Wife-to-be

Once again in the hall’s infirmary, recovering from my fight. Astvid sat silently in the corner of the room fumbling with a game of some kind, while Odrar, meant to keep watch over his sister, dozed off in the opposite corner.

There I lay in bed, a healed but exhausted man. The healer had facilitated my recovery with a paste that he smeared on my open wound. He gave me some water, as well as some extra food, and then pissed off. Great guy, excellent service. 10/10, would come again.

If only I could provide just as excellent a service.

“Hey,” I called out.

“Hm? Yes?” Astvid replied.

“What’s that game?”

“What game?”

“The one in your hands. That board with the red and white pawns.”

“Fras—er, chieftain Albaric, this is kontod, you know.”

“What’s it about? How do you play it?”

She gave me a puzzled look before picking the game up and bringing it over to me. “We used to play this game all the time back when we were little. With Odrar too, remember? And that one time you broke the board in half,” she giggled modestly, her hand covering her smile.

I gave her an awkward grin myself. “H-heh. I don’t really remember it that well, I guess.”

“Oh. Well, that’s okay. Here’s how it works. There are two sides: the raiders and the chieftain. The red-colored raiders number twenty-four, while the chieftain has twelve loyal guards in white. On this 11x11 grid, the chieftain and his faithful retainers start off in the middle of the board. The raiders at the sides. Each piece moves in a straight line, and captures are made by trapping an enemy between two pieces. So far, so good?”

“So the all pieces move like a rook would in chess?”

“Chess?”

“Nevermind. Please, continue.”

“Let’s see. White wins if the chieftain gets to one of the corners of the board. Red wins if they capture the chieftain. Oh, and the chieftain can only be taken if he is surrounded on all four sides. That includes the edge of the board. Does any of this ring a bell?”

“You know, I think I will remember a lot more if we play a game.”

“I don’t want you to feel bad, so—”

“I won’t be salty. C’mon, it’ll just be a distraction—some entertainment. I’ll be the chieftain.”

“Salty…” she giggled to herself, “Okay, if you say so.”

I started off strong, despite the beginning location of my side. Dead in the center of the board, surrounded by the reds on all sides. It took me a while to get used to the set-up, but I quickly managed to secure the advantage. My awkward smile gave way to a genuine one, as I began to remember my days of casually playing with Maxim. How his realist style usually thwarted my idealist play style in our multiplayer Dominus Carthago games. I’d make up the excuse that I was role-playing, and that he was too much of a sweat. We laughed. Just two friends having fun. No war, no real conflict to worry about.

When I took two of her pieces with just three of mine, she giggled out of amazement. “Hihi, I guess becoming a chieftain really did change you.”

My gaze focused on the board in front of me, I spoke absent-mindedly like I would with Maxim. “Mayhap a lot more brilliant and cunning? My royal intelligence dwarfing your mere folly attempts, perchance?”

She shook her head as her giggle turned to a chuckle. “What? No, you silly. You used to lose to me all the time, and now you’re suddenly Olfrik? It’s amazing what true leadership can do to a man.”

“Hmm,” I stroked my chin, deep in tought, “This Olfrik. Not only was the guy the first Goblin King, but also a professional kontod player?”

“Even better! He invented the game himself,” she said.

“Impressive,” I said as I looked up in surprise. I saw her chortling in pure amusement, and I felt a sudden stab in my heart. My chest hollowed out, and a lump grew in my throat. No, this wasn’t love or anything. It was guilt.

I turned my gaze back to the board, and fell silent. The piece I wanted to move already in my hand, but before I placed it, I stopped mid-movement. I fidgeted with the piece along my fingers, finally playing my hand after the pang of guilt subsided.

“So, Frasmul—er, me—I mean, us…” I stuttered.

Her laugh petered out as she hanged her head to the side in worry. “Would you like some water?”

“Er, no thanks. I just wanted to ask, er, what your favorite memory from our childhood is.”

“Hmm,” she pondered her turn as well as the question. “Yes, it’s definitely from when you saved me from my grandfather.”

I continued staring silently at the board.

Saddened by my lack of remembrance, but hopeful that it would resurface, she carried on with the story. “When my grandfather was the Esyces chieftain, he would be very… particular about his matters. One time, he threw Odrar’s kontod set into the fireplace. Enraged, Odrar struck grandfather on his leg. My grandfather beat him half to death, and when I stepped in front of my brother, he struck me as well. Just when he was about to smash his cane in my skull, you jumped in and nearly killed him. You fought him like you were his equal.”

“Yikes. So, Fras—I mean, I went toe to toe with a Gnobble even though I was a Gobkin back then?”

“Hihi, yeah! You were just… incredible,” she blushed as she looked down. The pang and hollowness in my chest worsened. “Grandfather was humbled by a ten-year-old foreign boy, and he was forced off the chieftaincy by the tribe—his Edekrag rendered useless after such humiliation. Don’t you remember how happy my father was that you saved my brother and I? He himself was tormented by grandfather all his life, but now he could finally live free of fear.”

“Your grandfather sounds nothing short of a childish tyrant, sorry to say.”

“There you go! You said the exact same thing back then. Anyway, father was so pleased with you that he offered you my hand in marriage. The chiefs were so surprised, because no one of our dynasty has ever married outside the Esyces tribe!,” again she blushed, this time with a smile, looking at me longingly. Her eyes beamed with anticipation, “Surely, you will remember that?”

“Checkmate.”

“Huh?”

“Er, I won. Look, my chieftain is in the corner.”

She smiled meekly, picking up the pieces one by one and shelving the board back where it belonged.

“…”

“Fun escape?” she asked.