Chapter 4
Morning brought a new reality to Blackthorn Academy. Andrea stood before her mirror, fingering the bandages on her hands, still trying to process how a single playing card had transformed her overnight from scholarship student to queen. Her white tie seemed different now – less a mark of shame and more a badge of defiance.
The first test of her new status came at breakfast. Victoria Sterling entered the dining hall, her perfect composure cracking when she saw Andrea. According to tradition, the Ten of Spades – the Gossip Girl – had to be the first to publicly acknowledge the new hierarchy.
“You know she paid three students to find the Queen of Spades for her?” Sophie whispered as Victoria approached their table. “That’s why she’s so livid. She spent a fortune to guarantee her position, and now she’s stuck as the Ten.”
Victoria stopped before Andrea, her face tight with barely contained rage. To any watching staff, it might have looked like a normal interaction between students.
The entire room held its breath as Victoria approached Andrea’s table. Her face was tight with fury, but she dropped into a small curtsy.
“Andrea,” she said through gritted teeth. “How… fortunate you are.”
“Thanks, I guess,” Andrea replied quietly, remembering how it felt to have coffee spilled on her shirt just yesterday.
A muscle twitched in Victoria’s jaw, but she could do nothing but nod and retreat. The dining hall erupted in whispers.
“Watch out,” she said with a small sinister smile. “The Sinclairs are coming. All of them.”
For God’s sake…
Now she is about to face those brothers about whom there were so many dark rumors around the Academy. The same brothers who almost every one of them as Andrea already knew from those same rumors, had received their royal cards yesterday.
In addition to her classmates Gabriel and Aiden, she knew that Liam from the parallel class had drawn a match to her Queen – the King of Hearts, Damien from 11th grade had gotten the King of Clubs, and their older brother from the senior class drew the King of Spades.
Gabriel reached them first, his movements deliberate and measured. He leaned down as if asking about class notes, but his voice was soft and serious.
“I think we should talk about working together,” he said. “The higher ranks usually maintain certain… arrangements.”
Before Andrea could respond, Aiden appeared, dropping into a nearby chair with calculated casualness. His eyes raked over Andrea with a mixture of annoyance and something else – curiosity, perhaps. “A scholarship student at the top,” he mused quietly. “Maybe the system isn’t completely broken after all.”
“It’s perfect!” Liam slid smoothly into their cluster, his golden hair catching the morning light. His voice dropped to ensure no passing teachers could hear. “You have to admit it’s quite the coincidence. It’s fate! The King and Queen of Hearts, together at last.”
“Don’t be childish,” Damien cut in, joining them with a stack of books as cover. He studied Andrea like a scientist might examine an unexpected experimental result. “Though I must admit, the statistical improbability of this outcome is… fascinating.”
“My brothers are being rather forward,” Nathaniel’s smooth voice interrupted as he approached, ostensibly showing something in a textbook. “Perhaps we should give your new… classmate some space to adjust.”
He nodded to someone, and a student discreetly placed an exquisitely wrapped package in Andrea’s bag. “A gesture of respect,” Nathaniel said quietly. “And a request to meet privately, when you have time.”
Andrea stared at the package, its silver paper and black ribbon screaming wealth and power.
“Thank you,” she managed. “But I must ask – why? There are queens in the other classes as well as I may know. Why are all of you suddenly so interested in me?”
Liam leaned in, keeping his voice low. “Because you’re impossible,” he said, eyes sparkling with intrigue. “Do you know how long it’s been since a white tie drew a king or a queen? Never. It’s never happened. The cards are always… arranged beforehand.”
“The wealthy students make sure of it,” Damien added clinically, joining them with a stack of books as cover. “The going rate for securing a queen is about fifty thousand dollars, paid to various students who know where to look.”
Aiden appeared next, slouching into a chair. “The system’s rigged,” he said bluntly. “Has been for generations. Then you come along and somehow find the Queen on your own, with no connections, no paid searchers?”
“It’s really interesting, indeed,” Nathaniel commented smoothly, approaching their cluster. “Unless someone told you where to look.” His eyes flickered to Gabriel and then to Andrea’s bandaged hands.
