Tales Of Eronsvale

A Game Of Chess

SEAN'S HOUSE

"How have you been Sean", Tarry said, initiating a conversation, as the room was once more illuminated again.

"You know..alive and well, away from the city and noise", he said, with a hint of humor.

"And the family?", Tarry asked further.

"Ah—away on vacation", he answered.

"Beer?", Sean asked Tarry, as they settled down at the dining table.

"No, a hot coffee would do", he requested.

"Seems you've taken a liking to this weather", Sean said, as they both chuckled at his remark.

The drizzles continued to platter the roof of the building.

"I would like a glass of beer", Gunther said, raising his hands, interrupting the jolly duo.

"Or not..", he cowered under the cold gazes shot at him.

"So, how have you been?", Sean asked Tarry, as he got the coffee machine working.

"Well y'know, it's just the bar and Ol' me..", he said, with a faint chuckle.

"And Leo?", Sean asked, pouring the hot coffee into mugs, adding honey to sweeten.

"Well, the kid's always been a troublemaker y'know.."

"Kinda takes after his pops..", he said with an air of nostalgia.

"Looking for trouble where there's none", he added silently.

"Ahem.. Coffee please", Gunther said.

Sean's face turned aggressively soured and disappointed.

"I can't believe this guy..", Sean voiced out.

"Hey, what'd I do?", Gunther asked, feigning ignorance.

"You ANNOYING PIECE OF SHIT!.. This is why we never got along..", Sean yelled at Gunther.

"Oh really...and here I thought you were just grumpy", Gunther pointed out, with a mischievous smile.

"That's it, let me at HIM!!", Sean screamed, as he tried to lunge at him, failing due to the timely intervention of Tarry.

"Would you stop this childishness, BOTH OF YOU!!", Tarry roared, almost ending in a growl, as both quenched their quarrel immediately.

"And the gang leader has spoken", Gunther jokes.

His joke was short-lived, as Tarry's angry glare shut him up for good.

"I'm sorry Tarry, he just gets on my nerves", he apologized, passing Tarry his mug of coffee.

"There is no gang...not anymore", Tarry spoke, stiffening the atmosphere as his lips curved into a sad smile; while staring into his mug of coffee.

"Your coffee never gets worse..just like old times", Tarry complimented, after his first sip.

"I've always wondered why you left..", he added.

"Haha...nice flattery..", he said, with a bright smile.

"Hmph", he grunted coldly, as he slammed Gunther's mug; spilling some of it's contents.

"Hey!", Gunther protested with a sour-angry expression.

"What brings you here, Tarry?", he asked.

"I'm sure it's not the coffee, or the sudden interest to know how many kids I have now."

"So, why are you here?", he asked, with a very serious expression.

"I'm sure you haven't forgotten how ugly the tussle for political power is, in Dutan", Tarry spoke, with crossed fingers; supported by the bridge of his nose, elbows on the table.

"Leo got into a crossfire of politics..", Gunther added, stirring his coffee with his pinky.

"We've got a name..Rector", Tarry said, a sharp glint emanating from his eyes.

....

RISING FORTE

Two figures, snuggled under the duvet of a king sized bed, slept soundly into the still chill night.

....

DOWNSTAIRS

Creak...

The hinge of the door creaked, alerting the guards at the reception.

"What was that?", a guard with assault in hand, asked as he went towards the door.

"Must be the wind..", another concluded, seeing the former return without any discovery.

"Seems so", he agreed.

Unbeknown to both, a figure hid in the shadows above, as it crept towards the bedroom upstairs.

Crack...

Neck snapped, as a guard at the entrance to the room dropped dead.

Creak..

The door squeaked open, as Mondéy became half awake; his hands moved instinctively under the pillows, the grip of his pistol in hand.

Click..

The bedside lamp, as well as other lights lit up the room, as Mondéy came to life; pointing the gun towards the figure.

"Drop the gun, Mondéy", the figure said in a low, clear masculine voice, as Mondéy saw a figure seated on a single couch, opposite the bed; dress in a black suit, the inner shirt black, and a black and white striped tie to go with it.

"Or she screams..", he added, referring to the opposite gender, sleeping soundly beside Mondéy.

His arms rested on the armrest, with a gun in his right, as the left grabbed the arm rest; legs crossed, as his well polished black shoes, with black socks in them, glimmered in the well lit room; not ignoring the silver briefcase at his left.

"Who are you?", Mondéy asked with a frown.

"Apologies sir, I am Sinco..", he apologized, bowing a little, as he removed his black hat; adjusting his round, small, and dark goggles to the bridge of his nose, the light revealing a light complexion face.

"Good evening, governor..", he greeted, using the appropriate formalities, almost sounding as sarcasm.

"What do you want?", Mondéy asked bluntly.

"How about....a simple game of chess, governor", he replied with a smile.

"What kind of joke is this?", Mondéy asked, visibly flaring up.

"You infiltrated my home, breached my security, and allegedly attacked me in my bedroom; for a game of chess?", he asked with an angry confused look.

The figure smiled in response.

Pfft..

A bullet escaped the barrel of the silenced pistol, missing Mondéy's right hand by inches; denting only the wall.

"I advise you to abandon the thought of pushing the alarm button by the right side of the bed..", the figure said, not changing his smiling expression.

"Or perhaps, your right hand might be a disturbance, and therefore might need to be taken care of", the figure added, as his smile turned dark, causing Mondéy to withdraw his hand.

"You must be enjoying this", Mondéy said.

