I've been wanting to write something involving Shadow for a while now. I just wanna say that a recent episode of Xiaolin Chronicles had freaked me the fuck out. I mean Chase is kind of sort of Shadow's father and they still have the hots for each other. Gives me the heebie geebies. Well, after that episode I got some random inspiration and this oneshot was born so enjoy. I apologize if I don't sound coherent at the moment. Its one in the morning and my contacts feel like their stabbing my eyeballs.
Enjoy!
Hate
It was hard for Shadow to truly hate someone. The feeling was pointless, irrational and led to brazen actions that could easily lead to one's downfall. She prided herself on being cool and methodical, much like her creator. She could be annoyed by people, disgusted by their existence, but blind hatred was something she had never really experienced in her life. She supposed it was because she had never had someone bring harm to her in an intimate way, no one who had attacked her emotions enough to warrant the feeling. Naturally she felt that such a thing was unlikely to occur, as the Heylin generally didn't have much emotional clout to be damaged in the first placed. She was born and bred in the darkness, her heart firmly enclosed in a locked steal case.
Of course, she thought sourly as she prowled the halls of Chase's palace, things change.
She felt hatred now. It was the most intense most irrational kind of hatred, the kind that made her heart burn and her vision crimson. It made her want to tarnish, to destroy, to kill. She felt like nothing in the world existed other than her hatred, that nothing else mattered. The metal case had been wrenched open, ripped apart by a pair of iron hands intent on exposing her heart until it was raw form the winds of heartbreak. She wanted to strangle a pale slender neck, watch ebony locks fly wildly as she chocked out life, wanted to watch the fading of terrified blue eyes as her victim's soul left them. She wanted to cry.
With a roar Shadow slammed her hand into the fountain she had been passing, the intricate flume shattering in a spray of water and porcelain. She breathed harshly, trying to reign in some control of herself. A presence behind had her whipping around to find the one who dared to intrude. She found Qin, Chase's oldest and most trusted cat. He was lying on the ledge next to the now destroyed fountain, had likely been sleeping there before her loud entrance. The general turned tiger was staring at her with wide and slightly startled eyes.
"What!" She barked and the Tiger didn't flinch, only deepened his concerned expression.
"Are you alright Madame?" He asked carefully, warily. She flinched at the title. Before it had always made her feel rather warm, as if she were the lady of the house. As if she were Chase's wife. But now it only made her hatred fester with the knowledge that she did not have that distinction, and may never have that distinction now.
"Mind your own business!" She snapped, her temper getting the best of her and causing anger to simmer past her façade. The tiger, however, remained impassive, more than used to dealing with fits of temper after being with his master for 1500 years. As Shadow's personality was quite similar to Chase's, Qin remained unfazed.
"My business is your business Madame, it is my main duty in this palace." It was a slight scold, as Qin was much more than the silent furniture that most servants were expected to be. The statement conveyed his frustration at being treated as some mere servant. The only one Qin obeyed was Chase and although he gave Shadow the deference required, he always made it quite clear that she was far from Qin's master. Needless to say, relations between the two were tense at best.
"Know your place." She hissed in reply to his thinly veiled sarcastic disdain.
"I know my place very well." He replied, buffering her attempt to assert authority. She wasn't going to win this skirmish and honestly wasn't in the mood to even try. She huffed and glanced up, her mood worsening upon seeing the light of dawn through the stain glass ceiling that served as the canopy to the fountain.
Chase would normally be out of bed by now. Quite suddenly the black hatred that had been stymied by her exchange with Qin blossomed anew.
"If your looking for master, he is still in bed." Qin's calm voice grated on her nerves.
"I know that!" She snapped. She turned and began to walk away, in the direction of Chase's quarters. She didn't know what compelled her to do so. It would only break the small part of her heart that she had left exposed for the man she loved. She didn't want to see it, didn't want to see them. But then again, a part of her did. She still couldn't quite believe it, her fragile heart persistently in denial. If she just saw it before her very eyes then maybe, just maybe she could finally face the reality that had been thrust in her face. She could pretend not to hear Chase sneaking home in the middle of the night, could pretend not to see the meaningful looks across the battlefield, could pretend not to smell the sweet scent of perfume in the sheets she had found in the laundry, could pretend not to feel the mocking stare of Qin as she lost her position in Chase's heart.
But had she ever had that kind of place?
"The master is not to be disturbed." Shadow stopped her progress, her nails digging into her closed hand. A singled drop of blood slid over her knuckle, before slapping onto the marble floor. A salty drop of water joined it moments later. Shadow whipped her head around ad glared at Qin despite the burn of her eyes.
"Why." She asked, her voice cracking as she fought down a sob. She refused to give in, refused to be some weak woman, especially in front of Qin.
