Five of Clubs (War and Suits Book 4)

by J. A. Armitage

  I lay on the bed and thought of what Journey had said. An unknown evil wizard would probably seem an attractive proposition to me if it meant I didn’t have the responsibility of producing quite so many heirs. The law on royal children was wrong, and yet, we’d followed it for centuries without question. The royal Jacks were expected to give birth eleven times. It was their duty. At least, the women who married the male Jacks had a choice in the matter. By marrying the royal heir, they already knew what they were getting themselves into.

  I didn’t know what I could do to change things. The law was set down centuries ago, but Journey had, in her own way, already flouted the law. She was already twenty-six and unmarried. If she didn’t start popping out babies soon, she’d never be able to have the eleven she needed to fulfill her duty. Perhaps that’s why the Queen of Hearts promised her to The Joker. It killed two birds with one stone, get her daughter married off and get the Club water in the process. With a wizard so powerful, Journey wouldn’t be able to say no. The thought made me feel uncomfortable. What exactly was I dragging her into?

  I lay on the bed and fretted for a couple of hours, wondering if I was doing the right thing taking Journey up there at all. The sound of a child laughing outside my window took my mind off the problem. It was pretty late. Too late for a young child to be outside. I got off the bed and made my way over to the window. I opened the curtains and peeked through down to the street below. A young girl was playing catch with a small boy; neither of them could have been more than ten years old. There was also a woman and a baby in a pram. What on Vanatus were they doing out at this time of night? I was about to open the window to shout at them to go home when the woman with them stepped into the light. It was Journey. Journey, who had told me just hours before that she hated children. And now, here she was playing with them. When I looked closer, I could see that the two children were dressed in rags. I watched them for ten minutes or so until Journey passed them something that looked suspiciously like a bag of food and then went back inside. The children brought out an apple each and pushed the pram down the street and out of sight. I was about to close the curtains when an old lady appeared, also dressed in rags. She walked over to where the children had been playing and then ducked out of sight. When she reappeared, she also had a bag in her hands. She disappeared the way she had come. Seconds later, another person came and another. I watched for half an hour as person after person came and each took a bag of what I was certain was food.

  Despite not wanting to look like it, it seemed Journey was a closet philanthropist. It made the decision to take her up the mountain all the more difficult.

  I lay back down on the bed, deep in thought, still not knowing what to do. Although it shouldn’t have, seeing this altruistic side to Journey made it all the more difficult. Ok, I didn’t want an innocent girl being forced into marriage before I knew this about her, but at least I could pretend that she wasn’t really too innocent, or, at least, too caring. She certainly came across as someone who could hold her own and perhaps she could, but there was a soft side to her too. A soft side that she liked to keep well hidden. I pondered this for a few seconds, but then a noise alerted me. It was coming from the door on the opposite side of the room to the window. Someone was coming into my room. With the curtains closed, even though there were streetlights outside, the light wasn’t sufficient to penetrate them, and the room was dark—pitch black, in fact. My body stiffened, ready to attack if need be, and I waited, wondering if this was another silent servant, waiting to tuck me in or plump my pillows.

  “Hello?”

  There was no answer, but I could hear someone breathing. They were getting closer to the bed. It sounded like a woman.

  “Journey?”

  “Shhh, don’t say anything,” she whispered. It was Journey. I felt the bed jolt slightly as she pulled the duvet off and climbed in beside me. My natural instinct was to jump out the other side, but I was so surprised that I didn’t move at all. I just waited to see what she was going to do.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “What do you think I’m doing here?” I felt her hand move to my pajamas and slide up under the pajama top. “Isn’t it obvious?”

  I grabbed her wrist and moved it away from me before letting it go.

  “Stop.”

  “Soft Light!” she shouted out, and before I had the chance to ask her what she meant, the light in the room came on, just enough to illuminate her face. She’d reapplied her makeup since I last saw her, either that or she’d licked her lips, as they were now slick as well as scarlet.

