Chapter 56-- Checkmate

“We leave on the morrow.”
The Shadow Fox did not bother to turn from brushing down her horse. “Indeed?”
“I thought it might please you to know.” Agent Chaplen shut the barn door behind him.
Patriot raised one ear and went back to sleep.
“I have to admit it does. It means my fight is won.”
She felt the prick of a blade at her back. She turned, hand on the hilt of her sword.
Chaplen smiled. Raising the sword point to her throat, he said, “Not quite yet. You have one last fight to complete. Whether or not you win is yet to be seen.”
There was something in the way that Agent Chaplen looked at her that made the Shadow Fox uneasy. He stepped back, and she drew her sword. Midnight tossed her mane and went to stand with Patriot. The dog was fully awake now and watching the oncoming fight with interest.
Agent Chaplen made the first move, taking a swipe at Robyn’s head. She brought her sword up and blocked it. She stabbed at his stomach, but he dodged. She parried a thrust and returned with a slice at his ribs. He blocked and cut at her legs. She jumped over it, but nearly lost her footing on the landing. He drove her back a few paces with a barrage of lightning –fast thrusts. However, spinning around him, she reclaimed the ground she had lost.
Thrust, parry, dodge the stronger blows, cut, slice, dance out of the way. Any onlooker who knew nothing of the art of sword play would see an elegant and complicated dance. Anyone who did understand swordplay would be hard put to decide the outcome. Either could win. Either could lose. Robyn was lightning fast and light on her feet, but Agent Chaplen was strong and experienced. They were well matched.
The entire time, Chaplen smiled. The smile unnerved Robyn. He seemed to know something she did not know. This worried her. Were there men waiting outside to take her prisoner? Would Chaplen win no matter who won the swordfight?
A barely dodged blow reminded her to keep her head in the fight. She would worry about the smile later. She dodged a particularly strong blow and returned with a swift thrust to his side.
Robyn was growing tired. This particular fight had lasted longer than any other they had ever fought. Agent Chaplen was stronger and more skilled than she. She only escaped death by her speed. Suddenly, the realization that she could lose became clear. She could lose, and she could die. She would leave Ben behind. She would leave her parents, too, and her friends, Sovay, Jack, Alice, Jacob. Ben. Her best friend.
Suddenly, her sword spun out of her hand. Chaplen’s blade was at her throat. She could practically see death waiting to take her. Fear like none that she had ever felt kept up her spine. The world seemed to freeze.
Ben had been right. This entire time, it had been a game. Something she played—and won, usually—with Chaplen. Death had not been real before. She had never seen herself losing—dying.
Her heart tried to escape her chest. Her breath came in short gasps. It was all over. Everything. This was it. This was when Agent Chaplen killed the Shadow Fox. This was when he won, and she lost her life.
He smiled, and looked at her in a way that made her want to squirm. The triumph was so painfully obvious in his eyes. She just hoped her terror was not in hers. She forced herself to be brave. She would not let Chaplen have the satisfaction of seeing her scared. She felt a trickle of warm blood—her own blood—slide down her neck. Apparently he was going to enjoy longer than just a moment of triumph. The sword drifted threateningly up to her hood, then back down to between her eyes. If she tried to look at it, she would go cross-eyed.
Chaplen drew his sword back, and Robyn tensed for the thrust that would kill her. But, he was sheathing his sword. He was sheathing his sword? But? What? Huh?
The Shadow Fox stared at Chaplen. Was he not going to kill her? Was this some crazy dream?
Chaplen noticed her stare and raised his eyebrows. “What?”
“Are you not going to kill me?”
“No.”
Robyn stared at him. “Take me to be hanged?”
“No.”
“Shoot me?”
Chaplen chuckled and shook his head. “No. You have no cause to fear for your life, my little fox.”
Robyn regarded him suspiciously. “Why?”
“I am not a man without principle.”
“Meaning you do not kill boys my age?”
“No.”
She turned and picked up her sword.
“Meaning I do not kill girls your age.”
The Shadow Fox froze.
“You are a very clever young woman, Robyn.”

------

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!! I love, love, LOVE this Chapter!! I have been plotting it for years--years, I tell you! It was very difficult to decide how to have Chaplen reveal her.
What is this? Chaplen figured it out? How? Why is he so smart? I do love that man, you know. He just so, so.... Agent Chaplen-y.
What's Robyn gonna do now?
Find out next week!