Hello there. Guess who has a very important exam coming up (actually 4 in 2 days) and decided to write rather than study? Yeah, me. I'm stupid. But I couldn't take it any longer. I needed to do something else. Anyways. Wish me luck I will need it. I also decided to fuck grammar on this, I'm not checking anything before publishing this. I just don't want to it takes so terribly long. So if you find any embarrassing mistakes, just pretend to not see them, have mercy I'm at the end. So, enjoy reading I would say. Let me know what you think ... yeah I think that was all I wanted to say so. Cheers!
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"You've got a lot of nerve showing up here when she's here too," Max said leaning against the handrail of the stairs at the bottom of the grand hall where Joanna's car collection was located. The moment his gaze met the one of Charles, the Dutchman spoke not happy to see the other man at all.
"Don't worry I guess you were distracting her just fine. Sexy Yoga pants by the way." Charles told Max as he stepped up to the Dutchman who gave a displeased snort. These were normal running shorts, nothing special but Charles wanted to say something, anything.
"Want me to hit you in the face, Leclerc?" Max asked unamused which caused Charles to snort.
"Bring it one." The Monegasque replied. "I'm not afraid of you, even if you play the big bad wolf." He added but before they could get anywhere near each other Joanna's unamused voice stopped them.
"How about no?" The Austrian said while moving through the space between Charles and Max towards the door which caused the two of them to share a brief look before following Joanna.
The Dutchman was leaning in the door while Joanna and Charles said their goodbye a few steps down in front of the car which would bring Charles to the airport.
"Be anything they need you to be or be none of it. You don't own this world a thing... you never did. You only own yourself." The Austrian whispered into his ear while she hugged him tightly, which caused Charles to smile sadly at her, as they let go of each other, before he glanced at Max shortly.
"I will let you know when I have it." He muttered, before lifting the file a bit to make sure she understood, earning himself another thank you from the Austrian before he got into the car and drove off.
"Sooo, wanna tell me what the French douchebag was doing here?" Max asked still leaning against the door frame as Joanna came back up the stairs. His expression was hard and unpleased, his arms crossed over his chest which caused Joanna to roll her eyes as she was about to just brush past him.
"Shouldn't you entertain our guest?" Joanna questioned instead of answering which caused Max to reach out and get a hold of her wrist before she could walk past him. Gently to not hurt her but strong enough to make her understand that he didn't apricate her current behaviour.
"What's going on? I won't allow you to sidestep me anymore. At first, I thought it to be a mood swing due to the pregnancy, so I let you be, but that's not it, so tell me. I don't like this silence between us." Max said pulling Joanna a bit closer which she didn't refuse.
"The truth?" She questioned and as Max nodded Joanna took a deep breath.
I have no sympathy. She sits here feeling sorry for herself while she hurts my friends. This is my home that I have opened for her but all she does is complain about it and make comments about how spoiled I am. This is our home, and she doesn't respect that at all.
She was about to speak but then thought again.
The truth was that Pia was an ignorant little child, who had no idea of the real world, but Joanna wouldn't blame her for it. She would not blame her for not knowing how to survive in their world, she would not blame her for the behaviour which was caused by a broken heart. The Italian might annoy her and cause unpleasant situations Joanna had to solve but that was not a reason to be cruel to her.
With Kelly it had been different, Joanna had to make sure that the Brazilian understood who was in charge and who would always win. Pia was no threat, to no one but herself. The Italian must have realised that she did not fit their world already. Pia was on the floor and Joanna had too much class to kick someone who was already on the ground, if she would deserve it or not was not Joanna's part to judge. Other people would judge the Italian, for once something was not Joanna's issue and she would take that.
Joanna knew exactly who she was and she stood for. Pia did not so all Joanna should ever offer her is pity not anger for being an inconvenience. The Austrian was sure the Italian would be a problem that would take care of itself sooner or later. She could wait that long.
"I'm just tired and a bit stressed." She simply answered which surprised the Dutchman.
"Are you sure it's nothing else?" Max asked again, which caused Joanna to nod, before she moved closer and put her hands on his chest, before moving one up to cup his cheek in her hand.
"Yeah." Joanna breathed before kissing Max gently, who moved his hand to rest around her back before pulling her closer and into another kiss.
"We're good." Joanna told Max as they stopped kissing, before resting her head against his chest, causing the Dutchman to pull her into a tight hug, well as tight as he dared. "There's just come FIA council and Lauda foundation stuff we have to talk about in a bit."
