Beginner's luck

Arina trembled as she laid curled up on her bed.

"Dang, you were the first out, and the first down. Guess you really want an inkjob," Imono snickered.

The shock of everything rendered Arina unable to muster the will to retaliate. Today, she had been broken ten times over.

Imono stared down and scowled before leaning back in her bed. "And I thought Miyako was the timid one. Fucking bitch played us. Well, too bad for her I got my own ace," she thought.

In the next cell over, Milady scowled as she stared down at the chessboard.

"What? Not gonna move?" Lowri asked.

"The horse jumps over, but where does it land?" Milady asked.

"Uh, I don't know. Just move something that isn't a horse."

Milady nodded and grabbed her rook, however, a red light flashed on the board. "Illegal move detected."

"Guess it can't jump over pawns," Lowri shrugged.

"But I just saw Miyako jump the rook over the king! There has to be a way!"

"Let me think... Hmm..."

In reality, Lowri's gaze was narrowing towards the ticking clock.

"Tch, think on your own time," Milady snarled as she caught wind of Lowri's scheme and moved her pawn to e4.

"Back to you," Lowri snickered as she moved her pawn to e6.

"No, you!" Milady shouted as she moved her pawn to d4.

"Whoops, just nudged the piece forward," Lowri sneered as she moved her bishop to e7.

"Oh that's it! We'll just play without knowing how that shit works!" Milady fumed as she moved her pawn to h3.

"Ah, I was hoping we could just chat," Lowri sarcastically sighed as she moved her pawn to d5.

"Chat all you want on your own time," Milady huffed as she moved her bishop to b5.

Lowri's gaze narrowed as she moved her pawn to c6. "She says she never played, but why'd she not get punished then? Did she play while I was sleeping? No, the cell was locked, she couldn't have busted out. So why'd I get punished and not her?" she thought as Milady moved her pawn to f3. "Oh hey! Freebie!" she grinned as she moved her bishop to h4.

"What's free?" Milady scoffed as she attempted to move her queen.

"Illegal move detected."

"HUH!? The hell can't I move this!?"

"Uh, cuz the king's in check?" Lowri frowned as she raised a browless brow.

"And?"

"Uh, that's the whole game?"

Milady clicked her tongue and touched her king. "No message... I can move it?"

"Hmm..."

"OH FUCK YOU!" Milady fumed as she slammed her king down on e2.

"Save that until after my move," Milady snickered as she captured the bishop at b5 with her c-pawn.

"Huh? I can take yours too," Milady scowled as she moved her pawn to g3.

"Yeah, if you could move twice in a turn," Lowri scoffed as she captured said pawn with her bishop.

"What!? You bitch!" Milady fumed as she moved her pawn to h4.

"What a dope on a rope. Hmm, think bringing the knight out is best, but if I do that, she'll know I've been playing her this whole time. Can't piss her off too much since we are cellmates n' all," Lowri thought as she moved her bishop to c7.

"Wipe that smirk off your face. Neither of us knows how this works, so who knows who's winning," Milady snarled as she captured the pawn at d5 with her e-pawn.

"Nah, I'm winning," Lowri thought as she recaptured at d5 with her e-pawn.

Still clueless as to how to play, Milady opted to move her bishop to e3, prompting Lowri to move her queen to e7.

"Will she, yup. Dumb as a rock," Lowri thought as Milady moved her king to e1, allowing her to effortlessly capture the bishop at e3 with her queen. "Check."

"Um, what?"

"It's uh... what you say when you attack the king."

"That's stupid," Milday scoffed as she moved her king to f1.

"Is what it is," Lowri sighed as she moved her bishop to e6.

However, as Milady moved her pawn to c3, Lowri narrowed her gaze. "She's stupid. I might be able to win this next turn. Sure, she could thwart it, but even then, I'd still be winning," she thought as she moved her bishop to g3.

Milady scowled at the play and moved her rook to h3. "Finally, I can move this piece."

"Yay! We're learning!" Lowri cheered as she moved her queen to f2.

"Checkmate. Black has won," the board stated.

Confusion and anger spread on Milady's face as she stared at the board.

"Wait, I won!? Lucky! Must be the bald, since they say baldies are good luck," Lowri grinned.

Milady scowled in silence for a bit before relaxing her facial muscles. "Yes... Beginner's luck. But we're both beginners."

"Hey, who viciously had all her hair removed? Not like I mind it."

A smile cracked through on Milady's face. "You're a girl I can vibe with. Now make sure that you let me rub that head good tomorrow before my match," she smirked as she playfully began tackling Lowri.

"Yeah, you're gonna need it," Lowri thought.

...

In the control room, Vasily smiled as he reviewed Lowri and Milady's game. "I knew it. You're quite the actress, but now that you're here, the mask must come off, unless you don't wish to ever see the light of day again. But even so, is your best THE best? That remains to be seen," he thought.

As he turned to his side, he was met with the glare from a balding man.

"Ivo, stopping by?"

"Vasily, I saw what you did. This messes with the spirit of the experiment!"

"Eh? What did I do?"

Ivo slammed his fist into the wall. "YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID! That girl... I wanted her untainted, but now-"

"She's never played chess before, so isn't this gift perfect for her?"

Ivo stared at the giant monitor, zeroing in on the screen showing footage of Miyako and the black-haired woman's cell.

"Want a closer look?" Vasily snickered as he zoomed in the camera on the black-haired woman.

"No... Vasily, I'm warning you. Don't abuse MY test subject!" Ivo huffed before storming away.

""You're" test subjects? Ivo, my friend, words like that will make you an example," Vasily chuckled as he held his fingers together in the shape of a triangle. 

The full game: 

White: Milady Shaw Black: Lowri Winn

1. e4 e6 

2. d4 Be7 

3. h3 d5 

4. Bb5+ c6 

5. f3 Bh4+ 

6. Ke2 cxb5 

7. g3 Bxg3 

8. h4 Bc7 

9. exd5 exd5 

10. Be3 Qe7 

11. Ke1 Qxe3+ 

12. Kf1 Be6 

13. c3 Bg3 

14. Rh3 Qf2#