Cards

[DeMaizu]

'Sup? *waves*
If you read something that violates CS rules, let me know and I'll edit it so it's within the parameters! I have a few chapters already written, but when they're all uploaded, it'll probably be a long while 'til the next chapter(s). Have fun reading (for now, I'm gonna upload the chapters I've written on Sunday)!
Keep in mind, this is all first draft stuff, and probably unedited (in later chapters at least, I was a little paranoid about spelling in the first few), so there will be spelling mistakes here and there, and sometime in the future I'll be re-posting these in their second-draft forms.
Posting is welcome, let me know what you think! You don't have to take off your signatures and whatnot, though. I may or may not answer questions you ask :3
WARNINGS: some swearing, buncha agender characters, so if that grates on you the wrong way, *makes shooing motions* uh . . . . more to be added later, I s'pose.

INDEX;
Chapter one
Chapter two
Chapter three
Chapter four
Chapter five
Chapters six/seven
Chapter eight

[DeMaizu]

Lyndon stared up at the sky, right hand outstretched upwards. He was a pale boy, with eye-catching, startling white hair, making his skin look even paler. Wind ruffled his hair, whooshing through his clothes. Behind him, a building loomed over his form, intimidating everyone but him. He could hear whispers behind him, could hear that the students of the school building thought he was strange, cursed. But honestly, he didn’t really care. He had nothing to do with them; they had nothing to do with him. Simple. He closed his eyes and lay back with a sigh, letting his arm flop to the ground. He was 15, and next month he would be turning 16. He figured that was long enough to find a way to get out of the Diamond Kingdom’s most prestigious school — unimaginatively and maybe appropriately named Diamond Academy.
“One more week,” He whispered, barely mouthing the words. One more week until he could finally ditch this place and go back home.
“Hey,” A voice said as a closer shadow fell over him. Lyndon looked up into the miffed face of Pax Anselm, the school’s male pride and joy. Incidentally, or maybe even because of it, he hated Lyndon’s guts.
“Oh, it’s you,” Lyndon said, rolling over. “What? Did I say something wrong to a friend of yours again? Sorry.”
A sigh escaped from the lips of Lyndon’s upperclassman. “You were supposed to be at the student council meeting. As the only two Spade students here, we have a responsibility to help our kingdom get a good reputation.”
“Well,” Lyndon grunted, giving up on Pax going away any time soon and standing up. “It’s not like my presence is gonna make a difference in how they think of me. Also, I forgot.”
“While doing what?” The frown in Pax’s voice was obvious. “Day dreaming?”
Lyndon rolled his eyes. He hadn’t — but why should this jerk get to know that? “Yup. My day dreams are very important, you know — the world might fall apart if I don’t go back to them at least every three hours.”
Before Pax could get in a snappy and no doubt witty remark, Lyndon tapped a finger to his mouth. “What does it matter?” he sighed. “You hate me. I hate you. Why can’t we just leave each other alone?” He turned, his hand slipping from Pax’s lips and started walking away.
“Hey!” Pax called after him. “School’s not over y—”
The bell rang. Lyndon threw a smirk over his shoulder and kept going. His smile faded as he passed three girls though; two first years and a third year.
“Do you see him, with the spades in his pupils?” One of them, the third year, whispered, edging away from him.
“Yeah,” Another said, the second first year nodding along with her.
“He’s cursed, isn’t he?”
“Yeah, I heard that if you say his name, you’ll die.”
“No way! Really? That can’t be true.”
“It can! A fourth year found out his name a few weeks ago and she hasn’t come back since!”
They yelped and scuttled off when he glared in their direction. He hadn’t killed the girl they were talking about; for all he knew, she may as well have not existed before Pax sent him to get some papers for the student council. He was cursed — just not the way they thought.
But how could they know? He asked himself, tired. As soon as he reached his dorm room he collapsed onto the bed and allowed all the bravado of the evening to fall away from him.
“Haah . . .” He sighed, exhaling into the pillows. He rolled over, not bothering to take off the jacket his grandfather had insisted he take, covering his eyes with an arm. “It’s gonna be worth it,” he told himself. “It’ll all be worth the stupid pod people. It’ll be worth having to deal with Pax Anselm. It’s. Gonna. Be. Worth it.”
He didn’t manage to convince himself. But he went through his end of day routine without any differences; changing clothes, brushing his teeth and washing his face, turning on the music.
Tomorrow, he thought, yawning hugely. Tomorrow is another day . . . of acting. Yippee.
What are you so down about?
Lyndon opened his eyes, frowning. The owner of that voice only showed up when they felt it was necessary — in other words, much too often.
“What do you want, Kaolin?” Lyndon asked resignedly.
Kaolin, or Lin as they liked to be called, cackled. What’s wrong with wanting to check up on my buddy? A small cloud of smoke swirled above Lyndon’s head, solidifying into the body of an imp. Lin’s eyes were blue, set in a black fur-covered head. The black fur extended past the head, although it faded to dark red at the tips of the thin, droopy ears, thin tail, hands and feet, and the same red colored the insides of their wings. Horns extended past the back of their head, more for decoration than defense. A small spade patch of green, the same green as Lyndon’s eyes, covered part of Lin’s chest. Their mouth never moved when they talked, but it was always set in this mischievous smile, like Lin had something up their sleeve for you you didn’t want to find out about. Seriously, Lyn. . . . What’s up with you?
Lyndon shot a glare at the imp. Lin, the first time they’d heard Lyndon’s name, had burst out laughing. We’re both Lins! They’d chortled. From then on, they’d made a point of using the first half of Lyndon’s name.
“None of your business, Lin,” he said, rolling over and pulling the blankets over his head.
Aw, don’t be that way! You know I’m always here to help.
Lyndon snorted. “‘Help’ as in torture me?”
That’s putting it so harshly. I prefer ‘messing around with.’
Lyndon threw off the covers and turned to glare at the creature. Lin just stared back, that creepy smile fixed on their face. “Whatever,” Lyndon mumbled after a while of the staring contest. He turned back around and closed his eyes, telling himself to go to sleep. It’d be better — slightly if not completely — in the morning.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


