Welcome back fellow fans of the Minion Mistress saga, welcome to the first chapter of Shadow's Embrace. The sequel to our dear Jinx's rise to power as Overlady of the Dark Domain. This story stills stands as being supplied by the ever gracious Sunjinjo who has allowed me to post her story here for you to enjoy. Enjoy.
Darkness in the Light
Wild water, frothing waves, crushing undertow.
Open ocean… of the worst kind. And he was in the middle of it all.
An old, familiar nightmare unfolded, clear and unchanged, precisely the way it'd been on the day he'd experienced it, years ago.
He knew how it'd gotten to this. They'd reached the forest of Evernight… the Iron Fist of the dwarves had closed itself around it, with less mercy than even the Overlady had ever shown them. She had tried to take the forest in the past, but before she'd managed to do it the mountains had turned against her, and now the mountains had done the same to them, the elves. And with an old vengeance. The dwarves had always been at war with them, and they'd gotten good at it.
Their queen, Fay, had tried to flee back to the sacred island, Everlight, as the Overlady had already lost it by then and the dwarves didn't seem to settle well – the damp jungle wasn't friendly on their machines or their beer. But before the elegant ships ever caught sight of those green shores, the dwarven steam ships had descended upon them.
And the open ocean, whipped up by the wind and dwarven cannons, had welcomed them.
He'd been so much younger then, and he'd barely been able to keep his head above the surface as the remains of their ship plunged into the ocean around him, the chittering of gnomes and fairies and the desperate whinnies of the unicorns they'd taken along slowly died away in the wind, and he furiously tried to look around in search of his mother…
Then, very suddenly, she'd been there, her dark hair loosened from the intricate braids and loops indicating her status by the salt water, and she'd flung her arms around him.
"It's alright, Estell," her voice rang back to him through the years, still as clear as on the day itself; her tone warm, but the words faltering because of the cold and the effort to keep both of them afloat.
A blue flame ignited, and blinded him.
The next thing he remembered was another blinding light – almost white, in a parchment sky, beating down on him like a fist of trembling heat. Gritty sand absorbed much of the water soaking him already, leaving only salt.
But there were others. His mother, queen Fay, had outstretched her magic and saved everyone she could find. A large part of their people was safe, and out of reach of the dwarves, even though the ships had been wrecked and they'd never reach Everlight again… they'd reached the closest shore.
They'd reached another shore, of a land elves would never have entered willingly… a land where green was a rare hue, and every shadow, so familiar in their cool forests, fled from the burning sun.
Ruboria.
A warm voice reached him. He looked up, into friendly blue eyes. "Estell… don't be scared. We're safe now."
Then the dream changed, and his mother's face vanished, to be replaced by a soaring view across the same desert he'd just washed up in, the way he did in his dreams more often than he wanted to remember.
He was standing on a high rocky plateau, and the Sea of Sand stretched out far below him, almost painfully clear.
A long row of tiny figures travelled across the sand very fast. He narrowed his eyes, and he knew what they were.
Slavers.
They were never really safe.
"Estell?"
Blue eyes opened, in pleasant cool shadow, and looked straight up into another pair. A pair of glowing, pupil-less blue openings in whirling, almost pure darkness.
Shadow, the familiar presence who'd been with him as long as he could remember, hung above him like a perfect mirror image as he slowly awoke from his dream. He was hazy, but the shape of an elven youth was clearly recognizable in him – with purely blue eyes, however, and long hair just as black as the rest of his body. No one else seemed to be able to see him, but Estell had long since come to the conclusion his imaginary friend, as his mother had disposed of him, didn't entail his own insanity.
He rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "Good morning, Shadow…" He started to hoist himself up, but stopped as his companion didn't stop staring at him worriedly. "Shadow, is something wrong?"
"Bad news, Estell. That second part of the dream came from me."
The elven boy supported himself on his arms and groaned. Shadow and him sometimes shared thoughts and almost always dreams, though his dark mirror image never really slept. He knew exactly what this meant. "Slavers? Again?"
"They're still here. A large group this time. They have dwarven bombs."
Estell sprung from his living vine-woven hammock, shot into his clothes and ran.