"Of a truth sir, I am not enjoying this", he replied.

"Neither am I joking about the chess game", he added, as his left hand took up the briefcase to show to Mondéy.

....

"So, shall we start?", Sinco asked, with a gesture of hand, as both he and Mondéy sat at the table in the commodious room; putting the briefcase on the table.

Click..

He clicked a button on the briefcase's handle, opening it; as the item expanded into a wooden chess board, with the chess pieces on it.

"I thought tech had advanced past chess on a wooden board..",  Mondéy denoted.

"Ah yes, but doesn't the wooden board bring back the nostalgic feel of the 21th century classics?", Sinco spoke, inhaling crisp air, ending his statement with a nostalgic vibe.

"Hope my governor knows the chess game..", he said with a grin.

"Yes...I do, and you can stop with these unnecessary formalities", Mondéy snapped.

"With all due respect sir, it is not unnecessary..", he said, not releasing his smile.

"Now, shall we enjoy ourselves, governor?"

"With this game of chess..", he said, grinning his widest.

"Hmm", Mondéy grunted in response.

"Chess is a fun game; from arranging the pieces on the board, to the opening move, down to the end game; every moment is filled with suspense and thrill", Sinco began.

"I'll take black, you can have the white", Sinco said, as they distributed the pieces between themselves.

"It's funny how the pieces of chess are arranged", Sinco continued.

"Starting from the back, we have the rook, knight, bishop, then the king and queen stays together; while the pawns are in the front."

"Ever asked yourself why the pawns don't stay at the back?", he asked rhetorically, as both arranged their pieces on the board.

"And let's not forget governor, the queens own their color."

"Hope you wouldn't mind a little lesson as we play, governor?", he asked with a smile, before they began to play.

"I wouldn't mind if you shut your trap, and leave my building; 'cause I really need to sleep, and I don't have time for this late night chess club", Mondéy spat with a menacing smile.

"The government's building, you mean sir?", Sinco corrected.

"Isn't it funny governor, that the white piece gets to play first?"

"Why not let the black piece play first?"

"This signifies the racial inequality, caused by racial difference between the Whites and the Blacks; which has been ongoing for centuries now."

"From the colonization of the Black nation, to its independence, the Blacks have always had to bear the brunt of any actions taken by the Whites."

"They are always at the bottom of the well, always trying to even out odds, trying to balance the tipped scale."

"This is fueled by the notion, that the White possesses some kind of superiority over the Blacks, and the Blacks act of cowardice accepted it."

"Well what can I say.."

"Nature is unkind: it treats all things impartially..", he added.

"Your turn governor", he said, indicating for him to make a play.

Tah!

The white pawn moved from d2 to d4.

"Oh, going for a closed play huh?", Sinco asked, chuckling.

"Allow me governor, to say a little history on chess, before we continue", he said, maintaining his smile.

"The origin of Chess could be dated as far back as the 6th century AD, in northern India."

"When Persia was conquered by the Arabs, the Muslim world took up Chess and subsequently, through the Moorish conquest of Spain, spread to southern Europe."

"Governor, over time chess has been called the king's game, and it has been rumored that chess has been used to teach the art of warfare and governance."

"Chess always reveals a ruler's true nature, and thought process."

"Take for instance governor, all your chess pieces to be your state, and the boxes they occupy, it's territory; and mine, to be my state and territory."

"Let the pawns, be the masses; the rook, your military; the bishop, every religious sect and gathering, marketplaces, offices and businesses; the knight, your law and order, the legislative and judiciary; your queen, every resource your state has, from human to natural resource; and finally, the king, which signifies the governor's seat."

"Now governor, show us how you govern", he said, with a dark grin.

"What are you...the Devil?", Mondéy asked with a shaky voice, as his brows were drenched in cold sweat, reacting from Sinco's impactful words.

"No governor, I'm just a man like you."

Schick!

He withdrew a needle from the hand of his suit, stabbing his left hand. He left the blood to drip for the governor to see; maintaining his smile, not even batting an eye throughout the process.

Mondéy flinched, as fear overcame him.

"Now governor, let us continue our game of chess", he said, as Mondéy gulped and nodded in agreement.

Tah!

He responded to Mondéy's move by moving his pawn from d7 to d5.

Tah!

A white pawn moved from c2 to c4.

"Oh governor, I always knew you were a cunning one..", Sinco said, chuckling for the first time.

"The Gambit opening.."

"To be precise, the Queen's Gambit."

"A play that puts out a gamble, by sacrificing the pawns, to attain positional advantages."

"That's a shrewd move governor, I didn't know you were one to make such a decision."

"In this case, you are willing to sacrifice anyone to attain victory."

"You are willing to do anything, as far as you get what you want."

"Is it worth it, governor?", he asked, giving a scrutinized look, his smile not fading.

"It's just chess, don't make it look like there's more to it", Mondéy refuted.

Tah!

A black pawn moved from e7 to e5.

"The Albin counter Gambit, it's all down to our brains now, governor", Sinco said, still with a smile.

"Let's see, if the risk is worth it", he added.

Tah!

The white pawn moved from d4 to e5, taking out the black pawn at e5.

"Great moves governor", Sinco commended.

Tah!

His black pawn continued down, from d5 to d4.

"Now governor, it's time to scale your ability and character; and to account for your decisions", Sinco said, as his eyes glimmered red for a second.

"The game has just begun, governor", he said, with an aura of dominance engulfing.

"Let's have fun", he smiled.

....