"Okay." Max agreed, before pressing a kiss against her temple and promising that they would take a nap together as soon as he had a shower and changed into something decent for the day. Joanna watched him go with a smile on her lips.
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To say that dinner that night was awkward was the understatement of the century in Joanna's book. It all was doomed before the first course was even served. Well, it was doomed from the moment Joanna had decided she would go looking for Max but then as she was about to enter the room, she heard Max and Pia speak which caused her to stop.
"Have you ever thought about..." Pia started to ask before trailing off, but then she took a deep breath, got her bravery together and spoke some more. "What could've happened if I didn't reject you all those years ago?" Pia said which caused the blood in Joanna's veins to freeze.
Joanna wasn't delusional, she knew that she couldn't be Max's first in every way, but never in all the time she was with Max and knew Pia now, did either mention that they were in any way romantically interested in each other before, but the Austrian couldn't say it surprised her that Max did not point it out to her. It was alright really, most likely just a stupid teenager crush, but it bothered her that Pia brought it up now. If she was looking for a way to cheer herself up Joanna's man wasn't the way.
Thinking about it maybe Joanna should have had the ex-talk with Max after all, she just amused after being the first woman he ever slept with that she was also the only one that mattered enough to be mentioned. Seemed like that was a mistake after all. Maybe that was also the reason that Max had asked her to come to Austria, some lingering feelings over the years. No, Joanna knew that wasn't the truth. She trusted her man and she wouldn't stop doing so because of a question.
"I don't know. It's so long ago..." Max said which caused Joanna to roll her eyes at her own insecurities about to show herself, but then Max said one word, which caused her to stop dead in her tracks, her heart clenching painfully.
"Maybe." He muttered. Maybe. Joanna thought the word somehow sobering her up. Not that she was drunk, but maybe love drunken, delusional. Incredibly naïve. It was all too good to be true. Joanna should have known.
"Like when I wasn't with J." The Dutchman added to clarify to make sure Pia understood that the Austrian was the one holding his heart, that it would always be her. Joanna was already working on steeling herself for the inevitable. Maybe she wasn't wrong after all, wherever Pia went, she only caused problems the Austrian would have to take care of after.
"I think we would've been a great couple," Pia said which caused Joanna to snort slightly while she was leaning against the wall. They would have been a terrible couple. She would have been herself, causing Max to suffer from a broken heart over and over again. She would have destroyed him. Not that Joanna didn't acknowledge how strong Max was and that she had made him go through hell as well, but Joanna simply couldn't believe that Pia even knew what love was. She always seemed to play with the boys, never stood up, never was ready for the commitment a relationship would mean. Joanna was like that once as well. Mark had used that against her, and it nearly destroyed her. Since then, a lot of things have happened. Yes, mistakes were made but also good things happened. Joanna had decided years ago that Max was worth the possibility of getting hurt, maybe Pia would have done the same, maybe not.
"Who knows really?" Max said with an uncomfortable laugh. He didn't like to have this conversation one bit. He climbed out of the pool and started to undress. After all, Pia had pulled him fully clothed into the pool as he wanted to help her out. "Maybe we would break up after a week." The Dutchman pointed out, hopeful to change the topic with that answer for good.
"Yeah, but maybe we would've been already married by now." Pia said with a smile, which caused Max to face her, a confused expression on his face while he was drying his hair.
"Am I disturbing you?" Joanna then spoke up after stepping up to the two of them, which caused Pia to react first.
"No." She claimed quickly, stepping away from Max. "We just talked about silly things." Yeah silly indeed. Joanna thought as Pia excused herself, saying something but the Austrian didn't care, she simply looked at the father of her child while waiting for the door to close behind Pia so the Italian wouldn't hear what they were talking about.
"Already married huh?" She spoke first, her expression ever part hostile which she couldn't hide. Her nose crunched a tiny pit, her eyes full of sadness. "If you want her instead you could have told me."
"Hey, that's not true, come on." Max said reaching out to rest his hand on Joanna's cheek but the Austrian took a step back, causing Max to lower his hand. "She just brought it up, I don't know why."
"Sure." Joanna said with so much judgement, Max felt insulted. "Listen, if you don't want this, then just tell me. I'm not forcing you to play happy family with me. If you want to be with her, I'm the last one to stop you from leaving."
"Would you stop this now? Why do you always feel the need to throw us under the bus whenever something comes up?" Max wanted to know.
"I'm not chaining you to me!" Joanna exclaimed, which caused Max to reach for her again but once more the Austrian pulled her arm away.
