Chapter 4

"It's coming!" Leviah shouted while running back to the house. "The wagon from Silidan is coming!"

Link peaked his head out the window to see the commotion. His little girl stopped running just before the porch and yelled to her parents and brother inside. "I saw Mizu with them!"

Link turned to look at his wife. She was still feeding Yerik on the couch, but she easily heard everything that was said. She begrudgingly motioned Link to go on ahead of her, which he complied. "I'll be out shortly, Lee!"

Esekel was out the door like a bolt of lightning. As soon as Link finished putting on his boots, he briskly followed after him. He spotted Leviah heading towards the center of the village. Just as his daughter said, a wagon from the south had arrived with several people on board. Mizu was already on the ground playing with the other village children. Leviah and Esekel quickly joined them, waving for her attention almost immediately.

Sitting at the front of the wagon was Lady Sil, conversing with Rusl at the side. Link chose to join them. Strolling up beside Rusl, he nodded respectfully towards the noble woman. "Greetings from Hyrule. I hope I'm not interrupting."

"No, not at all, Link." Lady Sil shook his hand. Her age had finally begun to show in her frail voice and rough skin. Her hair had also began to gray, but it took him slightly longer to realize it. "I'll always appreciate what you've done for us."

"And it's always nice to be appreciated." Link remarked. "I take it you're heading to the castle for the celebration?"

"I will be, but for this week, I hope to relax here. I prefer the more peaceful atmosphere of a ranch village."

"I've already told her she and Mizu will be living with my family." Rusl explained to Link. He then turned back to Sil. "Whenever you'd like, we'll help unload your belongings."

"Thank you." The aging woman stepped down from the wagon, allowing the two men to grab her bags. "Tell me, how's Ashei doing?"

"She's doing great. She's feeding our youngest at the moment, but she may come out with him in a little bit."

"Fine, fine. Perhaps she would like to eat dinner with us tonight? I assume there is room for them as well?"

"There always is." Rusl proclaimed while carrying her bags back to the house. "It will be nice to catch up before the celebration."

"By the goddesses, Link!" Lady Sil laughed as she captured his pawn on g4 with her own. "You've no idea what you just let me do."

"Sure I do." Link insisted. "You gave me a knight for a pawn. Seems like an obvious trade."

"Have you considered that maybe that was the point of my move? After all, my pawn is now attacking your other knight on King's Bishop Three."

"That's okay, I can still move him back to King One." As he did so, he heard Ashei call out from the living room. "Did I hear you just fall for the Fishing Pole Trap?"

"What?" Link called back, but it was too late. Sil brought her queen up to h4. It was only at that moment that Link saw what would happen. He murmured to himself, "Trapped by my own castling. Drat! How was I to avoid that?!"

"By not taking the trade," Lady Sil explained, putting the pieces back to just before he captured her knight. "Or by not castling the move before."

"Augh!" Link threw his arms up in defeat. As soon as he calmed down, he spoke earnestly. "I don't know how I'll ever get this right. I've memorized the openings and defenses I've been taught. How is it that they don't help me at all?"

"Because you don't know why you're making these moves. Everything is about controlling the board, and if you don't pay attention to what these different openings actually do, you won't recognize their significance."

"So teach me again. I need to figure this out."

"Let me think." Lady Sil placed a hand on her chin as she contemplated how to best train the struggling beginner. "Perhaps I should show you some more obscure strategies that are played out well. Let's reset the board and I'll show you the Bird's Opening."

As the teacher and student continued their next lesson, Ashei sipped on some tea with Rusl and Saffir in their living room. They'd been discussing travel plans for the celebration and had just concluded that they should arrive a day before the festivities. Ashei hoped the extra time would be useful should any last minute purchasing be needed at the castle market.

"You know," Saffir began to change the subject. "Despite his struggles, I think Link has been learnin' a lot tonight. Why haven't you been teachin' him? Oh, I don't mean to accuse you of anythin' but it seems like he is plenty capable of gettin' better if you gave him a chance, Ashei."

"I'm really not a great teacher; just ask my kids. Besides, if I taught him everything I know, he'll always beat me. That's what happened when I learned everything from Shad."

"Then why can't Shad teach him? Oh, no. That won't do at all either even if he were able to visit more often."

"Besides, Shad's got his own partner to play with." Rusl interjected. "But personally, I think that this is just another thing for you to hang over Link's head."

"What are you babbling about?" Ashei inquired. Rusl explained. "Nothing much. I'm just hypothesizing that if you did teach him and he did turn out to be stronger than you, then you wouldn't be able to remind him that you're better than him at something."

"I'm not worried about being in his shadow. I'd have thought that our dealings in Silidan were enough to show that we were all equals from that day on."

"It's not that. I'm speaking from experience here. Most couples and families like to compete with each other, even in little things. You may not have noticed it yet, but it happens. I can recall several little competitions I had with Uli. Saffir and I have done the same."