“Pax!”
It was the end of the next day, and Lyndon and Pax had argued again. Pax turned at the sound of a girl calling his name. “Hey, Lori.” Loraine Clemence, his four-year younger cousin ran up to him. Unlike Pax, Lori was a Heart. The Mark that showed her lineage was on her cheek, an outline of a faded red heart. Swirls ran rampant inside it, although they were colored white. Pax’s Mark was huge, a green Spade covering the majority of his chest. The outline of dozens of clocks were inside it (along with one bigger one in the middle), although Pax had never been able to figure out why. “What’s up?”
Lori grinned at him jubilantly. “ImadethepartImadethepartImadethepartImadethepart!!” She said so breathlessly Pax had trouble figuring out what she was saying. She jumped around like a hyper active monkey, waving her arms and repeating her words in a singsong tone.
“Whoa, wait!” Pax said, laughing at her enthusiasm. “What part did you get, and for what?”
She huffed, planting her hands on her hips as she halted in her twirling. Her whole posture, as well as her words, said “You should already know this!” Pax held up his hands in defense as she continued. “I told you weeks ago — I tried out for The Three Dragons to play the part of the gardener! Weren’t you listening?”
“Oh . . .” Pax searched his memory. He vaguely remembered her talking about a play that she was excited about, but there had been a fight in the student council earlier and he’d been busy trying to figure out how to get them to make up. “Yeah, kinda. I was a little busy at the time.”
She glared at him for a second. Then she smiled and shrugged, her earlier bouncyness back in full swing. “Well, it’s okay. As long as you’ll come see it, I don’t mind if you forgot!” She danced around, singing “I got the part, I did, I got the part, I did!” Pax smiled at her, shaking his head. A vibration in his pocket made him jump, before realizing it was his phone.
“Hello?” He said, turning away from his cousin.
“Pax?” A voice said on the other side of the line. Pax frowned. It sounded familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it . . . “Could I talk to you after school next week? Behind the dining hall.”
“Sure?” Pax said, still trying to figure out who it was. “Who am I talking to—?”
They hung up. Pax frowned, lowering his phone and staring at it.
“Who was that?” Lori asked, coming over and peering at him.
“Don’t know,” he told her, putting it back in his pocket. He stood there for a second, thinking. “Listen, Lori, I gotta go,” He suddenly said hastily, hugging her quickly before slinging his bag over his shoulder and making his escape. “Congrats on the part!” He called behind him as he ran to the boys’ dorm.
Lori stared after him, completely still for the first time since running up to him. “What was that about?” She wondered, tilting her head.
Pax burst into his room, vacant of a room mate. He stood there for a minute or so, the door shut behind him, panting with his hands on his knees. When his breath calmed down, he straightened and walked into the room. A misty shape whorled above him, settling into the impish form of Esmund. Esmund’s black fur glimmered, a by-product of their constant grooming, the green spade on their chest and red-tipped hands, wings, tail, and feet shining.
“Why’d you call me on the phone?” Pax asked, a frown on his face.
What do you mean, love? Pax glared at the imp’s chosen nickname for him. I’ve been in here a~ll day, and you know there’s no other phone in here besides your cell. Ezzie turned so they were floating in mid-air on their back, a lazy smile on their face.
“But that . . .” Pax hesitated. “When someone called me just now, it sounded like you.”
Ezzie looked at Pax questioningly. How do you mean?
“Exactly what I just said.” Pax paced around, thinking. “whoever it was managed to mimic your voice exactly.” Pax stopped and looked at the imp. “Are you sure you didn’t leave and call me?”
The imp shook their head, palms up. Like I said, love, been in here all day. Then they froze, the smile on their face disappearing.
“Es . . . ?” Pax asked, uncertainly. He’d never seen the imp act this way before; they’d always had a smile on their face and flown around while saying everything in a mocking manner. “What is it?”
An awakening.
Pax blinked. “Huh?”
Then the pain hit him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lyndon gasped for breath, clutching his chest. It was hard to breathe, like his lungs were being crushed by a huge invisible hand, and he felt like someone was stabbing his eyes with lava-hot blades. It was all he could do to keep from screaming.
Lyndon, breathe! For once, the imp’s tone wasn’t mocking or dangerous, but worried. The hell — you weren’t supposed to Wake yet!
“Wake . . . ?” Lyndon managed before he had to double over. He’d fallen out of bed, kneeling now. He’d gotten up to close his window when the pain hit him — intense pain, like he actually was cursed the way everyone thought. A keening sound escaped his throat, pain escalating behind his eyes.
Lyndon! Lin snapped, shaking his shoulder. Look at me — HEY!
Lyndon choked. Then, just as suddenly as the pain had attacked him, it was gone. He stayed there for a while, breathing heavily.
Lyndon? Lin asked, the ever-present smile gone. You good?
“What . . .” Lyndon shook his head. His ears were ringing. “What just happened?”
Go look in a mirror. Ah, this might be a little harder to hide then the normal Awakening . . . .
Frowning at the imp’s cryptic words, Lyndon stood and went over to the vanity his sister had sent him (why a vanity, Lyndon wasn’t sure. But he’d always had a fascination with mirrors, so he didn’t complain). Lin flicked on the lamp, flooding Lyndon’s room with yellow light. Lyndon’s eyes widened, making the difference even more noticeable. The spades in his eyes had . . . changed. Before, they were only outlines of spades lying over his pupils (yes, he could see just fine, thank you very much), so they didn’t immediately pop out at you. But now they were filled in, completely covering the pupils with green swirls and clocks coming together to form a Q. It was kind of pretty, to be honest, but then Lyndon realized they were so much easier to see from a stranger’s viewpoint.
“What happened to them?” Lyndon demanded, turning from the mirror to face the imp.
Have you ever met someone who held a Face Card title?
Lyndon blinked, frowning. “What? No. But what does that have to do with—”
You have one of those titles now. Lin’s face was solemn, the smile still not there. What just happened — with your eyes, with the pain — that was an Awakening.
Lyndon stared as the meaning of the imp’s words slowly sank in.
Lyndon. The imp sank to the floor, wings limp at their back, and bowed low. Nothing about their body language suggested a prank. You’re the Queen of Spades. All hail the new Queen.

