Three of Clubs (War and Suits Book 2)

by J. A. Armitage

  “Look at me, love. It matters, now get in the changing room and take those granny knickers off. I’ll not have them touching one of my creations!”

  She pulled a red velvet curtain behind me, but I still felt embarrassed as I stripped down to nothing. I’d never been naked anywhere except in the confines of my own bedroom or bathroom. Even then, I was quick to dress afterward. Standing here in this small space with just a curtain behind me and a mirror in front, I’d never felt so exposed and vulnerable. It didn’t help that Claudia had put her hand under the curtain and grabbed my clothes, underwear and all.

  “I’ll pop these in a bag for you,” she said as she threw some lacy garments over the top for me. They were smaller than a handkerchief, and I wasn’t sure exactly what they were supposed to cover. Not very much, judging by the size of them. I figured that one of the pieces was a pair of panties, which I slipped into, but the other piece was all white lace and not much else.

  “Are you ok in there?”

  “I…”

  The curtain opened before I had a chance to answer, causing me to turn and bring my arms up to my chest. I almost fell over in shock when my bare back made contact with the coldness of the mirror.

  “Having problems, love? Here I’ve brought you this to try.”

  It was a red corset top with billows of red fabric coming out at the waist to approximately mid-thigh. Black lace accented the bustline and the skirt. It would barely cover anything. I wore more to bed.

  “It’s very short. Do you have anything longer and in green?”

  “Do you want to look like a Heart or not? Besides, red is your color. Green washes you out.”

  “But I always wear green,” I replied.

  “Not today, you don’t. You won’t be needing the bra with this dress,” she said pulling the lacy thing from my hands. “The dress is boned; it’ll give you all the lift you need.”

  Lift? “I thought we were doing the shoes last?”

  She just laughed at me and threw the dress over my head. I let her pull it down to the right place, and then she moved behind me to tighten the whole thing in the back.

  “I can barely breathe,” I said as she pulled the laces tightly. I felt as though I was being squeezed into a sausage skin.

  “All in the name of beauty. Get used to it.”

  I began to think that maybe she was out to get me after all and this was all an elaborate plan to murder me by asphyxiation.

  A knock on the door made her pull in one last time and then she was finished. I let out a breath of relief and wondered if I would be able to breathe in again.

  I watched as Claudia opened the door letting in a younger woman. She was dressed in a deep purple and gold dress that was not completely dissimilar to mine, although slightly longer. If she had been the same size as me, I’d have asked to swap. As it was, she was at least a foot taller and rather thicker in the hips.

  I craned my neck to hear what they were whispering about, but I couldn’t make anything out from their hushed whispers. The younger woman, Alice, turned to me and pursed her lips. The bag she held was huge, more like a case than a handbag, and when she placed it on the counter and opened it, I saw that it was filled with all manner of brushes and creams and colors. It almost took my breath away. With such a palate, I could paint the most amazing designs on my sisters. There was certainly enough of it to do them all for the rest of their lives. I made my own makeup using pigments made by crushing up plants and flowers among other things. It meant I had a limited range. Alice had a whole rainbow in her bag.

  “Sit!” she ordered, bringing a chair from behind the counter.

  She pulled out a couple of pots of skin-colored cream and started dabbing them on her hand. I wondered why until she brought her hand up to my face. She was testing to make sure she had the right color.

  “You are so pale. Even my lightest shade will make you look too dark.”

  “Put it on her anyway,” said Claudia. “Her pale skin gives her away. A Heart would not dare go out with such pale skin.”

  I wanted to argue that there was nothing wrong with my skin color, but it was already too late. Alice had picked up a brush and was dabbing me with the tawny liquid. When she got out three more pots of what looked like the same stuff but a couple of shades darker, I wondered just how dark she expected me to go.

  “Contouring,” she explained as she swept the stuff onto my face.

  I had no idea what she was talking about, but I didn’t enlighten her of the fact. I was the best makeup artist at the castle, and I’d never once put skin colored cream on my skin. What was the point?

