The Rook

Flash Fiction Piece: "The Rook"

"The queen has been captured!" No. It couldn't be true. I didn't want to believe it, but I asked anyway.

"Who took her?"

"It was the enemy knight. No one saw it coming." The messenger looked defeated, so I spared him my wrath. I should save such rage for the battlefield.

I would've seen it coming, I thought. Had I been there, I would have protected her.

But even I knew that I could only move so far. If that knight was in the position to take her, and I was not in the position to immediately eliminate him beforehand, nothing I could have done would have saved her.

But I can still get her back.

"Order the pawns to move forward!" I shouted. The messengers scurried to spread the news. Although I was no king, all who heard me obeyed. I would no longer allow the king to keep me in this corner of the battlefield. Though I could not take action of my own accord, I could still give orders.

The king had kept me to the side all this time, waiting for the right moment to use me, while the queen was out in enemy territory leading the battle. Now that she was gone, I was the most valuable warrior left. My brother was on the opposite side of our territory, out of the way as I was. I had no doubt that he would know my intentions without my having to tell him. So I would leave my brother to reason with the king. I was leading the troops now.

"Sir, their bishop is in a position to eliminate the only knight we have left! If we move a pawn forward instead of removing him from immediate danger, it could be disastrous!"

"So we cut our losses and lose the knight. The enemy is counting on our attempt to save him. Ask any here and they will tell you that they'd gladly sacrifice themselves for the cause. Our knight knows what is at stake. It is safe to move our furthest pawn forward, so do it."

The messenger hesitated. Our king was not one to make unnecessary sacrifices, but each of us knew that the king would be powerless without our queen either way. Still, the messenger seemed a bit unwilling.

"Go!" I shouted. He jumped and, realizing the urgency of the situation, ran ahead to relay the message.

Our last knight was taken. Our quickest pawn moved forward.

Just a few more strategic moves, a few more sacrifices, and we had our queen back.

I was one of those sacrifices.

But I'd do it again, for my queen. For my cause. For this battle.