Y/N POV

You know, normally I would delight in the opportunity to visit a luxury cruise ship turned casino. But something about this particular experience which kept me on edge. Perhaps it was the fact that I knew what our goal was and we would need to rely on Dante's less than adequate luck with poker.

Just as Morrison had promised, all of us were able to attend this little gathering. Lady went under the guise of the dealer while I took the guise of a security guard, I had to wear a suit as part of it which wasn't particularly comfortable. Though this ruse made it easy for me to observe the game, Morrison and Patty were just frequenting around the ship.

The game was already going off as Dante put down his hand "Two pairs." As I expected, that wasn't a good hand, sure enough, one of the other gamblers, a man named Gold-arm Joe, spoke up "My apologies, but I believe this hand is mine. Three of a kind." 

Image of Gold-Arm Joe:

His hand trumped Dante's so naturally, he took the pot. He calmly said though "Oh well, no big deal. This game's just getting underway. The fun's just beginning." Joe responded "Yes, I'm looking forward to it, the longer one gambles, the more interesting it becomes. Same as a kiss."

He glanced at Amanda, another of the gamblers who sipped her drink before coolly responding "If you're able to beat me, I'll give you a nice long kiss, the likes of which you've never experienced."

Image of Amanda:

The third player laughed at this, an old looking man by the name of Santa Claus, nicknamed for his appearance, a white beard with a large but short stature. He then added "Now that's something to look forward to! I'd better be careful not to lose the clothes off my back!"

Image of Santa Claus:

Even though I was maintaining a stoic face in the corner, my eyes remained on the final member of the party, that being the very man we had come here about. Paul, the husband of that woman that came into the office. He kept his head down, only making his moves and remaining silent.

Image of Paul:

Lady dealt the next hand, Dante looked at his cards and bluntly stated "Pass." More cards were dished out as Paul weakly said "Raise, I'll raise you 500." He pushed his chips towards the pot. Both Amanda and Joe folded from that round.

Dante then said "I'll call." Pushing some of his chips forward. I noticed Santa Claus took a glance at Paul for a moment before announcing "Call." I had heard about him, supposedly a poker guru who could read people's thoughts.

When it was time for them to reveal their cards, Paul started "Three of a kind." Dante said "Nothing." That meant Santa Claus won that round so he said "Sorry kids, Full House." He laughed and said "Well if the night keeps up like this, I'll be going home with a bag full of money."

Amanda said "I see, so that's why you're Santa Claus. That's a clever nickname." Santa Clause thanked her and they kept playing. I zoned out from all the small-talk, I just needed to focus on keeping my eyes peeled for any sign of King.

It didn't take long until I heard Joe pipe up asking "Have any of you heard of a gambler known as King?" I tilted my head faintly however I remained in character. Amanda replied "Yes, one hears of him quite a lot as of late. Apparently he's supposed to be a gambler from Hell who takes lives of his opponents."

Santa Claus brushed it off saying "Nothing but silly rumours." Joe agreed saying "They most definitely are. But however, it is true that a certain number of gamblers have died after losing to this mysterious individual. Some say he's a white bearded elderly man, others say 'King' is a charming, beautiful woman. But the truth is, no one knows for sure what he OR she looks like. But still, if such a person actually exists what would you give to play a hand or two with this remarkable competitor."

Once the next hand was drawn, Dante joined the conversation and said "If King is among us, I'll have a feeling we'll all eventually find out." From there, the game continued, I zoned out once again, standing guard by the door playing my part of a security guard.

Joe proclaimed "Alright, I'm all in." He bet every chip he had and announced "Full House!" Paul revealed a card he had face-down and showed that he had four of a kind! He stood up, saying "I did it. I WON!" He seemed so proud of himself until something happened!

Joe abruptly acted like he was having a heart attack before he abruptly fell face-first onto the table. Lady played her part and approached asking "Sir? Sir?" Following my role, I approached just as she said "He's dead."

