Maya gulped as she walked slowly up the steps towards the office. It was strange how this place had once been like a home to her, but now it was an unfamiliar mess. Strange how she’d used to love walking up these steps, a smile on her face because she was young and happy and knew that he was inside waiting for her, but now her stomach felt like it was full of butterflies. Strange how they used to be so close, two best friends against the world, but now… everything was different.

It felt so odd to be here again, stood at his door, her fingers poised above the doorbell. Did she dare to ring it? She knew that pressing that one small button would have huge consequences for both of them, and she couldn’t be sure that coming back into his life would make it all better. But she could only try – after all, she’d already lost him once – the person nearest and dearest to her – so what did she have to lose by trying one more time?

You’ll only get hurt; a little voice said inside her head; he’ll break your heart again, just like the last time, when he told you to get out of his life.

Maya squeezed her fist around the small green item in her hand, trying to push the voice away, but it was always there, nagging at her soul. She felt the edges of the magatama pressing into her flesh, and realised just how tense she was. She closed her eyes, thinking back to when that magatama had seen better days...

Those memories would never fade; the days when the two of them were great. Phoenix, standing proud and tall with his smart suit and his shining badge; it matched the shine in his eyes. He would always carry his magatama, a gift from Maya, glowing bright green as he fought past the lies and injustice, always striving for the truth. And Maya would be there, stood at his side, wishing she never had to leave him.

It had all ended too soon; Maya hadn’t gotten the happy ending she longed for with all her heart. Instead, she’d been ripped apart from him by a cruel twist of fate. From that terrible day, Phoenix wanted nothing more to do with her.

‘Get away from me!’ he yelled, shoving her backwards, ‘Don’t you get it? My life as a lawyer is dead, I’m not the same Phoenix you once knew!’
‘Please, Nick, listen to me! It’ll be OK, we just need to work through it together…’ Maya begged, the tears streaming down her cheeks mingling with the rainwater that was pouring down over the two of them.
‘No! Just go away, and don’t speak to me again!’
Phoenix reached into his pocket and pulled out something small and green. He held in front of him, and Maya thought she saw a tear drip onto it before he swung his arm back and threw it far away. The small gleaming shape quickly disappeared into the thick haze of rain and mist, and the noise as it hit the ground was blanketed by a heavy roll of thunder.
‘Just go home, Maya…’ Phoenix said, his voice softening a little, but there was still a sad, husky edge to it that Maya had never heard before. Phoenix took a last glance at her, his expression unreadable, and went back into the office, slamming the door behind him.
And Maya stood there pathetically, soaked from head to toe, crying her heart out in front of Phoenix Wright’s office.

Still hesitating on the doorstep, Maya glanced back down the road. She could picture herself, a sodden mess walking down the street when she eventually realised that Phoenix had meant every word he said. As if it were yesterday, she felt the bitter taste of lost hope stinging on her tongue; she remembered the way her heart felt heavy and swollen, like it was a piece of lead, some inanimate object stuck inside her chest, broken and useless.

As she dragged herself down the street, water swishing around her feet, her clothes soaked to the skin with freezing water, she felt something crunch under her shoe. She bent down and picked up the thing she had trodden on; her old magatama. She remembered it in Phoenix’s hand, the way it had shone with a mystical green glow. Now the light had gone out and it was just a dull green stone, covered in rain and dirt. She slipped it into her pocket and headed for home.

And now seven years had passed, leading her here. Maya wasn’t quite sure she had chosen this particular day to come; she just couldn’t bear it any more. Of course, she’d been constantly checking up on what he was doing for all these long years, but she had to see with her own eyes what he had become… she had to hear from his own lips that he really didn’t want anything more to do with her. Seven years was a long time, and a lot may have changed, but Maya’s feelings for him would always be there. So took a deep breath and rang the bell.

Her heart felt like it was throbbing in her throat as she heard footsteps hurrying to the door. They weren’t his footsteps, she was sure of it; too light, too delicate. Finally the door swung open to reveal a young, bubbly girl in a silk hat and a blue cloak.

‘Hi! I’m Trucy Wright. What’s your name?’ the girl asked in a bright, chirpy voice.

Maya smiled; she knew all about Trucy, of course. How could she not know, when she’d been checking up on Phoenix all this time? In some ways Maya felt jealous; why should this strange magician girl get to spend so much time with Phoenix, when Maya had been totally abandoned? But she knew that it wasn’t Trucy’s fault, so there was no reason not to be nice to her.

‘My name is Maya Fey. It’s nice to meet you, Trucy,’ Maya said politely, shaking Trucy’s hand, ‘Is your… er… Dad at home?’ God, it felt so WEIRD to think of him as a Dad…

‘Yep, Daddy’s practicing the piano right now! Do you want to join the Wright Talent Agency?’ Trucy asked, bobbing up and down with excitement.

