A Game of Ranks and Files Recap

In Thomas J. R. Milton’s first novel, Chess, we were

introduced to soldiers on both sides of the war. Critics hailed the

first novel with reviews such as, “For a novel about the game of

Chess, [Milton] does well to make the characters seem less black

and white.”

In Chess, the White King and the White Queen allow their

daughter, Princess, to join the Queen’s Pawn. The Pawn,

consisting of Captain, Scout, and Blanco, as well as the new

addition of Princess become major characters that the novel

follows. The reader is also taken through the adventures of the

Black Knight, the White Rook, the White Bishop, the Black

Knight’s Pawn, as well as the small chapters following the King

and Queen on both sides of the war. The novel ends with bold

killing of the Black Knight at the hands of the White Queen’s

Pawn.

The second novel, Castling, is claimed as fan favorite for

expanding of the themes already present in the first novel. The

war becomes serious when the Black forces begin throwing their

heavy hitters towards the White Kingdom. Throughout the novel,

the White King is moving his soldiers to perform a castling to

ensure his and the kingdom’s safety. Meanwhile, we continue to

follow many of the characters still alive from the first novel,

especially the White Queen’s Pawn. The element of the novel

that receives the most attention is when the White Queen takes

the board. She has become character that a majority of fans have

considered, “…the best character in the series, hands down.”

Despite her popularity, her character is defeated by the Black

Bishop in the final pages of this novel, leaving readers grasping

for the new book, Checkmate.

In this preview chapter, about half of the novel has been

covered and the White Queen’s Pawn has made it to Black

Kingdom and even to the outskirts of the Black City, where the

King and Queen had ruled before hiding or jumping onto the

battle ground.

The White Queen’s Pawn

The air in the Black City was thick and humid. The sky was

dark, even during the day. Clouds showed signs of impending

rain at all times. A light pour would not be uncommon, especially

in the period on tension that was surrounding the kingdom. The

dirt was always a bit muddy. The amount of tracks covering the

lower areas of the city were light. They stayed close to the walls

and only ventured into the middle of the courtyard leading to the

church. The church’s doors were closed and courtyard was

empty.

Princess’s boot sunk into the soft ground. Her chest

tightened as she brought air into her lungs. As she exhaled, a mist

was sent out in the air. Her eyes dried quickly and she was forced

to blink in rapid succession.

“Where is everyone?” Scout said. She was supporting

Blanco upright. The wound in Blanco’s side was now turning a

dark red. Princess turned her body, slowly, lifting her boot out of

the mud and turning to face the rest of the Pawn.

“They have taken shelter,” the Captain said, “Their King has

moved to the west. Their promise of safety has lost its strength.”

The Captain lifted his feet through the mud and walked past

Princess. He looked at the church.

The building was small and covered in black paint. The wet

atmosphere had begun to have chips of paint come off of the

building. The part of the city they were in was not home to the

wealthy or well-off. The Captain noticed a small head pop away

from the window in the shack right beside the church when he

looked over.

“Do we sit by and look on?” Princess asked.

“It is not our position to help or hurt the citizens of the

spaces,” The Captain said. Princess’s attention did not divert

from the church.

“It was so much easier in the wilderness between kingdoms,”

Scout said.

The Captain raised his finger to the church.

“Let’s take shelter before head out,” he said. Scout

readjusted Blanco under her arm and the two followed the

Captain and Princess as they created a fresh trail of tracks towards

the church.

The doors did not open without a good amount of force.

Captain and Princess both put their energy into a single door

leading into the church. Once the light of the hazy Black City sky

flooded into the building, a number of poorly dressed people

scattered towards the walls of the main assembly hall.

Captain led the way into the building. A man dressed in a

black robes with a hood raised above his head that featured a

noticeable silver line around its edge, approached the Pawn. He

navigated around a few of the citizens who were crouching on the

floor, gentle placing his hand upon their heads as he passed by.

He slowly paced towards the Captain.

“Am I to take this as bad news?” the priest asked the

Captain.

“Both sides are at an even standing,” the Captain said, “Both

of our Kings are in motion, and your Queen is still alive.”

Princess diverted her head from the conversation, fighting

the scowl and tears that were coming to her face. With her

mother falling at the hand of a Bishop, her perception of being in

a church was not one of safety. She moved over towards Scout

and Blanco.