"I never said you would." Max said, his voice why more levelled and calmer. "But I would appreciate it if you would stop trying to make me leave you. Fight for us a bit more for fuck's sake. You are my everything, Joanna Lauda, so stop giving me easy ways out. When we have a problem we solve it together, we work on each other, because this..." Max told her before gesturing back and forth between the two of them. "We are worth fighting for." He added.
There was a long pregnant pause between the two of them in which Joanna had folded her arms around her torso and growing baby bump. "Maybe she's right after all. You would be happily married to her by now."
"J, stop." Max told her sternly but also with a softness to it. He knew how he had to talk to Joanna after all. He had learned over the years in which little things have turned in full blown fights. "I know you are insecure about us sometimes, but this, Pia is not an issue. In no way."
"You would make her leave if I asked you to?" The Austrian wanted to know which caused Max to nod right away.
"Of course, I lov..." He spoke but she interrupted him.
"Don't you dare tell me you love me now."
"Okay." Max said, his hands raised a bit to show Joanna he's not doing anything. "Do you want me to ask her to leave?"
"No." The Austrian spoke after thinking for a moment. "But I do hope for our relationship that she doesn't plan on stay too much longer. All we do since she's here is fighting." Joanna pointed out before she left.
With all this happening before and not enough time to cool down and talk again, the dinner was as already mentioned doomed. Even though Max tried to push Pia a bit into the right direction to make her follow the rules, stopped her from drinking too much before they even served the main course, both women seemed slightly displeased with him at one point so much that he gave up. He just watched as Joanna talked to Pia as politely as she possibly could in this situation while the Italian gave short answers which always displeased Joanna, not only with Pia or in this situation but always.
During the dinner, there were moments of silence in which Joanna's mind drifted off. Finding Max and Pia in the pool together talking about what an amazing couple they would be, would they have tried it years ago, already married by now. That had hit home. She couldn't deny that that had hurt.
Joanna has never considered Pia a stone in the way to her happiness. Maybe she was wrong. It hadn't worked out with Charles, maybe she was trying to get her man now. Max had the audacity to look clueless, while Pia asked him if he never thought of the two of them together.
The Austrian didn't even feel bad for being thankful as Pia dashed though the door to leave the dining hall, most likely to throw up. Joanna wasn't blind. Similar behaviour as her own from a lifetime ago was still easily spotted. If the Austrian had to guess, she would say Pia had an eating disorder, but who was she to get involved. Pia won't allow her to help anyways.
Being pregnant had the downside of lacking energy, so Joanna left the table shortly after Pia. Max gave her some time on her own to get ready for bed until it reached the point where Joanna began to question if he would even sleep next to her that night. He doubts were calmed down as the bed dipped next to her and she felt Max's hand on her side as he sat down on his side of the bed, her body turned away from him.
"I do love you and I don't care if you want to hear it now or not. I do and I want you to never forget that. I will say it every day a dozen time if I have to, to make sure you do know." Max told her and for a moment nothing happened. Joanna didn't speak nor did she move, until her hand slid over his to squeeze his fingers.
"For better or worse." Joanna echoed, before she pulled Max's hand forward, so it was resting on her growing belly, him being the bigger spoon behind her now. He pressed a gentle kiss against her skin below her ear, before cuddling closer.
"I can't wait until our little baby joins our family. I really want to meet him." Max told her which caused Joanna to smile. She thought it endearing that he thought of the two of them as a family. She never had a good family, but with Max, she had found the perfect one. She knew that much.
"Give him a few more months, huh?" She added which caused Max to nod against her. Yeah, that was properly a clever idea, it's just. Joanna was upset for the last few days, so that's the first time he can actually feel his son kicking since then. He just couldn't stop himself.
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"Do you know what I will do next?" Niki Lauda asked his daughter. She was gazing down at the chess board, her fingers hovering over the knight. Joanna had understood three moves back, that her father had just defeated her as long as he's not making a mistake but that did not mean she would be giving up. Most people make mistakes when they thought of themselves as superior.
"Defeat me," Joanna said, looking up to see her father look at her with a small smile on his lips.
"Now now, Joanna. You are not defeated so easily, you are my daughter after all." Niki said before looking down at the board again.
"You have sacrificed your pawns too easily. The Queen is the most powerful piece on the board, but you can't win by just using her. Sometimes it's the pawn that kills the King." Her father lectured her, before he moved his Queen and killed Joanna's King with it, causing the woman to huff in annoyance.