  “Now I can see you properly,” she smiled, her hands now unbuttoning my top. I could also see her. She’d sat up in the bed slightly, the duvet only covering her bottom half. Her top half was barely covered by black lace. I could see the pinkness of her nipples through the lace. It was the first time I’d ever seen a woman so naked, brazenly so. The Club women covered up, had modesty. Fear ran through me, embarrassing me. I didn’t know how to handle the situation, and it was obvious. I could feel my cheeks reddening. It wasn’t as though I found her attractive. Don’t get me wrong, I could see what a stunningly beautiful woman she was, but she wasn’t my type. I wasn’t like Tarragon who fell for looks above all else, who would sleep with a woman before finding out her name, and who used women for his own pleasure. I counted women as equals worthy of respect. I just wasn’t sure how I could show respect in this situation without causing offense. Nothing in my royal training prepared me for this. Not for the woman, carefully unbuttoning my top and not for the fact I was enjoying the feel of her hands on my skin, warm and soft and most definitely expert.

  “Please stop,” I said again, but this time quieter than I had before. Journey was not for me; I knew that. I also knew that this would mean nothing to her. I’d be just another notch on her bedpost. Unlike Tarragon, I wasn’t used to any of this, and I wasn’t sure I wanted my first time to be like this. I’d planned my first time to be with my new bride on my wedding night. Not that I had a new bride lined up, or a girlfriend at all. Journey’s reaction to my whispered plea was to nibble gently on my ear, sending jolts of electricity down my spine and causing goosebumps to appear on my flesh.

  Her hand was getting lower now. Below the waistband of the pajama bottoms, and to my total embarrassment, my body responded to her touch. I murmured something about this not being right, but she silenced me with her lips on mine. The fight within me was real. This was something I knew I didn’t want, but my body didn’t seem to understand that. I was enjoying the new experience and part of me never wanted it to end. Her tongue slipped between my own lips and found mine.

  I pulled back.

  “Journey!” I said as forcefully as I could muster, trying not to think about what her hand was doing. “This needs to stop.” I pulled myself away from her and jumped out of bed.

  “What’s the matter?” she asked. “Weren’t you enjoying it?”

  “Whether I was enjoying it is of no consequence. We’ve only just met.”

  “That’s not true. I’ve known you for years.”

  “Ok, we’ve met on many formal royal occasions, but this is the first time we’ve really spoken. I don’t know you.”

  “Your brother didn’t seem to mind.”

  “Yes, well, that’s Tarragon all over.” I sighed.

  She pouted.

  “You are a beautiful woman, but I didn’t come here for, well, for this. I’m sorry. I don’t want to make you feel bad, but I just don’t feel that way about you.”

  “It didn’t feel that way to me,” she grinned. She slipped out of bed and walked around to me. I could see all of her now. The lace turned out to be some kind of slip, and she wore nothing underneath. I could see the shape of her, her curves. I tried to look her in the eye as she came toward me.

  “Ok, Ash, my darling. I hear what you are telling me. I respect your decision. Although next time you think you don’t want to sleep with me, maybe you should tell your body t
hat.” She smiled again and put her hand down to the front of my pajamas where my arousal was obvious. Before I could say another word, she kissed my cheek and took her hand away. Just before she left my room, she winked and then closed the door.

  27th January

  Light pouring into the room told me it was time to get up. I got some clean clothes out from my bag, and after putting them on, I tried to find my way back to the dining room in the hope of finding Journey. Thoughts of last night crept through my brain and embarrassment ran right through me. I’d also decided to tell her that I wasn’t taking her to the mountains. It wasn’t fair, and it wasn’t right. I’d have to come up with an alternative plan to get our water back, one that didn’t involve putting Journey’s life in danger, and one where I wouldn’t be in the same position as I had been last night. I knew that if it happened again, I’d not have the strength to stop myself.

