Darkness

-A Legend Fanfic-

*Written by Gale*

III - A Means To An End

Restless tedium lured Darkness out of bed hours before dusk. Ignoring the questioning whimpers of the maid he'd abandoned there, he felt around for a robe and lazily pulled it over his naked shoulders. Were he in more pleasant a mood he might have purred to himself at the feeling of fresh silks gliding into place over his skin. Touch was so much his favorite sense over any, and he hardly ever passed up a chance to indulge in it. However, as of late, even these simple pleasures he chose to bask in were becoming all the more monotonous. Perhaps it was just today. He had woken too early. Once night fell, a bit of exercise would do him some good.

More groping about produced a pair of trousers.

Since his banishment, Darkness' eyes had grown steadily worse over time. When at first he had been able to see firelight, even just after sundown, his eyes could now only focus in the dimmest of rooms. On his orders, chambers he frequented the most were lit only with a few sparse candles, and never close to him. He felt very sure that the lady he'd been keeping for the last month was unable to see him as he moved about, examining himself in a mirror on the far wall while he adjusted his hair and found his way into some decent clothing. Ten years in this place had done little to improve his own vanity despite his failing eyesight; in fact it'd gotten just as steadily worse.

He paused and glowered at himself.

Ten years.

It boggled the mind, even a divine one, thinking that an entire decade had gone by in a blink, even with a mortal's perception to muck things up a bit. So much time gone, and so little accomplished.

He snorted and shook his head. Well, so little in regard to his goal, anyhow.

Thank eternity that Darkness could consider himself a patient creature in matters of business, even when near totally blind and trapped within a body so much more diminutive than his former. Without his power, he was left with little choice but to reclaim it, of course, or, as the case happened to be, steal someone else's power until his own was again attainable.

Darkness pulled a cord near the mirror and his ears pricked up at the sound of the door opening close by. "Have the drapes brought down in the great hall and the throne room," he murmured as he came to stand next to the servant waiting there.

"Y-yes, Milord," was the murmured reply. A new one, obviously. He'd forgotten that Blix had intended to take out a hunting party during the day. No wonder things were so quiet.

I suppose it is too much to hope they might bring something back, he thought dryly, and then, to the trembling mortal, "And have that," he cocked his head toward the bed, lowering his voice, "taken out of here while I'm about today. Before I return at nightfall."

"Of course, Milord."

What remained of the creatures of the night flocked to his banner early on, and with that small army, Darkness based his stronghold here, a once long-abandoned old fortress, then overtook and enslaved any country folk or wanderers that could be found. Using the extra manpower, it took little time to expand and restore his new home. He was able to delegate his acquired properties into some semblance of splendor, and upon taking the simple title of Baron, Darkness found himself close to his element again.

In the first few years, it'd been so simple. The continued need for workers -- and tasteful mortals to fill his bed -- left his most faithful servants with the task of gathering trespassers. After that, however, only the bravest souls would dare cross into his domain. If Luck smiled upon him -- fickle beast that she was -- Blix and his goblins might bring in new people every few months or so. That, at least, provided some temporary entertainment. Heroes took time to be broken and maidens were almost always susceptible to corruption. Unfortunately for the latter, such deeds were taking less effort, and Darkness quickly grew impatient with such acquired automatons and sent them back to the kitchens, or he would leave their fates in the hands of his followers. How he maintained such a healthy libido with such a boring crop, he would never know.

As it was, back to the subject of Blix, he and his goblins were long overdue. Darkness smirked at himself in the mirror before sweeping out into the hallway. Surely he'd given the servants little time to prepare for his entry and thus, he would have something interesting to do while awaiting a better distraction. When his subjects returned home, he would either have a few new playthings, or a few old faces to badger and abuse until his disposition dictated otherwise.

It pleased him to see they were up to speed this evening, and there were no glimpses of sunlight from the outside when he made his way to the throne room. A few handfuls of drudges, recognized and not, hurried out of his way and back to their business as he passed. The sudden death of the glow in the way to the throne room was a sure sign that they'd only barely beaten him this time, confirmed by the smell of smoke and burnt wax as he strode in.

What he did not expect, however, was to find a few goblins already waiting for him. They were Blix's all right, and where he and the rest were, he had no idea, but with these ones close by they could not be far behind.

"Just who I've been waiting for," Darkness mused, finding and assuming his throne with little trouble. "You bring me news?"

"Y-yes yes, your Lordship," one of the smaller goblins squeaked. "B-Blix sent us ahead to bring you a message. We are most p-pleased you could receive us so early."

That last statement alone was almost enough to convince Darkness to dismiss them for their assumption and force them to wait. However, logic dictated that if Blix had news for him, then it would do him little good to prolong it more than necessary. "Did you find anything?"

"Yes, my Lord," another chimed in.

"And?"

The third drew himself up his full height, an almost haughty look on his slimy face, "Our party happened upon a traveler nearly half a day south of here."

…For all the insolence in his eyes, this goblin certainly had very little to brag about.

The lazy smile on Darkness' face rose into a snarl. "Only one?" he sneered. Once sure that his displeasure reached and alarmed the messengers, he began to drum his fingers on the arm of his throne for added effect.

