Bits In Between
By Lumendea
Chapter Thirty-Nine: Chess Match III
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of the spinoff material, and I gain no income off of this story, just the satisfaction of playing with the characters.
AN: Sorry folks, I wasn't able to finish this week's Unto the Universe chapter. It's one that I really want to do a good job on so I decided to focus on finishing this Bits instead. Hope this will tide you over! Have a good weekend.
This takes place during the Earth years for Rose post Lake Silencio.
…
Humming softly, Rose adjusted her bag of groceries and pulled out her key. She wished that it was possible to unlock her front door with the sonic pen, but apparently it was 'too primitive.' Still, she managed to get the key into place and turn it without losing hold of her bag. Rose nudged the door open with her foot and stepped inside.
The lights were on. Her eyes fell first on her small table in the kitchen. Her chess set was out and all ready for play. She knew that she had not left it out this morning. No, this morning she'd made herself eggs and toast and eaten it at the table while texting Sharon and Shireen. Stepping inside, Rose inhaled sharply as she noticed the White Guardian standing near her desk and inspecting the almost complete watercolor painting that was in her tabletop easel.
"You have real talent, Miss Tyler," the White Guardian said fondly. He straightened up and nodded to her.
The being was wearing a white suit with a grey waistcoat and blue tie. There was no sign of his hat and Rose noted the small changes in his wardrobe. His face and amused eyes were the same as ever. She stepped further into her flat and closed the door. Tossing her keys on the counter of her kitchen, she adjusted her groceries and locked the door.
"Hello, White Guardian," Rose greeted. "Please, give me a moment."
"Oh, yes, please." The White Guardian smiled at her. "After all, I am the uninvited guest."
Rose dared to turn her back on him and focused on quickly putting her groceries away. Nothing else seemed to have been disturbed aside from her chess set. The White Guardian hadn't even made a cup of tea. After putting the milk away, Rose quickly switched on the electric kettle.
"What brings you here?" Rose asked, though the chess set did rather give it away.
"I had to suffer through a rant from Black about losing to a human. It wasn't difficult to determine that he was speaking of you." The White Guardian gestured towards the waiting pieces. "If you don't mind, I'm rather curious."
"Alright," Rose said. "I have some time. But only one game, I have a paper that I need to work on. With my luck, if I put it off something will happen and I'll have to pull an all-nighter for it on top of UNIT paperwork."
That got a chuckle from the White Guardian. Rose made tea for them both and a few minutes later, took her place across from the White Guardian. He claimed white, of course, and Rose inwardly sighed at the realization that the two probably never switched colours. Unless they bent the rules, that meant the White Guardian went first every time.
They didn't speak during the first ten moves. White Guardian opened with bringing out his bishop, but no special opening that Rose knew. He was just watching her, testing her. Rose tried not to be offended as she castled her king and focused on defense. If he wanted to play that way, she'd test him too.
"I don't recall you learning to play chess as a girl."
"I learned some of the basics in school," Rose answered. "Played some around the estate, but most of my knowledge of formal chess strategy comes from one of my other lives, I believe."
"Ah, yes, I know the Rose Tyler you are referring to. Though, her name was Rosalina." The White Guardian smiled while Rose held back a shiver at the sound of the familiar name. "Lovely woman. She never went professional, but she was a very good chess player."
"Studied computers," Rose added. "Went into software development after leaving university. In my last memories of her, she was engaged to a coworker. Not sure what happened after that."
"Well," the White Guardian replied. "I could check on her if you like. After all, those realities, those off shoots of this timeline are still connected."
"No," Rose answered. "It's fine. They, all of them, should live their lives without interference from me."
"As you wish." The White Guardian surveyed the board and smiled. "You could probably enter tournaments if you wanted to," he added as Rose took his queen side bishop.
"What? In between classes and never knowing when UNIT is going to call?" Rose laughed and gestured towards her desk. "Not to mention my art? No, that's flattering, but I'm good thanks. Besides, I'd hate to make a name for myself only to fly away from Earth."
The White Guardian laughed; the loudest sound Rose had ever heard the controlled being make. It only got worse when Rose put him into check with a queen and rook combination. His smile betrayed that he was enjoying himself. But Rose noticed that the White Guardian played a very structured game. As much as he was testing her, he always made calculated moves that seemed a bit formulaic. Not exactly predictable, Rose wasn't that good a chess player even with some of Rosalina's experience. It was a sharp contrast to Black's more erratic and unpredictable style.
Her tea was cold when Rose put the White Guardian into checkmate with her queen and remaining bishop. He chuckled once more and took one last sip from his cup. Then he reached out and touched the side of her mug, causing steam to rise off the reheated brew. With a nod, he rose from his chair and straightened his lapels.
"Thank you for the game, Miss Tyler. I can see why Black enjoys playing you."
Then he was gone. Rose smiled at the board, noting an opening that the White Guardian hadn't noticed that would have turned things around. It seemed that similar to the Black Guardian's inability to follow traditional tactics and openings, the White Guardian couldn't fully see chaotic deviations that might have changed the outcome. She stood up, shook her head, and drank her tea as she headed to her desk and her homework.