The Hand We're Dealt [Lion] [M]

[DragonSong]

The party was in full swing, nobility and those wealthy enough or charming enough or just downright scheming enough to warrant an invitation whirling easily through the large house as though each and every one of them owned the place. Music was playing somewhere, faintly heard in her tucked away corner but still audible.

Yvaine Devereaux simply watched the spectacle around her and nursed her drink- which she thought was some sort of wine but honestly wasn't sure. She was literally counting the seconds until she could be considered to have attended for a "respectable" amount of time and could make her escape.

"Pardon me."

She looked up to find a man standing in front of her, a friendly smile on his face and his hand outstretched. "I noticed you tucked away back here and couldn't help but think that it would be a shame if no one asked such a lovely young woman for a dance."

Yvaine gave him a quick once over. Maybe thirty, middling height, not unpleasant to look at though hardly the most handsome of men, clothes fine but not as fine as her own. Probably an up-and-coming merchant or something looking to make connections in this world.

She couldn't think of a way to refuse him without seeming rude. Swallowing a sigh and abandoning her drink, she took his offered hand with her sweetest smile and a demure, "I'm honored, sir."

His smile widened and he lead her from her safe little corner to the ballroom, where the music was much more audible. He introduced himself- she had been right, not a noble, but an aspiring businessman- and started to lead her through the steps of a simple waltz.

She smiled and nodded and laughed and looked interested in all the right places as he talked, half her mind focused on this task while the other wandered, taking in their surroundings. She couldn't help but find her attention frequently drawn to another room just off the ballroom, the door propped open. She could hear laughter, mostly masculine, and saw a fair number of men and a few women moving in and out.

Intrigued, when the dance was over she curtsied to her partner and thanked him graciously, then excused herself as politely as she could and made her way across the to the mystery room. Stepping inside, she found a rather cozy gathering of tables and chairs scattered around the space, each one occupied by a different group of...players.

It seemed she had come across the card room. Her first reflex was to back out of the room quietly. Games of chance were not suitable for young ladies, according to her mother, and she could see now that the women in the room weren't playing but rather sitting next to husbands or brothers and talking softly with one another.

But then she remembered that her parents were rooms away, in fact she probably wouldn't see them for a few more hours. She had plenty of time to satisfy her interest.

Her curiosity got the best of her. Moving gracefully toward the nearest table, she halted a few steps away and clasped her hands daintily in front of her body. "Excuse me," she said, soft and sweet. "Would you mind telling me what it is you gentlemen are playing?"

[Lion]

Parties like these were always boring.  Most of these stuffy nobles wouldn't know a good time if it bit them in the aft end.  Which was what brought him all the way here, of course. To seek out some aft ends and bite accordingly.  Maxxen Lear was a shark, but a well-groomed one.  And even if he didn't find something to nibble on, he could always appreciate a few rounds of cards, jockeying more fools to dish out as much coin into the pot as possible before leaving them drunk and dry.

Which was precisely what he was doing.  The night was still young after all to scope out tender flesh ripe for devourment.  He gnashed his teeth a little in a why smile, peering down at the hand he'd been dealt.  He clicked tongue against teeth.  That wouldn't do at all.  The man across from him grunted, peering down at his hand, then back at Maxx.

"You gonna bet or what?" He growled.

Maxxen peered up from his cards.  "Of course."  But still made no move.  "Double multiplier.  Double stakes.  You in?"  Coin flew into the center pot.

The man sniffed, grinning now, and doing the same as Maxx did.  "Read em and weep!"

Maxx kept his poker face.  Then rested his hand down in a fanned row.  "Aces high.  Two card swallow."

"Fuck!"  He rubbed his chin.  "I'm takin a walk, Lear.  Don't go anywhere!  I'm getting my money back somehow."

He walked passed a young lady that entered, one that was clearly out of place.  Maxxen looked her over a time or two, keeping his grin to himself.  A few others noticed her, but some clearly dismissed her.   He rose from his seat, stacking coins away in a sack before approaching.

"You're certain you're not lost, darlin?"

