Emilie of the Royal Heart

Chapter 67: This is Why We Can't Have Sad Endings

 "Don't be so merciless, Tiago!" Aurora implored as Tiago prodded him and Emilie down the hall to the reception room.

"You're making a mockery of Fellen Code."

"You're the one making a mockery of it!" Emilie huffed, her shoes making stomps against the flooring, "you won't even follow your own rules!"

"Following the law is precisely what I'm ensuring to happen here," Tiago defended coolly, "you were using the line as a loophole to avoid the exile you were rightly punished with. Well, you can have your code. You can have your extended time. You get to be with each other for as long as you play the game. Happy?"

"Yes," Emilie snarled as they turned the corner, "enthralled, sir."

As they marched toward the death of their time together, Aurora slipped his hand into Emilie's. She was rigid with rage, but as soon as she felt his hand, she softened.

At least they could talk. At least they had a couple of hours, if they played slow. Emilie wanted to be optimistic, but she wondered if she should've bothered coming back at all if this was the outcome.

They reached the reception room and Aurora pushed open the doors. The three of them strode across the room until they passed the statues and arrived at the table where everything began. Aurora sat in the chair Emilie had been in. She sat in his chair. Tiago pulled up a spare chair from the sidelines and he folded his arms as he glared at them.

Without another word, Emilie and Aurora set the pieces on the board. Aurora's hand shook with each pawn. He knocked over his bishop twice in the setup. Emilie watched him struggle, feeling the same way on the inside. Every other breath, she would look at Tiago and have to stop herself from throwing the whole board at him.

"Are you going to sit there the whole time?" Aurora asked, placing his last piece down on the checkered wooden plank.

"I can't imagine she'll last very long playing against you," Tiago leered, "and I will watch closely that you play to your honest skill level."

"She's very good..." Aurora warned, "it could take a long time."

"Then I shall simply have to sit through it then, your highness."

"Were you light last time or was I?" Emilie asked, hands folded in her lap.

"Hmm..." Aurora leaned back into the chair, running his hand along his jaw, "I can hardly remember... maybe I was playing the dark... or maybe I didn't want to give you advantage the first time... maybe I did play light..."

"Commence play," Tiago growled.

"Well, this is important for the Rematch Law, Sir Tiago," Emilie spoke up, "a rematch has to have everything the same. That's why the stakes have to be of equal value as well."

"You know... I think I can't remember because we're sitting in the wrong spots," Aurora suggested. He stood up from his chair, "how about we switch?"

"Of course, of course. It must all be the same as the first game," Emilie chimed in. She rose from her spot and she crossed paths with Aurora as they moved around the table. She sat down in his chair and he sat down in hers.

"Ah, yes," Aurora nodded, taking a long tour of the board with his gaze, "this is all wrong. I did play dark last time. We'll have to set them up again."

Immediately, before Tiago could protest, they both wiped the board clean of pieces and began reassembling them at a glacial pace. Emilie wasn't sure what they were accomplishing by stalling the game. Tiago was sitting right here. They would have to play and the game would have to end at some point. All they were doing right now was delaying the inevitable. Still, it was a little bit of fun to rile Tiago together. Emilie looked over at Aurora as they set their pieces and she smiled quietly. He smiled back.