Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

"Is the queen your wife?"

...
"She's not safe anywhere." Her staff echoes.

 

"What? No, no no no. Our system works a little differently. The most powerful Shadows rise to the throne to rule if the current king and queen are killed; they don't have to be married," I respond, "You really think I'd cheat on Artemis with Shadow Stephanie?"

I pause for a moment, "But...a few thousand years ago...there was something between us. It's behind us, though; we realised it was just to better our titles, rather than actual love."


The Shadows stand ready, "We'll do our best to protect her, staff." One says.

 

"YOU MEAN-"

Ihra snaps awake.
"LET ME GO! LET! ME! GOOO!" She shrieks.

 

"Whoa, whoa, calm down. We'll take you where you want to go." One of the armoured Shadows says, opening the door.

 

She blinks past them, heading the opposite direction she was led.
"I'M SELF SUFFICIENT!!" She shouts.

 

"Hey, come back!" The Shadows shout, chasing Ihra.

Ihra runs past multiple large doors, before finding a large pair at the end of the hallway; presumably leading to the dining hall.

 

"AJ. AJ. AJ. WHY?!" She shouts, trying to bolt where you went.

 

Ihra runs past multiple Shadows, each giving her confused expressions.

Ihra is grabbed by a much larger Shadow as she runs past where she entered the palace.

"Now now, sweetie. What are you looking for?" She asks, holding Ihra up.

 

"I can't... I don't... I mean... I want... but... he..."
She's hyperventilating and flailing.

 

"Hey, hey, calm down. Are you lost? Are you looking for someone? Here, you can talk to the king; wait by the side until he's finished with his current visitor, and don't tell him I let you in, alright?" The larger Shadow says, winking. She turns to the large door and pushes it open, clearly struggling but managing to open it.

The larger Shadow puts Ihra down in front of the door, "He's just in there. Don't disturb him, just wait for his current visitor to leave." She says.

 

"That... that's exactly... thank you..."
She waits.

 

A light creature stands in the middle of the room, and Shadow Stephanie and I sit on two massive thrones, crowns adorning our heads and royal looking clothing on our bodies; our eyes glowing in the twilight of the room. We seem to be at least twenty times our usual size.

"She's wiped out our scout group, and other sources say she's corrupt through. Please, lend us your armies and we can take down this beast!" The light creature pleads.

"For the last time, no. Xlentia is corrupt, yes, but I myself and working to fix that." I say, frustrated.

"What if you were to fail? It's better to strike her down with an army of light and dark than wait for you to try and fix it." The Light creature says, determined.

"I don't think our armies would be enough. She's immensely powerful, probably on par with Aj and I." Shadow Stephanie says.

"But, together we're stronger! With enough, we could take her down!" The Light creature says, clearly showing nervousness.

"That's like saying throwing a bunch of peas at a bullet proof jacket does the same as a bullet. I'm sorry, but we're not lending you our armies." I say, annoyed.

"But...surely..." The Light creature seems lost for words.

"Guards, take this fool away. He clearly doesn't know what he's getting into." Shadow Stephanie says.

A pair of strong looking guards take the light creature away.

"God, we got called in for that?" I ask, tired.

"Well, Xlentia does seem like a threat. I guess they don't know you're working to fix that." Shadow Stephanie says.

 

Ihra can't hide it.
"You weren't kidding?!"
She looks a bit scared.
"Why?"

 

"Ihra? What are you doing here?" Shadow Stephanie asks.

The pair of guards run in, but noticing Shadow Stephanie and I, bow to the ground.

 

"I don't get it. I don't understand this anymore...

...but thank you.
But why? What did I do? What's in it for you? Mother said people always have motives..."

 

"What do you mean, Ihra? I don't understand." I ask, confused.

"Are you asking why we denied that Light creature our armies? Surely you know Xlentia will just crush them, right?" Shadow Stephanie asks.

 

"No, I understood that. But... you have a role here... I don't understand why you put me above this. Isn't this job important? I'm grateful, but you're a king... and... and she's a queen... I didn't know!"

 

"Well, if you wish to, than I suppose it's your choice then. Wait, are you a mage? If you're proficient in magic, then if we encounter some, you could find a way to subdue then." I say to her. I start to stealthily sneak around the village and look for the armory.

 

Shadow Stephanie sighs.

"Well, as I said, it gets boring being pampered all the time. Sure, I have a realm to run, and I get called back here, but I do want a life away from here too. The realm can function on its own for a bit, and I put you above it because you need help." I explain.

"We didn't want you to find out, Ihra. This is a second life to us, and it's completely different to our other life. I think what Aj's trying to say is he put you above this job so he could forget about it," Shadow Stephanie explains, "Though I guess a large amount of honey and cookies isn't enough to keep you occupied so you never found out about us."

 

"Conveniently, that's all I can do. Freeze, paralyze, shock, knock out... just nothing permanent."
Unfortunately, it seems that the armory was in the half of your village that's gotten thoroughly destroyed.

"It's not that, but I... I... you're royalty and I never knew! I would've been more careful... I'm sorry!"

Ihra reaches out to the two of you telepathically.
"If they know what I did to you, I won't make it out alive! But... thank you both. Really... you've helped me so much..."
"...but I don't know if I can trust you after this as much. I do, I really do, but..."
She's emotionally split.