Deckhaven
2 — The Two of Diamonds
* * *The Players
- Two of Diamonds
- The Stranger
The Diamond Quarter glittered.
The crystals that gave the Diamond suit their identity pulsed in various colors and intensities across the quad. All the suits had access to power crystals, but the more powerful arcane crystals were available only to the Diamonds.
The Diamond Deuce stood just blocks away from the Grand Market. It was only moderate in scale compared to some of the other gambling establishments in the Diamond quarter, but it nonetheless constituted a fair amount of the income generated for and by the Diamond court.
The Two of Diamonds sat at the highest table. She managed the casino with an agile intelligence and sleek aesthetic that set her apart from the rest of the staff. Her raven-black hair was set high and her business attire was tailored specifically to dazzle and distract. Her pure card rank of Two carried little weight at court, but she was rarely there. Her time was almost always spent here at the Diamond Deuce, and here she was queen.
So when the stranger in the patchwork coat and painted mask strolled up and took the seat opposite her, she wasn’t impressed.
Two arched a perfect eyebrow. “Are you lost? This is a casino, not a stage.”
A pair of smartly-dressed, muscular clubs stepped from the shadows, prepared to throw him out.
The stranger removed something from a pouch and laid it on the table between himself and the Two.
The Two raised her hand. The clubs stopped.
A red-and-black poker chip sat on the table. Vibrant mana swirled visibly within its surface, radiating power. The runes etched into the polished table flared in recognition.
Two stared at the chip for long seconds. Then she looked up at the stranger.
“A Dealer’s chip,” she said, her voice even. “Am I to believe that’s real?”
Murmurs rippled through the watching crowd. A Dealer’s chip was rare, an item of power that tipped scales in Deckhaven. Possession of such an artifact would guarantee a promotion that would leap numbers. A Two could become a Six or Seven…or even an Eight. A Dealer’s chip could bend the deck.
Despite coming from behind a mask, the stranger’s voice sounded with complete clarity. “Doubt your own eyes if you will, but do you doubt your very own table runes?”
She exhaled slowly. “No.”
“Then yes, it’s real. And it’s yours…if you win a hand.”
She didn’t move. “What’s the catch?”
“Three rules, my Lady Two. Three rules only.”
“I’m listening.”
The mask tilted slightly. “Rule one. We shall play a total of 7 hands. If at any point you win a hand, then the coin is yours and our match is finished. Otherwise, all 7 hands must be completed. Any attempt to stop playing before that will be considered a forfeiture of the match.”
“I see,” said Two. “And the second rule?”
“The second rule,” said the stranger, “is that you will remove an item of clothing after any hand you lose.”
Two was silent for several moments as she processed this. Then she spoke again. “Ambitious, aren’t you? But I’m wearing six items of clothing. What happens if I lose the 7th hand?”
The mask covering the stranger’s features didn’t move, but it somehow conveyed amusement. “Should you lose the 7th hand, the third rule will come into play. The third rule is that if you lose all seven hands, you will drop to your knees and service me with your lovely mouth.”
Murmurs rippled through the watching crowd. Shocked. Scandalized. The clubs took another step closer. Two once again raised her hand.
“You’re saucy, aren’t you?” said Two.
“I am chaos, my Lady Two. And so are you.”
“What does that mean?”
“You’ll understand more afterward.”
The Two tapped the table with a manicured nail, her eyes on the chip. “So those are the rules? I remove an item of clothing if I lose a hand and we continue to play until I either win the chip or I’m naked and…kneeling?”
“You are most correct, my Lady Two. Do you accept?”
One hand. One win. That’s all it would take. Her eyes became steely. “I accept.”
The runes flared, locking in the bet. There was no leaving the table now until the of the bet were deemed fulfilled.
The cards shimmered into being, spread face-down in front of them. At this table, the cards were dealt by the runes. This was a deck no one could bottom-deal from.
The crowd murmured and pressed in closer.
The first hand appeared to be hers…until his last card fell. The runes flared, declaring his victory. Her lips tightened, but she pulled off her gloves and nonchalantly laid them on the table.
The second hand began. And again she lost. She slipped off her heels.
“Luck sometimes warms slowly,” said Two, “but it always warms eventually.”
Now barefoot, her expression remained determined as the third hand began. But then she lost again and her fingers began unbuttoning her blouse.
