Shadowed

by Tara Jadestone

  I was aware of the muttering behind me as Connor rode first towards the King’s Castle. I shut my eyes to hold back the tears. I had to expect the worst from now on. You really are on your own.

  Throughout the ride, Connor’s gaze would shift to the right, where Selenah sat behind Prince Gareth. I had a feeling it was more than just etiquette that he was repeatedly checking on her. It made my stomach flip at the thought.

  When we arrived, Selenah, Prince Gareth, and Connor were whisked away to see the King. Tiran and the other Royal Guards were told to return to their duties now that I was out of harm’s way. Tiran requested that he stay with me, saying that I had no place to go for the time being and may still need medical attention. But Connor shook his head and urged that he go back to his regular tasks as the King had said everything was seen to.

  I was left at the castle gates with just a meal and a change of clothes. I would have felt sorry for myself had I not realized this was my best hope of escaping from Selenah and her life. I could no longer abide by Connor’s advice to make the best of my situation here with Selenah; I would never be happy living by her side. And seeing as it was the King who had sent me off, Selenah was not likely to come for me.

  Though I did not know where I would go, or how I intended to make a living on my own, successfully getting away from Selenah would be my first step.

  CHAPTER four

  tHE HOODED MAN

  I was walking into Akron when a hooded individual in dark green stumbled into me. I helped the person up and apologized when I noticed their bright green eyes staring down at me through the shadow of their hood. I remembered seeing that same pair of eyes somewhere.

  I gasped. Those eyes belong to the man in my dream, the Shadow Reaper.

  “Pardon me, miss,” he said, pulling down his hood.

  My eyes widened in shock at the sight of his face.

  I could have mistaken him for Prince Gareth, had I not known that the Prince had sandy-colored hair –not black– and hazel eyes instead of green. Could he possibly be related to the Royal Family? But I could not tell for sure if this man was the Shadow Reaper– his voice was nothing like that in my dream. After all, what are the odds of Tiran’s story being true?

  “A lot has changed since last I visited Tenebris. Would you mind helping me get to Neronis?” he asked.

  “The King’s City is called Akron now,” I said with a polite smile, “and I am heading there as well.”

  “Indeed?”

  I nodded, and he smiled back in response. Seeing it, a sudden sense of familiarity washed over me. But then my head began to pound, and I turned away, my fingers pressing against my temple. I saw a flash, a memory, of brushing past this man before. I felt my heartbeat quicken as his head turned just a fraction in my direction, his eyes meeting mine.

  “Miss?”

  I blinked, seeing the man’s face appear closer than it was before. His hand was on my shoulder.

  “Oh, I am sorry, I do not know what came over me,”

  I said, trying to smile up at him in reassurance. He withdrew his hand from my shoulder and nodded. We resumed our walk in silence for a few minutes before he spoke.

  “Why is a pretty miss like you out here all by yourself, leaving the King’s Castle?” he asked.

  I did not answer him immediately. He had noticed that I left the King’s Castle? And wait; did he just call me pretty?

  “I was...leaving my family,” I finally said.

  “Then I suspect your family must be of high importance.” I did not reply back to his comment, and instead, simply nodded again, having nothing else to say.

  “I hope you do not think rude of me in asking,” he added, glancing down at me, “But do you happen to know her Ladyship Selena?”

  His question made me stop walking.

  “What...makes you say that?” I asked. And despite my initial trust of him, I could not hide a fearful stutter. The man also stopped walking to face me.

  “I would say you have her essence.” My breathing came out fast. Essence? Who is this man?

  I took a step back.

  “I have to go,” I said quickly, turning away from him. As I did so, he smiled, and my vision began to spin and darken. I tried to run, to scream, but my voice and muscles failed me. I fell to the ground, gasping as he knelt down to brush a lock of hair from my face. My skin prickled at his touch.

  “I do believe you have to go somewhere, but not where you think,” he replied before my vision was lost to darkness.

  ****

  I opened my eyes and squinted at the light in front of me.

  A tall candle beside me illuminated the room. I blinked and sat up, surveying what I had been sleeping on: a large bed far better than any I had ever slept on.

  I took in my surroundings and raised my eyebrows at the sight. I was in an underground chamber –I could tell that much by the dark, mossy stone walls– but there was something odd about it. A wide, four-corner window was curtained in purple velvet and beside me was an ornately designed bed stand. Upon it was a silver vase holding an array of lavender flowers. The bed I was on was quite soft and new, as was the quilt over me. Above the bed was a canopy made of several sheets, and its ends spilled over the edges of the bedpost; the sheer material was braided like vines. A large rug was also in the center of the room, as well as a matching settee by the wall.

  Where am I? And why is this cellar so luxurious?

  “Do you like your new chamber?” I heard a voice ask.

  I looked towards the doorway and found the hooded man from before, standing there with a smile on his face. He must have taken me here.

  “Why am I here? What do you want with me?” I asked, not bothering to answer his question.

  He remained silent, tapping his foot. What is he waiting for? Then I realized why.

  “Yes, I love it,” I said sarcastically.

  His smile grew wider.

