Chapter 22：The Golden Hawk

Waves of the ocean crashed onto the beach while the wind continued to howl with all of its might. The sky was dyed a dark grey as the storm rained down upon the coasts of the Breetish isles.

Within this storm there stood an elegant white coast-side villa. Its pristine white walls completely contrasted the darkness of the skies. Every window of the villa was coloured yellow as multiple candlesticks or braziers kept every room within the villa alight and warm.

However, one of these rooms was not as bright as the others, with only three candle sticks atop a small mahogany table leaving most of the room in complete and utter darkness.

The room was also completely silent, undisturbed by the loud raging storm outside.

Inside this dark, silent room there sat a lone girl.

With her mouth sealed shut, she sat on a chair next to the small mahogany table.

Opposite the girl was a vacant seat that was positioned as if an imaginary person was sitting on it.

The girl's eyes were completely glued on the object in the middle of the table.

It was a stone board which had a checkered pattern of alternating white and black squares, with 64 squares in all.

There were also 32 miniature figures carved from stone which were neatly lined up on two sides of the board.

16 of the miniature figures were dyed completely black and lined up on the side of the board opposite the girl. While the other figures lined up on the side of the board closest to the girl were the colour white.

The first thing the girl did was pick up a white figure called a "pawn" and moved it two squares forward.

After she did this, she gently stood up, and then moved to the other side of the table. There she gently moved the other chair back before once again sitting on it and pushing it forward.

Now with the white pieces on the side opposite her, she went to move a black figure.

This time she picked up a black pawn, the one vertically opposite of the white pawn that was moved forward. Similarly to before she also moved the black pawn forward two squares, leaving it directly in front of the white pawn.

Just like before she gently stood up, and returned to her original seat where the black pieces were now positioned opposite her. With her hands, this time she took a white piece called a 'knight' and moved it onto a square to the bottom right of the white pawn.

Once again she stood up and moved back to the other side of the table. After taking a seat she took a black knight and moved it onto a position which diagonally mirrored the white knight. Like before, once she finished moving the piece she immediately returned to her original seat.

She would silently continue this routine for almost half an hour. Her black hair gently resting on her shoulders while her dull golden eyes reflected the candle light as she continually alternated between the two opposite sides of the table.

Eventually her movement of pieces began to slow down, and the time between her sitting down and actually moving a piece gradually grew longer and longer. At times she would even cup her chin with two of her fingers as she silently thought to herself.

All the while the heavy rain continued outside while she stayed on her silent course of actions.

Soon a knocking interrupted the silence of the room.

The girl didn't respond, instead continuing to silently alternate between the two seats of the table before moving a piece.

Soon the knocking came again.

And again the girl didn't respond.

Once again the knocking would return but this time it was followed by a voice.

The door creaked open as bright lights leaked into the room from the hallways.

"Lady Dyme? Are you-"

"Silence."

The girl's cold interruption immediately shut up the intruding knight. The only thing thing he could do was gaze downwards in shame.

On the other hand, the girl proceeded to move a black piece called a 'queen' to the right of a white piece called a 'king.'

"Checkmate."

The girl flicked the white king, knocking it over the moment she said this.

The room was once again filled with silence as the girl continued to stare at the white king which was lying down sideways on the checkered board.

The girl let the silence linger around for a another few short moments before she gave her next order.

"Sit."

The knight immediately followed the girl's orders, walking into the darkness of the room and taking her original seat on the white side of the board. The girl didn't even bother to make eye contact with the knight, instead her eyes were focused on the fallen white king.

"Speak."

She spoke with complete clarity. Her words were concise and short while her face remained unmoved.

"My lady, I arrived here under the orders of your father Duncan Van Dyme."

The girl's straight face didn't move in response to the knight. After a short moment of silence, the knight realised the black haired girl's intentions and continued speaking.

"He believed that it was best if I were to inform you about the most recent events on the mainland continent. Around a month or two ago the largest Drussian army was-"

"Defeated by the Panish?"

