play the game.

[Audo]

play the game.

A chessboard was resting on the scruff of a concrete picnic table in the park. The light poking through the nearby trees lit up the board and its players sitting at the table. There were two sides. One light. One dark.

A girl in a red dress sat on one side of the table. Humble in nature, she kept her arms close to her body, only deviating from this position to move one of her white pieces across the board. She didn’t want to admit it, but she was rather intimidated by her opponent on the other end of the table.

The girl on the other side of the table crossed her legs and bore a thick smile as she moved one of her black pieces, taking out one of the white pawns. Her eyes flicked up to the timid girl on the other side, as her smile cracked even further into a sadistic grin.

“You know you’re never going to win right?” She piped in coyly as she watched the other girl move her white Rook. “It always ends the same between us, you know that. And, honestly, I don’t see why you can’t accept that. It’s your destiny to lose. Just like it is mine to win. You do realize this, no?”

“It only ends once,” the timid girl replied, sinking in her spot. Her voice had quivered when she said it, and she knew that her opponent had noticed, for the corner of her lips peaked in a smirk. “Everything before that is just progress.”

“You think so, do you? After having gone through this same thing so many times, surely you can’t actually think the outcome would be any different. I am always going to win.”

“I’m not as weak as you think I am,” the girl said which caused the opponent to arch her neck as she roared with laughter that filled the park. “I can beat you.”

The opponent’s laughter subsided, but her grin did not. “You know how badly I want to kill you?” The girl nodded. “One of these days – I’ll find a way to do more than just beat you at this silly game.”

“No you won’t. This is where it ends. I am done with letting you use me and my body for this. This is my body, and you don’t belong.”

“You say that now, as if I haven’t been the one in control. I win this game, and I win you. And I will always win.”

The pieces continued to move as they talked. Their eyes constantly darted between the board and each other. One of them was always smiling, the other, tried her best at keeping her emotions hidden from view. There were no birds chirping, no children laughing, no wind blowing; it was silent with the exception of the sound of chess pieces moving across the board and their voices in a calm whisper.

“I’m stronger than you think I am,” the girl said, moving her Bishop.

“I know you like to think that,” the opponent smiled. “But, honestly, we’ve been doing this for years. Do you really think today is going to be any different? Everyone you know – that we know – they all know you as me. They’re friends with you because of me. They like you because of me. What do you think is going to happen if you actually get out? You think they’re still going to like you, with you being you? No one ever liked you. That’s what got us here, to this place – don’t you remember?”

“Yes,” the girl said, looking down. “I remember. But things are different now, I’ve changed. I have.”

“Honey,” the opponent said, the smile fading from her face, “no, you haven’t. You’re stuck in here because you’re still the same. You’re still the same little girl who couldn’t deal – who couldn’t cope – with what happened to you. You were put in this place because of you. I am here, because of you. You haven’t changed, because, if you had – if you truly had – I wouldn’t be here.”

“I’ve changed,” the girl reiterated. “I know... that’s how things used to be, but they aren’t that way now.”

“You can keep saying that all you want but that doesn’t change anything. Even if you’re right – and I do mean if – how are you even going to function outside of this place? You’ve been here for so long, I’ve been in control for so long; you don’t even know yourself. All of the relationships you have with people are because of me, now. What are you going to do if they find out the real you and they don’t like it?”

“I’ll find new people, ones who like me for me.”

“Do you remember where that got you last time? It got you here. You were so desperately searching for someone who would like you ‘for you’ that you ended up getting hurt beyond repair. And then I came into your life. I had to pick up the pieces and I had to keep you stable. It’s been years since I last transitioned, and I’ve kept control all that time in order to protect you. Everything I did, I did for us – for you.”

The opponent wasn’t smiling, and hadn’t for a while. She was so focused on the girl across the table, that she was hardly paying any attention to the chessboard in front of her, making only half-thought moves on the board.

The girl looked up at her opponent as a tear slid down the side of her cheek. “I don’t need you protecting me anymore,” she said, and as she moved her Rook across the board, a tear fell onto the table. “Checkmate.”

[tdc456]

Well I loved Candy Suicide.
And now I love this. Such a great story.
Don't know whats going on really, but I want to know more.
Looking forward to the rest.

[Almagest]

ooooh. I like this story. I love the internal/external conflict presented here and the somewhat vague nature of the girl's past.

One question: Is there a reason her dress is red? White seems like a better color for someone so childlike/innocent. Then again, the events in her past could've taken that innocence from her, hence the red...

[Audo]

Originally Posted by tdc456

Well I loved Candy Suicide.
And now I love this. Such a great story.
Don't know whats going on really, but I want to know more.
Looking forward to the rest.

lol, there is no "rest"

[Zero Sora]

I can't believe I'm the first to see (more or less comment on) the connections it has to a certain TV show :3 Nice Audo

[tdc456]

Originally Posted by Audo

lol, there is no "rest"

well don't i feel stupid
the way you wrote it, it just seemed like it wasn't over

off topic: what are those level/exp bars under the avatars?

[Audo]

Originally Posted by Zero Sora

I can't believe I'm the first to see (more or less comment on) the connections it has to a certain TV show :3 Nice Audo

haha. yeah.

[Archetype00x]

I love the way you write. And I really like this story.

[Riel]

While I enjoy the piece, and I don't really think that there's anything wrong with the diction or syntax, it feels just a bit cliche to me. I mean, it's pretty much just going on about this girl trying to escape from her alternate personality. Which, I get.

But, I don't really feel as if that's all that /original/.

So, overall, I liked the piece, I just wasn't very surprised by it.