Fractured Reflections [6]

Minerva's face paled as her eyes darted to the board. She froze, mid-sentence, with shock written all over her face.

It wasn't anything grand, really. My king was cornered and completely surrounded by her pieces;

The pawns, knights, rooks, and even her queen.

My king sat in the far corner of the board, confined by the white queen, flanked by two rooks, with pawns filling the space ahead. Knights circled around it, cutting off any potential escape.

The board's open spaces were now occupied by Minerva's pieces.

No matter how you looked at the gameboard, it was an entirely unwinnable situation. At the same time, it couldn't be said that I was losing.

There was no check. No direct threat of my king piece falling.

No matter where I moved the king, it would be under check. According to the rules of chess, the king cannot move into a line of direct fire, and every possible square around it was occupied or within reach of her white pieces.