Flashback A Friendly Investigation (Bianca)

[Keene Ward]

The twenty-sixth day of spring, 503 AV

Keene arrived at the library at the eleventh bell, hoping to get a little bit of private research in before his rendezvous with Bianca White was to commence. The past few days he had been busy with lessons, unable to make it to the library at all. After Bianca White had left, he had had a grand total of ten chimes before Mella had come to fetch him, furious about the empty inkwell at home he had forgotten to mention to her. The latter part of the day had been a series of scolding, shopping, scolding, more scolding, and several bell's worth of time copying The Night Before Dawn's several collections of poems until he had gone through half of a well and his fingers were too tired to do any more. The subsequent days had been a combination of nader canoch practice, more writing, and memorization exercises.

As he padded his way across the library floor, however, he had made sure he had left home with everything in order. Short of some kind of terrible incident, he was certain he would have the majority of the day to himself. Bianca White, of course, was going to be a part of it, but she was interesting enough. While he would have preferred to have sit and read in silence until the sun had set, Keene had agreed to the social contract of "friendship". In the short bell before the strange, pushy young girl arrived, Keene had devised a plan to learn more about what it was he had agreed to. The beauty of books what that all information a person sought could be found, if that person knew where to look. Keene, however, did not know. The short woman with spectacles and a large nose standing behind the desk near the front of the library, however, most certainly did.

"Excuse me." Keene's voice was partially muffled by his lack of height, placing his mouth in direct line with the wood of the desk. The woman seemed to not respond as she scribbled on a piece of paper. "Excuse me!" The woman jumped slightly, glancing around before she spotted the diminutive boy staring up at her.

"Oh! Yes, dear, how can I help you? Are you lost?"

"I'm not lost. I would like a book on friendship, please." He added the nicety as he found it usually resulted in people giving him what he wanted more often than not.

"Friendship?" The woman hummed as she tapped her chin. "I can think of a few books, but they're a bit difficult to read..."

Keene nodded with contentment. "That will be fine, thank you." The woman gave him a skeptical raise of the brow, but decided there was no point in continuing her subtle cautioning. Stepping out from behind the wooden structure the woman beckoned Keene to follow, and he obliged, falling into pace a few steps back from her squat frame. She swayed to and fro, glancing at the shelves they passed until she found what she had been looking for. She squeezed in between the shelves, pulling several books along the way before popping out the other side and daintily placing them on a reading table.

"There you are, dear."

Keene gave her a nod, which she returned with a perplexed squint before she shook her head, bustling off back to her post. Keene scooted the chair back some, the heavy wood scraping against stone, before wiggling into to gaze down at the assortment of literature the woman had left him. There were four books, two large, one medium, and one that looked like a journal, bound in leather and held shut with a string and knot. He chose the medium sized book, bound in a read leather with the words "Friendship's Folly" engraved in black lettering. It was quite unlike the informational texts he'd been used to reading, and while he was slightly put off by the lack of professionalism the book seemed to contain, curiosity got the better of him. He flipped it open to the first few pages, searching for a table of contents that contained the headings of chapters so that he might more easily find what he was looking for. He was dismayed to find a collection of artistic titles, all similar in feel. Deciding to just open it up to a point and read, Keene did so, sitting with his weight on his knees and elbows to better see the handwriting.

...and as she held the dagger over my bruised and battered body, I screamed at her, berating her for her blatant disregard for that which I had believed had been our friendship. She sneered down at me, her lips curling back to reveal the soft white of her teeth.

"You thought we were comrades, Julius?" She let out a horrible laugh that I couldn't help but cringe at. "You are blinded by affection, fool."

I couldn't help myself as tears began to flow. "Were we not allies? Not friends?" I shook my head, "I trusted you."

"You trusted too easily." She drew her dagger up, preparing to plunge it-

Keene frowned down at the drama. From he he gleaned, friendship, like any agreement, was betrayable. There was a foundation of trust and affection (though he wasn't quite sure about the latter). Flipping to an earlier second in the novel, Keene started to read once more.

...left my arms and padded across the room, shaking her head.

