Fiction Request for DaevaCentral

The Eternal Game

It was the end of a typical school day as far as Juno was concerned.  She slung her backpack over her shoulders, walked out of her school and made her way home via her usual route.  Her Chuck Taylors splashed in the puddles of rainwater from the storm that moved through her town earlier and the chilly spring air blew back her ponytailed hair and stung the skin of her exposed arms.  She picked up her pace, wishing she’d brought a jacket and that she had paid attention to the weather forecast the night before. Maybe then she would've thought to wear more than just jeans and a tank top.  

As she made her way through an alleyway, a shortcut she had used for years, she expected to see the street she lived on at the end but when she came to the end of the alley an entirely new sight greeted her.

Juno was standing in the middle of a barren pink plain underneath a pale yellow sky.  Far off in the distance she could see a few blue cactus-looking plants and a few large white clouds dotted the sky.  

“OK,” Juno mused aloud. “This is weird.”

If the landscape wasn't strange enough, a few hundred yards directly in front of her there was an enormous red and black chessboard about the size of a cornfield.  What was even stranger was that the pieces on the board looked like actual people. And they were moving.

Without giving it a second thought, Juno stepped forward to get a better look at the giant chess game just to make sure that her eyes weren't deceiving her.

As she got closer, she noticed that each player on the board was wearing an elaborate black and red or white and gray costume, depending on which side they were on and what position they were playing.  They pawns had the simplest costumes of the bunch, white or black tunics with hearts, diamonds, clubs or spades embroidered on them with red or gray thread. While the king and queen on each side had the most stunning costumes made of silk and jewels of the same colors. She also noticed that each player was unique in size and features but all the higher ranking players such as the knights and bishops seemed to be the tallest.  Each of the players also had the most unusual hair and eye colors Juno had ever seen.

What was even more peculiar was that as each player in the game moved to take out another, they used a sword, club, bow and arrow or a battle ax on their opponent.  This startled Juno at first but instead of there being a violent, bloody death; the player who was struck simply faded away and reappeared behind their respective king and queen. It was as if they were waiting to join the battle again.

Juno was so awestruck by the sight that she hadn’t noticed that she had gasped aloud when a light-haired, blue-eyed white pawn was struck by an opposing pawn’s club.  It wasn’t until a resounding, regal voice had shouted, “Who goes there” that she’d realized that everyone on the chessboard was staring at her. Some of the players were even brandishing their weapons, waiting for their masters to give the order.

“I…I…I’m so sorry,” Juno stammered nervously.  “I w-was just on my way home and I j-j-just walked out of the alley and saw all this and…”

“A mortal,” the bearded king on the black and red side interrupted her as if he didn’t really care what she had to say.  “How on earth did a mortal find her way into our realm?”

“And a mere child at that,” the black and red king’s rather cruel looking queen added as she looked down on Juno.

At this, Juno didn’t really know what to say in reply.  She just stood there agape with surprise until the king on the white and gray side broke the silence.

“It matters not how she came here.  What matters is that she was able to enter this realm and witness our Eternal Game in the first place.”

“In that regard,” the white and gray king continued.  “I believe that she is more than qualified to bear the responsibilities of our respective kingdoms.”

There was a long pause as both of the kings and queens, along with their bishops and knights, discussed amongst themselves something that Juno couldn’t quite hear.  

“’Responsibilities of our respective kingdoms,’” Juno thought to herself.  “What does that mean? And what do they mean by their ‘Eternal Game?’”

After about five minutes of quietly discussing the matter, the black and red king turned to his counterpart and said,

“For once I am in agreement with you.  She is in some way worthy of our powers.”

“Very well then,” the white and gray king responded smiling.  “Arin, bring her forward.”

The light-haired pawn that had been waiting behind the king and queen stepped forward and held his hand out to Juno, who nervously took it and stepped up onto the fine marble surface of the chessboard.  Not only was she frightened about the whole situation, but she was also pleasantly surprised at how good looking the pawn known as Arin was.  His eyes were the deepest color blue Juno had ever seen, his ruffled hair was such a light blond color it was almost white, and his smile was like something out of one of her dreams.

It wasn’t until the white and gray queen asked Juno her name that she tore her eyes away from Arin and stammered out her name, still in awe of everything she had seen so far.  The white and gray king had a beard like his counterpart, but his was a light blond color and more of a mock tee than an actual beard. He also looked much younger and had kind eyes the color of stainless steel.  His queen had long flowing hair as white as snow, sea green eyes and was more beautiful than any magazine model Juno had ever seen.

