you are here
The Cartomancer's Last Hand
fantasy◐ Teen5 contributors · 4 paragraphs deep
They play three quick hands. Mireille wins two with careful, cold bets. The Queen's painted skin cracks at the edges, and Mireille suddenly feels stronger, younger. 'You're good,' the Queen admits. 'But I have played this game for two hundred years.'
Mireille pushes her luck and bets all her remaining years on one hand. The Queen's eyes gleam. They turn their cards over together. Mireille's heart pounds as she sees the result.
↔ version 3 of 3 of this paragraph — hover its sides to flip. The card below is what happens next.
What happens next?
2 ways forwardVote share across the top 2 branches
A possible continuation
Mireille's hand wins by a single point. The Queen ages two hundred years in a breath, until only dust and river weed sit where a woman stood. Mireille has won decades she never lived, and dawn finds her staring at her young hands in wonder.
BD
Bram de Vries
5 votes · future 1 of 2