The Human Heart [COMPLETED]

Love is a Fragile Thing

The silence falling over them feels heavy, and Chishiya tries not to wince at the increasing pain. He focuses on the screen in front of him now announcing victory, and the scratching sound of a chair being pushed back is too loud in his ears.

"Let me get your drinks then, no?" With a voice unfazed as ever, the Queen rises from her chair and gracefully disappears where she came from in the first place. No one dares to talk; all Chishiya hears are mourns and heavy breaths. Never before has he been so tired. All he wants is to lie down and sleep, but he knows that once he gives in to that, he will die. He has to stay awake.

The Queen doesn't return immediately, and it feels like months and years of waiting.

"She won't come back," An gasps with a hint of panic. "She made us drink that poison and now she watches us die even though we won her game."

Possible, however very unlikely. Suitable for a Hearts game, but not Diamonds. Can't he just allow himself a short nap? Just a few minutes with closed eyes to allow the throbbing pain in his head to ebb down?

NO. He can't do that. He won't.

"She won't come back," Greasy Hair repeats. "She won't come back, she won't come back, she won't..."

Above their heads, headlights activate and bathe their seats in bright light, leaving out the Queen's chair. It is too bright, it hurts. The sound of the Queen's heels echo through the room and Chishiya makes out her blurred figure, holding just another tray and placing a glass in front of everyone before sitting down herself.

"This round is on me!" She announces cheerfully while Chishiya slowly reaches for the small glass in front of him. It'd be fatal to spill its contents, but with a shaking hand, bringing it to his mouth turns out to be a heavy task.

The liquid has nothing sweet this time, it tastes bitter and wrong and makes it hard to keep it down. It leaves a burning trail inside his body, but the consequences are imminent. The image of his stubborn is the first thing to disappear, and the bubbles pop only seconds after. Everything around him turns back to normal when the colorful specks disappear, and the cold sweat stops. He feels his heartbeat slow down again.

"Take your time," chuckles the Queen while she watches their struggles, "nothing will happen to you if you stay here for some minutes longer."

An is the first one to get up, on wobbly feet and still pale, but determined to leave. "I'm sure you won't expect me to stay longer in here than necessary."

"I could use some fresh air as well," mutters her pigtailed friend, and one after another, all the other players leave the room. They look like a horde of zombies with all their wobbling and stumbling, and Chishiya leans back in his chair when they are out of sight.

The Queen has folded her hands and placed her elbows on the table. "Don't you want to leave as well? I'm sure someone is waiting for you out there."

His stubborn has waited long enough, and she will be able to wait for some minutes more. Chishiya still wants answers.

"Who is the Mastermind behind all this? Behind the Borderlands?"

"I can't tell you," admits the Queen with a shaking head, "even if I knew the answer, I wouldn't be allowed to talk about it."

What a shame. "Why are we here, then?"

"To waste time? To flee from a world that didn't suit us? For a second chance, to make up for everything bad we've done?" The Queen reaches for her own glass, and Chishiya notices that she hasn't touched it yet. Probably alcohol again, since she doesn't need the antidote. "I clearly remember the day I arrived here, together with my friends. With whom I thought would be my soul mate. But why? I never figured it out myself."