27. Laurel #2
We began with a standard opening series of moves.
I leaned forward to study the board, looking for any weakness in Peter’s position but couldn’t find any.
I bit my lip and slowly moved a pawn up.
If Peter took it with his bishop, my knight would be able to capture the bishop and fork his king and queen.
I knew Peter was too good a player to fall for such an obvious trap. It only worked on more inexperienced players, but I couldn’t think of a better strategy, and a bad plan was still better than staring at the board until everyone died of old age.
Peter took the pawn. An audible gasp rose from the crowd, and Peter instantly realized his mistake.
“No,” he said, his eyes widening. “I didn’t mean to…”
“If you touch it, you take it,” I said happily.
I captured his bishop with my knight. “Check.”
Peter slowly moved his king out of check, and I captured his queen. Peter’s supporters groaned and he studied the board for a long time before moving again.
Although I was significantly up in material, Peter was too good a player to lose easily.
No matter what tactics I used for the rest of the game, he managed to evade my traps and claw his way back into a stronger position.
He captured piece after piece, and I could feel the game slipping away even as the crowd leaned closer, hoping I might manage an upset.
Eventually, Peter still managed to checkmate me, but it was close.
The closest I had ever come to beating him.
We shook hands, and the crowd cheered again.
“Good game, Laurel,” Peter said as people began to disperse.
I gathered the white pieces and placed them into a leather bag. Peter did the same with the black pieces, and we began walking back to return the set to Friar Tuck.
“If you hadn’t blundered your queen, you would’ve won much sooner,” I told him truthfully.
“I wouldn’t have blundered if you hadn’t distracted me,” Peter returned.
I stopped in my tracks. “I distracted you?”
Peter suddenly looked silly with embarrassment. “I only meant… playing against you is different from playing against boys. Not that I pay attention to girls when I play, of course. I mean…”
I grinned. “So you’re saying you almost lost because you were paying attention to me instead of the board?”
Peter’s face flamed red, and it gave me a little surge of evil pleasure to see just how uncomfortable I’d made him. He was always so calm and dependable that rattling him felt like a victory far greater than winning the chess match.
“I wasn’t trying to look,” Peter said defensively. He glanced over, then snapped his eyes forward again as if he had been caught committing some terrible wrongdoing. “That shirt just looks nice on you.”
“Oh does it?” I laughed. “You do know this is your sister’s shirt, right? Do you think it looks nice on her?”
“No.” Peter looked horrified. “That would be disgusting. She’s my sister. It just… It just looks different on you.”
“Oh really? I didn’t realize you’d been paying so much attention to what I look like.”
Peter’s blush deepened and spread to his ears.
I shouldn’t have enjoyed making him squirm as much as I did, but after weeks of feeling powerless, there was something satisfying in knowing I could unsettle someone with only a few words.
It was a terrible thing to be glad about, and it became worse when we arrived at the largest building in camp, the stone chapel Friar Tuck used for sermons.
Its bell tower rose above us, and the sound of our footsteps quieted as we approached the door.
Peter knocked and refused to glance in my direction.
Friar Tuck opened the door and smiled at Peter, who wordlessly handed over the bag of pieces and the chess board.
“How did it go?” Friar Tuck asked in his jolly voice.
“He beat everyone, but I almost won,” I answered cheerfully.
“You nearly won?” Friar Tuck asked in astonishment. “Against Peter?” He looked between us. “I see.”
“Thank you for lending us the chess set,” mumbled Peter, already turning to leave.
“Just a moment, Laurel,” Friar Tuck called.
I wrinkled my nose briefly at Peter’s retreating back, then arranged my expression into one of polite curiosity and turned back. “Yes?”
Friar Tuck waited until Peter was out of earshot. “Don’t tease the boys, Laurel.”
“I didn’t. I didn’t do anything.”
Friar Tuck eyed me suspiciously, then sighed in a long-suffering way.
“I wasn’t doing anything wrong,” I insisted. “We just played a game of chess, he made a mistake, and I took advantage of it. You taught me to do that. Punish your opponent’s weaknesses, isn’t that what you’ve told us over and over? I’m only doing what you told me to do.”
Friar Tuck shook his head and rubbed his temples. “You and your father are so alike.”
I smiled innocently and Friar Tuck shot me a look that told me he did not believe my innocence for a second.
I’d thought our interaction after the chess game might dissuade Peter from talking to me, but it didn’t. After his brief embarrassment faded, he became the same old Peter I had always known—calm, dependable, and friendly.
Being around him made me feel almost like I was ten years old again, back when the worst thing in the world was losing a footrace or being told I had to sit through one of Friar Tuck’s lectures. I didn’t have any siblings, but Peter had always been close enough to count.
Though the tournament wasn’t exactly what I’d expected, it was still fun.
The games and contests continued each day, and little by little, I felt more like myself again.
My favorite game, Escape and Evade, was always one of the most popular events, and by the time it arrived, I was eager for something that required speed, stealth, and a healthy disregard for being tackled.
During Escape and Evade, the competitors were split into two teams. The first team was assigned to capture a designated person from the second team.
The second team had to help that person escape from the set perimeter before time ran out.
Players could tackle and hold members of the enemy team, but nothing was allowed that would cause serious injury.
The assigned person only had to be tagged for their team to lose.
It was a thrilling contest and I excelled at it.
When teams were chosen, I was selected to be the escapee. I had remained undefeated for the last three years, and Little John’s team was eager to see me fail. The rest of my team huddled around while I used a stick to sketch a rough map of the playing area in the dirt.
“Okay, Teresa, you’re the lookout.” I tapped a spot on the map.
“We’ll put you here, and you yell when you see anyone coming.
Fredrick, you’re the runner. Chase down anyone headed our way.
Peter, you and Dalton are the last line of defense.
I’ll start here, beside the chapel garden, and slip past everyone once they come looking. ”
“Easy as that, huh?” Dalton asked.
I grinned at him and shouldered my arrows. “Easy as that. Now let’s go.”