Ch 2.73: River

Elaina only had a small chip lead over Rain herself, but the combined total between her and Carly was more than enough to bully a win for the two of them. Because of that, Elaina didn’t necessarily have to play aggressive, but the ace and queen of hearts hand was too good to pass up, especially when Rain was the big blind, forced into the pot. Carly even called with her hand, meaning they had two shots at winning the hand. It wasn’t time to go crazy, but Elaina would be a fool not to call at least, so she did, and the flop fell into place exactly as it needed to, seven of swords, king of shields, ace of swords. Elaina had a pair of aces, and still a chance at a straight besides.

“Raise,” Rain said, pushing two gold forward.

That gave Elaina pause. Rain clearly wasn’t showing signs of hesitation, but did that mean she had a good hand? No, Rain had to be desperate, was forced into the hand by being the big blind. She couldn’t afford to lose it no matter what, so Elaina couldn’t afford to let her get away with winning, not when she had such a great hand.

“Call,” Carly said. Elaina did the same, and she thought she saw a little frustration on Rain’s face.

Good, Elaina thought. A slow burn would work, even if Elaina wanted to go for the knockout. As long as the turn wasn’t something dangerous, Elaina could push in.

But “dangerous” didn’t quite describe the next card that flipped over, a beautiful queen of crystals, giving Elaina two pairs. Rain hesitated again this time, but ultimately she did raise again, pushing three gold forward this time.

Carly did seem a little scared by that, making no immediate move. Then she went to check her cards, lifting them up off the table, facing them just a little towards Elaina. The ace of crystals, and a four of crystals.

Elaina smiled. That wasn’t an accident, she knew. She lifted her own cards up as well, angling them for Carly to see. The both had aces at the very least, meaning there was no way Rain could have two of her own. Carly nodded at the table as she placed her cards down, pushing them back in towards the center of the table. That confused Elaina at first, but then she realized why. Carly had less chips than Elaina, so it didn’t make sense for her to funnel anything further into the pot when it looked like Elaina was the sure winner.

Elaina herself didn’t fold though, didn’t just call either. She pushed forward an additional five gold on top of Rain’s raise, and she couldn’t help but grin as she did. She could see the look of dejection on Rain’s face as she looked back down to her coins, shoving forward the call. She had to be desperate, hoping for a miracle as the river came down.

And it was a miracle all right, one of the most beautiful things Elaina had seen all night, and that was saying something. The ace of shields, giving her a full house, aces full of queens. That was it, that was the hand.

Still, there was a moment of panic when Rain pushed her entire stack of coins forward. “All in.”

Elaina’s brain had to reset, she had to examine the table. A regular flush didn’t beat her, and there was no way for a straight flush of any kind, right? So she just had to worry about another full house. Rain could have a pair of kings, but that still wasn’t enough? To beat Elaina, she’d need an ace and a king, the only way to win this hand. Realizing that, Elaina called with a sigh of relief, abandoning her poker face entirely. It was over.

“Reveal hands, please,” the dealer said. Elaina did so happily, flipping her cards for the last time before she could sail away with her victory.

“Fuck this shit,” a voice said from across the table, accompanied by the banging of a glass against the wooden edge. The woman next to Carly was already standing up, marching. “Come on, honey. Let’s go.”

The man seemed as confused as Elaina felt, but he did bow his head apologetically as the table stared on, shuffling off.

“I’m out too, no point in staying here,” the man next to Rain said, standing up in a much less dramatic way, but walking off all the same.

“Some teammates you have there,” Elaina said to Rain as the woman stared down at her cards. “Now come on, let’s get this over with.”

“Afraid I don’t know what you mean,” Rain said with a smile as she reached for her cards. “This game is a free for all, of course.”

Elaina had to squint as the cards were flipped over. The king of swords, and an ace of crystals, the thing that could beat her.

“Full house, ace full of kings, is the winning hand,” the dealer said.

Elaina was still busy staring at the cards, the impossible hand that had just beaten her. “But—”

“Hold on,” Carly said, as the dealer started collecting cards. She flipped over her own hand. “I had the ace of crystals! She couldn’t have one too!”

“You fucking bitch,” Tira said, leaning forward as Flora grabbed her by the arm.

“Is there a problem?” The smooth voice drew all eyes to it, the proprietor approaching from behind.

“Madame Shein,” the dealer said, standing up and bowing his head. “It appears the deck we were playing with may have had a misprint; two aces of crystals are in it.”

“Bullshit,” Tira said, pulling free of Flora, ignoring the girl’s protestation to calm down. “She’s been cheating the whole time. She had this ace hidden somewhere!”

“Where, exactly?” Rain said, standing up herself. Her clothes were tight, but they weren’t long, no sleeves to speak of even. “My hands were on the table the whole time, and I don’t even have pockets.”

“Your teammates,” Elaina said, still in her stupor. “They made that scene, then all left.”

“Now now,” Shein said, placing a hand on Elaina’s shoulder. Elaina wasn’t calmed by the gesture, but was still too out of it to brush it off. “I’ll take this deck in for examination, you’ll play with a new one for the time being. The results of the last hand played must stand though. It’s not fair to assume someone cheated and rob them of a well earned pot.”

Elaina was only vaguely aware of Tira arguing with Shein, the dealer cleaning up the table, taking out a fresh deck of cards as Shein walked off and Rain pulled her “well earned pot” over to her side of the table. In the end of it, Elaina was left with only eight silver, enough for one more cycle of blinds.

It wasn’t over in the most technical sense, but Elaina knew how it would play out. She let the first hand slip away, a two and a seven in her opening. The next two hands drained her chips, a six and a nine, a pair of threes. None were good enough to beat Rain, and so she was out. Eliminated from the tournament, unable to try and save the piece of Temmie that Shein was holding hostage.

“That is the game, ladies,” the dealer said as he handed out a special card, an ornate ace of swords with a splendid rapier emblazoned on it, to Rain and Carly. “This is proof you have advanced to round two. Please take them, but leave coins and all other game pieces and vacate the table, so I may accommodate more guests.”

“I’m gonna kill her,” Elaina heard Tira say. Elaina understood the sentiment, maybe would have agreed with it in her right mind. But right now, she was only numb.

“Come on,” Flora said, pulling Elaina and Tira both by the arms. “We need to talk.”

“What’s the point?” Elaina said. “I blew it.”

“Enough of that! Carly’s still in, and I have an idea.”

“Pardon me,” a voice said, cutting through the noise of the room, the joy of winners screaming and the anguish of losers shouting. It was Shein again, and Elaina’s vision seemed to clear for the first time since losing that hand. Gods, she really was pretty herself. “I’d like a word with you, Miss Weaver. Alone, in my office.”