It's time to return home for the break.
"Hey Maya, you ready to set off."
"Yep, ready when you are."
I grab her around the waist with one arm.
"what are you doing?"
The next moment we appear in the centre of her village.
I let go of her as she looks around in amazement.
Multiple people going about there day just look at us in shock as we materialised out of seemingly thin air.
This village seems rather poor. Small huts and dirt paths to unorganised fields of wheat and potatoes are littered about randomly.
There's some livestock here and there but not much.
Yet despite all that most people here seem to be relatively happy.
"Hey, Maya! Come play with us!"
Little kids start to run up to us begging Maya to play with them.
"I'm sorry, I can't. We have to go see mama and papa. Though I'll only be here a few days."
"Can you come play with us after?"
Maya smiles at the kids.
"Of course."
Maya grabs me by the hand and starts leading me away towards one of the small huts.
"C'mon, we can't keep Mama and Papa waiting."
She opens the door to reveal a kitchen with a table and two beds off to one side.
A woman was stood in the kitchen, cutting something up before throwing it into a pot.
"Ah, dear, your home."
Without turning around she started speaking to us.
"That's right, Mama."
"Wait, what."
The woman turned round, clearly expecting someone else to be here as a look of shock is plastered across her face.
So this is Maya's mother. If I didn't know any better I'd say they were sisters. The only noticeable difference is that this woman's face is a little more weathered.
"Maya! We've missed you so much."
The two rush to embrace each other while I stood in the doorway.
I feel myself smiling as warm sensation fills my chest and mind. Is this what it feels like to be happy?
They eventually separate and the woman turns her attention to me.
"And who would this be? A friend of yours?"
As she said that she slapped me on my shoulder.
"I'm Amon Britannia. It's a pleasure to meet you Ma'am."
The woman's face paled, and she immediately got on her hands and knees in a kowtow.
She headbutted the floor pretty hard there, is she okay?
"Please forgive my insolence, your Highness. I did not know it was you."
She looked up at me with blood dripping down her forehead.
"You are forgiven. Actually, could you keep treating me in that manner, not enough people treat me like that."
I reach out and place a hand on her head, I use healing magic to repair the damage done to her body.
"I'm home!"
Behind me a man walked in.
Judging from the sound of the footsteps he's relatively heavy.
I turn to see a tall man with bulging muscles and a handsome face. Just like most commoners he has brown hair and eyes.
"Oh, Maya's back already, and she brought a friend."
"Maya ran over and hugged the man.
"Papa!"
"Hello there, Sir, I'm Amon Britannia."
"I'm Noah, and this is my wife Olivia. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Noah holds out his hand for some reason.
"Aren't you going to shake my hand?"
Maya leans in and whispers in my ear.
"He's asking for a handshake, just do it."
"What's a handshake?"
Everyone just looks at me confused.
"Wait, you don't even know what a handshake is."
"Nope. Never seen anyone do it. But doesn't it seem rather unhygienic to shake someone's hand. For example if one had a contagious disease, couldn't it be passed on?"
"Well if you don't know what it is that's fine I guess. But just for the future, when someone offers a handshake, hold their hand and make eye contact, let them do the rest. Anyway, how about a game of chess, to help pass the time before dinner."
"Papa's a chess grandmaster, he's never lost a game in his life."
He pulls out a chessboard and places it on the table.
"Alright, I'll humour you."
I sit down across from him.
I won't use any future sight or telepathy to help me win. This will give me a good indication of my strategic ability. It is after all important to become smart tactically rather than just being plain strong.
"You can make the first move, Amon."
"How gracious of you."
I move my knight straight away to B3.
HE simply smiles and moves his pawn to D6.
Knight to B5, pawn to A6.
I pause to think. I could sacrifice my knight to eliminate a pawn. After all it's not like my knight can become a queen.
Knight to D6, Pawn to D6. Pawn to B4, Queen to B6.
He's trying to remove my pawn. Rook to B1, Bishop to E6.
Knight to F3, Knight to F6. Knight to G5, Bishop to A2.
Rook to B2, Bishop to C3.
I can take out another pawn. Knight to F7, Knight to E4.
My pawns are in danger, but then again if he takes one out I can take his knight. Best to continue the attack.
Knight to H8.
Noah cracks a smile. Queen to F2.
"Checkmate."
I lost.
In my haste to continue attacking I completely missed his queen and forgot my own defence.
"Hey, clear that away, dinners ready."
We clear the board and pieces away.
In a way I suppose this was a success. I highlighted the areas I need to strengthen myself going forward.
Next time I won't lose.