"How is it you comfort me so, Julius?"

I shook me head, smiling. "I know you better than you do, perhaps?"

She chuckled, "Perhaps."

It amazed me how close we had grown to each other. She knew me and I she, our secrets belonged to the two of us. She returned, slipping her shoulder out of-

Again Keene stopped reading. He may not have known much about friendship, but he was aware there was a difference between friendship and romance. Grabbing another book, Keene pulled it open, the title of the work on the first page: "The Nature of Relations". It seemed to be a bit more expository than the previous book, and Keene had a much better feeling as he opened to the table of contents and was greeted with a collection of what appeared to be headings referring to various forms of social conduct. Flipping to the second chapter labeled with a simple "Friendship", Keene started reading.

And what, exactly is a friend? There have been many different interpretations of what it means to be a "friend", though there is a general consensus that friendship usually involves a mutual trust between two individuals beyond that of an acquaintanceship discussed in the previous chapter. Some believe friendship requires a "give and take" relationship, in which each friend both expects something of the other as well as fulfills the expectations of the other, often without having to inquire about what those expectations are due to the closeness of the relationship. This is highly debated, however, as there are others who believe friendship only requires both parties to agree to the descriptor; in this case "friendship" merely becomes a title for what would otherwise be an acquaintance.

There are, however, other, less drastic theories on the nature of friendship. The popular belief is that friendship is a bond formed between two individuals, often gradually, through which they grow to learn and understand more and more about the other, deepening the relationship while still remaining platonic. Of course, using this model, it is not uncommon for a friendship to evolve into an infatuation, romance, or even devolve into estranged friends or enemies (these will be discussed in later chapters). For the duration of the text, friendship will be referred to-

Keene stopped reading to contemplate what his eyes had just logged into his brain. It seemed the contract of friendship was something much more fluid than he had initially believed it to be. There were a myriad of interpretations, making the nature of friendship a subjective social contrivance. He wasn't sure quite yet what to make of things, but Keene figured things would become more and more clear as he read on. Hunkering down over the pages, he began anew, slipping into the words with an easy interest that passed the time quite quickly.

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[Bianca White]

Bianca's parents encouraged her to go to the library. It was to be noted that they had, for a long time now, noticed that she was not one to have many friends at any given time. It wasn't by any fault of their own, per se, and while she wasn't antisocial, many children her own age found Bianca to be unappealing simply from the combination of her small stature and bossy attitude. This is why, when the young girl notified her parents that she was meeting a friend at the library today, they were pleasantly surprised and insisted on at least braiding her hair to celebrate such a momentous event.

The braid was gone and her hair was everywhere before Bianca was even halfway towards the library.

She was a few minutes late, having stopped every so often to look at an interesting insect or group of people, though it was obvious she didn't care and most definitely wouldn't apologize. The door was opened with the customary sneeze, and Bianca wandered through the library for a full 10 chimes before stopping directly in front of Keene, leaning forward, placing her hands on the table and tapping her foot with only the slightest hint of impatience.

"Whatcha reading?" She didn't bother actually looking at the page or the titles of the stacks of books next to him. Bianca prefered to hear things come directly from the mouths of others, though if he didn't respond quickly enough she would surely pick up one of the books and find out herself. Patience was not a virtue the young girl possessed.

Her own interest in Keene, however, outmatched her interest in the subject of his readings. He was cute, in his own right, but obviously a bit younger than she was. It irked her that his own intellect matched hers, even as he was younger, but the excitement of having a friend competed heavily with her annoyance. Even as she stood there, a smile was plastered on her face and a strand of hair pushed behind her ear.

[Keene Ward]

It is a common practice to greet friends with a wave or smile. Some even go as far as to embrace after having not seen each other for awhile. Again, as has been stated innumerable times, the concept of friendship is subjective. While outlines and suggestions can be recorded, the true nature-

Keene's investigations were halted at the sound of a familiar voice issuing a curious and equally demanding inquiry. He blinked, staring up at her from the pages. He had little idea when she had arrived, nor did he know how long she had been standing there. Either way, Keene figured it was best to answer her question. "The Nature of Relations." After which he paused for a moment before lifting up his hand to move in a deadpan wave. He didn't really see the point of such a gesture, and after a few ticks replaced it onto the table, as he stared back at the curious young girl.