"Every move has its consequences, your aggressive strategy had worked in the beginning, but you were too hasty. You were sure of your simple victory and therefore stubbornly stuck to your strategy even though you realised that it would not lead to victory." Niki explained his eyes on his daughter's hands as she moved to reset the board, her stubbornness clearly visible on her face. She was so determined to win, she ignored the consequences even though they often robbed her of her victory.
"You knew your strategy wouldn't work, why didn't you change it?" Niki asked the, earning himself an unamused look from his daughter.
"I've already lost too many men. I've failed, it was just a matter of time for you to win." Joanna said, as she sat back down, her arms crossed in front of her chest, her gaze set on the chess board again. She was already thinking of a new strategy. Good.
"No victory is total, Joanna." Niki said softly. "So, every victory is also a strategic defeat. With respect to other players who have a share of power there must consequently be more struggle. More conflict."
"But how do I win if a victory will never be total?" Joanna wanted to know, while picking up the Queen. Since she was little it was her favourite piece, most of her strategies relied on her heavily, but Joanna had to learn that the Queen also wore a target on her back, a target the pawn would never carry.
"The ultimate winner will be the one who is willing to lose a battle in order to gain more strategic positioning in the ongoing war. The one who would choose to endure and fight on rather than attempt complete victory once and for all, and stop the fight. Only the mad dog chases winning without thought of tomorrow and a mad dog can win a battle but never wage a war. War is ongoing, never final. Struggle is the lifeblood of both society and individual." Niki told his daughter.
"This is the paradox of power, Joanna." Her father added, a bit softer, no longer lecturing her.
"Joanna, you are powerful. Stop hiding and finally use it." Niki told her which caused Joanna to look down at the board once more while setting up the game, thinking about something she could say to her father, but as she looked up, he was gone.
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"It's about you and him." Mark said after a long moment, a smug expression morphing onto his face as he turned around to watch Joanna closely. This was what he had been looking for, for so long and now, finally, he had found the weaknesses in a pawn on the board he was almost fooled into believing was morally untouchable. He just had to dig deep enough. They were all tainted, a competitive sport like theirs never accepts pure souls.
"I must admit, I never thought that it could be something personal, but it is, isn't it?" The Aussie said, rounding the table to stand in front of Joanna, sitting in a love chair in her living room in her home, but Mark was the one with the high ground, he had the upper hand.
"What it must be like to be you." Joanna snorted which caused Mark to sharply turn, his gaze finding hers easily. She tried to fool him, her body language was relaxed but having the information he did, he knew that Joanna wasn't foolish enough to not be on the edge.
"You feel superior and maybe you are at the moment, but your arrogance leaves you vulnerable." The younger said, basking in her own satisfaction just to dim his.
"Take my word for it, dearest, you are as arrogant as I am." Mark muttered. His movements fast and agile, as he made his way over to Joanna. His hands easily found the armrests, before he leaned forward, his nose almost brushing Joanna's who controlled her breathing and looked at Mark unimpressed, a challenge twinkling in her eyes.
"He loved you, until they offered him power. Max chose the crown, abandoning you." Mark uttered dangerously, causing Joanna expression to morph, which allowed a smug and delighted smirk to bloom on Mark's lips. He had hoped she would finally allow her mask to crack. He desired to see her break, her emotion seeping out of the shattered heap of porcelain the little princess pretended to be.
"Tell me, did he even care enough to say goodbye, before he betrayed you?" Mark's whispered brushed over the milky white skin of Joanna's cheek. Her fingers curling around the fabric of the loveseat's armrests.
Lifting her chin, Joanna's gaze landed on Mark's eyes. The eyes of a predator, but it wasn't as if she would mind. Her lips parted, the answer already on the tip of her tongue, but them she allowed her tongue to swipe over her full bottom lip, wetting the delicate-coloured skin, before titling her head to the side, so her breath would brush the Aussie's ear.
"He did not." Joanna admitted, which caused Mark to let out as satisfied snort.
"He's a fool. Just think of the empire the two of you could have created. It's a shame, well almost. Max doesn't see what you're truly capable of. I do. I would never treat you like he did." He muttered and Joanna knew he wasn't lying. Mark was capable of so much worse than a boy, who had no other choice than to follow the path other people have destined him for.
"You wouldn't make the same mistake?" Joanna saw herself laying in the rain on the side of the road, the water was washing the blood away which was gushing out of her bullet wounds. That's how Mark would treat her, how he would leave her behind.
