11. Quietus

Alicia's eyes still closed lurk in the darkness. She hears the soft sound of hooves clattering over mud that gets bitter on hitting stones. Her body keeps getting low jolts as wheels squeak over some small stones. Her mind slips into a memory.

In the center of the walls made of yellow stones is a half open brown wooden gate. On the floor, a candelabrum is standing with one candle in the center raised more than one on each side. Under the yellowish light are lying some black pawns carved with stone. 

A milky white hand adds another black pawn to the collection. Proud milky white cheeks beam up in joy. But seeing the silly move, a smile turns up at the corner of a yellowish face.

"Check, Alicia," says James, putting a white horse forward on wood painted in grey and white squares. "I don't understand…I was winn