‘Uh… no thanks, I’d just like to speak to him if that’s OK…’

Maya knew about the so-called ‘Talent Agency’ too – at first she’d been alarmed that Phoenix had taken such a weird career path, but she soon found out that he and Trucy were the only members anyway, so he was probably just doing it to humour his ‘daughter’. Trucy certainly didn’t seem like an ordinary foster child…

‘Sure! Come on in!’ Trucy led Maya into the office, which was cluttered with all kinds of magical props. There was some awful piano playing coming from somewhere; Maya’s heart almost skipped a beat just to know that it was Phoenix who was playing.

‘He’s right in here,’ Trucy said, ‘I’ll go fetch you both some lemonade and cookies!’

‘Um… thanks!’ Maya said, as Trucy skipped off, leaving Maya alone outside the door. She shakily took a breath, and knocked.

‘Come in!’ called a voice; a voice she would recognise anywhere. Maya slowly turned the handle, her fingers trembling, and opened the door.

He was sat at the piano, lazily slumped on a stool, his fingers still resting on the keys. A few empty grape juice bottles were strewn across the floor, and there was a half-full one on the table next to him. He was still looking at the piano music, not paying attention to his new guest.

‘Nick… hi,’ Maya said quietly, breaking the silence.

Phoenix froze, his eyes no longer examining his piano book. Slowly, he turned to face Maya for the first time in seven years.

Maya was sat on Phoenix’s sofa, feeling a little uncomfortable; after all, she was surrounded by piles of random objects and papers which looked as though they might collapse at the slightest touch. Phoenix was slouched back on the piano stool, leaning against the closed lid of the piano. After inviting her to sit down, he still seemed unsure what to say.
‘Why, Maya?’ Phoenix eventually said, breaking the awkward silence, ‘Why now? Of all the times you could have contacted me…’
Maya shrugged; even she didn’t know the answer to that one. ‘I guess I just had to see you,’ she said, ‘I missed you. I don’t know why I waited seven years… I don’t know why I chose this particular time to come and see you. But I think I was just sick of waiting, and not knowing how you really felt.’
Phoenix was looking at her, taking in all the changes in her appearance, as well as the things that looked the same. Her fringe was longer, brushed aside and tucked behind one ear, giving her face a more mature look, and the rest of her black hair was short, strands of it hanging over her shoulders. Her clear green eyes seemed more grown-up, more sensible, but there was still that childish gleam which he vaguely recognised from the past.
Maya had been nervously staring at the floor; she suddenly looked up, her green eyes meeting his blue ones. Immediately, Phoenix looked away, feeling too afraid to make eye contact after all these years.
‘Maya…’ he said slowly, ‘I… don’t know what you mean. About not knowing how I felt.’
‘I just mean… how do you feel about not seeing me any more? Do you really, truly want me out of your life forever?’
Phoenix laughed coldly. ‘I think I’ve made that perfectly clear… after all, I’ve kept you away from me for seven years, right? Do you seriously think that I want you back now?’
Maya gulped, feeling hurt by Phoenix’s bitter words. She felt like a fool for coming. But Phoenix wasn’t done breaking her heart yet.
‘I’ve rebuilt a life for myself, Maya,’ he continued with a sharp edge to his voice, ‘It’s a life which doesn’t include you, and I’d like it to stay that way. I’m not a lawyer any more… Trucy and I get by just fine, I’ve already got over you long ago and I think it’s time you did the same.’
Maya took in what he was saying, blinking back tears as they stung beneath her eyelids. She couldn’t believe that Phoenix was being so mean to her, after she’d plucked up the courage to come here and speak to him. A single salty tear rolled down her pale cheek. She flicked it away, hoping that Phoenix didn’t notice… she didn’t want to show weakness in front of him, especially when he seemed to care so little about her.
‘I’m sorry if I’ve upset you,’ Phoenix sighed, in a softer tone, ‘But… that’s the truth, no matter how hard it is. I just don’t think we can go back to how we used to be.’
There was a pause. The silence was broken by the door swinging open; Trucy walked in with a radiant smile on her face, completely unaware of the serious atmosphere.
‘Here you go!’ she said happily, placing a tray onto a small table in the middle of the room, ‘Have fun, Daddy!’
She skipped out of the room. Maya looked down at the tray; there were two glasses, a jug of lemonade, and a plate of freshly baked cookies.
‘Help yourself,’ said Phoenix. He took a cookie for himself, and bit into it.
Maya poured a glass of lemonade and had a sip; the bubbles fizzing in her mouth helped her regain her composure, and the tears were all gone. She glanced around the room, her eyes settling on a pack of playing cards messily strewn over a little wooden table in the corner.
‘You play poker nowadays, right?’ she asked.
Phoenix nodded. ‘Yep. Seems it’s the only thing I’m good at.’ He allowed himself a small smile, looking slightly smug, ‘I’ve never lost a game, actually.’
Maya raised an eyebrow. ‘Oh yeah? I bet I could beat you.’
‘Yeah, right!’ Phoenix smirked, ‘Maya, you’ve probably never even played poker before in your life, and…’
He stopped, realising that he was suddenly acting too friendly towards her – part of him longed to be nice to her and accept her back into his life, but common sense told him that she was better off without him.
‘Actually, I’ve never lost a game either,’ Maya said coolly, ‘They call me the Poker Queen of Kurain Village.’
Phoenix actually laughed out loud. ‘Kurain? Poker? That’s just crazy!’
He was pretty sure she was making this up; after all, you could never really trust Maya. She had always exaggerated things, back when they were still friends.
‘I’ll tell you what, Phoenix,’ Maya said, feeling a little strange to be calling him ‘Phoenix instead of ‘Nick’, but it was more formal that way, ‘I have a little proposal for you.’
Just the word ‘proposal’ sent a shiver down his spine. Surely she didn’t mean THAT kind of proposal? Because if she did…
‘What do you mean?’ he asked warily.
‘Let’s play a game of poker,’ Maya said, ‘Tonight, at the Borscht Bowl Club where you work. It’ll just be like another evening at work for you… just another game of poker.’
‘O…K…?’ Phoenix said hesitantly, knowing there was something more.
‘We’ll make a deal. If you win… which you seem pretty sure that you will… I’ll leave you alone, forget about you, and you can get on with your life.’
‘Right,’ said Phoenix, ‘And what if I lost? Not that I will, of course…’
‘If you lose,’ Maya said slowly, ‘You have to open up to me completely. You’re not allowed to shut yourself away anymore. But if I think that you truly don’t want me any more, I’ll go back to Kurain and never bother you again.’
‘Sounds like a fair deal…’ said Phoenix, ‘After all, it’s not like you have a hope in hell of winning against me. Besides, every word I’ve said today is true, so you’ll be leaving me either way!’
‘Hmm, we’ll see about that…’ Maya said, slurping down the last of her lemonade before getting up to leave, ‘I’ll see you tonight at ten, Phoenix. Good luck… you’ll certainly be needing it…’
And with that, Maya let herself out of the house, slamming the door shut behind her.

