Here is my contribution for Royai week 2017 day one. Theme: Chess. It's not my best work - I wasn't originally going to participate, but I happened to see the themes late the night before day one, and this idea just came to me. Not very shippy, but I hope the rest makes up for that. This is only my second FMA fic, so I hope you enjoy!
Roy let out a sigh of relief as the door snapped shut behind Lieutenant Hawkeye. She may be his right hand - but that hand often held a cracking whip. Now they would have an hour - a whole hour - before the Lieutenant came back from lunch.
He could hear the sighs of his subordinates in the outer office as pens were thrown down on the table, chairs were tipped back, and feet slammed onto the desktops.
Roy moved to the door and leaned on the frame with his arms crossed. "What if the Lieutenant were to come back in?"
Havoc snorted. "What would she come back for? She's probably out in the hall doing a jig that she's free of us."
"Maybe if she forgot something?" Fuery offered helpfully.
Breda shook his head. "Hawkeye never forgets anything."
"Agreed." Satisfied that they were well and truly alone, Roy drew up his own chair, his feet landing on the desk across from his men.
Falman pulled out a chess board and started setting it up. Fuery scooted his chair closer and watched intently.
"You've never played?" Roy asked the younger man.
"I know the theory of it, Colonel." Fuery pushed his glasses up higher. "But I've never had much luck with it."
Roy heaved a sigh. "Apparently, I would be a terrible teacher. I lose against Grumman on a distressingly regular basis."
Falman shrugged as he placed the last pieces on the board. "Chess is supposed to be a good indicator of strategic skill. The ability to see the whole board instead of individual pieces, as well as the focus on the endgame instead of minor victories all translate directly to the field. Some, however, are better at the practice rather than the theory."
Grumbling loudly, Havoc and Breda excused themselves to find lunch leftovers in the cafeteria.
Roy scooted his chair closer to watch as, biting his lip, Fuery made the first move, tentatively sliding forward a pawn.
Falman responded by moving his knight out.
Very shortly, Fuery was staring at a neat pile of his pieces sitting beside the board, his king and a lonely pawn the only ones left to be played.
"Set it up again, I'm going to walk you through this one." Roy saved Fuery the embarrassment of laying down his king in surrender. He scooped the pile of pieces closer and began setting up Fuery's side of the board.
"You have to work with the strategies of each of your pieces," he explained. He picked up a pawn. "You've got lots of these, but that doesn't mean they're dispensable. If you think that way, you'll run out of them pretty quick. You've got lots of them because they do the hard work - they clear a path. They can serve a number of purposes. Distraction by shear number, or to lull your opponent into a false sense of security. They rarely feel threatened by an encroaching pawn, and will often ignore it." Roy placed the final pawn in its square. "Never forget, however, that a pawn can take prisoners. And in unexpected ways."
"They take the diagonal when capturing, not straight." Falman had to whisper to Fuery, as the last bit of Roy's message had caused Fuery to eye the pawns as if they were suddenly foreign.
Roy ignored the interruption and picked up the rooks.
"Now, your castles. They're the foundation of your set so to speak. They have set lines they move in, and anchor your two corners. A well placed rook can swoop out of the corners to capture or trap your opponents pieces."
Roy hooked the two knights. "The flashy ones." He continued. "Everybody watches the knights because they are so unpredictable. Yet they still underestimate them and are often taken by surprise when being captured by a knight. They work well as a pair - distract with one, damage with the other."
The board half complete, Roy placed the bishops in their squares. "The bishops. In theory, they are rooks turned to go diagonal. That diagonal movement allows them to zip across the board, catching pieces unaware. The closest eye is usually kept on the bishop."
Roy picked up the queen and rolled it between his fingers. "The queen - sacred in her individuality. She, of all pieces, can move in all directions. She doesn't have the flashy moves of the knight, but hers are quick, board eating, piece capturing. She has a freedom no other piece has - but also the highest price." Gently, the queen was set in the center of her square. "Your opponent wants her. He wants to cripple you by taking her away from you. He wants to know his pieces are safe from her advances." Roy turned to look Fuery in the eye. "Your queen is your most valuable piece; however, to be successful, you must always have a plan that does not use her great abilities. You must be able to carry on, so, even if your opponent takes your queen, you can still go on. You can still prevail. You can win."
Roy settled back, having completed his piece.
Falman handed him the king. "And this one?"
Roy scoffed, carelessly tossing it into the empty square. "Supposedly the leader, but tied to moving one square at a time and having everyone else protect him."
"I disagree, Sir. The king is not tied in place. Any movement is better than no movement." Falman stated.
"And the king can capture pieces," Fuery added as he straightened the king into the neat line. "And so, I'm assuming that means he can catch people by surprise-like an ace up your sleeve." He glanced at Roy for confirmation.
Roy laughed and clapped him on the back. "I'll keep that in mind and try it on Grumman next time. Now I want to see you play."
Fuery groaned, but obediently made his first move. He lasted longer then before, even managed a few good moves, before his excitement carried him away and he became careless. They reset the board and tried again. This time, Roy clicked his tongue whenever he thought Fuery was about to make a bad move. This resulted in an even more humiliating defeat.
"Perhaps I'd better watch you, Colonel." Fuery gladly relinquished his spot to Roy, who stretched out his arms in anticipation.
He and Falman were rather equally matched, both staring long and hard at the board before each move. Fuery watched, using the long pauses to guess what his own moves might have been.
This was the way Lieutenant Hawkeye found them when she returned from lunch. She walked into the room, letting the door close quietly behind her. She stood watching the scene before her for a full minute before clearing her throat.
Falman and Fuery jumped to their feet, hands up to salute. Roy stayed where he was, turning to smile.
"Before you say anything, Lieutenant, this is not what you think it is."
"It isn't, Sir?" Her words were proper, but her voice was filled with reproach. The two lower officers stepped ever so slightly further away from their commanding officer.
"It isn't. We were going over tactical field theory."
"You have a chessboard, sir, not a map."
"That's why I said theory, Lieutenant. If it was practical, then I assure you we would have had a map. And now, I'm pretty sure I have some paperwork to sign."
Roy quickly retreated to his office, hoping an afternoon of good behavior would save him from the scolding he was quite sure was brewing behind her calm exterior.
Pretending to sign, he watched her efficiently return the men to their work, and straighten up what they had left in their hurry.
He looked back down at his paperwork without really seeing it. Perhaps it was time he took some of his own advice to Fuery. He better make sure his plan would work if any of the pieces were missing - even if it was his lieutenant.
As if to prove the point of his new revelation, Lieutenant Hawkeye came in to remind him to get back to work. Change would not come easy.