Endgame

Horror.  That seemed an appropriate response.  Not only had Cedric’s youngest daughter slain his best knight, but she was now poised to take him into the arena.  There were a few options on the board in front of him, but he’d lost control.

The queen was a weak piece in meta-chess.  She was kept close to the king as a last resort, not as a hiding place for an electric canon.  This terrifying power now had him in her sights.  Full roam of the board, too.

Jarret thought long and hard about his next moves.  There was no specific time limit, but good manners dictated that you didn’t keep your opponent waiting.

The game that followed was a reactive response to Cedric’s queen.  Jarret moved piece after piece in front of himself as the young witch crushed rooks beneath torrents of water, and split bishops asunder by way of demonic apparitions, all the while casting sidelong glances in his direction.  Short on pieces, Jarret sent a pawn to fight the queen.  He grimaced as Sophia had him cut his own belly open, and strangle himself with his intestine.

“Well now brother, it seems our game is almost over.”  Cedric chuckled, sliding his queen to the opposing king’s square.

Silent, Jarret stood and walked to the arena, grasping the sword hung across the back of his chair.  He slung the scabbard across his shoulder.  Stepping into the arena opposite Sophia, he drew the sword and tapped its tip on the ground.

“I always thought myself your favourite uncle.” he said sadly to Sophia’s smiling face, and watched with just a hint of satisfaction as her eyes widened at the sight of the flames coursing up the blade and across his body.  His eyes narrowed.  “I weep for you.”