Checkmate

After I left Ethan’s room I wasn’t sure where I was going. I just basically stumbled around in the hallway in a total daze. I still couldn’t fully get through my head what had happened. I swiped my hand across my forehead that was still sweaty. I’m sure my hair was a complete mess. With shaking hands (my whole frame was shaking) I adjusted the front of my dress and tied some of the strings I forgot about before I left.

I wasn’t watching where I was walking and I almost fell down the grand golden staircase. I opened my mouth to scream as I went falling but the noise was cut off by surprise when someone grabbed onto my arm and pulled me so I was standing upright on my feet.

“Thanks,” I said to them without actually looking at whoever he or she was.

“No problem,” my savior said. My eyes bugged out of my head and my breath caught. This was a voice that would now be impossible for me to forget.

“Ethan!” I choked and felt another wave of heat seep into my face. There was no doubt I looked like a tomato.

“Hi,” he said in a sweet voice.

“Um…hi,” I said awkwardly.

“You okay? You seem a little…jittery.” His voice was only filled with concern, nothing more. He raised his hand to touch my flushed cheek but turned pink himself and dropped his hand immediately.

“I’m fine,” I lied in a shaky voice.

“You still meeting me for tea, right?” he asked, looking slightly shy which confused me deeply. Just a moment ago he had me trapped in his arms and ready to get whatever he wanted. He was definitely not shy then.

“Oh, we’re still on for that?” I asked shocked.

“Yes…”

“Oh, uh, okay then,” I said unsure. So after all that he still thought we were going to have tea. I was beginning to think that I was just starting to know who he really was.

“Great,” he said like a young boy; too delighted sounding just because I was having tea with him. He must have mood swings. “I set up a place for us in the court yard.” In the court yard there were tables and chairs set up. I drew it especially to be comfortable in a woodsy park kind of way.

Ahh, I just loved the mid-spring time. Everything was bright green, fresh, and healthy. Dozens of flowers of all kinds and colors covered the ground but not because they were planted there (this made it more beautiful and natural). The trees were tall and grand. They also made plenty of shade on the very warm day.

We sat down at a small white table that was already set up. A young girl in uniform (she was most likely a maid) was standing by the table. Her hands were folded together in front of her, posture very formal and proper.

“Thank you, Lyla,” Ethan said to her and smiled. She bowed her head to both of us and walked away.

Ethan pulled a chair out and motioned for me to sit. “Thanks,” I said quietly to him as he sat down in a chair across from me. He gestured with his hand to the tea cup in front of me. I grinned and took a sip from the cup. I was a very sweet taste. Kind of like…strawberries and bananas and mangos with plenty of sugar mixed in. I licked my lips and took another sip, then another, and another.

I heard a chuckle and I looked up to see Ethan smiling widely at me. I blushed and put the cup down.

I cleared my throat. “Tastes good,” I said. He snickered again and I smiled.

“So,” he started, “tell me more about yourself, Miss Abelinda.”

“Well, first off, call me Abby. I never really liked my full name.”

He seemed to find that very interesting. “I see…So, Abby”—his mouth turned up in the corners a bit when he used the name I preferred—“do you have any certain interests. I have an obsession with music as you can see, and you…” He moved his hand in the hair as a gesture for me to finish the sentence.

“Well, I like chess. Love it actually.” I decided to be as truthful as possible with him as long as I didn’t give anything away about my real life and how I was the creator of Flutura.

“Really?” he asked and his eyes widened. Was it really that surprising? “How long have you been playing?”

I remembered Zane telling me how when everyone here was created, their whole past was already set up, as if they’ve grown up here and have lived in this place the whole time. So I could tell the truth. “Pretty much all my life. I first learned to play when I was…Six years old.” It sounded a bit like a question.

Ethan let out a low whistle. “Wow. So if I was so play you right now you—“

“I would totally pummel you,” I finished his sentence in a matter-of-fact tone. The expression on his face made me laugh. “I don’t really mean it like that, Ethan.”

“Oh,” he said and laughed awkwardly. “You’re pretty good at playing then I assume?” Another chuckle from him. “What else do you like?”

It was a reflex reaction. “Drawing,” I blurted then froze.

He hesitated. “Drawing, eh?”

“Yes,” I said quietly and wished I hadn’t opened my mouth in the first place. Would it give me away? Were there other people in Flutura that loved to draw let alone could?

“What kind of stuff?”

My shrug was too stiff to look casual. “Just…stuff.”

“What kind?” he pressed. I grimaced.

“People, places, things, and ideas,” I said quickly, wishing he would drop it already.

“Oh.”

“What about you?” I asked, changing the subject. “I know you like music, yes, but what else do you like?” Besides me, I added mentally.

