Chapter 4: The Cascading Shadow
The practice dummy was made of straw and it was held by a wooden pole. On its chest were the words, "Princess Christina." Shadow gripped his sword and slashed the dummy. Its top part slid off and landed on the floor. Straw was scattered around the wooden pole.
He wore a cloak that had a hood, which covered his face. His cloak was made of a rough, black wool. Shadow wore it all the time. He never removed it. The cloak was what made Shadow forget his past.
He walked the dark corridor of his castle. He held a torch in one hand and it helped him find his destination. He opened a door and placed his torch in a holder. When he entered the room, the noise that filled the room turned into silence. All the men looked at him and greeted him with, "Hello, the Future King."
The room's walls were made of Abnegation gray stone. Torches were hung along the dark walls. When Shadow's heels touch the wooden floor, it created a clatter that echoed.
Shadow stood in the center of the room. "James! What is the news?"
A man called James parted from the crowd. He had night black hair and grassy green eyes. He pulled a scroll from his pocket and unraveled it. He cleared his throat and read the words out loud. "The news of the battle at the ball spread throughout the land like wildfire. Royals have taken precautions and Candor is slowly weakening."
"Perfect," Shadow said in a dark tone. "Anything else?"
James looked back at the translucent, acorn-colored scroll and continued, "The Five Kingdom Bandit was caught recently."
"The Bandit was caught?! I could have used her in my army." Shadow sighed unhappily.
James tucked the scroll back in his pocket, "Quite a shame isn't My King?"
"It is really."Shadow contemplated an idea and then said it out loud. "What if we kidnapped the Bandit?"
A gasp escaped from James. "War. If we go through with this idea, we could start a war with Dauntless."
Shadow said his response with a tone that sent chills through everyone's spine. "Perfect." Even though no one could see his face, he smiled.
The marketplaces of Amity's capital, Amory, was filled with rumors of what happened to the royal family of Candor. Some thought the royals of Candor were dead. Others thought the King of Candor is actually Shadow.
The King of Amity, Jason Cress, could see the marketplace from his window in his palace. We was tired because he had a secret meeting with some people last night. This was just one of his many secrets that could get him executed.
Behind his peaceful facade was a war side of Jason. He yearned for land and wanted more power. Land and power was what the Cress bloodline wanted. They needed it.
The marriage between Princess Beatrice and his son, Prince Robert, was supposed to join Abnegation and Amity, forming one country. But someone kidnapped the Princess and Jason was furious.
Abnegation owned islands southwest of the Land of Roth. Jason discovered that there was diamonds and gold in one of Abnegation's mines. He could finally achieve his dream of making a pure diamond crown, but his dream was interrupted when Princess Beatrice went missing two years before her sixteenth birthday.
He next targeted Candor. He did something to the royals and he succeeded in what he had planned. Jason walked over to his closet and pulled out a black cloak.
A/N: So I was wondering, is there too many characters so far? Because I plan on putting more characters in. Also, I will put the next chapter on Friday. Hope you have a splendid day!
-PaperAxes