  A small tube of sparkling white substance was applied next, and I wondered if she was disguising me as a Heart or a fairy.

  I was desperate to turn and look at my reflection in the changing room mirror, but she kept working on my face and not giving me the opportunity. Broad strokes of color were added to my cheeks while smaller strokes were painted around my upper eyelids. When she had put on so much makeup that I was sure it was an inch thick, she began to work on my hair. I usually kept it tied back with flowers to match my face. I tried to get my namesake, Stargazer Lilies, as often as I could, but I’d use other types of lilies in a pinch. There were no lilies here, though. Just Alice, her hairbrushes, and a lot of spray, most of which ended up in my mouth.

  “What’s that for?” I asked as I began to choke on the acrid taste.

  “Hairspray. It’s for keeping your hair up.”

  “Up?”

  “Gotta cover those ears!”

  She teased and pulled my hair so much that by the end of it, my scalp hurt from the strain. Finally, she announced that she was finished.

  “Wow! Not bad!” said Claudia, clapping her hands together

  “Will I pass as a Heart?” I asked, trying to turn in the chair to see my reflection.

  “Oy, not so fast. Put these on, then I’ve got a surprise for you.” She handed me, what looked like a fishermen’s net.

  “What is this?”

  “Haven’t you seen stockings before?” I looked at her blankly. Stockings were thick woolen hose that men wore on their legs in winter to keep warm. These wouldn’t hold out the cold at all. They were made of holes.

  “Put your leg up. I’ll help you.”

  She pulled the holey stocking over one of my legs, and I was surprised to see just how uniform the holes were. I was right about them looking like a net, though. I was going to freeze to death outside wearing these.

  She let me pull them up and then went to fetch me something from the back.

  “These are the smallest size I have, and I think they will match your outfit beautifully.”

  She handed me the strangest pair of shoes I’d ever seen. They had red leather uppers with a metal spiked sole that incorporated a platform and heels so high, I’d tower over even Sequoia in them.

  I put my foot in the first one and wobbled before I’d even put my weight on it. I’d never worn heels in my life, and these things were towers. Claudia grabbed one hand and Alice the other, and between them, they managed to lift me into the shoes. With them on, I almost came up to Alice’s chin. Of course, she was in bare feet, having taken her shoes off and left them at the door, but at least I felt I was now breathing the same air as she. I could barely stand in the shoes, which was going to be a huge problem on the cobbled streets of The Heart District.

  Once they turned me around to face the mirror, though, I didn’t care anymore. The woman before me was no club, and she certainly wasn’t me. She was older than my seventeen years and infinitely more sophisticated.

  Claudia had been right about red being my color. It complimented the rich brown tones in my hair, and Alice had matched my makeup perfectly. My lips were the exact same shade as the dress, and my eyelids were frosted with gold. Black eyeliner gave my normally rounded eyes a cat-like appearance, and I was immediately reminded of the Queen of Spades with her feline features.

  I understood what Alice m
eant by contouring now. The features that were so typical of Clubs, the short pixie-like nose, the pointed chin and the pinkish cheeks had all been hidden, although the elfin eyebrows had been accentuated with gold. She’d drawn golden patterns around my eyes in a manner similar to the way I did my flowers, but these were much subtler. They made my attempts at makeup look like I’d let a child draw on my face with a crayon. I felt embarrassed that I’d been in the public eye looking like I had.

  The hair, though, made me feel odd, and I can’t say it was to my taste at all. It stood up on the top of my head like a messy bush, and when I brought my hand up to feel it, it was a solid mass with a candyfloss consistency. At least, it was still brown and not the candy cane pink of candyfloss, which wouldn’t seem out of place in The Heart District.

  My dress was amazing with its stunning detailing, much more sophisticated than anything I’d ever worn before, but it made me feel uncomfortable. The netted stockings did nothing to hide my legs, which were now on display right up to my thighs. Everything above my breasts was on show, including the tops of my breasts, which looked like two rounded mounds of flesh pushed right up and almost spilling out of the corset top of the dress. I suddenly understood that when Claudia had talked about lift, she wasn’t talking about my height at all. I felt so exposed. It was amazing how I was wearing so much that covered so little.

