Knight Takes Queen

Life, Organisation Association

Following the meeting in Wakigami Castle's third-floor audience chamber, Knight Commander Maxim did not take advantage of the clan's teleportation services. Instead, he left the room on foot, still having business within the castle. His sheele, Evaine, followed closely behind with a look of mild concern on her face. She'd felt somewhat uncomfortable in that meeting for some reason; as though something powerful yet unseen had been watching them all throughout. With a shake of her white locks she cast the feeling away and asked Maxim where they were going.

It had been some time since the Knight Commander last visited Wakigami Castle. At least, when measured by the breakneck speed by which events tended to move in service to the Hashinara Clan. So, it was only proper that he call upon the castle's nobility while here. No, not Hashinara Yoshitakatomo, who had been absent even longer than Maxim. Instead, he went to the Daimyō's quarters and asked after Empress Genmei.   In answer to his knock, something heavy and dry moved against the other side of the door. It was an uncanny sound, certainly not made by anything human. It opened a crack a moment thereafter, revealing white scales and an enormous red, slitted eye. Apparently, Maxim was recognized and welcome, for Prince Hozumi opened the door the rest of the way with a dexterous flick of his tail. The Knight Commander stepped inside with Evaine just behind him.   "Ah, Maxim. Remind me, how does the horse move?" Empress Genmei sat on a cushion before a low table. Before her, arranged as though midway through a game, were a board and array of pieces Maxim immediately recognized as chess. Now, he was not exactly a grandmaster, but he did know the basics. He explained as such, showing Genmei how the knight moved in an L-shape across the board.   "Thank you," the diminutive empress favored him with a smile. "A charming, pink-tinted man visited the other day and offered me this game as tribute."   Charming? Pink-tinted? Fixated on Western accoutrements? A vision of Tsukijō Hanahane all but rose up before Maxim's eyes as he put the pieces together. Meanwhile, his host was continuing. "I'm pleased to see that you know how to play already. Would you care for a game?"   "Eh..." The good knight hesitated only a moment before accepting the proffered seat across from Genmei. "I know the basic rules...but... Sure, I could stand to lose at another board game."   Seemingly pleased that he'd accepted her invitation, Genmei set about resetting the pieces in front of her. "Do you have a boon to ask me, or is this a social visit?" She played black, which meant Maxim had white; an advantage, according to some.   "Social. I was in the area, and the idea of being locked in here day in and out made me think you could use some company." Maxim studied the table in front of him, banishing thoughts of Go from his mind as he attempted to recalibrate for the different beast that was chess. "But it seems you know how to keep yourself entertained."   "Your company is welcome." And indeed, Genmei's smile had not wavered. Though reserved, it was genuine; she seemed to truly appreciate that he'd stopped by to visit her.   They traded moves for a short time in silence. Quickly, Maxim realized that Genmei had a grasp on the rules of chess but none of the nuance. Her opening line was full of holes. An experienced player might have swept in and claimed the game right there. Maxim was not that, but he found even his own sloppy opening to place him in a decidedly advantageous position. His host's smile did not drop, but she studied the board more intensely and breathed out, impressed.   "This must be what that pink gentleman meant when he told me about the 'Celephaïs Opening." Moving another piece, creating another opening, she also slid on to the next topic of conversation. "Where have your adventures taken you of late, Maxim?"   Before he answered, the knight's eyes fell on Genmei's queen. It was entirely defenseless. He moved a bishop to threaten it. "It seems I'm something of a magnet for Kamui. Have you heard of them?"   "I have heard tales. Gods before there were gods. Before our people came to this land. But even I have never met a Kamui. Were they not myths?" Click. Click. Her queen moved, only to be cornered by a rook.   At this rate, Maxim realized he was going to take an overwhelming victory. That might not be the best course of action for such a friendly match, though. He instead tried his best to match Genmei's skill level, whether that lead to victory or loss. "We recently held a ceremony of sorts for Repun Kamui and she decided to reveal her presence to me. It was an interesting experience if anything."   With one final move, Maxim allowed his own queen to be taken. That should have driven him into a corner, but he quickly realized that Genmei didn't have enough pieces left to checkmate him. Judging by the Empress' creased eyebrows, she'd realized the same thing. "It seems...neither of us win. Tell me about this Repun Kamui. What was she like?" As she cleared the pieces into a pair of small bowls by the table, it seemed Genmei was not displeased with the result of their game.   "She seemed carefree and, if I had to put it, compassionate." Maxim thought on the other Kamui he'd encountered. Chaotic and malicious, many of them. "Which considering the others I've seen was a breath of fresh air."   "It is good to hear the Native Gods are kind, then. Or...at least one of them."   