#Bishop would absolutely wipe the floor with Rook

[aquamarineglow]

It's a miracle that I've had this blog nearly ten years, and never ran out of Rook and Bishop content to make. Amazing.

Hypothetically of course. We know their fights are exclusively verbal.

[homeformyheart]

bucket list - all pairings (twc)

author’s note: i woke up one morning with the thought of what would each UB RO do if they found out the detective had a bucket list because they thought they might die soon from all the supernatural activity, and we’ll all have to thank @pearlsandsteel, @kelseaaa, @wayhavenots, and @ohnobbwhatisyoudoing for bullying encouraging me to do this (if you don’t like it, blame them; if you like it, thank them). hope you all enjoy!

copyright: all characters, except the oc detectives, are owned by mishka jenkins @seraphinitegames. series/pairing: the wayhaven chronicles – all pairings (6 detectives) rating/warnings: 14+; minor angst based on/prompt: inspired by the movie a walk to remember word count: ~3.5k words in total (~500-700 words per pairing) summary: the detective has a bucket list of things they’d like to do before they die (these are all canon stories). each pairing is featured in a ~500-700 word drabble.

1. adam du mortain x detective lyra kingston x nate sewell (LT) 2. mason x detective ria knight 3. nate sewell x detective cassie knight 4. felix hauville x detective harley bishop** 5. adam du mortain x detective regina bishop** 6. mason x detective brooklyn kingston**

** the ones with asterisks have little easter eggs / connection to other prompt fills / fics i’ve written for those pairings. bonus points if you can figure out what they are before you get to the end of those!

and tell me which one you liked best / least 👀 (i need to know your angst thresholds for research).

bucket list

1. adam du mortain x detective lyra kingston x nate sewell (LT) (~600 words)

lyra rummaged through the drawer of her nightstand, tossing out old receipts, rubber bands, and other random knick-knacks that she really didn’t need but kept anyway “just in case.” her fingers finally wrapped around a thick card-sized envelope and she yanked it out of the drawer triumphantly, instantly recognizing the pale yellow color and her name written on the outside.

a knock on the door made her spin around and instinctively hide the card behind her back. nate opened the door, leaning casually against the doorway, and smiled gently at her in a way that made her forget she was supposed to be annoyed with him for how secretive he was.

“did you find what you were looking for?”

lyra nodded before walking out into the living room and sitting down on the couch. she patted the seat to her left and nate obliged, sitting close enough that their thighs touched. she did her best to ignore adam from where he was standing just a few feet away. he had insisted on coming with them to retrieve lyra’s belongings, for added protection and since nate couldn’t drive.

“it’s the card my dad wrote for me when i was born,” she said quietly, her usual energy tempered. “it’s been a while since i’ve read it.”

her fingers trembled as she opened the flap of the envelope and slid the plain white card out, the only embellishment being a simple watercolor of a few hydrangeas on the front.

nate hesitantly wrapped an arm around lyra’s waist, moving slowly and watching carefully for any signs that it would be unwelcome in the moment. he relaxed when lyra instinctively leaned towards him, the subtle shift in her body language not going unnoticed by a certain commanding agent from his station by the window.

“will you tell me about it?” nate asked softly, seeming to have forgotten they weren’t alone.

lyra opened the card and ran her fingers down rook’s scrawl-like handwriting. she swallowed heavily to keep the tears stinging her eyes at bay.

“nothing to tell really, he wrote stuff about how much he loved me already and couldn’t wait to show me the world,” she said quietly, her voice breaking. she cleared her throat. “he wrote a list of things he wanted me to experience.”

she grabbed a pen from her purse and proceeded to cross out items on the list, stopping only to circle the last one.

fall in love

nate leaned in closer, running his finger down the list of crossed out words before pausing on the last one and looking up at lyra quizzically.

her throat was suddenly dry. she dropped her gaze towards her lap. “bobby doesn’t count,” she whispered. “that wasn’t love. my dad would want me to be with someone who loves me for me.”

nate tilted her chin up with a finger so she was looking into his eyes again. “i hope one day i could be that someone,” nate murmured, tucking a loose strand of her hair behind her ear.

lyra’s breath caught in her throat and she blushed under his intense glaze. “well, you’re certainly, um,” she paused and glanced away to collect herself, making eye contact with adam inadvertently. her body tensed subconsciously, warring with itself to stay in nate’s warmth and ignore adam’s magnetic pull.

she tore her eyes away from the pained look on adam’s face and forced a smile.

