Twelve: Afterthought
He had just made his first move when Holly entered the room. Pawn to e4.
She made her way over to his desk and peered at his computer screen as Black responded with pawn to e5, meeting his pawn head to head, leaving them in a deadlock. Artemis smiled, pleased. Out of the corner of his eye he could see her brow crinkle as he moved the next closest pawn to f4 where Black would be able to snatch it up if his opponent chose to do so. Once again, he smiled as Black took his pawn.
"I thought you were supposed to be good at this game," Holly commented. "Why did you let your piece get taken right at the start?"
Artemis darted a glance at Holly before continuing to play. "It's called the King's Gambit." She raised an eyebrow. "In chess, a gambit is when a player offers a piece to be sacrificed in the hope of gaining a tactical advantage later in the game."
"And your opponent fell for it?"
"Being an expert chess player, my opponent almost certainly recognised the opening but decided it could be defended against."
Holly groaned. "So this is as much a head game as anything else."
Artemis nodded and played his next move. Black responded without hesitation. "It's much more interesting in person as one is able to gauge the reaction of one's opponent. Played over the internet, the game becomes only a duel of strategy and tactics; it drains the game of much of its human element and a great deal of its interest."
Standing on the tips of her toes, Holly leaned closer to get a better look at the screen, her hand coming to rest on his thigh for balance. He was nineteen years old; it was difficult for him to have her hand there without thinking of where else it could be and what else it could be doing. "You mean you don't get to see the look on your opponent's face when you trounce him – or her in this case? I assume you're playing Miss Paradizo?"
"Yes. Though when we play over the internet we play short, timed games in order to keep things interesting."
"So am I distracting you then?"
"No," he replied immediately as he made his next move in the game. He glanced at her. "I assure you I can converse and play chess at once."
"Who usually wins?"
"I win approximately eight-two percent of the time." He moved again: knight to h4.
Holly glanced up at him dubiously. "How do you know she's not letting you win?"
He considered this a moment as he waited for Black to respond. "I rely on her pride. Minerva is one who wishes to impress and thus gain recognition. Demureness is not in her character."
"Still, she is an adolescent girl." The screen, which rested on the desk, was above the level of Holly's head. As she leaned close to him again to get a better look, he could feel the curve of one breast, pressed against his arm. His lips thinned to a line and he tried to focus on the game. Knight to f5.
"Does that bother you?" he said archly as he tried to ignore the way her fingers were drumming a staccato beat on his thigh.
At this Holly turned from the screen to look him straight in the face; he shifted his attention from the game to meet her gaze. "Are you asking me if I'm jealous?"
"Are you?"
"No," she said, smiling. "I don't think I need to be jealous of Minerva Paradizo." As she drew away from him, she reached out and patted him on the belly – just below his naval. "In fact I think I have your king just where I want him."
As he watched her saunter towards the exit, he realized two things, that a) it was his turn again, and b) it was very difficult to concentrate on a chess match when most of the blood in your body was no longer concentrated in your cranium.
"Holly!" he called after her with considerable consternation.
She didn't even turn, only waved. "Enjoy your game!"
ooo
"Captain Short, I don't believe I've ever seen you so relaxed."
Curled up in a stuffed chair, book in hand, Holly glanced up and smiled as Butler padded into the room, silent as a leopard on the prowl. She had packed two novels for her vacation: one, an old favourite by Horri Antowitz, and the other, the latest thriller by an author whose name she would probably forget five minutes after setting the book down. "It's been a long time since I had a real vacation," she replied. And then, lips quirked, "Especially one with gourmet cooking included."
"It's my pleasure. And it's good to see you under happier circumstances than we're used to."
"Yes, no one's tried to kill us in months. It seems too good to last," Holly said with a laugh.
"I'm sorry the weather hasn't been better, though," Butler said, casting a sideways glance at the window.
A few paces away, the rain was pattering on the windowpane and Holly revelled in the sound of it. Rain. Real rain. It was amazing to wake up in the morning and not know what the weather would be like, how cold it would be, if it would sunny or pouring. Granted, at this time of year it was almost always chilly and wet in the old country, but it remained far less predictable than in Haven City where the temperature was a constant and weather was non-existent.
Holly shook her head. "I don't mind. We don't have weather underground so it's a treat really."
Butler nodded. For a moment they both remained silent, eyes on the bespattered windowpane until, without looking at her, Butler spoke again. "Are you looking forward to getting back home?"
"Home?" Holly repeated. "Hmm..." She set down her book and sighed. "Not really. It'll be nice to get back to work but... no, I don't miss Haven."
A smile flitted over Butler's features for the barest of instants. "The honeymoon phase doesn't last forever, you know."
Holly quirked an eyebrow. "Are you suggesting that if Artemis and I spend too much time together we'll get bored with each other?"
"Not precisely."
"Butler," Holly began, straightening in her chair, "I know how things work. I'm older than you and Artemis put together!"
"But young for a fairy," he replied.
"Yes. For a fairy." She set her book down on the lamp table next to the chair and for a long moment peered out the window. "The thing is that... Artemis is part of me. He has been for a long time – maybe always. When we're apart it's..." She shook her head. "I love my work and my friends underground, but this feels more like home to me than Haven does anymore. And yes," she added, noting the hint of a wry smile on Butler's face, "the irony isn't lost on me. Not by a longshot." Now Butler was smiling at something else, something behind her. She craned her neck to look up and found Artemis leaning over the top of her chair, looking down on her, smiling.
She wanted to make a snide comment for he was looking far too pleased with himself, but instead she found herself staring into those blue and hazel eyes again. "I'm glad you've made yourself comfortable here," he said very quietly. And then, with a slight crinkle of his brow, "Even if you cause me to lose my chess matches."