“I had heard that our Queen was defeated as well,” the priest

said.

“She has just recently slayed one of our Knights,” the

Captain began to grit his teeth, “Your Queen is surely alive.”

“Who told you that your Queen had fallen?” Scout asked

after placing Blanco on the floor with the help of Princess.

“The Eastern Bishop; his squire claimed that our Queen

have been destroyed by your Knight,” the priest said, “…when he

dropped off your Queen’s blades.” Princess’s attention moved

over to the priest.

Blanco’s hand lifted while shaking toward Princess. She

looked down at him.

“Do not become foolish,” Blanco forced out, “Your

mother… your father… would not want you to become a victim of

this war.”

“They must have considered the option when they allowed

me become a part of the Pawn,” Princess whispered to the

wounded soldier.

“They may have been less willing than you think,” Blanco

said. His put his efforts into taking a breath as he closed his eyes.

“What do you mean?” Princess said.

“It was Scout and myself… we snuck into the castle… when

the war was only whispers… we pleaded to the King that you join

our Pawn,” Blanco’s breathing took a much faster pace. Princess

looked up and towards the priest.

“Do you have any men of medicine here?” she shouted

towards the holy man.

“I am a man of medicine,” a man towards the back wall said

stepping forward.

“But not for your kind,” the priest hissed. The Captain took

two large paces towards the priest and stretched his shoulders to

enlarge his figure.

“We do not attack those who are not fighting for country,”

the Captain said, “We have a man injured. It is only hospitable to

provide him with aid.” The priest looked into the Captain’s eyes

with a sour look in his own.

“Come, man of medicine,” the priest said still looking into

the Captain’s eyes, “aid this White Pawn.” The man of medicine

approached Blanco and Princess and asked one of the children in

the church to grab his bag. The child darted across the room.

Scout approached the Captain. “Why would their sources

feed them lies?” she whispered to the Captain. The Captain

turned his head slightly but kept his attention on the man of

medicine and Blanco.

“They are not soldiers,” the Captain said. Scout cocked her

eyebrows. “The city, on both sides, is prime for heavy combat,

especially in the waning hours of war. Most higher-commanders

use scare tactics to ensure that their citizens do not become part

of this endless hell. Do not even pretend that they are not doing

the same in the White City.”

“But that seems…,” Scout started.

“It is cruel,” the Captain said sternly, “but it is the methods

of the First Rank.”

“Why are the Pawns never let in on this tactic?” Scout

asked. The Captain turned towards Scout and grabbed her coat.

“The Pawns never fall back to the City,” the Captain

whispered in Scout’s ear, “and they sure as hell never expect us to

reach the opposing city.”

“So…,” Scout began holding his composure, “We are just as

in the dark as the peasants?” The Captain let go of Scout’s coat.

“Haven’t you noticed by now,” the Captain said, “We are

the peasants. Thrown out onto the front lines to make way for the

heavy hitters. We are expected to do one thing… die!” The

people in the church began to look over at the raised tone of the

Captain’s speech.

“But we have her,” Scout whispered, leaning towards the

Captain. The two looked over at the royal soldier that was holding

Blanco in her hands. The Captain looked down and took a deep

breath.

The man of medicine pressed the rag on Blanco’s stomach.

He motioned for Princess to take the rag and continue to apply

pressure. She took the rag in her hand and pressed it into

Blanco’s side. Blanco squirmed.

“Not too hard,” the man of medicine shouted. Princess

loosened her pressure and held the rag in place. “I need you to

take this medicine,” the man of medicine said to Blanco holding

up a small vial. Princess looked up at the Captain.

The Captain returned a similar look and approached the

injured soldier. “You must ensure me that it is not poison,” the

Captain said to the man of medicine.

“I am trying to treat this man,” the man of medicine said, “I

am treating him as a patient, not an enemy.”

“Take the medicine yourself, first,” Princess interjected.

“It is a heavy sedation, I will not be able to stitch this man up

if I take it,” the man of medicine said. Princess and the man of

medicine began a fight of eye contact. The scowl on Princess’s

face strengthened as she held his eyes longer.

“This is hardly a debate I feel we should be having,” the

priest shouted marching up the Pawn and man of medicine.

“I’ll… take it,” Blanco coughed into the silence. His shaking

hand reached up towards the man of medicine’s and took the

vial. He pressed it to his lips and tilted his head back taking the

majority of the contents.