“you make it easy, nate,” she said, her own smile growing genuinely in response to nate’s, despite the soft bitter edge in her voice and how it cut through adam like a knife.

* * * * * 2. mason x detective ria knight (~560 words)

ria clutched a crumpled up note in one hand and a lit cigarette in the other, the thin paper disintegrating rapidly as she inhaled deeply, letting the smoke burn the back of her throat and lungs until she couldn’t take it anymore. her head fell back against the gate as she exhaled, the cloud of smoke stinging her eyes since she refused to close them.

just tell him.

“tell me what?” a gruff voice broke through the haze and made her blink. she hadn’t realized she said anything out loud.

she carefully schooled her features with a look of indifference as she crushed the cigarette under her foot.

“bold of you to assume i was referring to you,” she shrugged, turning to walk the short distance to the warehouse.

mason fell into step beside her, an easy silence settling over them both. ria kept crinkling the paper in her hand with her thumb, crumpling and uncrumpling it over and over again, glancing at it every so often until they were in the living room.

if mason was curious about what was on the piece of paper, he didn’t show it.

“what do you have there, ria?” felix’s eager voice brought ria’s attention back to the present and she inwardly groaned.

felix was the last person she wanted around right now. he was too observant for his own good.

“a bucket list,” she muttered, crumpling the paper inside a tight fist.

“what’s a bucket list?” the younger vampire asked.

ria sighed. “it’s a list that people make of things they want to do before they die,” she said, her voice so uncharacteristically soft that mason almost wondered if he had misheard. “i know my life is in constant danger, so i thought it might help to make sure i write down what’s important to me.”

felix’s mouth parted in surprise, but mason interrupted before he could say anything. “what’s on the list?” he asked gruffly, though not unkindly.

ria gave him a long, hesitant look. “i wanted to show you my dad’s grave. catch him up on everything,” she said, her gaze dropping. “it’s been a while since i’ve gone to see him.”

“name the time and place, sweetheart,” mason said quietly, the weight of his words washing over her and softening her features. he stepped closer to her, even though felix would be able to hear everything he said anyway. “you’re not dying on my watch.”

she swallowed the snarky, defensive retort that sat on the tip of her tongue. “thank you,” she mouthed silently instead.

“is there anything else on your list?” felix asked, stepping closer to ria.

she quickly pulled her hand behind her back and walked past him. “nothing important,” she snapped, tossing the crumpled ball of paper into the trash before heading to her room.

felix exchanged a knowing look with mason and dug the ball out of the trash, carefully uncrumpling it.

“this isn’t much of a list, there are only two things on here,” he said, trying to smooth out the paper so he could read her handwriting.

mason snatched the paper before felix could read the rest of it, skimming over the words himself, brows furrowing tighter before he let it drop to the floor. felix picked it up as mason stormed out of the warehouse, reading the only other thing that ria had written on her bucket list:

tell mason i love him.

* * * * * 3. nate sewell x detective cassie knight (~600 words)

cassie grabbed a tissue from the box on her coffee table, wiping her tears furiously as the credits of the movie they had finished watching began rolling on the screen. nate turned off the television with a smile, wrapping an arm around cassie and pulling her closer until she was practically in his lap.

“i thought you’ve seen this movie before,” he teased, rubbing his hand soothingly up and down her arm.

cassie elbowed him playfully. “don’t judge me. i love the book but the movie always gets me, especially when he helps her finish her bucket list.”

“i can honestly say i prefer the book,” he said, genuinely surprised to see this side of cassie.

he hadn’t seen her this at ease in a long time, maybe ever. she looked comfortable and content, despite her puffy eyes and red nose, all of which he found absolutely endearing.

“the nathaniel sewell, connoisseur of historical tomes and vintage novels, read a nicholas sparks’ romance novel?”

it was cassie’s turn to be surprised.

things were still relatively new between them, but not for lack of effort. the steady stream of missions and supernatural activity in wayhaven kept them both far too busy for comfort. and when they weren’t on missions, she still had a lot of work at the station and nate always had mission-related paperwork and research to do.

it shouldn’t have been a surprise that there wasn’t much they knew of each other when it came to personal quirks and guilty pleasures, but nate wanted to know more.

nate’s gaze dropped at cassie’s inquiring look. “i—um, dated someone a while ago who really enjoyed his books and i thought reading them would help.”

he could almost see the gears turning in her head as her eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

“i could see why you might think it would make someone fall in love with you,” she said finally, a wistful distance settling into her eyes. “bobby liked to compare himself to noah calhoun from the notebook.”

nate felt his entire body tense and he had to clench his jaw to keep from violently flinching. just the thought of that reporter and how he had mistreated cassie was enough to make his blood boil.

