The Shadowman and his Queen

Fool for You

ShadowQueen Ch. 9: Fool for You

After, many emails, phone conferences and other business handlings Samdi is free to go to Regina to return Lucy's beanie and talk to her about his plans. He cannot be completely candid but he wants to at least open up to her, he wants to earn her trust. Samdi, gathers his coat, his keys and the cards off his table, he will need them to help in his explaining of himself. Across town, Regina is sitting behind the bar with a much needed drink. She knew he was up to something but didn't know it was as bad as him possibly killing someone. In their crossings, she's been more of the killer than he, so she is shaken that, in this time, he would resort to such measures. As she ponders, for the umpteenth time, over the picture she received earlier in the day of Samdi's spread of cards, she hears the door swing open.

When she looks up she sees Samdi, so she puts her phone away and pushes her feelings down to put back on the mask of his lover to continue to fan him off of her sneaky trail. Little does she know, she's already been caught, "Samdi..." she says with a sultry smile in seductive tones, much like she did the previous morning during their shower play. As he walks from the door to the bar, she continues in her act "I'm so sorry about my sister earlier, she only has one speed: tornado", Samdi already knowing of her game decides to play along for a bit, "you don't have to apologize for her, I just came by to say I'm sorry our date got cut short." Then he drops the hammer, "...and to return this" he takes the fuzzy beanie from his pocket, holds it up in front of Regina and looks at her knowingly. Damn it! She's caught, there goes being unblemished with him, "your granddaughter left it in my apartment" he says with no judgement in his tone at all. "Fine. You caught me", she says as she takes the hat off the counter where he placed it, "I had Lucy break into your apartment" she admits her wrong doing but plows forward to check him on his, "...but that doesn't change what she found".

He loves that she is unafraid to check him when she feels she needs to, he truly adores her boldness. He also knew that he'd need his cards to show his willingness to be open and he immediately pulls them out upon her accusation, "these?". She's thrown by this show of honesty and truthfully doesn't know how to take it so she continues in her scolding, "yes! I saw the death card". She looks at him as if trying to see to the depths of whatever his scheme is, not understanding the meaning of the death card in the context that it was splayed in asks, "who are you after?". It hurts him that she is so untrusting of him that she didn't think she could outright ask him, hurt that he vocalizes, "you know Regina, you could have just asked." After his expression of hurt he moves forward to show her that he is working to be open with her, "I am here for the dark on dagger".

This divulgence is a shock to Regina, one because he was so open as to outright admit it and two because this really does put them on opposite sides if he does what she thinks he will do in order to get the dagger. Unable to really put an emotion to how she feels, resorts to quiet laughter as she says, "despite our twisted history, Rumple is my oldest friend", 'friend she says' he thinks, 'if she only knew what this so-called 'friend' has actually done beside the years of manipulating her', but listens to her anyway "do you think I'm just going to stand by and watch you kill him?". "No...", he says plainly and goes on to explain himself to her "...but I want to be cards up with you Regina. You know what kind of man I am, always have". She has always known him, they learned one another long ago, and ever since, even in his tricks and deals, he has never really been able to be completely hidden from her. But she, she's a different story, with each turn in her life she changed more and more making her a bit harder to read than he ever was or will be. "You, you've always been more difficult to read" he says as he takes out his deck of cards and shuffles them to which she gives a face of complete subtle sass as if silently saying "yeah right, if you say so".

As he flips each card he explains what it represents, first he flips the Three of Swords which reads of the same painful separation, heartbreak and rejection that he's received in his present "this is your past". Next, he flips The Empress, reading of her being a woman of extreme beauty, femininity and abundance, "this is your present" he reveals. Finally, he flips The Lovers, reading of love, union, relationships, alignment and choices, to which he says "...and this, is your future. There could be a great love in your cards but only you can choose your path." She looks at the card then at him with a questioning look that is a mix of longing, disbelief and suspicion and says "and what choice do I have? Other than to stop you.". To her question, he says as he looks at her with a face of hope and longing knowing that if all goes accordingly, they will be able to finally have the love they've desired since their beginning, "take a page from your old teacher's book... find a way to have it all."