~ A Minute Before Dawn~

Blooming Moon Arc

Chapter Ten: Bishops Waltz

"It's time to make your move, milady." Gunter gently reminded her, his old un-armoured hands clasping each other atop the mess hall table. Teresa glanced at the hourglass, the sand funnelled down toward the base like men falling down an abyss. After taking a slow sip of creamy milk she picked up a queen and moved it forward, she turned the hourglass over with her spare hand and looked to Gunter. The grains of sand began to tumble in the other direction.

Beside her soldiers and staff were supping and keenly watched, it was a form of peculiar supper entertainment for those immediately surrounding them. In fact, this ritual was strange amongst high society. Princesses did not often trade dinner spots with their servants and she hoped that the butler that had taken her seat on the dais enjoyed her more substantial supper.

Sometimes sitting alongside the staff, talking with them and eating with them, was a simple joy that she liked. That and she believed it fostered positive sentiments amongst her workforce and soldiers; it made her relatable to them and hoped that it made them feel appreciated. She had never heard of her father, siblings or other noble lords eating servants' portions of food or sitting alongside them.

After placing the cup of milk down she picked up the trencher. Today, because she was sitting towards the end of the mess hall, she only had a few assortments of buttery vegetables, some dry looking flakes of fish and a thick savoury porridge. One of the servants placed a heel of bread in her trencher where she scooped up a bit of each and began to eat.

Sitting towards the end of the hall meant that she was one of the last people to be fed, but it did not matter to her all too much. Even if the food was a bit cold. But she had, however, insisted that Gunter be one of the first people served and he had finished eating a while ago.

Gunter moved the next piece and turned the hourglass and she began to survey the field again. She swallowed and pushed the trencher away before wiping her hand on a piece of nearby cloth. The bustling conversation in the hall created a dull drone in the background whilst she concentrated. Her offensive with her black queen had been enough to force his white king a square to the side. Now she needed to act again, she was pondering her moves when she heard determined footfalls click against the stone tiles of the hall. They had not needed to go too far before they stopped to the side of her.

She raised a hand to momentarily pause gameplay; the other hand stroked the cream leather book that sat on her lap like a contented cat.

"Do not stop on my account." Iago purred, it sounded like he had a smile in his voice and when she turned to look up at him he was grinning. A light shone brightly in his exposed eye as he surveyed the board, she knew that he had already devised a thousand ways to win.

"Talia, would you please move over a little bit for Lord Iago." The maid that sat on her right side quickly agreed, allowing Iago enough room to slide in beside her, even if it was a little bit of a tight fit. Despite the icy northern blood he claimed she could feel heat radiate off of him in a pleasant way.

He was dressed in more flamboyant clothing tonight, dominated by reds and blacks and occasionally accented in gold and silver, hair tied into a neat bun rather than the sloppy one she had seen days earlier.

She could also smell him now, close enough to scent something that was herby and smoky, but also slightly salty. Perhaps he had been burning herbs for spells in his residence, or maybe it was permanently engrained into him.

A quiet tapping from her fingers could barely be heard in the air as she contemplated his arrival, he seemed to be slightly early today, as he had been last time.

"Have you eaten already?" She smiled, turning her gaze back to the board and allowing the sand men to tumble back down onto each other again.

"Yes." His deep voice coolly began. "Your father gave me the honour of supping me."

"Explains why you are dressed so nicely." She smiled, moving her king over diagonally, she imagined placing her father down on the battlefield. Each piece she gave an identity to. Father was the black king, Xander the queen, Leo and Camilla were knights, she was a bishop and Elise was a rook. Giving each piece an identity made her feel like she had so much more to lose and that was the way she felt chess should always be played.

On the other side of the board she gave the pieces faceless identities, the featureless Hoshidan royals, gleaming proudly in blemish free armour.

She placed the black piece that was her father down again and ended her turn.

"You look to be doing quite well, princess." Iago thoughtfully mused.

"That she is." The old knight gently grumbled. Gunter had taught her almost everything she knew about strategy, and like her he seemed equally pleased by Iago's small praise. He moved the rook's castle over, one of the Hoshidan royals.

