Reluctantly, she turned her attention to the table between them. "What is this called?" She asked him, studying the rows of black and white squares.
"Chess." He replied, setting up the pieces. He arranged the white pieces on her side.
She lifted one of them up, inspecting it. It was large and heavy and shaped like the head of a horse. It was milky white, with an iridescent sheen. "What is this?" She asked.
"A knight." He answered simply, focused on arranging the black pieces on his side.
"No, what is it made of?" She held the piece up to the light.
"Ah, opal."
She set the piece back on it's square. "Hmmm." She had never seen opal before. "It's pretty." She commented, swinging her legs back and forth idly. She was waiting as patiently as she could for the board to be set up.
"It's rare and expensive." He corrected as he finished and looked across the board at her. "Ready to begin?"
"Begin what?" She asked.
"Playing, of course. Chess is a game.”
Claire shook her head. "I've never played it before. I don't know how."
He smiled at her. "I'll explain the rules to you." He had of course expected this. Chess was not a game that many young children played. He had chosen it so he could see how easily she absorbed new information. He carefully went over the rules with her, holding up each piece and explaining how it moved around on the board. She watched and listened with interest. "The object is to capture the king." He finished. "Understand?"
She nodded. "I think so. What happens when you win?"
He shrugged. "It means you've defeated your opponent. If you want, I'll give you something if you beat me." He smiled his amused smile. He knew she wouldn't win her first chess game, not against him. Augustus had shown him the game originally, when he was not that much older than Claire, and after that first game, Julius had been unbeatable."Ready?" She nodded again, excited by the prospect of a prize. "Excellent. White moves first."
Claire spent a long moment studying the board. Her red brows were knit together and her dainty mouth was pulled into a frown. Then her face cleared. She lifted up one small hand, moving a piece.
Julius moved one of his pieces, then waited for her. His plan was to draw out the game by not cutting her down too quickly. He planned on beating her soundly, but the point was to test her wits.
They continued back and forth for several minutes. Claire took less time moving her pieces now. Julius wasn't paying much attention to the board, he really didn't need to. He watched her expressions instead.
She was moving her pieces seemingly randomly around the board, her face a mask of concentration. He captured one of her rooks, and her queen. "You'll have to come up with some kind of strategy, if you want to win." He teased her.
If she hadn't been concentrating on the game, she would have found his attention slightly unnerving. He was becoming more handsome to her the more time she spent with him. But the game, and winning the prize, distracted her. "How many spaces can this one move?" She asked him, tapping a piece.
"Your rook can move across the board in one direction, horizontally or vertically. As many spaces as you want." He answered promptly.
"What is it that you say when you win, again?" Claire asked him, still looking at the board.
"Checkmate."
She moved her rook across the board. "Checkmate." She said.
"No, you say that when you win." He said patiently, not even looking at the board.
She looked up at him strangely. "I know, you just said that." She said slowly. "Checkmate."
He looked down at her rook, frowning. It was true that she had a clear line to his king. "This is called 'check'." He kept his voice patient. "You call check when you have the ability to take your opponent's king on your next move. I still have my move, and I can move my king out of check." He reached for his king, his eyes scanned the board. He paused. Wait... this was... There was no safe move for his king, and he had no pieces available to him to block her rook. When had she gotten her knight over there?
Claire smiled at him smugly. He narrowed his dark eyes at her. Then his expression turned indifferent. He spread out his hands. "You win."
Her smile was radiant. "What do I win?" She asked.
He leaned back in his chair, still aloof. "What do you want?" She could hear the slight tone of indignation in his voice that he was trying to mask. Also, he looked out the window, rather than at her directly.
She frowned in thought. "I'm not sure... How about a third date?" She asked him.
He turned his head and looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?" He asked.
"This morning I heard two of the chefs talking in the kitchens. They said I was going on my second date today." She looked up at him hopefully. "So, could I have a third date with you?"
