Sarah dreamed that night. She couldn't have said what she dreamed about exactly but she had the distinct feeling of being lost while searching for something important. She woke to the sound of her father's voice and a quiet knocking on her door.
"Sarah? Sarah? Time to get up sweetheart."
The girl in question groaned and rolled over pulling the covers up past her head.
"Sarah!" her father said more firmly. "Get up. I'm leaving in under an hour and if you want a lift you need to be up, dressed and ready to go otherwise you can catch the bus."
Sarah groaned again and mumbled something about the cruel and unusual punishments of parents but this time she managed to heave herself into a sitting position. "I'm up daddy," she confirmed, her words cut off by an almighty yawn.
"You better be," was her father's only warning as she heard him walking away down the hall. "If you go back to sleep Sarah I'm sending Toby in to wake you up."
Sarah grimaced and swung her legs over the side of her bed. Her younger brother was not at his best first thing in the morning and his wake up call would probably involve a considerable amount of noise and a fit of violent hair pulling. In a half dazed state Sarah went about her usual morning routine not fully waking up until the smell of food drew her down into the kitchen.
Karen produced two pieces of toast for her the second she walked through the door and asked if she'd like any eggs. Sarah politely declined and instead reached for the blackcurrant jam that had been laid out especially for her. It was small things like this that Sarah had never taken notice of before she had her rather rude awakening. Her stepmother, while tiresome and somewhat overbearing, always made sure that when it came down to things like meals Sarah had everything she wanted. When she had discovered that unlike her father Sarah favoured blackcurrant rather than raspberry jam on her toast she had personally made sure that she bought some the next time she went shopping. She had never once received any thanks for these small gestures and yet she stubbornly kept them up, perhaps in the hope that one day her stepdaughter would take notice and be grateful. Sarah had taken notice, eventually, and so now made a point of letting Karen know that when she did such things they were appreciated.
Breakfast that day, like most weekdays, was fairly quiet. Her father didn't stop to eat at the table but instead grabbed something small to go and took it into his office when he sorted out his briefcase and checked to make sure he had everything he needed. Toby was seated at the table in his high chair but wasn't eating. Karen would feed him later when she herself ate after everyone else had left.
When she finished Sarah excused herself to go back upstairs. By her calculations she had 10 minutes to spare before her ride left without her. Up in her room she sat down absently in front of her mirror. Warily she glanced down and saw the bottom drawer ever so slightly open. She reached down and pulled it open breathing a small sigh of relief when her gaze met with what she had hoped to find there. A chess set, complete and somewhat hastily packed away but still...
"Sarah!" he father called up the stairs. "I'm leaving now so you had best step to it if you think you're coming with me."
Hurriedly Sarah snatched up her bag and flew out of the door. It wasn't until she was out of the house, in the car and half way down the road until she realised that she had closed the drawer before she left.
The school day passed like most others with nothing to make it any way exceptional. Sarah went to classes, chatted with friends and ate her lunch in the same way she always did. By the time she got home she had almost managed to convince herself that everything was normal and she wasn't the current victim of an otherworldly stalker whom she refused to acknowledge, even in her own mind. She hesitated slightly when it came to dropping other her school stuff in her room but then braced herself and entered.
Everything appeared to be exactly as she had left it. Sarah relaxed visibly and smiled, she then dumped the bag she was carrying on her bed and practically skipped downstairs in order to go and find Merlin.
She spent a good part of the next hour out walking the dog around the neighbourhood and stopping off at the park where she used to play. She had always loved it here. She had memories of being brought here by her parents, memories that included warm summer days and childish laughter. Now she had newer memories to add on top of these ones, some of which were not so pleasant. After the unnamed incident that occurred last year Sarah had been coming here less often, trying to leave her juvenile fantasies behind her, or at least push them off to one side. Trying to escape the past. However, considering the current situation it seemed that perhaps she hadn't been as successful as she thought she had.
