The Ace

Chapter 3

The Red Castle was a lot different than the castle of the Black Army. I stared up at it curiously as the soldiers led me through the front gates and into the luxurious entry. The Red Army was all about tradition and finer living, two elements clearly implemented into the orderly decor and structure of their headquarters.

I was led up the stairs to what looked like a chamber room. My blood ran cold as I saw the King of Hearts look up at us from a desk. With a sweep of his velvet cape, the king rose and moved blonde hair away from his blue eyes before approaching.

"Who is this?" he asked the soldiers. "Why have you brought her here?"

The green haired soldier kneed while the other two held me. "My King, this woman from the Black Territory crossed our bridge and went onto our land."

The King's icy gaze rested on me. "Why?"

I bowed slightly. "King Lancelot, I meant no disrespect. I saw an injured kid and rushed to his aid."

"Are you a doctor?" Lancelot asked quizzically.

I stuttered, "No."

"Then you had no business coming onto our land," the King told me. "Who are you?"

I swallowed nervously as I looked up at him. "I'm Robyn Abernathy."

"She seems to be close with the Ace of Spades," one soldier told him and forced my arm up to display the bracelet on my cuffed wrist. "She bears the Godspeed symbol."

Lancelot smirked and let out a scoff. "Godspeeds, humph!" He crossed his arms. "Robyn Abernathy you are charged with enemy trespassing."

"What's going on?"

The familiar voice hit my ears and I let out a breath of relief as the doctor from earlier walked in alongside another soldier with dark hair. The new soldier caught my attention, a singular stripe of blonde hair standing out on his black locks and a tattoo lining the right side of his neck. I looked away as his gaze rested on me.

"Hey it's you," the doctor said and then down at my cuffed wrists. "You arrested her? For what?"

"For trespassing on our territory," one of the soldiers told him.

The doctor's face contorted in anger. "Are you kidding me? She saved that boy's life and this is how you repay her? By putting her in prison?"

"Kyle, she from Black territory," Lancelot told him.

"She saved one of our own!" the doctor argued. "It doesn't matter where she's from. She could have let the kid die but she didn't."

"Listen to your King, Kyle," a commanding voice ordered as two more Red Army Officers entered the room.

One was tall with white silvery hair and deep yellow eyes. The other was shorter but had a boyish face with brown hair and jade eyes. With a deep realization, I recognized all of them from articles I've read and from intel from Sirius and Ray.

The silvery haired man was no doubt the Queen of Hearts: Jonah Clemence. A man with a bitter attitude and severe loyalty to his King, Jonah was a force to reckoned with.

The man with jade eyes was the Jack of Hearts, Edgar Bright: a playboy with a charming smile and a skilled hand for combat.

Kyle Ash was the doctor I had met earlier. As the 7 of Hearts and the head of medicine, Kyle was the youngest doctor in the history of Cradle.

That meant that the man with the tattoo had to be the Ace of Hearts: Zero, perhaps the most mysterious of all.

"This woman is the enemy," Jonah told Kyle harshly. "Her deeds do not change that."