The Prince of Arc - Part II

Chapter 13 - Hearts or Spades

13.

"Why do you suppose my father chose to use spades over the other three suits?" A blonde-haired seventeen year old boy asked his friend while staring outside his bedroom window. His name was Lucas Drake, the Drake Prince.

"Most likely for no particular reason, why do you ask?" His friend, Marcus Cannons, responded. Marcus was the only child of his family, and his family was very close to the Drakes. The Cannons were the second-royal family in the eyes of the Drake Territory, not the Archers. Marcus was the same age and height as Lucas, but instead of having longer blonde hair he had shorter, dark brown hair. Unlike Lucas's light skin, his was darker. Both were athletic and strong, however Marcus was slightly a better athlete.

"Couldn't he have chosen a more appropriate suit?" Lucas posed another question.

"What do you mean?" Marcus asked. Though he was used to Lucas's habit of asking very strange questions, he didn't understand where he was trying to get to now. Usually his intention was clear, but lately he had become more and more mysterious.

"Isn't what we are doing for the good of Sandrux, isn't it an act from our hearts?" Once again, Lucas responded with another question. "So why don't we use hearts?" He said, as he turned from the window, altering his stare to Marcus, and then to the doors leading out to his bedroom balcony. As he opened the doors and walked out, wind filled his bedroom.

"I think you're overthinking it..." Marcus replied, following him out onto the balcony.

"Perhaps I am, is that a bad thing?" Lucas asked, looking out into the countryside outside his family's palace. "I think it's a gift."

"It is with certain things, not all things though."

"When is it bad then, Marcus?" Lucas asked, turning to look at his friend. But before he could respond, they both heard a knock at the door. "Come in," Lucas said after hearing another knock.

Lucas's bedroom door opened and his housemaid, who looked exhausted, walked in.

"All your luggage is on board the plane, boys. We are about to take off, are you both ready?" She seemed to be in a hurry.

"Yes, we are, thank you." Lucas said, gesturing to Marcus to follow her before him. Marcus nodded, stepped before him, and then they all exited the room into the hallway. Halfway down the hallway Lucas remembered he had forgotten something and went back to get it.

"Forget something, Lucas?" Marcus called after he realized his friend wasn't following him anymore. Turning to the impatient housemaid, he said, "Stay here, I'll go see what he's doing..." He started to walk back and as he approached the doorway Lucas walked back out, holding something. "What's that?" Marcus asked.

"The rest of the deck," Lucas responded, showing his friend the cards. "Just in case my father doesn't get our point across. If he doesn't, I will." He shut the door and walked past Marcus back down the hallway.

"Okay, but I think your father can handle it." Marcus said, following Lucas. "He's got a good start, doesn't he?" The maid began to lead the way once more. "And if he follows through with what he told us aren't the disasters going to become more and more severe as the number of cards he places increases?"

"I do not have a doubt my father will make our intentions obvious." Lucas explained. "I am just not sure that the Archers will understand our signals because of how oblivious they are."

"How bad do you think this game is going be for the Archers?" Marcus asked. They turned a corner before Lucas responded.

"Devastating, of course. That's the only way we can win." Lucas said following the maid, who was walking up a flight of stairs to the roof of the palace.

"What do you suppose your father is going to do?" Marcus asked. This question had been on his mind ever since he first heard about King Drake's plan. If King Drake was to start off the disasters by burning down a traitors home and kidnapping their family just because they had the chance to murder the Prince of Arc and didn't, who knows what he were to do next?

Lucas didn't reply to the question at first, instead as they walked across the rooftop the only sound Marcus could hear was noise produced by the jet's engine. Marcus was told the Cannons and the Drakes were leaving to go to a secret hideaway somewhere outside Borders for vacation and also to begin placing other eleven cards. This was the first time Marcus had gone with Lucas to the hideaway, and he was only going because Lucas's father requested Marcus's father to help him with the card's plans. As they came closer to the jet, Marcus could see what the interior looked like. It was very modern. Everything was black besides some golden accents, like the sink at the front of the seating compartment. Now Marcus truly knew the reason behind the jet's name- Ebony.

They walked up a small set of stairs into Ebony. The maid took her seat beside the golden sink and Lucas led Marcus to the back where they were to be seated. Before he sat down he finally answered Marcus's question.

"My father's going to convince the nation it was a traitor that killed the King of Arc, and then we will kill his son too. As for the citizens... I'll make sure they blame everything on Blake." Lucas said, as he and Marcus sat down in their seats. After that, the ride to the hideaway was silent, but full of thought.

Although Marcus and Lucas were best friends, Marcus was never completely for or against the single-family monarchy theory Lucas so deeply supported. Marcus had seen the other side of Sandrux, the poverty-stricken side, that Lucas was never revealed to. Lucas knew of the poverty, but he didn't know exactly how severe it was. Marcus would never dare argue against the Prince of Drake because of the possible consequences, but he believed that Lucas had to understand the real state of the country before he could ever become it's one-and-only king.

Despite what he was thinking, both Marcus and the Prince knew that without the Archers, the Drakes could hold complete power in Sandrux. They knew that without their King, the Arc would collapse. They knew that the only one who can save the Arc was Blake Archer. They knew that he was the only one standing in Lucas's way. They knew that in order for the Drakes to win over Sandrux, the kingdom that the Drakes believed truly belonged to them and only them; Blake Archer was going to have to die.