Deviants Fallen: A DBH Story

Chapter 49: The Queen's Gambit

Clara stared across the board at Cain, watching his expression shift minutely as he looked down at his pieces, determining his next move. He reached out slowly, idly tapping a pawn, then came to a decision, moving that pawn forward. He'd taught her how to play chess a few days ago, and while she enjoyed it well enough, she was truly awful at it, especially compared to Cain, who had the natural advantage of being an android.

Clara eyed her dwindling pieces, then chose one at random. A knight. She moved it in its characteristic pattern, placing it in a defensive position.

As Cain consider his next move, Clara thought back over the last couple of days. He'd had eased up on her a bit, allowing her around the main area of the small apartment, but he stipulated that she not move around too much when he was out and about. Clara had grudgingly agreed, but internally she grew tired of at his overbearing attitude. Truly, she was fine, at least when she was on her own. But Cain's constant worry and the things he said made her second guess. His insistence that she move carefully and take it easy chafed at her, putting her on edge. She couldn't shake the restless feeling under her skin.

"Clara?" His soft voice shook her out of her thoughts. She looked up to see him staring at her with a small smile. "Are you alright? It's your turn."

"Fine." She mustered her own smile.

She looked back at the board. While she'd been lost in her thoughts, Cain had captured another one of her pawns, but he'd left his queen vulnerable to her rook. Clara furrowed her brows. That felt too convenient. Was it a trap? Probably. But could she find a way out? Clara thought a few moves ahead, running through the most likely scenario. She'd take his queen with her rook, but that would put her rook in range of his knight. They'd both lose valuable pieces. But was the sacrifice worth it?

If she didn't take his queen, he'd use it to put her king in check on his next turn. Or he'd take her rook anyway and then put her king in check. It was a losing battle regardless of what she did.

Clara sighed softly. Fine. She'd take the bait. She pushed her rook forward, capturing his queen.

As expected, his knight took her rook. Clara moved her own knight forward at random.

She noticed a slight frown flicker across Cain's face as he made his next move. As she analyzed the layout, she felt a small swell of disappointment. She couldn't figure out the best move. Everything felt like a trap. After another few minutes of consideration, Clara stopped thinking much at all and began moving her pieces more at random, ignoring the potential consequences as she resigned herself to what she was sure would be an inevitable defeat.

But as she placed her piece, she noticed with a slight satisfaction that Cain's eyes flickered with confusion as he watched. One thing she'd learned in playing with him is that he always chose the most logical move, the most efficient one. He had no problem sacrificing even powerful pieces as long as it propelled him toward victory. Even a pawn could take a king under the right circumstances, so that was all he needed.

Clara, on the other hand, found it difficult to sacrifice any of her pieces. She was hesitant to put even a pawn in a position where it could be captured, not that her hesitancy helped her keep her pieces any better. But it made her predictable, or so Cain said.