Keth resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the prince’s uninterested assessment of what he’d said.  It didn’t surprise him that Ryland was less than happy, but then he had come to expect a certain lackluster response from him if the subject wasn’t completely lewd, offensive, or scandalous.  Simple compliments, even sincere ones, couldn’t move someone so desensitized by such things, and Ryland surely had many truths (and falsehoods) poured at his feet by many men and women on a daily basis.<br/><br/><i>Spoiled.</i><br/><br/>They reached the gambling hall and he had to suffer in silence as friends called the blond’s attention away.  At some point, after kissing and fondling like drunken harlots, notice was finally given to his presence.  He wasn’t going to introduce himself, so he waited for Ryland to do so, and the men had some sense of self to pay him some sort of respect.  Not that he felt they meant any of it, nor did he expect it, but it was probably to appease him so he didn’t burn the place to the ground… as stories of him would have everyone believe.  He gave nods in response and took the seat offered him.<br/><br/>Hand gestures were flying like mad around the table, until finally Mel spoke and ended the back and forth.  Keth simply busied himself with drink, looking unentertained by the display.<br/><br/>The game was indeed simple in theory, but card games were a foreign thing to him.  They had been banned years before his birth where he’d grown up, and after that…?  Well, a man trying to conquer the world hardly had time for such things.  The thing he had going for him was that he was a master of strategy, and he had a good handle on when people were lying about something.<br/><br/><i>It’s your turn for a wager.</i><br/><br/>A sign from Chelrev.<br/><br/>“Generous of you,” he murmured in response to Ryland’s offer to translate, though it hardly seemed he meant it.<br/><br/>“I think I’ve learned my lesson about making strange wagers with you.  Seems it does neither of us any good,” he sighed, tapping the edge of a card against the table a few times in thought before pinning the blond beauty with an intense stare, one that found its way to those pretty lips.  It took a moment before he looked away, turned his attention to Melrend.  The man was not at all unattractive, and he was certainly more pliable than the prince.  Perhaps expressing his own free spirit in such things would win him something in Ryland’s eyes.  Besides, Melrend’s mouth looked lovely, too.<br/><br/>“How about you?  Surely I could bet you a kiss,” he offered.  “I had my hopes up for one earlier, but I doubt it will happen anytime soon.”