Vengeance Through Passion

A loud thud echoed through the room, jolting Aricia out of her deep slumber. Her heart raced as she blinked, trying to adjust her vision, but before she could fully comprehend what had happened, a pillow smacked her square in the face.

"Wake up, you piece of log!" came the sharp voice of Madame Freya, filling the quiet room with her usual energetic presence.

Aricia groaned, rolling over to bury her face deeper into her blankets. She knew that voice all too well, but today, of all days, she wished she could just ignore it and fall back into the dream she'd been having.

"You see, Martha has gone off to work and, lucky me, she left me to babysit," Freya continued with a mischievous grin, as she plopped herself unceremoniously onto the edge of Aricia’s bed, causing the mattress to dip.

Aricia’s dazed eyes fluttered open, scanning the room in a fog of confusion. She desperately tried to piece together what was happening. For a moment, she thought she was still dreaming, but the brightness of the room and Freya’s loud presence confirmed that she was, in fact, very much awake. Her heart sank—she had been having the most vivid and comforting dream about her mother, and waking up was the last thing she wanted.

Without even thinking, she tugged the blanket over her head and murmured sleepily, "I just want to go back to sleep... please, Madame Freya, just give me a few more hours." She sounded more like a petulant child than the warrior-in-training she was.

Freya, however, had no patience for this. She leaned in closer and shouted directly into the blanket, "Drekuna ya bena!"

The harshness of the foreign tongue sent a jolt through Aricia, and with a defeated sigh, she slowly sat up, her eyes locking onto Freya's.

"Please, Madame Freya. Just a few more hours. I need to get back to my dream." Her voice was barely above a whisper, laced with desperation. She pulled the blanket tighter around herself, as if it could somehow transport her back to the comforting warmth of her mother's embrace in the dream.

Freya, undeterred, stood up with a smirk. "I won’t hear another word! Get up before I pour a bucket of cold water on you."

Aricia groaned again, but this time, she knew Freya wasn’t bluffing. She had learned long ago that when Freya threatened something, she meant it. Grumbling under her breath, she reluctantly swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up, the floor cold beneath her feet.

"Good," Freya declared with satisfaction, grabbing Aricia’s arm and tugging her along the corridor. Despite the grogginess that weighed on her, Aricia let herself be dragged, rubbing her eyes as she stumbled down the long hallway.

They reached the sitting room, and with a dramatic flourish, Freya flung open the doors.

"Ta-da!" Freya announced, gesturing toward the mess that was now strewn across the sitting room floor. Boxes of alcohol lined the walls, while a collection of board games sat scattered across the low wooden table. The room looked more like a makeshift tavern than anything else.

Aricia stared blankly at the scene, her mind struggling to catch up. After all the effort of dragging her out of bed, this was what Freya had been so excited about? She sighed heavily, her frustration bubbling to the surface.

"You woke me up at the crack of dawn… for this?" Aricia's voice was laced with irritation as she gestured toward the assortment of alcohol and games. "All of this, just so we could… play board games?"

Freya, already sprawled out on the wooden furniture, rolled her eyes and waved off Aricia's protest. "Geez, if ungratefulness was a person, it would look just like you right now."

Aricia rubbed her temples, feeling a headache creeping in. "The board games are fine," she said wearily, "but you know I don’t drink alcohol."

Freya, who had already popped open a bottle of something strong and intoxicating, hugged it to her chest protectively. "Duh, the alcohol is mine to enjoy. I deserve it," she replied, taking a long, satisfied sip from her bottle before setting it aside. With a wide grin, she shuffled the board games around on the table, her eyes gleaming as she pulled out a chessboard.

Aricia slumped to the floor, sitting cross-legged in front of the table. Chess, she could tolerate. Freya, though wild and carefree in many ways, took chess very seriously, and Aricia appreciated the challenge the game provided. It was a stark contrast to the chaos Freya usually brought into any room. Despite her fatigue and the remnants of her dream still lingering in her mind, Aricia began setting up the pieces on the board.