"I'm not a fool. Only a fool would risk losing you." Mark said, his eyes set on her.
Instead of speaking she moved forward, her lips brushing Mark's in a tender kiss, before he lifted his hands from the armrest to take a hold of Joanna's face. The control was his, as he dipped her head back to deepen the kiss, allowing passion to wash over them. Joanna was so young, so perfect, but he also knew how dangerous she was.
Mark Webber always enjoyed conquering. Possessing the unpossessable. Joanna had been out of his reach for so long, but now, finally he had the one thing he always desired to possess. The ultimate pawn on the board and she was all his.
"Oh Joanna." Mark muttered against Joanna's reddened lips after a moment. "If only someone would love you." He added cruelly, before pulling away from her.
"That desire in you for Max." Mark said, his voice back to normal. He was lecturing after straightening up. "It's not love, it's revenge."
"But you don't have to worry about that any longer. I will make sure you get what you deserve, dearest." The satisfaction in his eyes was bright. His fingers were itching, he wanted to tell her about his masterplan. He wanted to let her in on his secrets so she, as an equal player for a long time had to acknowledge his genie. Mark wanted her to applaud him and sooner or later it will be his downfall.
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Joanna woke startled, her hand pressed against her chest as she drew in painful breaths. The clouding confusion was slowly leaving her mind which finally let her notice that Max was awake and sitting next to her in bed. His hand on her shoulder plate while gently stroking her hair behind her ear.
"It was just a dream." Joanna muttered which caused Max to move forward and press a kiss against her temple.
"Wanna talk about it?" He wondered, his nose brushing against the side of her face which actually helped her to relax.
"It's fine. I just dreamed about my dad, we played Chess. The sudden end startled me a bit." Joanna promised Max, before they lay back down. Her head resting on his chest and his hand on her baby belly. She was thinking about Mark as she fell back asleep safely in Max's arms. Had it been a warning or a threat and why the Chess theme?
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"You are troubled," Matthias spoke as he stepped next to Joanna, who was standing by the window in their father's office, her gaze on Pia, who had refused to eat dinner with them but was now in the garden, talking on her phone while smoking.
He was waiting for her to fetch the diary she had spoken about during the dinner, originally, but then she seemed to have noticed something out of the corner of her eye in the garden, causing her to straighten up from where she was leaning over the table in search of the booklet, only to turn her body so she would have a better view.
He couldn't stop but noticing her posture, it differed barely, but noticeable enough for the older child of Niki Lauda, who knew his half-sister almost her entire life. Matthias' words seemed to have an effect on the younger Austrian, who shook her head barely noticeable before she reached for the right diary laying on her desk.
"Hardly so." Joanna answered, her voice clear and a bit bored actually. As she handed him the little diary, that was heavier than Matthias had thought as his sister mentioned that their father left them with a collection of booklets, notes and instruction if one wants to call them that.
"The things which are going on don't bother you then?" Matthias wanted to know, surprise in his voice as he leaned against the door frame while watching his sister intensely. Knowing his little sister since before she could walk or talk, Matthias knew when something was on her mind and despite the fact that she hadn't mentioned it straight forward to him, they were still here. In the office which had once belonged to their father. If she truly would have only wanted to fetch the diary to let Matthias read it, they would have returned to his wife and Max by now.
"That's not what I said and also not what you stated." Joanna pointed out. "You concluded that I must be troubled, which I'm not but that hardly means I'm unbothered."
"Why are you so found of talking in riddles?" Matthias wondered as he moved into the room and closed the door behind himself.
"Because I know that you understand them." Joanna told him with a honest smile blooming on her lips. Matthias could understand why the media loved her so much. Joanna he was gorgeous, but also so very dangerous if crossed and wildly intelligent. She did remind him of their father a lot, her eyes especially. These stormy intelligent eyes.
"I'm glad to hear that you seem to keep an eye on things despite not being actively on the council right now. Actually, relieved might be the more fitting word." Matthias told her as he walked over the few steps to stand behind Joanna, who turned around and smiled at him.
"I'm aware of things which are important, but I don't think it's necessary for me to be personally involved. That's why I have people I trust." She pointed out. "That's also the reason I gave you dad's seat and another one for Jenson. Is that what troubles you?" Joanna wondered which caused the older Lauda to exhale slowly before taking a seat on the couch, causing the Joanna to get up before walking over to him, but before she could reach it, Matthias offered his hand which she took with both of hers, while sitting down before he settled his second one over their intervened fingers.