Just after he had turned the timer around she grasped her tiny wooden father once more and placed him on a different segment.

"You're certainly not giving me any room to breath tonight." Gunter grunted with a discouraged smile; so far she had won every single match this evening. The end of this one would mark the fifth game completed.

"I do not intend to." She happily grinned, taking another sip of milk and turning the hourglass over.

Iago's silence was unnerving her slightly, and his neutral expression was plastered on the board. Teresa tried not to let the budding nerves get the better of her, but it was hard when Nohr's Master Tactician was scrutinising every move that was made.

Whilst she waited for Gunter her eyes lingered down her flowing side ponytail, it sloped over Iago's covered shoulder, complimenting the black but clashing with the red. A clinking sound heralded the end of Gunter's turn, all he had done was move the rook he had played last turn to its previous spot.

After contemplating for a moment she moved her king again, allowing father and the hundred troops she laid on the king piece to continue riding forth for an assault.

Another glance at Iago exposed a smirk growing on his face, a satisfied one that she had never seen before, complementing his youthful features.

Gunter moved his bishop and frowned when she moved her king up again. The staff around them loomed over the table, politely eating and watching, sometimes whispering between themselves the move they would make or remarks about the way this game had been played.

"You sure do love that king piece." Gunter irritably sighed to himself, leaning his chin onto one of his palms, contemplating the next defensive step to play. He seemed well on his way to resigning, but it was not like Gunter to quit, not until he was entirely stuck.

As if sticking a point to him she moved her king up another row and cheekily grinned, shrugging her shoulders and turning the hourglass over again.

"She is putting quite a lot of pressure on you." Iago observed with her most recent moved, keenly eying off the king piece she had urged forward.

"I wonder if you know my secret right now, Iago." Teresa teased, he only nodded and airily sighed; his reaction seemed to unnerve her elder instructor slightly.

Time dripped away slowly until he was forced to move, taking Elise with the malicious, faceless royal that the bishop represented.

"You killed Elise." Teresa remarked as the sand tumbled down once more. "Now father only has Leo and Xander left."

"I can see what move you will make next." Gunter wearily huffed, scratching the back of his neck with defeat, but even with the loss he proudly smiled and his eyes shone.

She moved the king between two pawns and now forces that could not save him boxed the king of Hoshido in, sealing his demise. His rook siblings could not move through him, and his pawns could not progress backwards. Father was now free to kill the king and take his throne, a day he surely dreamed of often.

"I concede defeat." Gunter announced, knocking the white king over as if felling him with a sword, or in this case mighty battle-axe. "Good job, milady."

"Very well played." Iago complemented, matching Gunter's pleased grin and happy eyes. "You have taught her well."

"You honour me with your praises, milord." Gunter modestly smiled. "But I didn't teach her this tactic."

"You taught yourself?" Iago asked with intrigue, she swallowed the last of her milk and placed the cup down, nodding.

"I read about it in a strategy book in the library."

He nodded and his grin grew more excited, a small bite of his lip and a brief look to the board made him seem hesitant before he asked his question anyway.

"Do you have enough constitution for another match?" He asked whilst turning as best he could to face her, although that was a bit hard due to the packed bench.

"Against you?" Teresa quickly queried, her mouth falling agape and heart picking up, a nervous jolt shuddered through her. She was likely nowhere near his meticulous standards and had never even coordinated a real battle. Iago far outweighed her.

"Yes." He picked up a black bishop Gunter had taken, and if she took his playing with it literally she could take it as a sign that their game would merely be toying with her. "The reprieve a simple game of chess offers seems comforting – commanding peoples lives can become far too tiring and stressful."

"I would not doubt it." She sighed, moving the board between them and adjusting the pieces accordingly. Even though the odds were highly against her favour, the thrill of a challenging game and the brief hope of a triumphant victory spurred her to take up the trial.

"You will move first, princess." He announced. A reluctant sigh compelled her fingers to pick up the black pieces and move them to his side, she almost always played as black. To her it seemed almost foreign playing with the white pieces.

"Fine." She agreed, as far as she was concerned she needed them to try and begin to set him up, white always moved first after all.

