[CRP] A Long Night

[Zuan]

The night was dark yet a small flicker of light glimmered from a castle window. The hour was late yet a man remained firmly awake. He sat within a room, a large room of high decout, the walls all panelled in the finest oak wood and then a large marble fireplace was situated against one wall, within it the light which burst bright and escaped through the window, yet it provided an adequate source of light for the entire room at this particular hour. Infront of the window was a large desk which was covered in dozens of papers and parchments, documents and details about the goings-on within the Kingdom of Fenia, the chair which accompanied it was cushioned by a fine white silk, however the seat was unoccupied, and the desk where many a paper sat unattended had a sense of inactivity around it, with the candles upon the desk all out and the wax that no doubt had dripped earlier had now all dried upon the holder.

Instead the only inhabitant of the room sat at a different table, a chess table to be exact. It might be odd for some to see a man alone playing a game designed for two, yet for the man who sat and played the game it brought him some calm. Afterall was not all life but a game of chess? Where people were granted roles, which supposedly gave them importance or significance, and their loss or gain was weighted in favour of that significance. Why were there more pawns upon the board than knights? Yet as many Knights as Bishops? And why would the formation present itself in two wide lines equal to the opposition. Chess was an odd game like that. It tested the mind, yet presented a warped view of the word, of monarchy and feudalism, of King and Queen and Knight and Bishop. Yet there was a simple truth to the game, even the King could be taken by enough pawns. And at times it was your own pieces that could cause your eventually defeat. Sat at the table, alone, playing the game over and over was the Monarch. Zuan Winterbourne. He sat moving the pieces with apparent interest, occasionally resetting the game when he pondered a move or decided he wished to re-think upon a different strategy.

He was wearing a white silk shirt, covered partially by an opened black doublet that he had half unbuttoned before deciding he wished to play the game of chess. His breeches were also black, and his feet bare given he would soon no doubt retire to his chambers. Yet until sleep came his feelings were at the table, balancing every move while also considering his own situation within the Kingdom of Fenia. There was perhaps truth in the world that at times the silence had done his Kingdom well. It had brought security, trade, and wealth. Yet he knew only one spark could light a fire, and in a dry forest an inferno. Thus he planned, he thought and considered. Perhaps it was time to make the move, to test the resolve of his own backbone, and equally that of the Kingdom and the entire realm. If he did not lead, someone else surely would, and again, as he moved the pieces across the board. Knight. Bishop. Castle. Pawn. All could take the King. Even the Queen. He sat back and examined the board and sighed, pushing some of his hair from his face as he did so. A reminder perhaps he needed to become a tad more presentable, as he pushed the raven coloured hair from his eyes, and moved his hand over to a nearby jug containing wine. He poured an amount into a silver goblet which he then drank from. Pondering the board as he did so. He wondered for a moment, what if the board changed? What if the rules changed? Could one gain an advantage in the same game with different rules? Or perhaps it was the game that needed replacing? Or the terrain? He sighed. Yes indeed. It was going to be a long, long night.

[Aishe]

Despite the hour, rustling came from behind the closed door of the Viceroy office. It was not unusual to spot the slender blonde about the castle at odd hours. She, afterall, required no sleep most days and only an hour or two on the bad days. This allowed her to navigate between her personal life and her stately job with ease. That was not to say the two did not blend together some days because, frankly, that was how life went. Both portions of her life were equally important to her. She had always been a family oriented character, but her time in Bravia had shown how much she yearned to serve. Balancing a life inside and outside of the castle proved strainuous even for the likes of her at times. After all, regardless of how many hours there were in a day, some times there just were not enough. Yet, at such peaceful hours like tonight, it was easy to focus on one half of her life and let the other fall to the wayside.

