When I first opened my eyes the next morning, the room was still painted in the soft, early light of dawn. I felt incredibly well-rested. The deep aches and sharp pains in my shoulders from sparring with Euphyne all day yesterday were completely gone. I started to stretch my arms out, but I quickly realized I couldn't move very far. There was a familiar, comforting weight pressing down flat against my back.
I turned my head slightly to look over my shoulder. Elphyete was lying right on top of my back, completely fast asleep. Her silver hair was falling over my shoulder, and her soft breathing was tickling my neck. She must have been just as exhausted as I was last night. She had started massaging the tight knots in my back, and it seemed like she had just accidentally fallen asleep right in the middle of it.
I couldn't help it. The sight of her sleeping so peacefully, still practically draped over me, was too funny and sweet. I chuckled a bit, a low sound that vibrated through my chest.
The slight movement and the sound of my laugh made her stir. She let out a tiny, soft yawn and slowly blinked her eyes open. For a second, she looked confused about where she was, but then she realized she was lying entirely on top of me. She didn't jump or freak out. She just slowly pushed herself up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, her delicate elven ears twitching as she woke up.
"Good morning, Sogha," she said, her voice still a little heavy with sleep, but she had a warm, gentle smile on her face.
"Morning, Elphyete," I replied, sitting up and stretching my arms high above my head, feeling my spine pop in a very satisfying way. "Thanks for the massage, by the way. My back feels completely brand new."
She smiled a bit wider, her cheeks turning just a tiny bit pink. She slid off the bed and fixed her sleepwear. "I am glad it helped. I am going to go downstairs and start breakfast."
She quietly left the bedroom, and I took a few more minutes to fully wake up before changing into my normal daily clothes. When I finally walked down the wooden stairs, the delicious smell of frying meat and toasted bread was already filling the whole mini-mansion.
I walked into the living room and sat down on the soft cushions of the couch. Sitting right next to me, taking up more than half the sofa, was Euphyne. Just like every other morning, the giant, muscular warrior was completely distracted by the smallest thing in the house. He was playing with kitty Snowball, who was curled up comfortably right on his lap.
Euphyne was gently dangling a small piece of string above the kitten's head. Snowball would watch it with wide blue eyes, wiggle her little white bottom, and then pounce on the string with her tiny paws.
"Ah! A fierce strike!" Euphyne whispered loudly, trying not to scare the cat but clearly having the time of his life. "You are a mighty hunter, Snowball. Truly a beast of the wild!"
I just sat there and watched them, shaking my head with a smile. It was always funny to see a guy who could shatter a boulder with a single punch acting so gentle with a tiny kitten.
"Breakfast is ready," Elphyete called out from the dining room.
Euphyne carefully picked Snowball up, set her down gently on the couch cushion, and practically sprinted to the table. We all sat down and ate a great meal. Elphyete had made eggs, thick slices of bacon, and fresh bread. We ate quickly, enjoying the quiet morning before our big adventure class officially started.
After we finished eating and helped clear the plates from the table, Elphyete walked over to a small wooden cabinet in the corner of the room. She opened it and pulled out a beautifully carved wooden box. She walked back to the dining table, opened the box, and gently put down a chess board. She started lining up the black and white wooden pieces with precise, careful movements.
Once the board was perfectly set up, she sat down in her chair, rested her chin on her hands, and looked up at us with a very confident, challenging spark in her eyes.
"So," Elphyete said, a playful smile on her lips. "Who will go against me first?"
Euphyne didn't even hesitate for a single second. He slammed his hand on the table, making the wooden chess pieces rattle. "Me!!!" he shouted instantly, his eyes burning with competitive fire. "I am a master of battlefield tactics! I will crush your army, Elphyete!"
Elphyete just chuckled softly, a very calm and collected sound. "Sure, Euphyne. Take a seat."
