Kingdom of Scourge and Shadow (The Sightstone Series #1)

Chapter Thirty-Three: Judith

"There is power in ritual, power in shared tradition. The four nights of power every year, when the veil between this land and the next–whatever that land may be–is thinnest, our rituals and celebrations feed our strength, our will and our work. So, for any who say that celebration is frivolous while we're at war, I remind you of the necessity of our rituals in preserving and enhancing our power."

-from the Codices of Saint Caroline the Heretic

***

 Judith was surprised by how quickly spending her evenings playing chess with Queen Sara became normal. The first night, she'd been terrified the whole time that she'd make a mistake or offend the queen, but, after Judith had been thoroughly trounced in two games, the queen had joked that she desperately needed practice and had invited her back the next night. And the next. And the next.

Elizabeth had told her that the queen was most likely testing her strategic knowledge, and Grace had said that the queen just wanted someone to beat, but Judith didn't care either way. It was strangely pleasant to spend time doing something that wasn't training, even if her companion was a queen, and she constantly had to watch herself lest she say something wrong.

The night before Samhain, at the end of Blood Moon, as the leaves were turning and the first frost was upon them, Judith found herself again sitting opposite the queen at a little table in her private sitting room, a chessboard between them. At this point, their time together almost felt more like two old friends talking than a queen and her soldier playing chess for no particular reason.

"So," the queen remarked as she moved a piece. "It's Samhain tomorrow. Are you excited?"

"I suppose so, Your Majesty," Judith replied, considering the board. The queen had her trapped, and if she wasn't careful, this game would be over far too quickly. "I don't really know much about what we're going to be doing. Sergeant Burns won't tell us anything."

"That's the way it's supposed to be," the queen said, watching as Judith moved a pawn in what she very much suspected was a futile attempt to block the queen's attack.

"Anyway," Judith said, grimacing as the queen captured her pawn. "It'll be nice to have a night off from training, and Elizabeth's waxing poetic about the masquerade."

"Have you picked out a mask yet?" the queen asked, and Judith nodded. "Good. But don't tell anyone what it is. That defeats the purpose."

Judith smiled. Elizabeth had told them all about the masquerade. Apparently, everyone dressed in white and wore animal masks that supposedly represented their spirits or something. The masks were carefully crafted by the Tailors, and Judith had commissioned hers awhile back, after Sergeant Burns told them to.

"Anyway," the queen went on as Judith again studied the board. "Your move. Unless you yield."

Judith grimaced. "Not yet," she said stubbornly.

"Hm," was all the queen said to that. "And are you still having problems in training?"

Judith started and almost knocked over her rook. "How did you know about that?" she asked.

The queen just smiled. "Prerogative of my job. I know everything."

Judith laughed. She was coming to know the queen better now, and, while she doubted she'd ever feel fully comfortable around her, Judith was at least at ease enough to let her guard down a little, and, now that she had, she found herself actually having fun during these games.

"Things are going better," Judith admitted, making her move. "I think I'm getting the hang of things. Finally."

The queen moved a piece, and Judith groaned as she said, "Check."