious people." He tapped the card, "Notice the shadows covering their faces and the swords and serpents they're holding."
Eyebrows still creased, Sandry asked, "So these people were in my past?"
"Well, according to these cards they were." Sandry felt Briar's eyes on her. She could tell he was happy she was taking interest in the future-reading session.
She shrugged, "Well, that makes sense. My parents were both very strong people. Mysterious too, I suppose. I didn't know them that well. They were too busy with royal affairs to be with me."
Briar nodded, "Well, it's going good so far. Want to go on?" Sandry waved him on. Briar turned over the second origin card. When they both saw what it was, Sandry's jaw dropped and Briar simply laughed. "Well, why doesn't this surprise me in the least?" Briar tapped the card with his finger, "The Ten of Coins. This card has lots of flowers and jewels on it. Looks like you grew up in a wealthy atmosphere. Well, surprise, surprise."
Sandry simply looked at the card for a few brief seconds before stuttering, "You. . .you stacked the deck!" She glanced at him accusingly.
He put his hands up in surrender, "Don't lose your top there, milady. I didn't do it, but this session is going rather well." He looked into her eyes, "I'm thinking you stacked it yourself."
"I didn't do it!" Sandry exclaimed, almost offended. "But. . . this is almost spooky. When am I going to find about my future?" She glanced at him eagerly.
Briar chuckled, "Patience, patience, milady." He took two more cards from the top of the deck and then explained, "These are the determination cards. The first one tells you what took you away from the Six of Nobles and the Ten of Coins and the one after that shows what took you away from the one who look you away from the Six of Nobles and the Ten of Coins." Briar paused, "You get it?"
She squirmed in her seat, "Hurry up already."
Briar chuckled.
Sandry overturned the first determination card and frowned. "This doesn't look like a good one."
"No. No it isn't." Briar frowned, his voice sounding a bit spooked. Sandry peered over at Briar and saw that his lips were pursed and his eyebrows cringed. That made her shiver.
"What. . .what does it mean?" She asked hesitantly. The card was hard to understand. It was the King of Darkness card. It had a family shrouded in darkness. Only the children, a young girl and boy, were in the dim light. The other two people, probably the parents, were separated from them. Ugly rats had made a circle around the parents, and their eyes were red. It was an ugly card.
She heard Briar hesitate before he went onward, "This isn't a pretty card and there's really no way to sugarcoat it. It usually stands for death by disease or war. It's this card," he pointed to the King of Darkness, "that takes away this." He pointed to the Six of Nobles.
Sandry leaned back in her chair in astonishment. "This is really strange."
There was a small amount of silence between them before Briar asked, "Do you want me to go on?"
"Yes, of course!" Sandry suddenly sat upright in her chair, eyes smiling again. "I want to see what's in store for my future!"
Briar chuckled before he turned over the second determination card. This one was the Two of Nobles. It had a woman who was holding two babies, one in each arm. However, there was two swords, one on each side of the woman, stabbed into the ground.
Sandry preened, "This doesn't look so bad!" She looked up at Briar and smiled, who in turn, surprisingly smiled back.
He shook his head. "Nope, you got lucky this time. This card shows the person who took you away from the King of Darkness. This person is usually a kind person, not specifically a woman. However, this person, whoever he or she is, is really powerful. Check out the swords." Briar tapped the card and Sandry nodded.
"Let's be generous: This could be my Uncle." Sandry paused, "He did take me in when my parents died. He's pretty powerful, hence the swords." She leaned back in her chair and smiled brightly. "Well, this is going well."
Briar shrugged, "I've never had it go this good before." He paused, looking at Sandry mischievously, "I always knew something was wrong with you."
Sandry slapped him on the arm before commanding, "Keep going already."
She heard him chuckle. "All right then, milady. The next three cards represent your future--"
"Oh, yay. Finally." Sandry's lips curved in a broad smile and her eyes lit up.
" --like I was saying," Briar glanced over at Sandry accusingly. She simply smiled at him, making his stern look dissolve in a slight smile. "These cards represent what's to come. The first two show upcoming events and the last shows your reaction to the second of the future cards."
Sandry, eager, turned over the first card. It was the Queen of Earth card. The card displayed a young woman facing into the wind with a large emerald sword in her hand. Between her feet was a small river. She was smiling in almost triumphant glory. Sandry smiled at the card, happy at the outcome. However she had no idea what it meant exactly.
"This," explained Briar, "is the Queen of Earth card. It usually represents the growing up of a young girl," he paused for dramatic effect, "such as yourself. And she's usually conquered the element of earth. See how she standing sturdily on the two land masses separated by the river?"
"Conquered the element of earth?" Sandry asked quizzically, glancing up at Briar with confusion.
He merely shrugged, "Darned if I know." He looked down at her and raised his eyebrows, "Listen, I was only taught what each one meant. I practically rehearsed them word for word. I guess..." He paused, looking at her, his mind a million worlds away.
