Shadows- a Danplan fanfiction

One favour

The woman stared at her opponent, with eyes as empty as lakes that disappeared long ago due to a warm summer.
Yet they held an intensity meant for a warrior in battle.
Her face was unreadable, as if time had caused her emotion to fade away bit by bit, like words on a book.

She looked calm and collected as she stared down the person in front of her, with a casualty that made it obvious she was used to acting this way.

She let her eyes wander to the cards in her hands, expression remaining the same, not allowing anyone to see her reaction.
Inside, she was more than satisfied with what she had in her hand, but she wouldn't let it show.

Her opponent looked nervous, the elderly man's dark brown eyes darted around the room, seeming almost childlike and contrasting his proper and ancient appearance.

"Do you want another card?" The woman asked calmly, studying the man's expression.

The older man gulped, unsure if he should take the risk or not.
The game they were playing was so simple, so how did it turn that intense.
He looked down at his cards once more, a good seven. He only needed to get half a point more to get to the perfect number. Seven and a half.
But if he were to get a higher card, his deck would be worthless.
He couldn't take that risk, too much money was on the line.
"No, I'm done." He answered with a raspy voice, sweat slowly dripping down his back, making him shiver.

"Then it's my turn." The woman concluded, amber eyes rid of any emotion. The perfect poker face, absolutely unreadable.
She didn't even seem to worry in the slightest as she picked the top card and added it to her deck.

Both of them had two cards now. Both of them didn't know what cards the other had.
But only one of them was worried.

"I'm ready. Should we reveal our cards?" The woman asked, as calm as ever, brushing a white strand of hair out of her angelic face.

The man gave a shaky nod, then he slowly laid down his cards on the dark wooden table.
A four of cups. And a three of swords.
All in all a good seven.

The woman nodded at his cards and smiled slightly, the first sign of emotion she had shown during the game.
"You are a truly lucky man. Playing you was interesting to say the least." She said, still smiling softly. Somehow there was a distinct undertone of irony lingering in her voice.

She then proceeded to wordless put down her cards.

A seven of coins. And a king of swords.
The perfect seven and a half.

The man's eyes widened. He had lost. He couldn't believe it, never had he lost such a big amount if money, and to a young girl nonetheless.
It seemed like a stain on the white sheet that was his honour.
His eyes wandered back to the woman's face, looking for at least some sort of emotion, some kind of malevolent glee.
Just something that would show that she was just a simple human, with all the mistakes one could have.

But no such sign was granted. Even her small ironic smile had died down, leaving her pretty face looking almost mechanic.
"I know what you're thinking Mister Carter."
She pointed out with sympathy.

He sighed. "What would that be?" He asked, feeling defeated.

"We're so alike, Mister Carter." She answered simply.
"You know what they say. Fortunate with cards, but unfortunate with love."

The elderly man frowned, but decided not to object.
"I guess I'll pay up then." The man said deflated.

The young woman simply got up from her seat, slowly walking toward him, in an almost menacing manner.
She walked elegantly, with soft steps that seemed to know exactly what their destination was.
"You needn't. I have only one favour to ask of you." She said silently, as if someone might be listening to them.

From that moment he knew there was no going back.
"What favour?" He asked darkly.

She remained calm, as she simply said.
"Tell them the truth, publicly."

The room felt suddenly much colder, the man wished he didn't understand what she meant.

But sadly he knew, he knew exactly what she wanted.
'lucky with cards, but unlucky with love.'
It was so true.
"I will." He agreed quietly, feeling only a faint sensation of remorse.

The white haired woman left the room silently, feeling content. She had done her part in this.
Now all she needed was for Joe to remember his promise, and everything would go as planned.
She was dying to see who would win this game, since for now, her side had better cards.

Meanwhile in forest, Dan and the rest of the group, Joe added, were planning their arrival in town.
Little did they know someone was preparing for them as well.

Author's comment:
Yeah I know, this is really short and all.
I needed to write this though, because I wanted to make a cliffhanger.
Sorry not sorry.
I haven't been awfully motivated to write recently, but I hope it doesn't show too much.

Anyway! There are good news too!!!

First of all, FANART!

Sonicfangirl64 made an awesome fan comic on her art book and you should totally check it out!
It's extremely well done, just like the rest of her art, so show her some love ❤. It's about the awkward situations chapter, so it's really freaking adorable and funny!

Ok so this was it, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and see you next time, girlfriends, boyfriends and none binary lovers!