A hard, cold look flashed across his eyes briefly. "Pick something else." He said calmly. "I wouldn't call them dates. That was someone's idea of a bad joke." Claire looked down at the chess table, playing with the white knight uneasily. Although his face was calm, she could sense that iciness under his expression. She wondered what was wrong with what she had said.
He continued speaking, not noticing her discomfort. "You are welcome to visit me however many times you wish as it is anyway." He mused for a moment. "You could pick what we do next week." He offered.
She looked up at him. "Could I see the Garden next time?" She asked, that hopeful note in her voice again. Ever since she had seen it from the patio, she had wanted to walk through that garden maze.
"If that's what you want." He granted her easily.
She nodded happily, smiling at him. "It is."
He smiled back at her, that coldness from before seemed to have vanished. "Shall we move on to the next game?" He asked her.
"Okay."
He stood up, walking over to his desk. He gestured for her to follow. He pulled out his chair for her and she took a seat. He slid the chair in and stood behind it. He picked up a silver pen from the desk. He touched it to a black square set into the desk's rich mahogany. A light screen flared up in front of them, showing Julius' computer desktop. The email icon was flashing red insistently.
Claire looked up at Julius, he didn't seem concerned. "Am I keeping you from something important?" She asked him, indicating the flashing icon.
"That's always like that.” He said, unconcerned. “Are you familiar with a pen and tablet?" He asked.
She shook her head. "Mary's computer uses a keyboard.” She frowned at the panel of light over the desk. “And a monitor."
"That is pretty standard. Not many environments are fit for light screens." He said, moving the pen over the tablet. He pulled up a program and handed her the pen. "Can you solve that?" He asked her.
She looked at the screen intently. It was a matchstick puzzle. She had seen a similar game on the computer at the Sword and the Rose. "Take your time." He said gently.
Just then, they heard a high-pitched squeak and a thump. They both looked over at the sofa. Jacqueline had fallen onto the floor. She looked around, adjusting her glasses. She spotted Julius and Claire, and stood up quickly. She turned the inside of her wrist up, looking at her watch. "I-I've done it again, haven't I?" She asked nervously.
"It's fine." Julius said dismissively. He walked over to her, leaving Claire with the light screen. "I'm glad you're awake. I have an errand for you." He glanced back at Claire, whose attention was on the puzzle. She moved the pen across the tablet experimentally.
Jacqueline followed his gaze. "Th-that would be Miss Claire, then?"
"Indeed. I want you to find out who her parents were for me." He instructed her quietly.
His secretary nodded. She retrieved her purse from under the sofa, pulling out her camera. "Miss Claire?" She called.
Claire looked up and Jacqueline snapped a picture of her. "Th-thank you." She said.
"Uhm... you're welcome?" Claire asked, confused.
Jacqueline placed her camera back
in her purse. She looked up at Julius. "I-is two hours sufficient?" She asked him.
"That's fine." He nodded. "I'll be free by then."
She retrieved her shoes, putting them on. "I'll excuse myself now." She said, walking to the study door. She pulled out her phone, dialing as she exited.
Julius returned to Claire. She had completed the puzzle and moved on to the next one. He grudgingly admitted to himself that he was slightly impressed. She was pretty sharp... for a nine year old girl. "I didn't know that if you ignored your email for long enough, the icon set itself on fire." She commented.
He glanced at the screen. She was right. His email folder was blazing brightly in the corner. "Actually, Jacqueline set that to occur when my inbox reaches one hundred new messages." He frowned. "Let's try something else." He said, taking the pen from her hand gently.
She blushed when his fingers touched her hand, even though he wore gloves. She bowed her head, hiding her cheeks behind her hair. He didn't notice, his eyes on the screen. "What about this puzzle?" He asked. When he got no response, he looked down at her. "Are you all right?"
She nodded. "I'm fine." She said weakly, her cheeks burning. She looked up at the screen. "That one is easy." She said, taking the pen from him, her embarrassment forgotten.