They prepared the board and the game was soon ready to start, a crowd of maids, butlers and double the number of soldiers had gathered around to make their wooden battle feel closed in. It was a rare opportunity to see the appointed Master Tactician engage in a casual game of chess, and many of the soldiers looked like they desperately wanted to learn from it.

She began by spurring her E-pawn forward, but before she could even turn the hourglass over Iago had moved to match her play. He wore an incredibly neutral expression, entirely unreadable and likely already planning ways to bait her.

She moved her D-pawn forward and once again he matched her.

Room was open to move her knight, she liked to imagine moving Camilla first but only because her wyvern courageously carry her into the oncoming battle. Wincing, she placed the white horse down onto a C-square, remembering that this was not Camilla but a Hoshidan royal or commander.

Iago's bishop was swept onto a B-square, her wince turned into an amused smile, exposing her pointed teeth in a rare way that was not menacing and strangely soft.

"I wonder what my fate will be." She mumbled, oddly she felt that the piece would be safe in Iago's hands; yet again he might sacrifice it to break her ranks.

"You view yourself as the bishop?" He questioned with emotionless eye contact.

"I play each piece as a person I know, I feel more invested that way." Teresa explained, moving her E-pawn up again so that it could kiss Iago's.

"Curious." He pondered before he continued his play, gracefully moving a knight toward the front line. "And who is this?"

"Camilla." Teresa answered, eyeing the horse that she wished to replace with a wyvern. "She is always the first knight that I move because she flies. I only thought it to be fitting."

Teresa moved A-pawn into the fray, forcing Iago to move his bishop to take her knight.

"There, your bishop took down the Hoshidan princess and her Pegasus army." Iago teased before proclaiming check.

"I'm not sure if it is rude that you got me killed this early." Teresa huffed as she used a pawn to slay her piece. "And with a pawn, what a terrible way to fall."

"Happens to the best of them." Iago bluntly proclaimed. "Looks like I will have to avenge you eventually."

"What piece are you?" She curiously inquired. It made sense that he would put real world value on the pieces too. If anything it would be the natural thing for him to do since he was literally forced to place prices and lives onto pieces on the giant board in the war room.

"Bishop."

"We are a matching pair." Teresa remarked, watching him move a pawn onward towards the front line. Then with dramatic flair she gargled, "Avenge … me! Eugh!"

Iago laughed and shook his head leisurely in enjoyment, a light sounding snicker that drew out natural warmth in her. It made her content to see him laugh, and for once she was glad that training – because this was unofficial training – had not made the air tense.

He lazily observed the field for a while before he spoke again. "You have opened with Morgan's variation on Nohrian Defence."

"So I have." She swept her had to the board.

"Nice strong centre, good set up for your bishops…" Iago began explaining, she listened intently as everyone else did and was not sure if he was explaining to supplement her knowledge or teach the soldiers that huddled around. "…But you have allowed a me a chance for greater, speedier development later on."

She continued by moving her gleaming A-pawn forward again. She hoped to prevent him from setting up a blockade on the A4-square whilst giving herself a chance to set up her bishop. Iago moved his knight.

"Leo." She stated before moving her remaining knight to an F-square.

He moved the bishop again.

"I hope that you will treat yourself better than you treated me." Teresa teased whilst sliding one of her bishops to a D-square.

"And who's this?" Iago asked as he moved the queen out of its square and towards the battle, as if it were curiously surveying the front line from a distance.

"Xander, because he can move so dynamically." Teresa explained, matching him by moving her queen towards her rook, then placing the castle to the other side of it, a technique known as 'Castling'. "Castle kingside."

Silently, Iago progressed, commanding his black pawn directly into the range of her bishop. It was a risky move; he had also voluntarily opened up a dangerous diagonal that left many pieces exposed to her C-bishop. It looked like his move was trying to drive back her other bishop and diminish her centre, all before she had a chance to attack with the C one.

She moved back her active bishop to before it could be taken and Iago was quick to move his F-pawn forward. In response she moved the kingside rook into a more versatile position. He moved Camilla's knight to again and Teresa did the same with her C-bishop.

Her E5-pawn was now open to a strong sacrificial move, Iago took that pawn with one of his own, and by doing so it opened up her central line, driving her to take that malicious pawn with her own with a vengeance. But the little pawns celebration was short lived as Leo and his army galloped in to take its life.