Euphyne sat down heavily in the chair opposite her. He chose the white pieces so he could move first. He grabbed his knight and slammed it down in the middle of the board. His strategy was exactly the same as his fighting style: charge forward with everything he had and hope to break the enemy's defenses.
But chess isn't a fistfight. Elphyete didn't panic when Euphyne pushed his pieces into her territory. She just sat there quietly, her eyes scanning the board. She made small, quiet moves, sliding her pawns and bishops into very specific places. Euphyne kept attacking, thinking he was winning because he was taking her pawns. But he wasn't looking at the whole board.
After just a short while, maybe ten minutes, Elphyete reached out, picked up her queen, and slid it smoothly across the board.
"Checkmate," Elphyete said simply.
Euphyne blinked. He looked at the board, then at his king, which was completely trapped by her queen, a bishop, and a knight. He groaned loudly and ran his big hands over his face. "What? How did you do that?! My forces were advancing perfectly!"
"You forgot to protect your king, Euphyne," she said, already resetting the pieces. She looked over at me. "Your turn, Sogha."
I sat down, feeling a little nervous. I knew Elphyete was smart, but I didn't know she was a chess master. I decided to play completely differently from Euphyne. I played defensively. I kept my pieces close together, building a strong wall around my king, and only attacked when I was absolutely sure it was safe.
For a while, it seemed to be working. I lasted a bit longer than Euphyne. I managed to take one of her knights and a rook. I was feeling pretty proud of myself. But Elphyete was just setting a trap. She purposely let me take her rook so she could open up a clear path for her other pieces. Before I even realized what was happening, her bishop sliced across the board.
"Checkmate," she said again, her voice just as calm and sweet as before.
I stared at the board in disbelief. I had totally fallen for her bait. "Wow. You are really good at this," I admitted.
Euphyne leaned over my shoulder, glaring at the board. "We cannot accept this defeat, Sogha! We must try again!"
So, we tried again. Euphyne played the third game, and he tried to copy my defensive strategy, but he got impatient and charged his queen forward, losing it instantly. Checkmate.
Then I tried again. I tried to mix defense and offense. Checkmate.
Euphyne and me tried again and again. We spent the entire morning just swapping seats, trying to find a way to beat her. We tried fast attacks, slow attacks, weird moves that made no sense just to confuse her, but nothing worked. We got checkmated more than 10 times. By the end of the morning, Euphyne was practically pulling his hair out in frustration, and I was just staring at the wooden pieces like they were a complicated math puzzle I couldn't solve.
At lunch, we sat down to eat some sandwiches Elphyete had quickly put together. Elphyete is clearly smiling and happy. She practically had a halo of smug, joyful energy glowing around her. Her silver hair seemed to bounce a little more, and she kept taking small, happy bites of her food, completely enjoying the fact that she had totally destroyed both of us at a board game all morning.
"Don't look so happy," I mumbled playfully, taking a bite of my sandwich. "We'll get you next time."
"I am sure you will try," she replied, her eyes sparkling with amusement.
After we finished our light lunch at home, we decided we needed to get out of the house. We had been staring at that chess board for hours. Plus, since we were leaving for our adventure class soon, we wanted to have one really nice meal in the city.
Euphyne, Elphyete, and me left the mini-mansion and walked into the busy streets of the capital. We walked around for a bit, looking at all the shops and people, until we found a really nice, warm-looking restaurant. We went inside and ate there. It was a great meal. We ordered huge plates of roasted chicken, garlic potatoes, and sweet honey bread. We talked about the trip, wondering if Ma'am Cherha was going to make us sleep in tents or if there would be small inns along the way. It was nice to just relax and talk without worrying about Sir Vael throwing a fireball at us.
But as we were finishing our drinks, a sudden realization hit me. I looked at Euphyne. "Wait. What are we going to do with Snowball while we are gone?"
Euphyne froze, a piece of chicken falling right out of his hand. "Snowball! We cannot take a tiny kitten into the dangerous wilderness! The monsters would try to eat her!"
