Swindled

Miyako exhaled slowly as she sat in her cell. She had managed to calm down, yet was still a bit shaken from everything.

"Maybe you should walk around," the black-haired woman suggested.

"The cell's locked. Unless the guards come by-"

"Are they seriously going to keep us locked up? We were able to roam around yesterday, or was that all just a luxury? Ah, how about requesting food. They need to feed us if they want us to function properly."

Miyako peered out through the bars, yet no guard was in sight.

"Rest then. You could also drink from the sink."

Though she was still tense, Miyako found her eyelids beginning to close, and her body refusing to leave the bed. "What? Is my... Ngh... Zzz..."

...

Clang! Clang!

Miyako groggily opened her eyes to the sound of ferocious clanging. There was also shouting, but Miyako couldn't understand the words.

"Oi, you gotta play," the black-haired woman scowled as she leapt down and began shaking Miyako.

"Huh? But I already-"

"You've slept through almost the entire second day," Vasily's voice crackled through the loudspeaker.

"'Second day'? But... But..."

"Direct your attention to the standings."

As she did, Miyako was met with nothing but an image of her and an image of Arina.

"It's the final match. Win, and you're free," Vasily chuckled as Miyako suddenly found herself seated across from Arina. She attempted to move a piece, but found herself moving the one she didn't want to move.

"Checkmate, White wins," the chessboard stated.

"No, NO! I was manipulated! I was-"

"And that's it for you," Vasily chuckled as an axe blade came swinging towards Miyako's head.

...

"GAH!"

Miyako panted as sat upright in her bed.

"You're awake," the black-haired girl grumbled.

"THE TOURNAMENT! THE STANDINGS-"

"I already handled my match."

"Huh? But, it was the finals-"

"We only did the first round today. Must've been a nightmare. Well, sucks for you, since you slept through all the free time today."

"'Free time'?"

"Yes, they allowed us to roam for a bit shortly after you conked out. It didn't yield much though. Now it's bedtime according to the guards-"

"What!? But I just woke up!"

"That's your problem, not mine. Maybe they'll let you roam, but I doubt it."

With no guards in the area, it appeared as though the black-haired woman's instincts were correct, and with the lights dimming a second later, it looked like Miyako was doomed to stare at the bottom of the top bunk until morning as falling back asleep wasn't an option. That didn't mean Miyako didn't try, but sleep just wouldn't come back to her.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of banging bars startled Miyako to the point she nearly tumbled out of her bed.

"Oi, it's me, Imono," Imono loudly whispered.

Miyako crept up to the edge of her cell at the border of Imono's cell. "Why whisper after the clanging?" she asked.

"Needed to get your attention. You can't sleep either, right? Wanna play a game?"

"Of chess?"

"No, no, a calling game. We'll use letters a through h, numbers 1 through 8, and call them out. So for example, e4, h7, e3, stuff like that. You can also add letters in front of them like ke2, nf3, bc7, in fact, only certain coordinates can be called out."

"Which ones?"

"That's the point of the game, so you down?"

"Might as well."

"Then I start with e4."

"Um... f6?"

A brief period of silence ensured before Imono finally called out, "D4."

"D5," Miyako shrugged.

"Bc4," Imono snickered.

The introduction of laughter into Imono's speech gave Miyako pause. "Why was she laughing. Are we secretly saying something nasty in code? Mmm, but this is just a way to pass time," she thought. "E3."

"Ehhht! Can't do that, try again."

"Um, e5?"

"That's good. Nf3."

"Nf6."

"Nope! Can't do that!"

"Ne6?"

"Still no."

"Ne7?"

"Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner! Ng5."

"Mmm... Bd7?"

"All good. H4."

"H5."

"Good. Nh7."

"Nc6?"

An uncanny silence ensured.

"Um, Imono?"

Still silence.

"Imono!?"

"I'm still here! Don't wake anyone, OK!?" Imono angrily whispered.

"Sorry!"

"Nc6... You can do it, but you need to answer an additional question."

"What is it?"

"B or e?"

"Um, b?"

"Alright, it's back on. Qg4."

"A new letter? Mmm, Hc4?"

"Ah, can only use letters n, k, q, b, and r."

"Qc4?"

"Nope, can't do that."

"Ng6?"

"All good in this hood. Bh6."

"I have no idea what the point of this is, but it's fun," Miyako giggled.

"I'll say. Oh? We got a way to win this, but only if we slot something on e7."

"Is e7 good?"

"Nope, can't just be e7, gotta put a letter in front of it."

"Um, Q-"

"Ah, ah, how bout a freebie? B is the key."

"I see, Be7!"

A deranged grin spread across Imono's face, though Miyako was unable to see it. "QUEEN CAPTURES G6, CHECKMATE, STUPID!" she suddenly shouted at the top of her lungs.

"What the hell! I was sleeping!" Arina fumed as she slugged Imono in the face.

"Ugh, that'll get me to sleep... Thanks for playing," Imono groaned.

"Um, what happened?" Miyako nervously smiled.

But she received no further response, only the sound of ruffling covers.

"I guess she managed to fall asleep. I should try again too," Miyako thought as she returned to her bed and got comfortable as best she could.

...

As the next morning came, according to the guards, Miyako was greeted with a disturbing surprise.

"How proactive. You had your match first thing past midnight. All that free time you'll have," Vasily's voice snickered over the loudspeaker.

Color had long abandoned Miyako's face as she stood trembling before the standings. "I- It says I already played Imono, and lost. But how!? We never played chess!"

The full game: 

White: Miyako Suwabe Black: Imono 

1. e4 f6 

2. d4 d5 

3. Bc4 e5 

4. Nf3 Ne7 

5. Ng5 Bd7 

6. h4 h5 

7. Nh7 Nbc6 

8. Qg4 Ng6 

9. Bh6 Be7 

10. Qxg6#