  “Glad to hear it, Melanie.” Hearing him say my name sent a chill down my spine. How does he know it? “You adored the color purple, last I remember. As for your questions, you will be staying here until someone comes to rescue you, that is.” He turned to leave.

  “What if someone does not come to save me?” I shot back, causing him to stop momentarily. Who would? Tiran might worry… but he would not be able to leave his duties as a Royal Guard over it.

  “Then you shall stay here,” he said, “unless I find a reason to end your life.”

  “What? Wait!”

  I threw the quilt to a side and made a dash to follow after him, but the door slammed shut in my face. Pounding at the door, I shouted for the man to come back. Instead, I heard him slide bolts across the door to lock me in.

  With a groan, I sunk to the ground. I briefly closed my eyes before taking a closer look at the room. It would not be all that bad if I were to spend my days here, I thought. But what if he gets bored and decides to kill me?

  Forcing myself to my feet, I jumped out and raced towards the window. I drew back the curtains and gasped to see that the sky above was dark and full of stars. My heart plummeted. Had no one really noticed that I had left? I forced myself to focus. I have to find my own way out.

  The window was large enough for me to crawl through it. I felt its cool surface, trying to find a latch or lock– any way to open it. When I found no opening, I tapped it with my finger. Glass. I turned around and searched for something that might be strong enough to break it. Noticing a large wardrobe in the room, I threw its doors open.

  There were dresses of all colors, as well as coats and footwear to match –which looked as if they would all fit me– but nothing strong enough to crack open a glass window. Knowing that I had no way out, my heart began to race.

  I hurled myself onto the bed and sobbed aloud, not caring whether or not the hooded man heard me. The pillow was soaked by the time my throat was hoarse and my eyes refused to let out tears.

  With a loud sigh, I turned and buried myself under the covers. As I
lay there, trying to fall asleep, all I could do was wonder what sort of life I would have, trapped here with a stranger who somehow knew my name.

  ****

  Someone called for me.

  I forced myself to open my eyes, feeling a quivering sensation run through my chest, like a rapid heartbeat. The candles had dimmed, casting the room into a hazy glow.

  Did I imagine someone calling my name?

  I stared out at the room before me, listening to the sound of my own breathing. Will he allow me to leave? I could promise him I would not tell a soul about who he was and where I had been...

  Something glittered from behind the wardrobe doors.

  Curious, I got up and walked towards it. I opened the doors and found a metallic mirror lying within the wardrobe. It was adorned with jewels of all kinds, and its smooth surface shined as I touched it.

  “Mel!”

  I looked around the empty room. Where is the voice coming from?

  “Mel, are you all right? Where are you?”

  I glanced back down at the mirror in my hand and gasped. I no longer saw myself reflecting in it, but the image of Selenah. I dropped it in shock, speechless by what I saw.

  The mirror clattered onto the stone floor, but it did not break. However, Selenah’s reflection wavered, and a crack appeared along one of the edges of the mirror. I picked it back up, staring hard at her. This has to be the work of Selenah’s magic.

  Instead of answering her, I placed the mirror back in the wardrobe, facedown, and shut my eyes in thought.

  Even if Selenah were to come find me, where would I go? Back to where the Royal Guards would chastise me? Back to a place where Selenah is reveled for her magic and I nothing but a maid?

  I would rather stay here.

  Ignoring Selenah’s little magic mirror for the most part sounded like a good idea, but I was far more anxious about what the man would do to me. I have nothing to give him nor would anyone trade something valuable in return for my safety. So what could he possibly need me for?

  I forced myself to pick up the mirror again, now seeing only my reflection.

  “Selenah? Are you there?” I said hesitantly. After a moment, my reflection was replaced with Selenah’s once more.

  “Mel! I can barely trace your whereabouts with my magic. Where are you?” she asked, blinking up at me.

  Just then, the door swung open and the hooded man stepped in. I shut the wardrobe doors closed and held the mirror behind my back.

  “I will say this once and only once. Hand it over,” he said. I hesitated. He held out his hand, waiting. “I did not expect for Selina’s magic to reach us here.”

  Selina? Why is he referring to Selenah like one would Selina the First?

  His eyes narrowed as I walked up to him slowly. The door behind him was open. This was my chance.

  Taking a deep breath, I raised the mirror and smacked it across his face. The glass shattered and cut into his skin and he turned away, clutching his face.

  I fled through the open door and did not think twice about my actions. It was worth destroying Selenah’s tool if it meant gaining my freedom back on my own.

  I ran into a large hall. Sunlight was shining through a distant archway. As I neared, I was able to see the trees and grassy valley ahead, calling for me. I was so close.

  But black smoke poured out from the air in front of me and the hooded man appeared from it, a scar now on his left cheek. I staggered to a halt and looked back.

  There was nothing– nothing but darkness behind me.

  “You are clever, I will give you that,” he said smiling. “Just like she was. It has been a while since someone tried to kill me again.”

  “I was not trying to kill you; I just want to leave! Please!” I cried, not understanding who he had referred to as ‘she’. “What is it that you want? I have nothing of value, no magic, no reputation–”

  “But someone very close to you has both,” he said.