"I'm sorry, Leo." She apologetically whined as her own knight squashed his forces like it was a candle to be snuffed out.

"Front line is brutal tonight, huh?" Iago grinned, perhaps finding relief in the fact that the troops dying there were figurative and not real.

"Yes." Teresa pouted; pondering her next play and then realising that Camilla could now swoop in to kill those that had murdered her little brother in cold blood.

She moved her queen toward the centre of the field to achieve centralisation, trying to keep influence in all directions and drive back Camilla's knight. She succeeded and smiled slightly when Iago withdrew it. Teresa then drew her white bishop more into play and Iago brought Garon's king piece forward, another risky move.

She inched her F-pawn onward. Iago grinned at this and called her play out loud.

"You plan to drive through my wall to open up play for your bishops." Then he moved his H-rook from its position closer to the centre, behind his line of soldiers. "Tell me who I just moved."

"Elise." Teresa purred, bringing her F-pawn up again, giving Iago the opportunity to capture that space with one of his pawns but voluntarily opening up D5 for her queen.

"Check." She announced before Iago moved his king out of range by bringing him forward a space. She moved one of her bishops back to fake withdrawal, if she played it right this left her a few opportunities for a crushing attack, however doubt tightened her throat. Iago would never fall for such a ploy, would he?

He hissed thoughtfully into his closed hands, grasping each other in front of his mouth as if he were praying. A small furrow of his brow made him appear deep in thought. He played Camilla's knight but remained neutral in expression.

"That's a beautiful play." She grumbled, massaging her temples and pondering what to do next. Now his defence was based around an exceptional counter attack, forcing her queen back out of play, Iago responded by moving his king closer to the field.

Teresa seized her chance to take Camilla's knight by driving her rook up to E5, sacrificial because Elise would soon come and take it.

"Wonderful." Iago neutrally announced. "It looks like you are trying to create a tactical defence."

"Maybe." She monotonously teased whilst he moved his queen, or Xander's forces, to take her rook. Teresa's queen charged upward to crush his remaining bishop piece.

"And now I'm dead." He announced with the hint of a smile.

"You're not going to act it out like I did?" Teresa playfully goaded, raising an eyebrow. The suggestion made Iago grin and sigh, his eyes still tactical and thoughtful.

"Eeeck!" He monotonously announced despite the overzealous drama on his face. "I'm dead."

She threw back her head and laughed at that, as did many others. For her staff this had to be one of the most entertaining evenings they had revelled in yet.

In response to his death he moved his A-rook to the D-square, right in front of her queen.

"And who is this?" He purred, tilting his head to the side, the strand of hair that swept across his face fell over his nose onto the downward cheek, covering the sun hiding his eye.

"Gunter." Teresa announced and some of the soldiers cheered and whooped in response. Gunter raised his hands to calm to excited outburst before he addressed them all.

"I'm not going to act out my demise if it happens." A few people pretended to jeer hatefully before light-heartedly giggling and falling back into the next play.

Instead of taking the rook that represented Gunter, she charged to the side and compelled her queen to capture a B-square instead, Iago wasted no time moving his queen towards her king in an offensive move.

"Check." He announced.

Teresa moved her king away and Iago took his Gunter rook down toward it, people cheered as if Gunter were actually leading a charge then and there. This opened up her queen to take a more favourable position.

"Check."

Iago directed Elise's rook to block her access to his king. She played her bishop, thinking that Iago's queen might take the bait.

The Master Tactician disapprovingly hissed again, but his engrossed posture told her that he was somewhat surprised. "You're forcing me to a difficult end game."

"I decided to rise to the challenge of competing against you, didn't I?" Teresa was trying her best to hold her position whilst eliminating mate threats. It also appeared to have forced Iago to simplify his end game. Her throat had become dry so she swallowed as best she could, trying to keep her excited heart rate down. Was there a possibility that she could beat him at his own game? Was he going easy on her on purpose?

Iago moved his D-rook into an offensive position on her king. "Check."

Teresa moved her king away from tiny, wooden Gunter.

