[AU Solo] Checkmate

[Lutz]

"Check."

Huh?

Plum looked down at the board in front of her, black and white squares making her vision blur a bit, the black and white pieces within those squares not helping the matter. What was she doing? Oh right, playing. She was playing against the Grandmaster Brambling, a pleasant fellow who could end a game of chess as swiftly as he could bring a smile to your face, which was pretty fast.

But Plum was trying to focus on the game, not the man seated opposite her. She could see her own reflection and the reflection of the board in the light pink and blue sunglasses he always wore, his eyes being very light sensitive. Normally things like that weren't allowed at this level of competition, but they gave him a pass.

Right. Move. Her king was in trouble and she needed to save him.

But how did she even get to this point? Plum loved chess, she really did, but she never in her wildest dreams thought she'd be seated across from a Grandmaster! She couldn't remember the past few minutes, the past few hours, the past few days...what on earth was happening to her? Stress amnesia or something?

Plum finally made her move, nudging her king to safety. Brambling didn't move, allowing her to try to wrack her mind for information. She could remember going to seek advice from Woods, a former player who could have gotten up to Grandmaster herself if she hadn't played simply for fun. You had to focus, but you couldn't take it too seriously. There were people who went mad playing chess, she'd warned. Have fun, don't worry about losing, and you'll do just fine.

That had been weeks ago, though. Plum knew that much. But why, why couldn't she remember the past few days?

"Checkmate."

"What?!"

Her voice made Brambling jump in his chair and she quickly clapped her hands over her mouth, looking around at the other competitors to see if she'd disturbed them. It was then that she realized no one else was there. They were in a room all alone, no judges, no camera crews, no other players. Just them.

"Ah...I see you've come to realize your true predicament," Brambling said with a sigh, taking off his sunglasses. Plum was startled to see that he had no eyes behind those lenses at all, but rather gaping holes in his skull, the bone of his sockets exposed. "Unfortunately, Miss Plum, your game ends here. With me."

"I don't understand," Plum said weakly, trying to pinch herself to wake up. Unfortunately no matter how hard she squeezed her flesh, no pain came. She wasn't sleeping, but she wasn't awake, either.

"I am here to see you to the other side," Brambling said as he stood, offering her a hand and the friendly smile he was known for in the chess circles. "I apologize that you didn't understand what it meant to play a game with me. Many mortals decide to bid for their lives in a game of chance or skill. I generally win, you see. You were a good opponent, but in life there are only two things that a certain: taxes and death."