(WIP) Fragment 0-B: "Beach Chess"

It was House Delmont’s turn to host the yearly Council again, and this time the very young children of those who sat Council accompanied their parents to Delmont. There was a chess tournament among these children as part of the Imperators’ ongoing plans to make peace with House Mesmer and its allies.

A dark-haired child of around Elysian’s age was winning. He had been without a loss the entire morning, but Elysian had not been present. Now, as the blond arrived from Diola, he turned to his father and promised in Airouante that he would make him proud.

Lysi sat in front of the reigning champion almost instinctively, and began to set up the pieces for a new game. The other boy was seated on the side which plays red, and so Elysian played blue; as a result of this it was tradition that he have the first move. As he started the game, his opponent asked: “What language was that?”

“Airouante,” Elysian responded in Takaron.

“It’s very pretty,” the dark-haired boy stated as he made his move. “I’m Cyprian Mesmer.”

He sounded proud of the name, and in contrast Elysian murmured almost under his breath in response. “Elysian Fields.” He kept his eyes on the board so he would not have to deal with looking his adversary in the face. “This is Terebridys,” he added, looking up, and the touch of a smile returned to his face and warming his eyes.

“Keris,” said Cyprian, and the dragonling he indicated was narrow-snouted and black.

Elysian could feel Terebridys wordlessly gloating that she was both bigger and a prettier colour than Keris, but he kept it to himself. The opalescent-scaled dragonling was glad to have a new peer to show off her human to, and her thoughtvoice was warm with affection as she did so.

|He can beat anyone,| she proclaimed.

“Not me,” Cyprian contended as he took one of Elysian’s knights. “Today may well be the first time you’re sent home crying to your mother.”

Elysian grinned as he felled his opponent’s queen. “That’ll be hard to achieve,” he said, “seeing as I don’t have a mother.”

“Oh.” Cyprian had grey eyes which turned apologetic and contrite as he met Elysian’s. “Neither do I.”

There was a moment in which neither spoke, and then the blue queen slid a few spaces along the board.

“Check,” Elysian warned.

“Rats!” Cyprian uttered as he sought out a safe spot for his king. Lords Mesmer and Fields were both watching in deep interest, and he cast a nervous glance in their general direction after making his move.

A blue rook advanced on the red king, and again Elysian said, “Check.”

Cyprian looked at their fathers again- Elysian’s white-haired and faded, Cyprian’s dark-haired and in his prime. Then he pursed his lips and saved the red king, and in saving him he sealed his loss.

The blue queen moved in again for the kill. “Checkmate.”

“Ach! I’m an absolute dunce!” muttered Cyprian, too low for anyone but his conqueror and their respective dragon counterparts to hear. He peeked over his shoulder in horror at Lord Mesmer’s reaction.

“Well, now I shan’t play with you any more,” Elysian declared huffily, crossing his arms over his chest in a most theatrical manner.

“Why not?” the brunet demanded, “Is it because I make stupid-”

“No,” Elysian cut him off softly. “Because you’ve insulted my friend, silly.”

“… Oh.” It was Cyprian’s turn to stare down at the board now, and this was the first hint Elysian had that perhaps Lord Mesmer pushed the boy as hard as Lord Tophien Fields pushed him.

“Chin up,” Elysian reached across the chessboard and gently, literally, tilted Cyprian’s chin upward with his fingertips until their eyes met again. “When I got here, Uhin said that you’d already beaten everybody here today, ‘cept me, and I say if your daddy was asleep through all that we’ll just have to set him straight, you and I, now that he’s good and wide awake.”

The defeated youngster managed a small smile, and when Elysian withdrew his hand Cyprian surprised him by grabbing it in one of his own. The blond tensed, convinced for an instant that he must have said something so royally offensive in his attempt to cheer his opponent up that now they were going to come to blows. Instead, Cyprian Mesmer gave his captive hand a shake. “Thank you,” he said, “for the best game I’ve played all day.”

“No, thank you. You’re good.” Elysian’s own smile was sunny and quick, hiding nerves and loneliness under a seamless façade.

|Humans talk so much,| Terebridys griped to Lysi. She then broadcasted her thoughtvoice to both humans. |Can’t you two do that in our cave?|

“Bri and I were hoping to relax a little there while the adults get up to their nonsense,” he explained. “But what she means to say is, you can come along. If you’d like.” He looked down at the sand between his boots, printed with fist-sized dragon tracks.

Cyprian and Keris briefly met eyes, and then the boy turned back to him. “We’d like that,” said Elysian’s new Mesmerian friend.