Hatter's Revenge (rewriting - read at own risk)

Ch. 10: Three of a Kind

When they finally emerged from the lava field they were staggering with fatigue. Even Mad was feeling drained.

He fell more than knelt, dropping to one knee so Alice could climb back to the ground. Mad managed to stumble over to the edge of the sand, collapsing near one of the last dunes before the desert turned to harder earth that supported several types of very sharp plants.

Mad lay there breathing heavily. His fatigue clumsy fingers tried to get the cap off of his canteen but couldn't quite manage it. If he hadn't been so thoroughly exhausted, he would have jumped when Alice took the canteen and opened it for him.

"Thanks," he rasped, mouth sticky with thirst. He sipped slowly, letting the water soak into the parched tissue of his tongue and throat.

After another sip, Mad tilted his head to look at Wonderland's moons, which were low in the southern sky. They had maybe two hours to get some rest before daylight and its accompanying heat drained them even further.

Mad let this be known before rolling over, confident that they were protected to the north by the lava fields and that anyone approaching from the south would be caught up in the cactus and sharp thorns.

Mad was asleep in minutes. He was so tired that he didn't even dream.

He also didn't see the movement in the Prickly Bush.

An hour later, Mad was jolted from sleep when a foot kicked his leg, his hand automatically going for a gun. He stopped and lay very still when a rifle barrel danced just at the edge of his vision. Slowly Mad raised his hands and turned his head.

Looking over he saw four more people with guns trained on the others. Cheshire was growling softly, his teeth and claws elongating but couldn't do anything without risking Alice or the others. Mad looked up to meet a pair of cold black eyes, the rest of the man's face covered by a cloth that hid his nose and mouth. The rest of the cloth was wrapped around his head to protect him from the sun.

Mad lowered his hands and let his eyes flicker over the others again. Their faces weren't hidden and Mad could see the tattoos on the sides of their necks that denoted rank.

Mad saw three Eights and a Ten, though he couldn't see the rank of the one with a gun on him. The Ten and one of the Eights looked to be from a Red Deck and Mad would be willing to bet that they were renegade Diamonds.

Turning his attention back to the one above him, Mad stood and brushed sand from his coat, calling the stranger's bluff. Never breaking eye contact, Mad could see amusement and a little respect flash deep in those obsidian eyes, but he still didn't lower his rifle.

"We're trying to find the Spades," Mad said. The one who had woken Mad just looked at him. He looked around again then said, "You know, you guys would make a crap hand of poker. Three of a kind isn't a great play."

This seemed to startle the one with the cloth covering his face. His eyes narrowed in confusion and breaking his silence he asked, "What is poker?"

The Ten hissed at him to be quiet and he turned, flashing his eyes over the cloth. The Ten fell silent and Mad said, "Well now I know you're a Viso. So what are you? A Jack? You're certainly not a Queen."

"Why are you looking for the Spades?" the Viso asked, ignoring Mad's questions.

Mad looked at the others before saying, "Two of my companions have been declared Illegal Persons, wanted dead by the Heart Crown. We are looking for shelter."

 Mad cut a look at Maris, warning him to stay silent and not bring up his fairytale about how Alice was going to save Wonderland.

The Viso continued to watch Mad and Mad barely blinked, keeping eye contact. Finally, the Viso's eyes crinkled in amusement and he said, "Well if Mavros wants them, I would love to keep them from her."

Mad grinned. He'd been banking on the hope that the Spades and Clubs would be dying for any chance to spite Mavros and the Hearts.

Apparently that had been the right call.

The Viso turned, motioning for his companions to lower their weapons, but the Ten said, "You can't just..."

He was cut off when the Viso walked toward him, only stopping when they were practically nose to nose. "I can do anything I want," the Viso growled. "Now, unless you want to end up washing dished with the Twos and Threes tonight, I suggest you fall in Asiri."

Asiri's face paled in fury but the Viso just raised an eyebrow, daring the Ten to make a move. Mad noticed as one of the Eights bristled at Asiri, but just continued watching this little showdown.

Asiri didn't try anything and Mad began to wonder if instead of a Viso, he was actually looking at an Ace. This seemed unlikely since both of the Black Deck's Aces were supposedly dead, but it wasn't impossible.

Mad wasn't sure though. It was something to consider but the more Mad thought about it, the more unlikely it seemed. This guy looked too old. He would have been alive the same time the original Black Aces were, before Mavros had them killed, and by some fluke rule of Wonderland, there could only ever be one Ace per Deck at any given time.

Turning back to Mad, the Viso said, "Come with us. The Spades aren't in the Small Mountains yet. I can take you to them." He paused and Mad thought he caught a flare of sadness in his dark eyes. "Or what's left of them," he said before motioning for Mad and the others to follow him.

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Viso is Italian for Face

Asiri is Amharic for Ten

Since Mad's not going to have time to explain this, I'll do it for him. The way it works in Wonderland with the Cerdyn (the Cards) is that it is sort of a caste system. It is as follows: 

Twos and Threes are usually cooks and servants. They are the lowest caste and hold the least power the way twos and threes in a deck of cards are the least valuable cards.

 Fours and Fives are more like blue collar workers. They are teachers and carpenters and things like that. They have a little more freedom than the Twos and Threes and are generally looked upon as middle class.

Sixes and Sevens are more white collar. They are Wonderland's doctors and lawyers and are generally more upper class.

The Eights, Nines and Tens are the most powerful of the Numbers. They are just a little lower in power than the Face Cards and usually serve as Wonderland's military and police forces.

Jacks are lower ruling class. They are like nobles and can be either male or female. They also serve as Wonderland's administrators and serve as governors and mayors. They generally run the military and police forces, giving the Eights, Nines and Tens their orders.

Kings and Queens are pretty self explanatory as the rulers of each Deck. There are only four given Kings and Queens at a time and a new King or Queen won't become a King or Queen until the previous ruler has passed away. This title is hereditary so the way it works is that the next King or Queen is just a crown prince or princess until their parents die. The ruling King and Queen will only ever have one child, whether it is a boy or a girl. The person that child marries transforms into a King or Queen but the born King or Queen is the true ruler of their deck and holds all of the power. Usually the crown prince/princess does not marry any lower than a Ten.

Aces are a special case. There can only be one at a time per Deck and generally serve the born King or Queen though there have been a few who have gone rogue in Wonderland's past. This is not a hereditary position. Any Card, no matter their rank can have an Ace as a child. Whenever the old Ace dies, there is a search through the Deck for the new Ace and the child is raised by the military, usually a Jack, holding the position of general, trained to be a weapon more than anything. Aces can be either male or female. The Red Decks tend to have male Aces and the Black Decks tend to have female Aces but it isn't impossible for the Red Decks to have a female Ace and vise versa. 

I know this was a lot but I felt it was necessary information:)