DAY 39-6: EUCHRE

   Ro's and a Number's weapons clash with enough force to quake the room itself. The rest of the palace guards waste no opportunity to ambush him, all the while the mastermind stands where he is, watching this all unfold in unparalleled amusement.

   Leda barely avoids a slice to the jaw, if not for Hadey yanking her out of the way in time. Her mind is still a torrential mess.

   "Nixon, what's going on?" she demands from the simpering man. "Why are you working with the Queen's men?"

   "You still don't understand?" he sneers. "Providing small talk will serve no purpose, so I'm not sure I want to indulge your ignorance. But, if you truly are clueless, how about I give you a hint?"

   His bears a full-gummed smirk.

   "The plague going through Edaps— It was all my doing."

   Leda's heart falls.

   Ro knocks the Numbers down one by one, in unbelievable speed and precision, without leaving them the opportunity to use their magic. In the blink of an eye, he aims the sharp end of his blade at Nixon's neck. "What do you mean by that? Explain yourself!"

   Despite his perilous situation, Nixon doesn't waver nor lose composure. An uppity grin takes up three quarters of his face, and he whistles.

   "The Heart prince's serum really does work wonders. You've regained every last bit of your strength." His eyelids taper. "But it seems your skills have dulled quite a bit."

   Before Leda can make sense of anything, blood splatters into the air. Collapsing onto a knee, Ro hitches a gasp, clenching his arm.

   "Ro!" Leda barrels to his side in an instant. The crimson that seeps through the ripped fabric and gaping wound on his left shoulder is copious, and leaves Leda lightheaded.

   Nixon, flicking the fresh blood off his halberd, prattles on, "Back before the downfall of Edaps, you could've easily evaded that. Don't tell me your poor health these last few months dulled your fighting abilities? Or is it that—you're still feeling sympathetic toward an enemy who's made their malice clear?"

   "Jack Nixon..."

   "Don't look at me so hopelessly, Your Highness. Your softheartedness is the reason your brothers are leaps and bounds stronger than you. They would've already grasped the situation without me needing to explain it, too. Ah, I would give anything to see their reactions. Too bad they'll be visiting an early grave before I get the chance."

   Grounding his teeth to near shatter, his glare is profound; chilling. It freezes the room itself. "You helped me search for a cure. Went with me on expeditions. Tended to the infected. Did everything to keep Edaps tethered to its last thread. You promised to restore Edaps to its previous glory..."

   "And I'm telling you it was all a lie." Nixon shrugs and shakes his head. "You're too kind, Your Highness. Kindness like that gets taken advantage of. During our trip here, I'm sure the little lady learned that well."

   He sneers at Leda. Her nails dig into her palm as she equally glares back.

   "Though your kindness is admirable, let's pray it doesn't come back to bite you."

She cranes her neck at once. "Huh?"

He spares her one last smile over his shoulder. "Just an old man's rambling," he excuses. "Come on. Let's return upstairs."

   That day on the ship... She played it off as a piece of lighthearted advice. But, he knew this all would happen from the beginning, didn't he?

   "I hadn't anticipated being attacked by that stupid guard," Nixon comments, as if reading her thoughts. "The Queen guaranteed my safety, after all. But once taken to the palace dungeon, she freed me and even apologized for that grim reaper's mistake."

   "The Queen?" Hadey interjects in disbelief. "But Her Majesty despises Spades with her entire being. Hearts and Spades are enemies. There's no way..."

   "If I guaranteed her a way to bring ruin to Edaps, why would she not make use of that?"

   Leda's breath hitches in her throat. Her extremities jitter like jelly.

   "Utilizing the Harlequin's jinx was simple. All I had to do was infect myself with it alongside everyone else, and nobody was any wiser. It was especially easy to dupe Ronan III when the rest of his family became incapacitated. The prince's remedy came at the right time as well." Nixon emits another broad laugh. "With the Harlequin's jinx stretching to every suit, not to mention today's ceremony, everything's fallen into perfect place. Tonight, everything will end and they will begin anew."

His nonchalance grates in their ears.

The fallen soldiers. The darkness that swallows the room save for the sliver that shines through the crack between the curtain behind them. All of it serves to illuminate Nixon's malevolence.

