Okay... so, this isn't a very good oneshot. At least, in my opinion it isn't. I'm not very good at oneshots afterall. But this idea was brewing in my head all while I read the fourth book of the Wheel of Time series. I only recently finished the fourth book, so this probably doesn't coincide will with the story after, but let's not think about that too hard. This is fanfiction, after all
It was her first time in a casino. Sadie shifted uncomfortably, tugging at her medium-length dark brown braid. Brushing her long bangs to either side of her pale face, she eyed the casino in front of her suspiciously, as if it might swallow her and her money – which it very likely will. Her friends prodded her in the side, making her jump. Glaring at them with her cool, blue-eyed gaze, she nervously took a step forward.
She already had her chips. Her friends had walked her through the process. Now all that laid ahead of her was the casino itself. The entire floor was covered in a dark red carpet with small yellow-and-gold designs, except for a long strip of navy carpet that sliced a path through the casino. The casino was in a ground floor of a hotel, and Sadie, recently turning 21, had been talked into renting a hotel room with her friends over spring break.
The casino was far from silent. The ringing of slot machines was loudest of all from her standpoint. The slot machines were just off to her left, rows of them near the front of the casino. Behind them was the rest of the casino, dark and lit with colored neon lights and dim yellowish ceiling lights. In the rest of the casino resided tables for other sorts of gambling, ranging from Black Jack to Roulette to Craps. Even from here, Sadie could hear the murmurs of the people gambling, probably losing more than they were winning.
Sadie frowned at her friends again, who prodded her again. Jumping and biting back a scream – she was dreadfully ticklish – she strode forward past the slot machines. If she was going to gamble her money away, she wasn't going to sit down at a slot machine for hours and count nickels. No, she was going to gamble with other people. That was the fun of it, wasn't it? Her long skirt swished along her ankles. Her friends hadn't managed to make her don a miniskirt, but they did "persuade" her to wear a cute, red V-neck and brown leather ankle books with inch-high heels. They practically had to tie her down to put make-up on her as well, though they weren't able to get rid of her braid. Fingering her slim silver class ring with a red stone on her left hand nervously, she approached a Roulette table.
She wasn't sure how long she had been there when he arrived. All she knew was that she was not winning much money – and yet she could see how people get addicted to gambling; there was always that chance of winning that drove them on. The man approached the table she was at just as she was thinking about giving up and walking away. Something about him made her stay a little while longer.
When he arrived, he stood so close that he brushed against her. She was about to step to the side to allow him space when she put her foot down and stayed where she was. Her friends always berated her for being shy and meek. If he wanted space, he could move; she had been there first. He was much taller than her, even with her boots. She just came up to around his shoulder height. He appeared to be slim, too, with brown hair under a wide-brimmed hat and twinkling brown eyes. He seemed somehow familiar…. He grinned down at her, and she turned her attention swiftly back to the roulette table, her cheeks becoming warm. He couldn't be more than a few years older than her…
They didn't really talk much. Instead, she watched what he bet on. When he bet most of his chips on the 0, she eyed him suspiciously. What was he doing? With such a reckless way of betting, he was surely going to lose all of his money in no time. He saw her eyeing him and winked, and she once more returned her stare quickly to the table.
The roulette spun… and the ball landed on 0. Sadie gasped, staring openly at the man next to her, who only grinned at her. Shaking her head, her braid swinging, she more laid her bets for the next spin. The man chuckled and placed most of his chips on the number 19. The roulette spun again… and the ball landed on 19.
Sadie raised an eyebrow at the man. No one was that lucky. This time, when he placed his bet on another number, 4, she placed hers on the same spot. The roulette spun again, and Sadie felt… something. She couldn't place it, but it was like a bit of reality was bending, twisting slightly. She looked up, wide-eyed, at the rest of the people at the table, but they didn't seem to notice anything. The little metal ball went 'round and 'round… and landed on number 4.
Sadie shook her head once more, not believing what was right in front of her eyes. She gathered her chips and left the table. Perhaps a game of craps would be fun. She couldn't say she was good with dice, but she had had enough of Roulette. Just before she left, the man reached up and tugged her braid gently, as if teasing. She whirled around to glare at his grinning face, and he said, "Where I come from, a braid means a girl is of marriageable age." He chuckled as she turned red and stomped off to the craps table.
When he appeared again – in that same, irritating way of standing too close to her – she had shaken her braid out. She also wasn't having much luck. When the man took up the dice, he grinned and told her to bet on 2. Staring at him, she obeyed. As was expected, he rolled a snake eyes. She gripped the edge of the table. That was impossible. Frowning, when it was his turn to roll again, she once more placed her bet on 2 – and once more he rolled a snake eyes. Surely this wasn't pure coincidence.
Studying him, she wondered if she met him before. She couldn't have – if she couldn't always remember names, she was good at remembering faces – and yet, the twinkle in his eyes, his wide-brimmed hat were all so familiar to her. She couldn't place it.
For some reason, he reminded her of a book series she had read just a few years ago. One about a few boys from a secluded farming village forced to leave on a long adventure. The book had said the boys changed the world around them, simply by being.
To see what his reaction would be, she muttered, "The Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills." He stared at her wide-eyed before covering up his surprise with a laugh, turning his attention back to the table. She smiled slyly. He had reacted! It was probably because she said something so random, but there was a chance… No, it couldn't be. Her fantasies were getting away from her. He couldn't be a boy from the books.
He noticed her ring then and asked her about it. It was on the third finger of her left hand, a small band of silver and a red stone in the shape of a tapering ellipse. It was stylish; if the stone had not been there, the band would not have connected into a ring, for it was staggered, in a way. It was her class ring, from high school. Geeky yes, but pretty. What had attracted him was the red stone, asking if it was a ruby. When she told him it wasn't, just a red stone, he shrugged and turned away.
She frowned at his profile. Asking if her red stone was a ruby was innocent enough, but she seemed to remember something about a ruby in the books… She couldn't remember exactly what, though, so she dismissed it.
Whatever table she went to afterwards, he appeared sometime later, in the same irritating fashion of coming too close. Still, she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of making her move, so each time she stood her ground, not moving an inch. Wherever she went, luck seemed to follow as well. Occasionally she felt reality twist ever so slightly, almost imperceptibly, just like it had at the roulette table. It didn't take her long to figure out it was because of this man.
From time to time, the man made a comment to her, or asked her a question. He had a peculiar accent that she couldn't place; it certainly wasn't any she recognized. He certainly laughed enough, grinning at her often. When she found herself smiling back, she forced herself to frown and look away. She was easy to make smile, but she didn't know this man very well… or did she?
Finally, as the night grew old, two other men came for him. One was a well-muscled man with curly dark hair and strange yellow eyes. The other was monstrously tall with reddish hair and pale eyes. They, too, seemed somewhat familiar to Sadie, though she was sure she had never met them before in her life. As they pulled him away, Sadie suddenly realized that she never asked for his name. She called after him, asking for it, though she could guess what it was. He grinned and swept a ridiculous, silly bow.
"Mat," he said. "Matrim Cauthon."
Honestly? I just wanted to see Mat in a casino ;) Probably not a unique idea, but there you have it. Tell me what you think! (just don't give me any spoilers...)
If you want to know how the WoT folks are there... My personal reason probably isn't very good, so I think it's best to leave it a mystery.