Two Queens

Act 1 – Repair

Chapter Four – Checkmate

When we arrived at the tea room, Lilly wasn't there. Instead, a small note laid on the table beside a tea pot and two tea cups.

Hanako was quick to pick up the note and read it. After a moment, she placed it back down onto the table, a blank look on her face. I picked the paper up and read it myself. The handwriting on it was surprisingly neat, much more than my own.

Hanako, I have gone into town to run an errand, and I will be back in a little while. I went ahead and prepared tea for you, and Hisako if she is with you.

-Lilly

She knew I'd be here, I thought, slightly amused. However, I could see that Hanako wasn't bearing with the absence of Lilly very well, so I dropped my smile.

"I guess we should wait for her to come back," I suggested. Hanako nodded slightly and walked over to the seat on the side where Lilly usually sat, and I took a seat on the other side where I sat before.

I watched Hanako as she hesitantly picked up the tea pot and began to pour herself some tea. Once her cup was almost full, she leaned over and poured me some as well. I nodded to her in thanks and took a sip, finding that it was still slightly warm, and tasted sweet.

Hanako and I sat in silence for the next few minutes, which wasn't much of a surprise. I gazed out the window at the dimming sunlight, then allowed my gaze to move towards her inconspicuously.

I unknowingly got my first glimpse of Hanako while she was offguard, and not hiding or turning away. I actually had a thought slip through my mind that she looked beautiful. The sun lit up her violet eyes and her smooth, slightly paled skin, thought it was contradicted by the scarring that started on the far right side of her face. Is that how Hanako can be described? A beautiful girl, engulfed in a cruel darkness?

Something in me wanted to try and imagine her as though her incident had never occurred. I could imagine that, instead of that seemingly permanent, small frown, she would always be smiling...Always bright...

I shook my head to stop my train of thought. I can't think of it that way...As though she's a broken figure of what she could be...I looked down at my chest for a moment before looking back up at Hanako. After all, that's what I am...

Hanako's eyes suddenly darted my way, and I dropped my gaze to the tea cup in front of her. I continued to act as though I were looking aimlessly around, but she maintained her stare, and I knew that Hanako wasn't buying it.

"H-Hisako..." Hanako's voice nearly made me jump as it broke through the silence.

"What is it?" If she was brave enough to actually speak in this moment, then it had to be something important.

Hanako's eyes closed, and I could see that her arms were shaking slightly. "W-Would you-" Hanako started to speak, but stopped in mid-sentence and had to recollect herself. "L-like to play...a game of chess?"

I wasn't expecting to be asked something like that, but I gave a small smile and responded with a simple answer: "Sure."

Hanako seemed to let a smile slip onto her face and she nodded, getting up and walking over to a nearby counter where, sure enough, a wooden chess board and pieces lay.

"Do you play with Lilly a lot?" I asked Hanako while she placed the board on the table and began to set up the pieces delicately.

"S-Sometimes," she answered. Seeing that Hanako was setting herself up with the black pieces, I went ahead and grabbed the whites and began to place them on my side of the board.

Chess wasn't something I was very interested in, but it was a good pass-time activity that my friends would sometimes convince me to take part in.

After quite a few moves had passed, Hanako moved her knight forward, putting me into check. Hm, but I can easily take that with my queen, I thought with a grin, as I placed my hand on the piece and moved it over to the knight...

But, as I picked up the knight and set it with the other pieces I had claimed, Hanako put a finger up to her lips and smiled. For a moment, I was wondering why she looked so please...Then I took a look at the board and realized what I had done.

Hanako delicately slid her black queen over to mine, and took the piece. I sighed. "You're definitely better at this than I am," I told her, and she blushed a bit.

"I-It's something I've r-read up on," she told me. I smiled at her. So now I know one of her hobbies besides reading, I thought.

It wasn't long after that moment when I made another mistake. Hanako took my second rook, leaving me with a king and two pawns. It was only a matter of time before...

"C-Checkmate..."

Hanako moved her queen over to the right side of the board. I looked at my king and tried to find a way out, but she had me locked down with her rooks and queen.

"Well, I saw this coming," I said with a sigh, "You're definitely the best chess player I've seen...Is there a sort of chess club or something you've thought about joining?" The question wasn't something that really interested me, but I wanted to keep the conversation going.

Hanako shook her head. "N-No, there's nothing l-like that," she responded.

"Have you ever thought of making a chess club?" My question seemed to surprise her a bit, and she twiddled with her fingers for a moment, looking at the table, obviously trying to think of an answer...

But then, the door suddenly opened, and Hanako instantly shot up out of her chair, obviously frightened, and looking like she would either hide or jump out the window to escape.

When she saw Lilly's familiar face however, she lit up a bit. "L-Lilly," she said, a smile coming onto her face.

Lilly smiled as well as she entered the room and closed the door behind her. "Hello Hanako, and..." Lilly seemed to look around the room, wondering if I was there as well.

"Hi Lilly," I said, and she looked my way, dipping her head to me.

"I'm glad you were here to keep Hanako company, Hisako," she told me. "What did you both do while I was gone?"

Hanako opened her mouth to answer, but then she seemed to hesitate and looked down at the chess board on the table.

"We played a game of chess, and Hanako helped me realize how bad I am at it," I said jokingly. Hanako seemed to think she did something wrong, but when I smiled at her, she turned away, holding onto the right side of her face and smiling slightly.

I could tell that Lilly sensed the peaceful mood of the room as she said, "I'm glad you had fun." When I looked over at her though, her smile had dropped...

Before I could ask what she was thinking, Lilly said, "I just came to pick up Hanako, but would you like to accompany us to the dorms?"

I nodded. "Sure," I answered, standing out of my chair. Once she heard the sound of my chair scooting back, Lilly opened the door and proceeded out, followed by Hanako, and lastly me.

On the way to the dorms, I realized just how late it had gotten. The sun was almost all the way past the horizon, and the sky was darkening. Hanako and Lilly walked side by side, their arms locked together, although it didn't look much like Hanako was leading Lilly in the right direction, but rather, she was using Lilly for comfort, which made me smile.

We eventually arrived at their dorm rooms, which were right across from each other. "Where is your room, Hisako?" Lilly presented the question as the two turned towards me.

"I'm in the next hallway over," I told them, "At least, as far as I remember." I shrugged. Lilly giggled at this, and both Hanako and I smiled. I was being serious though...

"Well, good night, Hisako," Lilly said, dipping her head to me, and I did the same in return. I then looked at Hanako, who caught my gaze and looked away.

"G-Goodnight," she said. She then looked up at me, and I smiled at her.

"You too, Hanako."

I then turned and started to make my way down the hallway. When I reached the end of it, I turned and looked back at where I had left the two girls, and, to my surprise, one still stood there...

It was Hanako. She seemed surprised that I had turned around, so she quickly scurried into Lilly's room. I couldn't help but giggle.

Hanako...You're really interesting.

To be continued...

Next Chapter: Festival