Flower of the North [Kaz Brekker; Six of Crows]

chapter 4

For once, when Cecilia made her way to the Barrel, it was without her flower cart. She walked in all by herself with a purpose in her every movement. Her regular customers did give her some strange looks as she did so, but she simply waved at them and kept going.

She walked right up to the Crow Club, which she had seen Kaz hang around often, and addressed the man at the door.

"Excuse me, have you seen Kaz here today?" she asked politely.

The man looked down at her boredly, "Dirtyhands is busy. If you aren't here to play or drink, you can't come in."

Cecilia didn't falter at his tone nor the way he addressed her friend, "I'd like to play then."

She pulled out a small bag of money and smiled with a tilted head.

The man huffed and stepped aside, "Sure thing, kid."

Cecilia nodded, "Thank you, sir. Have a wonderful day."

Cecilia had never gambled a day in her life, but when she walked in to see men playing at every table, having a grand time, she thought it looked fun. Her eyes flickered over one of the games, observing every small movement.

The main hall was covered in black and red and there were no windows so as not to reveal what was in the Crow Club. There were separated rooms, which Cecilia assumed was reserved for private gambling parlors. Each card table was covered in a crimson cloth that was decorated with crows. It was a beautiful establishment. Cecilia knew little about it besides the fact that it was a gambling den and that Kaz frequented it. She knew nothing of his actual hand in the Crow Club of the Dregs. Not that she would have cared.

"There's an open card table over here, ma'am," a floor worker told her.

Cecilia smiled brightly, immediately entrancing the young man, "I'm afraid this is my first time here. Could you perhaps tell me how to play one of these card games before I go in?"

"O-Of course," he stuttered before running through how to play Poker at one of the tables.

It seemed very fun. And Kaz didn't seem to be on the floor at the moment, so why not play a few games. Besides, Poker seemed to be a game of strategy and observation. With tells and bets and flushes, and all sorts of lingo.

Cecilia sat at a table with a group of men who seemed to be in their 30s. They all stared at her as she sat. It was unusual for such a beautiful young woman to make her way into a gambling den. Much less to play a game with a bunch of men.

Cecilia could see nefarious thoughts spinning in their minds as their eyes glinted with interest and scarcely hidden lust. Cecilia prided herself on being able to read everyone she's ever met. Sure she got it wrong sometimes when it came to certain people, but nobody's perfect.

Cecilia tilted her head, "Well, are we going to play or not, gentlemen?"

And play they did. Neither the men nor Cecilia expected she would be as good as she ended up being. But their tells were so obvious and Cecilia was a master at keeping her own thoughts hidden behind a smile. They could never tell if her hand was good or bad because she kept the same face the whole time. Honestly, it was starting to piss them off that they were losing to a little girl.

"Are you cheating?" one man asked, leaning forward threateningly.

Cecilia tilted her head, "Of course not. How exactly would I cheat in this game?"

She honestly didn't know. Cecilia was bad at cheating. She hated cheating. She played honestly and truly.

Another man stood up, "So you were cheating? You've admitted it."