The silence turned to shuffling and creaking of wood. The

Captain, Scout, and Princess began to look around the room and

noticed all of the people within the church trying to remain silent

as they found their way to the nearest exits or doors. Scout and

Princess looked at each other with the same eyes they gave each

other in the Black Knight’s raid.

The man of medicine then grabbed his bag in a rapid

fashion and tried to stand up. Scout flew over to his position and

grabbed the man by the back of the neck.

“What have you done?” Scout shouted.

Blanco let out a cough that sprayed blood across the front of

his coat and all over Princess’s right arm. He heaved for air; his

chest raised up and down working his lungs as hard as they could

but no breath came out. Blanco’s attempts at breath became

more rapid, his body lifted with each attempted inhale.

Princess jumped out of her shock and began to beat of his

chest with her blood covered arm. She placed him flat on the

ground and applied strong blows to Blanco’s chest. Finally, a

burst of air came out of his mouth. When he began to inhale, he

let out a sound similar to scrapping metal. He then started to

cough; one after the other with no pause.

Princess looked down at pants which had begun to soak with

the piss Blanco had left in his bladder. His wound started to fill at

an alarming rate with a white puss that began to spill out of his

stomach. The smell of the room had started to develop the scent

of the back end of Blanco’s pants as they began to fill.

As his breathing and flatulence had ceased, the only sound

left was Blanco’s heartbeat whose volume had raised to a level

that allowed it to be heard outside of his body. The sound

continued to increase until Blanco’s chest expanded along with

are muffled bursting sound.

Scout tossed the man of medicine across the room. The

priest made haste to grab the soldier but the Captain grabbed the

old man by his robes. Scout approached the man on the ground,

who tried to get himself up, and removed her firearm from her

coat.

“Scout!” the Captain shouted. Scout placed her foot on the

man’s stomach before she turned her attention to her superior

officer. “They are not soldiers,” the Captain calmed his tone.

Scout aimed her firearm at the man of medicine.

“But they can kill soldiers?” Scout yelled.

“The Pawn is not defeated until we are all dead,” the

Captain said. Scout’s finger pressed gently on the firearm’s trigger.

Her eyes had begun to swell with tears.

“How long before one of them attempts to take out another

one of us?” Scout said. The man of medicine’s pants had begun

to soak and tears were flowing from his eyes. Scout took a heavy

breath before letting her finger off the trigger and bringing the

firearm to her side. The Captain slowly let go of the priests robe.

“They say war brings progress,” the priest said dusting off the

front of his robe, “all I see coming is madness.” The priest

walked over to the man of medicine and placed his hand upon

his head. “You only did as you were instructed, my son,” the

priest said, “Do not take blame for this death.”

“Instructed by whom?” Scout asked. A noise came from the

front of the church. A man dressed in a grey suit was standing at

the podium. His eyes were blocked by circular glasses and his

hair combed to the side. As the Pawn looked at him, he widened

his mouth into a smile.

“An informant,” the Captain said. Scout looked back a

Princess who was still looking at Blanco’s body in a state of shock.

“What the hell’s an ‘informant’,” Scout asked the Captain.

“An informant is someone who informs,” the man in grey

said in a calm voice, “We have no sides, only information.”

“So, you’re completely separated from the White and Black

sides?” Scout asked the informant.

“Of course not,” the informant said, “we have our favorites.

And though I partial to the Black side, I am always intrigued by a

Pawn that makes it this close to the edge of Kingdom.” The

informant walked around the podium and down the two steps

towards the Pawn. “I was just delivering information to the Black

Bishop, who is in the Cathedral just North East of here.”

“North East,” the Captain said with a smile on his face. The

informant approached the man of medicine.

“Go home,” he said, “it will be safer for you with the safety

of your family.” The priest lifted the man of medicine and began

to escort him to the exit. He turned right before he reached the

door.

“I am truly sorry for your loss,” the priest said, “I wish that I

could provide transportation for his body.”

“That is not how this war works,” the Captain said. The

priest nodded his head before he exited the door with the man of

medicine. The Captain looked over at Princess.

“Princess,” he said in a calm tone, “try to recover. We are

going northeast.”

“Our orders are to go north?” Scout said.