Each loss stoked the room’s excitement. Wagers flew back-and-forth. Two even laughed with them, sharing their excitement despite sitting at the table in her bra, her cleavage on display.
“Luck shifts,” she said. “Always. Diamonds always turn the last card.”
The stranger gave no reply.
When her skirt slid over her hips and dropped to her feet, the murmurs grew more pronounced. She now sat nearly bare, clad only in bra and panties. Her poise still remained in place, but her movements seemed a bit stilted.
When she lost the fifth game, she felt the first true stirring of nervousness. But her hands unhooked her bra, baring her breasts to the stranger and the crowd.
When she lost the sixth game, she tried to resist the runes. But her hands moved against her will to her panties, sliding them over her hips and down her thighs. She leaned back, fully naked now. Her cheeks were hot.
“How are you doing this?” she said, leaning forward, her breath ragged, her voice low. “No one beats me at my own table. No one. How are you doing this?"
The mask tilted. His finger tapped the red-and-black chip. “You’re surprised because you think we’re playing your game. We’re not. We’re playing mine.”
The final hand played out. She revealed her cards, spreading them in front of her. It was her best hand of the match.
It wasn’t enough. His hand was perfect. The runes blazed bright, signaling his victory. Her defeat.
Two stared in disbelief.
The stranger leaned close. The voice from behind his mask was implacable. “You’ve lost. And the bet was clear.”
She was rune-bound and couldn’t leave the table until she satisfied the of the bet, but she wouldn’t have left even if she could. You didn’t bet if you couldn’t pay. She gazed at the Dealer’s chip for a long moment, then sighed and dropped to her knees in front of the stranger.
She was so close to a promotion. So close. But instead of leapfrogging half the deck, she was a Two on her knees with her lips wrapped around a cock, her warm, wet mouth stroking over his shaft.
The crowd watched in stunned silence as Two worked the stranger’s dick with her mouth. The only sound was the wet, inadvertent slurping noises that occasionally emerged from Two’s fervent blowjob work.
There was no mistaking the moment the stranger came in Two’s mouth. Although the stranger gave no indication he was coming, Two suddenly squealed around his cock in heat and release. The crowd realized that the stranger’s release had somehow triggered Two’s own heated orgasm. For a long moment, the crowd recognized that Two had lost track of the fact that she was on display, on her knees naked, her throat working as she swallowed the hot seed that the stranger’s cock was pumping into her mouth.
The moment finally ed and Two sat back on her bare heels, her fingers self-consciously wiping her wet chin. Her cheeks were bright red.
“Satisfied?” she said, although she was aware that he was, since the runes had released her.
The stranger didn’t reply. He reached into his pouch and pulled out something, then set it next to the Dealer’s chip.
It was a second Dealer’s chip.
Two stared at the chips. Then she looked at the stranger.
“High card,” he said. “That’s it. No hands, no drawing, no discard. Highest card wins.”
Two felt her heart pounding. “Two Dealer’s chips. Two chips against what?”
“My collar,” said the stranger simply. “My collar for the duration of this quinquennium.”
Two waited, but realized the stranger was serious. She looked again at the pair of Dealer’s chips.
There really wasn’t any question. Those two chips represented a promotion into a face-card. A lottery ticket to the top of the deck.
“Deal,” she said.
“Deal,” he said.
The runes flared, sealing the bet. A single card appeared in front of both of them.
Two flipped her card and felt a sudden surge of hope. “A king of Diamonds,” she said, her voice catching.
The stranger paused dramatically for several seconds, then flipped his card.
A two of diamonds.
Two squealed despite herself. “I won! I won!” She reached for the chips…but couldn’t grasp them.
The stranger reached over easily and slid the chips into his palm, then dropped them back into his pouch.
“But…but I won!” said Two.
“No, you didn’t. You lost.”
“What? How?! I have a king! You have a two!”
The stranger leaned forward. “It’s a new quinquennium, my Lady Two. The Turning Deuce, which is simply another way of saying…Deuces are wild. My two…is wild. It’s whatever I want it to be.”
Two’s eyes widened. The crowd’s murmurs grew louder.
The stranger appeared not to notice. He reached into another pouch and pulled something out.
A collar.
“Lift your chin, my sweet,” said the stranger. “You were a Two. A deuce. But now I’m going to make you so much more.”
Two lifted her chin. The click of the collar locking onto her throat sounded like the snap of a plank…even as it touched something deep inside her.
* * *