  In The Club Kingdom, we dressed so much more modestly than they did here. My breasts had always been covered completely, and I switched between feeling embarrassed and feeling in awe at the shape of my body. I’d never looked so feminine and so womanly. My waist was nipped in thanks to the corset, and my hips were accentuated with the swathes of pleated red satin and lace. My legs seemed to go on forever with the huge shoes, and the height of my hair added inches at the opposite end.

  “Thank you!” I said, turning to the two women and falling over in the process.

  “You aren’t going to get very far in those shoes are you, lovey. Perhaps, we should get you something with a little kitten heel instead?”

  “She can’t. Her height will give her away,” replied Alice, helping me up from the ground. I had to agree with Claudia. I couldn’t even stand in the monstrosities. Monsatsu knew how I’d be able to walk in the things.

  “I’ll come with you and hold your hand. Momma told me your predicament. We’ll just look like girlfriends. No one will bat an eyelid at the pair of us.”

  “I can’t ask you to do that for me. It’s too much.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Call it a favor. You can repay me by setting me up as official Castle Makeup Artist.”

  She said it as a joke, but I could see the hope in her eyes. She actually wanted to work for me.

  “Are you sure you want to be associated with the Club royal family? The rest of your people don’t like us very much at the moment.”

  “Of course. I love the royals. When Momma called and told me you were here, I was so excited; I almost didn’t believe her. I follow all the Royals, ours, yours, the Spades, and especially the Diamonds. Isn’t the Queen of Diamonds just heavenly? I don’t know who does her makeup, but I’d kill for that job. I’d really love to do yours though too.”

  “You are serious?”

  “Of course!”

  “But what about the political situation? Won’t it be dangerous?”

  “Na, unless you think your people will lynch me. All this will blow over eventually; it always does. I don’t think a lot of us Hearts believe what The Echo says happened anyway. Of course, some do, but there is just too much that doesn’t add up. The Echo is in the queen’s pocket, and it tends to be very biased towards Hearts. I prefer to read the Diamond Times. It gives a much more well-rounded view of the news. So what do you say?”

  “I guess we could do with someone to help us with our makeup for royal engagements.”

  She squealed and hugged me, almost knocking me over for a second time.

  “How much do I owe you?” I asked Claudia when Alice had finally extracted herself from me.

  “That’s three hundred dollars for the dress and a hundred and fifty for the shoes.”

  “Four hundred and fifty dollars?” It was more money than I spent on clothes in a year, all on one dress that barely covered me.

  “The hair and make-up I’ll throw in for free,” added Alice.

  It was a good thing that she did because I didn’t have enough dollars and had to pay partly with the riyals I had. It left me with just the solvos and dinars. It looked like I’d have to find a bureau de change after all.

  I stumbled with almost every step once we were out of the shop, and I was grateful for Alice, who was practically holding me up. The snow was falling heavier now, and I shivered in the frigid air.

  “Don’t act cold,” said Alice. Hearts dress like this all the time even in the snow.

  “You people must really hate yourselves,” I quipped. I wondered how I was supposed to hide my chattering lips and goose-pimpled flesh. It was hardly as though I could hide it.

  “Just focus on the reason you came here and forget about how cold you are.”

  “Does a red dress go with blue skin?”

  “Funny!”

  “Stop!” I said, “I need to go in there.” I indicated a bureau de change shop. “I need to change my money into dollars. Can you wait out here? I need to see if I can do this by myself.”

