-Kashion-
Kashion sat in his room, brooding over the ongoing Cheqi game. The donkey was standing there stupidly again. Kashion sighed. Eventually, he went into the hallway and sat down in front of the Cheqi board. Maybe he would come up with an idea if he arranged the pieces on the actual board. But no matter how hard he tried, he simply couldn't find the right solution. His parents wanted to speak with him and have dinner together, so he went to join them.
-Prior-
Prior, too, was deeply immersed in her Cheqi game. She had just been reading more about the bear piece. It was a kind of defensive piece and could be combined perfectly with the fox.
"Oh no!" Talina suddenly exclaimed. She had just returned from visiting the princess.
"What is it?" Prior asked.
"I accidentally brought the plastic samples back with me instead of giving them to the princess. But I'm so tired—I didn't want to go back to her again."
"Well, then give them to her tomorrow. It can't be that urgent," Prior replied.
"Apparently it is. She just messaged me and told me to bring them to her."
"I can go for you," Prior offered. She didn't mind taking another walk through the palace.
"That would be so sweet of you, Prior."
"No problem," Prior said with a smile.
Talina handed her the items, and Prior set off. It wasn't very far, but she had to take the elevator to another floor and then walk to the other side.
Evlina didn't even invite Prior into her room, as she didn't need anything else from her at the moment. She simply accepted the samples and wished Prior good night.
Saturn had not yet developed good technology to manufacture heat-resistant plastics on its own. After all, there was no crude oil on Saturn. That meant they depended on deliveries from Earth, where both materials and technology were far more advanced.
Prior didn't feel like returning to her room right away. She wanted a little time to herself. Since she shared the room with Talina, she could never fully relax there.
She found the royal wing of the palace fascinating. There were fountains, small artificial waterfalls, and interesting plants. It was so quiet that, aside from the gentle splashing of water, she could only hear her own footsteps. She decided to explore the wing more closely. There was nothing wrong with that, after all. In some places, intriguing paintings or embroideries hung on the walls. Everything was so different from Saturn. But of course—Earth had a much longer history.
Along the way, Prior also saw display cases filled with beautiful porcelain and wood carvings.
Suddenly, she spotted something she could hardly believe.
Was that a table with a Cheqi board?
Interesting!
Excited, Prior hurried closer and marveled at it. The board and pieces looked incredibly elegant—such quality she had never seen before. She quickly picked up one of the black pieces—a fox. It was intricately detailed, light, and pleasant in her hand. She carefully placed it back.
Then she noticed that the pieces were not in their starting positions but arranged as if someone had begun playing. She looked more closely.
No way, she thought.
It was almost exactly the same position she had solved recently—the eagle attacking the fox, and how she had first been annoyed by the donkey. Yes, it was the same problem.
Prior thought for a moment and then grinned. Surely no one would mind, right?
She moved the black donkey diagonally backward and captured the white donkey.
Should she undo it?
But then she had another idea.
She reached into her pocket, took out a small piece of paper, and quickly wrote: "One must never underestimate the power of the donkey." She discreetly slid the note beneath the black donkey piece.
Smiling, she clapped her hands lightly and returned to her room.
-Kashion-
Dinner with his parents went quite well for Kashion. He told them about the excursion, and especially his mother urged him to treat Princess Evlina as courteously as possible. He was truly fortunate with her.
There wasn't really anything official yet, Kashion thought to himself.
After dinner, he took a short walk in the palace garden with his parents. When they went back inside, they suddenly encountered Princess Evlina, who was studying a painting on the wall.
"Princess," Queen Ada began, "why are you standing here alone?"
Evlina smiled. "Good evening, Your Majesties." She gave a small curtsy. "I saw this painting earlier and wanted to take a closer look. The woman's dress is so beautiful."
Queen Ada smiled warmly. "Yes, my child. It is a very, very old painting. Long ago, women in Tingdao wore dresses like that. Today we still wear them, but only sometimes and only for special occasions."
"How lovely," Evlina said. "I hope I may wear such a dress one day." Then she looked at Kashion. "Prince Kashion, thank you very much for today. I truly enjoyed the outing and look forward to tomorrow. I wish you a good night."
"The honor was mine," Kashion replied. "Good night, Princess."
His parents also wished her good night, and then everyone went their separate ways.
As Kashion approached his room, his eyes fell once more on the Cheqi board. He shook his head slightly. He wouldn't solve the problem tonight anyway.
Suddenly, he noticed something sticking out from beneath one of the pieces. Then he saw that the black donkey was no longer in its original position.
Someone had been playing with the pieces.
And someone had moved the donkey diagonally backward. Probably someone who didn't know the rules very well.
What was that under the piece?
Kashion saw that it was a note. He picked it up and unfolded it. In elegant, flowing handwriting, it read: "One must never underestimate the power of the donkey."
What was that supposed to mean?
Quickly, Kashion went into his room and researched the donkey's movement rules again.
There it was!
How could he have overlooked it all this time? When capturing an opposing donkey, the donkey was allowed to move diagonally backward. It was a special rule of that piece.
A wide grin spread across Kashion's face. He felt like a little child again. He still held the note in his hand. The handwriting was beautiful.
And now he was certain who had written him this message.
She must have said nothing earlier because she wanted to surprise him.
That Evlina also played Cheqi—and that he could even learn something from her!
Kashion felt a warm sensation in his chest. It changed his image of her even further—for the better. That they even shared the same interests! He remembered what Oren had said a few days earlier—that perhaps Evlina would soon play Cheqi with him.
The note was the most beautiful gift he had received in a long time. He absolutely had to keep it. He hid it in a drawer of his desk.
Then he stepped into the hallway once more and looked at the Cheqi board. He smiled. He was already full of anticipation, imagining himself sitting at that table with Evlina, playing a game together.
Surely his mother was right. He was lucky.
-Prior-
Of course, Prior knew nothing of all these thoughts. Later, lying in bed, she thought about the board and grinned. She wondered who would find her note—and whether that person might be annoyed.
Or perhaps she had helped someone win. Or reminded them of an important rule.
She would have loved to play for a few more hours herself, but the next day was her turn to spend a full day in the laboratory—and for that, she had better be well rested.