Shadow of Deception
The X-Naut soldier saluted respectfully before his leader. "Sir Grodus, d- sir. Lord Crump has arrived with the…visitors you called for."
"Excellent." Sir Grodus clutched his staff and leaned forward slightly in his seat. "Well, then…Bring them in."
The doors slid open at his order, and a small group of X-Nauts entered, with Lord Crump at the front, dragging (or, in the case of their largest captive, pulling) a group of robed figures into the room.
"Unhand us this instant!" the first one snapped, trying to twist out of Crump's grip.
He obliged- shoving her roughly forward. She stumbled and fell at the foot of the stairs, closely followed by her two comrades.
"A-Aah!" the second gasped, throwing out her hands to catch herself.
The third said nothing, but looked up at Grodus; even though the figure's face was hidden in the shadow of their hood, he could feel a biting defiance emanating from its eyes.
He smiled mockingly. "My, my…To what do I owe the pleasure?"
The first figure got to her feet and pointed an accusing finger at him. "You!" she cried, her hoarse voice strangled with indignant anger.
"Now," he said, rising and starting down the stairs, "I am sure we can handle things civilly-"
"Civilly?" she scoffed. "Your soldiers just waltzed right in and plucked my sisters and I off the streets! And now you have us dragged out to this godforsaken place and speak of being civil?"
Grodus ignored her, keeping the sinister smirk plastered across his face. "I assure you, it may have been a…hastily arranged meeting, but it will be a worthwhile one nonetheless. You see, I am Sir Grodus- the head of the X-Nauts, the army that will conquer the world! And you are going to help me."
The figures recoiled.
"Wh-What do you mean?" the second stammered, her soft voice faltering.
"We know nothing," said the first one, her voice hard. "We are but simple merchants."
Grodus motioned to Crump, who came to his side and, holding up the bag they had stolen, pulled out a box carved from red stone, embroidered with gold. The three figures gasped.
"This is something of great importance to you?" he inquired airily.
"N-N-" the first figure stammered. "It is- a valuable ware- w-"
"Do not think you can fool me," he said coldly. "I know full well what is in this box- and I know full well what you truly are!"
At this, the X-Nauts who had dragged the figures in reached for their hoods. The second one cried out in alarm as hers was tugged back, revealing a red-striped witch's hat, and bright pink curls that tumbled down her back. The third one pushed a soldier away, but another one grabbed her from behind before she could react; sulfur-yellow hair fell to her shoulders.
Grodus himself tugged the first figure's hood away. Her hands flew up, but not fast enough to halt the stringy sheet of purplish hair that fell from beneath her hat.
All three sisters had mere silhouettes for bodies; purplish-black, smoky-looking forms.
"You," he said triumphantly, "are of the Shadow Folk."
"What do you want from us?" she choked.
Grodus held out the box. "The three of you shall pledge your allegiance to me. Take the box and seek the one who shall open it- the maiden of pure heart. With her noble soul and the map to the Crystal Stars, I shall open the Thousand-Year Door and revive the Shadow Queen- and with her power at my command, I shall rule the world! Gaack aack ack ack!"
"C-Command?" the second one breathed. "The S-Shadow Queen?"
"Only one of great power could achieve such a feat," the first one gasped, bowing her head. "We are humbled to be in the service of such a magnificent conqueror…Sir Grodus."
He nodded and stood, holding his staff.
The Shadow Sirens knelt before him.
"Beldam," the first introduced herself, placing a hand over her heart.
"Vivian," the second one murmured, folding her hands under her chin.
"Marilyn," the third one grunted, rounding her shoulders.
Her tangled wisps of hair falling across her face, Grodus failed to see Beldam's lips curling back into a wicked smile.
"We are your humble servants…"
I was inspired by the episode of Avatar: The Guru. You know how Azula pretended to be all surprised and distressed by the Dai Li, but really did it just to get at Long Feng? I say Beldam would've employed the same tactic in tricking Grodus into trusting her when she was really just using him to bring back the Shadow Queen.
The last line was taken from Azula's line the episode: The Earth King: "We are the Earth King's humble servants".