  I opened and closed my mouth. My kidnapping was a lure to draw out Selenah. He smiled.

  “Yes, and you are so dear to her that she will come running, straight into my grasp. And when she does, I shall teach her a lesson she will never forget.”

  I clenched my fists. Why did I not see this before? Of course this man was the Shadow Reaper. He had to be. Who else would have such a vendetta for Selina the First? And with Selenah being so like Queen Selina, it was no doubt the Shadow Reaper was using me to get to her.

  “Now, if you will– turn back before I am forced to use my magic on you. And I would hate to do that to an old friend.”

  I did as he said. I walked back into the darkness and into my prison room, feeling unnerved by his last words.

  Old friend?

  The Shadow Reaper watched me closely as I picked up the broken mirror and tossed it in the waste bin. Satisfied, he turned and left.

  And this time, he did not lock the door behind him.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  ABOVE AND BEYOND

  The next several days –or was it weeks?– I played the obedient hostage, waiting out my days. But my time there was not spent in vain.

  When I awoke, it was as if invisible servants dressed me, brought my meals, and when I was bored, they told me stories like Tiran used to.

  My hair was fixed into different styles every morning, and I would be dressed in the most beautiful of gowns. It made me feel for the first time in my life that I was the princess, the spoiled one, and not Selenah.

  As the days passed, I forgot that I was waiting for Selenah to come and rescue me or that I was in any danger at all. Each day was filled with something new and exciting for me to enjoy: dance lessons and musical plays, old maps, and historical books, sword practicing and footwork; anything and everything I could think of, I had.

  However, my surprisingly pleasant life here ended abruptly.

  I was glancing through the pages of a recipe book to prep for the noonday meal when the door to the cellar burst open. Walking in were two Dark Mages, one carrying a thin strip of black cloth in his hands. My heart immediately began to race. As they approached, I kicked the covers and pillows in their direction, in a vain attempt to slow them down. Not once had I seen the Dark Mages here at my stay. Seeing them now could not be a good sign.

  “What are you doing here?” I shouted, but fear churned in my belly as they continued towards me. I jumped down from the bed and stepped back as far as I could from them. When my back hit the cold wall, tears sprang up in my eyes.

  “It is time for your reckoning,” one of them said, grabbing ahold of my wrist. I pulled my arm back, but the other dark mage clamped his hand over my other arm.

  I glanced from one of their hooded faces to the other, breathing furiously.

  “What? Why?”

  “The Queen has come for you,” said the one to my right. The Queen?

  In my hesitance, the Dark Mage with the fabric in his hand shoved me forward and I lost my balance. The other one held me in place while the first Dark Mage tied the cloth around my mouth. I rocked my body back and forth to get out of their grasp but to no avail.

  I was dragged out of the chamber, and through the darkness, they took me down several flights of stairs.

  I stumbled several times along the way, but at the end of the spiraling stairwell, I could see a black rusted gate illuminated by a single burning candle.

  My eyes widened, taking it all in, and I knew why this was happening to me. Selenah had come to rescue me, and she could not do that seeing as I was living here so comfortably.

  One of the Dark Mages let me go, but it only made the other one’s grip tighten. He pushed me into a cell while the other Dark Mage began shifting thick silver chains from the ceiling and floor towards us.

  Taking the chains from the ceiling, the Dark Mage cuffed my wrists and then walked over to pull on a dangling rope at the other end of the cell. With a whiz, my arms were flung above my head. I kicked out instinctively, but the Dark Mage who had still h
eld me before caught me by my waist and legs, bringing my swinging to a stop. My body tensed at his frozen touch, the scars upon my back and stomach from my last Dark Mage encounter flaring with pain.

  In my ephemeral paralysis, the Dark Mages chained my ankles in the same rusted steel as my hands.

  Blinking in the almost total darkness, I could see the two Dark Mages take their position. Both stood diagonally from either side of me. In their hands was something I had not seen before: glittering, silver-colored whips.

  My heart pounded in my ears. I begged for mercy through the rag in my mouth, weeping. But their cold, expressionless faces did not alter the slightest bit at my words or tears. It came to me then that the Dark Mages had no empathy. If they had even just the tiniest bit of remorse, they did not show it at all.

  I could not understand how a man who had not wished to harm me from his own magic would order the Dark Mages to do this.

  Their whips crackled in the air as it flew in my direction. I struggled to move away from it, but with my wrists chained to the ceiling and my ankles chained to the floor, I could go nowhere.

  When their whips met my skin, I screamed.

  ****

  I hung limp in the dirty cell, ready to accept death. My body ached, and it felt as if my blood were on fire.

  After the Dark Mages had left me for some time, I heard the flapping of crows’ wings and the sound of swords unsheathing. I thought I heard Prince Gareth’s voice cry out to someone, but the name slipped my mind. I heard hoof beats and boots. I cowered away from the cell door, afraid the Dark Mages returned with their whips.

  The figures that raced in did not look like Dark Mages, nor did they have the key to the dungeon gate. They pushed against the old, tarnished door, ramming into it several times before it fell away. They rushed in, swords clanking against their armor.