Honey : The Empire's Treasure 259 Winner Takes All 2

The crowd started to whisper amongst themselves again as they were able to read everyone's cards from the magnified monitors. 

Ailwin was sitting at the edge of the seat, he had read everyone's cards and was feeling worried for Mika.

"Player 2, hit?" 

"Yes..." Emmyth nodded, praying for either an eight or a nine. 

When the referee gave him the card, it was a nine. The audience "oooh" along with Emmyth's thrilled clapping.

"I'll stay..." He answered when the referee asked if he wanted another card.

Moving on to Vasati, the referee asked the same question.

"Hit..." She needed either a four or lower, to not bust.

The referee gave her another card and it was a six. She threw her cards on the table.

"Player 3...bust." The referee collected Vasati cards and credits, adding them to Mika's bank.

"Player 4...?"

Hands shaking and a little wet from sweat, Valindra peeked at her faced down card. When she saw a five, she knew she needed either a five or a six.

However, she was too afraid to take to chance and said "Stay."

The referee looked to Deulara, "Player 5...hit?" 

"Yes." 

When the card was given to her, Deulara took one look at the card and asked for another.

Four cards laid in front of her tallying eighteen, she wondered if she should take the chance and go for the fifth card.

The crowd held their breath, wondering of she'll take the risk and go bust or win it.

"Stay." In the end, she chose to play it safe.

"Player 1...hit?" 

"Yes" Mika flipped over her faced down card and showed that she was at fourteen.

 She could tell from Emmyth' and Deulara's faces that they both were happy. However, for this first couple of rounds Mika didn't care if she won of not. What she cared about where the seeing their cards.

The referee dealt Mika her extra card, and it was a King. When the rest of the players saw that she bust, they clapped with joy.

She had to pay out to Emmyth, Deulara and Valindra, but that was fine with her. She expected this in fact she wanted them to feel more confident in placing their bets.

For the next three of rounds, Mika place twenty credits as the bet and at every round she was losing credits. Some of audience and the players began to speculate, that she was a novice a this game. Only Saavi, Celaena and Ailwin knew that Mika was up to something.

At the end of the fifth round, Mika felt confident in her calculations and began her plan.

She started with Vasati as she had the least amount of credits than anyone else at the table.

Raising the bet up to forty, with her calculations and Vasati's habit of taking risks; Mika knew she was going to go over twenty-one this round.

Feeling confident from their wins, the other players thought Mika was feeling anxious, which was leading her to make rash decisions. Why else would she raise the bet when she was on a losing streak?

"Player 1...bet is forty credits." The referee called out, reminding the other players the match Mika's amount.

The cards were dealt and just like Mika predicted, Vasati went over twenty-one. No one though anything of this lost except Saavi and Celaena, who recognize the beginning of Mikaela's winning streak.

Two more rounds were played with Mika coming out on top. Vasati was down to her last forty credits, she only had one more round to play to stay in the game.

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"Forty-five credits..." 

The referee, the players and the audience all thought she was going to say forty credits and allow Vasati to play one more round. Regrettably, they assumed wrong.

The other players and the referee all looked sadly at Vasati, who didn't have enough credits to play the next round. Which meant she lost her match to Mikaela.

"No, no, no...she can't do this! I have forty credits, the last bet was forty!" Vasati pointed at Mika while shouting to the referee.

"Yes, and now I'm raising it to forty-five. Do you have forty-five credits?" Mika responded. 

"No...but I still have credits!" Vasati slammed her hands down on the table, getting ready to jump over the table a strangle Mika.

I can't lose...I can't!

The referee didn't want a fight on his hands, so he gave the decision for the judges to make.

The Dean, Braeden and Ailwin all huddle together before agreeing to Vasati's request of changing the bet back down to forty credits.

Vasati sighed in relief and sneered Mika's way as Mika scowled at the judges' section.

"Uh-oh, you are in trouble..." Braeden smiled at waved at Mika.

"....."

Vasati sat back down in her seat and placed her bet of forty credits into the pool. The cards were dealt and this time she played it safe...maybe too safe. Vasati cards only added up to fourteen. Choosing to stay at fourteen, she didn't ask for another card.

"Player 4, hit?" The referee asked Valindra.

"Yes" Valindra needed a seven or below to stay in the game and not bust.

The referee dealt her a Jack, making her bust.

Seeing the Jack giving to Valindra had Vasati smiling from ear to ear that she didn't take the extra card.

"Player 5..?"

"Stay."

The referee looked at Mikaela. "Player 1, hit?"

"Yes"

A two...

"Hit."

A five...

"Hit."

A three...

"Four cards on the table...Player 1, please show us your fifth card."

Mika flipped over her faced down card to show an Ace.

"Player 1 has five knights (five card Charlie) on the table." The audience clapped at Mika's luck, all the players lost this round and have to pay out five to one, to Mika. Which means this was definitely the final round for Vasati, and possibly Deulara as well?

Everyone looked at the score board as the credit began to be subtracted from each of the opponents' bank.

Chapter end