The elven fugitives, driven out of Evernight years before and denied Everlight, had hidden away well in an enormous cave, in a rock formation half buried under the Ruborian desert sands. Their queen had set up such a hideaway earlier, and she and a few other gifted green mages hadn't taken long to garland the dark, bare rock in a true jungle of green and colourful blossoms, lit by shafts of sunlight shining in through cracks in the rock, and the ever-present lights in the air that followed the elven queen everywhere. The rock still predominated, because even though roots sang to by Fay could bore into the earth deep enough to find water, this was Ruboria. The vegetation here had a misplaced effect, but it did bring back their home a little bit.
Right now, the queen was more than busy blocking the entrance with writhing vines and stalks, but fire and explosions broke through the living barrier again and again.
Dwarven bombs were increasingly common among the traders venturing this far into the desert in search of the next city where they could offer their wares – slaves, spices, fabrics or other things. The elves had understood the explosives were used to scare away the giant sand worms lying in wait beneath the dunes, or even kill them. But in this case they were used to grant the traders access to their Sanctuary – the Ruborians had originally wanted in to rest, but as they'd seen the cave was inhabited, their meaning had changed to less pleasant intentions. Elves were worth quite a bit of money, in both the civilized world, and the uncivilized.
This had happened before. The routes through the desert shifted and changed almost constantly, but the part leading along the Sanctuary seemed to be a safe one, as every couple of weeks the same happened. Elves and unicorns, dryads and fairies, all were forced to gather around the entrance. The fight didn't take long, and as Estell arrived matters were being brought to an end already. The rock and the leaves of the climbing plants growing over it were stained with Ruborian blood, as was the horn of the unicorn shaking itself a little way further.
An elven youth helped up a girl thrown over by one of the last surviving invaders before she'd been able to thrust her slender sword through his belly, and then took off his shirt to clean the unicorn's horn with it. He cast a glance of barely disguised contempt to Estell, who'd outstretched his hands to help the girl, but had been too late. "Good morning, prince."
"Miruvor," the white-haired boy panted. "Arinya. …I'm too late."
"What an observation."
"I'm sorry," Estell answered, slightly irritated. "No one came to get me."
Miruvor didn't answer, but stepped away from the unicorn and left the chaos of blood and dead Ruborians behind. Arinya cast one last glance at him, but then departed as well. Estell grimaced as he felt something stinging in his chest.
Shadow floated past his face, invisible to the others. "Here comes mother…"
Estell turned, and almost immediately was illuminated by a sky-blue glow. In the heart of it walked a slender, elegant elven woman, dressed in a richly embroidered gown. A couple of fairies followed her closely, almost spherical bodies on glistening wings. The queen looked around and mended the torn vegetation with slight movements of her hands, and light blue and purple blossoms reappeared on the rock walls almost immediately. The expression of grief didn't leave her face, however, seeing all the blood and bodies, both those of the Ruborians and a few elves.
"Estell," she spoke with a melodious voice as she caught sight of him. "It wasn't my intention for you to be here."
"I can fight, mother," he replied quietly.
"I don't want you to be exposed to so much death and violence," Fay spoke. "I know, better than most, what it can do to you. I want to spare you."
Estell frowned, and ignored Shadow's gestures for him to be silent. "This is going to keep happening. The trading route runs straight through the Sanctuary. They'll keep coming."
"And that is why I plan on locating a new home for us," his mother answered in a soft voice. "The search begins tomorrow."
"What?!"
"You heard me, Estell. I don't want any more spilt blood, not even to stay safe." And with those words, queen Fay vanished in her blue light, and left her son amidst the bodies of the invaders, alone with his Shadow.
"Milady."
High above the ground, close to the origin of the shafts of light from the ceiling, where the lights in the air almost packed together, a rock formation rose up. The top was crowned with peaks curving almost completely inwards, and a loose overgrowth of lianas and strangling vines almost closed the space inside. The shafts of light pierced the canopy, but another light shone from the inside.
"Milady, he may not know who his father really is, but he's going to live up to it."
Fay bowed her head, so her pale, radiant face was almost hidden. "I ask a little more faith in my son, lords of council. A little more faith in me."
