Read a selection from Violetta: A Fae in the House of the Fairies

From the chapter 'The Gamble of Seven' from Violetta: A Fae in the House of the Fairies.

Once aboard Flamebeard’s ship, Violetta was surrounded by the curious goblins and told to sit at a table on the open deck. She closely observed the bizarre crew. Each goblin wore mismatched shreds of distressed cloth barely covering their weathered brown torsos. Many of their limbs were scarred with shapes that looked intentionally carved into their skin, or in one goblin’s case, carved into a wooden rod attached to his thigh in place of an actual leg. He wasn’t the only one to lack a body part. Most of the goblins lacked at least one finger, a toe, an ear, or even an eye. Only Flamebeard possessed all his original parts.
“How long have you been out here?” Violetta said.
“Here?” the wooden-legged goblin said. “We only just arrived. Terrible memory you have.”
“No, no. I mean the lake, or rather, the…sea. How long since you left your clans in the south?”
“Ah,” the one-eyed goblin said. “Very long.”
“So long,” another added.
“Twenty years, to be exact,” Flamebeard said. “Or nineteen, maybe thirty. We’ve sailed this sea since before the trolls made you, if you are even really a fae.”
“That I can believe,” Violetta said.
He took a seat across from her. “Welcome to my ship. I’m so delighted to have you. Are you ready for our little gamble? Great! Me too. I love a good gamble.”
Flamebeard’s hooting, yelping crew huddled around the table. He produced a small box and opened it to reveal a stone with several smooth sides. “This…is the cube.” He dropped the stone on the table. “Pick it up.”
Violetta grabbed it with her fingertips, holding it as though it carried disease. The stone was carved to have seven equal faces, not the expected six of a cube. Each face was etched with a different number of lines between one and seven, such that each number appeared only once. The fae slid the stone between her fingers. “Lord Flamebeard. Your cube is finely carved.”
“Isn’t it, though?”
“But a cube, as I’m sure you know, is like that box, with four sides, a top, and a bottom.”
The completion of her sentence unsurprisingly drew a chorus of hisses from the crew, along with nervous warnings. “He hates being corrected,” they whispered. “Just let it go.”
This made Violetta smile.
“Again, you’re confused,” Flamebeard said. “There on the table is a box. What you hold in your hand is the cube.”
“A cube,” Violetta said, “with seven sides.”
“Now you’ve got it.”
“Sure. I’ve got it.”
“Good. The cube has seven sides. You can see there are a different number of markings on each side. So let me explain our game, the gamble of seven. After you roll the cube, the number of markings on the side facing up will be the number you rolled, a number between one and seven.”
“Between one and seven…on the cube.”
“That’s right. Now, here’s the good part—the gamble. There are seven of us, and seven sides on the cube. Each of us has chosen a fate for one number. You roll the cube, chance decides, and we carry out the chosen fate for the number you rolled. Isn’t that fun? Seven numbers, seven fates.”
“What, may I ask, are my possible fates?”
“We can’t tell you that. It’s part of the fun. The best part is that only one of the numbers spares your life. Want to know which number that is?”
“Yes.”
“Too bad. I won’t tell you. But you’ll want to roll it. The other six, well, you don’t want to roll any of those. We want you to, of course. We’ve thought up such fun ways to kill you.”
“Only one? You give me one chance in seven? The odds unfairly favor you.”
“Yeah, they do. We never gamble unless the odds are in our favor. That’s a rule.”
“This is madness. I refuse to roll your cube.”
“Don’t be sour. At least you have a chance, though it’s small. Oh, and before you roll, I should inform you of our unbreakable code.”
“Please do.”
“Long ago we created a code among us that none can break and still live. It’s that we’re honor-bound to carry out whatever fate is rolled on the cube during the gamble of seven. If the roll spares your life, we cannot refuse to spare your life. And if death is your fate, we must carry out your sentence. It’s punishable by death for any of us to defy the will of the cube. That’s our code, and never have we broken it.”
“That’s…reassuring.” Violetta leaned back, crossing her arms. “I still refuse this game.”
“She can’t refuse,” one goblin shouted.
“Is that allowed?” another said.
“It’s not allowed,” another answered.
“How will the gamble be played, then?”
The crew squabbled. “We can’t play if she doesn’t roll.”
