This is a beautiful night. A night where I was supposed to spend time with the Lunderberg family, and not be a tool for Fiona to cheat at War. This is a game where the highest card wins and it takes the opponent's cards to use. The card game works this way: anyone gets a scrambled pack of cards, uses the first one against the other opponents, only the first one! If it takes from a random spot, he will be automatically disqualified. This more likely a luck card game instead of a strategy one like "Macau" or "Bear".
I stay in the kitchen, where those family members are staying at a table, keeping their pack of cards on the table like it is something valuable. I wanted to leave this room, but Fiona saw me and tried to convince me to cheat, but I have to do it, otherwise, my punishment by eating her food might increase to a month.
"Hey, Judah," says Diana turning around at me. "A'int you wanted to play a War game with us?"
"Um..." I say looking at Fiona, who shook her head in approval. "Sure."
I walk to the table, feeling quite nervous because I know some members of this family, and some of them know that I am a wizard, probably the only wizard or mage at this table, which will most likely be everyone with eyes on me in case I will cheat.
"Remember, kid." said one member of this family. "If you cheat, you are out."
"I-I get it," I say to the man who is looking at me in suspicion.
"Okay, kid." says a nice old lady from the table who is passing me a pack of twelve cards. "Here is your pack. And be careful how you use it, alright?"
"This is not my first game. I pretty much know how this one works." I told to the lady mysteriously.
"Good thing they teach you that at school."
"She is not going to school, Aunt Suzy," says Fiona to her aunt. "She is working for me as a squire."
"Oh, really?" she said and looks at me. "Then you must be very smart, right?"
"Um... Yeah. At magic."
"Hm... Now, now. Let's hope that you will not try and cheat this game."
Fiona was looking at me, she nodded her head, and this made me feel quite nervous because I will probably be in grave danger. Not only in her, but probably in the whole family.
---
The first round has started well for Fiona, who got the King, and the others got much smaller card value. She then takes those cards into a collection, she put them at her back of the pack. Then, the second round also starts great for Fiona who got number 9, and the rest had a lower number.
"Two consecutive wins, sister?" says Diana looking at her. "I am impressed. But this game is more about luck than strategy."
"I know," she said with a smile on her face who is putting her third card on the table, and this time, she got the number three, while I have number ten, the highest card.
"This little rascal got his first round." said the Father of those two daughters.
"Indeed," says Aunt Suzy.
Out of nowhere, Fiona, who was close to me, whispered without making anyone noticing to me. "Use a spell that stops the time.". I know we live in a world of magic and everything, but a spell that can stop time is not my thing. Sure, there is one who can send you back in time five seconds, but this one requires one year of someone's mage/wizard life.
I tried to whisper at her that I cannot do it, but the Father stands up from his seat.
"Alright. I think I might going to leave this game."
"Why?" asks her aunt. "Are you scared?"
"N-No." says their father. "I have to go and prepare the boars and pigs for tomorrow."
"Oho!" says Grandpa. "This time it is our turn, eh?"
"It seems like it." says the father who is taking a coat and he is hearing to the door who is leading outside the house.
"He is going to gather all the pigs and boars for tomorrow's contest," says Fiona to me. " and on that one, you will participate."
"Why?"
"Because on that contest all of the boys and men are participating."
"And the winner it is our hand," says Diana.
"Ewww. Why I would participate again?"
"Because you will otherwise have to taste Fiona's meal for three months," she whispered Diana to my ear, and this sound very convincing.
A few rounds later of War, Aunt Suzy got eliminated because she didn't have cards anymore. So now it is just me, Fiona, Diana, and their grandpa. This fight is starting to get quite intense for them, but for me, it looks like I got the highest pack of the cards. Diana has only four cards, Fiona has nine cards and their grandpa has only one, which means he could lose the next hand if the card he will throw it will not be the biggest from the attack.
At our next move, I throw on the table the card number four, which is a low number and I could lose at this round. Surprisingly, Diana and their grandpa have the same card value. This means that we are taking our cards back and we are putting them in the pack. This made the grandpa take a breath of relief.
But the next round got the one who eliminated him because the highest card was coming from his favorite granddaughter, Diana, who had number twelve. She also took our cards because I and Fiona got the lowest ones. The grandpa looks at Diana, and he told her with a devasted look.
"How could you?"