"You know he longs to fight. He thirsts after the blood of the Ruborians, and the dwarves."
Blue eyes were raised to the one who'd spoken, a ginger elven noble, on his living seat grown from the surrounding vines, one of many in the hall. Fay smiled slightly. "In that aspect, my son is hardly the only one, lord Halátir."
After he'd helped the warriors drag the bodies of the Ruborians outside, into the crushing sunlight, and bury them in the golden sand, Estell had gone inside again and picked himself a breakfast from the many hanging plants and trees of varying sizes with which the Sanctuary was covered. He strolled through the Sanctuary, eating as he went, ever further upwards across the steep tree paths, gradually overlooking more and more of the misplaced jungle in the middle of the desert. Eventually he came so close to the rocky ceiling there was no one around anymore, and there he leant over the balustrade. Below him, fairies and gnomes chittered away – the recovered populations, descending from the ones they'd taken along with the ship. A few birds sang in the canopy below him; Ruborian opportunists, now feasting on the fruits and insects the Sanctuary sustained.
He remembered Evernight. He'd felt more at home there, between the blue shadows, and the same went for Shadow… almost naturally.
"You're thinking of Evernight again," Shadow remarked.
Estell didn't answer, but stuck out his tongue. It glowed slightly because of the glowberries he'd just eaten, and Shadow chuckled. "That'd be a good weapon against the darkness, prince of the elves."
"Well," Estell muttered. "We don't have much to fear from the darkness anymore… more from another side of light, isn't it? They say Goldo fought Overlord Alcazar together with my grandfather, but I can hardly imagine that."
"That was an exception," a new voice spoke from behind him.
Estell turned and looked up. Violet eyes looked back from higher up, on a tree branch. "For a descendant of Oberon the Vigilant, you're not very alert, Estell… or did you inherit more from Oberon the Sleeper?"
"And greetings to you too, Talmar the Watchful, protector of the Sanctuary." Estell bowed gracefully, and laughed as his friend jumped out of the tree and smacked his shoulder.
Talmar was slightly older than him, and contrasted sharply with his purple eyes and black hair. He knew much of the history of their people, and was quick to lecture Estell further.
"As you know, Goldo wasn't yet a king back then, and it was unconventional for him to slip out to help Oberon and the rest of our people. He was only crowned later, as he came back with all of Alcazar's gold. Dwarves elect their kings based on their achievements; the title isn't inherited as with us. You would never make it to the throne in the Golden Mountain range," he grinned.
"Then it's a good thing we aren't in the Golden Mountain range, and I will, in fact, be king of this cave in the desert one day." Estell produced a little smile, but didn't manage to hold on to it. Shadow came a little closer, as if to lay a hand on his shoulder, but backed away as Talmar did so in his stead.
"Did you miss the fight of this morning?" the black-haired youth asked in a softer voice.
"Again," Estell nodded. He turned to the balustrade again, and the canopy below, lit by the sharp shafts of Ruborian sunlight. "I'm tired of it, Talmar. We had Evernight. We had Everlight, before. We had a land to call our own, a country… and now look at us. A single cave system which won't even be ours anymore soon."
Talmar frowned. "What do you mean?"
"My mother plans on moving us," Estell sighed. "She doesn't want to kill any more slavers."
He looked to the side, and saw Talmar had suddenly clenched his jaws. Violet eyes bored into his blue ones. "Estell…"
"I know," he started with a bit of awakening hope, and the beginning of recklessness. "That would be going too far, wouldn't it?"
The shafts of sunlight had shifted to red and fell into the Sanctuary at another angle as Shadow strained himself to keep flying after Estell, his pupil-less eyes widened in worry in his hazy, dark face. "This isn't a good idea, Estell! Please listen…"
But Estell ignored him, as if, like the others, he couldn't see him at all. Talmar was following him by now, and Miruvor and Arinya, and some others, all at a quick pace. All of them were young, and some of them had dealt with the slavers that morning. They were talking in soft voices, but with pressing tones, and their expressions were tense.