His rook took a different position and opened up his queen to attack her king. "Check."

Other people saw that the rook's demise was inevitable and cheered for Gunter to make a dying remark and eventually he gave in, accepting some fruit from the platters the maids began shoving around for dessert. "I died for your dessert!"

People hooted before the whispering grew again and became more excited; bets were even being called both for and against her.

She took the rook that was Gunter; black queen was moved to assault her king yet again. "Check."

Teresa sighed and spirited her king away to H1, eyes totally focused on what was unfolding before her. Iago was equally as concentrated as he moved Elise's rook, to take her queen.

She enthused her bishop up to tackle his castle, Elise was now dead and only Xander and father remained.

Iago redeployed his queen over to capture her space on C3, killing her pawn in the process.

Teresa encouraged her rook to G1. "Check."

He relocated his king and she moved her bishop to take A7.

Iago sat for a while and apparently a spectator had been keeping time, because he ran out and the move defaulted to her. She placed her pawn up a space, beginning her run to take her queen back.

Iago's pawn wondered to C3 and she beckoned her bishop to B7, to support her potential queen. Apparently he was attempting to get his pawn to the end as well, because he moved it forward another space.

Seeing her opportunity, she deployed her left most A-bishop to a more defensive position, making a clear path for her pawn to strike home. He then moved his queen towards her, trying to stop her play. Her pawn strolled up again and then Iago took her defending bishop, but it was already too late.

She placed her pawn on A8 where it blossomed to a queen. His only response was to dispose of her rook, also sacrificing his queen momentarily in the play. Once ready, he moved his pawn down where it became a queen like hers was.

And then a deafening silence as everybody gazed at the board, finally seeing what had unexpectedly occurred.

A draw.

No matter what happened now she would have to move her king and Iago would be forced to follow with his queen to keep her in check. There were no other moves left to play.

She brushed her open palm against her sweaty forehead and drew it down her face, stopping it once it covered her mouth in disbelief. Teresa forced herself to bring her widened eyes to Iago, but his reaction was not what she had expected.

Failure strongly nagged at his sense of purpose, and this was a failure on his part. But he was smiling about it.

Soon he was laughing, it was a strange mixture that drew the gaze of everyone in the room. It sounded nervous, relieved and entirely exhilarated and slowly, she joined in. Lacking any other proper reaction.

"It's been a long time since I have had a match that good." He exhaled after his laughing fit, running his hand over his hair as if expecting to brush away any loose strands.

"Really?"

"By God, you really played me into a corner." He grinned, oddly contented.

"Thank you." She smiled, looking to Gunter who seemed overjoyed by her triumph. "I tried my hardest to challenge you."

"You did." He looked down to the board again, and shook his head in amused disbelief. Swiftly, he turned to Gunter.

"You really taught her to play like this?" He huffed with an undying curiosity.

"I've had her play regularly since a young age but I think that she taught herself most of this. I can't remember when she became this good, milord." Gunter explained, stuttering throughout as if lost for words.

"Hold on!" Teresa level-headedly interrupted, raising her hands. "This is only one draw! It was probably just luck."

As much as she hoped this made her special and useful, reality seemed more likely to favour her luck, and luck was something that was lucrative for her.

"Do you want to play again?" Iago asked, the crowd began to murmur, growing bigger till people were standing on tables to try and get a view. She felt a lot of nervous pressure weigh her down, however the kick of exhilaration that flirted with her pleasure spurred her on to accept.

"Bring out some wine." Teresa called to the servants that were attending supper's needs, all of them lost amongst the curtain of curious spectators, as enthralled in their games as if they were watching a real life battle.

They played another four matches, Iago won three of them and she somehow managed to win one, which in itself was an achievement. But the pressure had been on her, and from his concentration and sweaty brow, him as well. When they finished their last game, Iago completely decimating her black king, he sat back and smiled.

"You're good." He placed a finger to his lips; they looked flushed from the intensity of the match.

"You flatter me too much." She smiled; looking down and away to the board, in no way did she feel deserving of that compliment.