Adrea couldn’t help but notice this threatening hint from the older brother, so not wanting to give Gabriel away, she just swallowed hard and answered: “Thank you for your time, I’ll consider your offer.”
Nathaniel’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Good. I look forward to it.”
The Sinclair brothers dispersed gradually, their departures carefully staggered, each designed to look uncoordinated and natural. Yet Andrea could feel the weight of their collective interest still lingering in the room like a phantom, pressing heavily on her chest.
Sophie leaned closer, her voice barely above a whisper.
“That was…” She trailed off, her wide eyes darting to Andrea’s face.
“Overwhelming?” Andrea offered, her tone strained but steady.
“Terrifying,” Sophie corrected, her words quick and clipped. “The Sinclairs don’t do this. They never pay this much attention to anyone. Let alone all at once.”
Andrea wanted to argue, but the truth was undeniable. Each brother had approached her today, their attention relentless, their motivations opaque. She didn’t need Sophie’s warning to know that wasn’t normal.
The air in the empty corridor was cool and quiet as Andrea hurried to her next class, the faint echoes of footsteps her only company. She rounded a corner and nearly stumbled into Gabriel Sinclair, who leaned casually against a wall, holding an open notebook.
“Gabriel,” she said, startled, glancing around to see if anyone was watching.
“Miss Riley,” he replied, his voice soft yet firm, as though they were discussing something entirely mundane. He raised the notebook slightly, a weak pretense for their meeting. “Let’s call this… a discussion about our class project.”
Andrea frowned. “Why?”
His gray eyes held hers, troubled but intense. “Because my offer was genuine,” he said quietly. “You’ll need support here. Especially now.”
Andrea folded her arms, her mind still spinning from breakfast. “Because I broke the system?”
Gabriel’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Because you’ve drawn the attention of all my brothers too. That hasn’t happened since…” He trailed off, shaking his head as though brushing away a thought he didn’t want to voice. “Just be careful, Andrea. The game has rules, but it’s not fair. And it’s not kind.”
Before she could respond, he straightened, giving her a nod that was somehow both formal and final, and disappeared down the hallway.
She didn’t have time to dwell on it. The bell rang, its sharp chime breaking the spell and sending her hurrying toward her next class.
When she entered the room, her eyes immediately landed on the empty seat near the back. She made her way toward it quickly, keeping her head down. But as she sat, she felt it—a presence behind her.
A shadow loomed in her peripheral vision as Aiden Sinclair slid into the desk directly behind hers, his movements unhurried, deliberate. She didn’t have to turn around to know it was him. The air seemed to shift around him, charged and electric, like the moments before a thunderstorm.
He leaned forward slightly, his voice low and rough. “You’re different,” he muttered, the words meant only for her.
Andrea stiffened, her fingers tightening around the edges of her notebook. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Don’t let this place change that,” he said, his tone softer now, as though it was a warning rather than a compliment.
The rest of the day passed in a blur of whispers and stolen glances. Even the teachers seemed to tread carefully around her, their usual dismissive tone toward scholarship students replaced by something resembling cautious respect.
Between classes, Andrea found herself cornered by Liam again. He slid into the seat beside her with the ease of someone who owned the world. “You must be a spectacular Queen,” he said. “Fate, I’m telling you.”
Andrea shook her head, but before she could answer, Damien’s voice cut through the moment. “Fate is for fairy tales,” he said, his gaze cool and calculating. “This game is about power, strategy, and survival. Keep up, Riley. You’re in the deep end now.”
A messenger delivered Nathaniel’s gift to her next class – an antique music box that played “The Queen of the Night” aria. The note inside read: “Power suits you. Let me teach you how to wield it.”
By the end of the day, Andrea’s head was spinning. She opened her locker, needing a moment of normalcy. A piece of paper fluttered to the floor.
The message was cut from magazine letters, stark black against white: “PEASANTS WHO PLAY AT BEING QUEENS OFTEN LOSE THEIR HEADS.”
Long live the Queen indeed.
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