It was a late Sunday lunch for the Ynysgard Chess Club in the bar at the Waterview, but arguably the sweetest one of their stay in Eshialand to date. The club had done what they (and many others in the Waterview over the last few days) thought was impossible - they had made the final of the Elephant Chess Cup.
A 5.5 to 2.5 victory over top seed The Kytler Peninsulae made the side the key talking point of the competition heading into the final round, where they would face Elejamie, who themselves pulled off a stunning upset of their own by beating South Newlandia for a spot in the decider. As had become a running theme throughout the knockout stages, the club was yanked out of trouble by the lower ranked boards, with Klaus proving the core anchor of the side in the first matchup, gaining revenge for his group stage loss against Dr. Ben Higgins to claim a vital win to tip the first matchup in Katzeburg’s favour. Despite bringing in a slim 2.5 to 1.5 lead into the second matchup, the Ynysgard Chess Club dominated the second leg of the semi final, with Emilia, Klaus, and Nora all picking up wins to sail to a comfy 3-1 win and a shock spot in the final.
But again, the main weak point was the club’s lead. Rhys continued on with his poor form again, dropping both games and at least giving the Kytler Peninsulae something positive to point to from a rough morning on the boards. So it was no real surprise that he had slinked out again after his second matchup loss to Julia Willis to the attention of nobody at all. Rhys hadn’t told anyone on the team about what has been happening (or rather, wasn’t happening) with his son, especially given the uptick in form the team had seen since scraping out of the groups. Only Nora had some idea of Rhys’ distress - being a long-time local herself, she knew of Mark growing up but hadn’t been overly privy to the entire blow-up between father and son which led to the long frosty period.
But as another call rang out to nowhere, Rhys was reaching his wits’ end. By now, he had read through all the news stories he could get his hands on about the South Newlandia flight - staying up for most of the previous night searching articles trying to find any mention of Mark at all. But there was nothing there either. He knew, deep down in his heart that Mark was fine - but why wasn’t he reaching out? Rhys put his phone back into his pocket and closed his eyes while taking a deep breath in. It was all too much - his son, his constant floundering on the chessboard, and a creeping sensation he had wasted his one shot at a happy life with a family all together.
Finally, he couldn’t hold it in any longer - Rhys let out a harrowing scream, half rage, half sadness - before slamming his hand down on a nearby trashcan in anger. Immediately, he recognised his mistake and rebounded his hand up in pain - he had definitely broken something in there, and explaining this to the team won’t be the easiest story to make up. Hopping around in pain shaking his hand and trying to almost cool it down, Rhys looked up to the blue sky and sighed once more. Holding a hand now aching in blistering pain, he walked back into the Waterview.
At the bar, the rest of the team was seated for a late lunch. One more meal. One final meal before they play for the title with the aim of trying to complete a miracle.
“How did we even get here?” Kristine said to the rest of the team. “We got out of the group stages with not a win to our names and now here we are, playing for the title!”
“Either we got very lucky, or the other sides absolutely shat the bed,” Klaus laughed. “Probably a little bit of both in all honesty.”
“Or, we could have really picked things up these last few games?” Emilia said. “I know I’ve been slightly better at making more decisive moves out there.”
“Well, all of us except the old man. Speaking of, where is he?”
None of the team had clocked Rhys wasn’t at the table yet, all too swept up in their run to the final to recognise their leader had gone missing again.
“He’s probably just at the buffet,” Nora waved dismissively. “He’ll be along in a moment I’m sure.”
“He better be,” Emilia said. “We need to talk tactics for the final.”
Finally, Rhys grabbed his seat around the table, still holding a hand which was now starting to show some light shades of purple.
“Speak of the devil,” Klaus said after finishing his pre-game beer. “Bold choice to bring nothing back from the buf- what happened to your hand?”
The whole team had now focused in on what Klaus was pointing to. Rhys pushed his hand down below the table and simply mumbled, “I tripped and landed on my hand.”
“You- You tripped? I knew you were old, but surely we don’t need to start helping you up steps yet!”
“Klaus, will you knock it off!” Nora snapped. “Rhys, are you alright? That really doesn’t look good.”
“Screw looking good, are you even able to play given your hand is cooked?” Klaus said, flinging his arms up into the air. “Even if you’ve not picked up a win, we can’t use the kid for this final game!”
“I’ll be fine,” Rhys mumbled. “Let’s just focus on lunch.”
“Seriously Rhys, you need to let us know what is going on,” Emilia said compassionatly. “We are all here for you and it may help if you have someone to talk to about whatever is happening.”
“Emilia, I’d be-” Nora started before being cut off by Rhys raising his now bruised hand in silence.
“It’s a long story, but you guys remember that South Newlandia flight the other day which was on the news?”
“Oh god yes,” Kristine said. “So lucky for that flight, it completely took over the news for the day.”
Rhys shot daggers at the youngest member of the chess club, before taking a deep breath and continuing.
“The reason I’m mentioning it now is…”
But Rhys drifted off mid sentence, taking in the lone man who had wandered up to the table and was now standing in front of the wider team.
“Excuse me, but is this the Katzeburg chess team?” the man enquired.
“Obviously,” Klaus snorted dismissively. “We’re still here aren’t we?”
Rhys continued to stare at the man, with tears now starting to swell in his eyes.
“Everything alright Rhys?” Emilia said. “Is it the hand causing a lot of pain?”
Rhys pushed himself up from the table and walked up to the man standing before the team. Finally cracking a smile, in what would likely be his first since landing in Eshialand.
“Mark?”
“Hi dad. Sorry I couldn’t call, after the flight I though-”
Mark was cut off by a large hug from the Ynysgard Chess Club leader, much to the shock of the wider team.
“Did- did he say Dad?” Klaus said.
Rhys and Mark continued to hug at length - neither willing to be the first one to let go of the other, but eventually after close to a minute the pair finally pulled apart, as Rhys sniffled to stifle back some tears.
“I thought it would make for a nice surprise,” Mark said. “After landing, I took the first flight I could over here, but I only just arrived this morning.”
“You flew right again after being on a flight with serious engine issues?” Nora said, confused. “Are you insane?”
“Oh it was not the best choice I’ve made by any length. But being on that flight made me realise I had to make up for lost time with the people that matter to me. It was a no-brainer to get over here and see my dad represent our country.”
Rhys smiled, struggling to hold back his tears. Side-hugging his son, Rhys started nodding his head. Acceptance. Peace. Bliss. The missing piece he needed.
"Thanks son. I'm glad you are here."
Looking around the table, a mix of confusion and joy at seeing father and son reunited, Rhys started to shift his mind to the task at hand.
“Alright folks,” Rhys said sniffing back his emotions. “We have a cup to win."
