<div class="floatleft">(http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums/q774/anniemaccloud/Tomoe%20Mami%20Avatars/Mami_avatar_49_zpsf8b713a2.jpg)</div><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Alice Deschain (http://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=176393.msg8367695#msg8367695)</strong></span><br/><br/><strong>Location:</strong>A poker table somewhere.<br/><strong>With:</strong>No one in particular.<br/><br/><hr/><br/><strong>"Did... Did I win again?"</strong><br/><br/>Two incredulous men were looking at the sweet, innocent looking girl. They checked once more time the cards above their table, then looked at the girl again.<strong>"NANI? ANOTHER FULL HOUSE?!  NOW IT'S THREE IN A ROW,"</strong>shouted the first one, standing up and drawing attention from everyone in the bar.<em><strong>"SHE'S CHEATING, MAX!"</strong></em><br/><br/>Alice, the young lady playing poker with those two hotheads, put her hands in front of her, as if protecting herself from the man' shouts.<strong>"Waaa! Mr. Player is yelling at me!! I... I didn't cheat!!"</strong><br/><br/><strong>"Shut up, Roy,"</strong>said the older man, the one called Max,<strong>"you'll make us get kicked out of here and if that happens, I'll lose my money forever."</strong>He looked at Alice and apologized for his friend:<strong>"I'm sorry for my friend, miss. He's nervous to be in front of such a... lucky and charming lady. You won, you can take the pot."</strong><br/><br/>Roy sit down, annoyed. Alice nodded happily, as if she was flattered for the small praise. She saw his eyes peeking over her bust again. No wonder, she was wearing a tight shirt just to get those reactions. It only made her job easier. Pretending to be completely oblivious to the man's real intentions, she took the last pot money from the table and asked, sounding like a newbie:<strong>"Ano... So this is a new turn, right?"</strong>She scratched her cheek, embarrassed.<strong>"It's hard to memorize when a turn ends and another begins..."</strong><br/><br/><strong>"Ooh, I think you know pretty well when it's one or another, your little cheater!"</strong>Roy said in an angry tone.<em>Ops</em>, thought Alice,<em>he's not... distracted. This is getting dangerous.</em>With watery eyes, she answered:<strong>"T-That's unfair, Mr. Player! I... I'm just lucky... Beginner's luck... You said you would teach me how to play, so..."</strong><br/><br/><strong>"Yeah, that's right,"</strong>said Max, in a comforting manner,<strong>"We'll teach you. Let's begin another turn."</strong>Alice nodded again just in time to notice the two exchanging glances. That was a good signal, they meant to try something big. And that meant more money for Alice.<br/><br/>Max shuffled the cards and gave five to each of them. Alice looked at her hand, or at least pretended to. It didn't matter which cards she had, she was already looking for a chance to change them into a more valuable hand, carefully hidden in her sleeves. Max and Roy were already doing their tricks. They were good cheaters, Alice had to admit, but they were far away to be as classy as her. At least, thanks to their dirty moves, they were the last ones from eight players who were sitting in that table with Alice.<br/><br/>Ah, yes, that was something she loved in Magnolia. Alice didn't remember another city were she could find a poker table so early in the day. And she did travel a lot! To tell the truth, the blonde knew all the places were the juicy gambling games were happening, in case she needed a easy cash. Or just to relieve her stress, although a good shooting session would do better to calm her.<br/><br/>Max and Roy already traded the cards. Only those with a keen eye could've noticed that and thanks to Angel's Eye training, Alice had them. Max traded only one card on his turn, while Roy changed all three he could. It was her turn.<em>Hmm, the old man will do the trick. If they're aiming big, then I also have to aim big.</em><br/><br/><strong>"Ano... I can change all my cards, right?"</strong><br/><br/><strong>"For the thousandth time, no! NO!"</strong>said Roy, scratching his head, impatiently. Max were rolling his eyes, he seemed to be in a short fuse too, maybe anxious for his great move. Alice only needed that distraction. By the time the younger man answered her, she already changed her cards. Feign confusion, she looked at her hand, then to the men.<strong>"Ano... I don't know... I think... I think I'll keep them..."</strong><br/><br/><strong>"THEN WHY YOU ASKED IN FIRST PLACE?"</strong><br/><br/>The younger guy was nearly loosing his temper. Perfect!<strong>"G-Gomenasai!"</strong>answered Alice, almost crying. It was so easy to drive them nuts!