A Game of Ranks and Files Recap
In Thomas J. R. Milton’s first novel, Chess, we were
introduced to soldiers on both sides of the war. Critics hailed the
first novel with reviews such as, “For a novel about the game of
Chess, [Milton] does well to make the characters seem less black
and white.”
In Chess, the White King and the White Queen allow their
daughter, Princess, to join the Queen’s Pawn. The Pawn,
consisting of Captain, Scout, and Blanco, as well as the new
addition of Princess become major characters that the novel
follows. The reader is also taken through the adventures of the
Black Knight, the White Rook, the White Bishop, the Black
Knight’s Pawn, as well as the small chapters following the King
and Queen on both sides of the war. The novel ends with bold
killing of the Black Knight at the hands of the White Queen’s
Pawn.
The second novel, Castling, is claimed as fan favorite for
expanding of the themes already present in the first novel. The
war becomes serious when the Black forces begin throwing their
heavy hitters towards the White Kingdom. Throughout the novel,
the White King is moving his soldiers to perform a castling to
ensure his and the kingdom’s safety. Meanwhile, we continue to
follow many of the characters still alive from the first novel,
especially the White Queen’s Pawn. The element of the novel
that receives the most attention is when the White Queen takes
the board. She has become character that a majority of fans have
considered, “…the best character in the series, hands down.”
Despite her popularity, her character is defeated by the Black
Bishop in the final pages of this novel, leaving readers grasping
for the new book, Checkmate.
In this preview chapter, about half of the novel has been
covered and the White Queen’s Pawn has made it to Black
Kingdom and even to the outskirts of the Black City, where the
King and Queen had ruled before hiding or jumping onto the
battle ground.
The White Queen’s Pawn
The air in the Black City was thick and humid. The sky was
dark, even during the day. Clouds showed signs of impending
rain at all times. A light pour would not be uncommon, especially
in the period on tension that was surrounding the kingdom. The
dirt was always a bit muddy. The amount of tracks covering the
lower areas of the city were light. They stayed close to the walls
and only ventured into the middle of the courtyard leading to the
church. The church’s doors were closed and courtyard was
empty.
Princess’s boot sunk into the soft ground. Her chest
tightened as she brought air into her lungs. As she exhaled, a mist
was sent out in the air. Her eyes dried quickly and she was forced
to blink in rapid succession.
“Where is everyone?” Scout said. She was supporting
Blanco upright. The wound in Blanco’s side was now turning a
dark red. Princess turned her body, slowly, lifting her boot out of
the mud and turning to face the rest of the Pawn.
“They have taken shelter,” the Captain said, “Their King has
moved to the west. Their promise of safety has lost its strength.”
The Captain lifted his feet through the mud and walked past
Princess. He looked at the church.
The building was small and covered in black paint. The wet
atmosphere had begun to have chips of paint come off of the
building. The part of the city they were in was not home to the
wealthy or well-off. The Captain noticed a small head pop away
from the window in the shack right beside the church when he
looked over.
“Do we sit by and look on?” Princess asked.
“It is not our position to help or hurt the citizens of the
spaces,” The Captain said. Princess’s attention did not divert
from the church.
“It was so much easier in the wilderness between kingdoms,”
Scout said.
The Captain raised his finger to the church.
“Let’s take shelter before head out,” he said. Scout
readjusted Blanco under her arm and the two followed the
Captain and Princess as they created a fresh trail of tracks towards
the church.
The doors did not open without a good amount of force.
Captain and Princess both put their energy into a single door
leading into the church. Once the light of the hazy Black City sky
flooded into the building, a number of poorly dressed people
scattered towards the walls of the main assembly hall.
Captain led the way into the building. A man dressed in a
black robes with a hood raised above his head that featured a
noticeable silver line around its edge, approached the Pawn. He
navigated around a few of the citizens who were crouching on the
floor, gentle placing his hand upon their heads as he passed by.
He slowly paced towards the Captain.
“Am I to take this as bad news?” the priest asked the
Captain.
“Both sides are at an even standing,” the Captain said, “Both
of our Kings are in motion, and your Queen is still alive.”
Princess diverted her head from the conversation, fighting
the scowl and tears that were coming to her face. With her
mother falling at the hand of a Bishop, her perception of being in
a church was not one of safety. She moved over towards Scout
and Blanco.