Her hair was a wild mess, though it framed her face in a way that accurately portrayed (or perhaps betrayed) her nature. She seemed expectant to the point of frustration, though Keene was still unsure whether that was something that was just the matter of her nature or if he merely only ever saw her in a specific mood. Whatever the case, he kept eye contact, his grey-green eyes matching her own, though there was little intensity in them. He was a not the spitfire he beheld, rather the calm and placid pond. They were, in a sense, opposites. Whatever interest she had taken in him was returned - if only perhaps partially in comparison to her own -, and he was curious to see what she had planned for them today.

Usually, Keene was quite content to read whatever Mella brought home for him. He was no leader, nor did he desire to be. If there was one to commanded him to follow, as seemed the case with Bianca White, Keene saw little reason to defy her. The last time he had followed her instruction, he had gained information - though the value of which was debatable. If learning was occurring, and the girl wasn't wont to direct him towards the disruption of his own health and well being, Keene was perfectly fine with obliging her whims and fancies. While the book upon the construct of friendship had been informative, Keene wasn't quite sure it was very useful for practice. Remembering a passage that had read along the lines of: "...friends have a tendency to make idle chatter..." Keene attempted to do so. "Your hair is very..." He blinked. "Hairy."

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[Bianca White]

A hand was lifted to smooth her hair in a moment of self-consciousness, and her eyes narrowed for the briefest moment. Nothing inside of her could tell if that was an insult or a compliment, or if he was just being awkward and stupid. Regardless, she let it slide. He didn't seem the type to understand that the social etiquette of children was very different than whatever could be found in the book "The Nature of Relations", which by its title gave away that he was studying how people interacted. A strand of hair was tucked behind her ear, the skinny girl standing up straight and stacking up the books he had been reading. Her plans for today were to fulfill a very specific desire, one she hadn't indulged in at least a year. It was a pity parents were always too busy to play with their children, but having found a friend Bianca knew that she would be able to do the things she previously hadn't been able to do by herself.

"So, Keene... have you ever played chess?" There were chess boards scattered in the Scholar's Forum, and Bianca fondly remembered learning chess from her father over a year ago in that very place - though for now, she had no one to play against. Unfortunately, the people who frequented the Scholar's Forum did not enjoy playing chess against children. Their loss.

A hand smoothed her hair again, and Bianca felt the waves of impatience crash onto her shoulders. If Keene didn't know how to play chess, she'd happily teach him - but today, she felt like being outside rather than in the expansive library. Maybe the next time she'd want to stay in the library, though Bianca's whims were everchanging. She firmly decided to stop trying to predict the future, at least for the time being, and instead try and see what happened.

[Keene Ward]

She moved to straighten out her hair, running a hand through the wild locks to temporarily tame them as she gave him an uncertain return of gaze. It seemed his comment had hardly been one to spark "idle chatter", something he decided to mentally check off of a new list of "What Not to Say to Biance White". He assumed the list would grow with little time, and he wanted to begin adding to it as soon as possible. Mistakes were acceptable once, after which they were merely foolishness. Keene preferred not to consider himself a fool, nor did he have any intention of being one. There were plenty of times he'd committed foolish acts, certainly, but he strove to learn from them. One of the more important things he'd learned recently was to always tell Mella when he used something up. The repercussions of such a travesty were both painful and restrictive: two things he was inclined to avoid if at all possible.

Her next question seemed to be the intention of their meeting, as it had absolutely nothing to do with what Keene had been reading - or so he supposed. "I haven't." He'd never even heard the name before. It sounded a single letter short of "chest", which had two definitions of which neither sounded especially "playable". Still, she seemed adamant that he provide something other than his reply, so he ventured with a hint of true curiosity in his quiet voice, "What is it?" If it were a game, it was a strangely named one. The more he thought about it as he waited for the few ticks to pass by for Bianca White to explain to him the intricacies of the unknown leisure sport, Keene realized he wasn't entirely sure what it meant to "play" anything.