"We have to find their base," Miruvor spoke to Estell, in an urgent voice, and without a trace of the contempt he'd shown earlier that day. "We have to send them a message that's stronger than caravans that don't come back. We have to get blood on our hands, Estell."
"Killing…" the white-haired boy muttered. "I thought we were just going to negotiate with them to move their route? With a bit of threatening?" But he felt the others' eyes on him, and it didn't even surprise him anymore that the elves, with their peaceful reputation, had acquired some sharper sides by now. He remembered the stories from his grandfather's time, king Oberon. In that war with the dwarves the elves hadn't held back either, had they? And as Overlord Sayron took over Everlight, they hadn't surrendered easily either…
He looked to the side. Arinya looked at him expectantly. He nodded quickly. "If the need arises."
A youth with brown hair falling down to his shoulders and leaf-green eyes quietly joined the small group. "The weapons are ready," he muttered to Estell. "Good job, Isil," he answered.
Talmar stepped towards them. "And the unicorns?"
"At the entrance," the boy smiled. "Avestal is with them."
"Then we're leaving tonight," Estell almost whispered, his eyes wide with excitement. They wouldn't need to move, he'd make sure of that. He'd show them he could fight, and lead. He'd show them he was a prince of the Sanctuary. And later, when the time was ripe for it, and with that same spirit, they'd get their old homeland back as well.
His mother was nowhere to be seen. She was probably discussing the move with the high council – the perfect time to set their own plans into motion! It was almost as though something had set everything up this way especially for them. Estell silently thanked the Mother Goddess, but he didn't have the feeling this was her intention. He wasn't exactly certain of himself – Shadow was part of the cause of that – but he knew it had to be this way. They had to do something. They could no longer wait and refuse to fight.
The group split up, and one by one, or in pairs, they made their way to the only exit of the Sanctuary that was in use at the moment. There were more passages to the desert, but those were all smaller and meant as emergency exits. The gate they were headed towards now was the same the traders had broken through earlier that day, but the elves could cope with the living vines closing it a little better. With a few words the large thorns pulled back, and then the plants themselves followed, like a green curtain.
In Estell's case it was Talmar to speak the words, loaded with the innate magic of the elves. Estell did possess magic, everyone could feel that very clearly, but he'd never managed to use it actively. No one found it odd anymore. It ran in the family – queen Fay's brother hadn't had any magic at all.
Once past the vines, the gathered group stood in the rocky vestibule of the Sanctuary, where the Ruborian sunset shone in on a sand-strewn stone floor. The almost complete silence was only broken by the scrape of hooves and quiet snorts – the unicorns were indeed ready, all white perfection and slender contours. Miruvor swung himself onto the back of his own mount effortlessly, and flung his cloak around himself. Now it was still warm outside, but once the night would fall they would need their warmer clothes.
Estell had a little more trouble getting on his unicorn. The animals never seemed to like him, and this one was also snorting and shaking itself uneasily as he approached it. As he really wanted to pull himself up, the animal took a few steps back, so he had to shuffle along, and it was probably only because of Talmar's calming touches it didn't rear up or kick back. Estell gratefully climbed onto the smooth back. They were all riding without a saddle, as was custom between elves and unicorns – normally there was an immediate bond of trust, and saddles and reins weren't needed. That did apply to the others. Estell grimaced briefly, but then he had to grasp a hold already – as Miruvor, Arinya and Talmar spurred their mounts into motion the rest of the animals followed, and whereas the others' mounts made sure their rides were properly seated, his seemed to forget about that.
They left the small cave, and the immeasurable Ruborian desert opened before them, an ocean of gleaming sand beneath a fiery sunset.
Then Miruvor's mount shifted to gallop without any visible cue, and the animal almost flew across the red-golden sand. The sharp hooves kicked up small clouds, light-footed as the animals were, and the rest were quick to follow that example, like silver coins skimming water. Estell gripped on to the nacre mane and kept holding on, as if his life depended on it.
(SANCTUARY)
"On my life, Milady, I don't know where he is!"
Later, and the shafts of sunlight had faded in the Sanctuary. The lights in the air and the few fairies still flying were the only sources of light now… and queen Fay, whose sky-blue glow sharply lit the elves around her. Her eyes were narrowed, and for a moment her subjects were afraid – a sting of fear the likes of which they hadn't felt for her in twenty years, since she'd once again taken this normally benevolent shape – changed from something else, something wild and dark.
