I’VE BEEN WRITING CHECKMATES 5, 6 & 7 INSTEAD OF THE REWORK OF CHECKMATE 2. I’d honestly better get a move on if I wanna finish Checkmate 2 in time for editing and cover-making in the spring or summer. If y’all have any encouraging comments for me or things to say, I would really appreciate it.
IN OTHER NEWS…I’ve drawn a picture of my Checkmate 7 main characters since my last blog post. Here they are, fleeing frantically from the scene of the crime!!!
They seem to be running from something. Huh. I wonder what’s going on.
ANYWAY
onto a sneak peek…
Okay so I wasn’t sure what to give y’all, since I’ve barely written anymore of Checkmate 2, so we’re gonna do a second part from Anquites Yraisha’s backstory. I’ve held off rewriting this in favor of any younger audiences I might have right now, since when it’s reworked it will be at least PG-14.
Part Two
As he knocked on the door of Rucchio Mankai’s house, he felt as though he should’ve given the matter more thought.
While waiting for the door to open, he berated himself for knocking at all.
“Agnatus is rubbing off on you,” he told himself angrily, “you’re starting to rush into things without thinking.”
Just then there were footsteps and Anquites shut his mouth and straightened his spine.
The door opened and Rucchio Mankai looked down at the young black-haired boy in confusion.
“And who are you?” Mankai asked, as though angry at being interrupted.
“I…” Anquites started hesitantly, but then he decided to simply be like his brother and say it all in a rush. “I stole your peaches. I don’t have any excuse, but it was I who stole them. I’m really really sorry but…” Noticing the way Old Man Rucchio was staring at him in surprise and shock and also suspicion, he knew he couldn’t keep Agnatus out of this. “Although my brother helped me and he won’t give them back–” he said quickly “–please only be angry at me, it really is my fault.”
This lie was followed by a rather loud silence between the two, in which Anquites felt his face heat up.
“Come inside,” Rucchio said gruffly, but there was an edge of amusement to his voice.
Anquites hesitated. “I…I only came to apologize, sir…there’s nothing I can do, really–”
“Been a long time since I was a ‘sir’,” Rucchio said appreciatively. “Come inside laddie.”
Anquites shut his mouth and stepped over the threshold and into the house. It was rather nice, with a bright, airy foyer and a large staircase that swooped to the upper floor.
“So now, you’d be one of Hiffson’s boys, wouldya?” Rucchio asked calmly, leading the way into the brightly lit kitchen.
“Yes, sir,” Anquites said quietly, and then, feeling as though an introduction was in order, he added, “My name is Anquites, sir.”
Rucchio chuckled again. “You’re a right respectful laddie, ain’tcha,” he said amusedly, looking at Anquites with a small smile. Anquites noticed that Rucchio’s eyes were the same color blue-gray as his own and suddenly felt a hesitant smile creasing his own face.
“I try, sir,” he replied with a small shrug. “I really am sorry about the peaches,” he said quickly.
“I can see that fine, laddie!” Rucchio growled. “I’ve known for months, y’little goose,” he added for Anquites’s benefit. “Your brother–the one who’s always laughin’–a right little copy of you except for his constant ridiculosity,” he told Anquites.
“Yeah,” Anquites said with a small laugh. “That’s Agnatus.”
“That’s right–he and his little friends, and sometimes you, would come an’ steal my peaches every once in a while. Though they mostly made you carry ‘em all. You haven’t ever looked very happy about the entire fiasco.” Rucchio shook his head with that same warm smile.
Anquites blushed. “I never really was, to be honest,” he said quietly.
“And you’re not to blame, y’smooth little liar,” Rucchio told him.
Anquites’s gaze snapped up to meet Rucchio’s, and he saw the old man’s eyes twinkling, and knew that he was forgiven.
“Tryin’ to defend that thievin’ brother of yours, I s’pose,” he muttered, sitting down in one chair at the table and gesturing for Anquites to sit in the other.
“He is my twin. And he’s…well, he’s younger than me so I’ve always felt a bit…a bit protective of him, if you know what I mean.” Anquites sat opposite the older man, his heart feeling much lighter. He was rather enjoying everything now that the truth was out and Rucchio did not seem to be angry at him.