"You drew one match with me and won one. And your techniques are far better than theirs, even Leo's." He remarked, sipping some tea because he had declined alcohol. Teresa had not been so reserved; she had needed some wine after all of that to relax her. She would have preferred ale, but her storehouse had been hastily given to Ganz and now only one barrel remained. It was intended for mid summer celebrations.

"Really?" She coolly asked, although secretly she was fighting any excited trembling that wanted to surge forth, she understood how highly any praise from Iago was considered. Real praise from him, especially tactical, was almost as rare as praise from father.

"Absolutely." He smiled, looking at the board again, then straightening his posture; within his burning russet eye she could see the start of a plan forming. "If you'd like, next time I can bring the better boards."

"The proper tactical ones?" She gasped, Teresa had rarely played on them and they were much more complicated than chess. They involved supply lines and geography as well as movement limitations and staff-play to boost assets and cripple enemies.

"Yes." He nodded. She could see him trying to maintain his professional demeanour, but for the first time ever he seemed visibly excited, she could even see the artery in his neck beating quickly.

"I-" She began, mind too foggy to properly think. "But your time? It's already so limited!"

"Nohr needs more able strategists. It would be foolish to pass up such potential." He remarked, resting his chin on his palm and regarding her.

"Potential?" She nervously scoffed. "How can you tell that I have potential from a few games of chess?"

"You look to have a knack for it. And if you really are a strategic mind we'll find out from proper boards." He smiled, the prospect was tempting for her, but she still carefully regarded it.

"Your time?" She reminded him.

"I'll extend the hours here or come more regularly. I'm sure that there will be some wiggle room for this, even if we only play for an hour in the mornings. Games on the proper boards can go for days at a time and can be left and returned to. We can easily maintain it." He stood up to stretch and she followed, fumbling for the book she had forgotten slumbered in her lap. Now was not the time to bring it up.

"And father?"

"I'll run it by him first thing I return tomorrow. But I'm sure that he will agree. Good strategy can make or break strong leaders, and he needs a strong leader from you." Iago explained, inviting her to walk with him. Only when they exited the mess hall did the cool night air make her feel more comfortable, she had not realised how hot it was inside.

"Ok, well this all sounds great." Teresa sighed, but her sudden wide smile betrayed her excitement. "I hope that I won't let you down."

"I won't let that happen." He smiled and took a deep breath. "I won't let you waste your potential."

"Good."

"And I won't let you waste it with tomes, either." This smile was soft and genuine, and slowly she felt trust leeching into her where before she chaffed with his authority. To see that he had high hopes for her and would not let her waste it made her want to push harder in both areas. It overcame her with the urge to train right then and there.

"Can we take up tomes right now?" She asked. "Sorry if it's a bit late, I just want to harness my energy in the right way whilst I still have it."

"Let's go train." He purred, leading her to his quarters to get his tomes, then to their training ground. And although the training was fruitless Teresa went to bed with a new desire to achieve, a feeling that she had lacked before.

Oddly she had taken the book she had meant to give him into the sheets with her; maybe they would talk about it the next morning. For now she wanted to focus on the sweet feeling birthed from determination, something she had not felt since she had come to terms with Gunter's authority.

And like it had been before, it was a quick feeling that seized her and would not see her fail her tutor.

"It's time to wake up, my lady." A soft voice stated; her closed eyes were disturbed by a bright candlelight that irritated her. Teresa tiredly groaned and tried to brush the light away without opening her eyes, when she was unsuccessful she rolled over and tried to go back to sleep.

"My lady…" A chirpier voice summoned, rousing her from her sleep when she placed an icy hand against her cheek.

"I'm up. I'm up." Teresa groggily mumbled, abruptly scrambling to sit up. Felicia and Flora were on opposite sides of her bed; it looked to be Flora that had tried to wake her first.

"How did you sleep?" The blue haired girl inquired, placing the candle and its delicate holder down on one of her bedside tables.

"Well." Teresa swallowed and stood up from the comfortable confines of her bed, unsuccessfully trying to stifle another yawn. "I can't remember if I had any dreams though."

Flora cleared her throat and earned Teresa's attention once more, she was holding the cream book in her hands and one of her eyebrows was raised with curiosity. "You slept with the book?"

"Ah, yes." Teresa smiled, leaning over the bed on a hand and knee to gently take it from Flora's grasp. "I did some light reading before sleep last night."