[DeMaizu]

The next day, Pax ran from his dorm room to the school. He’d overslept, courtesy of the Awakening last night that Esmund had refused to clarify.
You are the new King of Spades, was all they had said, and then they’d clamped their mouth — metaphorically speaking. They had actually said something else, but Pax didn’t really think about it. He was too busy worrying about how he was on the student council and he had to get there before the bell rang or—
He crashed into someone just as they opened the gates of the school. The two of them sprawled on the ground, a tangle of limbs and curses. Other late students stepped around them, not bothering to help as they rushed to be on time.
“Wait a— Ow! Just — hey — STOP MOVING!” The person under Pax yelled. Pax froze while the boy under him (or he assumed it was a boy by his voice) worked on untangling himself from Pax.
Freed, they both stood up and brushed themselves off.
“Sorry about that,” Pax apologized while patting his legs. “I didn’t see you until I was right on top of you, honestly.” He looked down and his eyes widened.
“It’s fine.” The other boy started to turn, but Pax grabbed his arm.
“Your leg is bleeding,” he said firmly. “So it’s not fine. Come on, we’re going to the—”
The boy yanked his arm from Pax’s hand. “I said, it’s fine! Just leave me alone, all right?” Pax frowned and grabbed him again, yanking him around.
“I don’t know about you,” he said slowly, “but I don’t qualify bleeding, no matter how lightly, as ‘fine.’” The boy looked away, trying not to look at Pax. So of course, Pax had to see who it was. He yanked him around, hard enough to make him look up. Pax caught his breath.
“Russe—”
“Shh!” Lyndon hissed, covering Pax’s mouth with a hand and looking around. “I’m trying to keep this — this—” He struggled to find the right words. “Thing,” he finally burst out, “from being noticed by too many people!”
“But your eyes—” Pax said, his voice muffled by Lyndon’s hand.
Don’t question him, love. He’s already been shunned enough by everyone else, he doesn’t need any more attention on him.
Pax jumped as Ezzie’s voice sounded in his head. He stood uncertainly for a moment before ducking away from Lyndon’s hand tugging him (protesting loudly) to the school. This made no sense! He had to talk to Lyndon; had to find out more about the Awakening and what was going on.
“Pax?” Lyndon sounded alarmed as he was pulled by the older Spade through the halls. “Hey! where are we going? Pax!”
The bell had rung, but Pax wasn’t necessarily worried about it anymore. He wanted answers. And if Lyndon had them, then he would get them out of Lyndon. He jerked open a door to an empty room, doubly checking that it was, in fact, empty.
“Pax!” Lyndon demanded. “What is this about?”
Pax turned to him. “Your eyes,” He said hurriedly, “they changed. Before they just had the outline of spades in them, but now they’re all filled in. Why? You Awakened too, didn’t you?”
Lyndon flinched. “How the hell did you—”
Freedom! A voice said, making them both jump. Ahh, do you know how long it’s been since I got to fly around outside of your room?
An imp formed above Lyndon’s head and Pax’s jaw dropped in shock. It was the same as Esmund—
I know! Esmund agreed, forming above Pax’s head as well. I haven’t been able to leave the side of this kid since he was born! Ezzie tapped Pax’s head reproachfully. You could’ve let me out at least a little, love, an imp needs space!
“Wait.” Pax said, a little dazed. “What’s going on?”
Lyndon was staring at him in shock, his strange eyes wide, making the filled-in dark green spades stand out even more. “You have one too?” He asked, his expression changing from openly surprised to guarded.
How rude, Lyn, The imp above Lyndon sniffed, a smile on their face contradicting their tone. We’re not toys to collect.
“Don’t I know it,” Pax heard Lyndon mutter.
“Your imp calls you Lyn?” Pax was a little shell-shocked, so his mind grasped onto something mundane. Ish. Lyndon and the imp turned to glare at him simultaneously, the motion looking almost practiced.
“This is none of your business,” they snapped at the same time. It was a little funny.
Pax turned to Esmund. “Do you know them?” He asked, ignoring their bickering. Ezzie nodded, grinning even more than usual.
Oh, I don’t know them. I know them. We’re siblings; how could I not?
Pax stood there stunned for a second. Then he shook his head. “You know what?” He said, sitting down on a nearby chair. “Finish the insanity. Then can we talk about the stupid Awakening thing? Please?”
“Yeah,” Lyndon said angrily. “You never said anything past I’m ‘the Queen of Spades.’ The hell did you mean by that?”
Pax blinked. “You’re the Queen?”
“Yes. Apparently.” Lyndon said, glaring at him. “Is there something wrong with that?”
“Um . . .” Pax paused, Lyndon taking the oppurtunity to glare even harder. “Nope. Not really.”
It’s not our place to explain Awakening, loves, Esmund said breezily, holding their hands palm up and shaking their head as they shrugged. You’ll have to wait for the others.
“Others?” Pax asked. The imps nodded simultaneously.
You didn’t think there was only the King and Queen, did you? Majesty? The imp above Lyndon asked, emphasizing ‘majesty.’ As if they knew.
“What are you—” Lyndon started before the door burst open.
“Alright, you two!” A teacher with a British accent slammed open the door, an angry expression on her face. “Why, exactly, aren’t—” She caught sight of the imps and faltered. “Oh. Good reason.”
“What?” Lyndon demanded. “What’s a good reason?”
The teacher, Ms. Shelton, stood there for a moment, two first year students peering in from behind her. Pax heard a tsking sound from Lyndon and wondered if he recognized them. “Come with me,” Ms. Shelton said eventually.
She would be someone to tell you, Esmund said helpfully, flapping around Pax’s head. She is a teacher, love.
“Thank you, Commander Obvious.”
Pax, Lyndon, and the imps followed Ms. Shelton out of the room, the two first years trotting behind until she told them to scram to their own classes.
“I normally only teach fifth to eighth years,” she told the two confused Spades, “but you two I will take on as an exception. I wasn’t here the last time a King and Queen Awakened so early, but I’ve seen one before.”
Pax and Lyndon exchanged glances. “How did you know we’re . . . Face Cards?” Lyndon said carefully.
“The imps, of course,” Ms. Shelton said breezily. “Only teachers and other face Cards can see them, unless of course they wish to be seen.” She glaced back. “The imp above your head, Pax, are they not named Esmund?”
Pax stopped in his tracks. “How did you — Yeah. That’s their name.” He didn’t bother asking how the teacher knew how the imp had never given a specific gender.
Don’t you forget it! Ezzie sang, looping around their heads.
“And Kaolin over there, that is their name?”
Lovely to be recognized, Lady! Kaolin grinned and tipped an imaginary hat to Ms. Shelton. However, ‘Kaolin’ sounds so formal and . . . out of character. Lyndon snorted at this, Kaolin whacking him in retaliation. I would prefer you just say ‘Lin.’ Goes to you, too, Majesty.
“Alright,” Pax said uncertainly, having hurried to catch up with them. “‘Scuse me, Ms. Shelton, but where are we going?”
“My classroom. Where else?”
Both Pax and Lyndon halted in their tracks at this. She had to turn around and glare at them so they would start walking again.
“Um, we’re not supposed to be up here,” Pax said cautiously as they stepped up the stairs that led to the second floor — the floor where the second half of the student body went to classes.
Ms. Shelton snorted. “Didn’t you hear me earlier? I said I would take you two on as exceptions.” Pax and Lyndon looked at each other, confused. “You two have Awakened. I doubt the classes on the first floor will give you an adequate education on the subject; It usually isn’t delved into in any real detail until the beggining of your sixth year.” She stopped, turning to face them. Her face softened. “I’m sorry it didn’t happen later, Mr. Russell.” Lyndon flinched. “Rumored to be cursed and now you’ve awakened as a Queen? That can’t be easy.”
