Meaning of Cards

Start: 7/31/2012 Finish: 8/24/2012

Summary: Before, during and after, she has been his queen and he her joker. A short story surrounding the Joker and my OC Eris. Joker/OC

Chapter 1 ~ Ace

Ace of Hearts: Change in feelings and emotions

Before it all began, he was with her. Her name was Eris, like the Greek goddess of chaos. His name was Jack. He would one day be called the Joker, but not now. Not yet. They met in a PTSD meeting. She was there for her brother while he was there alone. She sat next to him. "Hi there." She said, giving him a small smile.

Jack looked up, showing her scars. She didn't gasp in horror at them. He nodded his acknowledgement. The group leader stood up and began the conversation. "Alright, let's get started… anyone want to go first?" he asked, looking around at all the faces.

The woman next to Jack stood up. "I'll go." She said.

"Alright. What's your name and why are you here?" the leader asked, sitting back down.

"My name is Eris and I'm here for my brother." She said, looking at her elder brother.

"Hi Eris." The rest of the group said, even Jack.

Her brother stood next. "I'm Jon… I'm here because… my parents were murdered…" he said, his voice quiet and unsure of himself.

"Hi Jon." The group said.

The rest of the group went in turn. Finally, it was Jack's turn. He stood, glancing through his dirty blonde hair at Eris. "I'm Jack." He said, keeping his face down and his hair covering his face. "I'm here because my dad cut up my face." He finished and sat quickly.

"Hi Jack." The group said, but the only voice that Jack heard was Eris'.

So they met. Over the weeks of therapy, they grew closer. Eris never shied away from his scars. Her personality wouldn't allow it. She was always happy, always smiling. They only time that her smile faded was when they were in therapy and her brother would talk about their parents' death. They helped each other cope with their traumas. Her brother abruptly moved away from their town, heading to the big city of Gotham. She never saw him again. He wrote once, saying that he was doing fine and had become a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum. Eris and Jack's relationship blossomed. They eventually moved into an apartment together. Utilizing his skill with knifes, Jack became a wood carver, making fancy picture frames and other luxury things. They actually sold and Jack's earning alone could keep the pair of them in their apartment.

But Eris refused to become a stay-at-home-girlfriend. Her passion for helping others landed her a job in Child Protective Services. She excelled at the work, but was always on call, making her hours rather strange. And the people she dealt with were even stranger… and even dangerous. She had received various threats from disgruntle people who, while helping kids, had been outed with illegal drugs, smuggling, murders, robbery and even mob activity. It was her brazen actions against child abuse and endangerment.

"I have to go." She said, early one morning.

"What for?" he asked, groggily sitting up.

"Got a call." She said, slipping into black slacks. "Child porn ring just got busted."

Jack nodded and rose from the bed as well. He stepped into a pair of grey sweats and walked her to the door. She stopped in the doorway and gave him a wild kiss, promptly waking the sleepy man. "I shouldn't take long." She whispered, resting her forehead against his own.

"I'll see you in the afternoon then." He replied, kissing her forehead.

She sighed and kissed both his scars. It was their ritual every time she left. She would kiss his scars and he would kiss her lips. She whispered against his lips, "I love you."

He buried his face in the crook of her neck. "I love you too." He replied, kissing her neck.

Eris sighed happily and left their apartment. Jack locked the door behind her and stumbled back to bed, relishing the feeling of her soft lips against his scars. He flopped onto the bed and fell asleep again. He awoke a few hours later and dressed for the day. Over his graphic T-shirt and working jeans, Jack put on his leather woodworkers vest. His various knifes and carving tools lay in their own pockets while scraps of sandpaper and small bottles of wood varnish had their own. Eris had gotten the vest for him for his birthday some years back. He absolutely loved it because it showed her devotion to him and to his profession. He picked up some of his orders. A few picture frames, a rocking chair, and a desk.

On his work bench, there was a little box. He had carved the box with tiny roses and delicate hearts onto the mahogany lid. For how beautiful the box was, what lay inside that was his true work of art. A slim ring of pure cherry wood lay in a bed of red velvet. He had gone out to a jewelry shop and bought an imperfect diamond. The person helping him had a horrified look on his face because of his scars. He kept his shopping trip short, just buying the creamy gem. He carefully carved the solid piece of wood into a delicate and smooth ring. The real challenge came from setting the gem into the ring. Sighing and shaking his head at the excruciating work that he put into that ring, Jack started working on the desk.

Noon passed rather quickly and no sign or call from Eris. He finished the rough desk when there came a rapid knock at the door. He pocketed a carving knife and walked to the door. On the other side were two police officers. "Jack Napier?" one of them asked.

"What do you want?" he asked, leaning in the doorway.

"May we come in?" he asked; Jack moved out of the doorway and they entered.

Jack shut the door with an accidental slam. The officers faced him again. "Do you know an Eris Crane?" he asked.

"Yeah." Jack said, taking off his vest. "She's my girlfriend. She went out on a call but should be home soon."

"Did she say where she was going?" the officer asked.

"No." Jack replied. "She just said that a child porn ring got busted and that they needed her."

The officers looked at each other. "Mr. Napier, there has been an incident." The other officer said, making Jack stiffen.

"What happened?" Jack asked, "Where's Eris?"

"There was never a busted porn ring." The officer said.

"Where is Eris?" Jack asked, his voice getting very low.

"We're sorry Mr. Napier." The officer replied. "We found her body in an alley near First and Maple."

The officers might have said more to Jack, but he didn't hear them. Nothing mattered anymore. One thing however, did stick with him. "…we believe that is may have been a mob hit…"

The officers finished talking and silence filled the room. Jack didn't say anything, just walked to the door and opened it. The officers left and Jack locked the door behind them. He slowly walked to the bathroom, braced himself on the sink and looked into the mirror. He saw himself, his scars… the scars that Eris kissed everyday she left…Jack felt a rage build in him and he smashed his fist into the mirror. His rage continued and soon, their apartment was trashed, the desk he spent hours working on was nothing but a pile of scrap when he was done with it. His enraged brown eyes landed on the small mahogany box. He carefully opened the box and took the ring out. He carried the ring into their bedroom and flung open the closet.

The purple dress suit that he had bought on a dare hung against her dresses. He placed the ring into the pocket before tearing off his clothing and donning the suit. He took up all his knives and put them into his pockets. He passed by the bathroom again, he noticed one of Eris' long necklaces. He grabbed the silver chain and thread the ring around it before putting the chain around his neck, tucking it safely against his heart. Then, in a flurel of purple fabric, he abandoned the apartment. Into the night he went, revenge on his mind.