The Clubs court is one of Wonderland's four royal powers, with its own Queen and an army behind her. It becomes part of the struggle over the Ebony Blade alongside Hearts, Spade…

The Clubs court is one of Wonderland's four royal powers, with its own Queen and an army behind her. It becomes part of the struggle over the Ebony Blade alongside Hearts, Spades and Diamonds. The conflict starts from an uneasy balance between the rulers. Each has a claim to power, and none can simply ignore what the others are doing. When a weapon like the Ebony Blade comes into play, leaving it in a rival's hands becomes a threat of its own. Clubs joins Spades and Diamonds in the movement against the Hearts castle after Hearts acquires the blade. Three armies approaching one target sounds like a straightforward advantage until you consider who is leading them. The Queens are rivals themselves. Their immediate goals bring them to the same place, but they haven't stopped wanting control for their own sides. The Queen of Clubs' relationship with Adina is important here. The Queens of Clubs and Diamonds are lovers, so their connection has a personal side beyond the conflict between the courts. It's a closer bond than simply agreeing that Hearts is the immediate problem. Trickster is also interfering with the royal struggle, encouraging conflict while pursuing her own plan for the blade. Clubs has military strength, but that doesn't keep its ruler out of someone else's scheme. The soldiers still have to follow the decisions made at the top, including decisions made while another person is manipulating the situation. Clubs gives the royal conflict another force that has to be accounted for. Hearts has the weapon, Spades has her own ambitions, and Diamonds has a close personal connection to Clubs' Queen. All of those relationships matter once the armies start moving.