Diversion [Kianna Surana]

[jaininae]

Title: Diversion

Prompt: New Game

Player Character: Kianna Surana

Universe: Kianna's canon verse (don't have a name for it yet)

Characters: Jowan, Anders, Finn, Arl Eamon, Bann Teagan

Summary: Kianna plays chess with an old friend.

 

”You said you required something of me,” Jowan intoned plainly, blank eyes taking in the mounted chessboard that was fixed in the center of Skyhold’s garden. “I don't see how I can use my talents in this setting.”

“That’s not why I brought you out here, Jowan,” Kianna gently admonished. “Please, sit down with me,” she gestured to the vacant chair across from her as she began to set the board. Jowan obeyed wordlessly, though his posture wasn’t indicative of one who was at ease. 

“I believe I would be of better use to the mages in the tower,” he said as he watched her set the board.

“Nonsense,” she replied brusquely, “You’ve done enough for them today. You deserve a break,” she set the last piece on the board. “You remember how to play, don’t you?” 

Jowan looked down at the board, quietly inspecting the pieces and there positions. 

“Yes,” he said after a moment. The single word touched a small smile to her lips.

“Would you like to go first?”

“I am comfortable with whatever you prefer,” came his detached response.

Her smile faltered.

*

“I’ll go first,” Jowan’s eager response was well matched with his enthusiasm to move his first pawn. It always started this way, with Jowan kicking things off  in the first four turns, only to bring himself to a slow crawl by the fifth and sixth, where he was so engaged he couldn’t even spare Anders a sharp retort.

“How long do you think it’ll be before he makes another move? Two hours? Three?” Anders remarked slyly to Finn.

“Chess isn’t a game you rush into,” Finn said without looking away from the board, "It requires strategy."

“Sounds interesting,” Anders replied, a lilt of sarcasm to his voice.

“He’s thinking ahead of her,” Finn explained, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “Chess is a mental game.”

“Probably why you can’t play, Anders,” Kianna muttered, earning a glare from the mage in question, and a twitch of a smile from Jowan, who after a moment, moved one of his bishops forward.

“Your move.”

*

Kianna went first, finding a modicum of satisfaction in seeing that the beginning of the game was as fast paced as she remembered, if a bit too quiet without Anders or Finn to commentate. 

Yet when they reached the fifth turn, she started to wonder just how seriously Jowan was taking this match. 

“You want to think on that move a bit more?” 

“No,” was his only response; a response that both confused, and worried her, as she considered the placement on the board.  

*

Anders didn’t take kindly to the sharp kick Finn delivered from beneath the table. 

"Maker, what?" he mumbled groggily, lifting his head from the table. "Has Jowan finally lost?"

"On the contrary," Came Kianna’s smooth reply. Anders rubbed his eyes, and squinted at the pieces on the board. She was right, Jowan had somehow managed to get her into checkmate.

"Finn," Anders leaned across the table to whisper loudly into Finn's ear, "I think Jowan may be a blood mage."

Kianna rolled her eyes.

"You let me win," The hurt in Jowan’s tone drew her attention, "If you hadn't let me take your queen two turns ago, this game would've been yours."

Kianna was seemingly unperturbed by the accusation, though her eyes didn't quite meet his, "I'm not sure I remember that."

Jowan turned to Finn, "You were paying attention.” He said firmly,  “She would've won two turns ago." 

Finn opened his mouth to answer, yet hesitated upon glancing at Kianna.  He cleared his throat, and looked away from Jowan, twiddling his fingers nervously, “I’m not sure I remember that either.”

This response elicited a dissatisfied frown from Jowan, and a hard look in Kianna’s direction. 

Her expression was one of neutrality; patient, and perhaps a little bored. "Is it so hard to accept that you won this time?" She asked.

Jowan's expression hardened, standing so suddenly his chair skittered back against the hard stone floor.

"Not if it's a game I actually won," He said bitterly, "I thought you were more honest than that."

Kianna didn't try to stop him as he turned to leave.

*

Kianna eyed the board thoughtfully, so engrossed by the pieces that she was haunched over in her chair, her hand covering her mouth in concentration. She only paused in between to get a read on Jowan, who was patiently waiting for her to make her move.

"You're a lot better at this than I remember," She said, hoping her aloofness didn't sound too forced.

"I cannot tell."

"I can," She sat upright, "You took your time back then."

"Does this bother you?"

"No," She said too quickly, "Just a bit out of practice, is all." Her fingers hovered over her bishop, only to pass the piece over to move her knight.

"Your move."

*

“Is there anything you would say in the mage’s defense?” Inquired Arl Eamon from his place atop his throne, his brother, Arl Teagan, standing adjacent to him. She had spoken to Jowan only briefly prior to the meeting, and had ignored Morrigan’s request to free Jowan, much to the apostate’s confusion. Not only Jowan was Kianna's friend, his imprisonment served them little in the long run. Yet Kianna refused to release him.

Yes, they were friends, but too much had changed since the last time she saw him.  Explaining how would only anger Morrigan further. 

The Arl’s question physically weighed upon Kianna. She hoped that those watching her would attribute this to her chronic fatigue.

“Jowan is misguided, my lord; a fool,” Her voice came out in a gravely rasp. She cleared her throat before continuing, “If you could spare him—“

“Out of the question,” interjected Arl Teagan, “This man tried to poison my brother. I would sooner see him hang than be kept alive a moment longer.”

Anger flashed in her tired eyes, “He only poisoned him to save his own life. It was not a crime of malicious intent.”

“Tell that to the people in the village who lost their sons and daughters because of him.”

Kianna grit her teeth, and redirected her attention back to Arl Eamon. 

“If he was your son—“

“Had my son been sent to the Circle earlier - had your friend remained in the Circle - none of this would have happened,” Eamon stated firmly. “I’m sorry, but I will not request the Circle of such a thing.”

The finality of his tone incensed her. Why bother asking at all if her input meant so little? This was a question she couldn’t ask, because she already knew the answer. It was what she had been prepared to do from the start, something she had been more willing to bare than allowing Jowan to escape. 

She took an uneven breath and cast a final look towards Jowan. Although he was clearly remorseful over past events, there was no way he would be alright with what she was about to say.

"If that is the case, then I have only one request."

*

Jowan moved his bishop adjacent to her king, her queen captured, with her king trapped in checkmate between an opposing knight and her own pieces. Her response to her loss was belated, and only by the prodding of Jowan that followed after. 

“I believe the game is completed,” Jowan’s flat remark cut through her thoughts, and brought her eyes to the Chantry brand in the center of his forehead. She cleared her throat.

“It is. Well done," she began clearing the board, setting each piece carefully in the wooden box they came in. "You may go back now."

She moved with mechanical precision, setting the cold marble pieces one after the other inside the box, filling it until there were no pieces left on the board. By then, Jowan was long gone.

And she was hollow inside.