Melancholia

Remnants 41 - Checkmate

It had led to this... Marilyn and her friends were facing against Nyx, the Black Queen in a game of chess.

Just a few hours ago, the ABC Chess Group (Always Best in Chess Squad) was organizing their ACC (Annual Chess Competition). "Welcome one and all to our Annual Chess Competition!", Jonathan, the leader of the ABC Chess Group said. "Everybody who is anybody can join in the fun!"

After a few hours, there were finally two competitors left. During the finals, Garry, the unbeaten champion for four consecutive years, was having a show down with last year's runner-up, Marilyn, on stage. The whole school was watching the match nervously. Everyone hoped that the reigning champion would lose this time.

"Give it all you got.", Jocelyn said to Marilyn before the event. It was needless to say that Jocelyn, Marilyn's older sister was here to support her. They both studied in the same school anyway.

The game held on for a long time, but finally it ended in Marilyn's favor. The reigning champion had been defeated. While Jonathan was announcing the winner, "It is with pleasure that I announce that the new champion is Marilyn...", black smoke suddenly began to arise from the surroundings. All of a sudden, a black figure appeared on stage surrounded by a black mist.

"I demand to know who here is Marilyn!", said the black figure.
Oddly enough, the usually taciturn Marilyn stood up and raised up her hand. "Here I am. It's me, Marilyn," she said.

The black figure said to Marilyn, "So you're Marilyn. I, the Black Queen, want to challenge you to a battle."

"To what battle?" Marilyn asked.

"To a battle in chess, of course!" the Black Queen replied. "I will pick you and 15 other people to play against me," she added.

"Okay," Marilyn replied. "At what venue?"

"Oh, it's already set up, I've already got the perfect venue for our little game."

From out of the blue, Marilyn started to glow a faint beige color. Jonathan and a few others experienced the same occurrence.

A few seconds later, Marilyn and the 15 other "lucky" ones vanished into thin air. They then reappeared in a foreign realm.

Standing right in front of them was the Black Queen, below them, an entire floor covered with tiles in a black and white checkered pattern. "Welcome to my realm," the Black Queen said.

Suddenly, the black mist surrounding the Black Queen disappeared. She revealed her real looks. She was a woman wearing a black crown and a black dress. "Let me introduce myself. I am Nyx, the Black Queen. I am the ruler of this fair land. I reign with my left hand I rule with my right."

"Why did you bring us here?", questioned Jocelyn.

"I have brought you all here for a game of chess, between me and your champion, Marilyn. It is told to me that Marilyn has finally beaten your previous champion. Therefore, I would like to see your skills," said Nyx. "Now, I would like to place a bet between you and me, Marilyn."

"What's the wager?" Marilyn asked.

"The wager's simple. If you win me in the game of chess, then you and your friends can all go home safe and sound. However, if I win, I will keep some of your friends, the captured pieces, hostage and the others, will have to stay here under my rule until your time is up," Nyx explained.

"Keep hostage? Captured pieces?" exclaimed Marilyn. "What in the world do you mean?"

"Oh, right! I forgot to explain to you the rules!", exclaimed Nyx while smirking towards Marilyn.

"You and your friends will be transformed into chess pieces to represent your pieces and I will transform into the black queen and I will call upon my army to represent my chess pieces."

"What!", exclaimed Marilyn. "Is this your real plan?"

"Of course it is, my dear Marilyn," said Nyx. "You will be turned into the white queen and the rest will be randomly transformed. As I told you earlier, the ones who I capture will be kept hostage by me. If one of your pawns get promoted however, you will get to keep the pawn and reclaim one of the hostages. You, Marilyn, will be the one controlling the whole game. Even if you get captured by me, the game does not end. You will still get to control your team. The game ends when a checkmate is landed. If our game results in a tie or stalemate, we shall have a second round and so on. Understand?"

"Yes, understood, my royal highness," replied Marilyn with courtesy.

"Then let the game begin," said Nyx.

In an instant, Marilyn and her friends were transformed into humanoid chess pieces. Under their feet, above the ground, a round tile was added. They were standing on it like chess pieces. Then, they were given white coloured clothing that represent their roles. The king, Garry, was given a white crown with a cross on it and a white robe. The queen, Marilyn was given a white crown and a white dress. The bishops, Phillip and Collin were wearing a hat with a golden cross on it, with the tip of the hat being black and white depending on what coloured square they were standing on. The pawns were given a shield and a sword which were both white. The knights, Bryan and Adams got a sword, a knight suit and a horse. And lastly, the rooks, Jocelyn and Jonathan, had caps which were shaped like a tower.

Once the transformation was completed, Nyx said, "Let the game begin!" And so it began. It began with Marilyn's turn when she moved Robert, a pawn two steps forward. Then, it was the Queen's turn. This continued for almost half an hour, until the third quarter of the game.

The game had gotten tense as both sides were still knack to knack at this point. Both sides had sacrificed a lot of pieces. It seemed that the battle would last for another thirty minutes. It was the Black Queen's turn.

"It's your turn, your Majesty," Marilyn said. The Black Queen took some time to think about the game. "If we had played with a time limit, you wouldn't succeed," criticized Marilyn. Nyx, still thinking about her next move, calmly replied, "But you possibly wouldn't have either." Then, she revealed her master plan. She captured one of the white rooks, Jocelyn.

"No! I've been captured, Marilyn!" exclaimed Jocelyn. "Help me!"

Marilyn replied helplessly," I can't do a thing. The rules are the rules."