He understood the concept of "playing": a frivolous waste of time, or so he had thought. The two of them had previously "played a game", but he had not seen the frivolity of it. In fact, he had learned several new things that day. Perhaps there were different definitions to dictate what it meant "to play", something he supposed was entirely possible. If Bianca White wished him to play chess, he would do so. If chess was something that involved running, however, Keene found he was far less inclined.

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[Bianca White]

She uttered a gasp, feigning surprise. The young girl loved chess, and while she expected someone who seemed to enjoy books this much to know what chess was, he was still younger than she was, and was therefor allowed some leeway in knowing the different activities in life. She was just as prepared to teach him this game, however, and her eyes lit up at the chance to teach him. She sat down across from him at the table, moving her hands as she spoke.

"Chess is a game...there's a black and white checkered board, 64 squares total." She prided herself on remembering the number from the numerous times she had counted the squares. "There are two players, and each person gets 16 pieces...the king, queen, rook, bishop, knight, and pawns..." Trailing off, she realized that it would be much easier to show Keene rather than sit here and lecture him. Bianca was, after all, a visual learner, so it followed that perhaps the boy was as well. Standing up rather rapidly, the girl began walking towards the door and beckoning Keene to follow. She felt that he would.

Outside of the library, Bianca navigated towards the Scholar's Forum and the chess boards contained in the center. One was already being used, so naturally she chose to sit at the one furthest away from the couple. Sitting down, she pulled out the pieces and piled them onto the chess board, beckoning again for Keene to sit down across from her. As he did, she set up the board and began showing off the pieces.

[b]"This," She began, "is the king. There are two of them, one black and one white, for either side. The same thing with the queen," Young Bianca proceeded to hold up the two queens, setting them into place. "They go on their same color spots, and always next to the king. Rooks are shaped like a castle, and the four of them go on the ends of the first row on either side," She placed them down, digging through the pile to find the four bishops. "These are the bishops. They go next to the king and queen, matching the right colors. Then there are the knights," She picked these up next, the pieces shaped like horse heads. "I don't know why they're called knights when they're shaped like a horse head, but they are. They go next to the rook and bishop." She placed these down with a sense of finality, now scooping up the pawns and placing them one by one on either side. "These are the pawns, eight of them for each color." Looking at Keene now, she placed her hands in her lap.

"Any questions?"

[Keene Ward]

As Bianca White sat down to explain the game of chess, Keene's eyes set themselves upon her with an avid focus. Learning, whether it was something useful or not, was something not to be taken lightly. Her teaching methods, however, left much to be desired. Firstly, her explanation of the board was terribly vague. Keene noted the number of squares upon it, but the arrangement of them ranged from a straight line of sixty-four to a wild mess of varying sizes scattered across a wooden mat. The listing of the pieces did little to assuage the mess of a mental picture Keene was trying to craft in his mind. It seemed Bianca took notice of the inadequacies of her attempts at verbal enlightenment, and instead she rose with a demanding beckon that he follow her.

He obliged, rising from his seat after closing and stacking the books to one side to follow behind her with soft, muted steps. He kept his steps in rhythm with the girl's, eyes drifting as they departed from the library, weaving their way around the students of the University until they arrived at the impressive rise of the marbled columns, which Bianca confidently stalked under with Keene in proverbial tow. As they cleared the steps, Keene quickly recognized the chess boards: tables with a checkered design each with two chairs opposite each other. Bianca chose to lead them to the table most distance from the already present couple, and Keene settled into the chair with little issue. It was strange being outside, but it wasn't unpleasant enough to distract him from the purpose of their little foray into the forum.

