Bet

Following behind the girl, Kile started to draw a conclusion, 'Now that I think about it, it's obvious why the group of boys looked healthier than the others. I am pretty sure that I am not their only victim; they'll prey upon anyone who looks weak. Oh, poor children...'

They walked without speaking a word to eachother. The closer they got to the girl's tent, the rowdier the people around them got. One of the girls said, "Hey, Bella! Hey, Kile!"

"Hey!" replied Bella—the girl, Kile had been following.

"Hey..." Kile also decided that it'd be wise to return the greeting.

"Kile, what happened to your face?" the girl asked in worry. Kile replied yet again with another lie, "Oh, I just had a bad fall."

"I see. Be careful, okay? You're so weak, and have such a fragile body. Even my little sister, who's a year younger than you is more sturdy. So, take care of yourself. I don't want your handsome face to be ruined."

'Handsome? Was Kile handsome? I couldn't get a proper look because the water that reflected his—no, my (current) face was all muddied up. Also, damn, am I really THAT weak that even an eleven year old girl (assumed age) is healthier than me? Oh right, I need to reply to her goodwill.'

"Yes... I will. Thank you," Kile said with a bitter smile. The girl responded with a smile.

"Alright, Laura. We'll get going, bye," Bella who had been quiet up till now, bid farewell to Laura. Laura waved her hand and then went her own way.

After walking for around 30 more seconds, they reached Bella's tent.

"Sit down, I'll get the leftover porridge."

"Got it."

Kile took some time to think about what information he found significant so far. The most significant one out of them all was, the gentleman, who always came to distribute bread. The other was Der.

'He seemed like the leader of the group. The number of boys was seven. There could be more though. Given the scarcity of food over here, I don't think they store the food away anywhere, and just eat right after snatching them from kids like this boy. I will definitely fuck him up one day, but until then, I need to find out a way to earn my own bread. I can't just rely on a single person for my food. Oh right, how about I ask the gentleman to give me wor—'

"Food's ready," Bella said, interrupting Kile's line of thought. "Eat slowly, okay?"

"Yes, thank you," Kile said, as he took the bowl from Bella. And slowly started eating. You see, after not eating for a while, if you suddenly eat a lot, and in one go, it'll result in a very bad situation for you. In many cases, people even die. Given how fragile Kile's body was, it was possible for that exact scenario to take place.

'Ugh, this tastes bad, but I'll have to eat it, in order to live.'

After 15 minutes, Kile finished eating, and asked, "So, uh, about the kind mister..."

"Oh yeah, he should be near Aunt Dorothy's hit."

'Now who is this "Dorothy," and where does she live?' Kile pondered. After a few seconds, with a pleading face, he looked at Bella, and said, "Um, can we go together today, I am a bit scared that they might take my bread away today, too."

Bella's face softened after looking at Kile. With a smile, Bella said, "Sure, let's go. It's already dark, and he should be here in an hours."

"Also, I can understand why you lied to Laura, but don't let it turn into a habit, okay? Lying is bad."

"Un," Kile nodded. 'I wonder where she got this kind of personality from. Is there a Bible in this tent?'

.

.

.

After an hour, the two started walking towards Aunt Dorothy's house, whoever Dorothy was. The closer they got, the louder the surroundings around them became, the more people, they saw. But they soon noticed that the people were walking away with disappointed faces. There was Der, and his lackeys, too. They were now ten in number. They, too, left after clicking their tongues. Bella, and Kile wondered why, but got their answer. The gentleman did not drop by tonight.

Letting out a soft, Kile said, "What a bummer."

"Indeed."

"Well, wanna head back?"

"Yeah, let's do that. *Sigh* I wonder how dad's doing. He's been in the bar for 3 hours. Probably gambling."

'Bar? Gambling?' Kile's ears perked up. 'Now you got me interested, girl. I kinda wanna go there. I don't know what type of games there are, but if there's something I recognise, I'll play.'

"Actually, wanna head to the bar?"

"What? Why?"

"To get your dad. I am a bit worried about him. Gambling is addicting, and since he's in a bar, he must be drinking. A drunk mind is never stable, so things could go bad. Let's stop him before something happens."

" ...Hmm. Alright."

Once again, they started walking. As they walked, the more civilized the roads became, and so did the houses. The roads were constructed from bricks, and the same went for the houses.

'Medieval Europe..' Kile thought.

Soon, they stood in front of a building, which looked a bit bigger than the other buildings that they saw. Bella slowly turned the door handle, and opened the door.

The two of them were greeted by the laughter of drunk men. There were sets of 13 small tables and chairs. All of them were occupied.

"Look, there he is," Bella pointed. Kile looked over to the direction of her finger, and saw two men, facing each other with a board in the middle. One of them looked healthier than the other. Kile immediately deduced that the unhealthy, and malnourished looking man was Bella's father. The healthier man had a grin on his face, while Bella's father had a look of frustration.

'Oh, I definitely have no idea who is losing,' Kile thought sarcastically. The more he watched them, the more Kile understood the game they were playing. 'It's chess. Let's go! I wanna play, too! Actually, scratch that, I'll destroy them. Both of them play shit. Bella's dad is worse, and is only a one-mover, but the other guy isn't much better, either. He only sees two moves ahead.'

Bella understood her dad's situation and remained quiet. After capturing all of Bella's father's pieces, and 12 more moves, Bella's father's king was locked into a checkmate.

"It's over," the other guy said.

"Tsk. One mor—"

"Dad...."

"Bella? What are you doing here? The boy's here, too."

"We were worried. Let's head back now."

"No, but I still can—"

"Dad, please." At this, Bella's dad gave up, and slowly stood up from the chair. 'They were playing for a while, and looking at the old man's frustrated face, he must've been on a losing streak.'

Bella, and her dad started for the exit, but then Kile spoke up:

"I wanna play, too."

At this, the man who had won, and the two Bellas became surprised. But the man's surprise quickly turned into a grin. He said, "Sure, but let me warn you, kid. I am one of the best Tisha players here."

Kile said, "I still want to play. If I win, give back whatever you took from her dad." 'So, this game is called Tisha. I'll still call it chess. And if you are one of the best here, then I worry about this area's chess' future.'

At Kile's demand, they all looked shook. After a few seconds, the man said, "I will, but if I win, what will I get in return?"

There was a deep silence between them. After what felt around 20 seconds, Kile replied with a smile, "I'll become your slave."