This was written for the Invincible Zine Server's Prince of Serenes Zine, which can still be downloaded for FREE on their twitter- InvincibleZine


Reyson stares her down, his mouth tipped into a frown.

Nailah stares right back, seated inelegantly amongst her cushions, one leg up and an arm thrown over a knee.

"Your turn," she says, waving to the chessboard between them.

They're evenly matched, both having lost around the same number of pieces. Nailah plays with a casual boredom that bristles Reyson's feathers. He hasn't come here to laze about and play games with the queen, he's come to observe her critically as an overprotective younger brother.

Rafiel let it slip casually that he's married and Reyson didn't take it well because his brother is meant to be pristine and pure, entirely unsuited for matrimony.

Reyson asked him why he was set on returning to Hatari in the aftermath of the war with Begnion. And Rafiel, in his refined nature, only blinked back kindly before saying, "Well, I do miss my wife."

A surprise and complete shock that left Reyson with his mouth hanging open, trying to imagine his brother having married someone, of all things.

Which led to Reyson demanding to come back with him to meet her properly. Reyson met Nailah of course, before the beginning of their supposed end. Shared a few words with her in their dusty war camp, and he was impressed by her strong core and values.

Until he realized that she'd all but stolen Rafiel's heart. Things change when someone courts a family member. Or, in this case, ties themselves together without anyone else's permission.

"You take so long," she says, and Reyson pulls himself from his thoughts. Her chin rests on her hand and she looks at him lazily. "It is only a game."

"A game," muses Reyson before moving a pawn. "Everything is a game, at all times."

Nailah snorts before looking at the board. "Rafiel warned me, you know. Long ago, when he thought you were dead and he wished we could meet. Described you as quiet but stern. I must say, you've exceeded my expectations." She moves a knight across the board and takes his pawn.

"War changes people," says Reyson. His bishop is next, traveling the length of the board before settling next to one of her rooks. "Even the most serene of herons."

"I feel guilty for not knowing," she says, meeting his face. "Hatari has been cut off from the rest of the world for so long and we've never known your struggle. Even when Rafiel told me, I found it hard to believe." She takes that very same bishop he just moved, playing right into his plans.

Reyson moves his knight and nabs another of her pieces; she'll likely take it on the next turn, but it'll set up a move for him further down the game. "When Rafiel told me that he'd been living here, I also found that hard to believe. My quiet, quaint brother, finding solace amongst the harsh desert sands."

Nailah laughs at that, loud and boisterous. "Rafiel, quiet and quaint? I wonder, how much do you actually know about him? Or is anything you remember just that- soft memories of a once-hatchling?"

Reyson frowns when she doesn't take his knight, opting to move a pawn one space instead.

"Serene, then," says Reyson finally. "Perhaps I was too quick to describe him."

"Ah, yes, the most serene," says Nailah. Reyson moves a pawn of his own, delaying his plans in the hope she'll take his knight. "Certainly my opposite in most things but I dare say that it only betters me."

Reyson pauses, regarding her with a displeasing frown.

Nailah laughs again. "Ah, there it is," she says, smiling a wide and feral grin.

"What?"

"You think that he's too good for me," she says, clearly amused. She moves her queen instead, hiding it behind a rook.

"He's too good for anyone," says Reyson. And it's true; it's nothing personal. Nailah might be rough around the edges when he considers what he's used to, but she's proven herself to be a proud and well-liked ruler, one who truly cares about those around her.

Hatari lives in peace- beorc, laguz, and branded together in harmony.

Nailah's gaze hardens a little and Reyson swallows thickly. It won't do any good to anger her, even if he's here to judge. He takes the rook that guards her queen with a pawn.

"That isn't to say you aren't worthy. Surely you understand I am only concerned."

Nailah hums at that, thumbing at her chin. "Which is perfectly natural, and that is why I'm here, playing a game with you. I want to understand his family."

Reyson starts at that, looking at her dumbly. "That- I mean-"

"Is it so surprising? Prince Reyson, Rafiel is the one I love most. Why would I not want to know his family?"

Reyson doesn't expect to hear such a fervent confession from her, so bluntly spoken. He clears his throat politely. "It isn't that I discount that, it's just that you're so…"

Certainly not what he expects Rafiel to choose in a partner.

Nailah raises an eyebrow. "Do go on," she says as she finally takes his knight. "I would love to hear more."

Oh, she's enjoying this far too much, Reyson's penchant for speaking before he thinks and getting himself into heated trouble. It's a trait he picked up from Tibarn, practically molded into his being now.

"You have an eyepatch," says Reyson quite stupidly. Nailah practically howls in response, slapping at her leg as she laughs uncontrollably. And thank the Goddess that Rafiel isn't here because Reyson would rather just melt into his cushions and disappear into nothing.

"Do you know why, boy?" she asks. When she calls him boy, it doesn't seem like an insult, he seems genuine, affectionate even. She leans in close, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "It's because I have an evil eye. One look into it and even the strongest of my foes turn right to stone. You'd do best to remember that."

It sounds ridiculous and Reyson is inclined to believe that it's an exaggerated claim.

Nailah watches him for a moment that's just long enough to make him squirm, and then she says, "Your turn again."

"Right," murmurs Reyson, turning back to the board. "An evil eye. How silly. Turning your enemies to stone? Unlikely."

"Is it?" she asks as she leans back into her cushions. She looks serious enough, despite her obvious mirth.

Reyson takes the rook she'd taken his knight with, finally entering the plans for his endgame. Then he looks at her and says, "Is it not?"

"I wonder," she says. She doesn't expand any further, just watches him quietly. "You know, Rafiel said that I would like you and he's right. You have spunk and I respect that."

"I suppose that you aren't terrible," says Reyson truthfully.

Nailah's mouth curls into amusement. "I would hope not, considering that you're stuck with me."

Reyson grunts inelegantly and points to the board, signaling her move. Nailah immediately moves to grab her queen, a piece that Reyson forgot about.

When playing games everyone always lets Reyson win, seeing him mostly as a petulant child who has a lot to learn.

Nailah doesn't. She makes her last move, moving her queen diagonally, and says, "Checkmate."

Reyson stares at the board for a moment, stunned that he missed it.

But then he smiles.