"Brother, you play white cause I know you're not very talented at this," I said, teasing my brother while setting up the pieces.
"We'll see, Cel." He replied with a devilish grin that I couldn't help but laugh harder.
The board was set. The first move was made. e4.
"This is going to be interesting," I commented, and played my move. c5.
"Indeed, Cel. I'm going to beat you this time." Nathaniel was filled with determination.
And the game continues.
Nf3 Nc6
d4 cxd4
Nxd4 g6
Nc3 Bg7
Be3 Nf6
f3 d5
exd5 Nxd5
Bb5
"Bishop to d5…Blunder," I whispered under my breath. Nxe3.
Nxc6 Qxd1+
Rxd1 Bxc3+
bxc3 Kf8
Rd8+ Nxd1
Ne5+ Kf8
Kxd1 f6
"I resign." Nathaniel surrendered after analyzing his losing position.
"Already, brother. The last game we played, you resigned when you were down a whole queen and a knight." I laughed as I continued teasing Nathaniel about his chess skills.
"Hey! We don't talk about the past," Nathaniel pouted, his face barely containing the laughter. "Fine…I admit I am bad at this."
"Then shall we do something else?" I asked, exploring the room that was left untidy for so long.
"The piano still works…right?" Nathaniel asked back as he tidied up the chessboard.
"I think so, let me check it out."
I walked to the inner part of the room. A grand piano stands as the ray of light shines upon it. The glass window was foggy due to a lack of care, the seat was dusty, but the piano still looked in condition. I struck one key and a sound was made. Loud and Clear.
"I think the piano still works, brother."
"Nice, who'll play the piano?" Nathaniel walked, holding a worn-out teddy bear.
"Brother…what is that?" I stared curiously at the teddy bear.
"It's a teddy bear that the duke got you when you were a kid," Nathaniel gently put down the bear onto the sofa. "I'll play the piano, and you sing. How does that sound?"
"We haven't done this for such a long time since we were like ten?"
"Yep, we need to spend more time with each other. Before all the duties send me to my grave."
Nathaniel started playing the piano. The tunes are perfect. It reminds me of the old lullabies my mother sang. I prepared to sing one of the lullabies.
"Turn, turn, the daylight fades,
Dawn to dark as night invades.
Sleep when the light is down,
Before the bell of duty's blown.
Sleep, little baby, mother's here.
Night has come, and she's still near."
I finished singing as Nathaniel's tune came to a stop.
"Cel, that was so good!" Nathaniel applauded.
"Shall we switch, brother?"
"Sure, but your ears should be prepared, and no need for the piano, though."
I went and sat down on the couch with the teddy bear, fluffy cushions, and pillows. And Nathaniel started singing, trying to sound good but instead sounded like a person holding on for dear life.
"Pen in hand, time has gone,
Sign after sign from dusk to dawn.
If work does sleep, it's not tonight,
It keeps us pacing by the light.
An hour-"
A cushion was thrown at Nathaniel's face, smacking him right in the face.
"Brother, please stop singing…It's off-key." I commented, grabbing the nearby pillow, ready to throw.
"We're playing pillow fight now, aren't we?" Nathaniel declared, lunging for a nearby pillow.
Another pillow was thrown, hitting Nathaniel on his back. Nathaniel responded with a giant pillow.
"Missed!" I shouted, dodging the flying pillows, and responding with more pillows.
"Ah! Stop dodging it," Nathaniel screamed as he realized he ran out of pillows and needed to collect more. SMACK. Another hit.
"Headshot!" I cheered.
"Truce!" Nathaniel yelled.
"Sure, brother." I giggled as we both lay down on the chair, feeling exhausted.
The sun was now shining brightly, and the castle was as loud as ever. The servants are scrambling around, preparing for the near events.
"Brother, we should get back to our duty now. I saw you still have a lot of paperwork left to oversee, and I need to get going to my lessons."
"Alright, let's go."
We walked out of the library, chatting eagerly about the upcoming festival and my debutante ball. We parted ways, and I departed to where my tutor was waiting for me.