(Page 1 of 2) The shopkeepper by Shea BellSUMMARY: a fictional story that was inspired by a true event, and the begining of my pen name!! One day, a young maid was in the village square,and came to a rather unusual shop. They had nothing but Chess boards and pieces. Made out of wood, marble, even glass. Beautifly painted, with elaborate details.
Enchanted, the maid sought out the shopkeeper.
"Excuse me," the maid began, "could you explain, as best you could of course the game of Chess?"
"Certainly," the shopkeeper said. "What would you like to know?"
"Well, to start, what is the object of the game?" the maid asked.
"The object of the game is to conqure the King," the shopkeeper began, pointing to the King set up on a board to her right. It was a Mideval set, done cortesian style, brightly painted.
"And how do you do that," the maid asked.
"By moving each piece acordingly," the shopkeeper started. "Shall I show you?"
"Please do!" the young maid exclaimed.
"You have 32 pieces, 16 for each side. 8 pawns, 2 knights, 2 rooks or castles, 2 bishops, and the King and Queen. Each piece moves in specific directions to conqure the opponate's piece. When you conqure a piece, it is taken off the board and out of the game. You capture the King by placing the piece in checkmate, meaning that in one move, you win the game.
"Oh my, it certainly sounds complicated, how does one remember all that?" the maid said astopunded.
"Practice my dear!" the shopkeeper chortled. "Have you an interest in a board?"
"I suppose.." the young maid said, eyeing a grey marble set, smooth and cool to the touch. "I like this one best."
"Ok," the shopkeepper said, "Take the board home and practice for one moon. If you feel like you haven't learned to play, you may keep the set at no fee. If you feel you have mastered the game, you have two choices,you can bring me a schilling as payment, or you can challenge me to a game, and if you win, you still keep the set at no fee, fair enough?"
"Sure, but who's going to teach me to play?" the maid wondered.
"The board will show you the way. Remember how each piece moves, and go from there."
"Ok, if I have questions, may I return?" the maid asked sweetly.
"Certainly!" the shopkeeper said.
"Ok, see you soon," the maid said leaving the shop. As the young maid got her board set up at home, a strange thing happened.
The Queen for the side that she chose as her own fell over, and the crown was chipped as a result. As she went to pick up the piece, she cut her finger on the chip, and the piece that broke off was missing. The young maid bandadged her finger, and went on about the rest of her night. As she drifted to sleep, she had a very vivid dream. Two people playing Chess, and she did her best to pay attention.
The morning came and the maid woke, feeling refreshed, but a little unsure of what to make of her dream. She fixed breakfast and ran a few errands, and found she had some time to her self. She decided it was time to play a game.
She realized that she didn't have a partner, so she started to play both sides of the board. She would make a move on one side then the other.
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