“I don’t need your pity,” Lyndon snapped, his expression guarded and angry.
“Mm.” Ms. Shelton stared him down and turned again. They followed her down a hallway, a confusing maze of doors not unlike Hogwarts in Harry Potter. Finally she opened the door to an amphitheater-like room, filled with kids scattered here and there.
“Good mornig, class!” Ms. Shelton said briskly. “Apologies for the late start. I had to bring in some . . . different students.” Pax and Lyndon filed in behind her, Pax nervously fingering the hem of his scarf. “These two have just Awakened as the King and Queen of the Spade Kingdom. As such, I will take the education of these young men into my hands and not . . .” She paused and sniffed disdainfully. “The teachers downstairs.” The students all giggled or chuckled at this. Apparently Ms. Shelton’s dissaproval of the first to fourth year teachers was not a secret. “Students, Pax Anselm and Lyndon Russell. Pax Anselm and Lyndon Russell, students. 16 and 15, respectively, although both are close to turning the year. I expect you all to get along,” she shot the last comment at a pair of boys lounging near the back, “and to introduce yourselves individually later. Alright you two, take your seats. Anywhere is alright.
“Today, we’ll be speaking about the genes that are Marks. Who can tell me what your Mark means?”
A hand shot up, belonging to a girl with freckles, her hair in a braided ponytail and a Diamond Mark on her cheek — filled in completely, a two curving inside it. “Miss Shaw?” Ms. Shelton asked.
“Your Mark shows what Suit Country you come from,” the girl answered, sounding smart and calm. “Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts and Spades. But more than showing your home, they can give you certain . . . atributes.”
“Such as?” Ms. Shelton prompted. This time, the hand that went up was Lyndon’s. “Go on, Mr. Russell.”
“It varies, depending on the person,” Lyndon reported. “It also depends on what country you’re from; for example, if you’re from the country of Diamonds, then the enhanced abilities your Mark gives will most likely gravitate to things like earthwork, or theatric jobs like acting, singing, or acrobatics. And if you’re a Club, but you’ve been raised in the country of Diamonds, then the same holds true for you.”
Ms. Shelton smiled, a glint of pleasure in her eyes. “Correct, Mr. Russell. I do enjoy it when the new kids have answers, don’t you, class?”
The girl with braids tsked, leaning back in her seat. Lyndon shot a glance her way, then sat down. Pax stared at him, a little open mouthed.
“What?” Lyndon muttered.
“I didn’t know you had all that stuff in your head,” Pax said out of the corner of his mouth, impressed. “Where’d you learn it?”
Lyndon looked away. “I’ll . . . tell you later,” he mumbled, turning to Ms. Shelton.
“Another example of the abilities different country Marks give you, Clubs, such as me,” she held up her wrist — a yellow club, swirls dancing inside it to form the number six. “are more likely to have jobs such as teaching, banking, math, secretaries, domestic jobs such as those. Diamonds, as Mr. Russell explained, are more likely to go for the flashy things, such as stage work to draw in audiences. Hearts will almost always have abilities related to health, no matter where they are raised. Doctors, surgeons, etc. Spades’ abilities, like Hearts’, are unique to them; time.”
All eyes turned to Pax and Lyndon. Lyndon stared back defiantly, not seeming to care. Pax tried to copy him, but he wasn’t sure they fell for it.
“Many scientists have attempted to figure out why Spade abilities cannot be replicated by any other Suit, unlike Hearts’ where it is rare but not unheard of.” Ms. Shelton continued, bringing up a poster of the four Suits on a big screen behind her. Each was colored acording to the schemes Pax had seen so far; Yellow Club, green Spade, pinkish-reddish Heart, and blue Diamond. He glanced over at Lyndon; for the first time since he’d met him, Lyndon White was actually paying attention — rapt attention — to what was being said. It was a little unsettling. “Moving on, how do these Marks show up? Anyone?”
No one volunteered. Pax heard Lyndon sigh just before he raised his hand again. “Scientists have been studying the Marks of different Suits for generations, and they still can’t quite figure it out. The best working theory right now that doesn’t challenge scientific laws is that there’s something in the soil or food in seperate lands that makes them show up on your skin. When you go through puberty, the Mark changes, and they haven’t yet been able to figure that out without going against logic, or why Marks give us these abilities. As of now, there is no working theory for it.”
Ms. smiled again. “Correct, Mr. Russell. May I ask why you know this with such detail?”
“I . . .” Lyndon hesitated. “My eyes.” The class murmured, craning their necks to get a look at him. Their stares and piqued interest made him blush, but he didn’t back down.
“Yes,” Ms. Shelton noted. “The spades in your eyes are your Mark, no?”
Lyndon nodded. “I always ha— I didn’t like the reactions other people would have when they saw them,” He said, looking at his hands. “I thought maybe I could take them out if I looked hard enough for an answer, so . . . . That’s why.”
Pax stared at Lyndon, feeling guilty. He himself had wondered if Lyndon White, the pale hermit boy was cursed, but then he’d spent time running after him. There was no way a boy that snarky was cursed — didn’t go with what Pax had been taught. But still . . . .
Lyndon caught his look and glared. “I don’t need your pity.” He mouthed, turning back to Ms. Shelton.
“Why didn’t you just wear contacts?” The girl with the ponytail asked. She was twirling her hair around a finger, lazing back in her seat. “It’s not like they weren’t invented after you were born.”
Lyndon shot a glare in her diretion. “I can’t wear contacts,” he said tightly. “Tried. Didn’t work.”
She smirked, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “Too bad,” she said in a fakely concerned sing-song voice.
“Miss Shaw.” Ms. Shelton warned. “You do remember what happened the last time this went out of hand . . . ?”
Shaw paled and sat up straighter. “Yes, Ma’am.”
Lyndon frowned at Pax uncertainly. Pax shrugged, as clueless as the other boy. He blinked as he realized neither of the imps had said anything throughout the duration of class. Where were they? He looked around, not seeing them.
“What about Awakening?”
Pax looked over at a boy, maybe eight- or nineteen. He had a filled in Mark on his cheek too — a Heart. Pax caught his breath. That looked like —
“Mr. Agapios, I’m getting there,” Ms. Shelton said calmly. “I see your interest, Mr. Anselm. Yes, you and Mr. Agapios of the hard-to-pronounce-last-name are both Kings. Who in here can tell me the age of the youngest King to Awaken recorded as of yet?”
A few hands went up. Another boy, freckles marching across his face so it looked like he had chicken pox, answered. “Diamond King, Boris Talbot. He Awoke at the age of 17, and some people speculate that was why his reign was so chaotic and violent.” He sat back down, pushing his pale brown hair out of his eyes with a self-satisfied expression.
“Incorrect.”
The kid frowned. “But—”
“As of now, the youngest recorded King is Mr. Anselm.” Ms. Shelton said, tapping her fingers against each other. “I did tell you their ages, did I not? Pax Anselm is sixteen, his seventeenth birthday in two weeks.” She tilted her head. “As soon as a teacher of the Club Suit is made aware of an awakening, or in this case five, the knowledge is automatically sent to the current Face Cards.”
Pax blinked. Five? That meant there were two more besides him, Lyndon, and the Heart King. Who were they?
He didn’t have time to get an answer, as the bell rang just before he could open his mouth.
“Ah, you see what happens when the teacher is late?” Ms. Shelton sighed. “Well, you can all disappear and relocate to your next class now. Oh, and by no means does this signify that the rest of you may come in late from now on,” She said sternly.