"Oh, I have never competed with you over menial thangs." Saffir protested, acting as if she was hurt by his words. Ashei chose to do the same. "Neither have I with Link. Even if I had, I certainly wouldn't have started it."

"Are you both honestly trying to tell me," Rusl did his best to hold back a grin, "That you don't compete with us?"

"No!"

"Never!"

"Really?" Rusl hollered back to the dining room. "Link! Why were you and Ashei sword-fighting a week ago?"

Link responded in kind. "We were trying to decide who would teach Leviah swordplay."

"Well, that doesn't count." Ashei insisted. "It was all Leviah's idea."

"Was that the only competition you had that day?" Rusl kept his questions directed towards Link.

"No, we also fought during our rolling hands exercise. Then there was...well, we had another later that evening."

"Later? Now, what kind of game were you-" Saffir gasped as she suddenly realized what he meant. "You were tryin' to see who could hold out longer!"

"Oh, don't get like that." Ashei shot back at her. "You were the one that told me to try it, yeah?"

"It's supposed to teach them a lesson! It's not supposed to devolve into a...a...sex game!"

"Saffir!" Rusl chuckled between breaths. "That's exactly what happened to us three nights ago!"

"Can we stop talking about it?" Ashei requested while looking to her infant child lying next to her. "I'd rather if Yerik didn't have to listen to us prattle on about our sex lives."

"I doubt he'll remember anything at his age." Rusl remarked. "I certainly didn't."

"Well, I'll oblige you, honey." Saffir exclaimed. "Even if my husband won't."

"I'm obliging!" He claimed while still laughing. "Look, I'm not saying these competitions are bad. It's just that if you're not aware of it, they can sometimes spiral out of control. The sooner you realize it's happening, the better chances you have of avoiding that outcome."

"Fine! I admit it." Ashei rolled her eyes. "But I'd appreciate some recognition. We're not the only ones who start these things."

"Yes, but I wasn't the one denying it. In fact, that bout Saffir and I had three days ago was because I said my goat roast was better than hers."

"So you think I'm not teaching Link because subconsciously I don't want him to be able to eventually beat me, yeah?"

"It's a thought. But then again, I haven't attended your lessons with him. Maybe you are just a poor teacher."

She knew he was only poking light fun at her. In fact, everything he'd said over the subject was, so it became impossible for her to be offended. She just shook her head while smiling before changing the subject once more. "So how about you two; plan on having another child?"

"We might, bu-"

The door to their house burst open as three children rushed through screaming with excitement while Mizu chased them all inside. The kids dispersed to different parts of the house, and Mizu halted her pursuit to quietly shut the door. "The rain finally came. I figured you'd appreciate it if I brought the kids inside."

"Very thoughtful of you." Saffir proclaimed. "I bet you'll make an excellent mother one day."

"Whatever did happened to Wil?" Ashei asked. Mizu replied plainly, "It just didn't work out between us. No matter how hard I tried, he just wouldn't break out of his shell."

"Sorry to hear that." Rusl sympathized with her. "But I'm sure you'll meet someone at the festival."

"I hope to. If you'll excuse me, I think the kids wanted to play hide-and-seek, and I believe I've given them enough time to hide."

The young woman began to creep around the house looking for the three children. Almost immediately, she found Esekel underneath the dining table where Link and Sil were playing. As she bent down to touch him, she called out. "Gotcha! Better luck next time!"

Esekel sighed as he got out from underneath the table and sat next to his father. He decided to watch the game while waiting for the others. He'd been taught how to play chess before, but was not familiar with any strategies. "Whatcha doin' dad?"

Link glanced at his son before focusing back at the game. "I'm trying to decipher the Fried Liver Attack."

"Fried Liver Attack?"

"That's right."

"I don't like fried liver."

"You've never had fried liver, Esekel."

"Well, I don't like it anyway."

"Of course, you wouldn't." Link smiled at his child again. He then pulled the boy up from his seat and placed him on his lap, giving Esekel a better view of the board. "Do you know what to do here?"

"Uh-uh." The boy shook his head.

"Neither do I." He concentrated on the board as hard as he could. He was playing white, trying to determine what his next move was. Black had just placed a pawn to d5, blocking his bishop from supporting his knight in pressuring the f7 square. Eventually, he just decided to take the pawn on d5 with his from e4. Lady Sil approved. "Good. That was the correct move."

She responded by taking back the pawn with her knight on f6, exposing Link's knight to a possible attack by her queen. "Remember: this is a highly aggressive attack. The next move should indirectly put pressure on the king."

Link began running various possible strategies through his head, but his son interrupted him. "Daddy, what does she mean: 'inderectly'?"

"She means that the move I make should make her king want to move, even though it doesn't actually have to."

"Oh...you mean like on that square?" The boy pointed to f7 which his father examined again.

"Well...I suppose so, but I'd lose my knight immediately afterwards if I took it."