Flitting through the reports, absent fingers drummed upon the wooden surface of the desk. She was both surprised and pleased with the turn out of the grand hunt of 1658. In truth, she had not anticipated such success, but she supposed all creatures needed was some incentive - which the Viceroyalty was eager to supply. Anything to get those buggers under control. Her poor wife had been rather distraught over the mines the last few months and while it was adorable to see Akos in such a huff, she feared that at this rate, the raven black hair would turn white from worry. She straightened out the stack of parchment before setting it aside, making a few notes in a journal. As the ink dried, Aishe rose to her feet and stretched her hands upwards, back having grown a bit stiff. A walk and fresh tea was needed.

Smoothing down her gown, she abandoned the desk for the door. A tune was lightly hummed as she began her wandering down the hall, listening to her footsteps echo off the stone. She had long since opted out of the shoes she had worn in, but the soft padding of bare feet still seemed loud when the bustling of the day had subsided. She began to sway to her own tune while she made her way in the general direction of the kitchens with no rushed intent and little fear of stray eyes. Another benefit of the hour - speed was unnecessary. Pace was to her desire, not the world's.

She had not been wandering the dim corridors for long before flickering light caught her eye. It was but a sliver of light, spilling onto the floor from underneath a door. Despite the dimness, it certainly grabbed her attention. While a few doors had shown life on the other side, this one was different for the particular room it was. The vampire paused in both step and song outside the thick door, catching sound of a single heartbeat on the other side. She gave a light, rhythmic knock that had become habit, a short tune in itself, before pushing the door open.

Upon entering the familiar study, blue eyes swept over the room. Gaze had first landed on the desk with expectation, but then drifted to the fireplace which was the usual second. Alas, her gaze needed to shift further still, settling on the king at his chess board. Her head tilted in curiosity at the somewhat odd sight of one man before such a game while she shut the door behind her.

Riveting game, it looks. Who is winning?

There was an innocent tease in her question as she made her way over. She examined the ongoing game while she sat, knowing full well the chair was expecting no one else. It was a night as ordinary as any, although she could count a few extra wrinkles of thoughts etched across his forehead.

Care for a real challenge, my King?

[Zuan]

As he continued to move the pieces around the board his ears detected movement outside of the door, while the crackling fire and movement of the pieces created some noise it did not entirely drown out life upon the outside of the small study. Tilting his eyes upward from the board and toward the door he noted, just as he did so, that a knock was presented against it and soon entered the figure of his Viceroy, Aishe. Leaning back into his chair gently he looked her over as she entered. No doubt she had just finished working, else she’d have to reason to be in this particular sub-section of the castle. As she entered the room further, finally entering the dim glimmer of the firelight he nodded at her, before moving one of his pieces, a bishop to be exact, and lifted it over the King of the white pieces before knocking it over with the base of his own, and placing it down upon the board, almost in response to her attempt at wit. ”I believe I have won this round, but not without significant casualties…” He said simply, moving his hand over to the left-hand side of the table to indicate several pieces upon their side, among them several pawns, a bishop and a castle. ”Casualties of war…” He almost whispered the phrase, before darting his eyes back to her own. ”Pray tell M’Lady, what is the acceptable cost in war? Gold? Land? Structure? People? However many lives destroyed in a single conflict, be it the loss of a loved one or their livelihood, I always struggle with the question.”

As she approached the table, he proceeded to replace the pieces upon the board to enable the set up of a new game for them to play. ”Then again, even outside of war, each move in the world has it’s casualties. The timber needed to build a church sacrifices the home of birds. The rise in demands of iron lead to the loss of natural resources if harvested to the bone sacrificing jobs. The uniting of two people ends their unique relationship with the world to embark on one with one another.” He pushed his hair again out of his face as she sat opposite him, lifting the jug of wine and pouring out her a goblet before pushing it gently to her side of the table. ”Every day is a challenge M’Lady, every choice is a challenge, so I suppose with that in mind, I’m more than happy to be presented with a challenge somewhat less metaphysical than those which ponder inside my own mind… So after you.” He said calmly before leaning back in his seat, examining the board before watching her with interest, taking his goblet and drinking from it, as the game did indeed begin.