Frowning Sarah shook off the sense of melancholy and uneasiness that had sneaked up on her. "Come on Merlin," she called to the dog. "We'd best be getting home before Karen sends out a search party." Merlin barked in apparent agreement and they left together.
Not having any homework that needed immediate or urgent attention Sarah spent a lazy evening downstairs in front of the TV. Her father had locked himself away in his study which he was prone to do on a weeknight and Karen had taken Toby with her when she went to visit a friend.
Sarah whipped herself up an easy to make pasta dish and settled down to watch Alice in Wonderland that had been released the previous year and was now showing on one of the regular channels.
At just gone nine o'clock Karen returned with a sleeping toddler in her arms and suggested that Sarah called it a night. Feeling surprisingly tired Sarah didn't object and made her way upstairs with her stepmother close at her heels. Entering her room it took her a while before she noticed what was wrong, And there most definitely WAS something wrong. Sarah let out a startled cry and spun quickly when she heard Karen outside in the hall.
"Sarah?" the woman called, knocked before she came in. "Is everything alright?"
"Y-yes," Sarah stammered, hastily stepping in front of the mirror.
Karen frowned at her. "Are you sure?"
"Yes," Sarah repeated, before realising that more would be needed to convince Karen to leave. "I just thought I saw a shadow in my window and it made me jump."
Still frowning Karen finally nodded, coming to the conclusion that it would probably be more trouble than it was worth to get the truth out of the girl. "Good night Sarah," said and then turned left, closing the door behind her.
"Night," Sarah muttered weakly. She then rounded sharply on her desk, glaring fiercely. The chess set had reappeared, the drawer still partially open as if no one had touched it, and there was a message glowing dimly on her mirror.
What's said is said Sarah. Who else do you expect to play with?
"No one," she exclaimed, without thinking how absurd the situation was; talking with a mirror. "I don't want to play with anyone." With that she scooped up the set and once about to throw it back into the drawer once more when she paused. Putting it away in the drawer hadn't changed anything; she needed to find somewhere else. Somewhere where it wouldn't be found.
Quietly Sarah left her room and slipped into the bedroom her father and stepmother shared with Toby. Trying to make as little noise as possible so as not to wake the sleeping boy she crept over to the bed. There was a medium sized storage unit built into the space under mattress and she opened it, slipping her cargo inside. She then smoothed everything back down so it looked as it had done before and left as quietly as she had come.
Satisfied Sarah got ready for bed and fell asleep that night feeling that the problem had been solved. Unfortunately that proved to be untrue
Tuesday passed much like Monday had, the only exception being that Sarah made frequent trips up to her room, just in case. Everything remained as it should until she went to bed. Then she found the offending item placed exactly where it had been before and a mirror written note saying:
That's not what you said before Sarah. No backing out now.
Sarah growled with frustration. "Leave me alone," she ground out. At first these unexplainable happenings had scared her, sent a cold shiver up her spine, now however she had moved past that point and was approaching anger at a breakneck speed.
Planning on hiding everything again she had a better idea. This time she split the set up. The board went back under the bed and the pieces were stuffed into every nook and cranny she could find. Stealthily she crept around the house after Karen and her father had gone to bed. A black pawn was dropped down behind the TV that was backed up in a corner so even she couldn't reach down and retrieve it. A white bishop was hidden under an upside down tea cup that she placed on the top shelf. A black castle was buried amongst a pile of Karen's laundry. The white King Sarah took out into the garage where she argued that Merlin could keep watch over it and the black Queen stayed with her. As her favourite piece Sarah couldn't bring herself to hide it somewhere and run the risk of never finding it again and so she placed it inside her school bag, determined to take it with her when she left in the morning.
Happy at last Sarah turned her back on the mirror and climbed into bed, sure that this time her plan would work.
