I Favor the Villainess Oneshots

Checkmate

*The academy is hosting a chess tournament, and Claire insists on Rae entering with her.*

*Claire POV*

"I insist that you enter this tournament with me!" I declare to the Commoner, determined to best her.

"Tournament? What tournament are you talking about, Lady Claire?" The Commoner asks me, how could she have not heard about the tournament, I thought it was common knowledge at this point.

"The chess tournament! It's in a few days, I'm surprised you haven't heard about it yet," I say.

The Commoner seems to be deep in thought, and mutters to herself "wait... there was never a chess tournament originally..." wait, originally, what's that supposed to mean?

I'll be honest, I did not expect this reaction. She'd usually jump at the opportunity to do something with me. Though it's probably best not to think about it, trying to understand that Commoner seems to be a fruitless endeavor.

"But if you're going, of course I'll go as well, Lady Claire! It delights me that you'd even consider going with me!" The Commoner spouts, flashing her regular smile at me. There we go, that's the reaction I was expecting. Wait, why am I happy about this? This reaction of hers is supposed to annoy me, so why am I so relieved to be seeing it?

"I-it's not that I want you with me, this is simply a way for me to establish my superiority. How would winning the tournament matter if I didn't defeat you to win?" I state, laughing a little with pride.

"Well, whatever your reasons, I'm just happy that you even considered me. So of course I'll enter that tournament with you. I may not look it, but I'm pretty good at chess. But you know we may not even face each other at the tournament, we could always be knocked out before that point," the Commoner states.

"Well then we both must simply not lose, and make it to the finals. If you lose before I can beat you, I won't speak to you for a month! I'm serious about this!" I state, glaring directly into her eyes.

This causes her to go wide eyed, before she says "aww come on lady Claire, you know I couldn't live without you for a month!"

"Well then, you just simply have to not lose. I've put that much faith in you at least," I state, smiling.

"I won't let you down lady Claire! Let's both make it to the finals together!" The Commoner ecstatically states, any trace of worry gone from her face.

"You better be prepared, do not disappoint me," I say, giving her a smile.

*time-skip, the night before the tournament.*

"So, tomorrow's the big tournament, huh? Good luck out there," my roommate Catherine says, turning visible.

"Indeed it is, I'll show that Commoner who's superior," I state with all seriousness.

At this declaration, Catherine begins laughing.

"What? What's so funny about what I said?" I ask, confused.

"It's just, I think your obsession with that girl is cute, that's all," Catherine states, still giggling.

"Obsession?! I am not obsessed with that girl, she is obsessed with me!" I state defensively.

"Whatever you say Claire. Are you not the one who forced her into joining just so you could beat her?"

"I... this is different! I-I'm not..."

"Relax girl, I'm just messing with you. I'm sure you've got this, I'll even be there to cheer you on. Well, you won't see me there, but trust me, I'll be there," Catherine states.

"Well, I appreciate your confidence in me. I will for sure win, there's no doubt about it," I confidently state.

"I'm sure you will, well, good night," Catherine says, going invisible again,

"Yes, goodnight to you as well," I say, going to sleep.

*Next day, Rae POV*

I must admit, this tournament has been a lot easier than I expected. Well with my former experience and that ultimatum from lady Claire, I suppose it's no surprise I'd be trying this hard! Claire's been blitzing her way through the tournament as well, she seems even more into this than I am! We've both won our semifinals, Rod seemed to be the only one who put up any real fight. But Lady Claire was actually cheering me on, so there was no way I was going to let him beat me!

"So you actually made it, I'll be honest, I didn't expect you to beat Rod. So, I suppose I should say, congratulations," lady Claire says. Woah, she's actually complimenting me? I've got to admit, that's kind of weird, but I'm not complaining!

"Yup, of course I made it here! You gave me quite the ultimatum, after all. Going a month without talking to the one I love might've been the end of me if it happened!" I proclaim.

"There you go again, with one of your ridiculous proclamations. Well no matter, I simply have to win here to prove my superiority, should be simple enough," Claire says.

"I look forward to it! But just know, I won't go easy on you, you'd never forgive me if I did!" I say as the match begins.

Claire, as white, goes first. She moves her g-pawn up two, to which I respond by moving my e-pawn up two as well. Then she moves her f-pawn up one. Wait, no, why would she do that?

"Uh, Lady Claire, are you sure you want to do that?" I ask, genuinely concerned, she's just set her self up for the fool's mate!

"I wouldn't make the move if I wasn't sure about it, now make your move, Commoner," Lady Claire directs. Wait, is she letting me win here? No, that wouldn't make sense, maybe she's just never heard about it? I suppose this specific move wasn't really coined until the mid 1900s, so I guess I can give her a pass. Well, if she wants me to play, I suppose I don't have a choice.

"Checkmate, Lady Claire," I say, declaring victory.

"What?! How did you-"

"You left your king open, I did try warning you," I say

"I lost to you... again..." Claire mutters, utterly defeated. Ugh, seeing Claire like this just hurts me.

"Lady Claire, defeat isn't the end! Yeah, sure, I won this game, but it's only one game. Anyone can get lucky once, so if you want, I'm always down for a rematch," I say, trying to cheer her up.

"Hmm, yes, you're right! You got lucky once, but you won't in our rematch! Keep yourself ready Commoner, for I WILL win next time, you can bet on it!" Claire states, cheering up. All I could do is smile at this declaration, gosh, why is Claire just so cute?

*Fun chess fact! The play Rae used to win, the Fool's Mate is the quickest possible checkmate, as it only takes two moves!*