Based off of the writing prompt found here

OOC: Original prompt had a Male but I changed that to reflect the character this prompt has helped me develop a little

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CHILDREN OF THE ENTITY: LADY LUCK

Poker was always a game of wits. A battle of minds. The winner would walk away richer than they have ever been. And the losers? Well that depends on what they were prepared to lose. Our game was to be like any other game. The chips would move back and forth and a winner would be decided. We’d probably go for a few beers once all was said and done. Then she turned up. A young woman, with an expensive dress and jewellery. If vanity had a form. She would be it. She appeared ageless, her skin polished under the lamps above them. She didn’t need to look young. She just was.

“Is it too late for me to join you, fellas?”

None of us objected. And so the first round played and after a tentative first round. We moved on the next round of betting. As we each moved in a stack, the woman took something out of her coat pouch. A small vial barely the size of a little finger. She waved it at us with an oddly enticing smile.

“You do realise this game requires chips, right?” I said.

To that she huffed. “I thought I’d raise the stakes?”

The player to my left glanced her way. “No one wants your water, love. Put it away and make your bet.”

“Water, is that what you think?” She asked tilting her head. “If only it were that simple.”

“What could possibly be in that vial that’s more valuable than all the chips here,” I demanded.

“Life, boys. To be exact. Fifty years and you get to keep your youth.”

We each stared at her. “And if we lose?” Asked the player to my right.

“Well that’s up to you. What are you prepared to lose in the pursuit of gods most gracious gift. If life is what you want. Then we continue playing. If not, then I’ll fold.”

I could feel my palms sweat as a nausea came over me unlike anything I’d ever felt. This woman, something was off about her. She rolled the clear vial into the stack of chips where it came to rest. “Can we offer up our own lives?”

“The more you put in, the more you get out of it. But I warn you all. There’s no going back.”

We each resigned to our greed. Money was fleeting but life, eternal that was a juice that would keep giving. Whether it was the light or her playful charm. The rest of the game is a blur. If you must ask, she didn’t take everything from me. The others were reckless and gave up everything. I managed to leave myself with a year. A year to settle everything. To do as much as I could before the end. Never had I understood the value of life until only I had it stolen from me. I didn’t notice at first but she shadowed me all the way up to my death bed. And as I took my final breathes she smiled.

“I’ve lived for well over five hundred years, give or take. But you at least left yourself with something. And you did so much. I meant it. If you had said no. I’d have thrown in the towel. Why did you do it?”

“To live a full life. I don’t regret my choice. Fate is unkind.”

“Tell me about it,” she said. “You lived a good life. Many would fall apart but you devoted yourself to your family. Kicked your addictions and became someone that your kids could be proud of.”

“So it was a lesson?”

“I’m no God. But I can give you this. Just don’t tell anyone. You see sometimes when the winds blow in the right direction. I too can be kind.”

She approached me, and pulled a vial from her coat. After removing the stopper she poured a single drop onto my tongue.

“Do me one little favour.”

I could already feel my life coming back. “Yes,” I managed and sat up.

“Live a good life will you. For me.”

And with that she left. I never saw her again after that. But I started noticing things. A little bit here and there going right in my life. Some say she was Lady Luck. But that’s too obvious. No. She’s not a God. She is a monster. But no one said a monster was without heart.