Instantly, Amanda accused Paul of being King which he denied, Santa Claus rationally told them to take it easy before turning to me and saying "Security, contact the person in charge." He turned to Lady and requested "And I'd like a hot cappuccino please." We both nodded and said "Right away sir."

I went out and found some other of the security members to deal with Joe's body. When I returned, I saw that Patty and Morrison were already here. And too my surprise, Patty had taken over Dante's position!

I went and stood by Morrison and asked quietly so no-one could hear "Okay, what the hell did I miss?" Morrison replied "Well, Patty's better at this game than Dante so wouldn't it be best that she take over?" I nodded and said "Very well." 

As Dante and Morrison left the room, I resumed my position by the door, I had managed to smuggle both Eclipse and Cinder so I was ready for when King revealed themselves. Patty's chance in the spotlight was very short-lived though.

As she looked at her hand Amanda impatiently asked "Come on honey, make up your mind, are you in or are you out." Santa Claus chuckled before adding "You seem to have an aptitude, but you've got a long way to go."

Before she could make a move, Dante returned and picked Patty up out of her seat, saying "Time for a substitution." Patty protested however Morrison calmed her down and the pair went off to the side watching the game. I wish I could have at least done that instead of having to put on this security guard charade.

My attention this time was on Santa Claus, Dante had folded and he had his attention fixed on Amanda. I could tell he was trying to read into her. Both Dante and Paul folded again and this time Santa Claus laughed and said "Very smart boys."

Amanda suddenly said though "Hold on. I'll raise 15000 and call. I'm all in." Santa Clause glared at her saying "Trying to bring me down with a bluff, I see right through you. Fine, it's on. I'm all in." With that he also had no chips."

Amanda simply grinned though and said "Aww, too bad. Looks like I got you Grandpa." She then revealed her hand, sure enough it was three of a kind. She kept grinning and said "I win." 

Santa Claus looked down, saying "So, you did get me. Looks like senility is setting in for me. Please excuse me." He began to walk away however he suddenly collapsed to the ground dead. Now it was obvious. Dante then stated "Now we know for sure, someone here is King."

Timeskip...

As I had expected, Amanda was quickly wiped out next and just like the last two, she collapsed to the ground dead. Clearly the work of King, her last words were "I... don't... LOSE!" As she hit the floor. Now it was just Dante and Paul remaining. 

Paul looked up, his eyes glazed over, similar to Patty when she put on the pocket watch as he said "If I beat you, that would make me King. Well come on. DEAL THE CARDS! 

Lady did just that, dealing the next hand for the remaining two players. The way it looked, both players could have been holding a Royal Straight Flush! Something was definitely at play here, these hands were almost unnatural."

Paul pushed his chips forward and stated "All-in." It seemed both players were making sport of this, as Paul put it. Both of them had a final attack to launch. Dante however was running a little low on chips though he answered "If I lose, I'll pay the difference with my life." 

Paul calmly said "That's a deal, now come on. Let's have it. Let's see that last card." As the cards were revealed Paul stated "So, it's a showdown." Paul revealed his, he had a royal straight flush. Which meant it was all up to Dante.

He dramatically revealed his card and we were all silent. Turns out they both had that same exact hand. There was only one difference, when two people both have a Royal Straight Flush, Spades wins, and that's exactly what Dante had.

Paul looked shocked as he muttered "Sara, I'm sorry." With that, he met his end as well." Patty said "He did it." The moment was short-lived when Dante let out a laugh, a sinister one at that. And I knew one thing as I slowly reached for Cinder.

King's game wasn't quite over just yet...

Author's Note: And that's it for this chapter, I'm sorry if it was long and boring though if it's any consolation I have something special planned for next chapter. A lot of people have asked me what Eclipse's power is, well I will drop the first hint of it next chapter and King will be the first victim of it. I really hope you enjoy what's to come and I hope you liked this chapter, also, as always, thank you for reading.