Before The Fall - Chapter Two
A Meeting of Minds

Author's Note: I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who read and really liked the first chapter. I really appreciated it, and I really hope I keep making chapters that keep your interest. I was hoping to have this chapter edited and uploaded by Thursday but alas, life got away from me. So I won't keep you any longer. It's time to enjoy A Meeting of Minds!

(Start)

The air was surprisingly less tense than anyone would have expected. Even still, there was a definite buzz running through the room. Helena sat at a table across from Artie, a chess board in between them, and both of them deep in concentration. It had only taken fifteen minutes for the whole of the Bed & Breakfast residents to gather around the two who usually considered themselves arch nemesis. They weren't shouting or arguing. Artie didn't have a Tesla to H.G's head, nor was H.G spitting overly intelligent insults in Artie's direction. They were consumed by the game of chess, which had quickly become a battle ground.

Claudia stood behind Artie, biting her lip to keep from making any suggestions. Every time she pointed, squealed, or even widened her eyes Artie would turn around and give her a gentle smack on the hand to remind her to keep her mouth shut. To Claudia's dismay, she merely stood behind Artie with her hands folded, hoping that would help to hold in her impulsive urges to shout for them to finally make a move.

Myka stood behind Helena's chair was much like Claudia, seeing opportunities and excitedly wanting to give H.G any advice. But any time Myka said "Ooh!" and begin to point, Helena would gently take her hand and hold on to it for a minute while she continued to think, or until she was certain Myka had calmed down. Sometimes she would hold her hand just because she knew it would make Myka blush.

Leena and Pete both stood side by side in front of the table, watching the battle go on from the sidelines. Pete wasn't much for chess himself, but he did know enough to know which pieces could beat the other. But Leena had to remind him more than a few times of the rules. Leena (always wanting to be the peace keeper) silently snuck away for a few minutes. When she returned, she had a tray of hot raspberry spice tea, and a fresh batch of Artie's favorite snicker doodle cookies. The treats were accepted graciously by all parties, Artie especially. All that was left was to see who would come out on top in this heated game.

The chess board sat on the table in the living room of the Bed & Breakfast for a week. One piece was moved out of place in a first move like a screaming invitation for anyone who couldn't resist a challenge. Artie wasn't sure who had set the game out, but after finally making a reply move, he soon discovered. And despite his feelings of distrust towards Helena, he just couldn't resist a good game of chess.

Helena was much more of an aggressive player than Artie had expected. As with everything else in life, Artie was a cautious chess player by nature. So when Helena came charging out, sword swinging, he was able to see around her simple tactics. Before long Artie sat proud, knowing that Helena had suffered more losses than she would have liked. But Artie let himself get a bit too confident, and in a few deft moves Helena had captured many of his larger players while she was only missing several foot soldiers.

Heated as he was about the loss, he forced himself to keep a calm head. It was his own fault for letting his guard down. But he was ready to make a comeback and dispatch Helena's queen and king as quickly as possible. This time he was going to be smart. The game stretched on with Claudia and Myka as cheerleaders forced into silence. They started making jibs and faces at each other since they weren't allowed to make any suggestions in the game. All the while, Artie and Helena grew closer and closer to their end-game.

"So who do you think is gonna win?" Pete whispered to Leena.

"I'm not sure," Leena answered honestly. "I'm kind of hoping that it will be a draw so there won't be any sore losers."

"Yeah, I hear ya on that," Pete agreed with a nod.

Helena proved exceptionally well at guarding her king. Artie couldn't find a single non-trapped opening that he could use to get in close for the check-mate. But what Helena had in defense she lacked in a proper offense to try and win the game. Artie used wolf tactics, diving in for a strike before swiftly retreating. If Helena retaliated in full force she was certain to overtake Artie without much trouble, but her king would be left without a proper defense and all it would take would be one piece to avoid destruction long enough to take the king. The battle had rapidly hit a stand-still. Pete had nodded off on the sofa and Leena left to get dinner started. If Claudia and Myka weren't such big chess fans they'd have long since left themselves. But neither wanted to be the first to abandon the team they were rooting for and suffer from the bragging that the other would have justly earned.

