His New Beginning [MCU Loki]

6: True Colors

"Checkmate," Nyssa announced triumphantly.

Loki looked thoughtfully at the board. "Well done, Nyssa, very well done. However, while I cannot move my king anywhere and he is currently in check, you seem to have forgotten that I can move other pieces. You see..." he moved a bishop across the board to take Nyssa's attacking rook. "Now, I am no longer in check. And the game continues."

Nyssa groaned. "Damn it, I was so close!"

Loki smirked. "But you always must watch out for everything in play. Not just the big one. I fully expect you to win the game eventually since I made a vital mistake early on and pointed out your biggest error."

Nyssa raised an eyebrow. "You're giving me too much credit. I'm not the strategic master you are." She moved her other rook, taking his bishop and putting his king back in check. "Is this checkmate now?"

Loki closed his eyes and let out a sigh of frustration through his nose.

"It's like playing with a child," he muttered. "You somehow take the fun out of chess. I like it as an intellectual game to test the prowess of one's mind. And you're just haphazardly moving pieces around with no strategy. It's insulting!"

"Cool it, Shakespeare. This game was your idea. You should know better than to expect 'intellectual prowess' from me. Now, will you answer my question? Are you in checkmate or not?"

Loki looked at her with an unreadable expression for a moment. "No. I can move here now since you moved the rook covering that space."

Nyssa nodded, an overly serious expression on her face. "Ok, I see. Now..." She moved her knight. "Checkmate."

Loki narrowed his eyes at the board for a moment before they widened in shock.

"I'm impressed. You played the fool and got me to underestimate you."

Nyssa smirked. "Well, maybe a bit, but really...I cheated. That knight was here. He could move here, but that doesn't put you in check. I just stretched a space."

"If you don't want to play, just say so," Loki said, annoyance evident in his voice.

"Oh no," Nyssa laughed. "This is far too much fun!" She moved her knight back and promoted a pawn to a queen. "Your turn."

Loki glared at her. "My turn? You just won!"

Nyssa cracked a smile. "I did, didn't I?" She jumped up with an energetic squeal. "I finally beat you!!!"

Loki couldn't help but smile at her childish antics. "As unbelievable as that may be, yes. You did. Congratulations."

With a wave of his hand, the chessboard disappeared. "Well, I can promise I won't underestimate you again, now that you've shown your true colors, Raven."

"Raven? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Ravens are well known as the warning sign for trouble. You're a Raven if I ever saw one."

She let out a little laugh before creating a drawing pad and pencil. "Oh, Loki, what am I ever going to do with you?" She sat down in a picturesque manner on the couch, humming slightly to herself.

As she traced out her picture, the tune grew louder and she added words.

"You with the sad eyes,

Don't be discouraged.

Oh I realize

It's hard to take courage."

She had a beautiful voice and the melody was sweet and soft. But the words stood out the most.

"You can lose sight of it all