As Maya walked away from the office, all the confidence that she had previously felt was quickly drained out of her. Back at Fey Manor, Pearl walked in to find her sat with her head in her hands, her face very pale.
‘Mystic Maya? Are you feeling OK?’ Pearl asked, ‘Did something happen when you were visiting Mr Nick?’
Maya looked up. ‘Pearly… you know when you do something really stupid and you totally regret it afterwards…’
‘Oh no! Mystic Maya, what have you done?’
‘I… challenged Phoenix to a game of poker,’ Maya sighed. Pearl gasped.
‘But you’ve never played poker in your life!’
‘I know,’ Maya groaned, ‘But if I lose, I’ll never get to see him again! I thought this would be a good idea… why am I such an idiot?’
Pearl thought for a moment, then turned to Maya with a determined look on her face.
‘It’s alright, Mystic Maya!’ she said, ‘We’ll do whatever it takes to turn you into a poker champion! How long do we have? A week might be cutting it a bit fine, but we can manage…’
There was an awkward silence before Maya spoke. ‘Eight hours.’
Pearl stood there, stunned. Then suddenly she sprung into action, pulling Maya to her feet.
‘Well, what are we waiting for?’ she said, ‘Come on, let’s go to the library and find a book about poker!’
Maya let herself be dragged out of the house, feeling very lucky to have Pearl helping her right now.