“I had heard that our Queen was defeated as well,” the priest
said.
“She has just recently slayed one of our Knights,” the
Captain began to grit his teeth, “Your Queen is surely alive.”
“Who told you that your Queen had fallen?” Scout asked
after placing Blanco on the floor with the help of Princess.
“The Eastern Bishop; his squire claimed that our Queen
have been destroyed by your Knight,” the priest said, “…when he
dropped off your Queen’s blades.” Princess’s attention moved
over to the priest.
Blanco’s hand lifted while shaking toward Princess. She
looked down at him.
“Do not become foolish,” Blanco forced out, “Your
mother… your father… would not want you to become a victim of
this war.”
“They must have considered the option when they allowed
me become a part of the Pawn,” Princess whispered to the
wounded soldier.
“They may have been less willing than you think,” Blanco
said. His put his efforts into taking a breath as he closed his eyes.
“What do you mean?” Princess said.
“It was Scout and myself… we snuck into the castle… when
the war was only whispers… we pleaded to the King that you join
our Pawn,” Blanco’s breathing took a much faster pace. Princess
looked up and towards the priest.
“Do you have any men of medicine here?” she shouted
towards the holy man.
“I am a man of medicine,” a man towards the back wall said
stepping forward.
“But not for your kind,” the priest hissed. The Captain took
two large paces towards the priest and stretched his shoulders to
enlarge his figure.
“We do not attack those who are not fighting for country,”
the Captain said, “We have a man injured. It is only hospitable to
provide him with aid.” The priest looked into the Captain’s eyes
with a sour look in his own.
“Come, man of medicine,” the priest said still looking into
the Captain’s eyes, “aid this White Pawn.” The man of medicine
approached Blanco and Princess and asked one of the children in
the church to grab his bag. The child darted across the room.
Scout approached the Captain. “Why would their sources
feed them lies?” she whispered to the Captain. The Captain
turned his head slightly but kept his attention on the man of
medicine and Blanco.
“They are not soldiers,” the Captain said. Scout cocked her
eyebrows. “The city, on both sides, is prime for heavy combat,
especially in the waning hours of war. Most higher-commanders
use scare tactics to ensure that their citizens do not become part
of this endless hell. Do not even pretend that they are not doing
the same in the White City.”
“But that seems…,” Scout started.
“It is cruel,” the Captain said sternly, “but it is the methods
of the First Rank.”
“Why are the Pawns never let in on this tactic?” Scout
asked. The Captain turned towards Scout and grabbed her coat.
“The Pawns never fall back to the City,” the Captain
whispered in Scout’s ear, “and they sure as hell never expect us to
reach the opposing city.”
“So…,” Scout began holding his composure, “We are just as
in the dark as the peasants?” The Captain let go of Scout’s coat.
“Haven’t you noticed by now,” the Captain said, “We are
the peasants. Thrown out onto the front lines to make way for the
heavy hitters. We are expected to do one thing… die!” The
people in the church began to look over at the raised tone of the
Captain’s speech.
“But we have her,” Scout whispered, leaning towards the
Captain. The two looked over at the royal soldier that was holding
Blanco in her hands. The Captain looked down and took a deep
breath.
The man of medicine pressed the rag on Blanco’s stomach.
He motioned for Princess to take the rag and continue to apply
pressure. She took the rag in her hand and pressed it into
Blanco’s side. Blanco squirmed.
“Not too hard,” the man of medicine shouted. Princess
loosened her pressure and held the rag in place. “I need you to
take this medicine,” the man of medicine said to Blanco holding
up a small vial. Princess looked up at the Captain.
The Captain returned a similar look and approached the
injured soldier. “You must ensure me that it is not poison,” the
Captain said to the man of medicine.
“I am trying to treat this man,” the man of medicine said, “I
am treating him as a patient, not an enemy.”
“Take the medicine yourself, first,” Princess interjected.
“It is a heavy sedation, I will not be able to stitch this man up
if I take it,” the man of medicine said. Princess and the man of
medicine began a fight of eye contact. The scowl on Princess’s
face strengthened as she held his eyes longer.
“This is hardly a debate I feel we should be having,” the
priest shouted marching up the Pawn and man of medicine.
“I’ll… take it,” Blanco coughed into the silence. His shaking
hand reached up towards the man of medicine’s and took the
vial. He pressed it to his lips and tilted his head back taking the
majority of the contents.