He took a swig of his tea and sighed. It wasn’t a sad noise though. It was more content. “Look around you, Abby,” he told me. I did as he asked. I looked around at the green nature, beautiful castle, baby blue sky, cotton ball clouds, and the whole environment we were surrounded by. “I just can’t get enough of it,” Ethan said in wonder. I looked back at him and his bright sparkling eyes were filling with thoughtfulness. I knew that look. It was the exact same one I had when I was looking at some scenery I was trying to capture onto my sketchbook. Mostly sunsets and beaches. They were so marvelous I couldn’t help be dazzled. Ethan was dazzle by Flutura itself. Maybe I could tell him…

No, I told myself in a strict tone. You are not allowed to tell anyone. It’s bad enough that Aaron, Elliot, Carnella, and Zane already know.

Thinking about the others made me remember something outside of mine and Ethan’s bubble.

“Tell me, Ethan,” I said to him. “Is this war really bad? Are Shifter a real threat to us?” My question brought him back to reality and his eyes focused back on mine, looking quite cold and hard.

“I don’t like to talk about it…But yes, it’s bad. The Werns see them coming but don’t know when. They’re not a real threat to us, though the Ultum-Shifters are.”

“Ultum-Shifters?” I repeated, confused.

He looked at me with a dark expression and dark eyes. “The ultimate shape shifters,” he told me. “Regular Shifters can only shift into other people. But the Ultum-Shifters can literally shift into anything. Animals, plants, dragons, inanimate objects, you name it. They’re rare, but I guess we only think that because the powerful ones can change the color of their eyes, thus we can’t tell if they’re a Shifter.”

“They’re able to get rid of their gray eyes?” I asked, surprised and scared.

He shook his head slightly. “Not permanently. But for a limited amount of time after they’ve shifted into something else.” He looked down and took another drink of his tea in front of him quietly. I felt bad for changing the subject to something less happy.

I reached out for my cup of tea. That’s when I noticed a certain diamond missing from my middle finger on the right hand. I gasped silently.

Then I remembered a bunch of possible ways that I could have lost it during…well, you know. I felt heat burning in my cheeks and I took deep breaths to try to calm myself.

“Excuse me,” I said to Ethan abruptly and got up out of my chair.

He looked up, startled. “What? Where are you going?”

“I just realized that I’m missing my ring. I’m pretty sure I dropped it in your room…” My voice and thoughts trailed off.

I turned to leave but not soon enough to see his some what confused expression. I ran back into the castle and to his room, slightly panicked.

Suddenly the multiple hallways in the castle were like a labyrinth. I couldn’t find any room that was familiar. It was almost as if the hallways were changing as I ran through them. Like they wanted to trap me. I started to hyperventilate. Things were turning out to not be what they seemed.

“Oh no,” I whimpered. Tears were starting to blur my vision. I always freaked out when I got lost and couldn’t find my way back to home. This is the main reason why my family had to move from the NYC to a small town in Ohio.

My chest was getting tighter and my breath was becoming shorter and weaker. My legs were shaking as was my hands. I used the wall to support myself when I stopped. A broken sob escaped my lips.

I didn’t recognize any of the hallways anymore. I was going to die here.

Then I heard a tsk tsk noise from behind me. I looked around to see Carnella walking towards me. “Oh, Carnella,” I breathed.

“What a vulnerable little girl you are, Abelinda,” she said to me in a voice that was snide and wicked.

I paused. “W-What?”

“Lose something?” she asked holding up her hand. On her index finger was my ring. Only it was different again. Instead of a diamond the silver dragon wrapped around, it was onyx.

“Hey, that’s mine. Give it here, Carnella.” I held out my hand.

She pulled her hand back. “Ahh, I don’t think so. You know what they say— finders keepers, losers weepers.” She examined the ring admirably then too fast that I couldn’t see it, she forced her hand towards me and I went flying. It was as if I was strapped to something and it was now pulling me back with violent force. My body didn’t stop until it hit the wall at the end of the hallway. I was surprised my spine didn’t snap from the force.

I gasped; the wind was knocked out of me and I couldn’t breathe for a couple of seconds.

Suddenly Carnella was back in view—just inches away from me. Her hand was held up like she was holding me up against the wall without touching me.

“You are such a teenage girl,” she said to me. “So easily distracted by love you are. It makes everything so much simpler. Thanks to you now, I have what I want.”

I didn’t understand what she was saying to me. I looked at her for a moment, trying to put together the pieces. I gasped and my eyes widened as a wave of understanding washed through me.

…the powerful ones can change the color of their eyes, thus we can’t tell if they’re a Shifter…distracted by love…The Shifters! Where’s Carnella? Someone get Carnella…think I’m leading an army of Shifters to attack Flutura and Cloun Kingdom as revenge…

Carnella chuckled as she reached out to caress my cheek. I flinched away and felt sick to my stomach.