[DragonSong]

Yvaine turned, giving the man who'd addressed that calculating, up-and-down look she'd perfected for just such occurrences. Young, maybe a few years older than her, handsome and he definitely knew it, fine clothes, well-groomed.

She might have guessed he was someone like her, minor nobility, if it weren't for the way he spoke- she'd never been referred to as "darlin'" before. With a start, she realized she couldn't figure him out.

Interesting.

Intrigued despite her better judgement, she gave him her most charming smile. "And if I were, would you be the one to guide me, sir?" she asked, tilting her head just slightly to one side. She gestured elegantly to the room around them. "I must admit I am fascinated by this world I've stumbled into."

[Lion]

A trying expression.  She was clearly out of her element, but he wasn't going to shun her.  No, no, she was a guest here in this parlor play, and it would be undue for him to be rid of her so soon.  She did after all have the gall to walk in here in the first place where most others would simply turn and be on their uppity way.

"There's not much to it.  Just a few parlor games that are more polite to be held behind closed doors than to parade out there on the dance floor."  He laughed a little, brushing his hair back.  "I might guide you, if you're keen on staying.  Now just who do Ihave the pleasure of doing so?"

[DragonSong]

A small smile crept its way across her face. "I believe I will stay, if you'd be so kind."

She gave a quick shake of her head and a quiet, dainty laugh, adding, "Oh, do forgive me, I forget myself." She bobbed into a quick, shallow curtsy. "Yvaine Devereaux, and it's a pleasure to meet you Mister...?"

She tilted her head again as her voice trailed off, looking at him expectantly.

[Lion]

"Lear.  Maxxen Lear.  But you, darling, you can call me Maxx," he said, smiling and extending a hand to her. Although he didn't say anything and his face remained friendly, her name struck a cord with him.  He'd could have sworn he'd heard it before.  She was clearly someone important, or else she wouldn't be at a place like this.  And if she was clever enough to sneak in anyway, she would have been more familiar with the crowd in the card parlor he wagered. 

[DragonSong]

She took his hand, turning the name over in her mind. Lear. That sounded vaguely familiar...

Deciding she would think about it later, she kept her soft, charming smile in place. "A pleasure- Maxx," she said, trying the name out. Her smile became a tiny bit more genuine. "Then you should call me Yvaine."

She cast her eyes around the room, curiosity shining through her "little lady" exterior. "I'm afraid this is all quite foreign to me. Where would my guide think we should start?" A small glint came into her eyes as she looked back to him.

[Lion]

"I'd say  you were doing all right just from observation.  But I'll do my best.  This isn't my usual crowd.  I'm actually a priest, but Ineeded a day off, so I decided to come down here and find a way to help these sinners."  He winked at her just a moment before laughing.

"I joke.  But I'd be happy to help.  What is it that you were looking to know?"

[DragonSong]

Yvaine chuckled quietly, covering her mouth with her hand. "You've an odd sense of humor, Mister Lear- Maxx," she noted.

Glancing around the room, she said with a delicate shrug, "I have to say I'm curious about everything. What is this game, for example?" She nodded toward a nearby table, the occupants of which had been apparently ignoring them.

[Lion]

They were focusing it was all, and between drinking heavily and puffing on their cigars and working hard keep their hands in hiding.  The women at their sides were busy looking their most gorgeous, and tricking the other man into revealing his hand.

"See their expressions," Maxxen said, standing close to Yvaine and taking the opportunity to take her arm, guiding her away from the table and giving them their space.  "High Stakes.  Palms Wide, this one's called.  Aces are low in this case, and you want to be the first to draw a full draw pattern.  For instance if you've got a two, you'll want, three, four, five, and sixes to follow.  Suits don't matter.  Doubles of type of card, mean you've got to have doubles for what follows.  Two kings, two queens, understand?  Joker's are wild, of course."

One man made a grunt, and the other laughed, "Joker, Ten, Queen, King!"  And slammed his hand on the table.  The other man cursed and threw his cards.

"How could you get that hand without cheating?"