"Not as much as it should most likely." He muttered. "He's doing a great job so far. It was right to name him, Joanna. Jenson is a good man but I do trust him only because you do too." Matthias pointed out which caused his sister to exhale slowly before leaning back in her seat.
"I'm not saying that your judgment is clouded in any way, but I do worry. We should keep the inner circle smaller." The older one addressed which caused Joanna to stand up before walking over to an old cupboard.
"Niki never trusted anyone but himself, I'm sure you know that." She mentioned while opening the cupboard door in search for a certain box. "Just imagine our legacy if he did."
"That can go two ways and you know that, Joanna." He told her in a warning tone. "I always dreamed of our family being united and I can't tell you how happy I was as you finally reached out because you were ready to understand that your family is one of your best resources. That blood is thicker than water."
"I feel like there is a but." Joanna said while pulling the box from the cupboard and closing the door, before she turned around to face Matthias, who was sitting on the couch still, his eyes on his sister.
"There is." Matthias admitted right away. "You can trust your family, your blood. We all want the same, to keep our own safe and watch our legacy thrive. But some of the people who you call family won't stand with us on this. For one to thrive someone else has to fall, it's always like that. You can't trust people whose goal don't allay with ours."
Joanna did not say anything at all at first, she simply moved to sit opposite from Matthias before opening the little box and taking out the pawns of a chess game.
"Has dad ever showed you how to play?" Joanna wanted to know after she had set up the board which caused Matthias to watch her for a long moment.
"He did. But shouldn't we get back to Max and my wife?" The older one asked, but his sister just shook her head. Her cleanly painted white finger nails dancing over the last pawns she was setting up and in that moment Matthias realised that that was exactly what she had been doing. Setting up pawns.
"They will be fine for a bit longer." Joanna told him, while Matthias reached for the glass of brownish clear liquid he had brought with him after the dinner.
"Sometimes I forget that under that exterior is still just another version of our father." The older Lauda said which caused Joanna to smirk. It was no older an insult to her when someone said she was like her father, it was like getting knighted.
"You've told me your worries." Joanna started. "That I trust the wrong people. I do not. I decided to trust my brother and solely my brother." She said before moving the first piece on the board.
"Explain it to me." Matthias asked her, before he set to move his first pawn as well. "You moved your pawns into position and now your following your plan." He guessed but Joanna shook her head.
"If only it would be so easy." She muttered. "Don't think you can make grandiose plans using the behaviour of other people as anticipated in your imagination."
"But you do know these people, some for decades already." Matthias pointed out.
"Not well enough to predict every move they would make in every possible situation. That's simply impossible." The younger Austrian let her brother know before she picked up the King and turned him over in her hand. "It's true, I have certain pawns, as you called them, in position but that does not mean that they are the pawns which are currently on my board." Matthias wondered which people who trusted and loved his sister where only pawns. Or was the question who wasn't a pawn?
"You think inaction is wisdom and that it shows restraint, not cowardice. You're wrong." Matthias warned her and yes, Joanna knew that much. That was Nelson Piquet's mistake over all. He was too slow. Unsure about what to do when a situation opened itself in front of him which called for a quick decision. He was not good at those.
"They are a precaution." The younger Austrian's voice was stern, as if she warned her older brother to not speak over her again when she was sharing something so vital with him. All these information was only meant for someone, who not only understood but could operate on the same level. "A test of their loyalty if you so will. I can guarantee you I'm everything but inactive."
"A test of their loyalty? Is that why she is here?" Matthias wondered, not saying who 'she' was but the implication was clear, which caused Joanna to look towards the window once more.
"God no, but that's why Kiwi is gone." Joanna pointed out but her brother understood her statement and concluded the rest. Kiwi is gone, she got send away but not as a punishment for not passing a test which was meant for her but due to someone else passing the test. It was just a result of Max's loyalty to Joanna.
"A weak test for Max, don't you think?" Matthias pointed out, his expression smug.
"Who says it was a test for him?" Joanna asked her older brother which caused Matthias to glance at her, his eyes no longer on the game. If she wasn't testing Max with this, who else?
"When it wasn't for Max who else..."
"Now Matthias, that would be too easy. Think a little, it's not that hard." Joanna encouraged him with the same look in her eyes as their father would give him in such a situation. They liked to think of themselves as superior.
"We're playing chess with pieces that may choose to leave their squares. If we don't continually supervise and accurately alters our predictions, we may soon be playing with a board that no longer reflects reality." Joanna told him, a warning, to not believe things to be just because they were a few hours ago.