[kevin drabble] queen
and nowwwww a birthday present for my beloved @queenkevindays inspired by your url <3 HAPPY BIRTHDAY! hope you enjoy our beloved little history nerd kevin making some life-changing decisions <3 📚 read it on ao3
"Chess originated in India as chaturanga, where the piece equivalent to the queen had limited movement. However, as the game spread to Europe during the Middle Ages, the role of the queen expanded dramatically, reflecting the growing recognition of the political and military capabilities of queens in the real world. By the late 15th century..."
The words swam around the page and Kevin Day's fingers twitched around the bottle of whisky he was holding, more for comfort than any real desire to drink. To know he could if he wished to. Shifting his legs on the couch, he pressed his foot flat against the end and flipped the page until the words 'the king' cut through the haze of learning and Riko's manic grin flooded his vision.
It was usual for his breath to hitch whenever he thought about Riko and the ravens, but this time it was more quickly replaced by the quiet roaring anger that had been simmering all year with the help of the homicidal, suicidal idiots he surrounded himself with on the daily, and he shoved the thought off his mind determinedly, returning his attention to the page.
"—while the king remains crucial, his limited movement in chess can be seen as representing the burden of sovereignty—whereas the queen, free to act decisively, epitomises the adaptability and strategic advantage that many real-life queens wielded to secure their dominions."
At this, he paused. Shifted again and flicked his eyes back up the page.
The queen, free to act decisively.
Riko again, the number one on his face taunting him, prodding at him. "Say it," he demanded in his head. "Call me king."
The words swam in front of his eyes as wild, manic notions flooded his thoughts.
Free. Adaptability. Strategic advantage.
He went back over the previous paragraph with hunger behind it now.
"This historical dynamic finds a striking parallel in the game of chess, where the queen is represented as the deadliest and most powerful piece on the board."
The deadliest piece on the board. Kevin dropped the bottle onto his side and sat up, hands trembling with nervous anticipation as he started rummaging around the desks for a marker, something he hadn't done in years. Not since he was a child. Making his way to the bathroom, he lugged the book with him and held it up next to the mirror for reference as he carefully, focusing hard on keeping his left hand steady, traced over the mark on his face, splotchy and not very accurate, until it was altogether concealed behind the very recognisable shape of a chess piece.
The marker clattered onto the sink on top of the book as Kevin leaned closer towards the mirror, letting his forehead drop onto the cool surface of it and his breath shook as he drew it in slowly. Determination coursed through his blood as his fingers dug into the sink.
And privately, just to be sure, just for himself, he opened his eyes to face his new reflection and whispered, "Call me queen."
