Shadow Lineage

The Dark King paces his elaborately decorated throne room in a mix of anticipation and worry, after all, the woman meant to be queen of his realm would be walking through the heavy golden doors at any moment. The Dark King bites his thumb nail and clicks his tongue in personal annoyance at his strangely human emotions. He shouldn’t be worried over something so trivial as meeting a potential queen.

“She’s probably not even a good candidate anyway. Probably won’t even last a week here before she cries about going back… I doubt she’s even a good person… after all, her Shade Sibling was an awful being… rude, vile, disgusting… very unfit for the position of Dark Queen…” The large golden doors slam open and the Dark King looks over, his jaw dropping a bit in surprise at the composure, albeit a bit nervous, of the potential Dark Queen.

“My Darkship, I have brought the newest candidate chosen by the Obsidian Rift Elders. Her name is Melaniya Vasiliev. Her very name translates to…” The tall man chuckles a bit. “Dark Royal. Isn’t that a nice coincidence? Please welcome her properly and allow her to explore the palace some. I will let the guards know about her if they don’t already and she will have some people to watch over her protection. Please answer any of her questions my Liege.” The tall man leaves and the golden doors close. Melaniya looks around and frowns.

“You seem displeased Miss Melaniya, is something not to your liking? Surely the ornate designs of the gold leaves are to perfect taste for such a palace as this, are they not? And the carpets are made of the finest fabrics these lands have to offer.” The Dark King smiles welcomingly, gesturing his arms for Melaniya to explore the room to her heart’s content. Melaniya takes the invitation and looks at the throne room in a mix of awe and shock from the overwhelming size of this one room. Art, from hundreds of different time eras, hangs on the walls, adorning the already gaudy, gold-plated, and very tall walls with even more gaudy extravagance. Beautiful as the art work is, Melaniya felt it would be much better in a museum away from such a conceited looking king who hardly looked the part of royalty. Melaniya stands before a picture of the Dark King and frowns.

“Have we perhaps met before? In school maybe?” Melaniya asks as she sits on one of the marble steps. “I swear I have seen your face before…” Melaniya glances at the Dark King.

“We all have a Shade Sibling, a twin of sorts, who is the exact opposite in everything but appearance. Aside from any changes made like surgeries and hair color.” The Dark King explains calmly. “It’s quite likely that you have encountered my Shade Sibling in your realm.” Melaniya nods and looks at the ceiling of the throne room. Adorning the arched beams the the spaces between them are paintings of gruesome wars and deaths of the criminally unlawful creatures and beings that live in the realm. Melaniya shakes her head and looks away before the Dark King walks up to her and holds out his hand. “Please allow me to give you a full tour of my castle. There is much to explore here and I hope that you find it to be a likeable place to reside. I am sorry to say though that if you don’t pass the tests here you won’t be able to return to your realm for the short visits that this realm allows. And you will remain mortal in this realm and live out your mortal life. I do hope that you pass the tests so you don’t die. I think you would make a wonderful ally even if you don’t become queen here.” The Dark King says honestly. He stops at an open door and peeks in. “This room is the royal tailor, you will have all your wardrobe needs taken care of here for you.” He leads Melaniya on to a few more rooms, pointing out the large dining halls, a common bath for the staff of the castle, a private bath for the royals, and finally the rooms.

“So which room will be mine?” Melaniya inquires as she looks at one of the doors. The door that caught her eye was a deep oak, thick and heavy with an obsidian handle that seemed to suck in all the light around it. She reaches for the handle before the Dark King stops her.

“Not that one.” The Dark King says. “That one is for the Elders. None are allowed in without an invitation, including myself.” Melaniya nods as the door creaks open, the sound it makes is akin to that of a wailing ghost. Melaniya quivers and steps away.

“So this is the young human who was shown in our visions. She is much prettier in person. The poor dear must be quite confused about all of this. Dark King, you best make sure that she feels comfortable, Elder Romulus wishes to speak with her tonight to fill her in on what her role in this realm is. Please make sure she is presentable and has the proper gift for him.”

“Yes Elder Lenari. I will be sure to have things fully prepared for his meeting with Miss Melaniya this evening.” The Dark King says as he bows and leads Melaniya away to her room. The door to Melaniya’s room is also a heavy dark oak door, but around the edges is a golden leaf design that seems to move as if wind is blowing through it, and the handle is a blue-ish metal that seems to glow faintly. Melaniya opens the door and looks around, along two walls is a bookshelf filled with all manner of reading materials, on another is a large bed with a nightstand on either side, and curtains draping around the posts to block out the sun from the window in the ceiling. The Dark King walks over to the bookshelf and smiles. “This book,

Charging in: The Last of the Shade Dragons

will open the bathroom for you. Just pull it out and press the crest behind it.”