  The house was as quiet as ever, making me feel like a burglar creeping through the corridors. I didn’t spot a single person until I got to the dining room. Once I was there, though, within seconds, there was a line of servants waiting to serve me.

  “Have any of you seen the princess this morning?”

  “She’ll be down shortly Your Highness. She requests that you eat while you wait,” said the nearest servant. It was the one who had led me to my bedroom the night before.

  I was just about to tell them that I wasn’t hungry when they put the first tray in front of me and removed the lid. The smell alone was enough for me to change my mind and sit at the offered place.

  Despite my eating too much the night before, I dove right in, eating everything they put in front of me. I was on to my third delicious course when Journey walked in and sat opposite me. A servant immediately served her half a grapefruit, which she began to eat with a tiny silver spoon. She made no mention of what had happened between us the night before, nor did she say anything about the children she’d played with last night. So, I didn’t say anything about seeing her do it. To say anything would let her know that I knew she had lied to me. Lied about being a better person. She was an enigma alright.

  “I’ve got the helicopter ready so eat up quickly” She looked up and smiled at me. Pearly white teeth gleamed behind scarlet lips. She wore a skimpy red dress and towering heels to match. Completely unsuitable mountain attire. It was a good thing I wasn’t going to let her go. She’d freeze to death way before The Joker got to her.

  “I’m going back alone.”

  “What?” she looked alarmed.

  “I’ve decided to go back and talk some sense into The Joker. It’s unreasonable to expect me to bring you back.”

  “Is this about last night?”

  “No,” I lied.

  “Ok,” She looked me in the eye. “I’ve got just one problem with that.”

  “Which is?”

  “I’m going whether you like it or not!” She smiled again and stood up from the table.

  She came around the table and kissed my cheek, the way one might do to a brother. Tingles went right down my spine despite the chasteness of it.

  The woman completely drove me crazy. I wanted her, and I didn’t want her at the same time. How could she be so casual after what she had done to me last night? I followed her through the door and up some stairs. She completely ignored my protests all the way to the roof where there was an unpiloted helicopter waiting for us.

  “Where’s the pilot?” I asked, looking around the empty roof.

  “You are looking at her,” she grinned then hopped into the helicopter.

  I stood there for a good few seconds, waiting for the punch-line. There had to be one, right? She seriously expected me to get in that contraption which she was then going to fly up the mountain? I’d never even been in a car before now. Not a single member of my family could drive a car, let alone a helicopter. Not that we needed to. Cars just weren’t a thing in the Club Kingdom. I’d only ever seen them when the Hearts came to visit. I’d be terrified to get in a car, and the thought of getting into what was, essentially, a flying car filled me with dread.

  “Are you coming or not?” Journey shouted back at me from the helicopter. “Because if you aren’t, watch out for the propellers.”

  “Prop what?”

  Suddenly there was a huge noise and a tremendous downdraft of air. The things on top had started to spin, scaring me half to death. I jumped quickly up into the helicopter and buckled myself in before I had a chance to think about what I was doing. Journey passed me a set of headphones (something else we didn’t have in The Club Kingdom) and pulled a couple of levers. The headphones, thankfully, canceled out most of the noise, although they did nothing to quench the fear that was running through me. I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth as I felt the ground fall away below us.

  “I have done this before you know,” said a tinny voice in my ear. It took me a couple of seconds to realize it was Journey, speaking to me through the headphones. I opened my eyes a crack and looked at her. I was reassured to see that she had both hands on the steering mechanism, and her eyes were facing straight ahead. My own hands were currently gripping the armrests, one on each side of me.

  “Have you had a lot of training on this thing?” I asked, trying to sound nonchalant and failing miserably.

  “I’ve been flying since I was sixteen. Not crashed yet!” I could hear the grin in her words even if I couldn’t see it.