An hour later they were back at Fey Manor after a trip into town. Pearl dumped down the carrier bag she was holding and started taking out the contents; a pack of playing cards, a set of plastic poker chips, and a book called ‘Poker for dummies’.
‘Pearly, what’s that in the bottom of the bag?’ Maya asked, pointing to a strange package which Pearl was trying to hide.
‘Oh! It’s… um… nothing!’ Pearl said, shoving the bag under the table, ‘Really, it doesn’t matter?’
‘Is that what you ran off to buy while I was in the toilets, Pearly?’ Maya asked suspiciously.
‘Um… no, it’s just a little something I bought for myself!’ Pearl laughed nervously, bundling the package into her arms, ‘Excuse me Mystic Maya, I need to put this away…’
Pearl ran off, leaving Maya wondering what exactly was in the strange package, but Pearl was back a moment later, and they really couldn’t afford to waste any time.
Ten minutes later, the two of them were sat on the floor, absorbed in the book.
‘So,’ said Maya, ‘To play poker, I’ll need strategy, self-discipline and luck.’
‘Hmm… I don’t think you have much luck, Mystic Maya…’ Pearl said.
‘Well, I’ve been arrested for murder twice, as well as kidnapped and trapped in a cave, so I guess not,’ Maya agreed, ‘Although, I’, still alive after all that, so maybe I AM quite lucky after all.’
Pearl continued to flick through the book.
‘Right, the aim of the game is to win chips by creating a strong hand.’
Maya looked confused. ‘Hand? What does this have to do with my hands being strong?’
‘No, I think a hand is a group of cards or something,’ Pearl explained, ‘See here? It helps if you have more than one card of the same number or suit.’
‘OK… so I have to try and get loads of matching cards, then I can beat Phoenix!’
Pearl turned the page. ‘Hmm… It says here you need to know when to fold,’ she said.
‘Fold? I have to fold the cards?’
‘I think so… although it seems a bit of a waste to ruin them by folding them,’ said Pearl.
Maya took a closer look. ‘Aha! I don’t have to actually fold them! It says that folding is just like kinda giving up if you don’t think you can win.’
Pearl nodded. ‘I see! So, basically if you think that Phoenix has a really good hand, you just give up for that round!’
‘Ok, that’s the basics!’ Maya said, ‘Onto the next chapter! Uh oh… it looks like it gets more complicated…’
Pearl began to read. ‘It’s all about something called bluffing, Mystic Maya…’
‘Oh right, so I have to try and act like I have a really good hand to make Phoenix want to fold!’ she said, ‘Well, I’m probably pretty good at fooling him, after all the years we spent together…’
Pearl pointed to a section of text. ‘Here it says that you have to keep something called a ‘poker face,’ she said, ‘You need to keep a very emotionless face, so he doesn’t know what you are thinking. Also, you need to look at his facial expression and body language, so that you can figure out what’s going on in his head.’
‘Alright, maybe this isn’t so tricky after all… it always used to be easy to work out what he was thinking!’
Pearl picked up the unopened pack of cards, and tipped them out into her hand. ‘Shall we start practicing, Mystic Maya?’
Maya nodded. She had a pretty good grasp of how to play poker now, but she still wasn’t sure that she could beat Phoenix… would this game be the last time she ever saw him before having to stay out of his life forever?

It was half past nine, and Maya had a huge lump in her throat which wouldn’t shift as she stepped off of the train from Kurain. The station was almost deserted apart from a few drunken men stumbling around; a shiver ran down her spine. She hated getting the night train.

“Nothing to be scared of…” she mumbled to herself, walking out of the station. She pulled her coat a little more tightly around her, although she still felt old – it was probably something to do with the gift Pearly had bought her. It had turned out that the secret package she was hiding was actually a gorgeous deep purple dress.

“I had to hide it until the last minute,” Pearl had explained, “I knew you wouldn’t let me spend my pocket money on you otherwise!”

“Well, you shouldn’t spend it on me anyway, Pearly!” Maya sighed, “But, I supposed it’s too late to return the dress now…”

“Yay! So you’ll wear it?”

“Fine, fine… I guess I have no choice…”

The dress fitted perfectly, and she had to admit it looked stunning on her. But it wasn’t really very good at keeping her warm on this cold evening.

She turned a corner, and was almost blinded by the sudden bright lights of the Borscht Bowl Club. Suddenly her heart seemed to be falling out of her chest; it was like she was walking up to Nick’s house that morning all over again… but this time, everything was at stake.

* * *

“Mr Wright? You are feeling OK, da?”

Olga’s voice snapped Phoenix out of the strange trance he seemed to be in.

“Huh? Oh! Yeah, I’m… uh… fine…”

“You have guest… she want play poker, da?” said Olga, getting out her camera, “I take pretty picture?”

“No thanks Olga,” he said, “Not tonight… tonight is different.”

He spotted Maya walking across the stuffy and crowded club towards him. She was wearing a beautiful dress, a rich purple colour, contrasting perfectly with her pale skin.

“Hi… Phoenix,” she said quietly.

“Well…” he paused, gesturing towards the basement, “Shall we?”

She nodded and followed him in silence down the small stone steps into the small underground room, where a table and two chairs were set out in the centre. Olga came down behind them, ready to deal out the cards.

Without speaking, Maya and Phoenix sat opposite each other. Phoenix sat back, trying to appear relaxed, even though he felt more on edge than he’d ever felt before during a poker game. Surely it would be easy – he could win without even trying. This was Maya, after all!

“We begin, da?” said Olga, shuffling a deck of red-backed cards between her hands.

“Ready?” Phoenix asked, staring Maya straight in the eye.

“Ready,” she agreed.

And the game began.