Leda still can't come to terms with this cruel reality. They'd only known each other a short while, but he seemed like such a kind guy. Yet he's the culprit behind Edaps's sorry state? He's readily working alongside the Queen of Hearts and forsaking his people?

He's... their enemy?

"All our brethren's pleas to live..." Ro's heartbreak spills through with every syllable. "All those funerals we had to hold. The sufferings of those alive, and those who had to move forward without their loved ones... The ones crying right now, wishing for nothing more but to survive... It was all... These last few years were all..."

Ro tightens his grip on his sword's hilt and ascends to his feet. The top half of his face is shielded by his bangs, successfully screening his expression.

"Leda, go on ahead."

Astonishment socks her in the stomach. She lurches to her feet. "But—"

"If you waste anymore time here, you won't be able to accomplish what you want. Orian's well-being is worrying as well."

"Oh, that Mond?" Nixon sniggers. "He was on his deathbed, all right. As we speak, he's being prepared as one of the main dishes at the wedding."

Leda glowers at him. "He's what—"

"More importantly, Ronan III." He places a palm to his hip. "You say that as if I'll let them waltz out of here at their leisure."

Ro hitches his chin, his widened eye brimming with rage. "I'd like to see you try to lay a finger on them."

Nixon visibly swelters. His eyebrows dip in newfound solemnity.

A tension so thick sucks the air dry of oxygen.

"Let us hurry, Leda," Hadey says.

"But... But I can't leave Ro at a time like this."

Hadey understands the sentiment, which is why she struggles to find a response.

"Your concern is unnecessary," Ro says. "If you stay, you'll get in the way."

Leda gapes at him. "I— I know that, but..."

His hand falls atop of her head, squeezing her lungs and stifling any and all arguments in her throat. "I will be fine, Leda."

Slack-jawed, she gazes into his warm eyes. Every stuttering pound of her heartbeat is audible in her ears. Her mouth flatlines.

How did she forget? With every odd stacked against him, he's never gotten cold feet. He stood up to every challenge, fighting for his people's lives as well as the Edaps he's longed to restore. Whilst being half-functional himself.

   A betrayal like this won't stop him in his tracks. And it shouldn't stop her.

   Rounding to Nixon, Leda tugs down her lower eyelid and sticks out her tongue. "I hope you choke on a thousand needles and die, bastard!"

   Clasping Hadey's hand, she turns tail and dashes for the exit. All the while Nixon stands fazed, batting his eyelids in evident surprise.

   By the time he snaps from his daze, they're long gone. He rounds to pursue them only for a sword to nearly slice his nose. Nixon inches back all the while Ro successfully blocks off the exit, glowering daggers into him.

   His smile returns. "It appears it'll be harder to go after them than I thought. Oh, well. The Numbers and 5 Holy Sorcerers—even the three generals... They stand no chance against them. Dying by my hands would've been a lot less cruel."

   Ro tosses his cape and raises his arms. The silver of his sword glints off the light, alongside his hostility. "I expect a proper confession behind your treason. Of course only after I haul you by the neck into the darkest prisons of Edaps."

   Nixon chortles. "That sounds like a very promising threat. How well will you be able to deliver, I wonder."

   Raising the halberd on his back, he also readies a fighting stance.

A man who's justice revolves around virtue and good intent.

   A traitor who's motives are seeped in mystery.

   The curtains to their confrontation have only just drawn.

♥♦♣♠

   "The Harlequins..."

   Racing through the hall at top speed, Leda's legs plod after Hadey who's feet effortlessly glide across the floors. Scenery blurs behind her eyelids, their destination clear in mind.

   Leda pins her focus to the stony-faced girl. "Nixon mentioned that, right?" she replies. "What exactly is it?"

   Hadey screeches to a breakneck halt.

   Leda hardly stops in time and stumbles when Hadey tugs her into a small crevice in the upcoming wall. A fleet of guards charge the path they recently departed, all with soul-sucking footfalls.

   They pass within seconds, but to Leda, it feels like centuries. Hadey tugs her out into the open when the coast is clear, and the two once again sprint in the direction of the kitchen.