  I walked up the steps, being careful to hold on to the banister. The last thing I wanted to do now was have my feet go out from under me and fall down the stairs exposing my backside to the whole street. I noted the Club sign with a red cross through it. It seemed we were not welcome here at all. I walked slowly, keeping an eye out for people that might think I was suspicious. As it was, I needn’t have been worried. No one batted an eyelash as I walked to the counter and changed the last of my money into dollars. It looked like an even smaller amount once it had been converted, mainly due to the abysmal exchange rate. I wondered if, after everything I’d already gone through today, I’d even have enough to purchase some Feverthorne.

  There were a few people in the shop, all dressed in a similar fashion to me. If I’d entered a shop in The Club Kingdom looking like I did now, everyone would be gawking at my immodest outfit. I joined Alice outside with a smile on my face.

  “Aced it. No one could tell I was a Club.”

  “Shhh,” she giggled, indicating a couple of elder Hearts who were looking at us suspiciously. “I told you I was good at what I do.”

  “Do the Hearts really hate us all?” I asked her while maneuvering the cobbles carefully. I couldn’t, for the life of me, understand how women walked around like this all the time here. They must be trained from a seriously young age to be able to do it without falling over everywhere.

  “Not all Hearts hate all Clubs. Most don’t really, but the media is fiercely pushing the massacre of our men on your land and feelings are running high.”

  “We didn’t massacre your men,” I hissed, trying really hard to keep the level of my voice down. “They came onto our land to take our water. Without it, our crops would die, and our livestock would die of thirst. You Hearts have all this technology; you don’t need our water too. Our country relies on the water that runs through it. It is the lifeblood of our land.”

  “Calm your horses, will you. I already know that. I told you I read the Diamond Times. The Echo is completely unreliable, but you’ve got to remember that it’s the only paper sold in this district. Most people aren’t like me. They’d rather have an easy life and read the rubbish that’s put in front of them than dig a bit deeper. There are a lot of people that listen to the radio station that’s broadcast from the Ace’s Palace. That’s more impartial and informed but not everyone listens to it, and the streets are full of gossip and rumor. There is nothing to stop you coming in here and walking around as yourself, but, dressed like this, you are saving yourself a lot of trouble and abuse. There aren’t many Clubs that shop around here anymore. I’ve not se
en any Diamonds or Spades this past week either, come to think of it. Usually, the Heart district is bustling this time of year, but you can see for yourself how dead it is. Even the Hearts are staying indoors, and you know how much we like to shop. That dragon destroying some of the shops on the main shopping street doesn’t help either.”

  I kept quiet. I wondered when Rose was going to be dragged into this.

  “Not that I blame your sister at all,” she added when she saw the look on my face. “No, it’s that Spade Queen, I have the issue with. Can you imagine a queen having an affair and having children with her affair partner? They still haven’t found them, by the way. At least, it’s not being publicized if they have.”

  I listened as Alice jabbered on, but my mind was on my own ankles and trying to keep them from giving out. When I looked up, I saw a newspaper stand with the front page of The Heart Echo prominently displayed. There was a photo of a group of men with the headline Missing in Action emblazoned across the top.

  I pulled the newspaper and began to read.

  “This is garbage!” I said and threw the paper back on the pile I’d taken it from.

  “I told you! What part of it, specifically, is garbage?”

  “Those men on the front cover. Most of them are in the great hall of my castle. They were left behind to die on the battlefield, but our men brought them back so they could get medication.”

  “Which you don’t have.”

  “Exactly! Some of those men have already died, but that wasn’t because of a lack of care. We just ran out of Feverthorne.”

  “Well, you’re in luck. The Alchemist is just across the street.”

  The shop sign written in gold ink on a sparkling black background read, Apollo Leopold, Alchemist, and beneath it in the shop window were vial after vial of different colored potions, each on a backdrop of black. Clever lighting made each vial glow, or, at least, I thought it was lighting.

  I opened the door, and an immaculate young lady greeted me.

  “Good morning, welcome to Apollo Leopold’s. If you are looking for gold, an elixir to make you appear younger, or a potion to make you look thinner, then you’ve come to the right place. What will it be?” She said it all in one breath in a singsong voice. I had a feeling she might be on commission. No one was that cheery in real life.