"You know why." Qin said, his voice softening. Shadow scrunched her lips, baring her teeth and snarling. She spun back around and continued the path she had temporarily abandoned, walking briskly and enraged. Qin shot up and sprinted after her as she slammed through the mahogany doors leading to Chase's private quarters.
"Shadow!" he yelled over her growls but she ignored him as she violently rounded the corner into a hallway, at the end of which stood the tall door to Chase's bedroom. Qin swiftly ran ahead, skidding to a sliding stop in her path, his claws grating against the marble.
"Get out of my way!" She hissed.
"Don't be a fool!" He whispered harshly.
"What do you know!?" she replied, her voice rising.
"Everything." He replied in a whisper. Shadow said nothing in reply, only took a single step forward. Qin tensed, growling, and she hissed in reply. The two stood there for a moment, both trying to assess the best way to stop the other. Shadow had never hated Qin more than she did now. The air was sharp with electric tension, only the smallest provocation necessary for the situation to tip the wrong way.
That provocation came in the form of a melodic feminine laugh that flew through the doors in front of her.
"Chase." A breathless voice echoed, picked up by an acute sense of hearing, "It's almost sunrise. I have to go before everyone notices I'm gone."
Shadow saw red. Quite suddenly she leaped over Qin with a graceful flip, catching the tiger off guard enough for her to reach the door and grasped the handle, intent on wrenching the door open, but Qin's voice stopped her.
"Just what do you think barging in there is going to accomplish?"
"I'm going to kill the bitch." She hissed with dark hatred.
"You wouldn't get within two feet of her and you know it." He snapped back, but Shadow refused to see the logic in that statement, she just wanted to kill the thing that had weakened her so. With a flourish of her hand the blue moon blade was produced. She could make it in time. Chase would be taken by surprise, which would give her the opening she needed to go in and slit the woman's throat. The light footsteps across the room signaled that her target was far enough away from Chase to make her plan possible. She raised the sword over her head and tightened her grip on the doorknob.
"He'll hate you." Shadow paused.
"No he won't. He cares about me more than his lust." She reasoned, although she wasn't sure whom she was trying to convince. Qin shook his head.
"You don't understand Shadow."
"I understand perfectly." She twisted the knob.
"Aishiteiru, Chase."
"Wo ai ni, Kimiko."
Shadow froze, her hands beginning to shake. She released the knob and backed away slowly. Suddenly the walls broke and her heart collapsed around her.
"No." She whispered, tears collecting in the corner of her eyes. She shook her head, her sword clattering to the ground as she gripped the top of her head, staring with wide unseeing eyes.
That's supposed to be me.
Shadow spun on her heel and ran, oblivious to Qin's pursuit.
"Shadow!" he shouted once they exited Chase's quarters. She refused to hear him, only hearing her ears ringing. She sprinted through the exit, only stopping once a blast of cool morning air hit her face and quite suddenly she realized she was being ridiculous.
Hearts changed, people changed. It was an infatuation, one that would pass when something else caught Chase's eye. She would be that something else would stay that something else. Her eyes peaked out of the hands that had drifted to her face, glowing red with malice. A cruel smirk spread across her face.
"I'll just make her disappear." She began to laugh, the sound going from a bounce in her throat to a full-fledged cackle. She should win, she would kill that bitch and…
An object whizzed through the air, so close to her face that Shadow could feel the wind from the blade as it grazed the tip of her nose before planting itself into the wall of rock next to her. She snapped her mouth shut, first looking at the blue moon blade of edged in the rock face and then turning to find the source. She fought he urge to gasp when she found Chase standing by the palace entrance dressed in a simple black shirt and pants, his feet bare. He had his arms crossed and leaned casually against the wall but the grave expression on his face and the silent threat in his eyes betrayed his casual stance. His eyes narrowed and Shadow flinched.
"If you touch her," he began, his voice calm but deadly, "Make no mistake, I will kill you."
Shadow could only stare. Chase seemed satisfied that his message came across and casually pushed of the wall and turned back into the palace. He paused at the threshold and twisted his head around, meeting Shadow's speechless gaze.
"The same applies to your unborn brother."
With that, Chase silently walked back inside, the slam of the palace door echoing in Shadow's ears. She wondered how she was still able to breathe.
"I told you that you didn't understand." Qin stepped out from the shadows in human form, his silver armor glistening in the sunlight. The handsome Chinese general walked forward and silently wrapped his arms around Shadow, resting her head on his shoulder.
"You can't win this." He whispered softly and Shadow finally let the tears fall down her cheeks.
"Its not fair." She whispered pitifully. Qin glanced at the rising sun and the dawning new day. He tightened his arms around her silent sobs and buried his face in her hair.
"It has never been fair." He whispered to the wind.
Like it? Hate it? Leave me a review and let me know.
Qin is an original character if mine who will be featured in many of my stories, I kind of used him as shipping fodder here but he's usually a central character in most of my projects, I mean I feel like Chase would have some kind of head servant right?