Chess With Agatha (Chapter Three) – Check

Chess With Agatha…

And The Dark Fortress of Doom

A Novel by DarkJade

CHAPTER THREE – Check

“Elias… Er… Agamemnon went on to tell me to meet him in the park near my school, after school…”.

“And so I did”.

But upon arriving there, I was very shocked to see he was at a small table with a simple black and white Chessboard…”.

“The Pieces all set out”.

“Uhh” I murmured upon approach.

“I don’t know how to play Chess” I explained as I took off my coat and scarf, and sat them at the table next to ours…

“Actually… You do” he spoke.

“Uhh…” I started to reply.

“Your Father taught you it at the age of three… Before your parents gave you away for adoption…” he explained.

“Wow… Three’s a long time ago… And… How do you know this?” I questioned him.

“I knew your Mother…” he simply said.

“But that is a story for another time…” he concluded.

“I must have sat there for ten minutes trying to figure out my first move… But that didn’t seem to bother him… In fact, he seemed fairly relaxed”.

“Do you mind if I smoke?” he asked me.

“Oh… Sure… Why not” I replied.

“He lit up and took a deep hit”.

“I could tell this dude had been through some serious… Well… You know”.

“There was just something about him”.

“It helps me think” “he explained”.

“As if he was going to need to think to beat me”.

“I moved one of my pawns forward one space, and looked at him as if checking to see if I had done it right”.

“He Nodded at me slightly, to indicate it was a legal move”.

“I let go”.

“He ended up beating me in about six moves”.

“And then he walked me back home…”.

“How is it we were able to communicate to one another telepathically?” “I asked as we made our way”.

“You are a Sender… I a Receiver…” “he explained”.

“Beyond that, I’m afraid, will have to wait” “was the last thing he said about it”.

“Apparently anything “Cool” about that day, would have to wait…”.

“We went on playing one game a day, everyday after I got out of school…”.

“I didn’t generally see him on the weekend”.

“This went on for a month or so, and I had actually become quite good”.

“I even managed to get him in Check one time…”.

“One… Time”.

“But then the day came…”.

“It was a day that I wasn’t particularily paying much attention…”.

“Playing from the back of my head so to speak…”.

“And suddenly, I realized my next move would put him in check”.

“This would only be the second time ever doing so…”.

“But this time, it would actually put me in a strong offensive position…”

“He notes that I’ve found the move…”.

“He’s waiting for me to take his piece…”.

“I place my hand on my striking piece… Never breaking eye contact with him…”.

“He’s waiting…”.

“I start to crack a slight smile… Something I probably hadn’t done in some three years…”.

“On my Fourteenth Birthday…”.

“When I received a mysterious gift, from who knows who…”.

“It was an antique Pocket Watch… One ornately designed… And attached to a long silver chain…”.

“And it keeps absolute perfect time…”.

“As long as I remember to wind it”.

“I still use it to this day… Though I still don’t know who gave it to me… It was simply marked with the letter E on it”.

“E… Hmm…”.

“Yes I gave you the watch, make your move Agatha”

“Agamemnon suddenly thought to me… And I smiled broader, my piece now sitting on edge… And yet, not quite lifted“.

“E must have stood for Elias…”.

“He’s waiting for me…”.

“My Father’s… Waiting for me”.

Suddenly Agatha has a Vision…

A King… In a Dark, dismal dungeon.

Beaten bloody, and hanging from chains in the middle of the room… With only a ray of Moonlight to keep him company.

“I let go of the piece in a cold sweat…”.

“Is it the voices?” Elias asks.

“This time it was different…” “I replied, my whole body shaking”.

“It was… A vision” I explained.

Suddenly the weather got much colder, and droplets of rain started to hit the board.

“It’s starting to rain… Perhaps–” “I started to say, but…

“It rains sometimes… Make your move Agatha…” “he spoke”.

“And then it hit me”.

“What if both player’s pieces, were the same color?” “I questioned”.

“He put out his cigarette”, took out an umbrella, and covered us and the board”.

“Wouldn’t that be something” “he spoke, and then started to put the game away”.

“Wait… I thought we were going to keep playing?” I questioned in surprise.

“You won” “he simply spoke”.

“Agamemnon seemed something odd on the way back to my apartment…”.

“He seemed to almost be smiling on the inside”.

“On occasion I would look at him, but did not speak, nor think to him”.

“When we reached my apartment I went in, he did not”.

“I’ll see you soon…” “he said, and turned and walked away”.

“This was very odd because prior to this, he never said anything remotely resembling a good bye”.

“In fact, he never said anything at all”.

“As I went in, and put some fresh, warm clothes on, I suddenly realized he had left his cherry wood cane leaning against the inside wall of my apartment”.

“Right inside the door”.

“I quickly grabbed it, and ran down stairs after him…”.

“But he was gone…”.

“There was only the rain”.

DarkJade-

Prologue

Chapter One – The Protector

Chapter Two – Another Life

Chapter 2.5 – Hemmingbyrd’s Dream

Chapter Four – Hunting for Unicorns

Chapter Five – The Coming of Agatha

Chapter 5.5 – A Fool’s Heart