It didn't. When Sarah went upstairs to bed the next evening it was waiting for her, each piece present and accounted for. Fuming, she looked to the mirror, expecting to see writing. Nothing was there. Sarah was about to relax thinking she had at least been spared that one torture when two words appeared, glittering under the light of the bulb.
Make me.
This time Sarah didn't make the mistake of answering. Instead she swept the wooden game off of the table and into the dustbin. She then promptly went downstairs, opened the front door and walked outside. Finally she upended the entire contents of her dustbin into the larger bin outside that was due to be collected early tomorrow morning
Sarah then stormed back upstairs, ignoring the look cast in her direction by her father, and slammed the door behind her. Walking over to the wardrobe she found the largest article of clothing she owned, a long light blue dressing gown, and threw it over the mirror. Still she didn't say anything. Instead she went to the bathroom and had a long, hot shower. She re-entered her room wrapped in a towel and quickly went about her usually routine before tumbling into bed and instantly falling asleep.
By the time Thursday came around Sarah was understandably not in the best of moods. She didn't talk at all at breakfast and spent her time at school scowling unnecessarily at anyone who so much as looked at her. When she got home she went straight to her room and stubbornly refused to leave for any reason for the rest of the evening. She wasn't taking any chances.
Finally her bedtime came around and Sarah breathed a small sigh of relief. Dressing herself in her pyjamas she hurriedly popped out to use the bathroom. She couldn't have been gone more than 3 minutes. The sight that greeted her when she returned caused what little patience she had left to snap.
Sarah let out a wrathful scream and the sound rang throughout the entire house. Luckily Toby was not yet asleep. He and his parent's were all downstairs in the living room and all three paused when they heard the noise from above. Robert and Karen exchanged worried glances; they remembered enough of the 'old Sarah' to think that it was probably best to let this one slide and ignore it. She had been acting rather odd these past few days.
In a blind rage Sarah charged over to the desk, picked up the once treasured chess set and flung it across the room. Pieces went everywhere; rolling across the floor and thumping sharply against the walls. Breathing heavily Sarah glanced around at the mess. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed her dressing gown lying casually across her bed. Spinning she came almost face to face with the glowing message that had been left for her.
Now you are just being childish.
Letting out an inarticulate growl Sarah was seriously considering taking a heavy object to the piece of reflective glass when she stopped. The white king lay at her feet. Every player needs a King Sarah. She remembered that had been the first communication to appear and it was true enough which gave her an idea. Stooping down she picked up the despised piece and went over to her window. She heaved the frame open and looked down once last time at the white King in her hand.
"Game, set and match," she muttered and then flung the piece as hard and as far as she could out into the night. She then brought the window back down with a forceful crash and stalked off to the bathroom for another shower.
Outside an indistinct figure emerged from the dark and crouched down to pick something off of the ground. He, for he most definitely male, fingered the object gently and then glanced up as a light went out on the first floor of the house closest to him. He smirked softly to himself, the girl's final words playing a soft tune inside his head. "Oh you think so do you Sarah?" he murmured into the black. "We'll just have to see about that." Then he vanished, leaving nothing behind except a cloud a glitter.
Oh Sarah you really are in trouble now; you broke the first rule of the game. Never start something you can't finish.
ARGH! I KNEW writing two FanFics at once was a bad idea and now look where it got me. I not only have one piece that isn't going anywhere fast, I now have a second as well. Grrrrr stress.
Ok so I apologise for how long it took for me to write this update. I did warn you not to expect them too quickly. Thing is I have another piece on the go at the moment that I started over a year ago and it's SO close to being finished. I have about two chapters left to write but can I bring myself to sit down and write them? No. *Sighs* I know that's not much of an excuse but I'm the author so I guess you'll just have to put up with me.
On the plus side this piece isn't going to be nearly as long as that one so you won't have to wait a year...probably.
A/N: If this update is a bit of a mess when you read it that's because it's late and I can barely see the screen anymore so I'm coming back to clean it up a bit later, after I've slept. Sorry.
