Hey everyone,
I apologize to anyone who had been waiting for this when I first posted it roughly two years ago. I finally found my notes for it though, so now I can finish this and remove it from my list of stories to complete. I hope you guys like the story, even though it's short (I've actually expanded the original from the third book. As always, italics are for thoughts and a/ns, regular for my embellishments, and bold is for the original text.
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Part two:
It had been over a year since the day that round of Kings-and-Queens was played in the watchtower. Prince Morragan had lost to the white haired Easgathair, penalized to take his place as the watcher of the gates for the time of a year and a day. On the Prince's watch, nothing had gone amiss; all was still in harmony when Lord Easgathair returned to the place of his post for many years.
The pair greeted each other warmly, as per their custom, once again seated in the watchtower, a different game board placed in front of them. The gatekeeper had presented it to his liege-lord as a gift, ingeniously engineered and slightly taller than the last. It was the height of the seelie known as Siofra, the rarely seen wights of the forest known for their tricks against humankind. The set appeared almost ordinary to the mortal eye, but these pieces were far from that, as this set in particular had pieces that could move unaided by human hands. A golden wand lay at the board's side, an accompaniment to the set, its purpose yet undefined. Both Faêran Lords were studying the set.
"Skillfully is this wrought, I'll allow, my friend," said the prince at last. "And 'tis larger than the golden set I bestowed upon thee, yet 'tis no prettier or more artful." He frowned at the thought.
Easgathair motioned over to the wand before picking it up. He waved it at the closest castle and bade it move forward three spaces. Morragan was impressed, to say the least.
"An interesting addition thou hast added to this," he commented to the gatekeeper, smiling as he also tested the wand on one of the white horses on the far side of the board.
"I am glad thee likes it so," Easgathair replied, and the stakes were then reset:
"The loser shall pay what the winner shall desire."
A long battle of wills ensued for the next few days, until all but a handful of the pawns remained. A castle was lost, two bishops, and even a queen. This time the Raven Prince came out victorious. It was after a skillful execution of a few daring moves that Easgathair's king was trapped: checkmate.
"One victory to each of us! This time I have defeated thee, Easgathair," he laughed. "But I must beg for time to consider before I ask for what I desire."
"Sir, thou mightst enjoy as much time as thou wishest," the gatekeeper replied boastfully. "And whilst thou art at it, thou mayst take time to also search high and low for a cleverer or more beautiful set than this, which I'll warrant thou shalt never find in the realm."
At that the brother of the High King smiled and agreed, but added: "Yet, I will bring thee a more marvelous collection and there will be a third trial. This shall decide the champion."
The Raven Prince then took flight once more, and left Easgathair watch over his post once again as gatekeeper until he returned.
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Okay, so there's part two. Part three will be posted shortly, and it should be the ending of this short story. I might put up an epilogue later, but I might not. It depends…
Until next time, peace out!
Shadowcaster01