“Well then,” started the gray and white king. “I king Elysio of the White and Gray Rule…”

“And I Queen Hester,” the queen continued.

“We bestow upon thee, Lady Juno of the Mortal Realm, with the powers of the White and Gray Rule,” King Elysio and Queen Hester stated holding out their scepters toward the teenager. “Use them well and use them wisely.”

As they spoke, spheres of pure white light began to grow at the tips of their scepters until they were about the size of softballs. The spheres then floated down toward Juno and started to rapidly circle around her until she was surrounded by a cylinder of white light.  Normally Juno would have been scared out of her wits but for some reason she felt a strange kind of peace as the light encircled her. She also, for some unexplainable reason, felt much empowered and very brave.  After about thirty seconds the cylinder of light faded away and Juno could see the rest of the chessboard.  She didn’t look any different; as a matter of fact she looked about the same as she did before. However she felt completely different from when she first arrived. She was no longer scared or weirded out, she felt courageous and ready to take on any challenge and right any wrong.

“Do not forget that she must also receive our powers in order to maintain the balance,” a perturbed red and black king shouted from across the chessboard.

“No, I did not forget,” King Elysio responded, his eyes narrowing in contempt at the opposing king. “I am sending her to you now.”

“C’mon,” Arin said as he held out his hand to Juno.

As the two of them headed toward the red and black side, that feeling of uneasiness began to creep back into Juno’s mind. The stares she was getting from the red and black players were condescending and icy, not at all like the ones from the white and gray players which were more curious than anything else.  When the two of them approached the king and queen, Juno gripped Arin’s hand a little tighter, and he returned the gesture with a reassuring squeeze.

The appearances of the red and black monarchs were quite the opposite of the white and gray ones. The king’s dark beard was shaped into a point on his chin, his brow was furrowed with wrinkles and his narrow eyes were an ice blue color. The queen had a sharp nose and chin, raven black hair and nails and eyes as red as blood.

“Lady Juno of the Mortal Realm,” the red and black king’s voice boomed overhead. “I King Zophar of the Red and Black Regime…”

“And I, Queen Jahda,” Zophar’s queen added.

“We bestow upon thee the powers of the Red and Black Regime.” Zophar and Jahda pronounced in unison as they held out their scepters to Juno. “Use them well and use them wisely.”

As they spoke, a similar thing happened as when King Elysio and Queen Hester had bestowed their powers. Only this time there were spheres of black light as black as a starless night.  Also instead of floating toward Juno, the spheres raced their way down to her and immediately she was surrounded by a cylinder of blackness. This experience was unlike the one she had with the white light.  She instead felt power coursing through her being. Not like power to protect and do justice, but power to conquer and rule over by any means necessary. At first Juno kind of enjoyed the feeling but then she felt terrified of the whole aspect of having such cruel power.

As the black cylinder dissipated, Juno felt the same mix of power and terror but as the seconds passed she could feel the courageous power from the white and gray rulers building up within her. Eventually both of these powers reached some kind of equilibrium and Juno felt completely at ease, almost as if she knew what she had to do even though what that was was unclear to her at the time.

“Now,” King Elysio’s voice rang out. “Take the totem symbolizing our power and return to your own realm.”

“Remember our words child: use these powers well and use them wisely,” the four monarchs’ voices echoed together as a pale yellow light surrounded Juno obscuring the chessboard from her sight.

The next thing she knew, Juno was standing on her street not a few houses down from her home. She had barely started to process whether what she had just seen and heard was real or not when she realized she was holding something in her right hand.  She turned to see a fine, curved walking staff made of a wood that looked like mahogany. The staff was gnarled but was as smooth as glass and was etched with red hearts and diamonds, and black spades and clubs wrapping along its length.  At the top of the staff there were two red and gray silk ribbons decorated with black and white feathers and jewel-like beads. Was this the totem the white and gray king had spoken of?

Juno wasn’t sure if it was, or if what she saw was real at all. However she supposed that she would figure it out eventually. Right now she wanted to get home before the rain started up again.

“Mind if I walk you home,” a male voice behind her asked.

Juno spun around to see of all people Arin standing behind her. However instead of the tunic and trousers he was wearing earlier, he was dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a gray hooded sweatshirt with hearts, clubs, spades and diamonds stitched in white thread along the right side of it.  His hood was up obscuring much of his face, but his bright blue eyes and heart-melting smile lit up his entire face.

“No way,” Juno marveled aloud.