   "There is nobody in Annadia who doesn't know the name," Hadey resumes their conversation. "While Annadia is governed by four main suits—Spades, Hearts, Clubs, and Monds—this group of vigilantes despise everything about our current world. Their place of origin is unknown. Their faces, reasonings, purpose, and even members are an enigma. But one thing about them is certain. They'll do anything to bring the things they deem wrongful to ruin."

   Leda let's the information simmer. "So Nixon helped this evil group cast a... jinx on Edaps?"

   The word is familiar, and tickles the back of Leda's mind.

   Hadey responds before she has the leisure to figure out why. "Identical to the fairies that grace the four suits, the Harlequins also utilize an ancient fairy—a dark imp called the Lotus. If any being is capable of casting such a fatal curse, it's them."

   Leda gnaws at her lower lip. "He said something about all four suits having a jinx, too. Did they cast it on even Straeh?"

   "I... am unsure. In the first place, the four kingdoms are strongly averse to the existence of the Harlequins and Lotuses. I can't think of one reason why one would ever ask the helping hand of such a group..."

   "How about if their goal was to take over Annadia?"

   The girl with pigtails gawks at Leda's suggestion.

   "'Tonight, everything will end and they will begin anew.'" Echoing Nixon's words, Leda casually ponders on, "In her room, the Queen also said something about gaining an impregnable power. Sounds to me like the woman is a lot loonier than we've given her credit for."

   "Her Majesty orchestrated this all? Using the Harlequins to cast a jinx across the four suits—with the intent to... take over Annadia..." The poor girl is utterly speechless. "So, even that plague in Edaps... All those deaths—"

   "—are ultimately that bitch's fault," Leda curses. "And she's planning on using Avel to bring this plan of hers to the final stage." She pulls a face. "Ugh. Every single thing that woman does gets my blood boiling. I'm definitely slugging her."

   Hadey's open-mouthed for another reason entirely. "L-Leda, that is a bit—"

   "Fine. I'll let you throw in a couple punches too."

   "Th-that isn't really..."

   "Damn, you'd rather kick her senseless? I like that passion." She brightens. "Why not do both, then? It'll be the ultimate payback after the hell she's put us through. So? What do you say?"

   Hadey sets her jaw. She seizes Leda's shoulders and shoves her forward at a much faster pace.

   "You have more things to worry about than pummelling the Queen," she huffs. "Goodness, if you so tried, she'd just make a mockery of you. Slice you up into unidentifiable pieces and use your remains as fertilizer."

   "H-Hadey?"

   "You speak without thinking way too much. And you come up with the most mind-boggling ideas despite having no power to back it up. Do you honestly understand what we're up against? Who we're facing? Living through this all is practically impossible. Yet here you're talking about punching or kicking the mastermind of it all so easily..."

   Leda's mind swirls at her angry yells. "U-um. Hadey?"

   The girl doesn't say anymore. Puffy-cheeked and red, she files Leda toward their location with not so much another word.

   An imaginary punch to the nose—that's how shaken up the occurrence leaves Leda.

   What's going on? Why is she so angry?

   Can it be she's still hung over about getting revenge for Estan...? A few kicks and punches won't be enough compensation. Yet Leda suggested such an insensitive thing anyway...

   Goodness, why does her mouth always move before her brain?

   The kitchen doors reel open with as easy as two explosive shoves.

   Chefs circulate the centre of the all-white room, wildly chanting and cheering.

   It takes Leda a while to process what exactly at.

   Jerking, pointed ears. Mousy red hair. Androgynous face. Green eyes.

   Her spirits lift tenfold. "Orian!"

   Right as she takes a foot forward, a stillness envelopes the chefs, and they turn to address the source of their interruption.

   It's also in that moment both Leda and Hadey take into account Orian's current state.

   Ropes cast around his entire body. Blood staining his forehead, searing down his lifeless eyes and cheeks. Ripped clothes overtop jagged flesh.

   He made no indication of movement, nor did he seem capable of it. He was limp, down to the very definition.

   The unbelievably horrific sight leaves both women completely shell-shocked.

   "What the—"