"You guess. . ." Sandry interrupted his thoughts, looking at him with a smile. Briar immediately snapped out of his trance, blinking his eyes rapidly.
"I guess, really, it's how you interrupt it." He shrugged, "I doubt it's that important. Shall we move on?" Briar glanced at Sandry, who nodded enthusiastically. So enthusiastic, she flipped the next card over.
It was the Six of Cups. It had a man wearing armor and he was standing underneath what appeared a large fruit tree. Six cups hung from the tree, golden and silver. The man was holding out a large cup, as if in offering. However, he was gazing at whoever he was offering it to through shy eyelashes.
"This is the Six of Cups," Briar said quietly, looking down at the still smiling Sandry. "This card shows a man who is a strong guy. Check out the armor." He tapped the card, "He's offering you something, but he's being shy about it."
Sandry peered up at Briar curiously, "I guess that makes sense. When I finally start doing some Noble duties, I'm going to deal with some treaties from other leaders." There, a perfect, sensible explanation. So, Sandry was generally surprised when Briar objected.
"It could be something more personal," He stated in a strange voice Sandry had never heard him speak in. Almost. . .shy. Or even --if she dared-- husky.
Sandry swallowed thickly before raising an eyebrow, "Well, then. Maybe we should flip the next card over to see what I should say." Gently, she flipped over the next card.
Her eyes widened at the sight of the card. "Wow! This looks like a good card." Sandry exclaimed happily.
Briar chuckled at her reaction, "Yeah, you got lucky. Again. It's one of the best ones in the deck." The card was the General of Seas. It had a couple embracing in a wooden half-beached sailboat. The man was on the ground side of the boat and the woman was on the ocean side. A rainbow hung over their heads and said inside it in a strange language, "Une Venu Latia."
"Does it stand for love?" Sandry asked him, her eyes watching as he observed the card.
Briar shrugged, "That's how it's usually interpreted. It can stand for general good fortune. Anyway, it's outcome is the best one to get." He looked down at her, looking down in her eyes, a slight curve in his lips.
That's when Sandry felt something do something weird in her stomach. Like someone was tickling her from the inside out. And as much as she felt uncomfortable with the new feeling, she could only stare into his eyes. She suddenly realized that this conversation had something to do with her, not the cards.
Was this about her? When did it become about her?
And Briar was doing that funny smile thing.
They stared for a few breath-taking seconds before Briar finally tore his glance away. Sandry was more than relieved to feel the strange sensation in her stomach go away. For some reason, she felt like the feeling could change her very easily.
"And then, milady, there's the last card."
Sandry rubbed her hands together, "Is this my ultimate destiny?"
"No, no," Briar said, before taking the last card for the future telling session. "It's you." He looked down at Sandry and winked. "It's probably going to be a weird looking card."
Slapping him on the arm again, Sandry urged him onward, "Hurry up, Plant Mage."
He flipped the card over and laughed. "Well, this tops the cake. This is the best card session I've ever had."
The card was the Queen of Coins. It had a woman next to a spinning wheel. She was spinning something with silver thread in it and she was smiling sweetly. Her hair was flying in her face and there was a steel helmet and sword at the woman's feet.
"The Queen of Coins: A strong, sweet woman who rules over her own area. She's known for superior weaving; either of thread or magic. Or Sandrilene fa Toren: the strong noble, the stitch witch." Briar shook his head in disbelief, "I really think you stacked the deck."
Sandry frowned somewhat and shook her head, "I'm innocent. It must be pure fate."
Briar gathered up the deck and then put them in the middle of the table. When he was done, he looked at Sandry, smiling smugly. "Well, am I good, or am I good?"
"You're wise not to give me another choice," Sandry retorted with a agitated sigh. Briar laughed.
Briar stretched out and yawned. "Well, milady, I'm going to retire for tonight." He headed out towards the stairs before he turned around. "Good-night, Sandry."
Sandry looked up at him before she caught herself. She didn't want what happened just before hand to happen again. So, to keep something from repeating she simply yawned, " 'Night." She closed her eyes and heard Briar climb the stairs to his room.
What just happened there? Sandry wondered, angry at herself. She was asking herself stupid questions. What had gotten into her?
Somehow, she knew. Sandry yawned to avoid contemplating the situation. She knew the answer. But somehow she figured Tris wouldn't be to happy with the answer. . .
Sandry got up out of her seat and about headed upstairs before something caught her eye. The General of Seas card was face-up in the deck of cards. She stared at it for a few more brief seconds before she turned away from it.
She wanted Tris to be happy. . .
She put the cards away and started to head upstairs to go to bed.
She had played enough games for one night.
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Okay, part two is done. YAY! Anyways, please tell me
something about this story. I *crave* feedback! And if you
can't find something to say about this one story, tell me what you'd like
to see in the next few stories. Puh-Leaze?
Well, the next part will probably be out soon enough. Until
then, see ya.
Oh, and one more thing: I made the card game up myself.
If it sounds kinda weird, sorry.