Lady Luck

Written by Jenn

Kaelibek sat next to her mother, glued to her side as they all sat ‘round a small wooden table. Normally she was restricted from entering this room, told that she was too young and would ruin the adults’ evening with her childish questions. Finally, after days of pleading, cajoling, and making promises that she may or may not feel bound to keep, her parents had relented out of sheer aggravation and told her that they would let her watch a few games if she would please be quiet and let them have some peace for a change. With the delight of a brat who had just been granted another favor through sheer persistence, she had romped off to pester another of the Cast’s adults.

Now she sat and watched the group of them play a game involving a bowl, three six-sided dice, and a lot of swearing. ‘Chinchororin’ was what they called it, a game adopted from halfway around the world. They threw dice into the bowl and, depending on the combinations that resulted, they either gained or lost some of their little metal coins. She would have thought it strange, but as it continued, she became more and more caught up in the production and started to see their reactions as a performance of sorts.

This show was the kind she craved, and she had never even known of its existence! Her large lapine ears twitched eagerly as the game continued and players were forced to drop out after losing all of their coins. Her father was still in the game, but her mother had been forced out with a disgruntled sigh after her last coin was claimed by another. She leaned her head over towards her father and whispered something in his ear, which had twitched down to accommodate her height. He let loose a burst of laughter and stomped on the floor with one large foot, looking down at her with a grin. “See here, what makes you think I’d let you touch my dice? It’s not my problem if you haven’t earned a set of your own yet.”

She frowned and leaned up to whisper in his ear again. His expression changed to one of interest and he listened with more enthusiasm. “Well. That’s a wager I’m more than amenable to. A week of peace in exchange for a single toss. Fine. In exchange, you pester your mother exclusively until next week’s game.”

While her mother let out an incredulous shout, Kaelibek grinned wide and eagerly reached up an anthromorphized hand to scoop up her father’s black-and-white dice. She stared at the bowl and, as she’d seen the others do, flicked her wrist to send them flying into the white porcelain container.

As they settled, the players around the table stared disbelievingly at the youngling who had just made the throw. She didn’t say a single word, just smiled wide and held out her hand. Grudgingly, they all handed her a coin. She was in the game.