Flamebeard stood, roaring for silence. “I should kill her. But I’m having so much fun, I can’t let it end. If the fae refuses to roll, then I’ll roll for her.”
Commotion spread again.
“Can he do that?”
“Will that work?”
“I say it works,” Flamebeard said. “The gamble of seven will now begin.” He reached across the table, snatching the cube from Violetta’s hand. He let the cube tumble from his fingers to the surface of the table. The cube bounced before coming to a stop with a single side facing up. Every goblin fought to be the first to count the markings.
A croaking voice called out. “It’s a three. She rolled a three.”
The naming of the rolled number stirred the crew into spasms. One goblin repeated the result. “She rolled a three.” The rest of the crew followed with chants of the same words.
Flamebeard held up his arms, muting his crew. “She rolled a three. You know what that means.”
“Yes. We know what that means.”
Violetta raised her obvious concern. “What does it mean?”
Flamebeard gestured around the table. “Go ahead, mates. Tell her what fate she rolled.”
“Yes, tell her,” said the wooden-legged one.
Another goblin shot back. “You tell her.”
A ruckus of voices filled the air.
“We all know what it means.”
“Uh…do we know what it means?”
“Don’t you know what a three means?”
“I think so, but…actually no. I’ve forgotten.”
“Me too.”
“I’m not sure I know either.”
Flamebeard’s face reddened. “Goblins! Which of you had the number three?”
“Wasn’t me.”
“Not I. Mine was five.”
“I had two.”
“I think mine was seven.”
“No, mine was seven.”
“Hold on. Did I say five before? It may have been six.”
“No, six was mine. I think.”
“Who had three?” Flamebeard screamed. The goblins stopped replying, their predicament clear. “None of us chose a fate for the number three? This is outrageous! There are seven of us, seven numbers, and seven fates. How did no one give a fate to three?”
“Well, it’s been a very long time.”
The other goblins soundly agreed.
“So very long.”
“I can’t remember the last time we played the game.”
“Have we ever actually played it?”
“Enough!” Flamebeard pounded the table.
“Sounds like the odds didn’t favor you after all,” Violetta said.
“She’s right,” a goblin said. “I think we didn’t have the odds in our favor.”
“What?” another said. “The odds weren’t in our favor? Then it doesn’t count. The roll shouldn’t count.”
“Quiet,” Flamebeard yelled. “You could be right, Violetta. Doesn’t matter. Three may have no fate, but it was not the number to set you free. Five was the number that spared your life, and five was not the number rolled.” He looked to his crew. “Even if three has no given method for her death, death is still her fate. The method matters not.”
Several goblins protested.
“What about the odds?”
“Are you sure we were favored?”
“Something’s fishy here.”
“I’m concerned.”
Flamebeard again quieted his raucous crew. “Forget the odds. Maybe they were against us, now that I think about it, but I don’t care. It’s time to kill this false Queen and move on to the others. I can’t wait to hold that bow.”
He walked around the table, pulling forth a rusted blade from his belt. “I’m sorry, fae, but your payment includes your life.”
Violetta stood, blasting Flamebeard with the iciest stare she could muster. “Lord Flamebeard, I’m ashamed of you. Have you forgotten your own unbreakable code?”
He halted. “The code? No, I know our code.”
“Then why are you about to break it?” She pointed at him for added effect. “Do you wish your reputation to be spread across the land as Lord Flamebeard the codebreaker? Do you wish your honor forever lost?”
“I would never break the sacred code. I’m following it. I’m carrying out your fate, as the code demands.”
“Really? Your roll for my fate was a three, yes?”
“Yes.”
“And what is the fate for rolling a three?”
“Well…well…it seems a three has no chosen fate.”
“So, there’s nothing? No fate to carry out?”
“None that we know.”
“And does your unbreakable code, as created by you and your crew, not state that you must, without question, carry out the actions required for the rolling of a given number?”
“It does.”
“Tell me again, Flamebeard. What action is required of you for the roll of three?”
The goblin groaned. “There’s no known action.”
Violetta raised her voice, leaning forward with each word. “Then by your own code, you are bound to do nothing to me, or face a mortal punishment of your own.”
Flamebeard retreated, pounding his fists as he slumped into his chair. “You speak the truth, fae. I can’t break the code. I have to spare your life. Be gone from my sight.”