Going back and doing author's notes for this chapter 'cause my sister pointed out some things (typos, etc. By the way, Ezzie and Lin are non-binary, so disregard all the 'he/his's if you would? ). Okay, so about Lyndon's last name - "White" is actually a placeholder. I ahven't decided between that and Cairo, so that may switch up a bit sometimes. The reason Ms. Shelton calls him "Mr. Russell" is because that's the name he'll introduce himself by ("I'm Lyndon Russell.") Russell is his grandparents' name, while Cairo/White is his parents. He and his parents don't get along well. So. Lyndon Russell. Yeah.

[Ranger of the North]

Woah, this changed a lot

[DeMaizu]

How so? I don't remember how much I showed you originally, to be perfectly honest. *shrugs* Anything you think I should change back?

[Ranger of the North]

There're just quite a few scenes I don't remember c: although tbh it's been so long since I read it I might've just forgotten XD
Nope, looks okay! c;

[DeMaizu]

Ah, gotcha yeah, okay XD
Cool *thumbs-up* I'm'na go watch stuff now. Prolly.

[DeMaizu]

To be perfectly honest wiht you guys, I have forgotten why Josh is here. I'll have to find my notes somewhere, if I haven't lost them permanently, but I'm pretty sure Josh and his gang won't be showing up again at any time . . . so. *shrugs* Whatever. I guess he's there mostly to highlight the new thing Kaolin can do? In any case, happy reading. We're catching up to chapter five, which is not as close as I would like to being finished, so I'm gonna post this and work on that. *waves* Mai out.
EDIT: chapter five is done! And six and seven, but those two are incredibly short so I'm probably gonna upload those two at the same time. Chapter six isn't even a full page, yeesums. So. Uh. My cushion furthers, but not by much. We're getting to a point where I will no longer be able to upload weekly, because I won't have chapters ready! Hopefully I'll be able to stave that off. For . . . however long.

Lyndon trudged from the teachers’ room, deep in thought. Ms. Shelton had pulled both him and Pax aside to give them a layout of how they would go about their classes from now on. They would go to her class for lessons about their Awakening, as well as topics related to Marks. But after Pax had left, she’d held him back.
“Be honest with me, Lyn,” she’d said, droppping all pretenses of formality. “How are you? Really? Your family is worried.”
Lyn snorted. “I doubt it. Nanil and Gigi I can see thinking about me, but my parents?” He looked away. “I don’t think they ever saw me as anything other than a burden.”
“What about your older siblings?” Ms. Shelton said softly.
Lyn looked at her, straight and bleak. “They’re dead, Yannick. They can’t think anything about me.”
“Lyn . . .” Yannick Shelton stood up and hugged him. “I’m sorry they’re such idiots.”
“It’s — well, it’s not okay, but it is.” Lyn said, patting her back and burying his face in her sweater. “I’m used to it.”
They stood there for a while, alone in comforting silence. Then Lyn stepped away, smiling sadly. “I should go,” he said. “Good act, by the way. Although I’m not sure what you were getting at by mentioning my eyes.”
Yannick smiled. “You need to learn that you aren’t a mistake. Just because you have Marks in your eyes doesn’t mean something went wrong with you at birth.” She brushed Lyn’s cheek with her thumb, rubbing over a smudge of dirt. “Your parents don’t see this, but you are your own beautiful person. Don’t let anyone say otherwise — not even yourself,” She said sternly. Then she pushed him away to the door. “Go on, Mr. Russell,” She said teasingly. “Disappear and relocate.”