“you said you liked the part where landon helps jamie with her bucket list. do you have one?” nate asked, trying to turn the conversation back to a safer topic.

cassie’s eyes widened slightly in confusion before she realized what nate was doing and gave him a grateful smile. “i do, actually. i’ve been meaning to update it,” she said, reaching for a leather-bound journal resting on the coffee table and flipping to a page in the back.

“may i?” he asked, noting the flicker of hesitation darkening her green eyes for a fraction of a second before she nodded.

nate took the journal from her and skimmed the list. it mostly comprised of things he thought were consistent with how thoughtful cassie was, but the second-to-last item stole the breath from his lungs in a painful way.

live to 30

he put the journal down before grabbing both of her hands. “i will do everything in my power to keep you safe, i promise. you will get to live beyond thirty,” he said, his eyes flashing with a seriousness that was rarely directed at her.

“then i will look forward to the day i can cross that one out,” cassie said, giving him a warm smile.

nate felt his breath return to him as cassie settled against his side once more, her warmth reminding him to cherish these rare moments they shared.

* * * * * 4. felix hauville x detective harley bishop (~500 words)

harley scanned the legal pad in front of her, two-thirds of it filled out with various experiences and things she wanted to do sooner rather than later. it took meeting felix and the rest of unit bravo for her to realize that she had become very content and complacent with her life. felix’s enthusiasm for this world made her want to explore and experience things.

but more than anything, hayley wanted to feel alive.

the trappers had become more brazen and the number of close-calls in the past few weeks didn’t sit well with her. she never really had any personal ambition or dreams, but she knew now that she wanted more moments with felix.

she looked down at the list that seemed to keep growing by the hour.

show felix the grotto

take felix camping

learn how to cook one dish

a knock on her door, followed by the sight of felix’s head peeking around the doorframe made her look up.

“hey babe, what are you up to?” he asked, clambering on top of her bed to get as close to her as possible.

“i’m just putting together a bucket list of things i want to do while i still have the chance,” she replied, trying to keep her voice light.

felix lifted his head from her shoulder so he could study her face. she made a point of avoiding eye contact as she held up the legal pad.

“these are some of my favorite spots in wayhaven,” harley said, her finger running down between the numbers three and ten. “i want to make sure that you get to see them.”

“and i can’t wait. but we have plenty of time for that babe,” felix said, wrapping his arm around her waist and tugging her closer. “i promise.”

“but what if we don’t?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. “i want to make sure you don’t forget me.”

truthfully, that was what really had been bothering her the past few weeks. harley worried that compared to felix’s eternal life, hers was not only insignificant, but also incredibly boring.  

he gently cupped her face in his hands. “i would never want to forget you. and we’re going to be together for a very long time, okay?”

she nodded and mustered a small smile. “okay,” she said, a warm flush spreading from the touch of his skin on her face through her body.

he gave her a soft kiss before grabbing the legal pad from her hands. “i want to add stuff to the list too. things i want to do with you,” he said, his cheerful energy rubbing off on her as she handed him a pen.

she rested her chin on his shoulder this time, so she could watch as he scribbled a few things near the bottom. they were mostly ideas for different types of date activities, but the last thing he wrote made her lift her head and freeze.

tell harley i love her.

harley looked at felix, stunned, to find him smiling softly at her. “one day, really soon,” he murmured, his eyes shining before his lips enveloped hers in a kiss. and she knew that day couldn’t come soon enough.

reference fic: camping.

