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He muttered again. “You do not know what you are doing. Your moves are illogical and serve no purpose at all.”
“Really? Perhaps the purpose is just getting you to think and question yourself, or maybe I do know what I’m doing and there’s a great and obvious plan that you’re just not seeing,” I said, taking great delight in teasing him like this. I noticed how his gaze flicked from my pieces to his and back again. He twisted his head, trying to look at the board from a new angle in case that revealed new information to him.
“Naaro, at some point you’re going to have to make a move. Any move is better than no move, even if it’s not perfect,” I said.
“There must be a way, a reason…” he said, but eventually he got tired of me goading him and moved one of his pieces. It was a rash move though, and he had left an opening for me. I chuckled to myself as I leaned over the board and plucked a rounded piece up, moving it into a channel that snuck behind his general, putting it in a prime position for an assassination.
“I believe that’s the game, isn’t it?” I said.
Naaro was silent. He stared at the game, as though he couldn’t believe what had just happened.
“How…” he trailed away. He twitched and blinked, and then followed the path of my piece. “How did you do this?”
“A magician never reveals their secrets,” I said.
“Again,” he began setting up the board.
“Naaro, I really just want to go home. Can’t we go and find your Mom?” I asked.
“Again,” he uttered, his words strong and firm. I shrugged and played again. This time I kept him talking about Divad while we played. He didn’t seem to realize how much it was affecting him. He made error after error and this time I was able to win in a few moves. He was so angry that steam was almost coming out of his ears. He slammed his hand against the board, making all the pieces rattle and topple over.
“There’s no need for that. Nobody likes a sore loser,” I said.
“But I don’t understand how you could do this. Before you I had not lost since I was a child,” he gasped.
“Maybe the people you played just aren’t as good as me.”
“No, there has to be some explanation! What is your trick?” he asked.
Since I wasn’t going to see him again for a long time after this, I decided to take pity on him. “Okay Naaro, look, the fact is I haven’t really been playing the game all this time; I’ve been playing you. All I’ve had to do is make you distracted and that has given me the opportunity to make great inroads towards your general. The game isn’t always about the game, it’s about the players too,” I said.
Naaro leaned back. His face twisted and for a moment I thought he was going to erupt with anger, but then he leaned back and laughed.
“I have been a fool,” he said. Then his gaze fell upon me and I couldn’t help but smile as well. However, there was something else that I felt, some tension in the air that seemed strange and entirely unwanted and it surely couldn’t be because I wasn’t of this world. I didn’t belong here.
The moment was interrupted by Kara, again. This time she was distraught.
“Naaro, I can’t find him anywhere. He’s gone,” Kara said.
Naaro immediately rose to his feet, standing to attention. I followed more slowly.
“What do you mean he’s gone? He must be hiding somewhere, trying to escape his lessons,” Naaro replied.
“That’s what I thought at first too, but I’ve looked in all his usual places. I’ve spoken to all his friends. Nobody has seen him, or Char. I followed their scent to their cave, but when I got there it ends, and there’s nothing there. I’m worried that something has happened.”
“What could have happened?” Naaro asked. “I’m sure you’re worrying over nothing mother. He will turn up, he always does.”
These words were spoken with the easy confidence of a man who was used to his brother coming and going as he pleased and getting away with anything. Not having a sibling, myself, I could not relate. However, I knew something they didn’t. I thought back to the conversation I had overheard. There was no doubt in my mind that Char had been talking about Divad.
We need his agreement or his blood.
The words echoed in my mind. They were not kind words, and the sinister tone to the voice did not fill me with confidence either. It was clear that something had gone terribly wrong. But should I interfere? These people had taken me from my home and caused me to think that I had been abducted and was going to be sold into slavery. Did I owe them anything? I could have insisted that I be returned to my life immediately and forced them to figure this out for themselves, but I wasn’t sure that I could ever live with myself if I did. If Divad was in trouble then I wanted to tell his family. I had seen my own family be torn apart because someone hid the truth, because they were callous and did not think of others. I did not want to make the same mistake.
“I think there’s something you should know. I think there is a reason you should be worried,” I said. Both Kara and Naaro turned towards me, surprise etched upon their faces as they hadn’t expected me to say anything. I took a deep breath and told them about what I had seen and overheard.
“We must find him,” Naaro said.
Kara nodded. “I fear that this is going to be a grim day for all. Emilia, you should come with me. I’ll see that you get sent home. You should not have to be a part of this.”