<br/><br/><strong>"Shut up, Roy. It's bet time! For me, it's all in!"</strong>said Max, pushing all of his money to the center of the table. There was a confident smirk on his face.<strong> "Me too! All in!"</strong>said Roy, also pushing his small pile of money into the pot.<br/><br/><em>Good move</em>, thought Alice,<em>the two got a good hand and if one misses, the other would back up. Ok, my turn!</em><br/><br/><strong>"Ano...what it means 'all in'?"</strong><br/><br/>Roy was about to shout again, but stopped at a wave of hand from Max. The old man, then, answered:<strong>"It means you'll be betting all of your money, dear. If you really got a good game, it's a good move."</strong><br/><br/>Alice nodded like a child watching a lecture.<strong>"Ah! I understood. So... I think I'll make a 'all in' too! It sounds fun!"</strong>she said, also pushing her big pile of money into the pot. She almost burst out into laughter when noticed a spark in the old man's eyes.<em>Haha, he really is thinking that he's about to win,</em>thought the blonde.<br/><br/>Roy stood up.<strong>"OK, THAT'S SETTLED! IT'S NOW OR NEVER! SHOW UP YOUR HANDS!"</strong>He got his cards from the table and dramatically put them back with their values showing up.<strong>"I GOT A STRAIGHT FLUSH!! I WON!"</strong><br/><br/><strong>"You mean, we won,"</strong>said Max, chuckling,<strong>"I also got a straight flush!"</strong>He showed his cards to prove his statement.<strong>"So, Miss, what you got?"</strong><br/><br/>Alice, in her bashful manner, answered:<strong>"I... I don't know... I thought I had a good game, but it seems I lost... Please, take a look..."</strong>The blonde placed her cards carefully above the table, so they could see her hand. The effect was the expected. Alice saw them looking at the cards with bulging eyes, incredulous.<strong>"Ano... was that a good hand?"</strong><br/><br/><strong>"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? THAT'S... THAT'S A ROYAL STRAIGHT FLUSH!! NO WAY!!" </strong>screamed Roy, pulling out his hair and drawing attention from everyone nearby. Max was still speechless.<strong>"So, did I win again?"</strong>Alice asked, already putting a hand over the money. But before she could take it, the old man grabbed her hand.<br/><br/><strong>"You cheated."</strong><br/><br/>He wasn't asking or suggesting anything. He was saying with all words: she was cheating. Alice looked at him with widen eyes, scared for a moment. Did he noticed? How? That was impossible! But then she saw the despair and anger in his eyes and knew he didn't discover a thing. He was just a bad loser.<br/><br/><strong>"Waaa! H-Help! Someone help me!"</strong>Alice was ready to draw a gun and make the two stop, on way or another. But she would do that only if really, really needed.<br/><br/><strong>"WHY ARE YOU ASKING FOR HELP? YOU'RE THE THIEF HERE! THIS MONEY IS OURS, EVERYONE SAW HOW WE EARNED IT FAIRLY!"</strong><br/><br/>Roy was too upset, beyond any reasoning. When he was about to put his hands over Alice's money, the pub owner stepped in.<strong>"ENOUGH! BOTH OF YOU!"</strong>Yoishi, a former Fairy Tail mage, was a very big man. Most people were smart enough to avoid a fight against him. Roy and Max, for their own good, were that smart.<br/><br/><strong>"Yoishi-san? She cheated!"</strong>tried to explain Max, but Yoishi bluntly stopped him:<strong>"Yes? And I think you have proof, right?"</strong><br/><br/><strong>"No, sir!"</strong>said the old man, looking at Alice, with anger in his eyes.<br/><br/><strong>"Then, you two, scram!!"</strong><br/><br/>The men didn't wait another chance. They ran away, but Max could still look at Alice, as if saying that wasn't over. The girl didn't care, she was more busy putting all the jewels in her pocket. Everyone else in the bar ignored them in seconds, that seemed to be a common issue in that pub. Yoishi looked at her, not a bit satisfied.<strong>"You really need to do this? This time they were about to hurt you. If it weren't for me..."</strong><br/><br/><strong>"Nothing would have happened. I can take care of myself, Yoishi-san, thank you. Here, this is your share, thirty percent."</strong><br/><br/>The girl threw a small pocket to the big man. He looked at her surprised.<strong>"Thirty percent? Alice-chan, I drove those guys away!"</strong><br/><br/>Alice looked at him with a big mischievous smile.<strong>"Yes, and you preserved my image of a cute, frail girl, so I can lure more men to play with me! Just as we agreed. Thank you, Yoishi-san!"</strong>She stood up, kissed the big man on his cheek and left the pub, humming a song. That wasn't a really good profit, but it was sure a good day. Alice was happy, heading to her guild Hall. Ah, yes, Alice Deschain was a mage. A Fairy Tail mage.