* * * * * 5. adam du mortain x detective regina bishop (~570 words)

regina watched adam play with their children from where she was sitting on the porch, pretending that ten-year-old jacques and seven-year-old cecilia were able to pin him to the ground. she smiled as their youngest, four-year-old philip, waddled over and placed a fistful of daisies on adam’s face, before sitting down and rearranging them with a look of concentration on his round face.

she let herself bask in the moment of happiness that she knew would be fleeting, before looking down at the journal on her lap. she pulled out the worn sheet of paper tucked away in the middle, covered in hasty scribbles and crossed-out words on each layer of sticky notes, a bucket list she made years ago and continued to update.

tell adam i love him

get married

build a house by the sea

revive the du mortain line

raise our family together

regina smiled as she quickly skimmed over the crinkled pile of notes, sifting through them carefully so as not to further wear down the adhesive before she got near the bottom and pulled out a bright green-colored sticky note with only one thing written on it. all the other notes in the pile were pink and blue because she had wanted this one to stand out so she could easily find it.

turn?

don’t turn?

decide whether to turn

her smile faded. it hadn’t taken long to work through everything else she put on her bucket list. even the ones that took considerable effort (and really, it was mainly getting adam to come around to having kids), she was able to accomplish through sheer stubbornness and determination. but this last one was different.

regina was afraid to bring it up with adam and she knew he wouldn’t bring it up first. she knew him well enough by now that he would insist that this needed to be her decision and hers alone and refuse to influence her either way. but because she understood him better than he understood himself most days, she also knew that her death might break him and return him to an even darker and more repressed version of himself than before.

a sudden darkness brought her attention back up to meet a pair of wavering green eyes. her gaze flicked past him to note the children still playing together in the yard before meeting his again as he sat down next to her, reaching over to clasp his hand over hers.

“your bucket list?” he asked, with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

when he first found out she had created one, under the assumption that she could die at any moment, he was unsurprisingly fearful, and remained simultaneously distant and protective for a long while. it did, however, help spark the conversation between them about having children.

regina nodded. “i still can’t believe i managed to accomplish all the things i’ve written down over the years. i just really have one thing left to figure out.”

adam intertwined his fingers with hers and stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. the small circles he drew seemed to relieve some of the tension in both of their shoulders.

“whatever you decide,” he said finally, a noticeable strain in his voice. “i will respect it.”

“thank you,” she responded quietly, a thick tension sending a chill over them both despite the bright and warm sun and the laughter of their children surrounding them.

reference fic: cottage by the sea.

* * * * * 6. mason x detective brooklyn kingston (~530 words)

mason leaned against the side of brooklyn’s desk as they turned off their computer and pulled out a loose sheet of paper.

“what’s that?” he asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

things had been relatively calm in town and even though the quiet made adam tense and stern, mason enjoyed the reprieve. especially since it meant that he got to spend more time with brooklyn. they had threatened to quit the team and move out of town not that long ago, but had yet to follow through.

he wasn’t going to question them on it. he had already made it clear that he would follow them to the end.

“a bucket list,” they replied distractedly, not even bothering to look up at him. “a list of things i want to do before i leave wayhaven.”

mason raised an eyebrow. so they were still planning to leave. he leaned over and let his finger land on the sheet, pinning it to the desk.

“this is an ambitious list,” he remarked as he scanned the list of thirty things or so, most of which had been crossed out.

they lifted his finger and swatted his hand away before smoothing out the page. “are you doubting me?”

“i’d never do that, brooks,” he said, pulling a cigarette from his pocket. “come on, i’ll take you home.”

“i’m going to dinner at verda’s and he’ll take me home after. i’ll see you tomorrow,” brooklyn said quickly, grabbing the cigarette from his fingers and tossing it into the trash can under their desk.

“i should make you start paying for those,” he growled playfully.

brooklyn chuckled. “or you could stop buying them. now get going so i can finish up here.”

he smirked and leaned in close enough that they could trace the freckles on his face with their nose if they leaned forward just a little.

“do i get a kiss before i go?” he asked with a smirk on his face, his gaze focused on their lips.

their eyes flicked down to his lips and back up to his grey eyes, the playfulness simmering behind a seriousness that made their breath catch. they tilted their head slightly and leaned forward to press their lips to his, letting his wrap around theirs for a brief second before pulling away.

