A Game of Lives
Master Todd, a ten year old sat in a chair locked in a game of chess with his uncle. To the surprise of no one, the brilliant ten year old had won the last few games. “Uncle, may I have Majorake?” Todd suddenly blurted out as he moved the first pawn. He was playing white.
A bead of sweat went down Majorake’s neck as he stood above the timer. He’d heard stories of the cruelty of the young master. Aside from that, he had a wife and kid’s he’d be taken from. Majorake lost a few shades of color from his dark exterior.
“No, absolutely not,” replied Master Alfred to his nephew matching his nephews move.
“May I inquire why?” asked Todd moving a bishop to the middle of the board.
“You’ve abused every slave around you,” replied Alfred moving a pawn to threaten the bishop. The pawn was protected by another pawn.
“What if I promise to treat him right?” asked Todd moving the bishop to put the black king in check. Majorake shook with fear of the possible outcome. He could barely move his hand to the button that would switch which hourglass would release the sand.
“I’d still say no,” Alfred said having his bishop guard the king and threaten the white bishop.
“Why is that?” Todd yelled in a flare of anger sacrificially taking the bishop and putting the king in check.
“It’s simple really,” Alfred said taking the white bishop with the black queen. “When you get angry, you don’t think straight,” Alfred said smiling.
“Oh really?” Todd asked with a tone of sarcasm while moving a knight onto the field.
“The fact that you haven’t noticed this by yourself illustrates my point,” Alfred replied moving his own knight onto the field.
“What if I could prove to you that I can think rationally when I’m angry?” Todd asked while castling to the right.
“Then, I’d give you Majorake as a gift,” Alfred said charging forward with his knight. Majorake gasped, than held his breath. He’d always had some level of respect for Alfred. Alfred had at least appeared different from many of the masters he’d seen. He’d seemed wise and fair. This seemed almost like a nightmare, aside from the lack of ability to wake up from it.
“What about this game of chess?” asked Todd moving a pawn to threaten Alfred’s knight.
The black knight retreated and Alfred said, “Ok, so long as you don’t piss yourself from excitement little nephew,” Alfred said with a smirk.
Todd flared with anger, “Don’t patronize me you bastard!” He moved a pawn forward missing an opportunity to threaten the white queen.
“I’m a bastard, am I? That’s news to me,” Alfred said smiling as he took the black pawn with the white pawn.
“Yes you are, we agreed never to mention that,” Todd said moving the other knight.
“I don’t remember that?” Alfred said taking the first knight with a pawn.
Todd then noticed that, he’d left himself open and took the black pawn that took his knight with his pawn.
“You are a fucking cheater!” Todd yelled.
“I am, aren’t I?” asked Alfred moving his other knight out.
“Oh, I see, you’re trying to piss me off,” Todd said, his muffled anger shone through as he moved the surviving white knight forward between the black ones and right in front of the queen.
“It’s working too,” Alfred replied taking the knight with his queen.
Majorake smiled and thought, I should have known that the good master had no intent of letting that brat take me home to torture me.
“I will not lose to you, now that I see what you’re doing,” Todd said threatening the queen with a backed up pawn.
The black queen moved to threaten the white queen. The black queen was backed up by a knight. “Why do you want to have Majorake so badly?” Alfred asked.
Todd moved another pawn to threaten the black queen and said, “He’s good at chess,” during which his eyes did not once leave the table.
Majorake wasn’t accustomed to complements and couldn’t help having some pride in this.
Alfred moved the black knight to take a pawn and sacrificially clear the way for his queen to get into Todd’s back line. “Surely that can’t be the only reason you want him,” Alfred stated.
Todd took the sacrificial knight with his pawn just as Alfred planned. In a much calmer voice he said, “He’s really fun and nice to play chess with. He makes great lemonade, he’s my good-“then he stopped talking abruptly.
“He’s your good what?” Alfred asked taking the castle in the back line.
“Nothing, you cheater,” Todd said angrily again as he noticed his back line to have been breached. Todd moved his queen up a square.
“He’s your good what?” Alfred repeated threatening the white queen with the black bishop and backing up the black bishop with a knight.
“My fr…, what does it matter anyway, I’m going to lose,” Todd said as he moved his white queen to threaten the black queen in a potential dual sacrifice move. The white queen was backed up.
“You only will lose if you get mad; anyway, it matters because these are your thoughts. These are the ideas important to you,” Alfred said as he suicidal took the other queen.
Majorake knew exactly what the young master wanted to say. The young master did well in school, but most of the other young school children teased him. This is why he’d come over to play chess with his uncle. When his uncle wasn’t around the young master would practice with anyone who’d play. More often than not it was Majorake himself.
“Why are my thoughts important, they don’t get me anything,” Todd said taking the Black queen with his Bishop.
“Your own thoughts are you; they are what you contribute to the world. Your own thoughts are what people will remember you for. They’ll say, ‘Look at what great things Todd has done with his ideas,’” Alfred said smiling as he moved the black castle into play.
Majorake smiled as he remembered a drawing that he’d seen the young master draw. He’d done it as a young kid. He drew a cage with his little white self and a bunch of the slaves from around the farm in it. The young master’s picture self was reaching for the key and the slaves were cheering him on. His father nearly blew a gasket when he saw it. He’d torn it up and threw it in the fire. He scolded his son for the ideas and his brother for encouraging them.
“What great things have I done?” Todd asked taking a pawn and threatening a castle with his white bishop.
“None yet, but I know you’ve had great thoughts,” Alfred said moving the king forward to back up the castle with a castle.
“Like what, I haven’t had a single great thought,” Todd argued taking the castle sacrificially with the bishop.
“The difference between a great thought and a great action is that the great thought stays in your head, the great action escapes into the world for others to behold,” Alfred said taking the bishop.
“How can I turn my thoughts into actions?” Todd asked moving a pawn forward.
“I don’t know, you need to figure that out yourself,” Alfred said smiling.
“Majorake is my friend,” Todd said quietly moving a castle to protect a white pawn.
“What I couldn’t hear you?” Alfred said tauntingly as he took the other pawn.
“Majorake is my friend!” Todd yelled forgetting about the chess board.
“Who told you to say that?” asked Alfred smirking.
“No one did, you know that,” Todd said firmly.
“Good job, you’re able to do two things that so few full grown men can do in our time,” Alfred said.
“What’s that?” asked Todd.
“You can think for yourself and you can think against the crowd,” Alfred said.
“A lot of good that’s done me,” Todd said sarcastically.
“It’s not the easy path, but it’s the right one,” Alfred said knocking over his king.
“You forfeit?” Todd asked in disbelief.
“You can have Majorake when you are done with school have your own property and are out of your parent’s house. I know that you’ll take good care of your friend and his family,” Alfred said.
“You’re just giving him to me?” asked Todd shocked.
“No, he’s not mine to give. You’re his friend and in troubled times you’ll take better care of him then I can,” Alfred said.
“No one treats slaves better then you,” Todd said.
“That’s true but, do you see this lump?” asked Alfred pointing at a bulge in his shirt.
Todd nodded.
“It’s a cancer. I need to ensure that my legacy isn’t wasted, and you have seen a different view of humanity. It’s because of this that I’d like you to be my heir,” Alfred said.
Todd turned to Mojorake. “What do you think of all this?”
Mojorake smiled.