"I believe that you've had it in your possession obsessively the past few days." Felicia remarked, pushing Teresa down onto crossed legs atop the sheets so that she could begin work brushing her hair. The teal haired woman was facing Flora, firmly clutching the book to her chest.

"I have. The stories in it are magnificent and most of them are new to me. I can't believe that I missed out on something so spectacular for so long." Teresa wispily sighed, this book was quickly becoming one of her favourites and it were hers she would house it in the bookshelf by her seat in the library. That was where her favourite books were kept; this one would probably be placed next to 'Nohrian Tales'.

As if by reading her mind Felicia commented on her needy possession of the book again. "I don't doubt it, taking a book into the mess hall isn't something I've seen you do before."

"Oh, yeah." She huffed, looking down to the blemish free cream leather and stroking it with her thumb. "The only reason I took it with me was because I wanted to see if Iago owned this. I don't remember seeing this book in my library before so I thought it might belong to him. I was going to give it back to him immediately when he arrived but the chess games distracted me."

"You'll have to wait until the next time you see him then." Flora began, earning her immediate attention.

"Eh?"

"He's preparing to return to Castle Krakenburg right now, I saw him heading for the stables." Flora explained and if she said anything else Teresa had missed it. In a hurry she stood up and bounded over the plush bed, bolting towards the door. She landed on the stony floors with a huge thump and hurried out of the open door.

If she ran she might be able to catch him in time. She could hear Felicia racing down behind her, and Teresa's quick reaction time had allowed her to evade Jakob who was progressing upward with a tray of china cups and steaming tea.

"Sorry Jakob!" She exclaimed as she slithered past, he made an astonished sound as if he had not heard her and adjusted his stance; miraculously he did not spill or break anything. Even more of a miracle was Felicia moving past him, somehow her clumsiness did not see her running into Jakob or breaking everything he held.

She burst out the door and took an almost immediate left, running along the butler's housing quarters and magic training yard, eventually she found the right turn to the guest wings and continued her sprint.

As her breath passed in and out of her lungs it burned and her mind began to go numb, the only thought that she could muster was to keep running for the stables. On the way there she passed the room Iago usually slept in and briefly stopped to check if he was there. She only found her confused staff stripping the bed and cleaning the already meticulously tidy room.

Before Felicia could stop by her side Teresa was off again, dashing for the stable foyer, when she got to the marbled room she ran down a few steps and then jumped down the rest, stumbling at the bottom before bursting into the stables. His staffs were urging the horses they borrowed from him out at a leisurely walk, meaning that he could not be too far ahead.

With the brief stop in momentum she continued ahead, running by Lilith and her confused face as she brushed Velvet's mane and subsequently by Iago's equally perplexed staff. It was probably the first time they had seen a barefoot, bedraggled princess in a white nightdress run by, all whilst hefting a cream book like she had stolen her father's crown. As for her staff she could not claim the same naivety.

"Iago!" She called, racing up to the bay horse at the start of the tiny party, wincing as her bare feet met sharp chips of stray rock. A concerned look seized him as he quickly unmounted to meet her, looking over her appearance and newly dirtied feet. He placed a hand on her shoulder and looked at her, his back was straightened and his posture firm as if he had started dealing with a catastrophe. He looked professional and controlled.

"What's wrong?" He briskly asked; she could hear some concern in his tone as the other hand jostled to free his riding cape. Teresa panted a few times to get some air into her scorching lungs, tingling prickled her skin from the heat of the running and a fresh crop of sweat could be felt beneath her hair. "What's made you run all the way out here at this hour? Did somebody try to harm you?"

"N-no!" She panted, feeling the cloak slide around her, but it felt irritating against her heated skin. Slowly, she raised the book to his hands, they clung against the place he held the cape atop her collarbones. Behind her she could hear Felicia come to a stop, panting even louder than she was.

"Umm…" His brow furrowed in confusion as he released the cape and held the book; her hands seized the slate cloak around her to stop it from falling off.

"Is this your book?" She asked whilst her breath steadied, it was beginning to get a bit nippy and in her thin nightdress she could feel the air assault her. The warm cloak now felt like a welcome gift and she gripped it as tight as she could around her frame.

