Nadeshiko

Chapter Two

24.00 a.m.

The grandfather clock struck midnight. The sound rang loudly through the hall. So loud that it echoes. Jun placed a hand over his mouth and yawned. "I can't take it anymore! I think I'm dozing off." True enough, his eyes were already drooping. I could see that he's really sleepy.

"Luckily I took a short nap in the train." I chuckled, moving my knight forward to try and checkmate Ryoko's king.

"Ha! What a move. You do know that you're sending your knight down the valley of Death right?" Ryoko gasped at her luck when she managed to corner my knight instead.

"What a dirty move!" I muttered, trying to figure out a way to save my knight. Even though deep down I knew that it is beyond saving, I still want to rack my brains for another move. I'm not willing to give up just yet. Because its chess, you see. Chess is my life and that means it's my favourite. I'll do almost anything for chess. There are always ways. You just have to find it. After a good whole twenty minutes, Ryoko sighed and laid back on the couch, stretching her arms.

"Come on! Are you done? If not, just let me fire the cannons!"

"No! Wait, I'm thinking." If I move my rook here, it will get captured instead. Damn! I think I'll just sacrifice it. I moved another piece and Ryoko triumphantly moved her queen over to capture my knight.

"Ha! In the end your knight still got captured."

"That doesn't matter! Just watch, I'll definitely win. Having reduced number of pieces doesn't mean I'll be on the losing side!"

"Hey, what time is it?" Kubara asked. Now it's his turn to yawn. Then Jun. According to a superstition, when you see a person yawning, you'll yawn too. It's like an instant transmission disease. Glancing down at my watch, I told him that it's already 12:30 in the morning.

"We should be in bed now, you know? Children shouldn't go to bed late." Jun noted.

"Ah, we are adolescents. Not children. Oh, but Urshu is." I turned to look at the young girl. She paid no attention to us and just continued stroking her toy. I wonder why she does this all the time. Is there any significance in this?

"Maybe only Urshu should." Ryoko got up and went over to her. She is sitting at a corner which is the darkest spot in the room. Funny, she loves sitting in dark places like a ghost.

"Well, I do wonder why she loves sitting in dark places so much." 聽I said to Jun and Kubara.

"Oh softer! She can hear you." Jun muttered.

"Come on, Urshu. You have to sleep now. Children shouldn't go to bed late. Come, I'll bring you to your room." Ryoko held out her hand.

Urshu shook her head and surprisingly, she spoke in a rather soft voice. "No, I'm waiting for her." It was almost like a whisper. All of us were stunned and silence filled the nursery for short while. No one spoke. Surprise had consumed us so we forgot to speak. All eyes were on her but she appeared unfazed. Jun was the first to speak. Ironically, it was always him who broke the silence.

"Her? Who are you waiting for?" Jun asked.

We all waited. No one dared move. I was suddenly reminded of the shadow that I had seen in the hall. A chill ran down my spine and I gulped. What if the 'her' that Urshu had just mentioned is the shadow? No, that can't be! It must be one of the servants. Yes, it has to be one of the servants. There's no one else. All the adults are in the lounge. Once they are into their conversation, it's impossible to hope that they will leave before they finish. We are all here. So it has to be the servants she's referring to. Everyone was tense waiting for her reply.