Cecilia turned her head back so quickly that there was real concern that it would snap, but Gerald was gone as quickly as he had said his last words.
Cecilia didn't have much time to worry about trifles; already, a hostess approached her: "What a fine young lady! Is it your first time here?"
To her surprise, the woman, who looked to be in her late twenties, was wearing what appeared to be a bathing suit with a bunny tail and tights.
Cecilia didn't know much about life, but she knew that such clothing was not accepted everywhere. Of course, she needs to understand its origin.
"Why do you have a rabbit's tail if you are not a rabbit?"
"What?"
"Could you be a rabbit who just changed into human form? That's so cool!" Cecilia really didn't know much about the wizard world.
"Are you mocking me or something? How old are you anyway?" She examined Cecilia's small body from top to bottom.
Cecilia completely ignored the woman's last question: "No, no, I just want to know if I can be a rabbit too."
The woman really wanted to slap the mentally retarded girl, but she knew very well that Vlad was not merciful to those who chased customers out.
In any case, a little ridicule is better than a bunch of entitled rich boys trying to grope her.
The rabbit woman gathered her nerves again and turned to Cecilia with a sweet smile. "What would you like to play? We have everything here! Would you like food or drinks?"
Cecilia looked at the single copper coin in her hand, then at the surroundings covered in so much gold that it almost blinded her. She decided to catch up as quickly as possible.
"Which game will bring me the most money the fastest?"
The rabbit woman looked into Cecilia's innocent eyes and realized that maybe she had judged the girl too soon; no man who knew anything about life would go for the 'fastest bet' in Vlad's casino.
"There are some bets that are not suitable for young girls like you; how about we start with a coin toss instead?"
"That's sounding lame."
Her simple way of speech made the rabbit woman more and more certain that Cecilia was a little girl; maybe she had even come looking for her father on one of the upper floors of the casino. She even remembered the stranger who accompanied her; they seemed friendlier than most connections she knew.
The woman sighed. A high commission won't come out of here.
"Don't worry, little girl, it will be fun! How many co-" She paused as she looked at the single copper coin in Cecilia's hand and quickly changed the plural form to "Coin, would you like to bet on your... coin?"
Cecilia nodded, the woman's renewed enthusiasm infecting her as well. She knew she could never earn her stay if she did nothing.
The woman took the coin out of Cecilia's hand. "Just to confirm, losing a bet will cost you one copper coin, and winning a bet will give you a copper coin. Do you agree to the terms?"
In most casino bets, there was some sort of disparity, or gambling wouldn't be a profitable business.
Those were actually very good and fair terms that Cecilia would never have achieved if she had bet more than a literal penny.
"I choose heads."
"Very well then." The rabbit woman stylishly tossed the coin high into the air; countless lights flashed on it as the coin spun dozens of times in the air before landing perfectly on her thumb.
Cecilia clapped her hands in amazement. It wasn't one of the mocking slow claps or polite applause with a well-preserved posture, but rather vigorous and happy claps that were rare to see in such a mature place.
The rabbit woman felt a little happy hearing the clear appreciation for her art, which turned into pure joy for the girl when she saw that the coin did land on heads.
"You won," she smiled at Cecilia with a much more sincere smile. "Would you like to collect your winnings now?"
"I want to bet again, please. 1 copper coin."
Cecilia was greatly relieved; if she had lost this bet, she would have had to go beg Devin. Now, even if she loses, she can just bet again.
"No problem." The Rabbit Woman invested even more in her toss this time, trying to extract more applause from the only attentive audience.
"Wow!" Cecilia did not skimp on praise.
"And look at that, heads again!"
"Let's bet another time!"
The woman giggled at Cecilia's eager look. "Would you perhaps like to change your choice this time?"
"No, still heads."
- 8 tosses later -
The friendly and light atmosphere long ago changed to such that you could cut the tension with a knife in the air as more and more crowds gathered around a simple coin toss on one copper coin.
"Heads, AGAIN? How? Is it even mathematically possible?"
The casino had a blanket ban on the use of magic, in addition to an activity identifier at every corner. But the rabbit woman can't help but suspect the bias in the results.
But why do they do it in such a suspicious way? And why for so little? 10 bets had passed, and it still wasn't even close to her hourly wage."
"Let's bet again." Cecilia, bluntly, did not notice the changing atmosphere.
"Excuse me, ma'am," the rabbit woman said, having already changed her tone from belittled to friendly to aloof. "I just need to get permission first, a routine procedure."
"Please, do not leave."
Cecilia had no intention or desire to leave, but if she tried, she would find a pair of security guards at the entrance physically preventing her from leaving.
Lucky for her, the situation didn't have to turn ugly thanks to the crowd of gamblers around her, who served as entertainment.
"That was amazing, miss!"
"I spend most of my life in gambling halls, and I have never encountered such a streak of luck!"
"Why don't you bet on more?"
"How about you bet for me? I'll pay you properly."
"No, bet for me; I'll give you 30%."
"50%!"
"My bets are so much heavier; you'll earn a fortune with me!"
"What are you talking about? You.."
Cecilia at first thought it was a tactic to get her hooked on the winning streak and bet it all; she read about it in several books, but the seemingly amphetamine-fueled, agitated crowd around her doesn't seem fake, and why would they invest so much in one poor young gambler?
While she was deep in thought, the rabbit woman returned, together with what appeared to be a cat girl. Both walked on either side of a slender teen wearing a black suit that didn't match his age.
His gentle face twisted into what he was sure was a cruel smile, and he asked in a fake deep voice that was really trying to send shivers down the spine, "Is that the one trying to rob my precious casino?"