“Unless there is a threat to the northeast or northwest,”

Princess quoted their commands. Captain and Scout looked

down at the girl and smiled. Scout reached out his hand and

Princess took it. Once she was on her feet, she looked over at the

informant. “Where will you go from here?” she asked him.

“I take it I will be going to the Black King with some big

news,” he said before he nodded his head and jumped up to

ceiling and crawled out of the church.

“We are down one man,” Scout said, “Are we even

prepared to take on the Black Bishop?”

“We took down the Black Knight,” the Captain said, “and

we’ve got a little bomb that has a hell of a lot of vengeance built

up for this man.” They both looked over at Princess.

***

The three remaining members of the Pawn marched

through the light rain covering the city. They reached a sign that

had an arrow pointing to the right with the words, “East

Cathedral” written beneath. Once they made it up the street, they

found a good view the large black structure.

The East Cathedral was wider than it was long. Three black

spires lifted out of the front and middle of the structure.

Gargoyles jutted out of the roof’s edge. A large opening was cut

into the front of the structure and wrapped around and down the

sides of the cathedral. The black was much richer than the black

on the church in the Black City and made the members of the

Pawn take slower steps up to the structure just outside the city.

They reached the large door at the front of the cathedral.

Scout and Princess armed themselves with their firearms. The

Captain approached the door and grabbed the large hoop that

was on the front. He pushed the door in and proceeded into the

dark halls.

The windows of the church were dark and the gloomy skies

covered the entire hall in shadow. The Captain walked at a slow

pace leading Scout and Princess in. He pulled his firearm out of

his coat as well and held it at the ready. The three stopped at the

beginning of the pews.

Two hundred pews down the Black Bishop looked up from

his podium at the front of the hall. The old man took his time

closing the Bible on his podium.

“White Pawns,” the Black Bishop laughed, “Made it to the

edge of the Kingdom. Should I surrender now?”

“You know how this has to go down,” the Captain shouted

across the two hundred pews, “there are no prisoners in this war.”

The Black Bishop stepped down from the stage and walked

toward a chest on the front row. He opened the box and pulled

out a light silver blade with a white handle. When the Black

Bishop had killed the White Queen, the prize he had chosen to

take from her was her famous blades. He took her harness, with

attached tail coat, and rifle as well. As he held up the blade,

Princess’s firearm dropped with her expression.

“Your Queen is the most powerful member of your army,”

the Black Bishop said before turning to the Pawns, “and here I

used to say only a Queen could beat me. It seems no one can

now.” Princess immediately raised her firearm and shot in the

Black Bishop’s general direction. “I am two hundred pews away,

child. I will need to be closer for that.”

The Black Bishop began flying down the aisle. The Captain

jumped in front of Princess and fired his firearm at the

approaching Bishop. The Bishop caught the bullet with the

Queen’s blade and spun it around his body. Once he turned, the

bullet released from the blade and towards the Captain’s side.

Blood sprayed out of the Captain’s body.

The Queen’s blade came down towards the Captain but he

grabbed it with his hand. His hand had begun to shake while the

blade sunk deeper into his palm. He raised his firearm in his

other hand to the Bishop.

“Run,” the Captain said. Princess looked at the Captain

holding her breath. “Now!” he shouted at her. Scout grabbed

Princess and moved towards the stairwell. The Captain placed his

firearm on the Bishop’s throat and fired. As the Bishop’s body

reacted, the top part of the Captain’s hand flew off.

The Black Bishop, after the Queen’s blade swung out,

brought it back, stabbing it into the Captain’s side. He pushed the

blade through the Captain’s body until it came out the other end.

He ripped the blade out, coating the back of the hall in blood.

The Black Bishop flinched after he began to look up. He

placed his hand on the wound on his neck. He then paced

quickly towards the stairwell.

Scout and Princess made it to the highest flight that made its

way onto rafters above the congregation hall. Princess walked

ahead and stopped at the middle of the walkway.

“The Captain…,” she started before letting out a heavy

breath. Scout looked down at the man in the white coat

surrounded in a pool of red. “He used my mother’s blade,”

Princess said as her face began to turn red.

The sound of footsteps began to come from the stairwell.

Scout pointed her firearm in the entrance’s direction. The Black

Bishop came out of the doorway. He looked back and forth

between Scout and Princess.

“Who’s first?” he coughed. Both Scout and Princess fired

their firearms at the Bishop until their ammo had run out. He

took two of the bullets but cut the rest of them he sliced in half

with the Queen’s blade.