Helena shifted her king to the east side of the board (her right), guarded by a pawn, the queen, a rook and a knight. Artie had tried before to take Helena's king while she was in transition with it, thinking that it was when she would be most vulnerable. Although he was correct, he fell into a trap he did not foresee, and lost his queen to hers. His attack was - however - successful in eliminating all but one of Helena's remaining attacking forces, and a single pawn wasn't much in the way of a powerful tool for victory.

Helena knew that she could no longer play coy. Artie was moving his forces around, trying to figure the best way to break through her defenses without risking his king. In a few deft moves, Helena positioned herself in an impressive offensive with the queen charging from behind a defensive line. From here on the battle went very quickly. Artie didn't expect her to use a strategy that would leave her king completely exposed from the back, but he was prepared to take advantage of it. In order to do that, however, he had to get around her attacking forces.

"Looks like you're going down, Claudia," Myka taunted with a smug grin.

"Hey, we're just luring you into a trap. We've got you right where we want you," Claudia returned. She leaned down and whispered to Artie, "We do have a plan, right?"

"That's enough! Just … just keep quiet, Claudia. Please!" Artie grumbled. Myka stuck her tongue out at Claudia, and Claudia did the same.

"Alright, enough taunting the mascot," Helena said as she took Myka's hand again gently, interlocking their fingers.

Helena's attack was careful and calculated. It took everything Artie had to just avoid losing his pieces. He saw what she was doing. She was keeping him distracted so that he wouldn't have a chance to look for an opening to attack. Sooner or later he would slip up, and she would have his king. But in an instant, there was a sudden change in the battle. Helena brought her king into a small retreat with light defense, while sending her knight and rook in for the attack. Artie was sure that she was up to something because it was all too easy to avoid her troops, even with his own meager forces. At the same time he wasn't going to waste the opportunity to finish the game and crush her once and for all.

In three moves Artie disposed of Helena's king, and had the check-mate. Claudia threw her arms up and did a victory lap around the living room, which woke up Pete with a start.

"What? What happened? Who one?" he grumbled in a groggy tone.

"Team Artie! Oh yeah! Up top!" Claudia chanted as she gave Artie a high five. Helena leaned back in her chair and observed the battleground with a small smile on her face.

"That was certainly a most challenging game Artie," Helena said. "Well played." She extended her hand and Myka bit her lip, not sure how Artie would reply. But to both Claudia and Myka's relief, Artie shook Helena's hand with his usual gruff smile.

"Maybe we could play again, and I could show you a few things," Artie said.

"I'd like that very much," Helena replied. Myka and Claudia couldn't hold back a smile, happy to see that Artie and H.G were actually getting along. This was definitely a step in a good direction.

"Dinner's ready!" Leena called from the kitchen.

"Oh! Dinner!" Hearing the dinner bell, Pete rubbed his face and climbed off the sofa quickly. Artie made a quick shuffle out of the room behind Pete to go wash his hands and get ready for dinner. Claudia was quick behind him, her stomach grumbling from a long afternoon of chess and no lunch. But before she was completely out of the room she stopped and turned around to face Myka and Helena, still standing the living room.

"You know, H.G, those were some pretty nice moves," Claudia said, making sure not to speak too loudly and have Artie overhear. "It was cool of you to let Artie win like that."

"I'm certain I don't know what you mean, Claudia," Helena replied with a sly smile. "Artie won fair and square, as they say."

"Sure," Claudia said with a big smile before turning to leave Myka and H.G alone.

"That was quite the heated battle, wasn't it?" H.G asked as she looked behind her at Myka. Her younger companion was watching her with a curious smile and an even more curious eyebrow arched. "What?" Helena asked with a chuckle.

"Did you let Artie win?" Myka asked. Stepping close, H.G raised her arms around Myka's shoulders and smoothed out the collar of her button-down white blouse. She brought her lips so close to Myka's so that there was barely a breath between them.

"I did nothing of the sort," she answered in a low whisper. After stealing a small peck on the lips, Helena took a step back and let one hand slide down into Myka's. "Now let's get some food before those boys wolf it all down." Smiling and grinning, the two women went hand in hand to the kitchen to join everyone else for dinner time.

(End)