The Noble Queen-A Shadow Slave Fanfic

'Just wonderful.' Noble wanted nothing more than to get home to her family, but she also knew that the Princess of Song should not be ignored. 

Just because they were both Masters did not make them equal. Noble would answer any question Seishan had before heading home. 

A small part of her worried that being alone with the lady in the palace was unwise, so she nodded to Renle and said loudly. "If my husband finds you, tell him I'll be home as soon as I can." 

At least that way, the princess would be reminded that others would come looking for her if anything happened. 

Renle bowed slightly. "Have a good evening." 

The meeting emptied of all but two of the Pilgrims, who silently reset the room for some future date. 

Seishan tilted her head, and Noble took that as a sign to follow. 

Floating alongside her companion, Noble could feel the other woman's concern. "If this is about having an extension of the Academy here, I won't do it if you don't like it." 

The princess's ruby lips turned up slightly. "On the contrary, I think it is a wonderful idea. My time at the Academy was quite pleasant. Legacies have the advantage of extensive training before entering a nightmare. If we want humanity to grow stronger, others should have access to that advantage." 

It was a little strange hearing those words come from a Legacy. That was until Noble remembered that Seishan was adopted. 

If not for Ki Song, the Lost Princess would likely have spent her entire life in the outskirts, striving to survive a very different Nightmare. 

Noble coughed lightly. "You said you had questions?"

"I do." The Princess crumpled the paper in her hand. 

The professor frowned. As rude as it might have been, she wished that she had seen the contents of the message when she had the chance. 

"I will ask them when we get there." Seishan took a sharp turn down a minor hall, leading them deeper into the palace.

The professor had thought they were slowly walking toward the entrance to give them time to discuss, but it seemed there was another destination in mind. Having not been dismissed, the professor reluctantly followed her mysterious host. 

If the conversation wasn't about her offer to form a school, then there were only two other topics that the two had shared in their short acquaintance. 

And Noble thought they had fully covered her Nightmare and the strange Portcullis Key…which meant…

"Where exactly are we going, Lady Seishan?" Noble felt a growing sense of unease. She searched for any other sign of life, but the halls were either empty or her power was indeed being dampened in some way by the walls. 

Now that the rest of the government agents had left, the only emotions she was left with were those of her hostess. And Noble didn't like what she felt at all. 

"We are going to visit our mutual acquaintance." Seishan knocked lightly on a large door. 

"It's open!" came the answer. 

'Is that Death Singer?' The door cracked and Noble felt the sudden urge to run. 

She wanted nothing to do with what was on the other side of that door. 

"I have taken up too much of your time as it is, Lady Seishan. I really must be going. If you want to give me your questions another time, perhaps then we could–" 

When door swung wide, the two ladies were faced with a wall of impenetrable darkness. There was not a speck of light nor were there any shadows. It was like there was an absence of both bringing about darkness in its truest form. Noble shivered and floated backward. 

But Seishan simply sighed. "This won't take long." 

Taking hold of the professor's arm, the princess led them both into the darkness. 

'Is this how it all ends?' Noble wondered as her vision left her. But before she activated her second sight, they passed through the veil to the other side. 

In the lit half of the room, The three sisters of Song that Noble had met earlier were standing casually around a table along with a smartly dressed gentleman. 

Their nonchalance was startling to Noble. They even had their backs to the impenetrable darkness like it did not exist. Was it normal for them to have a void in the middle of the room? 

None of them seemed concerned by the prospect. They were watching the table and the Saint with the glistening eyes. 

Death Singer looked like an innocent child playing with a toy, but Noble saw her hands were stained with blood. 

Noticing Noble, Hel wiped her fingers and set the mutilated creature aside. 

"You brought her with you?" Revel tilted her head as she eyed the floating Master.

"I did. This is Master Noble." Seishan did not elaborate. 

Noble's presence must have been fine with the others, for none of them contradicted her. Was the Queen also accepting of her presence in the Jade Palace? Or was she unaware of the activities of the Song Sisters? 

"Well?" Seishan raised her eyebrows at Hel. "What did you find out?" 

"Nothing that will help us in our present situation." Death Singer shrugged lightly. 

The grey-skinned woman turned a critical eye on the male of the group. His friendly face was offset by the frightening emotions rolling off of him.

'Have I just had a bad sampling or is Ravenheart just full of creepy people?' Noble peeked back at the darkness. Even if they weren't worried about what was in there, she was. 

Seishan clicked her tongue at the handsome gentleman. "Did you know it was here?" 

He pursed his lips. "Do you think I would hide something like that from Her Majesty?" 

"Did you?" Beastmaster joined her sister in wanting to know.

The handsome Saint sighed. "No one trusts me. Such a shame." 

"Mordret..." Seishan's eyes were full of fury.

Mordret's mouth curled into a twisted grin. "I knew it was infecting the Waking World, but I did not know it was here yet. If I did, I would have given it a proper welcome party." 

'Mordret?' Noble knew the name, but she couldn't place it. All she knew from his smile was that he was extremely dangerous. 

There was something even more disturbing about what he had admitted. He had known the Skinwalker was spreading in the Waking World and decided to keep the information to himself.

'What kind of person would withhold something so vital?'

Perhaps he had delayed to avoid mass panic until he had found a solution, but Noble sensed that he was simply indifferent to the state of anyone outside of himself. 

"I have to tell the government," she whispered. 

Mordret quirked an eyebrow at her, amused. "You mean that precious Saint Kai hasn't told them? Hmm, maybe he hasn't figured it out himself. I would have thought he was quicker than that. Surely Jet or Effie must have caught on by now. No? How amusing."

"There are more important things to discuss right now than what the government saints do or do not know." Beastmaster cut off the man's gloating. 

The grey-skinned princess sighed. "I assumed you would have dealt with the issue by now." 

Revel leaned on the table, unconcerned by the blood pooled on it. 

"Next time we will not wait for you then," Lightslayer brushed back her hair. "We were just hoping Hel could get some information before we began." 

"Well, she didn't, and I am here," Seishan hummed impatiently. She turned to glance at the wall of darkness. 

Beastmaster summoned a weapon and allowed it to rest gently at her side. "Are you ready?" 

Mordret's smirk turned sinister. "I am always ready for a good time." 

The other Saints nodded with a mix of hesitation and anticipation.

"Master Noble?" Seishan cut her eyes toward her guest.

The professor chewed her lip. Ready? Ready for what exactly? She didn't belong among such strange company!

"I am confused about what I am doing here. I thought you said you had questions."

Seishan's ruby lips turned upward. "I do, but I never said they were for you…"