Silmeria sat in the Great Hall, arms crossed and frowning at a chessboard in the midst of a game. Several minutes passed before finally moving a piece and then turning the board around to play continue playing the other side. Ever since learning about the game, she had spent time practicing with the set she asked a house elf to bring to her
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"Who's winning?" he asked her with a small smile and a friendly look.
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"It is not a true match," she said, moving a piece and giving the board a turn. "But the practice can yield a victory later. Hello, Sir James."
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He was a good chess player, but nothing out of the ordinary. Bond was skilled at long-term strategy, but he simply never spent much time playing. Unlike cards, nobody talked about sitting down for a quick game of chess.
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It had been difficult to gauge her progress since picking up the game, playing only against herself. She grew familiar with it quickly and applied what strategies she could, but as she said, it was nothing like a real battle.
"I would appreciate that. Do you play this often?"
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Bond took the seat across from her and helped her re-arrange the pieces. "I don't play often enough," he replied. "I'm afraid I might be quite rusty."
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"Have you had any luck?" he asked. "Your move."
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A rather wide range: Chess, divination, Secret Santas and sex. She began with her usual pawn.
"There is still more I would like to do."
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"Would you mind if I asked you about your duties?" he said. "How do you know which souls to take?"
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She fell silent for a moment, recalling when her orders went beyond what it should have been. Forcibly taking a king's soul, before he had died, had changed everything she had previously accepted from the superior gods.
She moved a second pawn.
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Of course, taking a class like divination fell into the "Because I want to" category. Most of what she has learned so far did, simply because she could never have pursued such interests serving the hated Odin. But just because there has not yet been an occasion to defend an innocent student (not since Maddie, anyway) does not mean she would let her guard drop.
"Do you have a goal you wish to accomplish here?"
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"Their souls are mortal like any other human. But the very walls of this castle radiate an extremely powerful energy. I have been informed that part of this energy is devoted to protecting the students from all forms of fatality."
She had not seen this magic in action, but she trusted her source. And she could not very well test it by striking down hapless students either.
"It is a useful spell, though it also serves to guard those who do not deserve the protection," she said darkly.
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That was not good news. It meant that four months worth of work might have just gone down the drain, or at the very least it would make life difficult down the road. He hadn't been carrying his gun around just for the familiar weight at his side. The idea that it was also protecting him from death didn't matter, since Bond had never been too concerned about how or when he was going to die.
It was the bishop to the rescue of the king. He couldn't take her piece now, but she'd lose that queen if she kept going that way.
"I take it you've met a fair number of them," he said. "Have anyone in particular in mind?" Inquiring spies want to know.
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"Yes. But he has been relatively well behaved, with the exception of minor, aggravating crimes."
Actually, just one. Its level of aggravation elevated it to count as several crimes.
Pushing that aside, she recognized her failed attempted and pulled her queen back to its original position.
"Have you not encountered any enemies here, Sir James?" Either newly formed or brought to the sorting room, it would be an enviable position to be without them.
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