"Try it anyway." The child insisted. With nothing to lose, he moved his knight onto f7, capturing the lowly pawn. In its new position, it had the ability to attack either Sil's queen or her rook in the corner. If the noble moved one, he could take the other, so the only logical response was for the king to capture the knight, which she did.

"Another point of this attack is to remind you that it's not always about the number of pieces you possess, but how many pieces you have active on the board. With that in mind, continue putting pressure on the king."

The next move came easily enough for Link, though he almost made the wrong move before his teacher mentioned his next motive. The hylian brought out his queen to f3, putting the black king in check. Lady Sil fixed the situation by moving the king to e6. "A brief interlude: why is this the only viable move?"

"Well..." Link gathered his thoughts as he talked it out. "Moving him back to King's Knight Eight would only end in a checkmate after only a couple moves. King's Knight Six just puts him really far away from any viable defenders. You could have exchanged queens, but it's rarely a good idea to waste a powerful piece when it doesn't soon lead to victory. Why not King Seven or Eight?"

"King Seven blocks out the dark-squared bishop, while losing the knight on Queen Five. King Eight can lead to both black knights, a pawn, and a rook being lost, though it would take several moves." She paused a moment before giving Link his next assignment. "Now the King is out in the open but he has some protection. The best way to nullify his defenders is to bring in more attackers. What's your next best move?"

Another glance at the board made it obvious that the only option he had was to bring his last knight to c3. A nod of approval from Sil confirmed it. "Now from here on out, there are several deviations that black can make, but for the sake of continuing the lesson, I'll be picking one in particular."

The elder woman took her knight on c6 down to b4. "This will probably be the hardest move for you to decide. Remember the theme of unit activeness we're looking for. What move can you make that will either give you more active units, or turn mine inactive?"

It was a very difficult request. The knight was in position to capture a pawn at c2. That would also attack both his king and his rook; similar to what he'd done with his own knight, but with no immediate defenders to stop him. He thought about moving his king to d1, but that would only prevent the knight from moving, and wouldn't follow the theme of the lesson. He was truly stumped at this point.

"Queen's Rook Three."

Link looked down at the boy in his lap. "What was that?"

"Pawn to Queen's Rook Three."

He looked at the move, but that just seemed ridiculous. It would likely only force the knight into taking c2. He was trying to avoid that. "I'm not sure that's right, kiddo."

"I'm not a 'kiddo,' dad, and I really think you should move there."

"He's actually right." Sil said with a wide grin on her face.

"What?"

"That's the best move." She maneuvered the different pieces to show him. "You're correct in thinking that it will likely force the knight into Queen's Bishop Two, but that is actually best. You counter by moving your king to Queen One, getting him out of check, putting more pressure onto the knight and opening up passage for your king's rook to join the attack. If black is more interested in getting a powerful piece, and takes the queen's castle, then he just turned that piece inactive. He can't escape that corner with your king and bishop guarding both possible retreating squares."

"But I still lose a rook. That's another piece I could have active."

"But you probably wouldn't; not without wasting time you could spend pressing the attack on black's king at least." She lowered her head to face Esekel. "You, young man, are either really smart, or really lucky."

"Thank you!" The boy hopped down from Link's lap and ran to find his sister, hoping to boast a little about his triumph. The father just sat there flabbergasted. "Okay. What happens next?"

"Well, some center pawn movement will occur before you press the attack on the king again. I expect you'd find that part easy enough. Let's try the preferred counter to the Fried Liver Attack: the Raxlert Variation. A lot of the same principles we've discussed tonight will be important for this strategy."

By the time Link and his family returned home, the kids were incredibly tired. They went to bed immediately, leaving both parents in the ground floor. Link hunched over the dining table, still pondering over the chess board, while Ashei quietly put Yerik in his cradle. When she returned, she approached Link from behind, wrapped her arms around his waist, and leaned her head onto his shoulder. He leaned back into her and smiled. "Feeling passionate tonight?"

"A bit." She kissed him on the cheek. "But...I feel more like playing a game."

"Of chess?"

"Anything really, but yeah. Chess sounds good right now." She moved to sit opposite of him, playing black. Link opened simply with e4. She responded with e5. "Suppose we make a little wager on this game?"

"Oh?" Link brought up his knight to f3. "What did you have in mind?"

"Let's say that if you win..." She leaned in and whispered in his ear, which perked up at what she suggested. He couldn't keep a straight face. "That's a tall order; and supposing I lose?"

"Then you'll..." She whispered in his ear again, this time making Link's face turn a bit sour. She quickly brought her own knight to c6 before he had time to respond. "Now that's a really tall order, especially considering I'm still a novice compared to you."

"Then I'll add an addendum. Let's just say if you put up a decent game for once, it'll still count as a win for you."

"And who determines whether or not I put up a 'good game'?" He pushed out his light-squared bishop to c4.

"Obviously, I determine that." Ashei followed suit with her dark-squared bishop to c5. Another chuckle from Link came out before he regained his full senses. "You're not the most objective judge...but I accept the terms."

"Good, because it's your move."