  Part of me wanted to look down, but a bigger part of me wanted to keep my breakfast on the inside, so I closed my eyes again and focused on the problem of The Joker and what we were going to do once we got up the mountain. I honestly had no clue. My original plan had been to take her up there and let her tell him she wasn’t interested in marriage and then, hopefully, persuade him to turn the water back to the way it was. Since our conversation last night, I didn’t know what Journey was going to do. I shouldn’t have cared, really, not as long as I got the water back to normal. Journey was an adult. She was older than me, and she had every right to make her own decisions. If one of those decisions happened to be to marry an ancient evil wizard, well, that was up to her and none of my business.

  “What are you going to do once we get up there?” I asked as casually as I could.

  “I haven’t decided yet. Either way, this whole thing is going to backfire on my mother. If I decide not to marry him, she’ll be pissed off. If I do marry him, I’ll be with the most powerful wizard in Vanatus, which means I can do what I want, and she won’t be able to stop me.”

  “Is it power that you want? You already have money, lots of it, and you aren’t exactly short on the power front either. You’re the Jack of Hearts. That title holds a lot of sway in all four kingdoms of Vanatus.”

  “Yeah, big deal. I can go anywhere I want except that I have to have helpers and servants. I can have anything I want and do anything I want as long as it looks good to my subjects. My mother’s guards follow me everywhere. She thinks that I don’t know, but I see them. I can barely go to the toilet without it being reported back to mother. Believe me; she’ll already know that you stayed over last night. Her guards will have given a full report. She probably thinks I’m fucking you.”

  This last statement made me blush. Partly because of the language she used and partly because it was almost true. The thought that the Queen of Hearts might know something about our…erm…rendezvous last night sent shivers down my spine, and not the same kind her daughter had managed to elicit from me.

  “Can you tell her that we are not...erm...being intimate?” The last thing I wanted was to get on the wrong side of The Queen of Hearts. She’d done enough to my family and subjects without having her gunning for my head too. I guessed that I was not a good match for her eldest daughter in her eyes. She’d want someone much more powerful to marry the heir to the Heart throne. I wholeheartedly agreed with her.

  “I could, but where’s the fun in that?”

  She was grinning again. I really wish she wouldn’t play with me
the way she did. It was ok for her to talk to Tarragon this way, but pretty much everything she said made me feel uncomfortable. I decided it was probably better not to talk; so instead, I ran through all the scenarios in my head of what would happen once Journey met The Joker. When we finally did get there, just two hours later, I still hadn’t figured out exactly how I wanted to have this play out.

  “I think I’m in the right place, but I need you to guide me,” said Journey.

  “It’s by the brook. There’s a cave.”

  “You need to open your eyes, Ash.”

  “There’s a field and some trees. The peaks of the Dragon Mountains are to the south.”

  “I can see the Dragon Mountains, but if you don’t open your eyes and tell me where to land soon, I’m going to crash into them!”

  I opened my eyes. As much as I didn’t want to look down, I wanted to crash into a mountain even less.

  From up here, the view below was unrecognizable and also not as scary as I thought it would be. The fields were so far below us, they looked like a patchwork quilt.

  “You need to go lower,” I said, still gripping the armrests. “I can’t tell where we are.”

  Journey tilted the helicopter to the right, and we spun slowly in a kind of helter-skelter pattern lower in the sky. My breakfast lurched in my stomach, and I had to take a couple of deep breaths to keep it on the inside. When the helicopter leveled out again, I opened my eyes to get my bearings. I could see the Dragon Mountains to the right, which meant that the brook was close by. The fields were still tiny below us, but I could at least see some sheep in one. In the end, it took me ten minutes to find the right place and another five for Journey to land in a nearby field. To her credit, the landing was as smooth as it could possibly be, with only the slightest of bumps, telling me that we had indeed, touched the ground. It was with a great sense of relief that I threw the headphones off and jumped out of the helicopter. Once the engine had been turned off, Journey joined me.