*** Julius waited for Jacqueline in his study. Claire had gone back to the restaurant. It really was a shame. She was a bright child, and it was being wasted away. He had also learned that she wasn't even attending school.
There was a knock on the door. "Come in." He called. Jacqueline entered, looking at him nervously. She closed the door and stepped slowly up to his desk. She fidgeted with her clipboard and her silver ion pen. He looked at her, studying her intently. She was in general a nervous person, but she seemed much more jittery than usual.
She bowed quickly. "I'm sorry!" She cried. "I-I've failed you!"
His dark brows knit together. "What are you talking about? You've never once failed me."
She let out a sound like a sob, straightening up. She pushed her hair from her face and adjusted her glasses. "I-I know, Sir." She looked at him sadly. "And I hate to have failed you now. B-but I can not find a single thing on Miss Claire."
"Any little detail you've uncovered will do, no matter how insignificant." He said smoothly.
"B-but there is nothing!" She said, she was completely flummoxed as well as miserable. "I-I searched all of the records, b-but I haven't even been able to find any child with red hair, mmuch less one that fits Miss Claire's description." She bowed again. "I apologize deeply for failing you!"
"Hmmm." He mused, rubbing his mouth with two fingers. He put his feet up, leaning back in his chair. "Interesting..."
She peeked up at him in surprise. "Y-you're not... angry? O-or disappointed?" She asked, afraid to hope.
He shook his head. "No... I am intrigued." He said. "If even you could not find anything on this child, then she is truly an anomaly." An idea was stirring in the back of his brain. He looked up at the ceiling. "I wonder..."
Jacqueline recognized the look on her employer's face immediately. "I will file the necessary paperwork right away." She said, scrawling her ion pen across her clipboard. It flared to life, bright orange text running quickly over it.
Julius steepled his fingers, bringing his eyes back down to her. "Excellent." He said softly.
*** "I'm worried." Mrs. Kennie said to Beast. She rubbed one plump upper arm uncomfortably. "What could be possibly want from her?" They both sat in her personal kitchen, Claire had just gone to bed moments before. She had looked so happy and excited when she told them that she would be going back next week.
"She doesn't seem to be in any danger." Beast said. "Seem?" Mrs. Kennie asked anxiously. "You can't be sure? You've watched them, haven't you?"
"Yes." He answered. "Julius Cantor does not appear to have any ill intentions towards Claire, but..." He paused.
Mrs. Kennie sighed. "But, something just doesn't sit right about him." She leaned her elbows on the table, resting her head in her hands.
"Yes." Beast agreed simply.
"I still don't understand your interest in her." She gave him a sharp look. "But you don't send a chill down my spine like the Regent does." She laughed weakly. "It's funny, isn't it? Since you are the one that looks more like a monster."
Beast was silent for a long time. "I need her." He said finally. "Before I met her, everything was nothing and time had no meaning. I was lost. Now, I can move forward again."
"Do you love her?" Mrs. Kennie asked him.
He looked at her steadily. "No." He said.
"She needs someone who does." Mrs. Kennie said. "Someone who can take care of her."
"I will do anything that needs to be done for her." He stated. "It doesn't matter what it is."
"Hmmm..." Mary Kennie frowned. "I wish I could take better care of her." She said at last. “I've sunk my heart into this building. I've spent the last ten years trying to pick up where my husband left off. I don't know if I have the time and energy to spare. I wonder if there is enough room in my heart."
"The heart is not a container like a glass or a bowl. It doesn't get full." He said dully. "It will love completely and desperately. It will expand to fit any situation. There are only so many hours in a day though, and it is up to you to decide what to fill those hours with." He paused. "If this is what she knows, all that she knows, then Claire will be happy here."
Mrs. Kennie spread her plump arms wide. "But, this place is no longer her whole world." she sighed. "There is something, someone, that inhabits it now, expanding it exponentially. I just hope that she will be safe. That is what I want for her."
