Chapter 105

"What of The Grave Tender?" I reached out to the effigy of a man clad in a sprawling cloak. His hands were wrapped around a gnarled staff that curled down in the shape of a shovel near the bottom. An old man who has been withered by the relentless storm of time yet day after day performed his task with an enduring sense of duty.

"Every day, he deals with death, so its claws are already well embedded. Perhaps he may fall, perhaps he may still be of use." She reached up, took the effigy from my hand, and placed it next to the Angel.

I sighed as I looked over the rest of the pieces. I reached forward and grabbed a man with an inhumanly perfect face, clad in a blood-red cloak. A single necklace sat low and was crafted in the shape of a simple silver pendant. In one hand was an enormous weapon reminiscent of a shotgun but had a few wires that seemed to dangle slightly from the stock and lead into the recesses of his cloak. In the other was a long sword with a wicked serrated edge. "The Fang?"

"Much like the inquisitor, his faith is blinding. But he shields his monstrous nature in his faith. It is doubtful they can sway him from his path, nor his loyalty to you."

I placed his statue next to the effigy of the inquisitor. I quickly glanced at the balance of power, even judging what was left on the side as unused pieces. "Alessia, I think it's safe to assume that the Angel will fall." I picked up the effigy and placed it across from me, next to the specter of death. "What makes you say that?" She leaned forward in her seat and regarded me with her vibrant eyes. Even though the haze of the dream, it still affected me. My heart raced, and my breath hitched in my throat, though my dream self seemed as strong and collected.

"He is an angel scorned. A resentment is a powerful tool for any saboteur." I could feel my dream's self-thoughts as she weighed the severity of what she was saying. A part of me felt it as sadness. Like a dream that was violently ripped away. "Quintus, did you even give my dreams a thought, or were you too wound up in your own glory to care?"

Alessia only sighed as she took the piece. Sadness threatened to trickle from the corner of her eyes, and I felt my heart waver slightly at her sadness. However, I couldn't do anything since I was a prisoner in my mind. "So be it then." Her words were filled with finality as she regarded the piece.

"The Noble?" I asked as I regarded the statue of a large man, who was more round than he was tall. In his hand was a goblet that was filled to the brim with blood-red liquid, and his fat face was twisted in a rictus of perverted joy, and his clothes were clinging by a few buttons.

"Power is but bread and wine to them. The sway of her call will prove too strong for him. He will fall, and we will lose many people with it." She reached out and took the man and placed it on her side.

"Alessia, no matter how we play this game, our chances of winning fall each time." With the fall of such an affluent figure, I felt my feelings fall all the more. I still had more pieces to the side, a countless amount of them, but I knew it wouldn't be enough, especially to counter the fall of the noble.

"We can win. I know we can." Alessia sat up and moved one piece forward to start the game.

"Can we?" I replied as I moved the inquisitor two blocks forward.

"I'm sure of it." She shifted the Angel forward two blocks, sat back, and regarded the board.

"Perhaps I am too caring about the matter. Sacrifices can be made if needed." I moved my inquisitor forward and engaged him with the Angel, so I could move more pawns from my side.

The two quickly engaged in a fight, leaving the noble open, which I didn't hesitate to jump on. The fang cut down the noble without a problem, but sadly at the cost of the inquisitor's life. "Be wary of the sacrifice, Empress. It doesn't always pan out as you would think."

She moved the Angel forward into my now exposed flank, which I quickly countered with the Knight. The two clashed briefly before the Knight was cut down, and the Angel quickly pushed forward. At least until I moved Alessia's piece into play. The two clashed fiercely before they both cut each other down. I felt my mood darken as I stared at the destroyed chest piece. My mood darkened, but before I could say something, I felt myself get torn from my dream.

I sat up in my bed, gasping for air, my body covered in sweat. I couldn't help but dwell on what I saw, yet more questions than answers filled my mind. What was that game? What were those statues? I chewed on the thoughts, at least until I felt a familiar pair of arms wrap around me. "Are you alright?"

I stiffened slightly, shocked by the contact before relaxing into her embrace. "Yeah, just a rough dream." I hid the truth from her, mostly since I didn't want to bring it up. There was still a lot that I needed to work on mentally. I wasn't even sure if she had memories of what happened then.

She rested her head against my shoulder, and I took a deep breath. Part of my mind was still dwelling on what had occurred. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, I think I'm okay." I turned my head towards her and flashed her a happy smile. Ugh, my heart. I felt like a schoolgirl. Damn my emotions.

She stared at me, regarding me with her golden eyes. My skin prickled slightly, and my heart jumped in my chest. "As you say, Empress." She pulled away from me and stood up, giving me some space to get myself together.

"Anyway, what did I miss?" I cleared my throat as I tried to calm my thudding heart. I needed to change my clothes and get ready to start the day.

"Not a lot. Troop casualties have been steady from the first legion. But that is to be expected. The second has yet to suffer any and is still awaiting deployment as we speak." As she spoke, I stood up and wandered over to my closest and rifled through it for some clothes to wear.

"That's good. I'll send another batch of reinforcements soon to Rikard." I hummed as I picked out an ocean blue cloak and a simple tee and pants.

"As for everything else, well, Nyx is at school now, and everything is going smoothly for the most part."

At her words, I paused. Did I really miss taking her to school? "How long was I out?" I spun around to meet her, feeling sad I missed taking her to school and also the fact that I missed such much of my day.

"It's going on midafternoon now." She was leaning against a wall. Her arms were crossed, and her head tilted slightly to the side.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" My words came out a bit more pouty than I intended, but I couldn't help it. I've enjoyed the pattern of my life, and now I feel like I missed something important.

"You've looked tired lately, so I just let you sleep and have time for yourself."

I was touched that she cared. I really was. "But Alessia, I don't want to miss out on anything with her." I felt my motherly instincts kick in as I thought about the time that I lost with her. What if she grows up too fast? What if I miss something?

"My lady. You will miss far more than that if you don't take it easy every once in a while." She raised an eyebrow at me, daring me to argue with her more on the matter.

"I know, but still." I clenched my cloak slightly before I sighed, deciding to not pursue the topic anymore.

She broke away from the wall and sauntered over to me, quickly lacing her arms around my waist. "Worry not, Empress. You have nothing but time with her."

I kept the cloak in my hand as I threw my arms around her and closed my eyes. "I know. Maybe I'm just overthinking."

"Perhaps." She pulled away, giving me a chance to finish getting dressed.

"Would you mind training with me for some time? I want to work on a new style that would suit me." I turned away from her as I pulled off my shirt and quickly stripped from my bra. Not that I was super self-conscious of myself. I just wanted to tease her slightly.

"I..erm.. Sure, what do you have in mind?" She stuttered slightly as I felt a gaze burn into my back. Good, exactly what I wanted.

I reached out and grabbed a new set of underwear. "Well, I have a heavy focus on Ki, and soul. I have a set of claws that I want to mix into melee." I quickly shifted out of my underwear and threw on the new stuff.

"Well, I'm sure we can figure something out. Perhaps a sword would match well enough, but I'm sure we can.. experiment." Her words felt distant as her gaze lingered on me.

"Sure. That works." I slid my tee-shirt on, followed by my pants before I spun around to face her.

Her eyes quickly met mine, and I mentally grinned, knowing exactly where she was looking. "Anyway, let's go!" I threw my cloak on and walked over to her, eager to get back to training. After all, I can't let my daughter get ahead of me.