Continued from here: [x] @askjhook
“Nah. Not apple. If I wanted Apple, I would have asked her. You’re the one I heard had a keen eye for this game. Come on and join us. If we lose, you can blame me, and I will say Alistair cheated.” He winked playfully at both of them, obviously not serious. “Now the question is are we playing normal rules or wonderland rules?”
Nora looked down at her shoes, her discomfort slowly becoming apparent. “I don’t know who has been telling you about my abilities, but I’m afraid they were greatly exaggerating. I can’t help you against Alistair.” She muttered, lifting her head when the blond stepped closer and put a gentle hand on her shoulder.
“Don’t be so down on yourself, Nora. There’s no way you’d do anything but improve his dreadfully poor chances of beating me.” He joked with a glance at James to communicate he wasn’t actually insulting the pirate. He then offered a small smile that grew momentarily when the girl returned it.
“I appreciate your vote of confidence, but again I must decline. I hope you understand, Alistair...” She was already pulling away from him and turning to go again as she spoke, “I’m sorry James, I really can’t help you...”