Jester in Chess

~Chapter Twenty-Two~

"Is the Red Queen far enough, Raven?"

Raven ducked his head in a nod. This satisfied Jest.

"Good. But before we begin moving again, we do have to address that if we continue our path straight, we'd likely be walking right into the hands of the Red Queen again. I think she plans to block us from reaching the end, which would leave us with very little options..."

Raven understood. "From the sides I'll go, and see that she is towed. She may block your path right now, but to carry on with this I shall not allow."

"I am glad for your presence, then. Now, I gather that our position on the map is quite close to the Red Queendom; in two squares, her highness should officially be turned into a her majesty. So I must know: are you ready, princess?"

Lily, arms crossed, looked down at him. Stubbornly, her red hair fell into her face. "Let me tie my hair first. I'll be ready in a moment."

"And Hatta? Are you—"

"Wait, Jest. Do you see that?" Hatta said. He leaned forward, pushing his hat back so he could see. Jest glanced upward to see what he was staring at. Jest's eyes widened.

"Is that a white rose?"

Hatta was already leaving to investigate.

There, up in the high branches of a tree, was a speck of white. From below at the roots of the tree, Hatta looked up.

"Someone want to climb up there and get it?" He gave a look towards Raven and Jest. "Or fly?"

Productively, the one already turned into a bird set off to retrieve the rose. The rose did appear tangled, its vines holding on with all its might to the tree's branches, but at Raven's insistence, the rose loosened its hold and allowed itself to be brought down to the rest of them. Raven placed the rose on the ground in front of Jest, forcing Hatta to come back over. It was a sickly little thing, its white petals poked with holes and brittle edges. If it had fallen from the tree, it would have certainly crumpled to pieces.

Hatta crouched down. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"I am what I so happen to be," the rose said. Her voice was raspy, but carried the same passive tone that most roses carried. She gave a slight cough. "I... I have a message. Information... I... retrieved. It is... important."

"Easy love, your petals are fading. Tell us your message. I just so happen to be a messenger."

The rose fluttered a leaf. It had speckles of dried red paint on it. Flecks of red also appeared on her head, though chipped. "As I was among the red roses, I heard..." She coughed again, her voice turning fainter. "The Red Queen... plans to kill the... the royal..." The rose sighed, petals drooping.

With so much anticipation built, Jest couldn't help but slump. Lily too shook her head.

The rose didn't say anything else after that. Hatta gently picked the rose up, tucking her in his pocket with the pumpkin. Mostly to himself he said, "I'll make sure your message is timely delivered." Briskly, he got up, curtly looking them all in the eye, before settling on Jest. "I must be on my way then. You and the princess will have to continue your journey without me."

Jest's brow furrowed. "Is that really necessary?"

Hatta straightened his hat. "If there is one thing I've learned from being a messenger, it is that you shouldn't overlook a message, no matter if you think you think you heard it before."

Lily uncrossed her arms. "But how would you return to the White Queendom? Your a pawn. Pawns don't move backward. That's a rule, I thought."

"That is right. Nor can pawns move sideways. And yet, with a single earthquake, I can find myself back in my hat shop and not promoted in the slightest. That isn't for you to worry about, however, love. See to it that you're made a queen."

"What if you can't find a suitable earthquake?" Jest asked. Hatta smiled.

"There are plenty at Chess's edge! Plenty plenty! And once past the edge, the volcanoes can carry me back, safe and sound. It is perfect for when I need to deliver a message swiftly."

Lily's face wrinkled. "You must be joking."

Hatta was already leaving them. "I prefer to leave joking to the joker that sits beside you. But fine, keep your indifference."

Jest waved goodbye as Hatta left. Raven fluttered upward. "And you're off too?" Jest asked. Raven nodded. "Then off we'll be as well."

Raven flew away. Lily, red wavy hair now tied neatly in a ponytail, watched Raven go.

"It unnerves me..." She turned her head to him. "The rose was speaking about me, wasn't she? There was no need for Hatta to set off as he did?"

Jest shuffled to his feet, stretching on his way up. "If the rose was speaking about you, then let us hope instead that the worries of her message go unfounded. It would concern me greatly if you were to be killed." He smiled to her. "But if you do die, do not worry about being alone. I'd probably be next."

Lily's brow twitched at this. She sharply turned to walk away, leaving him to catch up after her.