"We need to find a place for her to stay," Elphyete suggested, wiping her mouth with a napkin. "I heard there is a place near the merchant district that takes care of pets while their owners travel."
After we paid for our food, we quickly walked back to our mini-mansion. Euphyne carefully picked up the sleeping white kitten, holding her to his chest like she was the most precious treasure in the world. Then, we walked back into the city and headed toward the merchant district.
We eventually found a large building with a wooden sign shaped like a dog bone. It was a pet hotel. We walked inside, and the sound was crazy. There were dogs barking, colorful birds chirping, and even a few strange, fluffy fantasy creatures making weird squeaking noises. The lady at the front desk was very nice and assured us that Snowball would be fed, brushed, and played with every single day.
We decided to put Snowball in, but Euphyne was not handling it well.
He stood in the middle of the lobby, holding the tiny kitten up to his face. He looked like he was about to cry. "Listen to me, Snowball," Euphyne said, his deep voice cracking just a little bit. "You must be strong. You must not let the other animals take your food. I will miss you terribly, but I swear on my honor as a warrior, I'll come back for you."
He gently touched his nose to her tiny pink nose. Snowball just let out a soft "meow" and patted his big nose with her little white paw. It was the saddest, funniest thing I had ever seen.
I walked up to the counter and paid the lady for the cost of keeping her there for a few weeks. Euphyne finally handed the kitten over to the worker, watching with sad eyes as Snowball was carried into the back rooms of the hotel.
"She will be fine, Euphyne," Elphyete said kindly, patting his massive arm. "They will take good care of her."
After a sad sigh from our giant friend, we headed back home. The walk back was a little quieter without Euphyne talking about his "fierce beast." When we got back to the mini-mansion, the house felt just a tiny bit empty without the kitten running around.
To distract ourselves, we looked at the dining table. The chess board was exactly where we left it.
Euphyne cracked his knuckles. "Once more. For Snowball."
We just played against Elphyete in chess more again. The afternoon turned into evening. The sun went down, and we had to light the lamps inside the house. But it didn't matter how much extra motivation Euphyne had, or how carefully I thought about my moves. We still lost. Every single time. Elphyete was a total genius at the game. She could see five moves ahead of us easily.
Eventually, we just gave up. We were too tired to keep losing. Elphyete went into the kitchen and made a simple dinner for us since we had eaten a big meal at the restaurant earlier. We sat at the table eating bowls of warm stew.
I looked across the table at Elphyete. She was trying to act normal, eating her food quietly, but she couldn't completely hide her pride. At dinner, Elphyete's ear is wiggling. Her long elven ears were twitching and bouncing happily with every bite she took. It was a dead giveaway that she was incredibly pleased with herself for totally dominating us at the game all day.
When we finally finished eating and cleaned up the kitchen, we were all completely exhausted. We said goodnight to Euphyne, who dragged his feet up the stairs, still looking a little sad about Snowball.
Elphyete and I went into our bedroom and changed into our sleepwear. The room was cool and dark, and the bed felt amazing after sitting in those hard dining chairs all day. We laid down, pulling the soft blankets up over our shoulders.
The room was quiet for a minute. I turned my head to look at her in the dim moonlight filtering through the window.
I jokingly said to Elphyete, "You know, you could have gone easy on us at least once. You must have known that we'll lose to you from the very first game."
Elphyete turned her head to look at me. The moonlight caught her eyes, and she gave me a very mischievous, playful look that I rarely saw from her. She smirked, a small, confident curve of her lips.
"Secret," she whispered softly.
I chuckled, shaking my head. I didn't mind losing to her, not really. It had been a fun, normal day, exactly the kind of day we needed before heading out into the dangerous wilderness of Fhajin tomorrow.
"Goodnight, chess master," I said softly.
"Goodnight, Sogha," she replied.
I closed my eyes, listening to the quiet sounds of the night, and let myself drift off. We went to sleep, ready for whatever the adventure class would bring us in the morning.