Maxim picked up a handful of the pieces from their receptacles and began to set them up on the board once again. "Now...how about one last game? Only this time I get to ask the questions."   "Of course." As the Empress graciously replied, Maxim noted that Evaine had settled down with Prince Hozumi and was feeding the giant snake some baked cookies. "I would welcome a second game and further conversation. Make your opening move and ask, Knight Maxim."   "I call this..." Maxim struggled to think of a name for his new, classic opening move. "Opening #1."   By sheer dint of luck, the good knight had stumbled across a genuinely competitive opening strategy for his pieces. Even the inexperienced Genmei could tell; this was a much more formidable tack than he'd previously taken.   "That has the sound of a move with a long history. You are more skilled than I thought."   Rather than responding, Maxim asked his first question. "Why do you put yourself through a self-imposed exile like this? Do you not yearn for freedom?" His piercing blue eyes met the Empress', neither of them looking at the board for a moment.   "I accomplished much in my time, and individuals such as I cannot help but alter the course of history by our very presence." As she spoke, a heaviness settled around the room. It was as though the weight of centuries of rule, held in reserve by Genmei until now, fit around her shoulders like a magnificent cloak. "It is time for my descendants to make their own mark, without me affecting their path. For our game, however, I will bring my full abilities to bear."   Maxim blinked as he stared at the board. He'd had an intense advantage throughout their first few exchanges, but suddenly he'd lost three key pieces and had been placed in check in the same number of moves. There was the scent of something supernatural at work here... So, Maxim replied with his own signature ability: "Counter #1."   "That seems sad," he ventured. "You've been locked up so long; surely you could live a more carefree life outside these walls? Don another identity?"   "Do you not know the weight your actions exert on the world, Maxim?" Click. Check. Click. Check. "Beings of such power invite events to them to be shaped, whether we like it or not. Even if I were to don another identity, I would still affect the flow of history in this country."   Rapidly losing ground and pieces, Maxim realized the game was all but over. That is, unless he could muster some miraculous strategy in this final hour. More than that, he found himself considering the impact he had on this world. It was true that bizarre and momentous events, like those featuring the Kamui, found him more often than seemed logical.   "Me...?" He looked down at the board and back to his opponent. He moved his knight forward in an L. Click. "I'm just a mercenary playing at being a knight. Slowly trying to make his way home... On the way I've met some great, some misunderstood, and some shunned by the world. I don't have any of this sort of power you speak of, but if you think you'll have some influence on history by living your life... Should you ask, I would face all of it so you could enjoy a carefree life, as I would for anyone in the Wolfpack."   Genmei's queen fell to its side and rolled off the board, slain by Maxim's knight. Then, her rook slid into place beside his undefended king. Checkmate.   Still, something about Maxim's speech had reached Genmei. He could see it in her eyes, and the way she tilted her head forward to think. A long moment passed, pieces still arrayed on the board, before she spoke again. "I see a little of him in you. Fujiwara, my Right Hand. Or perhaps even a little of Maro. I suppose I may bend my own rules a little, if you are the one changing history and I merely assist."   She stood without clearing the pieces, smoothing out her robes. Prince Hozumi swung his attention from the snacks to watch her, like a dog who knows his master's about to leave the room. "Let us go, then," the Empress said. "It rust you have appropriate quarters prepared for me in your holdings?"   Maxim was left momentarily speechless. He hadn't expected that gambit to work. Soon enough he found his tongue once again. "How do you wish to be treated? As the Great Empress Genmei, or...?"   She had apparently already given this thought. "As your adviser. You may fabricate an identity for me if you wish. I would prefer others not know of me as the Empress."   With a weak smile, Maxim answered, "We can arrange something, then."   ... ...... .........   Even if someone had been present to hear it, they probably would have missed the tiny sound of the sliding door to the Daimyō's chambers softly clicking shut. A shape stood there, black fur and polished iron dancing in the room's dull torchlight.   Four hooves made the barest of clicks as they glided across the chamber and arrived at the low table set in its center. First, Kihaku leaned down to snuffle at the cushion where Maxim had sat. Yes, there was no mistaking it. Her charge had been here. Now, he had gone, and so must she. Except...   The horse's dark eyes took in the chessboard and pieces still arranged atop. It was a crushing defeat for white; black's rook expertly pinning the opposing king. Gently, dexterously, Kihaku lowered her muzzle and placed lips around the ivory piece in shape of a horse. Click.   When the silent hoofbeats had left the room, the ebony rook was toppled and it was white, not black, who claimed checkmate.