Page 8 of Rapunzel's Gambit (All That Glitters)

They all went down in rapid succession. My chess prowess was a skill I prided myself on, having studied for hours each time Father confined me to my room for some trick I played on him or his friends. There were a great deal of men laughing at each other as they all failed to best me. As my cockiness grew, Ijor brought a young man close to my same age over, a squire by the looks of him, and shoved him to sit opposite of me. “Here. Griffin is an excellent player. He’s my squire.”

I gestured for him to set up his pieces and analyzed him, still feeling much too arrogant for my own good. I had soundly defeated many princes and knights already; a lowly squire would be no problem at all. Griffin had a soft-spoken voice and an average build but exuded an air of quiet confidence. As he touched each of his chess pieces prior to beginning, I knew he would present a good challenge for me. Competent players habitually centered all the pieces on their respective squares at the onset of each game, as if familiarizing themselves with old friends.

Within six moves, my heart was pumping much harder than with any of my former opponents. Griffin barely even glanced at the board through the entire opening and set up an impenetrable barrier around his king. My aggressive strategies were useless against such a strong defense. I began taking more and more time to deliberate over each move. Griffin proved to be just as talented a player as I and had either studied longer or else was a shade more intelligent and able to see more moves ahead than I could. I therefore began poring over the board for such long periods of time that the girls who were more interested in attracting a suitor than in chess wandered off. The rest of the defeated chess players still clustered close to us, breathing down our necks as I tried to weasel my way out of each fork, pin, and skewer Griffin set up for me.

Then suddenly, I saw it. There was the gleam of triumph in the squire’s eyes that could only mean one thing—an impending checkmate. I scoured the board, but the attack I had planned out seemed fool-proof. Two moves later, I saw what Griffin had anticipated all along. His knight was going to triple fork my king, queen, and rook. I would lose my queen and consequently the game… and it was unstoppable. How could I have overlooked it? I sagged back in my chair, horrified that I had missed such a pivotal point in the game. It seemed that none of the onlookers could map out moves as far ahead as Griffin or I, so they hadn’t realized that the game was essentially over.

I locked eyes with Griffin over the chess board. He had me and he knew it. My stomach soured as the anticipation of my impending humiliation loomed large. There was nothing I could do to prevent his victory. I glumly moved my queen diagonally three squares and waited for my ultimate demise.

It never came.

Rather than using his knight to capture my queen, which would lead to a checkmate, he instead moved his only remaining rook to threaten my black-squared bishop, a major blunder. I stared at the board, uncomprehending, then up at Griffin, who gave a tiny smile and nodded down at the game.

I captured his rook and took the remainder of his pieces, then delivered checkmate soon after. He shook my hand, thanked me for the opportunity to play, and rose.

“What happened tothree steps ahead, Griffin?” a knight called aggressively. “Isn’t that your motto?”

“Yeah, I thought you were a competent player!” Other voices joined in, all heckling the quiet squire as he silently wound his way through the jeering crowd.

My gown felt nailed to my seat as I watched him walk away as calmly and sedately as if he were strolling on a beach. He had thrown the match… but why? A mere squire who could best one of the most competitive chess players in all of Rookwyn would gain immense popularity. Women would fawn over his intelligence, men would admire his achievement, and he could have publicly punctured my own ego, which I knew was grossly over-inflated… so why hadn’t he?

Hands rained down to pat my back and words of congratulations swirled around me, but I didn’t hear any of them. I shoved aside my stool and stalked after Griffin as he left the ballroom, catching him as he stepped out of the castle into the rose garden.

“What’s your game, squire?”

He pulled a face of mock concentration, not in an unkind way, but in light teasing. “We were just playing chess, were we not?”

I glared. “You saw the checkmate and lost on purpose. Why didn’t you take it?”

Griffin looked taken aback. “I would never embarrass a lady in front of her guests at her own party. The knowledge that I could have won was good enough for me. After all, life is nothing more than a giant game of chess. One must know when to make a sacrifice, and I would gladly sacrifice for you.”

I was torn between annoyance and pleasant surprise. It was rare to meet a man who didn’t boast, and even rarer to find one who had skills worthy of boasting and still refrained from doing so. Griffin was so different from all the other men who had danced or played chess with me, each bragging to win my favor. I stood, dumbfounded, and scrambled for something to say, but all words fled.

“That’s all a gambit is, anyway,” he went on softly. “It’s a worthy sacrifice, even if it’s a risk.” He bowed his head. “Begging your pardon, Your Highness, but I’m expected in the stables. It was an honor to meet you and a privilege to play such a gifted opponent. Please know that I’m always at your disposal.”

“It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” I curtsied. As I watched him fade into the surrounding darkness, I realized that of all the men I had met that evening, he was the only one I could honestly say intrigued me.

What madness was I thinking? A squire, even one as handsome and intelligent as Griffin, had no place in the thoughts of the Crown Princess of Rookwyn. I shook my head and put him from my mind. I had no intention of being sidetracked from that evening’s goal by a mere squire. I had a mission to accomplish. I pivoted and reentered the ballroom.

CHAPTER4

The rest of the ball passed in a whirlwind of dancing, but my original plan to flirt shamelessly with every man remotely close to my age in order to embarrass Father suddenly seemed pointless and unappealing. I couldn’t stop thinking about Griffin throwing the chess match. Squires were no doubt privy to the servants’ gossip that royalty didn’t hear. Would he know about the many men I’d kissed over the recent years?

The tube of lip stain with wyrmsleep mixed into the liquid suddenly felt heavy in my purse, as did the antidote-coated mints. Griffin was likely clever enough to figure out my methods, and shame made my cheeks darken. Would he be put off by my past antics? My “kissing bandit” days had seemed harmless enough at the time, but now the slightest twinge of remorse was mingled in.

Not that it should matter, of course. No squire would ever be allowed to court a princess. But if I ever met a prince or knight like Griffin, he might care that his future wife had kissed more men than a dragon had stolen sheep. Still distracted, I ran my thumb across my bottom lip. Would I care if the tables were turned and I found out that my future husband had kissed innumerable women?

“Rapunzel? Rapunzel!”

I snapped out of my stupor. The ballroom was nearly deserted, and Father was calling me.

“What?”

He tilted his head. “I asked if you wished the squire were nobility so he could challenge the dragon.”

I stiffened. Had I been that obvious?

“No,” I said, much too quickly. I wasn’t going to subject someone who was actually halfway decent to being roasted alive.

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