Do You Have...

"Do you have an King of hearts?"

"Go fish."

Really, it all came down to one thing.

All it ever was that kept them tied to this earth was the four-lettered word that began with 'l' and ended with 'k', and no matter how many times Jace jokingly said it was 'lick', it was never going to be.

Yes, everything in life just came down to one word, four letters, one meaning.

Luck.

Alec hastily pulled the string back and let go after a careful moment, the familiar thwipp of the arrow releasing like a sigh on the wind. The arrow hit the target squarely where he'd wanted, and the Hydra demon let out a kind of a hissing screech. It's head swayed maniacally, the arrow jutting out of its head as inchor dripped to the ground.

Hydra demons, incredibly stupid, but also a pain in the ass.

With the arrow, Alec had hit the last remaining 'safe' head. Safe because the other heads, were blazing alight with glowing blue flames.

"Nice one, Alec!"

"I just got lucky," he shouted back, jumping backwards as the head he'd hit came swinging towards him.

There was an inconvenience to fighting in a small back alley, Alec supposed, as his jump sent him backwards into an unused trashcan. With a loud clutter and clang, he went toppling backwards.

Life was just one big gamble. Maybe it wasn't the same for mundies. No, Alec doubted that mundies thought about Life very much. What did they do that was a gamble? Getting a car, walking across the street... It all paled in comparison to what Shadowhunters did. Fighting demons, it was a hazard, and they all knew that as they went into battle.

"Alec!"

You played Russian Roulette everyday. Time after time, it ended up being a blank. But, one of those times, there'd be a real bullet.

"Alexander!"

There was someone calling for him, but he didn't know who. Disorientation had smothered him when he fell; a sharp pain radiated from a point he couldn't identify. His head was swimming with noises and thoughts and pains; there was what seemed to be growling, hissing, cursing.

The pain was intense; it had gone from a spreading prickle to a raging burn. He could feel his eyes stinging now, and something tickled his cheek. He tried to raise a hand to rub it away, but he couldn't find his fingers, let alone his arms. He was beginning to wonder, vaguely, why his head felt so heavy and where the burn had come from, but he couldn't lock onto a reasonable explanation. He was starting to feel light and airy, like, as if soon, he'd be drifting.

Life was as fragile as a house of cards. If there was too much pressure, the house would crumble. If something were to happen to affect the balance, the house would crumble. Something as simple as a wrong move could destroy your life.

Hands were on him then. He could feel their pressure, if only just. A low moan escaped his lips, he thought it was his lips, anyway. More pressure, more pain. He wanted it gone. Whether it was him or them, something was going to have to break.

And suddenly, the pain was clearing. The blur of noise had become a little more audible; he could make out voices. Slowly, slowly, he realized they were saying his name every once in awhile. There was a voice, closer, muttering something that Alec didn't understand.

He understood all of this. That Life was just a game, that it was a dangerous game at that. It had all the rules, the disturbances, the chances. It could be as harsh as Russian Roulette, or as simple as dealing a hand in rummy. You could get a ten of hearts, a Jack of hearts, and a Queen of hearts. The point was, did you wait to see if you could get the King? Did you use a deuce? Did you just go for what you had? In Life, you had a choice.

So, Alexander, do you want to pull the trigger? Do you want that King of Hearts? Do you want to open your eyes or do you want to die?

Blue flickered into his vision, and for a moment, he wondered why fireflies were blue and why they were out in this chilly weather. Then he gathered that they weren't really fireflies at all, but sparks, and slowly, he recognized the face that was swimming into view above him. Cat-like eyes stared down at him with a livid expression, and the man was gnawing on a gloss-slicked lip.

"Do I really have to ask you not to hide your eyes from me, Alexander? I've told you that I really like them," Magnus uttered accusingly. Alec felt his lips twitch.

"So sorry, Bane..."

"I swear Alec, you scare me so much that one of these days, I'm just going to drop dead from a heart attack!" came a woman's voice, and he recognized it as Isabelle's.

"Izzy, he should have been dead four times over. I have this little sad feeling that we're not going to get rid of him that easily."

"Jace! Don't joke about that!"

"Ouch! Why'd you hit me? Tempermental women..."

"Tempermental? What did you just say?"

Alec smiled a little to himself, sitting up. There were new iratzes glowing on his skin, although he figured Magnus had done most of the healing. "What happened to me?" he questioned, looking to the warlock.

"You fell."

"Humpty-Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty-Dumpty had a great fall..."

"Jace!"

"I know that... but after?"

"The ruckus you caused irritated that Hydra. It attacked you, flaming heads and all." Magnus was silent for a moment, taking Alec's hand to pull him to his feet. Alec swayed, and Magnus' hands became supports. "By all rights, it should have been dead. We killed it then, but you got burned up pretty badly when its blood went everywhere. I was worrying for a moment; I thought it'd got you in the eyes." Magnus peered at him carefully, expression unreadable. Alec felt vaguely awkward.

"Ah... well, thanks. For healing me, you know."

"Anytime, Alexander, anytime."

In Life, you had a choice.

Alec stared up at Magnus, a small frown pulling at his lips. He felt strange. Not strange like he had been dying strange, but with Magnus looking down at him...

You could wait to see if you got that extra card. It could be a risk. You could come out on top.

Looking to the bickering Jace and Isabelle, he realized. Alec himself had been dealt a very good hand.

Alec was the ten.

Jace was the Jack.

Isabelle, the Queen.

He looked back at Magnus, and Alec knew for sure.

He'd just found his King.

"Do you have a King of Hearts?"

"Yes, yes I do."

So, here's my first entry for the Tower's of Alicante's Monthly Writing Contest.

The prompt was "Life is like a game of cards." I hope I essentially met that point, I feel like I had a little more reference to gambling than just cards, but... I hope you all enjoy it, for what it is. Thanks for reading. And now... review? :D