“goodbye, mason,” they murmured, smiling gently at him, hoping the ache in their chest wasn’t visible in any way.

mason’s eyes fluttered open and his heartbeat thudded in his ears, the sound becoming more familiar each time they kissed. this time, however, brooklyn’s lips felt different and not in any way that he could pinpoint. mason’s eyes searched theirs, confused but unable to figure out exactly why he felt so uneasy.

after a moment, he shrugged and got up from their desk, turning back to nod at them once before heading out. brooklyn’s smile faded and they looked over their list one more time. the few they had left were ones they had planned on knocking out that evening, starting with verda and his family.

they just hadn’t expected to complete the last item so soon:

say goodbye to mason.

reference fic: menage

* * * * * permatag: @kelseaaa; @kat-tia801; @anotherbeingsworld; @crackerdumortain; @pearlsandsteel; @gloynporslen; @writer-ish; @sosolenoo; @alyssalauren; @fhauvilles; @wayhavenots; @gingerbreton; @takemyopenheart; nate x detective: @missameliep;

[katiebug445]

Checkmate

Written for Royai week 2017 

Day 1: Chess

Roy shut the door to his office and leaned against the cool wood, his eyes shut and taking a moment to catch his breath. It was official now. His team was being broken up, and there was nothing he could do to stop it without outing himself, or the others. Their faces flashed through his mind, and while he knew this was for the greater good, he couldn’t help but feel angry.

 Bradley was doing this on purpose. Splitting them up so they couldn’t find out anything else about him or the other homunculi. If anything happened to his team because of this, there would be absolute hell to pay.

 Roy squeezed his hand into a fist, taking another deep breath before he did something he’d regret, and pushed away from the door. He needed to calm down before it got too out of hand, and he ended up setting something on fire on accident.

 His eyes fell to the chessboard sitting untouched on his desk, and he decided that he could spare a minute for a game.

 The Colonel pulled out his chair and sat down, beginning to assemble the pieces on either side, saving the most important for last: the white queen. He reached into the box for the ivory piece, only to find it empty. Puzzled, Roy got to his feet, looked around his space, the floor, under the chair, and everywhere he could think that it might have rolled off to, before deciding that this was a full on rescue mission.

 Roy crawled under his desk, feeling under the space between the drawers and the floor, snapping his fingers to give himself a small bit of light. There was no queen to be found; there was nothing save a couple small dust bunnies that tried to catch fire when his flame got too close.

 He furrowed his brow, narrowly managing to avoid hitting his head as he got back to his feet, and began the search through the rest of his office. The sun was going down by the time he was finished, and the chess piece was nowhere to be found, so he decided to look elsewhere.

 The first person he asked was Falman, on his way back from the bathroom, judging by the damp spots on his coat that were becoming darker as he wiped his hands on them. “Falman,” Roy greeted, “you haven’t seen a missing chess piece this evening, have you?” he asked.

 “Can’t say I have, Colonel. But, hey, maybe you might ask Hawkeye. She’s always finding things you lose.” Falman chuckled, giving the good Colonel a knowing look.

 Roy gave a nod of thanks, and continued on his way. He didn’t see Riza at all during his search, wishing he had her eyes to help him out. There was a reason she was the best shot and only sniper on Team Mustang.

 Finally, his search led him to the library, and he headed immediately to the back. If Riza was there, she was most likely hanging out on her own in a quiet corner.

 Sure enough, Roy caught a glimpse of a whisp of spiky, blonde hair poking over the top of one of the smaller bookshelves, and he smiled to himself, his mouth open and ready to ask her for her help, when he noticed what she was doing.

 Riza was sitting at a table on her own, a chessboard placed in front of her, and was beginning to set up the pieces on her own. Roy’s stance softened, and he watched her in silence for a moment as she began.

 He was reminded of the first time he’d seen her do this, all those years ago when he was taken on as an apprentice under her father, when he was just a boy.

 Roy stumbled his way down the stairs early in the morning, rubbing at his eyes in an attempt to wake himself up. He wasn’t sure about what he would do with his time until Mr. Hawkeye woke up, but he supposed it was better to do something than nothing. He was on his way for a drink of water when he saw a tuft of messy, blonde hair sitting at the kitchen table, the soft clack of something solid hitting something heavy. Carefully, Roy peeked around the corner, his eyes falling on Riza’s back as she moved her hands across something he couldn’t see.

 The boy caught sight of something white in her hand, the light reflecting off of it and making it shine. Roy took another quiet step forward trying to get a better look, and Riza continued setting up her game.

 “Do you want to play?” She asked, not taking her eyes off of her task. The sudden noise made Roy jump, worried that he’d been caught, and she’d tell on him. “Well?”

 Without a word, he crossed the room and took the seat across from the girl, the early morning sun catching her brown eyes and making them glow. “What is this?” Roy whispered, gently picking up a piece and examining it.