The silence turned to shuffling and creaking of wood. The
Captain, Scout, and Princess began to look around the room and
noticed all of the people within the church trying to remain silent
as they found their way to the nearest exits or doors. Scout and
Princess looked at each other with the same eyes they gave each
other in the Black Knight’s raid.
The man of medicine then grabbed his bag in a rapid
fashion and tried to stand up. Scout flew over to his position and
grabbed the man by the back of the neck.
“What have you done?” Scout shouted.
Blanco let out a cough that sprayed blood across the front of
his coat and all over Princess’s right arm. He heaved for air; his
chest raised up and down working his lungs as hard as they could
but no breath came out. Blanco’s attempts at breath became
more rapid, his body lifted with each attempted inhale.
Princess jumped out of her shock and began to beat of his
chest with her blood covered arm. She placed him flat on the
ground and applied strong blows to Blanco’s chest. Finally, a
burst of air came out of his mouth. When he began to inhale, he
let out a sound similar to scrapping metal. He then started to
cough; one after the other with no pause.
Princess looked down at pants which had begun to soak with
the piss Blanco had left in his bladder. His wound started to fill at
an alarming rate with a white puss that began to spill out of his
stomach. The smell of the room had started to develop the scent
of the back end of Blanco’s pants as they began to fill.
As his breathing and flatulence had ceased, the only sound
left was Blanco’s heartbeat whose volume had raised to a level
that allowed it to be heard outside of his body. The sound
continued to increase until Blanco’s chest expanded along with
are muffled bursting sound.
Scout tossed the man of medicine across the room. The
priest made haste to grab the soldier but the Captain grabbed the
old man by his robes. Scout approached the man on the ground,
who tried to get himself up, and removed her firearm from her
coat.
“Scout!” the Captain shouted. Scout placed her foot on the
man’s stomach before she turned her attention to her superior
officer. “They are not soldiers,” the Captain calmed his tone.
Scout aimed her firearm at the man of medicine.
“But they can kill soldiers?” Scout yelled.
“The Pawn is not defeated until we are all dead,” the
Captain said. Scout’s finger pressed gently on the firearm’s trigger.
Her eyes had begun to swell with tears.
“How long before one of them attempts to take out another
one of us?” Scout said. The man of medicine’s pants had begun
to soak and tears were flowing from his eyes. Scout took a heavy
breath before letting her finger off the trigger and bringing the
firearm to her side. The Captain slowly let go of the priests robe.
“They say war brings progress,” the priest said dusting off the
front of his robe, “all I see coming is madness.” The priest
walked over to the man of medicine and placed his hand upon
his head. “You only did as you were instructed, my son,” the
priest said, “Do not take blame for this death.”
“Instructed by whom?” Scout asked. A noise came from the
front of the church. A man dressed in a grey suit was standing at
the podium. His eyes were blocked by circular glasses and his
hair combed to the side. As the Pawn looked at him, he widened
his mouth into a smile.
“An informant,” the Captain said. Scout looked back a
Princess who was still looking at Blanco’s body in a state of shock.
“What the hell’s an ‘informant’,” Scout asked the Captain.
“An informant is someone who informs,” the man in grey
said in a calm voice, “We have no sides, only information.”
“So, you’re completely separated from the White and Black
sides?” Scout asked the informant.
“Of course not,” the informant said, “we have our favorites.
And though I partial to the Black side, I am always intrigued by a
Pawn that makes it this close to the edge of Kingdom.” The
informant walked around the podium and down the two steps
towards the Pawn. “I was just delivering information to the Black
Bishop, who is in the Cathedral just North East of here.”
“North East,” the Captain said with a smile on his face. The
informant approached the man of medicine.
“Go home,” he said, “it will be safer for you with the safety
of your family.” The priest lifted the man of medicine and began
to escort him to the exit. He turned right before he reached the
door.
“I am truly sorry for your loss,” the priest said, “I wish that I
could provide transportation for his body.”
“That is not how this war works,” the Captain said. The
priest nodded his head before he exited the door with the man of
medicine. The Captain looked over at Princess.
“Princess,” he said in a calm tone, “try to recover. We are
going northeast.”
“Our orders are to go north?” Scout said.