Violetta held her breath to keep from crying out as she cautiously stepped away. When she reached the ship’s edge, Flamebeard called to her.
“Send the female with the bow up next. I will have that bow.”
Violetta froze. Her quick reasoning had saved only herself. She returned to the table and sat across from a most grumbly-looking Flamebeard.
He let out a prolonged whimper. “Why am I looking at you? Be gone and send the other as I commanded.”
Violetta remained seated, Flamebeard’s nonsensical logic swirling in her head. She had to take her chances on another game with the unsound goblin. “Lord Flamebeard, may I suggest a new gamble, one that will stand for me and all of my companions?”
“You had your game. I’ve set you free. Don’t challenge such luck. Be gone.”
“My lord, I care deeply for my fellow travelers. I fear they won’t have the same luck. What if I forfeit my lucky fate for a chance to win that same lucky fortune again for myself and everyone traveling with me, to spare my friends from each enduring a separate gamble?”
“You want to roll again for the fates of you and all your friends? You’d be willing to test your luck?”
“If I choose not to bet again, how will I know how lucky I truly am?”
“I don’t know, doesn’t seem fair.”
“It would be exciting, right? Please, let me make a proposition. Give me the cube and give me one chance to roll it.”
“We’ve already done that.”
“Yes, but as you and your crew agreed, the odds were not in your favor.”
“That’s true. We do insist the odds be in our favor. Maybe you do owe me another roll.”
“Give me one roll. Whatever the outcome is, the fairies and I will honor it, by your code. But I will only forfeit my previous roll if you grant me one condition.”
“Condition?”
“Listen. My condition is this. If I fail to not roll a one, or if I do not fail to succeed in not rolling a one, then you must leave in peace and allow us to keep our weapons.”
“Hmmm. That does seem to favor us, I think.”
“If my roll fails to satisfy the condition, then we’ll hand over everything without a fight and thus be at your mercy. We’ll accept the fate of the number rolled.”
“That might work.”
“The odds are clearly in your favor.”
The goblins debated the terms with questionable problem-solving prowess.
“So, she has to roll a one?”
“No, you fool. She has to not roll a two.”
“Then, the odds are against us.”
“No. The odds are not against us. Where is your brain? Think about it. The only way she can win is if she fails to not roll anything other than a one.”
“No, no, no. She must not fail to not succeed in rolling a one.”
“I think I said that.”
“Wait, so if she rolls a one, we keep their weapons?”
Flamebeard interrupted. “Fools! All of you. It means they keep their weapons if she rolls a one.”
The crew deliberated and offered a response. “But only if she fails to succeed in not rolling anything other than a one?”
“Or fails to not roll a two through seven,” Flamebeard somehow reasoned. “Yes. I think that’s it. I believe the odds are with us.”
“They are? Are you sure, captain?”
“Don’t question me. We’ll win this gamble for sure. That bow is mine.”
“Goblins?” Violetta said politely. “Do you agree to the terms?”
The goblins snickered. “Do we? Do we agree?”
“Yes,” Flamebeard said. “We agree. You get one roll, and if the number rolled does not meet your condition, you and your fairy friends will all suffer the same fate.”
“Fine,” Violetta said. “But remember, Lord Flamebeard, if you agree to this, you must also swear to honor the outcome, by your unbreakable code.”
“I swear it.”
“Good. Give me the cube and let me have my roll.”
Flamebeard obliged, placing the seven-sided stone in the fae’s hand. His eyes betrayed his lust for permission from the gamble to unleash torment upon his victims. “Round two.”
With the goblins drooling and fidgeting around her, Violetta swirled the cube in her sweating palm. It spilled from her hand and rolled to a stop. The goblins gasped. Flamebeard sprang up and pushed away the others. Huddling over the table, he counted the markings on the upside of the cube. “Six,” he announced. “She rolled a six.”
The goblins repeatedly chanted the result. Flamebeard strutted around the table until he stood over Violetta. He bent, bringing his face within a breath of hers. “You rolled a six. It seems your luck has run out.”
“Has it?” Violetta said, her eyes firmly leveled with his.
“You didn’t roll a one.”
“No. I rolled a six.”
“Exactly. You failed to roll a one. So, you’ve failed to meet your condition. You will return to your boat, bring all your loot to my ship, and prepare to meet your doom.”