Where do you think his Majesty is? Lin asked, materalizing over Lyndon’s head as soon as they were out the door. I’d love to see Ezzie dear again. It’s been ages — Imps always need to have proper reunions!
Lyndon glared at him. “How should I know?” He asked irritably. “I don’t keep him in my pocket.”
“Hey, Russell!”
Lyndon turned to see who it was. The three boys Ms. Shelton had glared at were walking up to him, smirks on their faces. He got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach; those smiles really didn’t seem like something preceding a friendly greeting. “Yeah?” He said cautiously.
The boy in front grinned, like he knew he’d intimadated Lyndon. “You’re the new Spade queen, right?” He asked in a voice so false it made Lyndon’s teeth hurt. He nodded, clenching his hands in his pockets. “I thought so,” the guy said with satisfaction. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Lyndon Russell; I’m Josiah, but my friends call me Josh.” His smile got a little creepier, like he beat up kids who walked across his path for no good reason — other than pure, twisted enjoyment. “I do hope we can be friends, Lyndon.”
“Yeah . . .” Lyndon started backing away. “Um, listen, I should go. Studies downstairs and whatnot — Hey!”
Josiah grabbed his hair, yanking him back as he was turning to beat a hasty retreat. “Where do you think you’re going?” He sneered into Lyndon’s face. “We’re not done talking to you.”
GET AWAY FROM LYN! Lin screeched, arrowing towards Josiah’s head out of nowhere — and passed right through him. Right, they muttered. Can’t see me. Can’t touch me. Let’s try again.
They turned and flew straight up, their form changing as they did. Unless you want your souls ripped apart . . . they growled, their voice changing from childish to powerful and gruff. The boys whirled around, looking for the voice with panicked expressions. I suggest you let go of His Majesty.
Lyndon gulped. If he hadn’t seen the transformation, he would’ve run for it like Josiah and his group were too scared to do. Kaolin looked less like a black, fuzzy plushie now and more like a Nightmare beast. Their wings were tinged with red, like usual, only it looked as if the red was dripping — like sticky blood. Their whole body had grown, distorted enough that Lyndon could barely recognize them. Huge fangs, dripping with something wet and goopy-looking that Lyndon want to go anywhere near, were ranged around Kaolin’s openly hissing mouth. Their hands, curled into grasping claws, were so blood-red it felt to Lyndon like they’d been washing his hands with the stuff.
Slowly, Josiah stepped back, terrified. Lyndon twisted himself out of the older boy’s now-loose grip, turning to face them. “Well,” he said almost cheerfully, “I do hope we can be firends after this, don’t you . . . Josh?” Josiah made a squeaky sound that didn’t really go with his appearence. “Anyway, gotta go,” Lyndon said breezily. “Like I said, with the classes downstairs and everything. Thanks, Kaolin.”
Kaolin gave a grim, pleased smile, but stayed above them. It was only after Lyndon made it all the way down the stairs that they dropped the pretense.
Did you see their faces?? They cackled, zooming around Lyndon’s head like an over-caffeinated bat. That was priceless! Ah, man, they’ll be extra careful around you from now on. They burst into giggles again. Their faces . . . .
“That was really funny,” Lyndon agreed. “But have you always been able to do that? ‘Cause that would’ve been really useful in some of those . . . other schools.”
Lin shook their head. I don’t think so, pal. It just felt like a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing, and that’s never really happened before.
“Yeah,” Lyndon mused. “All the other times they would just laugh when they saw you.”
That’s uncalled for, Li sniffed. Well, see ya.
“Where are you going?” Lin disappeared without saying anything, just the smell of sulfur left behind. “Jerk,” Lyndon muttered. He blinked as a thought occured to him and checked his watch. “Crap!” He yelped as he saw the time; the class he hated missing was nearly over. He didn’t hate missing because of the teacher; far from it, he would’ve stayed galaxies away if he’d had the choice. No, he hated being late because of what the teacher might do to him. He took off at a run, shuddering as he remembered what had happened the last time.

[Ranger of the North]

Lin = freaky dude, man

[DeMaizu]

*wakes up at 5:54 in the morning* *realizes it's Sunday* *sighs loudly in head, because people are still sleeping next to me* HALLO!!! No, I am deefintiely not tired and berating myself for not going back to sleep! Y-NO, this probably won't bring my head-ache from last night back! I'M BEING STUPID???? I KNEW THAT!
*ahem* Lemme just get my inner Papyrus out to yell at you all, that'll make our mornings better Anyway, chapter four! I gotta finish chapter eight, yeesh . . . We meet the principal in this! And another Face CArd! I feel like I dragged on the conversation between R, Pax and Lyndon a little too long because I was at a loss for what to say otherwise. Let me know if you get that feeling too, please? I'm gonna post this, hopefully sleep some more, and then I'll do . . . something. Something will come up, probably. *srhugs* Happy readings, and please ignore the typos in this message 'cause I am sleepy as *censored* and cannot be bothered to spell check. *waves*
P.S; my mom helped with this chapter, see if you can spot what she wrote! It wasn't much, a line or so, but I still dare you
EDIT; I just realized that hte last time I woke up this early was because of a nose bleed.
. . . . . . ON WITH THE SHOW!!!!!