"How can you not know where he is? He is my son! He's a prince of the Sanctuary! This place is swarming with fairies and gnomes! How can no one know where he is?!"
"We're missing more young ones, your majesty. We think they…"
"Silence!"
Fay's voice cut through the lower elf's words, and he fell silent at once. At that, Fay herself seemed to shy back. She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," she spoke in a softer voice.
"…We think they've left the Sanctuary, Milady."
Fay briefly closed her eyes. It had to happen one day, she told herself. That blood… is stronger than anything else. Her eyes snapped open, and she outstretched a finger to one of the surrounding elves. "You. Get the gate seeds." The brown-haired man quickly nodded, and ran off. The queen turned to a few others, whom she knew to be some of her best riders. "Search in all directions. When you find them, use the seeds and bring them back to me. Be swift."
"Certainly, Milady."
(DESERT)
Estell felt less certain of himself by the minute.
He started to realize he'd never really had any leadership over this group. Not only because of the fact almost all of them were older than him, but it also seemed they held their prince in even less regard than normal now they were leaving Fay's influence.
He could barely make his unicorn do as he wanted, and he was now hobbling along at the back of the group. He couldn't even keep up with Talmar. His friend kept looking back every now and then, but he was just too slow. Even Isil, the youngest, could handle his mount better.
Miruvor rode at the front now, and Estell had to admit he had more right to it. He rode his unicorn like a natural, leading the way through the gathering dusk, as the fiery sky slowly bled dry into a cool, deep blue. Every time Estell dared to look up, more dazzling stars twinkled above him, and the sight almost made him forget his saddle pain.
Miruvor, Arinya and the others seemed elated, even despite the late hour, and they were talking amongst themselves in hushed, excited voices. Estell realized they'd wanted to leave Fay's Sanctuary for some time. All they'd needed was an excuse, and he'd provided it. Talmar was the only one with the same goal he had.
A nervous sting pierced his stomach. Shadow clearly felt the same. "Will we keep going in the right direction? How do we know we are? If the others leave us, what do we do?"
Estell was forced to remain silent, but one thought overruled everything his mirror image brought up. How can I ever be their king?
Eventually it became almost a given thing to rush along like this, through the clear night, over the silvery hills, almost flying. Nothing broke the smooth Ruborian Sea of Sand, except some rock formations in the distance. Every now and then Estell thought he felt a tremor, and Shadow confirmed it, but everyone knew the great sand worms didn't hunt at night. When the sand cooled they slowed down, and sank down in forced sleep.
After another two hours the matter of course of the ride turned to a kind of hypnosis, and Estell didn't even feel his behind anymore. Later still sleep kept reinforcing its grip in waves, and at times he almost hung on to his unicorn lopsided. As he was about to just let go and fall off the others seemed to notice the same, as Miruvor turned for a tall rock formation in the west.
"There must be a shelter there. We ride on tomorrow."
Miruvor was right, and that too was almost natural, even to Estell. The rock formation gradually sloped upwards from the sand, and then rose in vicious peaks, eroded by the murderous sand storms that regularly ravaged Ruboria. Amidst the peaks lay a deep cave, a dark, gaping hole in the night. The elves rode towards it, the unicorns' hooves clicking on the rock quietly, and dismounted just before the opening. Miruvor stepped inside, and after a brief hesitation the others followed. Everyone let their guard down at a few remarks of the slightly older youth, and soon he'd slid down against the wall, with Arinya and a few others next to him. He fished a small tinderbox from his pocket and tossed it over to Estell. "Go and make a fire, will you?"
Estell barely caught the thing and nodded quickly. He knelt, and Isil joined him. The boy was a good plant singer, and his pure voice quickly eased life from the athelin seeds he'd taken along from the Sanctuary. Soon a depression in the rock was covered in roots and stalks, folded into a small tent. At another few words the plant dried out, and Estell could light the fresh firewood. The cave lit up at once, and he saw Shadow backing away slightly from the corner of his eye. As soon as the plant caught fire, new seeds shot out in reaction to the heat, which Isil caught and stored in the pouch on his belt.