“I’m afraid I have to disagree.”
“I’m afraid I don’t care. You shouldn’t have gambled a second time. Too bad for you, you lose.” He looked to his crew. “One of you better know the fate for rolling a six.”
“I do,” the one-eyed goblin said. “That was mine. I know it. It’s very, very nasty.”
Violetta shot up, waving her finger in Flamebeard’s face. “You’re confused. My roll very much satisfied my condition, the second part to be precise. If I do not fail to succeed in not rolling a one. I did not fail to succeed, which means I succeeded, in not rolling a one, by rolling a six.”
Flamebeard stepped back, mouthing numbers while his eyes skipped between his fingers. “You’re saying you win by not rolling a one?” He beckoned his crew. “Is that right?” The goblins scratched their heads.
Violetta answered for them. “That’s right.”
“But,” Flamebeard said, “for the first part of your condition, you said if you fail to not roll a one. Not rolling a one would mean rolling a two through seven. But your condition says you must fail to do that. That means you needed to roll a one.”
“Yes. Had I rolled a one, that also would have given me the win, as per my condition.”
Flamebeard tugged the green hair on his face. “How can that be? I don’t believe this.”
“How can that be?” the other goblins repeated, their jaws dropping. “We don’t believe this.”
Violetta shrugged. “Allow me to show you again.” Another toss of the cube resulted in a seven. “There. I succeeded in not rolling a one, satisfying the second part of my condition.” She rolled again. “Ah, there is the one. See, I failed to not roll a one, thus satisfying the first part.”
“But those were separate rolls,” Flamebeard said. “Each roll satisfied only one part of your condition.”
“Correct.”
“Then you failed to satisfy your whole condition. You lose, fae.”
“Oh my. You are so confused, my goblin friend. I didn’t need to satisfy my whole condition. You’ll remember I placed the nice little word ‘or’ between the two parts. You agreed to let us keep our weapons and leave in peace if I failed to not roll a one, meaning I rolled a one, or if I did not fail to succeed in not rolling a one, meaning I rolled a two through seven.”
Flamebeard erupted. “What? No! You win the gamble no matter what number you roll. You tricked us!”
“It doesn’t matter. My roll met my condition, so you have to honor your promise. You will take nothing from us and leave us in peace, or else you break the code.”
By this point, Flamebeard’s crew had quietly crept back from the table. They were in for months of grumbliness from their captain.
“You swindling fae,” Flamebeard said. “No one has ever left me without payment.”
“Until today,” Violetta said, turning on her heels and strolling to the side of the ship. As she straddled the rope leading down to her boat, she called to Flamebeard. “Kindly remove your hooks, dearie.”
Flamebeard stomped, punched, and screamed. He refused to accept twice losing the gamble, and twice being humiliated by his own unbreakable code. In his rage, he charged toward the fae descending the outside of the hull. But his crew boldly jumped to block his way, joining together to invoke the one power they had over their captain. “The code!” they yelled. “The code. None can break the code!”
Hissing profusely, Flamebeard relented, ceasing his pursuit. His crew gave slack to the rope holding their catch, allowing the fairies to pull the heavy hooks free and heave them overboard. Violetta raised the sail while Eloman and Weyina powered the oars. Their boat drifted away from the menace of Flamebeard.
“Go,” he shouted. “But if I ever catch you on my sea again, luck will have no part in the encounter!”
“This is a lake,” Violetta shouted back. “Farewell, Flamebeard the Confused!”
A grumbly roar faded as the goblin ship shrunk into the distance.
“Luck was on your side, was it?” Eloman said, for once smiling at Violetta.
“Something like that.”
“Like what?” Weyina said. “Why did they let you go?”
“Something about ludicrous codes, pointless honor.” Violetta waved her hand, dismissing her words to the wind. “Speaking of honor. Let it be known that you fairies owe me yet again. I expect to count on your protection, no matter the cost.”
“That is the way,” Eloman and Weyina said together. They were obliged to return the favor, even as they remained unconvinced of her intentions. To what length they go and what cost they pay to save her life was far less certain. They would protect her as they could in the face of any threats to come for as long as she was true. But the safety of Lira stood above all else. Nothing would compel them to save the fae’s life if it meant any harm would come to the youngling huddled beside them.