The Old Guard, Albert

"CHECK! Aha!" Yuki was excited. She moved her first White Rook in the line of her opponent's King. Playing black, the guard had the disadvantage, although he was on the great defensive. Thus, Yuki forced the old guard to shield his King with the Black Bishop, which was his second last piece, excluding the King.

"A thank you!" Yuki took his last Bishop, that protected the King with her White Queen. And she blocked the Black King for a second time. The old guard had no other choice and advanced his Black King. And Yuki finally pinned his King piece once again when she moved her second Rook and blocked it. "CHECKMATE!" Yuki won once again.

"Oh, no!" the guard grunt. "This is a beginner's luck!" He tried looking for weakness in the way Yuki had played it, but she had made zero mistakes. The game was smooth. And steady.

"Mister… we are already on the fourth round. It is not a beginner's luck." Yuki backed up to herself. She went on winning every single game against the guard. "Whoa! I can already smell the victory."

The old guard chortled. "What is the smell of victory? A ham sandwich?" The guard jested.

"Totally!" Yuki nodded her head.

Yuki did not have any weakness, but he recognized Yuki's game pattern. "You liked to move and protect the Queen piece, ha?"

"Well, well. Behind every successful man, there is a strong woman. And behind a King is his Queen, which is the greatest piece on the chessboard! The Queen is the most powerful piece in the game of chess," believed Yuki.

The guard smiled. This girl was too naïve. "No, young lady." He paused. "Sometimes… you have to learn to sacrifice the Queen piece. You ever heard of promotion?"

Yuki nodded her head. Of course, she knew that rule, but she did not have many chances to have it. Promotion in chess is a rule that requires a pawn that reaches the eighth rank to be replaced by the player's choice of a Knight, Bishop, Rook, or Queen of the same color.

"Sacrifice your Queen piece. And use your pawn to upgrade into a Queen. Make a new Queen yourself." The guard seemed like he wanted to say, 'Replace the last Queen and make the new one.'

Yuki seemed lost in thought. Yeah. She confessed that she depended too much on the Queen than on the other pieces. She let her pawns got removed because she wanted to protect her Queen.

After a brief moment of silent thinking, Yuki spoke, "Okay! Last round?"

The guard was ready. They rearranged the pieces on the chessboard for the fifth time. For the last round, Yuki played Black, and the guard played White.

The fifth round was delicate yet complex. The guard finally attacked mercilessly. Both Yuki and the guard made no mistakes at the beginning of the game. But when they reached the middle, the guard altered his tactic. He removed the Black Queen from the chessboard when Yuki inadvertently gave an opening. And the pace of the last round changed. Yuki was amused.

Unlike other rounds, Yuki took more time between her moves this time. She was hesitant to pick up the black pieces. The stiffness of her body tightened as the guard suddenly improved his game pattern. Yuki was studying the board for a long time now. Her shoulders were stiffed from the pressure of the game. It was harder than what Yuki presumed. It seemed like she underestimated the old guard.

The game finally ended with Yuki's loss. It took a hard time to adapt to this new game design. The guard already advised her to promote one of her pawns. However, it was tough when he kept blocking and removing her pawns, one by one, with his rook when the pawns finally advanced to the eighth ranks.

The guard did not give her a chance. "You win… I lost!" said Yuki, with her voice was almost inaudible. There was a slight sense of disappointment in her expression.

"You won four rounds, lassie," said the guard.

Yeah! She won four times. But the loss on the final round was truly unacceptable and made her bowled over. Yuki admitted she was not a good loser. And she lost a precious sandwich!

The guard collected all the pieces and put them back into its chess box. He put the chess on the table and took the sandwich. And he sat in front of Yuki once again. He cut the sandwich into halves and hand over a half to Yuki.

Yuki was puzzled, but her hands accepted the sandwich. "But I lost the last round."

The old guard said, "You only lost once, girl. But you won most of the rounds. I still owe you a half sandwich. Be grateful that I share my precious lunch!"

Yuki was touched. This old guard was sweet. Really! He was the only one that spoke nicely to her since she first came here. Yuki stared at her sandwich and almost cried. She ate the sandwich in a hurry. As if someone else would take the sandwich from her.

"Whoa! Slow down, young lady. I don't want you to lose a finger." The guard chuckled loudly. It was his first time meeting a weird vampire who could play chess and eat normal food.

After eating the sandwich, Yuki could feel her energy was returning. She thought for a second, she might lose the last round because she could not focus on it. She was hungry!

Well, that was a lame excuse. She lost because she kept focusing on the Queen. Duh!

The guard also finished eating. When he wanted to stand up, he saw Yuki was wearing a necklace. A locket?

"That is a nice locket there. Can I see it?" ask him, politely.

Yuki touched her locket. "Yeah, sure." She took off her golden locket and hand it over to the guard.

The guard opened the locket. The inside of the locket had a slight recess meant to hold a photo in place. He looked at the persons in the photograph.

"Your parents?"

Yuki nodded in joy. "Yup."

"Still alive?" asked the guard unexpectedly.

Yuki's face slowly turned melancholy. "Oh… no. They passed away when I was a newborn," explained Yuki with a sad sound. Yes. She never met her parents directly. Only a tiny photo of them was left.

The guard looked at the photo and the locket again. After some split second, he spoke up. "You are so loved, child."

That sudden statement confused Yuki. "What do you mean?" She questioned. Quietly.

"Here…" the guard showed something on the locket to Yuki. "There are words written here."

"No. It only has a photo in there," Yuki denied. But when the guard showed it to Yuki, she was speechless. There were some words engraved on the locket, and it was Yuki's very first time seeing them. It was written, 'No matter where you are, we are always with you.'

"Weird." Yuki laughed nervously. "It wasn't there before." The guard handed back the locket to its owner.

Yuki stared at the engraving, which she never saw in the past. Her mind was full of thoughts and curiosity. She slightly touched the tiny engraved words.

"You have your mother's smile and eyes. And your father's hair," said the guard. Suddenly.

It surprised Yuki at first. She looked at the photo in the locket and smiled. "Yeah… yes, I do." Yuki acknowledged it. And she was proud! She looked like her father, but her smile was more like her mother's.

Yuki thought for a second. What would her life be, if her parents were there with her to see her growing up and more?

The silence returned into the underground cell.

"What is your name, lass?" Finally, the guard asked her name.

"Yuki," answered her shortly.

"And your family name?"

"It just… Yuki."

The guard nodded his head and held out his right hand. "I am Albert." They shook hands. "Good game, Miss Yuki. You made my day."

"How old are you, Albert?" asked Yuki. That question was on her mind the whole day.

Albert raised his shoulders. "Probably much more than what you imagined right now."

"Sixty? Seventy?"

"Mm… more than that. Maybe if you add a zero after seventy."

"WHAT?!" Yuki could not believe her ears.