Thanks for reading, if you liked the chapter please leave a comment.
And with such a ceremony the man became part of the alliance. Right after regaining his name and cheers from everyone, Warspite asked him to follow her to the nearby room.
-I know you still have a lot of questions, but I have my own too- she says quite serious –Her majesty may be too naïve sometimes, but I am not- she signals him the room and opened the large door -I want to test if you are still of any use, a blank mind will not help us against the sirens. Close the door behind you- she asks and stands in the middle of the room, there were a lot of papers, maps, pictures and quite a lot of books.
Warspite presents him a large table with a game board. This furniture was different and yet somehow familiar. On top of it was a map with grid, blue and green colors mark water and sea, and there were several colored tokens here and there -Here, watch this and tell me what you think- Warspite showed him the board and Jack followed, he was amazed at it, even if he didn't understand why.
-So… do you recognize this?- she asked directly as she was used to, she prepared that space especially just for him.
-I… I can´t tell- he answers at first, still confused by the tokens and the map –I somehow understand it, but can´t explain how the game is played- he continued, to his mind this was part of just a big game, something he used to play all the time, but can't remember any specific detail.
-I see… very well then- she smiles a bit and then went to the other side of the table –Let´s say is an easy game, I move my tokens then you move yours one space each turn, if I move my tokens and reach yours I defeat them, vice versa, pretty easy- Warspite explained and proceed to start –I´ll be the white ones, you take the black tokens, it will be fun- she did plan this all along, both as a test but also as a way of revenge.
-But I have more than you- Jack counted his tokens and he was in a clear advantage, he watched the map, every token was in a specific order, some in front, some behind, but still he was in the strong side.
-Come on, don't make me repeat it, start now- Warspite started by moving her tokens.
-Fine, let´s do this- he said and move his own in response.
Warspite was thrilled with this encounter, as the turns passed and the tokens started to follow the same pattern as she remembers, she studied the same battle for quite some time and found some ways to defeat to defeat this strategy, so she already knew the way to counter them. However, Jack did not hesitate and even if he didn't remember this map, but he still knew how to move the tokens, as his mind was fast and got already ways to get in time to win the game.
As Warspite move her vanguard, she defeated all in her way, she moved all her pieces, as she already knew exactly which one to use and when, as she already memorize all movements. But as she moves the man did not retreat, but it appears as if she was reading his mind, it was almost impossible to make a move without having it being countered. Time pass and a battle of wits make it fly fast.
-So, when are you going to sacrifice your tokens?- she smiled as she knew that was an easy way to reduce her numbers and win –You really expect to win just by running in circles I already defeated half of yours and you only got two of my tokens?- she was guessing those moves too.
-I know but I don't want to lose them like that- he answers thinking how to beat her in this map, it was mostly blue, but there were a some green here and there –Here how about this…- he move one token in front of the others and start to regroup around the green tiles. Even if he was followed behind by the white tokens.
-Want to retreat through the islands… I don't think so- Warspite move all her tokens again in a vanguard and advance, and slowly reach him however…
-…- he remained silent as the game continues, as expected he retreated using the islands to move his scattered tokens but also started to reunite them near her.
-Nice, you want to use a pincer formation- she was amazed at him, she already knew he was a great strategist but even in this state he was making her think and remember all the ideas she got from this battle, she already traced the way to win –This ends if I reach you again, even if you try to line up and lose most tokens, by the timing I will still win- she says triumphantly, as she imagined that the islands were an important point in this encounter –Wait…- she suddenly realized she could not move all her tokens in the small spaces, she started to think again and continue following even if this break her formation.
-No way…- She stated when she understood her position in the battle, he did not run but cornered her, and he did not try to attack her from the sides but make her lose formation in the islands.
-Now I move this one- he says as he traced in his mind the different paths Warspite would make, and started to counter her, now by diving his forces into three he would face her broken vanguard.
-I didn´t think this one- she realized that with those numbers she got no choice to retreat but the narrow spaces in those islands were already blocked by his black pieces. Even if she wanted to break one of those points he would reach him, but she still smiled even if she already knew the results –So that´s how we could have won that battle…- she continued to move her tokens until she lost all of them.
-I got to admit, Jack, you are pretty good at this game- Warspite admits defeat, but was still happy now that she saw how their enemy lost. This was a real battle that took place not so long ago, and the same as the black pieces, the Royal Navy got advantage in the numbers, but was still defeated. That's why she learned from her mistakes as she lead that lost battle, and imagined all the ways she could have won.
–Her majesty will be proud. Good work, you pass- she proudly says –But next time it will not be that easy- she laugh a bit –Follow me, we still have a lot to talk about- she signal him and open the door revealing that the head maid was already waiting with a beautiful smile.
