I capture the castle
Chapter III
The chessboard was etched from a square of mahogany wood; the white and black squares were perfectly lacquered onto the dark board with golden leaf running along each intersection. Black and white pieces stood in their rightful places as stationary, faceless objects chipped from black onyx and mother of pearl.
A hand moved a white pawn. The nails and not the fingers grasped the shiny piece by its head and placed it just as delicately on a square ahead.
"A battle is much like a game of chess. However, of all the pieces the king is the most important and most useless of pieces, do you understand?" the hand tapped it long nails across the board, waiting for its opponent to make a move.
"Yes."
A black pawn moved in response. A white knight jumped through the ranks. Pieces began to dance, shifting from one square to another. They were selfish dancers and knocked out those who were already occupying a square that they wanted.
Each piece fell to another and rolled helplessly across the board until it was picked up and put to a side. Discarded. Forgotten.
Nails toyed with the casualties of war, observing them in their gleaming brilliance.
"The king's movements are limited; it needs to constantly be protected, and once it is captured that is the end. Game over. So much like a battle."
Rooks moved in long lines, knights reared their horses for battle and the two sides of black onyx and white pearl charged at each other's king.
XX
Fai wasn't sure if he had heard what the cost of getting into the castle had been or if he had known all along what Yuuko would ask for. He certainly had not heard her speak, only seen her lips move over a vague buzzing noise that sounded much like a voice without a meaning. Deep inside of him something was telling him to run. Deep inside of him something was gnawing its way through him, shouting at him to run away. It did not matter where he went as long as it was away from here. Run, run, run, it screamed over and over again. Run, run, run.
Fai did not run. He smiled.
"With no disrespect, Yuuko-san, I thought I paid you so that I would never have to come back here," he said in a voice he strained to keep from quivering.
The dimension witch smiled a little deeper, letting the whites of her teeth show behind ruby red lips.
"Did you? You must have misunderstood something then," the witch waved a casual hand at the screen of projection coming from Mokona's head. "I only grant the means on which your wishes may be granted, not the wish itself. By providing you with Mokona, I still held up my side of the bargain."
"Somehow, I feel cheated," Fai laughed, though his voice was too flat to be even considered laughing.
"Well, in any case, I think that my payment is due," Yuuko gestured towards them to 'fork up' as one would say. She was not the most patient of people.
"I don't suppose you would like something else instead," Fai suggested, though he already knew the answer. It would be the same, nonchalant refusal he had received when he wanted to substitute his payment of his tattoo for his staff. Just being enclosed within the castle's walls made his back burn uncomfortably.
"A price once paid can never be returned. A wish granted must be compensated," Yuuko said, as if this was a mantra by which her business was run.
The light beaming upon the pool made the water sparkle in shine as if it had a life of its own. The breath of wind sweeping from the rift in the ceiling stirred the faint cobwebs, whispering frozen words into the darkness of the hall. Yuuko's projection shone amongst the dust, almost luminous in the gloom.
Sakura tiptoed forwards, closer to the pool and closer to the image of the dimension witch. "Please, Yuuko-san, is it fair that only Fai-san feel the brunt of the price? This is something we all wished for," she pleaded.
Yuuko shook her head. "This was also agreed before-hand. It's unfortunate, but you should have protested when you had the chance."
Kuorgane's 'I told you so' face was grim. The shadows held their breath and skirted around the edges of the hall, waiting, watching for what the silent figure, cloaked in white, would do now.
Fai's expression was hidden behind blond bangs. Darkness graced his face with a gossamer veil, obscuring even the liquid sky in his eyes.
"What if I say no? What if I refuse to pay?"
Words slipped into the air, lighter than the feathery cobwebs, heavier than the castle of stone.
Yuuko's expression was not an angry one. Fai wondered what an angry dimension witch looked like. Yuuko's lips twisted into something of a smile. For now, she only looked amused, much like a cat, watching a mouse struggle between its claws, may find the plight of the mouse vaguely amusing. Yet what about the mouse? Fai was feeling a lot like the mouse at the moment.
"Mokona," Yuuko said; just one simple word and the white creature opened its mouth.
Fai was not sure whether the ground began to tremble of if that was simply his leg shaking. He wanted to protest, wanted to stop what was happening but he found that he could not move. The pool began to shine an eerie blue and from the waters rose the markings of a phoenix. Mokona swallowed the crest in his mouth in one gulp. Yuuko smiled and disappeared.
The silence that was left in the wake of Yuuko's absence was heavier than a mountain; it was a thick blanket covering them all, but through the fabric, the cloth was beginning to tear.
Perhaps one could call it a creak. Perhaps it was more of a groan. Perhaps it was really more of a series of cracks in wood and the chink of glass straining and breaking.
Fai suddenly seemed to realise what was happening. Of course, he had known all along what would happen. The water suddenly gushed and began to swirl. From the watery depths, several explosions gave the hall a mush needed rinse.
"Chi!" Fai yelled at the net hung over the surface of the water. The net flattened itself over the surface, covering the whole surface with the entirety of its body.
There were several loud bangs and something that sounded vaguely reminiscent of an animal trying to break free of its cage.
Sakura squeaked and backed away. There were dents in the barricade the net had constructed and were only getting worse as the thumps and thuds became louder and more desperate. It was obvious to anyone that the net would not hold. Fai felt his fists clench. Though he was willing all his strength into her, he did not think that Chi would be able to stand much more. As much as it pained him, he did not want to see his servant and only friend for many years shatter into a thousand meaningless pieces.
"Chi, he's going to pierce straight through you! Stand aside, Chi!" he ordered.
Obediently, the net changed its form to a thinner, more agile shape and slid away until it covered only a half of the water. Wood and glass fragments floated upon the sparkling surface. A hand grabbed the rim and a figure heaved itself out of the water.
