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“Of course. In fact, I think I should go down to your apartment in the Under. Get whatever it is you may need to stay here.” I started to stand up from the couch. As long as Amber was here, she should at least have her stuff.
“No!” Amber yelled. She grabbed my arm and tugged.
I could have easily resisted but decided, for the moment, to listen to her. Instead, I fell back down on the couch beside her.
“What do you mean?” I asked. “Why not?”
“I… I don’t want to be left alone right now. I feel safe here, I do… But still, after today, I really don’t want to be alone.”
“Okay, okay, then I’ll stay. But still, tell me what you need from your place and I’ll send someone else to collect your things.”
“Thank you,” Amber said. Her hands still held my arm tightly.
About a half an hour later, I’d sent a casino worker as a courier to collect Amber’s things, and then the pair of us raided my kitchen for food. Unfortunately, work kept me so busy that eating at home wasn’t the norm. But still, we managed to find a bottle of wine and some cheese.
“So,” Amber said after we were both about a glass and a half of wine into the evening. “What does a Vinduthi like you, on a night-in like this, do for fun?”
“Oh…” I racked my brain. “I don’t really know. There has not been a lot of time for fun lately. How about yourself?”
“Same, I guess,” she responded after a swig of wine. “In a life like mine, fun is a luxury I can’t afford. I really hoped you’d know a game or something.”
“A game… Oh!”
I leaped up from my seat and rushed to a closet. In there, I found a dust-covered, long forgotten box of chess.
“Ever play Vinduthi chess?” I asked as I returned to the kitchen and placed the box down on the table.
“I’ve never even played human chess.”
“Well, it’s easy to pick up.”
I set up the board, and we started playing. In the first round, I beat her with no issues, chatting as the wine flowed.
“It’s not fair!” Amber cried as I reset the board. “You didn’t teach me how to play!”
“Yes, I did.” I reached out to lightly stroke her cheek. “It’s not my fault you weren’t paying attention.”
In the second round, I let her win. She was clearly getting a little better, but I still had to make some dumb moves. Her smile was worth it, the warmth that her company spread through me worth a whole lot more. We opened a second bottle of wine.
“Did you let me win?”
“Never,” I lied.
The third round ramped up to be a real challenge. But it was interrupted by a knock on the door.
“Stay here,” I ordered.
It should’ve been safe here. But still, I didn’t know who was here. And the less people who knew where Amber was, the better.
I opened the door to find the courier who I sent to collect Amber’s things. Sadly, it all seemed to fit in a single box, and not a big one, either.
“Thank you,” I said as I took the box from him.
I placed the box down on the sofa, and my curiosity overwhelmed my brain. What could Amber have? What did someone who lived a life like hers bring with her? Plus, humans and the things they prioritized were weird, to say the least.
The first thing I found on the top of the box was a framed photo of two young women. One of the women was clearly Amber from a few years ago. The other I’d never seen before.
“That’s Isa,” Amber said, joining me from the kitchen. “The one Conii is using to force me to work for her. She’s really my only friend in this world. The only one who understands what I’ve been through.”