Pax leaned against his wall, sighing and setting the book he’d been holding aside on the floor next to him. He rubbed his eyes, wishing he could get to sleep on time for once. He’d wondered about his Mark and Awakening all through the rest of the day, to the point of going to the second floor library; the first floor one didn’t pass muster, not enough books in it. He’d been looking for materials on Marks, and he’d gotten a lot. His room was covered with all the books he could find on the things, and anything even remotely related. He’d always hated not knowing what was going on. This was no different. Fortunately, the second floor library was any bookworm’s paradise. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough.
Gettin’ sleepy there, love? Ezzie circled around his head, munching on what looked like a cinnamon roll.
“How did you even get that?” Pax asked tiredly. “And it’s none of your business, so go wherever it is you go when you disappear. Out of my hair, anyway.”
Yup, sleepy. You’re only cranky like this when you’re tired. Or overworked. The imp eyed the pile of books surrounding Pax. Like now.
Pax ran his hand through his hair, making it all stand up on end. Ezzie transferred their gaze from the books to Pax, chewing contentedly. Bite? they asked, proffering the treat. Pax swatted at it. “Ew, no,” he said. “Imp slobber.”
Ezzie shrugged and tossd the rest of it into their mouth that had suddenly appeared. Suit yourself. Personally I think imp slobber makes it all the better; our saliva has medical properties, you know.
“Seriously?” Pax asked, intrigued and a little disgusted.
No.
Pax rolled his eyes, standing up and picking his way through the mess on his floor so he could collapse face-first on the bed. Once there, he moaned, crushing his face into a pillow.
Oh, come on, love, Esmund said, floating over. It wasn’t that bad of a joke, was it?
Pax turned to glare at the black creature through drooping eyes. “That’s not it,” he mumbled.
Then what is?
He sighed and flopped over. “It’s just . . .” He hesitated. He wasn’t sure Esmund would get it; the imp had never seemed to really get his emotions on a spiritual level. He turned so he was facing Ezzie and propped himself up on his elbows. “Have you ever had this feeling where you know something’s off but you can’t quite put your finger on it?”
Esmund tilted their head. What kind of ‘off,’ exactly?
Pax frowned, trying to find the words to voice his thoughts. “Well — it’s more that something’s . . . different.” He paused, unable to formulate any coherence. “I — I don’t know. Probably nothing.” He flopped down, dropping his arms so they hung off the edge of the bed and his face was smushed into the sheets again. “Being a teenager sucks,” He mumbled.
Ha! Ezzie crashed onto the bed next to Pax, bouncing and turning over on their back. You think this is bad? Wait until you’re running a kingdom at 18!
Pax’s only repsonse was to scream into the pillows, the bed muffling his frustrated voice.


The next day, neither Pax nor Lyndon looked like they’d gotten any sleep. Both had dazed expressions, mussed up hair that’d been barely brushed, and dark circles under their eyes that made them look like zombie raccoons. Needless to say, they were given ginormous berths — though Lyndon was used to it, rumored to be cursed as he was, he was given even more space than usual this morning. The first person to approach them was Pax’s cousin — Loraine Clemence.
“Morning, Pax,” She said cheerfully, skipping circles around them. “What’s up? How come you look a raccoon zombie that’s been hypnotized to come here? Oh, why’re you hanging with Lyndon? I thought you said you hated his guts and you’d never be caught dead with him! Did something happen? What was it? Hey, why’re his eyes like that — did something huge happen? What—”
“Lori?” Pax said, the boys stopping in their tracks. She stopped and blinked at him questioningly, a smile on her face. “Could you please not talk so loud this early?”
She blinked again. “But it’s only six thirty.”
“Exactly,” Lyndon muttered. He glared at the boy beside him, adjusting the bag slung over his shoulder. “I’m only staying with him because we have an appointment with the principal.”
Lori gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. “Oh no! What did you do to get him mad? Was it his fault? Will you—”
“Lori.”
She grinned sheepishly. “Seriously though,” she continued, falling into step beside them as they started walking again. “What’s he wanna see you about?”
“Our Marks,” Pax said simply. She halted in her tracks, thinking.
“But does that mean—?” She started to call after them when another girl grabbed her arm and pulled her away, saying something about being late for dream theory. She cast a nervous glance over her shoulder as she beat a hasty retreat with Lori in tow. “I’ll meet up with you at lunch!” Lori called to Pax, waving as the other girl dragged her away.
“Thank Vorpal,” Lyndon muttered. “I thought she’d never shut up. Or leave.”
“Hey,” Pax protested. “That’s my cousin you’re bad-mouthing.”
“Really?” Lyndon asked, tilting his head to look at the taller boy. “Huh. Then that explains the annoying parts of her. Oh wait — that’s everything. I woder who she reminds me of?”
“Look, how well do you know her?” Pax asked. He took Lyndon’s silence as an invitation to continue and plowed on. “Just reserve judgement until you really interact with her, get to—”
“Interact?” Lyndon stopped dead in his steps for the second time that morning. “Interact? Have you seen the way these people act around here?” Pax opened his mouth to say something, but Lyndon cut him off. “I’ve been shunned my entire life by everyone except Ya — you. And . . . a few other people. But you spend your days chasing me around the school! Do you really expect me to just trust people right off the bat?”
Pax blinked. He knew it shouldn’t, but his mind jumped to one thing in particular; “Who were the other people?” He asked slowly.
Lyndon flinched as if he hadn’t meant for that part to come out. “None of your business!” He snapped and sped up.
Pax frowned, but didn’t say anything else about it, going faster himself to catch up. Odd looks were thrown at them from eveyone — not suprising, considering they were usually seen at each other’s throats.


