[Realm: Álfheimr]
[Location: Heart Kingdom Outskirts]
[Virelheim Mountain Village]
"Whoa, you suck."
Arabella's tone was flat, she stood with arms crossed, leaning lazily against the nearby railing, her expression dulled by the obviousness of Mikoto's defeat. Her eyes, however, flickered with delight in the opportunity to poke at him.
Mikoto sat on a worn stool opposite Meryl, the makeshift chessboard balanced precariously atop a barrel between them. The board was crowded — though not with his own pieces. Almost all of Mikoto's pale-white pieces had migrated across to Meryl's side, neatly lined like trophies.
This was his fifth loss of the day.
His slender figure sat stiffly, his gauntleted hand twitched once at his side, betraying the faint tremor of suppressed annoyance.