"I can't help it if you pick crap cards, Bill.  You gotta be more vigilant, my friend.  But look no hard feelings," said the other man.  "Say I'll buy us a few drinks.  Come on, Gweneth.  Winning makes me thirsty."  He laughed and wrapped his arms around the woman at his side, turning round and winking at Yvaine, whom he had seen observing them. 

[DragonSong]

Yvaine nodded along to the explanation, filing away the information. She started slightly at the sudden exclamation, then blinked. She'd never actually been winked at before- most of the society her parents kept her around weren't so bold.

"Are women not allowed to play?" she asked curiously. She didn't pull away from Maxxen's grip on her arm, but shifted it so she had her hand in the crook of his elbow and it appeared as though he was more properly escorting her. "That is, I am hardly the only female in the room, but I seem to be a member of a vast minority. And the others of my sex seem to simply be sitting with their partners, rather than playing themselves."

[Lion]

"Not allowed?"  He hadn't thought she'd ask such a question, but looking around the room, she had a point.  One'd he'd noticed himself on more than one occasion.  "Why I'm sure you could be the first to break that staple.  I'm sure it's only because many of the women are content to act as the distraction.   Why?  Are you interested in giving it a go?"

[DragonSong]

Was she? Yvaine considered it for a moment, watching the players at different tables. A small smile flickered across her face and she gave a tiny nod. "If someone would be so kind as to explain the rules, yes. I believe I am."

She looked up at him with her most charming smile. "I believe I'm beginning to understand this Palms Wide game, but what about the others. What would you recommend to a beginner?"

[Lion]

"Blackjack.  Easy as blood sausage," he said.  He grinned a bit and took her to a particularly cloudy part of the room where a half-circled table of patrons leaned over cards and another mixed the deck.  "This is easy.  You get a close as you can to 21.  Each face value of the card adds up, with royal cards equaling 10.  Aces are 1 or 11.  You start with two cards, one down, one face up.  Checking your own count, you say hit me for another card, or stay if you're satisfied with your number.  Cards over 21 lose, a hand with five cards still below 21 also win.  You play against the dealer there handing out the cards.  Simple enough?"

[DragonSong]

"Yes, I believe so," she said with a nod and a small smile. "It seems more a game of luck than skill," she noted. "Alas, I've never been particularly lucky." She nodded and smiled politely at the dealer.

"Still," she mused aloud, eyes glinting with curiosity. "I suppose there is a first time for everything." She looked to her escort. "Would you indulge me a moment?"

[Lion]

"I'll be your lucky charm then," he said, winking at her and escorting her to the seat made empty by the vacancy of a sad and lonely man parting with his money.

[DragonSong]

Yvaine laughed softly as she took the seat. "A guide and a luck charm, how kind of you," she teased, reached into the small purse on her wrist and plinking a few coins onto the table.

The dealer seemed a little surprised, but handed her two cards when she smiled and assured him she really did want to play.

Two fives. "Hit me." A queen, that was twenty, yes? So she needed an ace or she'd lose. She shrugged- it wasn't like she'd bet that much money anyway. "Hit me."

An ace. Huh. "Stay." She glanced at Maxxen with a small smile. "I guess you are my lucky charm."

[Lion]

"Oh the luckiest," he said, flashing a grin.  He watched her hand.  And kept his place beside her, but not too too obvious looking over the shoulders of the other players.  A few men scowled at him.  And he only smiled back.  "Steady now."

The dealer added extra cards to the others that soon folded and grumbled about fixed games.  The dealer met Yvaine's eyes.  His eyes were iron grey, challenging, as his hand expertly flipped his hidden card over and revealed his hand.  "20," he said.

Maxxen's grin only grew.

[DragonSong]

Yvaine flipped her own cards around with an easy, charming smile in response to his challenging stare. "Twenty-one." She glanced at Maxxen with slightly feigned innocence. "Blackjack, yes?"

Oh, this was fun.

[Lion]

"Oh, don't look at me darling.  I'm just here to look pretty," he said.  Although the smirk on his lips was certainly evident as the dealer's face turned red and he took back the cards, giving Yvaine the rest of the pot.

"Again?" the dealer asked instead, reshuffling the deck.