Estell walked over to the wall where the main part of the group was sitting now, and outstretched his legs to the fire. After the cold of the Ruborian night the warmth was very welcome, even with his warm cloak. He felt embarrassed; he knew Miruvor had asked him to make fire just to humiliate him. Since Florian, elves looked down on the non-magical individuals even more. The fact Florian had been his uncle didn't help, of course.
"Good leadership you gave us tonight, prince."
Estell looked up. Miruvor was looking at him, a smile on his face, and with him the main part of the others, too. Arinya was still quietly talking to another girl to her right, but their giggling wasn't exactly encouraging either.
"I'm not really good with unicorns," Estell spoke in apology.
"We noticed. Shall I lead us into the desert, then?" Some elves laughed, but it wasn't a mocking laugh. Estell clenched his jaws. "Do you know where we're headed?"
"As far from the Sanctuary as we can get."
"Aren't we going to the cities where the traders come from?"
"Do you really think we can stop them?" Miruvor laughed briefly. "That isn't the way, prince. We clearly hid from the world for too long if you actually think that can work. No, we need to become part of the world again. We need to go and live in those cities." He looked around. "In the end their power will be ours, too. We'll be the beginning, guys. The elves that put their people back on the map." Agreeing murmur chimed in. Miruvor looked back to Estell. "But not thanks to you. You're only useful as your mother's envoy. Echoing her words is all you can do, anyway."
Estell stared back with burning eyes, but he couldn't speak. He looked around, but no one said a word to defend him. He rose abruptly and strode away, deeper into the cave.
He'd been staring into the dark for a few minutes, his underarm against the cold wall, as he felt a hand upon his shoulder. He looked back, into familiar violet eyes. He fell back, his back to the wall. "Talmar, what do I do?"
"I'm sorry for not saying anything. But he might be right."
"I want to leave the Sanctuary too, but there is a reason we're in hiding. They'd enslave us immediately if we try what Miruvor proposes."
"They say Ruborians, dwarves and Imperials live together in the cities already," the black-haired elf smiled. "Perhaps there's room for us, too."
"We're the only people that don't keep slaves. That makes us the people who will be the slaves."
"You have a point with that."
Then another voice joined them. "Estell…"
The white-haired elf looked away from Talmar and to Shadow, who came floating in from deeper in the cave, invisible to his friend. He couldn't say anything, as Talmar would think him crazy. Shadow knew this. Estell had communicated with him in silence since his childhood.
"Estell, there's something in this cave, and it's waking up. My eyes were as bad as yours in the depths, but it's big."
Estell slowly looked back to Talmar. "…I don't really feel like sleeping here. I'm going to move my mat to the plateau outside."
"I'll come with you," Talmar replied loyally.
As they walked back to the group, Estell racked his brains for a way to get the others with them, out of the cave. If Shadow was right – which he was most of the time – they were at risk when the cave's inhabitant really woke up. But how could he, of all people, convince them to come without telling them the cave was inhabited?
They'll find out for themselves, he suddenly decided. If that thing's really that dangerous, they'll see soon enough. They'll never believe me now anyway.
"We'll sleep outside," Talmar announced. The group nodded and raised hands – towards Talmar only. Estell looked away. Yes. They'll find out for themselves.
Outside the deep blue Ruborian night sky greeted them. Estell looked around, and saw another small plateau, separated from the main one by an arm of the Sea of Sand. As their feet sank away in that, Estell thought he felt a slight tremor beneath them, but he didn't worry about it further; as he laid out his sleeping mat on the rock everything was silent, and nothing disturbed the nightly calm as Talmar and him lay down. Shadow almost faded away in the dark side of a rock peak.
Then, all of a sudden, there was the terrified whinny of unicorns. The two elves could just see white flashes shooting away from the cave where the others were, kicking up sand with swift hooves.
Then the roar echoed through the night, savage and ear-splitting.
So, what manner of creature has awoke from its slumber to find a group of elves and unicorns in its cave? Please review and stay tuned to find out.