“We need to get the blade out of his hand,” Scout said

turning her head just enough that Princess could hear. The Black

Bishop had begun to make his way across the walkway.

“The White Kingdom was foolish to put royalty in a Pawn,”

the Bishop said as a little bit of blood sprayed out of his neck with

each syllable, “When I’ve killed her as well… who will protect the

King?” The Bishop began shouting.

“Duck!” Princess shouted from behind Scout. Scout

dropped to the ground. Princess ran up to her and pressed her

foot against her back, launching herself towards the Bishop. She

tried deflecting the blade with her boot and grabbed the Bishop’s

head, ramming it into the railing. The break of his jugular was

heard on the bar.

The blade had scrapped the side of her leg but she was able

to kick the blade down to the floor where Captain’s body laid.

Princess threw her knee into the Bishop’s face. Blood sprayed

out of his mouth.

The Black Bishop regained his focus fast and grabbed

Princess’s unwounded leg. Princess fell onto the walkway, her

knuckles turning white as she gripped the railing. Then Scout

grabbed the Black Bishop by the neck, the blood spreading over

the top of her hand. As she grabbed the Bishop’s back with her

other hand, his grip on Princess loosened.

Scout grunted as she picked the Bishop and tossed his body

over the edge of the walkway. Before Scout’s grip had let go, the

Black Bishop grabbed the end of Scout’s coat pulling her down to

the ground with him. The Bishop landed on his stomach in the

middle of the aisle but Scout landed on her feet, a loud crack

echoed through the cathedral.

Princess looked down at Scout who laid on the ground. She

was breathing heavily but fought to control it. She turned her

head slightly at the quiet rustling beside her. The Black Bishop

raised to his feet, letting out a cough that sprayed blood when he

had full risen.

Scout grabbed the ground in front of her and pulled her

body forward. The Bishop then kicked her over onto her back.

He brought his foot up and began to bring it down on Scout’s

head but she had grabbed it and tossed it out of the way. The

Bishop forced the arm onto the ground with his and stomped on

her wrist. First the left wrist, then the right.

The Black Bishop paused, standing over Scout.

“By the power invested in me,” The Black Bishop forced

out, his blood spraying on Scout’s face, “I condemn you to hell!”

He lifted his foot and sprayed Scout’s brains across the floor

leading up to the Captain’s body.

Princess looked down at the Black Bishop. She raised to her

feet and took her coat off, now just in her shirt and pants. She

darted towards the stairwell and down the steps.

The Black Bishop looked over towards the stairwell. He

made his way towards the Queen’s blade. Before he reached it,

Princess’s foot smashed into the Bishop’s face. She then grabbed

his head and slammed it on the nearest pew.

Princess held the Black Bishop and rammed her fist into his

neck. The blood that sprayed out when he talked began to come

with each blow. The Black Bishop began to heave as Princess

dragged him by what little hair was on his head down the aisle.

She tossed him on the floor, not too close to the Alter.

The Bishop looked up towards Princess and small tender

parts of skin in his neck began to tear. The Princess looked at the

leather bound chest that was in front of them.

“You said that only a Queen could beat you?” Princess said

to the man. She walked over to the Black Bishop and kicked him

to his back. He forced his body around and grabbed the ground

in front of him. Princess straddled his body and placed both

hands firmly on the sides of his head.

She lifted, wheezing and blood had begun to spray out of his

throat. Her fingers dug into his skin. Blood had begun to form

around her fingernails. She continued lifting his head. The Black

Bishop brought his hands up but they began to shake violently

and fell back to his sides.

Princess placed her boot in between the Bishop’s shoulder

blades. In one quick motion, she forced her foot forward and

pulled her arms back dislodging the Bishop’s head from his body.

Blood spewed over the front of the Alter. Princess stood above

the body, the head still in her grip.

Princess strapped on the blade holder around her waist, the

skirt rested behind her legs. She sheathed the one blade that was

used by the Black Bishop beside its partner. She placed the

bodies of her fellow Pawns in a row and dropped the candles in

the back of the hall across the floor.

As the flames began to grow throughout the cathedral, she

lifted the head of the Black Bishop and looked into his dilated

eyes.

“I am the Queen, now,” the new White Queen said.

A Game of Ranks and Files Book III: Checkmate

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