The Noble Queen-A Shadow Slave Fanfic

"May I introduce my sisters, Death Singer, Lightslayer, and Beastmaster." Seishan dipped her head to the other daughters of Song.

The government agents followed suit, bowing respectfully to the princesses.

"You are all going to die!" the most petite of the sisters said, her face contorting from its cherubic innocence into a harbinger of doom.

"Way to live up to your name, Hel," Seishan brushed the prophecy aside. "We will all die someday, just not today."

Beastmaster and Lightslayer exchanged glances, a mix of embarrassment and amusement at their sister's outburst.

Beastmaster spread her arms wide, the long sleeves of her dress dragging along the stone floor.

"On behalf of our mother, welcome to Ravenheart and the Jade Palace. We look forward to a long and prosperous future together."

Death Singer coughed and this time Lightslayer nudged her gently in the ribs. The younger Saint's face returned to its innocent beauty.

To distract from her sisters, Beastmaster flashed a brilliant grin. It was more than just captivating. Even with the scar running from her forehead to the tip of her chin, the Saint's smile was so enthralling that it was impossible to look away.

Of course, it was, hadn't Noble read that her Aspect involved entrancing others?

"I want a long and prosperous future with her…" one of the gentlemen mumbled beside Noble.

That comment alone was enough for Noble to never want Fort near the enticing Saint. While it was unlikely that Beastmaster would ever want anything from her husband, Noble did not want to find out.

"I know we all want to revel in this moment, but I need to get the Government agents to their meeting before one of them wanders off," Seishan tilted her head meaningfully.

Lightslayer remained silent, cutting her eyes at her grey-skinned sister. With an imperceptible nod toward the man in the very center of the group, Seishan smiled gently.

"Thank you, sisters."

Suddenly, the room went dark. Not a natural sort of darkness that would happen when a cloud covers the sun. It was as if the lamps of the great hall had all been drained of their light and replaced with something impenetrable.

The brightness returned a moment later, but Lightslayer was no longer there.

"Rev likes to make a dramatic exit," Seishan explained.

But she wasn't the only one missing.

"Where's Ginnar?" Renle furrowed his brow. "He was here a moment ago."

"I'm not sure," Noble answered honestly.

Either the Skinwalker had used the moment of darkness to make a move, or Revel's dramatic exit had actually been an extraction.

Based on Seishan's composure, it was the latter. She swept her arm to her left.

"Please head this way to the meeting room. I will be with you shortly."

Noble noticed the grey-skinned princess whisper quickly to Beastmaster. She could only catch a snippet of what was said.

"Skinwalker…Prince…Nothing…"

Beastmaster and Death Singer nodded, moving with muted urgency in the opposite direction from the group.

Rejoining Noble at the back of the group, Seishan nodded confidently.

"Everything is under control."

What did that mean? Noble felt for the emotional signature filled with hate.

It was missing. Was the Skinwalker already dead or was there something about the palace muting her powers?

'Was anyone else infected?' Seishan scanned the group of government Awakened.

Noble checked and double-checked. 'Everyone else is normal.'

The Princess of Song allowed her shoulders to relax.

'Then we will carry on this meeting as planned.'

Dismissing the Other's Voice, Noble nodded.

As rattled as she was, the others had no clue what happened. The group was here to discuss how to make the lives of the citizens of Ravenheart better, and derailing that conversation when things were under control seemed unwise.

Noble would tell Fort later, and they would decide what to do.

For now, she needed to do her best to take good notes of what was happening so she could relay an accurate account.

Though she doubted this would be as interesting as what had just occurred.

The meeting room was tucked into a corner of the palace away from where the people of Clan Song seemed to reside. A roaring fire had been started by one of the Pilgrims, but even with it, the room seemed unnaturally cold.

Noble found a seat toward the end where she could see everyone clearly. Renle sat beside her and cleared his throat. He told her in a hushed tone.

"It seems that Ginnar was too distraught to continue with the meeting and was escorted away."

Forcing a smile, Noble took a deep breath. "Thank you for the explanation. I appreciate it."

Had someone told him this or had he made up the rumor himself? Either way, it was the understood consensus and Noble did not correct him–at least not for now. 

To begin the meeting, the Awakened from Clan Song took turns presenting what they had done. Song had been very tight-lipped on exactly what was needed, but now that the government was here with boots on the ground, the Clan was more forthcoming with information.

Noble listened as a man named Halo talked about long-term goals.

"Once we get the wall and its fortifications completed, we plan to begin road building between citadels so that Ravenheart will not contain the entire mundane population of the Song domain. With traversable roads, people will be able to spread out and trade can flourish."

Halo's short black hair and casual outfit were at odds with the austere palace, yet the man exuded quiet confidence. He believed that the kingdom of Song could be an interconnected web of cities.

The way he spoke made it sound like the Dream Realm could be tamed, or at least their little part of it could be.

If what he said was true, then trade lines would be safer here than they were in the Waking World.

With time, the supply lines of Waking World might become completely intertwined in an otherworldly network.

That was if humans didn't have to abandon their first home completely before that could occur.

Noble shook away the unhappy thoughts just as Halo was finishing his report.

"I will be leading expeditions over the next couple of months to examine the topography and plan the preliminary routes for our first paved roads. I believe in the next few years we can have a functional highway system which will revolutionize our way of life in the Dream Realm."

Noble silently wished Halo well. Exploratory expeditions like he had proposed would be fraught with perils, especially considering the rugged terrain.

'If anyone can do it, I think he can,' she decided.

The meeting continued with each presentation making Noble less and less interested. Her enthusiasm waned and she hoped that Fort would not ask her about the exact configuration of the existing streets closest to the bridge or how the water purification worked.

If he did, Noble would not have an answer. Fortunately, Renle was next to her taking copious notes on some synthetic paper that he brought with him. Minor details could be directed toward him.

It was that safety net that had allowed Noble to stop listening to the most recent report on…geothermal something or other.

The elder clanswoman's monotonous tone had nearly put her to sleep.

'A nap doesn't sound so terrible right now...'

Something tickled her cheek, causing her to stir. It was the single long hair on Renle's otherwise bald head.

"Sorry," he whispered, brushing it to the other side and bothering the person to his right. "Sorry!" He repeated quietly.

"You might consider getting that cut if it's causing you trouble," Noble suggested.

He looked at her, his skin wiggling where his eyebrows had been. "I can't. It's a reminder of the incident."

Leaning a little closer Noble's eyes opened a little wider. "Incident?"

"The Nightmare Creature Containment failure. Plumbing is a dangerous business…" Renle shrugged.

Noble scratched her head. What did those two sentences have to do with one another?!

She was just about to ask more when Seishan's voice broke through her thoughts.

"I believe Master Noble would be the expert on that. What do you think, Professor?"

All eyes in the room fell on the floating Master. Only she had no idea what was going on.

'Whelp…'