"Sorry, grandpa." she says in a tone with regret. "T-That is how this game works."
The Grandpa leaves the table and he goes to the room where almost everyone has gathered to discuss their lives and what they did after their last reunion, while I and these two sisters are playing cards. Fiona is looking at me and she whispered.
"Help me cheat, or else I will not cook anymore for you."
"This doesn't sound so bad." I thought to myself.
"And I will take your cut of the salary for two months."
"Okay, now this does sound bad." I thought to myself again and looks at my cards. "So... I have to do something to help her win, but how?... I do not know any time stop spells which allows me to peek Diana's cards or scramble the ones from Fiona's pocket, or even better the one who has the highest value every time Diana will throw one." I start to feel very nervous and feeling like I could die at any minute. "Why does the magic have to get many barriers?"
We play normally this game, I won the next two rounds, and made me feel less worried that Diana has much lower cards, but Fiona was looking skeptical at me. She probably thinks that I am cheating, but If I could tell her that I do not cheat, I would, but this will create even more trouble. For me, and her.
Diana throws her card, which has twelve numbers, and I looked at Fiona who was about to throw her card, then, I have decided to do something quite risky. I quickly put my hand on the wand that is on the pocket I always kept and mumbled the spell name.
"Laudin."
After I mumbled that spell, the small lizard which is named Laudin leaves my wand, and he is going directly to Diana's seat. Thank goodness I can communicate with this lizard by using the mind. Our minds are somehow connected so we know what we are thinking and what we are doing. If that paragraph wasn't on the last page of the book about animal summoning, I would've been lost.
Laudin is sneaking at the back of the chair Diana, and he could see the last card, but he cannot see the value, only the back part. But this doesn't stop him, because he got a skill which was developed a long time ago by my parents and he remains with him. The skill is called card value, and he could see the card value, even if the card is turned on the back. He quickly left the seat without being noticing and he runs back to my wand pocket and he goes back to the wand. When he got back there, he told me that the card value is also twelve. And this means one single thing, the battle between all three of us will be based much more on luck, rather than on strength.
---
I mumbled the number twelve and Fiona just shake her head, which means she heard it, and Diana did not even know what we were talking about. So, Fiona put her ten-card value, which made Diana feeling happy, but, then, I made Diana jaw-dropped after I put King's card. And this made even Fiona surprised.
I took those two cards in my pack, and I launched the next card which is thirteen in value. It seems like luck has decided to help me eliminate Diana from this competition. Fiona also put her card down, which is ten value, and Diana, who seemed surprised she put her last card, and quickly got eliminated because her card value was twelve.
"My lord... This was unexpected." she told to all two of us. "I.. I cannot believe it. My sister... And her squire... This might be going to be an interesting fight."
"Indeed." says Aunt Suzy who came back in the room while she has on her left hand a cup of drink liquid. "I bet Judah might going to win. He got lucky the entire fight."
"There is only one way to know." she says to Fiona, while she quickly looks at me with her angry look.
Now this one might get ugly.
---
A few minutes later, of an intense battle, only I and Fiona has remained on the table, both of us has the same card numbers, two. We are both looking at each other in a competitive look, while the other people from the other room, have come to see us and celebrate the winner of this fight.
Fiona throws her card, and I threw mine. Her card has a better value, and she captured mine. Then, I throw my last card, which has much more value, and I could capture Fiona's card, which has two numbers. If I lose this round again, I will lose this card I used in the fight. The one I used that round was number twelve. And she got the King.
There is nothing I could do. If I put the card on the table, she will take it with her King and got number two, who is already useless. If I abandon, she will have to use me as her maid or butler for a few days. Which doesn't seem bad.
"Looks like you are going to lose." she said to me she put her King on the table.
Then, I did an unthinkable move, so I put me that two-card revealed and raised my hands. "I surrender." I told her and made everyone feeling disappointed. Some of them thought that I could win, but winning at this game is not that easy, and my luck was good, but not at the end of the game.
She stands up from her seat, laughing and she told me her first order.
"Because I am a winner now! You!" she pointed her hand at me. "You will have to participate in that pigs hunting and win."
"Alright... How hard it can be?"
"Without magic."
"...Fuck."
And this how a card game night with the Devils has ended up. At least I did not have a worse punishment like Diana, who had to clean the sword and taste her cook and told her that it is much better than the ones she was always cooking.