“Ah yes, natural to want to defend your younger brother,” Rucchio told him with a nod.
Anquites nodded as well. “I really am truly sorry about the peaches, sir, I–”
Rucchio laughed loudly, waving his hand as he interrupted Anquites. “You’ve been forgiven, laddie! Thought you mighta picked up on it by now,” he added, smiling at the young boy, who blushed crimson.
“Sorry,” he said before realizing what exactly it was that he was saying.
“Sorry! Why bless me soul, laddie! You’re sayin’ sorry for not knowin’ that you were forgiven?!” Rucchio stared at him in half shock, half amusement and Anquites laughed in a rather embarrassed manner.
“S–I mean–” Anquites started to say, but stopped himself quickly with a slight frown on his face as though trying to think of what he could say besides “sorry”, which apparently was enough to set Rucchio off laughing.
And laugh the old man did. He laughed for a good long while, and only after a few heartbeats, Anquites found himself laughing at his own awkwardness.
Once their laughter had at long last died away, Anquites had a warm feeling in his chest, knowing that he had done the right thing.
“Either way, I ‘preciate your apology, laddie,” Rucchio said happily. “You’re more honest and righteous than all of them put together, you are.”
This made Anquites turn the color of a rather ripe tomato, which made Rucchio laugh once again.
—XXX—
“So, how do you get the peaches like this?” Anquites asked Rucchio conversationally. It was about a week after the peach-stealing-confession incident, and they were standing in his backyard, tending to the giant peach tree.
“Magic is a powerful thing, laddie,” Rucchio grunted shortly.
“Oh,” Anquites said softly. He picked up on the hint that Rucchio did not want to talk about it, so he dropped the subject instantly.
“Say, why don’t we pick a couple for ourselves?” Rucchio asked, but the question seemed mostly aimed at himself.
“I don’t think I deserve–” Anquites started shyly, but Rucchio tossed him a freshly-picked peach and grinned as the black-haired boy caught it deftly.
“Good catch, laddie,” Rucchio told him with a wink as he picked a peach for himself. “They’re my peaches and I give them to whomever I please,” he said as they walked back towards the house. “Except your thievin’ twin brother. He steals them, doesn’t ask. Maybe I should put a spell on the fence to keep out the intruders, hey?” Rucchio laughed at the thought, but Anquites remained silent.
“Agnatus and I have magic as well,” he told Rucchio conversationally. “Father says that Agnatus is the pride and joy of the family as he has more power than has been seen in centuries,” he added, in a slightly diminished tone.
Agnatus, as their father’s favorite, was exempt from their mother’s harsh punishments, which meant that Anquites had to endure the brunt of her temper–a rather hard burden to bear. But, as the older twin, he felt it his responsibility to make sure that no harm came to Agnatus, while hating him simultaneously for his careless disregard for the rules for which Anquites was constantly punished.
“Your father’s proud of him, ey?” Rucchio growled.
Anquites nodded. “He’s a very powerful warlock. He’s…much more powerful than I am…at least that’s what the people at the Academy told Father,” he said reproachfully.
There was silence between them as they sat down at the table, but only for a heartbeat.
“I think them Academy people need to get their senses checked,” Rucchio said thoughtfully just before biting into his peach.
Anquites frowned at him in confusion. “What do you mean?” he asked in puzzlement.
“I mean, laddie, that you have more power than your brother and father and all your little friends combined. You’ll amount to something someday, something great,” Rucchio told him unconcernedly.
“What?” Anquites dropped his peach into his lap, but caught it before it fell to the floor.
“I said–” Rucchio started but Anquites interrupted him, not meaning to be rude but his words tumbling over one another.
“You can sense magic? How? When? Why don’t you work for the Academy, or–” Anquites started, but Rucchio stopped him.
“Questions!” the old man growled, but in a fondly frustrated manner. “So many questions, laddie. I don’t work for the Academy or anywhere else because of my loss of warlock status. The High Council expelled me,” he told Anquites, confirming years worth of rumors.
“Oh,” Anquites said, rather startled. “I’m…sorry.”
