Title: The Queen
Characters/Pairings: Sherlock, Moriarty, Irene, Molly
Genre: General, Philosophical mussing of a Psychopath
Warnings: overuse of a metaphor
Rating: K(+)
Chapters: one-shot
Status: complete

Disclaimer: I don't own BBC Sherlock nor the characters. Just playing with them.

Summary: One could say, there have been many chess pieces on the Chessboard that was Sherlock Holmes' life. But there was no Queen. Or so has James Moriarty thought.

AN So it looks like my muse has awoken form her hibernation period. Might come with some more ficlets for this fandom.

Not-Beta'd, so all mistakes mine.

Nevertheless, enjoy!

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The Queen

Xxx

Chess.

A most intriguing (if rather boring in the end) game. Yet, James Moriarty could not deny the fun in the analogy this game provided for his most interesting opponent. After all, one could say, there have been many chess pieces on the Chessboard that was Sherlock Holmes' life, right?

Firstly, there was the King himself. The most important piece whose mere presence decides whether the game is on or off. The One that sets all the other pieces' purpose and reason of existence – either protecting him, or if need arise – sacrificing oneself for him: The King. The one, James notes with a wicked smile, that needs to be overcome in order for him to win the game.

But that's not all; there were also the Pawns, weren't they? The simple pieces that are somewhat connected to the King. The first row of defense (and attack) that is ready to strike or move accordingly to the needs of their Most Important Chess Piece. Oh, James did note their existence even if dismissively, as those were mere insignificant pieces useful only with their simple actions. The uncountable Homeless people with their skillful ability to blend in the backgrounds through the streets of London. The nameless lab and morgue assistants at St. Bart's providing the needed (and expected) lab and experiments' results. The tiresome crime technicians and New Scotland Yard workers ready with meaningless cases and too-easy-to-solve puzzles. All the Pawns - on the periphery of The King's life but never important enough to play a bigger role.

The Rooks were different. Sturdy and straight-forward in their moves. Ah, yes, with a simple action and the Castling move they provide shelter (with additional help of a few pawns) for the King himself. The literal and the figurative one. An old lady with a tray full of biscuits, immeasurable amount of patience and healthy dose of affection. A silver-haired DI not giving up on The King in his most difficult time, but grudgingly bringing more and more interesting reasons to stay away from the siren-like calling of a needle. The Rooks. Although important enough, (James always pays some attention to the more significant ones), in the end, they stay - nonetheless - only on the side.

Next, there comes the Knight. Ah, the Knight! A most interesting piece, James notes satisfied. The sidekick to the King. Always on the stand-by, ready to jump into action. The military man with a moral spine, and yet …never moving in the simplest preferable way, James begrudgingly admits. You just seem to predict his move, and yet it ends up moving neither exactly in a straight line nor diagonally. It's just jumping suddenly into the middle of the battle turning the odds in most unsuspected way. Ah, yes, most interesting, the Knight. A piece that has not been present for a long time in the Chessboard until one day it just appeared …and stayed. The King's Right Hand, indeed. And, boy, did James have such a fun using him to toy with the King. Oh, yes, he did!

Ah, right… Now-

The Bishop. Hm, the Bishop was actually a most elusive piece. One that stays close to the King (despite the King's obvious dissatisfaction) and one that is most concerned with protecting his precious little …King. The Bishop observes and strikes from the side, his moves never straight-forward, but shifty in their diagonal way. Just like the institution he works for, James cackles with glee. The Bishop thinks he can control everything, yet he doesn't even have a half the freedom to move as he'd please. Nothing but the ability to do some control damage to save and protect the King. Funny little piece, James decides, but not really worth that much attention in the end.

And finally, that leaves the Queen.

Or, as a matter of fact, the lack of her on the Chessboard that is Sherlock Holmes' life.

Oh, James has noticed from the very beginning that there was no Queen present on the Chessboard. And thus, he thought he'd better send one. After all, a game cannot be played without all the pieces in attendance, right? Right! So James has found the most suitable (to his own purposes, of course) Queen for the King! Elegant, posed, intriguing. The very epitome of Queen-ness if he has to say so himself (and he did). And boy, did he have fun observing her in action. Intriguing, eluding, …seducing. Just like he predicted, she has captured the King's attention with her intelligence (and her best dress probably, too!). She has held it for months afterward, and worrying the Knight and the Bishop into sleeplessness. What a fun it has all been!

And, yet… the supposed Queen James has sent did not stay on board.

The King himself has rejected her, removed her from the game.

And thus, there was still no Queen to start the proper stand-off between the Two Kings.

Or so James Moriarty thought.

For, you see, as he decided (impatiently) to play the game anyway (despite the lack of a full set of pieces on board); and as he started to toy with the King, watching with glee as all the pieces – the Pawns, the Rooks, the Knight and even the Bishop – danced and moved and entertained him, James Moriarty has forgotten about one particular rule of the Chess Game.

And it has cost him everything.

As it happens, there has been this simple, unremarkable Pawn from Bart's. A dismissible one, not-mattering-at-all in Jim's-From-IT's bigger scheme. And this Pawn has slipped past his radar. Steadily and quietly she has moved on the board. Square after square. Past James' defenses and past his own pieces. Past his own self to the other – James' – back rank of the board.

But the King has seen this and when she reached the opposed rank of the board, the King has seized the opportunity.

And suddenly! - By the King's own making - there was a Queen on Sherlock Holmes' side.

There was THE Queen on Sherlock Holmes' side.

In the middle of James Moriarty's own pieces, there stood a havoc wrecking Nemesis in the form of a small, brown haired, chocolate eyed woman. With the power of life and death at her hands, she was able to move freely in every direction on the board.

And within that moment, all the carefully crafted plans James Moriarty has made, have crumbled like house of cards under a slight breeze. Even if the outcome was still death – it was not the one and not in the way James has predicted and anticipated.

Yes, with the appearance of the Queen the game has been won.

But, even more so, with the appearance of the Queen - just like that - James Moriarty has lost.

xxx

End

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AN: Reviews makes my day (and may inspire the fickle muse of mine too) ;)

(for those following my Bones pieces – I'll be returning to them shortly).