"Check."
Eyes flicking over the board, the tactician looked for his next move. It would have to be well planned. Laurent wasn't giving him any mercy, and when Morgan spared a glance at the mage he could have sworn that the usually stoic expression Laurent had just barely contained a smirk.
His hand floated over one of his knights, debating if he should take Laurent's bishop or simply move his own king out of danger. Chewing on his lip, Morgan read the moves in advance. None of the projected outcomes were desirable, and in resignation he slid one of the few pawns he had left forward.
No sooner had his fingers left the piece, Laurent neatly moved his own piece, landing the black queen squarely in front of Morgan's king. "I believe that's checkmate."
Sighing, the tactician knocked down the king, admitting defeat. In his effort to keep tabs on every piece floating around the board he'd left the most important piece wide open. "Well played." Despite his genuine congratulations, he couldn't keep the hint of frustration out of his voice.
Laurent easily caught on, and swept his pieces back to his side, lining the chessmen up. "Morgan, you seem to forget I've spent years in the future with little to do but train." Rather than idly wait for the rest of his companions to arrive, Laurent had dedicated his years in the past to honing his skills, ranging from combat to research, extending to tactics and chess.
"How am I supposed to direct armies if I can't even win a simple game?" To be in leagues with his mother, Morgan would have to improve. He knew defeat went hand in hand in this line of work, but he was determined to keep those to a minimum.
Leaning back in the chair he was on, Laurent took off his glasses and wiped one of the lenses on the hem of his sleeve. "I did learn from the best."
Curious, Morgan placed his hands on the table they were using and leaned forward, closing in distance Laurent had created. "And who might that be?"
Slipping his glasses back on, Laurent easily answered. "You."
A look of confusion crossed Morgan's face. "Me? But I've never taught you before."
While Morgan racked his brains, trying to pinpoint a place in time where he'd tutored the mage, Laurent covered his mouth with a gloved hand, hiding the amused smile on his face. Coughing, he caught the tactician's attention. "The Morgan of the future."
"Did I?" Morgan was intrigued. Laurent probably knew more about Morgan than Morgan knew his own self. "I must have been great." Grinning, his voice took back its clear cheerful tone.
"Remarkably so. I recognized some of the patterns you often put into play in the future." Though the moves weren't as polished as that of the future Morgan, Laurent definitively saw that the techniques were developing.
"That's cheating! You already knew what I was going to do." Morgan accused the other, joking and a bit bemused that his future self had set up his downfall.
"I'd trained and waited, hoping that we'd meet again for a rematch." Though Laurent hadn't lost hope of being reunited with his companions, his drive to continue improve was largely due to the possibility that he might be able to get one up on the tactician. "And even so, we were very evenly matched."
"Then it looks like I have some ground to make up." Quickly setting up his own chessmen, Morgan straightened up the board and looked expectantly at the mage. "Teach me, about me please!"
Leaning back forward, Laurent looked at the tactician who was peering at him with unmasked enthusiasm. It seemed only right that Laurent return the moves to the master. "I don't see the harm in this exercise."
AN: Laurent only had one appearance so far so here's another! I'll try to get though all of the requests eventually. I go by whichever are the easiest to write first. And again, thank you for reading and reviewing! If you have any ideas or requests, please feel free to drop them.