"You can't run from shadows, but you can always invite it to dance."
It always seemed to follow me. Just out of my peripheral, hidden in the red-brown leaves and the broken branches in the deep forest or behind the clean crockery and cooling pies in the cold, moonlight kitchen. A little, dark shadow with a slash of burning blue. My shadow that always followed and never left, but wasn't my own. The one that is said to attach to people who had questionable actions, and bring them luck they deserved. I never believed in the superstition- I had enough of bad luck myself- until it appeared one day, just as I finished a contract. That was three weeks ago. It never fully showed itself besides a dark ebony and scarlet shadow with that flash of blue. The shadow had become a legend, folklore in the country- apparently, it only fully showed itself in the final strike- to frighten its prey in the stalking. Was it a person? A spirit? Another assassin whose contract was me? It didn't matter, I never lost a fight, the only good luck I had.
It was still infuriating though. I more sensed that saw it, tucked away, completely hidden in the bright, twirling colors and twinkling lights. Hundreds of guests and subjects filled the ballroom; tables laden with food, music and laughter filling the normal, preferred silence. But appearances must unfortunately be kept. I myself was wearing the kingdom colors: a gold-white suit and spring green sash. Light, airy colors that pretended to symbolize the rebirth of the country. Colors that somehow hid the dark and blood Father really built the kingdom upon. Not that I was supposed to know. No, I was supposed to the perfect, upright heir, personified by my hair and eyes. The very reason Father decided on the colors. The colors of the fake bright future. The colors of the flags overlapping the banisters and the walls. The colors of the girls who threw themselves at me, blinding and sickening me. Alas, manners forced me to politely excuse myself instead of shoving them away, which brought me to the present situation I found myself in. I gently removed my arm from the gushing blonde in gold, with period-dots flashing around her neck and wrists, murmuring some excuse about water. I made my way towards a table guarded by servants, glancing around again for the shadow as I reached for a crystal glass. It just darted out of my sight again, ducking underneath curtains. I huffed and took a sip from my cup.
The shadow was strangely welcomed though; a dark, soothing comfort amongst the shining lights from the chandelier that were reflecting off the gold walls, blinding everyone who looked too long. Maybe that why no one else saw the corruption, the magic show Father but on was too bright to truly see the background with trapdoors and bloody wires. I looked around once more at the colors, surprised when pitch black and blood red gracefully moved towards me. Glancing quickly towards the curtain, but my shadow had disappeared. The colors took form of a dress, fitting a young woman with dark hair and red lips. The colors contrasting with everything around it; almost like a beacon, standing stark against the flimsy light green and blinding gold-white. However, it was the dark blue of her eyes that caught my full attention. They burned in a way that my green only did when surrounded in black. They burned with freedom and beckoned for truth. The same shade of blue the shadow had flashed. I studied the girl closer. The black-clad arm and hand that was rising to greet my own were corded and taunt with muscle, her steps too light for the excuse of a simple dancer. I clasped the hand presented to me gently, bowing my lips to meet it. A few words were whispered, and I smirked against the satin, murmuring a response. The Shadow had finally confronted me. Now, it would confront the kingdom, me by its side. I straightened and offered my arm to guide the dark shadow to the middle of the dance floor for all to see. The very colors my father tried to hide. As we began to dance, red, black, green, and gold blended together, the shadows and light permanently merging as one. The light was dancing with the darkness, just the way it always should.