"She will be safe." Beast said with dead certainty. "I will never let anything happen to her."
She smiled at him softly. "After saying that, how can you say that you do not love her?"
But Beast did not answer. He just stared ahead. After a few moments, he rose, walking out of the room. Mrs. Kennie sighed heavily. She folded her arms in front of her on the table and leaned her chin on them.
*** The next night, Claire and Beast sat on the floor in Mrs. Kennie's small sitting room. They were leaning against the floral patterned couch, watching a show on her ancient flat screen television. Claire was leaning against Beast's side. She frowned at the picture. "Why do they always have to kiss like that?" She asked irritably. "The volcano is going to erupt, they shouldn't be wasting time and just get out of there."
"Obviously, they enjoy kissing." Beast said. He wasn't particularly interested in the program. Claire was here, so he was too.
"Yeah... but do they have to do it all the time?" Claire asked in annoyance. "They could save ten minutes each week if they cut out all this mushy stuff." She gestured at the TV. "Then they could show another ninja attack, or the aliens again. Those guys were kinda cool."
"You're young yet, you'll appreciate the mushy stuff when you're older." He answered sagely.
She looked up at him ruefully. "Even if what you say is true, I hope I have enough sense not to do it when I'm in mortal peril." She frowned at him, his eyes were closed. She elbowed him in the side. "Hey, don't fall asleep on me. If I have to suffer, so do you."
"I'm not sleeping." He answered calmly, keeping his eyes shut. "And if you don't like the show, watch something else."
Claire turned back to the television. "I'm waiting for them to show the princess again." She said stubbornly. "They should make her the main character. She knows how to repel a group of ninjas."
"You mean with the giant steel fan, or the energy sword?" Beast asked, still not bothering to open his eyes.
"Both!" Claire said excitedly. "And I don't have to worry about any mushy stuff with her, since her true love turned into the Dark King. All he does is try to kidnap her."
"I'm sure he plans on a lot of kissing, should he one day succeed." Beast assured her.
Claire wrinkled her nose. "I doubt it, he's evil. Evil doesn't kiss. Evil kidnaps and locks in a tower,
while laughing maniacally. You saw the dream sequence." Claire paused. "And besides, the princess will never get caught by him. She's too awesome for that."
"What if the bard and the witch find all of the soul shards?" Beast asked. "If they turn him good again, I'm sure the mushy stuff will increase."
"They won't find them all." Claire said confidently. "They're too busy kissing all the time. If I was the princess, I would seriously cut their salary. It's been two seasons already and they only have four shards. And one of those, the princess had herself!"
"What about the one that the aliens stole?"
"Doesn't count." Claire answered promptly. "It wasn't really a shard, they just thought it was. It was actually the power crystal for the alien's ship."
"They still retrieved it though."
Claire frowned again. "Touche." She watched as the credits started scrolling up the screen. She grabbed the tiny remote and turned the TV off. She pulled her arms up over her head and stretched. "Another half hour wasted." She said moodily. "When are they ever going to get the princess out of her ice capsule?"
"That was why they were at the volcano, wasn't it?" Beast asked, opening his eyes.
Claire snorted. "Yeah, but that didn't work for obvious reasons." She said, standing up. "It's magical ice, magic doesn't follow the laws of physics." She thought for a moment. "I bet you they break it with the frost sword." She announced.
"That seems counter-productive." Beast answered. He opened his tawny eyes and looked at her.
"I'll bet you anything that it works though." Claire smiled slyly. She pushed her long red hair off of her shoulder.
"I have nothing to bet with." Beast replied.
"Sure you do." She thought again. "What about... you have to do something for me if I win?"
"Like what?" He asked.
Claire shrugged. "Anything I ask." He studied her for a long moment. Silence stretched on. Claire watched him, suddenly nervous. She began shifting uneasily. "What?" She asked self-consciously.
Claire Page 9