With the pieces in hand, Keene rummaged through his own collection of darkened stone pieces, pulling up the identical figurines as Bianca explained their names and placement. The king and queen were easy enough to determine they had important roles. He'd read plenty of stories of ages past, ancient kingdoms ruled by singular individuals. Putting the king directly across from Bianca's in the proper white square, Keene watched and mirrored her own movements. He wasn't really sure what a castle actually was, as he'd never seen a picture of the citadel of Syliras, but he was relatively aware of what they were. Blinking down at the rook pieces, he set them on his end of the board. Placing down the bishops and the knights, Keene had little idea what their names had to do with their shapes, nor even what a bishop was in the first place. The whole thing seemed a bit arbitrary, as nothing even looked remotely human or any sort of anthropomorphic creature aside from the knights, which were more of a bust than anything else.

Blinking as the pawns were set out in a line, Keene did the same. When he'd finished, Keene stared down at the board, eyes flicking back and fourth between the two colors to make sure he'd done everything properly. At Bianca's question, Keene gave her a blank stare. "Is that it?" He'd never played any sort of formal game, but he found that if what they had just done to be the game of chess, games weren't very stimulating. If she asked him to put the pieces back onto the board after removing them, he would have zero issue. Bianca had seemed excited about the prospect of chess, but Keene found it lacking at best.

[Bianca White]

Bianca giggled at his statement. It was small, but there nonetheless - he really had never even seen anyone play chess before, apparently. Despite this, she continued as best as she could with her lesson. A slight breeze ruffled her already messy hair, but it wasn't strong enough to push any of the solid, stone pieces out of position. The young girl pushed back her hair, running her fingers through it before pointing to the king.

"Whenever a piece has a chance to capture the king, you have to call 'check'. Then the other person has to move the king out of harm. The entire goal of the game is to get this piece into what's called 'check-mate'. That means that no matter where he moves, he'd be captured by another piece." Her hands moved to gesture towards her entire half of the board. "Each piece can move a certain way. The pawns can move one space at a time - two from their starting position - but only forward unless they're capturing a piece." Realizing that this sounded incredibly confusing, Bianca leaned forward and took one of his pawns, moving it two spaces forward on the same column from where she took it. She moved her pawn two spaces from the start, and then used his piece to capture hers, moving his to her pawn's previous spot and moving her pawn to the side of the table.

"Knights are the only piece that can jump over other pieces. They move in an L-shape- one over and three to the side, in whatever direction you want." She illustrated this by having one of her knights jump over a pawn and land in the square directly in front of a pawn that sat diagonally from her knight's original position. "Bishops can move diagonally, as long as their path is clear." Bianca moved the piece diagonally through the space left by the pawns earlier. Moving a pawn from the very edge out of the way, she picked up the rook. "The rook can move forwards and to the side as far as it wants to go, like the bishop but in different directions." She moved the rook halfway down the chessboard, and then to the side a few spaces to illustrate the direction it can move.

"Whoever has the white pieces goes first. You can capture a piece with any of your other pieces, as long as they move the right way." She moved all of the pieces back into their correct spots, tilting her head at Keene. "Want to play?"

Before he even considered answering, Bianca answered for him, moving a pawn.

chess board :

[Keene Ward]

Keene found the concept of the game straight forward enough. Just as in the wars he'd read about, the goal was to slay the figurehead of the opposite army. The movement of the pieces, however, was painfully arbitrary. It wasn't difficult to remember the bishops moved diagonally juxtaposed to the rooks' horizontal movements. Even the stranger "l" pattern of the knight wasn't too much trouble for him, however neither the king nor the queen's move patterns were described. As thorough as she had been, Keene imagined she would detail them when the time came; and if not, he would learn by example. Nodding as she moved her first piece, Keene stared down at his options.

Pawns were able to move two spaces forward or one with knights the only pieces available to him. There eight pawns, two knights, and twenty possible moves. Bianca had opened with her queen side pawn to two spaces. Pawns captured diagonally, knights in a the precise restrictions of their movements. Moving any of the pawns in front of the king, queen, or both knights would free the bishops, allowing movement of the more mobile pieces on his second turn. Moving any of the pawns in front of the rooks would free them in the next turn as well. He wasn't sure how far ahead the game was to be played, nor if there was a specific strategy to hold to. For the time being, knowing what little he did about the game, Keene opted to mirror Bianca's moves to determine what her tactics were.

Taking the pawn opposite Bianca's, Keene set his piece next to hers.

Secret :