"Yes." He stated with great confusion; drawing out the word and tilting his head in a distinctly perplexed look, his loose hair lifted a bit in a sudden breeze. When the air beat her she shuddered and felt some of her own hair angrily whip against her face. A brief glance above revealed a thick layer of clouds, hiding the twinkling stars from her gaze.

"There." She nodded to the book. "I've returned it to you. I wanted to because I thought that it'd be rude to continue keeping it."

When a brief silent moment slipped by he laughed and shook his head in an incredibly amused fashion. "You ran all this way to return a book to me?"

"Yes." She chirped with a brisk nod, she could see the humour in the situation. With adept hands he handed the book back to her. As she let go of the cape to grasp the leathery item he carried out a skilful exchange. Now he stood holding his cloak around her shoulders whilst the wind continued to violently oppose their stagnant presence. To her it seemed as if the elemental body wanted them both to hide within the citadel walls before a rare summer storm could become angry with them.

"You keep it." He mused with a smile. "It can be a gift for beating me at my own game."

"That was only one victory." She huffed, becoming a little uncomfortable with the sudden gift. Quickly she averted her eyes to the ground and tried to hide the embarrassed blush reddening her cheeks. "Besides, I own plenty of books in my library."

"It's fine. I already have a similar text anyway. This one is a newly printed copy with a little bit more in it, and I'm sure that you'll find more joy in it than I would." He confidently remarked. However, Teresa still felt a little uncomfortable taking it, accepting gifts from her siblings was one thing, accepting a gift from a noble lord was entirely different. And if people thought about this the wrong way he might even get in trouble.

"You're sure?" She addressed the issue for the final time and gazed upwards, certain that the blush was now gone.

"Absolutely." Iago nodded back to her. "But there is something that I need back."

"Hmm?" She vocalised through pursed lips, feeling the warm cloak slip away from her.

"I'll be needing this to ride. I don't want to get my hair wet." He casually stated with a teasing tone that made her pursed lips twitch with a smile.

"Of course." She bowed her head, skin leeching and turning bumpy with another strong breeze, the hem of her dress angrily lashed out at her thighs and her hair scratched at her face and bare shoulders.

"Do you have any requests for me, my lady?" He asked, mounting his horse in a swift and precise motion.

"Oh!" She suddenly remembered their talk about strategy tutoring the previous evening. "Please write to me informing me if father says yes to your proposition. I don't think my patience is enough to wait three days."

He nodded and his horse moved effortlessly beneath his weight, patiently anticipating carrying her master back home. "Get inside, princess. Or you might catch a cold."

She did as he bid and turned away, walking into a warm woollen blanket Felicia had snatched from her bed. The pink haired maid quickly wrapped her in it and manoeuvred her inside the stables.

Teresa stopped and looked down at the book. Another selfless thing her tutor had done for her.

"What was that all about?" Lilith asked from the middle of the horse-smelling stable, many of them were braying nervously.

"That book." Felicia huffed, continuing to catch the last of her breath.

"Must be a good book." Lilith ardently stated, finishing her work with Velvet and moving onto tending Mercer.

As she was about to speak she stopped, turning to look outside of the stables. Gradually, the dusty courtyard outside became darker with the presence of summer rain. The drops pattered down in a way that relaxed her and unconsciously she clutched the book closer to her within the blanket, as if to completely warm and protect it from the new showers.

"Yes, it is." She passionately confirmed, taking a seat on the stairs connecting the stable and foyer to convey the stories of the beautiful book to Lilith. The small, yellow-eyed girl contently brushed the horses as Teresa told her of a poem about two sisters and their adventures on a pristine beach.

Somehow Lilith ended up huddling beside Teresa within the woollen blanket, looking at various poems whilst Felicia left them to get some tea. The rain continued to pleasantly drum against the ground outside, and the musky smell of ozone clung thick to the air. To Teresa it seemed like Lilith was more contented than usual, as if the tiny stablehand aspired to live in a simple house by the sea like the poems young sisters did.

They were disturbed later on by Jakob who came to deliver a letter. All it said was 'yes'.