 “It’s chess.” Riza answered, thinking for a moment before taking the piece from Roy and flipping the board around. “It’s easy once you get the hang of it.”

 Roy just watched her for a minute, confused, before she began to explain. “These pieces are your rooks,” she said, pointing to the simple, white pieces in front of him. “They move front, back, and side to side. They’re basically your first line of defence.”

 “Okay?” He replied.

 “These are your bishops...” She began, and gave him a quick rundown of all of the pieces and what they did, how they moved, and how powerful they were.

 “Now this,” Riza said, holding up an intricately carved white piece. “This is your queen. She’s one of the most important pieces in the whole game. No matter what happens, you have to protect her with your life.”

 The boy nodded, still unsure if he understood everything she was telling him, but wanting to try anyways.

  And so it became a morning ritual. Roy and Riza both woke earlier than Mr. Hawkeye, and in those moments to themselves, they played chess. Roy got to know her through those games, find out what she liked to do, where she liked to go, favorite books, foods, and most importantly, he got to know the things she didn’t mean to share. What subjects were off limits (her father, her mother, her father’s research), the way she scrunched up her nose when she was thinking, the way she watched him as she was waiting for him to take his turn, how she drummed her fingers across the table when she needed to strategize… he got to know Riza inside and out through those games. The versions of themselves they kept locked away from the rest of the world, they expressed to each other. What little things made them both tick.

  After her father died, and Riza left, Roy took one last trip to that house, to one of the only places he felt comfortable calling home, for anything that would remind him of his time there.

 He searched until he found the box with the chessboard inside, rummaging through it until he found her. The white queen Riza had let him use all that time ago. The ivory piece felt cool in his hands, and his fingers wrapped around her gently, his thumb brushing over her smooth surface. He stood, pocketed his trinket, and left the house otherwise untouched.

 Roy didn’t remember when he did it, but sometime after, a small, black “R” had been painted onto the bottom of his queen. Why, he didn’t know, but it felt right in the moment.

  ��Are you going to stand there all day, or would you like to join me, Colonel?” The Lieutenant’s voice cut into his thoughts and brought him back to the present.

 Shaking himself free from the memories, Roy crossed the room and sat down across from her at the table, watching as she organized the pieces neatly onto their squares. When she finished, she turned the board around, giving him the white side, and started them off. “So, what’s the verdict?” She asked him.

 Roy’s eyes fell to the pieces in front of him, his eyes catching sight of the queen. She was slightly discolored, obviously much older than the rest of the gleaming white pieces surrounding her, and had seen many, many battles. He picked it up, turning it over in his hands, and turned to Riza. “This is from my set.”

 “Yes, my apologies, Colonel. Mine came without one, I didn’t think you would mind if I borrowed it for a couple games?”

 “Not at all,” Roy replied, setting it back down. “She probably misses the action, if you want the truth. It’s good to see her getting back onto the battlefield.” He joked.

 Their game continued in silence for a little while, neither of them wanting to break the spell of peace that had fallen over them in the moment. It had been so long since they’d been able to just be two young friends again, too long since they were just Roy and Riza, that they couldn’t bring themselves to put an end to it.

 When it was finally down to the last three pieces - Roy’s queen, his king, and Riza’s king - she finally spoke. “You didn’t answer my question.”

 “Question?”

 “What’s the verdict? Is this the end of the road for us, or is the team being split up?”

 Hesitating, Roy looked down at the board again. Riza had backed him into a corner with only one possible move to make. He didn’t want to, but he saw nothing else to do. “We’re splitting up.” he replied quietly.

 Riza said nothing, but moved her king forward and capturing his queen, and Roy felt a surge of anger run through him as he watched her being removed from the game. She was being taken from him, and there was nothing he could do but watch. His eyes flickered up to the woman sitting across from him, worry filling every corner of his heart for her future. She was given the most dangerous task out of all of them, and it was a deliberate attack on him, he knew.

 She had him cornered again before he knew what happened, and he finally had no choice but to surrender at long last. The smirk on her face almost made the loss worth it. Riza began to set up for the next game, and handed him all of his pieces.

 He lingered on his favorite piece the longest, his fingers closing over it in a desperate attempt to keep it safe for as long as he could.

He glanced up at Riza again, her face trying to hide the worry he knew she had to be feeling, and squeezed the piece in his hand a bit harder. They can’t take her from me like this. He thought. They can’t take away my queen…