Freedom's daughter

The game is about to start, but I don't let his hand go just yet.

"I want to clarify a few rules as well before signing the contract."

"Sure, go ahead."

"Using magic during this game will be considered cheating, meaning you won't have to worry about my friend interfering."

"And why would you disadvantage yourself?"

"Because, while I'm aware that only a girl would be able to use magic to cheat, a man, like you, could still harm me somehow, which in fact wouldn't be against the rules we set. You could just throw something at me, making me unable to continue. I believe considering magic in general as cheating is the best way for both sides. Of course, being caught cheating means losing."

"Fair enough."

"Then, we'll play fifty-two rounds, one for each card of the deck, meaning the game'll be over only when we are out of cards."

"Logically, the game might end before that, when someone loses all his coins. I'll play with one thousand coins, meaning that's the maximum you can bet too. Now, if I lose, I'll simply give you the amount I bet, and if you lose, you'll be in debt. What happens if you can't pay within the month?"

"Nothing, the contract is enough to guarantee I can do it within that time. It's dishonest trying to trick me into signing to become your property, you know?"

"Fine... Fine... You got me."

"Anyway, what happens if someone doesn't want to bet? You said we have to bet the same amount, but nothing about refusing to do so."

"My fault, I didn't specify, you can bet as much as you want, of course, but we'll confirm if we want to proceed or not, before revealing the card, after rolling our dice. If you refuse, you'll just lose a single coin."

"That's all for me."

"Same."

-

"Kid, let's try it out first. I bet one." 

He then throws a coin on the centre of the table, and I do the same.

The rolls are 4 for me and 9 for Ethan.

We both nod at the dealer, one of his friends, to reveal the face-down card.

"It's a nine of spears. How lucky of me."

He isn't even trying to hide that he is cheating, but to make him lose, I have to prove it.

"Let's just go for the next round."

We bet 4 coins.

We roll, 7 for me and 12 for him.

I already followed the shuffle of the dealer and confirmed it this round. He isn't manipulating it, then he either was extremely lucky before, or the cheat is somewhere else.

This round, the card is the twelve of suns.

Ok, he isn't just lucky. I just have to find out how he is doing it.

If it isn't their magic nor the dealer, then...

-

The current round is the 20th. I'm in debt by 460 coins; I lost all rounds up until now. He kept rolling the same exact number on the card every time.

We bet 50 coins.

We roll again, 2 for me and 9 for him.

The dealer shows us the card.

"Nine! I must be lucky today!"

"Wait. It's nine of spears..."

"Uh? So what? Suits don't matter in this game."

"They do. After a card is played, it gets discarded."

"And?"

"Nine of spears has already been played."

"I didn't pay attention to the suits of the cards until now, so I don't remember."

"Do you mind if we check the discarded cards?"

"I don't know, man..."

"We didn't set any rule against it, so I'm just asking out of courtesy."

"Then sweet yourself, kid. It's just a game, there's no need to be so harsh."

I ignore him and check the played cards, and... None of them match what I remember.

The best way to play blackjack is to count cards, which is helpful in this game too. It's normally hard, but I'm helping myself by creating a Memory Palace. I'm sure I remember all the cards.

I mean, if it were only one, it might have just been my mistake, but I can't have missed all twenty cards.

"See, kid? It's not there, you misremember. It's fine, let's return to the game."

I think I know what to do... 

Round twenty-two.

Ethan rolls, and I wait.

It's a 3.

"Kid, you have to roll too, you know?"

"I just wanted to... Be inspired by your luck. If this round'll go as the others, the face-down card should be a 3, right?"

"I don't know if I'm that lucky."

"Let's test it."

I roll... 3.

Yeah, manipulating the rolls becomes possible with some training. 

"Oh, a draw..."

"Yes, and by rules, the card must be revealed, and we'll play with it face up next."

"Right..."

The card is revealed, and it's a five of moons.

They didn't have the guts to make it a three.

"Now, whoever rolls closer to five wins, correct?" I ask.

"Don't ask the obvious..."

He is clearly worried; he won't be able to change the number now.

Yet there's a chance he might influence the dice as well. But I think I'll try and guess how they are cheating...

"I bet—"

"Wait!... Lyet, can you sit there?"

"Here? Why?"

"You'll see."

Ethan's face just now confirms my guess.

"Ethan, I bet 200 coins."

"That many!?"

"I mean, you have a big advantage now, I need to make a comeback somehow. If you don't trust your luck now, you can refuse to bet, and we'll skip to the next round."

"No, you have to tell me why you moved your friend there before; it might be a way to cheat."

"Oh, because your partner on the other table won't see the dice or the cards, as Lyet'll block her view. When Lyet sat there, you didn't look at her, but behind her. I initially thought that girl was watching simply out of curiosity, but when I noticed something was wrong with the discarded cards, I was sure someone was manipulating how we see the numbers, an illusion-type spell? Anyway, the only one capable of it is a girl."

"That's speculation; it doesn't prove it's what happened."

"You are right. But if I'm wrong, then Lyet sitting there shouldn't be a problem. She is close too, you can easily check if she can use a spell."

"..."

"So... I bet 200 coins."

"I see, kid, well, then let's gamble more!"

Like hell! I'm going to cheat all throws!

-

The rest was easy, knowing what cards were already played, I could determine all the best rolls for the future. It still made me lose a few, but at the same time, it didn't show Ethan I was cheating.

 I set to zero my debt and won some more. The result was me winning 280 coins.

"Lyet, how much is 280 coins worth?"

"In the inn we are currently in should be worth a few weeks."

"What about leaving, though? I think it's better if we exit the kingdom. There's still a chance they might look for us."

"I never went out of Neverland before. Just keep in mind I'll be of little to no help.

"Tomorrow we can look for some information, and then we'll leave, how does it sound?"

"Sounds right!"