Pax knocked on the door, Lyndon still sulking behind him.
“Come in,” A voice called from behind the door. Pax peeked in to see an old, white-bearded man sittig at a desk and reading through papers with a fed up expression. “Don’t just stand at the doorway,” he said without looking up, “come in, both of you.”
Pax opened the door, the boys filing in. “You wanted to talk about our Marks?” He asked, trying to ignore the waves of gloom emanating from Lyndon.
Finally, the man behind the desk looked up. “Yes, I did — but sit down first.”
“But there aren’t any—”
The principal rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers. Pax felt a whooshing sensation in the small of his back, like he was being pushed forward, and there was a small pop as a pair of chairs appeared in front of the desk. Pax and Lyndon both slumped onto them as the feeling in Pax’s back disappeared. They sat there for a second or so, stunned into stillness.
“You were saying?” He asked.
Pax blinked. “Um, right.”
“I’m a Joker,” The principal said, shoving a ridiculously huge pile of papers aside to reveal a name plate that read Andreas Ripley. “I don’t know if you’re gotten there yet in classes, but the title of Joker only goes to two people every generation. The other in mine is my brother.” He paused to stare at Pax, chin cupped in his hand. The motion reminded Pax of someone, but he couldn’t quite remember . . . . “If I remember correctly, you two are the new Spade King and Queen, yes?” They nodded. The old man burst into a huge grin, pounding the desk with a “HA!” They jumped, startled at his exclamation. “Er . . .” He said sheepishly, noicing their expressions. He cleared his throat, sitting back down. “My apologies. I feel that the current . . . rulers . . . aren’t exactly modern, if you know what I mean.” Lyndon turned away, frowning. Pax elbowed him. “I see you do, Lyn.”
Lyndon flinched at Ripley’s casual use of his name. “You—” he started, but the principal cut him off.
“Oh, calm down. Yannick comes up here a lot for tea, she’s told me some of what she knows about you. I have to say, I’m impressed you’ve made it this far without making more enemies than Pax, here.”
Yannick? Pax wondered, recalling the part in his conversation with Lyndon earlier; “I’ve been shunned my entire life by everyone except Ya — you.” Was that the beggining of a name? He shook his head, filing it away to ask about later. “Um, back to the Marks?” He prompted.
“Right, sorry,” Ripley said apologetically. “Now that you’ve both Awoken as Face Cards, you’ll be rooming in a different dorm. I would suggest you choose the same room, if only because some people here aren’t as . . . supportive of Spades as I would like there to be. Safety in numbers and all that hullabaloo.” He waved his hand in a circular motion, pausing as a thought occured to him. “although your numbers are depressingly small.” Again with the hand motion.
“with all due respect, Principal Ripley—” Lyndon started.
“Just Ripley, or even Andreas is fine, Lyndon. I don’t like formalities, even if they are sometimes required.”
“Right . . .” Lyndon continued, “With all due respect, Ripley, you really want us to room together?” Pax nodded in agreement, then blinked.
“Well, I think you’ve been getting along just fine recently,” Ripley said with a smirk that made him look much younger than he was. Pax realized with a start who the old man reminded him of; his great-uncle on his mother’s side.
“andreas,” He said slowly. “Andreas and Marcus Ripley?”
“Oh, you remember now!” Andreas said grinning. “You were so little the last time I saw you, I could pick you up with ne hand!”
Pax blinked. “I thought that was Uncle Marcus.”
“Oh, it was both of us!” Andreas assured him. “Anyway, how’ve you been doing? Written back to your family, your mom? You know how much she worries about her kids.”
“I’ve written pretty regularly,” Pax smiled. “Every week, I send a letter back home.”
“Good, good!” Andreas said smiling, leaning back in his chair contentedly. He opened his mouth to say something else, but Lyndon got to it first.
“Didn’t you call us out here for something else?” He asked pointedly.
Pax and Andreas both grinned sheepishly. Andreas coughed. “Um, yes, I’ll have to ask Yannick to help me with this later so I can talk to Pax more. Back to your Marks. I’m sure you’ve noticed how unique they are.” Pax and Lyndon glanced at each other; Pax smiled weakly. Andreas continued: “We suspected something of the sort might happen with Lyndon, but we certainly weren’t expecting five Face Cards at once. The last time this many Awakened at once was . . .” he paused and tilted his head. “I believe well over two hundred years ago. Not to mention, there are the other Face Cards Awakening in the Heart and Club Kingdoms.” He tilted his head, gaze steady. “Which means that this may very well be the first time all sixteen Face Cards have Awoken at the same time.”
Lyndon frowned. “If this is the first time all sixteen Cards have Awoken, what about all the other times?”
“I can direct you to some books that might help you with the previous Awakening times, if you want,” Andreas said, still with that head tilt.
Lyndon nodded. He opened his mouth to say something else when a crash and a yelp outside the door made them all jump.
“What was—?” Pax started, half risen from his seat.
Lyndon didn’t say anything, just stood up, shoving his chair out of the way, and rushed out the door to see what it was. Pax and Andreas exchanged a look before following him. Standing at the door — well, sitting, really, was a girl rubbing her head.
“I’m so, so sorry,” she apologized, jumping to a kneeling position when she noticed the group of people staring at her with concern. “I just couldn’t see where I was going with that huge pile of books in my arms, and then I bumped into the door frame because it was leaning to one side — the book pile, I mean — and I wanted to straighten it, so I thought I should tap it a little against the door, except it — the books — got too far to the other side and then I fell.”
She said all this while she was rooting around for the said books, not pausing once to take a proper breath. Lyndon knelt down and wordlessly started helping her pick them up, stacking them neatly in a pile to one sdie.
“It’s really fine, my dear,” Andrea reassured her, patting her head. “I’m sure I would have much the same problem as you in this situatiion, there’s nothing to apoogize for.”
She kept apologizing, anyway, bowing as best she could while on her knees. Something about her seemed . . . really familiar to Pax, like he knew her.
“Have we met . . . ?” He asked, his voice trailing away. She looked up, staring at him with incredibly light brown eyes — and a Mark, fully colored in, of a deep fuschia J inside a heart on her left cheek.
“No, I don’t think so,” She said, tilting her head with a friendly but confused smile. Lyndon glanced over with a knowing look; he’d seen it, too. “Why?”
Pax shook his head. “Nevermind. It’s nothing.” He held out his hand. “I’m Pax Anselm. You?”
“Aaliyah,” she said, smiling as she shook his hand. “Aaliyah Saab, Jack of Hearts. Lovely to meet you, Pax.”
“Likewise,” Pax said, feeling a little awkward. Should he have said he was the King of Spades when he’d said his name?
Well, A voice remarked, They don’t seem particularly up to the task, do they?