Sophie's eyes suddenly lit up with inspiration. Turning toward Felix with a mischievous smile, she asked, "I've got an idea, Felix. Tell me, do you prefer green or yellow?"
"Yellow."
Felix answered without even pausing to think.
The choice came as no surprise. The Volturi's family crest was dominated by gold and yellow, so his preference was only natural.
Sophie turned away, a victorious smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
With a graceful leap, she landed atop the nearest tree branch and carefully selected two leaves. One was a perfectly ordinary green leaf. The other was far more interesting, one side a vibrant green while the reverse shimmered with brilliant yellow.
"Let's play a game."
Felix looked skeptically at the two tiny leaves, both small enough to disappear beneath Sophie's palm.
He honestly couldn't imagine how something so insignificant could possibly become a game.
"The rules are simple," Sophie explained patiently. "One person hides both leaves beneath their hands, and the other chooses one of them. After that, we flip it over. Since you like yellow, if the side you reveal is yellow, you win. If it's green, then I win."
The rules really were straightforward.
Simple enough to pass the time.
Felix understood immediately.
"How many rounds?"
Instead of answering right away, Sophie wandered over to the stream and gathered ten smooth pebbles before tossing them onto the grass between them. She tapped the little pile with one finger before looking back at him.
"Each victory earns one stone." She smiled. "After ten scoring rounds, whoever has more stones wins."
Ten rounds.
It would be over in the blink of an eye.
Felix sat back down across from her.
"All right." He folded his arms comfortably. "Who draws first?"
"You do." Sophie smiled generously. "You can choose for the first five scoring rounds. Then we'll switch, and I'll choose for the next five."
As she slipped on a pair of gloves, she hid both leaves behind her back before adding another rule.
"Since I'm wearing gloves, I won't be able to feel which leaf is which. And if the leaf you choose already happens to be showing yellow before it's flipped..." She paused thoughtfully. "...that round doesn't count. We simply start over."
"Fair enough."
Felix pulled on a pair of gloves as well. With vampire senses as sharp as theirs, cheating would have been ridiculously easy otherwise. Sophie had thoughtfully eliminated that possibility before the game even began, leaving Felix with nothing to object to.
The first round began.
Felix pointed confidently toward Sophie's left hand. "That one."
Sophie opened her hand. The leaf resting inside showed green, so the round counted. Felix reached over and flipped it over...
Yellow.
"I win!"
"Oh..." Sophie sighed dramatically. "Your luck is incredible."
She picked up one of the pebbles herself and placed it beside Felix before suddenly freezing in exaggerated alarm. "Oh no." She covered her mouth. "We never agreed on what happens if I lose."
Felix laughed. "You don't need a punishment."
Sophie smiled gratefully. "Thank you." Then, after thinking for a moment, she added, "If you lose, just answer one question for me."
The second round began, and Felix selected the yellow-green leaf. Unfortunately, it was already lying yellow-side up.
Void.
No points.
The third round followed, then the fourth. Luck quietly shifted toward Sophie, and twice in a row, Felix revealed green.
Two consecutive victories for Sophie.
The fifth round ended exactly like the second. Felix picked the same leaf, but yellow already faced upward.
Another void round.
The score now stood at two to one. The gap remained small.
Beginning with the sixth scoring round, they switched roles. Felix accepted the two leaves from Sophie while still wearing his gloves.
Now...
Control rested in his hands.
Yet the opening couldn't have gone worse for Sophie. Three consecutive attempts ended with her choosing leaves already showing green, forcing the rounds to be restarted over and over.
Eventually, she couldn't help laughing. "Come on, Felix." She narrowed her eyes teasingly. "Don't go so easy on me."
She tilted her head playfully. "You're making me wonder whether you've secretly got a crush on me and you're deliberately throwing the game."
By then, Sophie had already accumulated five pebbles beside her. One more victory, and Felix would lose any chance of catching up.
"Again!" Felix straightened with renewed determination. "I refuse to believe my luck's this terrible."
The eighth scoring round began, and Sophie chose the yellow-green leaf. It was already yellow-side up.
Another void.
At least...
Things finally seemed to be improving.
The ninth round followed immediately afterward. Once again, Sophie selected the yellow-green leaf.
This time, however, when she flipped it over...
The reverse side revealed yellow.
Felix won.
The score became five to two.
The tenth scoring round followed quickly, and Felix won again.
Five...
To three.
Felix grinned broadly. "It looks like luck has finally remembered me."
Hope returned to his eyes. Only two pebbles remained in the center.
If he could somehow win both...
A draw was still possible.
The eleventh round began, and Sophie pointed directly toward Felix's right hand. "That one."
Felix slowly lifted his hand.
Green.
Both of them immediately understood the outcome. After playing through so many rounds, the tiny details of the two leaves, every vein, every color pattern, and every subtle difference across all four possible faces had long since been committed to memory.
There was no room left for deception.
Sophie smiled apologetically. "I'm afraid..." She gently turned the leaf over. "...this is the end, Felix."
The opposite side was green as well.
"I win."
The score became six to three. There was no longer any possibility of a comeback.
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