“Unless there is a threat to the northeast or northwest,”
Princess quoted their commands. Captain and Scout looked
down at the girl and smiled. Scout reached out his hand and
Princess took it. Once she was on her feet, she looked over at the
informant. “Where will you go from here?” she asked him.
“I take it I will be going to the Black King with some big
news,” he said before he nodded his head and jumped up to
ceiling and crawled out of the church.
“We are down one man,” Scout said, “Are we even
prepared to take on the Black Bishop?”
“We took down the Black Knight,” the Captain said, “and
we’ve got a little bomb that has a hell of a lot of vengeance built
up for this man.” They both looked over at Princess.
***
The three remaining members of the Pawn marched
through the light rain covering the city. They reached a sign that
had an arrow pointing to the right with the words, “East
Cathedral” written beneath. Once they made it up the street, they
found a good view the large black structure.
The East Cathedral was wider than it was long. Three black
spires lifted out of the front and middle of the structure.
Gargoyles jutted out of the roof’s edge. A large opening was cut
into the front of the structure and wrapped around and down the
sides of the cathedral. The black was much richer than the black
on the church in the Black City and made the members of the
Pawn take slower steps up to the structure just outside the city.
They reached the large door at the front of the cathedral.
Scout and Princess armed themselves with their firearms. The
Captain approached the door and grabbed the large hoop that
was on the front. He pushed the door in and proceeded into the
dark halls.
The windows of the church were dark and the gloomy skies
covered the entire hall in shadow. The Captain walked at a slow
pace leading Scout and Princess in. He pulled his firearm out of
his coat as well and held it at the ready. The three stopped at the
beginning of the pews.
Two hundred pews down the Black Bishop looked up from
his podium at the front of the hall. The old man took his time
closing the Bible on his podium.
“White Pawns,” the Black Bishop laughed, “Made it to the
edge of the Kingdom. Should I surrender now?”
“You know how this has to go down,” the Captain shouted
across the two hundred pews, “there are no prisoners in this war.”
The Black Bishop stepped down from the stage and walked
toward a chest on the front row. He opened the box and pulled
out a light silver blade with a white handle. When the Black
Bishop had killed the White Queen, the prize he had chosen to
take from her was her famous blades. He took her harness, with
attached tail coat, and rifle as well. As he held up the blade,
Princess’s firearm dropped with her expression.
“Your Queen is the most powerful member of your army,”
the Black Bishop said before turning to the Pawns, “and here I
used to say only a Queen could beat me. It seems no one can
now.” Princess immediately raised her firearm and shot in the
Black Bishop’s general direction. “I am two hundred pews away,
child. I will need to be closer for that.”
The Black Bishop began flying down the aisle. The Captain
jumped in front of Princess and fired his firearm at the
approaching Bishop. The Bishop caught the bullet with the
Queen’s blade and spun it around his body. Once he turned, the
bullet released from the blade and towards the Captain’s side.
Blood sprayed out of the Captain’s body.
The Queen’s blade came down towards the Captain but he
grabbed it with his hand. His hand had begun to shake while the
blade sunk deeper into his palm. He raised his firearm in his
other hand to the Bishop.
“Run,” the Captain said. Princess looked at the Captain
holding her breath. “Now!” he shouted at her. Scout grabbed
Princess and moved towards the stairwell. The Captain placed his
firearm on the Bishop’s throat and fired. As the Bishop’s body
reacted, the top part of the Captain’s hand flew off.
The Black Bishop, after the Queen’s blade swung out,
brought it back, stabbing it into the Captain’s side. He pushed the
blade through the Captain’s body until it came out the other end.
He ripped the blade out, coating the back of the hall in blood.
The Black Bishop flinched after he began to look up. He
placed his hand on the wound on his neck. He then paced
quickly towards the stairwell.
Scout and Princess made it to the highest flight that made its
way onto rafters above the congregation hall. Princess walked
ahead and stopped at the middle of the walkway.
“The Captain…,” she started before letting out a heavy
breath. Scout looked down at the man in the white coat
surrounded in a pool of red. “He used my mother’s blade,”
Princess said as her face began to turn red.
The sound of footsteps began to come from the stairwell.
Scout pointed her firearm in the entrance’s direction. The Black
Bishop came out of the doorway. He looked back and forth
between Scout and Princess.
“Who’s first?” he coughed. Both Scout and Princess fired
their firearms at the Bishop until their ammo had run out. He
took two of the bullets but cut the rest of them he sliced in half
with the Queen’s blade.