He was tall and powerful, lithe and graceful. He was beautiful and willowy. Even drenched in water, nothing could detract from his regal splendour. He stood at full height, black hair tumbling over his shoulders and eyes piercing through the gloom, into the heart of the darkness. The seal had preserved him from the brutal effects of time, leaving him unchanged.
Syaoran moved to shield his princess with his body, even the grip on Kurogane's sword hilt tightened with caution, but Fai allowed a small, wistful smile to grace his lips as he stepped forward and bowed to the man.
"Ashura-ou," he whispered faintly, trying not to tremble. "Did you sleep well, Ashura-ou?"
Fai could feel his mind clawing at him, telling him even now to run and not to look back. He would not run though, he would continue to mask his feelings with a smile.
Ashura glanced around the castle, taking in everything in his sweeping gaze; the cobwebs strung from corner to corner, the layers of dust, the crumbling pillars and the starlight shining onto the glistening pool. Fury sparked in his eyes. He drew himself up and stepped forward, close enough to strike the mage if he wanted to.
"The castle! Fai, what have you done to the castle?" he demanded.
Fai stepped back, still smiling. "I haven't done anything. This is what happens when Time is allowed to run amok. You've been sleeping, Ashura-ou, sleeping for a very long time, over a hundred years in fact."
Ashura's eyes narrowed into hateful slits. "Who's fault do you think that is? What has happened to the castle? Where are all the guards? Who are these people?" he gestured lastly at Fai's companions in their strange, foreign clothes and odd colouring. He could feel their wary eyes upon him. The tension charged the air with an electric pulse.
"They're travellers," Fai explained. "These people have come here looking for something very important - a feather with a strange crest on it."
If one did not know him well, he would have seemed almost at ease speaking to his king but his mask was slowly beginning to crack; his smiles were not quite bright enough and his voice was becoming shaky and unstable.
"A feather?" Ashura regarded them suspiciously. The man in black in particular was taking no pains in hiding his dislike for him. Ashura switched his attention to his wizard until one of the travellers, the young boy, spoke.
"Please, Your Majesty, perhaps it could be locked away in a powerful artefact of yours or maybe there have been strange occurrences. We heard from the townspeople that there has been a strange epidemic going around," Syaoran said with all the politeness of one addressing royalty.
"You are looking for a feather?" Ashura said slowly, as if all the years being asleep had made him forget how to speak.
Fai pressed a finger to his cheek, pretending to ponder something. The grasp on his mask seemed to have been restored somewhat and his manner was more confident than it had been.
"Say, there's a lot artefacts in the treasury room, right?" Fai's question was directed at no one in particular. "Assuming that no one has raided this place over the past hundred years, I suppose that is the most likely place your feather will be. If you go down this passage and take the first set of stairs on the right you should find yourself in the treasury," he directed, indicating the path in which they should take.
Without a second's transition, Ashura's angry expression escalated into something much more venomous.
"Oh, I'm sorry! This is your castle after all. It's okay for them to look, isn't it?" Fai said, though it was apparent that he was not the least bit sorry at all.
Syaoran glanced worriedly at Ashura, who was glaring daggers at his wizard. He hesitated for a moment and said; "You won't come with us, Fai-san?" to which the wizard smiled and shook his head.
"The treasury quite close and I believe that I should take care of his Majesty whilst he adjusts to this sudden leap in time."
"If you need our help, please shout for us," Syaoran said and led Sakura away.
Kurogane hesitated, lingering to allow his scowl to darken. The ninja seemed torn between staying with Fai in case of an emergency and protecting the children. Reluctantly, he sauntered after the youngest of the group.
Both the wizard and the king waited for the footsteps to recede into the distance before either of them took action. Ashura growled and lunged at Fai, forcing the wizard back. Fai made no attempts to stop him. He fell through strings of cobwebs; his back slammed against the hard floor and Ashura crouched over him, clutching Fai's throat in a viper grip.
"Fai!" Ashura snarled. It was funny how someone could remain quite so beautiful even when they were damp, angry and with cobwebs in their hair. With his free hand, Ashura drew from the confines of his cloak a sparkling feather imprinted with the pattern of an ornate heart.
"Why?" the king demanded. "You put me to sleep! Are you trying to play with me by pretending to be on my side now? You knew that I had this so why did you lie to them? Aren't they your comrades? Your friends? What are you playing at? What have you done?"
The cobwebs in Ashura's hair stood out vividly against the black of Ashura's hair. The grip on Fai's throat tightened but Fai only smiled to see the red of hot fury and resentment blossom in Ashura's cheeks, though Fai's smile never managed to reach his eyes.
XX
The chessboard had become a sparse, barren land. Most of the pawns gone, the castles crumbled to a side of the board, the knights lay weary and the queens stared at each other down, caught in a dead-
lock.
Nails moved its remaining knight in a vertical L. "All the other pieces from the queen down to the pawn can be played to an advantage. The king is just a liability," it said airily and toppled the black bishop.
There was a long pause in which the battlefield stood silent. All pieces waited reverently for the next move. In their motionless figures, they must surely have known that the battle was coming to a close. Soon, these next moves would pronounce a winner to the war.
"Maybe so but…" a hand hovered over its black pieces, "even if the bishops are gone, the knights dead and the castle captured, the game can continue as long as the king remains."
Sliding a black piece forward, it moved five squares towards the white pieces, capturing the king between another castle and a knight.
"Checkmate."
I think that Fai comes across as the evil one here. I don't believe that Fai or Ashura are really evil. It's never that straightforward, but I don't think that Fai was entirely innocent either. My main worry was making Ashura seem too weak but I can always blame that on being disorientated after waking up and finding his castle in such a state. Anyway, please tell me what you think of this Ashura.