“‘Tis not your fault laddie,” he insisted, waving his hand and dismissing the High Council with a wave of his hand. “The reason I stopped was me own. I may or may not have insulted the High Councilman because my personal life was slightly messy at the time…and I may or may not have called him an ‘old sot’ because he wouldn’t let me have a week, or even a day off.
“I was on the Council, see,” Rucchio continued, “but only a day after that little incident, he had me dismissed by a unanimous vote. As the other Councilmemebers were my friends, they were threatened into the whole thing.”
Anquites found himself simply staring at the older man.
“You were on the Council?” he asked in wonderment.
“Indeed I was, laddie. And you’ll be too, someday, seein’ as your power is somethin’ I only ever saw in a baby just a few years ago–and I dunno if even his power was greater than yours,” Rucchio said pensively, taking another bite of peach.
“Really? Who was it?” Anquites asked eagerly.
“Hmm…Kathadian’s son…Halthadius, I think they named him. Right, good name, ‘Warrior’s son’,” he said, nodding. “Either way, laddie, you’re on the right path to greatness. I can tell that well enough.”
Anquites felt excitement flooding him. However mad the entire town insisted that Rucchio was, he knew for a fact that the old man was just lonely, and also knew that Rucchio had enjoyed Anquites’s company for the last week. Therefore, he believed Rucchio without comment.
“My name isn’t as exotic,” Anquites said bashfully, looking down at his peach.
“Moose are strong, large, and tough creatures, laddie. And your name stems from Aquatioushi, who were known as the spirits of the water, the most powerful of all, in most cases,” Rucchio told him with a wink. “Names mean more than anyone can know.”
“What about Agnatus?” Anquites asked softly.
“Bear,” Rucchio replied thoughtfully, “though it rather sounds like the insult from Bhajhlai, Ashghotu, which means ‘he who talks too much’, in milder terms.”
Anquites smothered a laugh. “That’s Agnatus alright,” he said with a smile.
“Aye, that’s your brother in a word, laddie,” Rucchio agreed with a laugh. “Don’t go around callin’ him that, mind, it’s much stronger than I put it in terms of swearing.”
When Anquites left that day, he felt the best he’d ever known. Joy and excitement flooded him over and over again as he remembered Rucchio’s words. He’d never seen a power equal to Anquites’s, and he believed Anquites could possibly be on the Warlock High Council someday!
Of course, this excitement and happiness shattered when Anquties reached home. He did his chores in record time, of course, but his mother was still angry. After a while of being punished, he was sent to his room, something he did gladly. He passed by Agnatus’s room, but did not stop to even look at his brother’s door.
After slamming his own door shut with a rather satisfying bang, Anquites flopped onto his bed, several spots on his arms and torso throbbing. He knew they’d be bruises later, but at this point, he didn’t even care. All he wanted was to see Rucchio again.
Hope y’all enjoyed that!
Life updates: Like I said in my last post, my grandfather died (almost two weeks ago now). Please continue to pray for my family. I’ve tried to stay upbeat, but it has resulted in emotional exhaustion, so I wouldn’t mind if you said an extra prayer for me too. I’m hoping that getting back into blog posting will help me and give me stuff to do that’s not school or simply hanging out with people and will give Checkmate and me a purpose.
This past week me and my friends had an election watch party, which was a lot of fun since it was our first presidential election actually voting. So it was me and two other girls hanging out in my dorm, eating snacks and drawing pictures and even doing homework with live election coverage just for fun.
I keep getting pictures and videos of baby nephew from my oldest brother (baby’s dad) which help me stay happy though I miss that baby so much. I kid you not when I say he is the most precious, most adorable little baby. He’s also very bright and strong. Lil’ Jude is so cute and I can’t wait to meet his cousin (my other sister-in-law is pregnant as well–not sure if I mentioned that. We had a gender reveal party and izz a girl!!)
In other news, today I went to see my violin teacher after almost six months of having not seen her and we had a blast. She went to Japan and told me about a bunch of cool things and even gave me some Japanese chocolate. Meanwhile I petted her golden retriever and told her about my college classes and the fun things I’ve been doing.
Anyway, I hope you have a lovely day! How’s your past week been? Tell me in the comments below <3
–TheNoelleBird <3
“Oh say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave…”
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