The Queen of Spades

The Attack

In the kingdom of Amara, there is a natural system in which people are given the ability to become mages. When a mage passes, their abilities are transferred onto the next person through the form of a playing card. There are 104 cards in the world with each card dictating the powers of their holder. Since there is two of every card, individuals who possess the same card are destined to be partners. This system relies heavily on the hand of fate who guides the next generation into their destined roles.

Despite the wonder that is created by the mages, Amara has a darker side. There is an organization called Liberation that is trying to overthrow the current monarchy. The king, worried for his country and his crown, decided that the leader needed to be captured. Ace, the leader of Liberation, would be put on trial for treason, and if he was found guilty he would be executed. To capture Ace, he decided he would send a small group of mages to infiltrate the base of his operations and launch a sneak attack. He decided he would only send mages from his court because of Ace's manipulation powers. Hoping for a positive result the king sent four of his most resourceful and skilled mages.

Spain, the holder of the seven of clubs, is a master of stealth and infiltration. His skill set, including extensive training in martial arts and knife throwing, would prove to be useful in this endeavor. Next on the list of elite mages, are two individuals who complete the pair of the queen of spades, their names being Sam and Boon. They both have extremely heightened reflexes and proficiency for the short sword, as well as perfect teamwork. Senior to the others, Eden was a seasoned mage who had experience fighting alongside the majesty himself. If anyone were to execute this plan successfully, it would be Eden.

***

Only the basic layout of the base was known. It was an abandoned factory in the southeastern desert that had been transformed into Liberation's headquarters. The dense smog emanating from the structure concealed the factory in a shield of gray. Its extreme potency stung their lungs and coated their tongues with what tasted like charcoal.

The mages followed Spain in their advancement towards the headquarters. Conscious of their movements, they hurried towards their objective. Slipping in through a window, Spain continued to lead checking for guards and traps as they went. The guards were extremely on edge as if they had been expecting someone to attack at any moment. Spain noticed this but eventually decided that it was irrelevant to the mission and stayed silent.

What they didn't know was that Ace had knowledge from a credible source that the king was going to send a small team of mages. Although he knew not of who these mages could be, he was still confident he could easily defeat any opposition the king sent. He told his men to be on alert, but to let him handle these wannabe saviors. Nobody was going to stop him from ruling Amara and the rest of this pitiful planet.

The infiltrators readied themselves to rush into the room where Ace was located. That door was the only way in, and the only way out. If Ace were to escape, he would have to go through his attackers first. This was their only chance to capture him. Mentally prepared, they broke down the door.

***

As the door flew open, they came face to face with a smirking Ace, who was lounging on what was reminiscent of a throne. He had been expecting them. They were doomed if he talked lest he controlled him, so they rushed straight into battle.

The fight, although rather unfair, was evenly matched. Ace was a remarkable fighter, who had a great deal of experience fighting and slaying other mages; and the team of mages worked well together with coordinated attacks and strategies. The attackers knew they had to capture him soon because with one wrong move they would most definitely die by Ace's hand.

Their plan was to capture him in an Orb. Orbs were a new invention built by the Amarian military with the intent to capture and detain rouge mages in a magic-proof sphere. The only downfall of this great invention is that the target must be immobilized for up to one minute for the Orb to fully form, and getting Ace to sit still for that long would be a difficult challenge.

Ace's fighting style was very dexterous and unpredictable. It focused on dodging whilst aiming precise attacks towards his enemy with either his fists or his weapon of choice, a cane. This gave the infiltrators a great deal of trouble as they pursued his capture. He would flip and duck under all of their blows as well as use his cane to parry Sam and Boon's swords. Although he was holding his ground, he was still outnumbered four to one, so he decided to fix that.

The attackers were focusing on their battle when Ace abruptly shouted at them to stop. The effect took hold immediately. Unable to move, they could only mentally scream and shout at their mutinous bodies. The mages could only wonder how he gained such strength as he strutted towards Spain, stopping in front of him.

Their struggles increased as Ace started talking to him. They could only imagine the horrors that that madman was whispering into his ear. What Spain's comrades didn't know what that Ace was telling Spain how he was going to kill himself; this was going to tilt the fight in his favor.

The immobile all mentally jerked when Spain suddenly lunged forward after Ace stepped back. Why would he let Spain go? His intention was clear when Spain directed his attention to his friends. Slowly moving his hand towards his knife, he lifted it up and penetrated the tip into his temple in one quick motion.

Slumped on the ground, Spain's eyes were still locked with Sam's. The mood shifted from war and violence to shock and grievance. Sam, fell to her knees in dismay. Tears formed as she completely ignored Ace, who was headed right for her. Eden had recovered from the effects of the spell very quickly compared to the others, so when he saw Ace head towards Sam, he knew he only had one option. Eden jumped in front of Sam right as Ace went to wound her with a knife hidden at the end of his boot.

Sam and Boon, who was slow to recover, could only watch as Eden fell right in front of them. He landed, blood gushing out of his chest, and slowly turned his head towards the teens.

"Run," Eden mumbled through the stream of blood coming from his mouth as he slowly drifted off. Ace laughed maniacally behind them, creating an ominous aura throughout the room. With his evil grin and blood spattered across his face, Sam realized something critical. Ace was faster than both of them, so unless one of them stayed behind to distract him, she doubted they would leave here alive. All she needed was to survive long enough for Boon to escape.

Without informing Boon about what she was plotting, she rushed forwards and slashed Ace across his left eye. Sam then shouted at Boon to take the unused Orb machine and run; it was useless at this point. Boon was going to protest, but Ace suddenly activated an alarm that would notify his henchmen to attack them. Sam screamed at him to go. He understood what needed to be done. Between the Orb machine and his general knowledge on Ace's fighting abilities, he was too valuable to be sacrificed as well. With a promise to return, and a heavy heart, he fled.

Not even a minute passes before Ace's guards burst into the room and swiftly surround Sam. Ace knew that Boon would return with an army, and his powers wouldn't be strong enough to manipulate everyone. Returning his attention to Sam, he made a decision. She would be his warrior. Sam will be pitted against her loved one, and only one will come out victorious. Ace will rule Amara; he might as well learn to have fun in the meantime.