The knight froze the moment he was interrupted by the girl. It was only after regaining his composure that he could speak again.

"That news of this has only just reached your father's ears. How could-"

"I know?"

The girls face continued to be unmoved as she bluntly explained herself.

"Because that sort of outcome would be the most logical."

A look of confusion grew on the knight's face in response to the girl's answer. On the other hand, the girl continued to keep the blank look on her face. In fact, if one were to look closely enough, they could see some slight glimmers of boredom on her face.

"The odds were never in the Drussian's favour. Now that the Panish Empire had dealt with their civil war, the Paniards are now free to once again refocus their efforts on the Drussian Union."

The confusion on the knight's face was starting to become replaced with a look of understanding. However, the girl's eyes were still glued onto the fallen white king as she continued to explain.

"It was only a matter of time until the Paniards reinforced their foothold in the Drussian area. As soon as they had sufficient forces, they would quickly overwhelm the Drussian resistance. That is the most logical outcome."

The girl paused for a moment before silently looking up at the knight for the first time. Her hollow golden eyes reflected the flames of candle light while her face continued to look like a blank slate.

"If that is all you have to say. Leave now."

The knight could only nod silently and comply with her orders. Soon the door was shut and the room was once again drowned in silence and darkness.

As the room was filled with silence, the girl continued to stare at the white king.

Without any thought or meaning time passed in complete and utter silence.

After a few long moments of silence the girl stood up.

She picked up her family crest as she walked slowly over to the window.

The sky continued to be coloured in dark grey as large water droplets splashed on the window glass.

Amidst this storm, the girl would simply continue to silently stare out the window and onto the harsh unforgiving waves of the sea. Soon after she turned her attention to the crest she held in her hands.

It was a gold slab forged into the shape of a circle.

Engraved onto it was a diving hawk whose claws were outstretched to attack its imaginational target.

The longer she looked at the crest, the more the look in her eyes changed.

"Logical..."

The silence in the room was broken as a single word leaked out of the girl's mouth.

"Logical..."

After muttering the same word after a few short moments, some of the girl's veins were starting to become visible as she strengthened her grip on the crest. Whether this was intentional or not, not even she knew the answer.

"Everything is far too logical!"

The girl's fist found its way onto the window glass as she shouted. Although the window was unharmed, the same could not be said for her fist.

Although her white silk gloves hid the damage done to her hands, she could still feel the pain in her fingers.

Nevertheless the girl ignored the pain.

Her shoulder's tensed up as she continued to keep her fist engrained onto the window glass.

Eventually her body calmed down and the veins visible on her hands subsided. Soon after, she returned her fist to her side.

This time she would mutter the same sentence in a sad sombre tone.

"Everything is far too... logical..."

With downcast eyes, the girl stared back at her family crest as she continued to mutter to herself.

"Everything is far too... boring..."

As the girl continue to wallow in her own boredom, a sudden sound startled her.

It was the sound of a roaring thunder.

Returning her gaze to the storm out the window, she could not stop from jaw from gaping open in awe of the amazing spectacle unveiling itself before her very eyes.

She saw periodical flashes of lightning which outlined particular shapes in the clouds.

More specifically it was two shapes.

The shape to the right took the form of a hawk. Its claws were outstretched as it seemingly swept down at its prey.

The shape on the left on the other hand, seemed to be taking the appearance of a snake. One that seemed to be baring its fangs at the hawk, as it poised itself into position to strike.

It was a literal battle in the clouds.

The girl's deadbeat eyes were soon filled with something else. While before her eyes appeared to be empty and hollow, now they seemed to be sparkling.

Was she witnessing some sort of supernatural prediction?

Or was it just a pure coincidence?

Either way the girl continued to watch the battle in the clouds with a bright smile.

She had a feeling.

A good feeling.

A great feeling.

A feeling that somehow, someway her boredom was finally going to go away.