“We need to get the blade out of his hand,” Scout said
turning her head just enough that Princess could hear. The Black
Bishop had begun to make his way across the walkway.
“The White Kingdom was foolish to put royalty in a Pawn,”
the Bishop said as a little bit of blood sprayed out of his neck with
each syllable, “When I’ve killed her as well… who will protect the
King?” The Bishop began shouting.
“Duck!” Princess shouted from behind Scout. Scout
dropped to the ground. Princess ran up to her and pressed her
foot against her back, launching herself towards the Bishop. She
tried deflecting the blade with her boot and grabbed the Bishop’s
head, ramming it into the railing. The break of his jugular was
heard on the bar.
The blade had scrapped the side of her leg but she was able
to kick the blade down to the floor where Captain’s body laid.
Princess threw her knee into the Bishop’s face. Blood sprayed
out of his mouth.
The Black Bishop regained his focus fast and grabbed
Princess’s unwounded leg. Princess fell onto the walkway, her
knuckles turning white as she gripped the railing. Then Scout
grabbed the Black Bishop by the neck, the blood spreading over
the top of her hand. As she grabbed the Bishop’s back with her
other hand, his grip on Princess loosened.
Scout grunted as she picked the Bishop and tossed his body
over the edge of the walkway. Before Scout’s grip had let go, the
Black Bishop grabbed the end of Scout’s coat pulling her down to
the ground with him. The Bishop landed on his stomach in the
middle of the aisle but Scout landed on her feet, a loud crack
echoed through the cathedral.
Princess looked down at Scout who laid on the ground. She
was breathing heavily but fought to control it. She turned her
head slightly at the quiet rustling beside her. The Black Bishop
raised to his feet, letting out a cough that sprayed blood when he
had full risen.
Scout grabbed the ground in front of her and pulled her
body forward. The Bishop then kicked her over onto her back.
He brought his foot up and began to bring it down on Scout’s
head but she had grabbed it and tossed it out of the way. The
Bishop forced the arm onto the ground with his and stomped on
her wrist. First the left wrist, then the right.
The Black Bishop paused, standing over Scout.
“By the power invested in me,” The Black Bishop forced
out, his blood spraying on Scout’s face, “I condemn you to hell!”
He lifted his foot and sprayed Scout’s brains across the floor
leading up to the Captain’s body.
Princess looked down at the Black Bishop. She raised to her
feet and took her coat off, now just in her shirt and pants. She
darted towards the stairwell and down the steps.
The Black Bishop looked over towards the stairwell. He
made his way towards the Queen’s blade. Before he reached it,
Princess’s foot smashed into the Bishop’s face. She then grabbed
his head and slammed it on the nearest pew.
Princess held the Black Bishop and rammed her fist into his
neck. The blood that sprayed out when he talked began to come
with each blow. The Black Bishop began to heave as Princess
dragged him by what little hair was on his head down the aisle.
She tossed him on the floor, not too close to the Alter.
The Bishop looked up towards Princess and small tender
parts of skin in his neck began to tear. The Princess looked at the
leather bound chest that was in front of them.
“You said that only a Queen could beat you?” Princess said
to the man. She walked over to the Black Bishop and kicked him
to his back. He forced his body around and grabbed the ground
in front of him. Princess straddled his body and placed both
hands firmly on the sides of his head.
She lifted, wheezing and blood had begun to spray out of his
throat. Her fingers dug into his skin. Blood had begun to form
around her fingernails. She continued lifting his head. The Black
Bishop brought his hands up but they began to shake violently
and fell back to his sides.
Princess placed her boot in between the Bishop’s shoulder
blades. In one quick motion, she forced her foot forward and
pulled her arms back dislodging the Bishop’s head from his body.
Blood spewed over the front of the Alter. Princess stood above
the body, the head still in her grip.
Princess strapped on the blade holder around her waist, the
skirt rested behind her legs. She sheathed the one blade that was
used by the Black Bishop beside its partner. She placed the
bodies of her fellow Pawns in a row and dropped the candles in
the back of the hall across the floor.
As the flames began to grow throughout the cathedral, she
lifted the head of the Black Bishop and looked into his dilated
eyes.
“I am the Queen, now,” the new White Queen said.
A Game of Ranks and Files Book III: Checkmate
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