Freya, her mischievous grin never fading, mirrored Aricia’s movements, her fingers lightly tapping the pieces into place. The two sat in silence for a moment, the atmosphere around them shifting from playful chaos to focused anticipation.

Aricia’s mind slowly cleared as she placed the last piece, the chessboard now fully set up between them.

"Your move first," Freya said with a sly smile, her eyes gleaming with competitive fire.

Aricia nodded, her fingers hovering over her pieces as she studied the board. Freya had always been a formidable opponent in chess, and Aricia knew that underestimating her would only lead to a quick defeat. She moved her pawn forward, starting the game cautiously.

Freya, on the other hand, was bold from the outset. Her knight advanced swiftly, threatening Aricia’s early defenses. "You know, you should really learn to relax more," Freya said casually. "All this brooding and sleeping—it’s not healthy."

Aricia sat cross-legged on the floor, studying the chessboard with furrowed brows. Her eyes darted between the pieces, calculating, planning, trying to anticipate Freya’s next move. Across from her, Freya leaned back with her signature carefree attitude, cradling her bottle of alcohol as if it were her most prized possession.

Freya moved first, pushing her pawn to e4. It was a standard opening, aggressive and familiar. Aricia responded cautiously, advancing her own pawn to e5, matching Freya’s movement. The game began in silence, but the atmosphere between them was charged with an unspoken tension. Freya always liked to keep things light and teasing, but when it came to chess, she was ruthless.

“You know,” Freya started as she moved her knight to f3, “It was bold of you to stand against the Haquia. Stupid to be precise.”

Aricia moved her knight to c6 in response, maintaining her careful defense.

"I take that you're referring to Lady Livia. And to be quite frank, it wasn't even a battle to begin with. I was the victim."

The game advanced quickly in the opening, both players sticking to classical strategies, as pawns, knights, and bishops developed across the board. Aricia stuck to a defensive position, letting Freya push the pace. Freya, on the other hand, played with her usual flair, making aggressive moves and trying to force Aricia into uncomfortable positions.

As the game progressed, Freya leaned forward, her smile fading slightly as the intensity grew. She moved her queen to d1, lining up an attack on Aricia’s kingside. Aricia recognized the threat immediately and castled, tucking her king safely behind her rook. She knew Freya’s tactics well enough to anticipate the onslaught that was coming. Freya always loved to go for an early attack, often risking too much in the process. Aricia had seen it before, but this time felt different.

Freya’s fingers hovered over her knight, tapping it playfully before moving it to g5, an audacious move that threatened Aricia’s defenses. “That woman would kill you in a heartbeat. You're playing with forces beyond you, love."

Freya continued:

"Thank the gods I made it in time. Heavens, they would have minced your skin lest I came a second later."

Aricia’s eyes narrowed as she assessed the situation. Freya’s knight was dangerously close to her king, but she had options. She moved her rook to f8, bolstering her defenses and daring Freya to continue her attack. She wanted to lure Freya into overextending herself, to exploit the recklessness that so often accompanied her friend’s aggressive style.

But Freya wasn’t so easily baited. She moved her bishop to c4, intensifying the pressure on Aricia’s kingside. The threat was growing more serious. She moved her knight to h6, blocking Freya’s knight and hoping to defuse the situation, but Freya’s next move was swift and precise—she captured Aricia’s knight with her bishop.

The game had shifted suddenly, and Aricia found herself on the defensive. She was down a key piece, and Freya wasn’t slowing down. Aricia tried to regroup, pushing a pawn forward to create space for her pieces, but Freya’s attacks came in waves. Her queen moved to h5, hovering menacingly near Aricia’s king.

"I hear the Yazaki, Queen Witherlock of the Spirit Clan is to be burned soon."

As soon as Aricia heard the words, the pawn she held in hand landed with a fierce noise against the wooden board.

"What?"

***

Author's Note.

The word count for this chapter is approximately 1600 compared to the average of 2000. Anytime such short chapters are released, there would be a consequent release of another on the same day.