His best guess would be they caught another of the 'hero' type, or someone that was desperately and inexcusably stupid. The fact remained, however, that it was only one person. That would sustain him for a few hours at best.

Come off it, argued his better judgment, which was probably the quietest corner of his mind, whether he wished to acknowledge that or not. In greater honesty, he couldn't, since it was often impersonated and replaced by his impulses, whose defense was usually "it seemed like a good idea at the time." At least it's someone, better judgment reasoned, It's been what? Four months? Six? We don't look gift goblins in the mouth, not when there are so few to spare.

Point taken.

Darkness rolled his eyes. "When will they be arriving?" he drawled.

"By sunset, Lord. Within a few hours."

"Good. I expect an immediate report once they do. Now go."

Once alone, Darkness directed a stray servant back to the kitchens to collect a light breakfast for him. That sustained him for only a short while, giving him the opportunity to chastise that very same worker for not bringing him enough to eat. With a kind of feline sense of play, he waited until the frazzled young man hurried back to him, a second meal in tow, to tell him that he was not hungry anymore. That kind of satisfaction was short-lived, however, and Darkness found himself alone again and looking for new ways to pretend he was not anxious for the hunting party to return to the fortress.

His impatience was all the more easily concealed when they did finally arrive, and he fitted himself with a bored, hooded gaze as Blix and the rest strode into the chamber with a petite cargo in tow.

His ears perked up yet again, this time drawn by the sound of a faint, but high pitched whimper.

Blix was smart for his breed; bringing back one sole trespasser would have earned him more than he bargained for. Well, that would be the case were said trespasser not both young and of the female persuasion. All his earlier mental anguish over his boredom with women forgotten, Darkness quirked an eyebrow in their direction. There was no point in keeping up a ruse once the goblin brought his bound quarry close enough for him to see.

Despite the tired circles drawn deep beneath her eyes, and all other sure signs that the trip had been less than pleasant for her, it was not difficult to tell she far too young yet for his attentions. On one note, that pleased him, but on the other hand, even if he kept her until the proper time, he had to bear in mind that the younger ones tended to be the most difficult. Surely, he adored a challenge, but tears and constant inane screeching irritated him to the core. By the looks of her, she'd done her share of crying before she got there, and with all good hope, that meant there would be no new waves of lamentation arriving soon.

Her clothing indicated, like many of the others, that she was common-born. That, in itself, heightened his interest. Lowered stature usually came with a certain degree of exposure to the hardships of life. That certainly decreased chances of finding any deeply-embedded traces of innocence, like the kind Darkness found in the Princess Lily before his fall. Purity, like hers, had its upsides, of course, but her betrayal was a harsh reminder for him that innocents, along with their endearing naiveté, were also the most cruel beings on the face of the earth. Peasants, on the other hand, experienced or inexperienced in adversity, held one trait that he found came in handy: an inborn sense of loyalty to their betters. Case in point: him.

Of course, that was probably why so many women gave into him so quickly, but this was no time to think counterproductively.

He waved a dismissive hand. "Leave us," he muttered, with a second, habitual gesture indicating that Blix should wait by the door until summoned.

The goblins left the girl trembling on the floor before him. She crouched, much in a manner he'd only seen in the few green men that'd come in and out of his service over the years. None had lasted long. For some unknown reason he'd always shown a massive score of spite toward their ilk.

He frowned at that. "Do not hide yourself. Stand so that I may look at you properly."

She made no immediate movement to comply, only turned her eyes up at him. By the look on her face, he knew she could not fully see him, but her gaze did not wander, so she did not follow a voice alone. One thing still bothered, though, the reminder of which drew a near-snarl across his face.

She was too damn young.

Of all the people Blix happened to come across, he had to bring back a whelp.

She wasn't an infant in any case, and as he rationalized before, she might grow into something desirable in time, with proper maintenance of course. That did not mean he could not entertain himself -- just not in the usual way. In fact…

"You are the Baron?"

Darkness shook his head to himself and smiled. "Some call me that." She did not seem quite so frightened as she had when first brought in. "Do you have a name?"

Her voice broke slightly when she replied, "Yes, Baron. Lidene."

"Well, Lidene," he mused, a sly smile replacing his earlier look of malice, "you are most fortunate to have come into my good graces at such an opportune time." At her questioning look, he went on, "Tell me what brought you into my domain, child."

She nodded, reaching up with a tremulous hand to push a few strands of disheveled hair out of her eyes. "M-my grandmother was born near where the goblins found me," she said. "She's just passed on. I was taking her body there to bury." Apologetic sincerity shone in the dim light reflecting in her eyes, "I swear I did not know the land was --"

"A most unfortunate task for one so young," Darkness considered aloud, feigning sympathy.

"Please, Baron," she entreated, and Darkness realized for the first time that she was not taking that as a title, but a literal name. It was amusing, yes, but it bade him caution himself, for if she did not understand that was a title of nobility, then she might not have as much inferred allegiance as he once believed. "Please allow me to return and finish what I started."

He looked at her flatly. "As you can probably guess, child, allowing your freedom would benefit me very little." He failed to mention that having her remain there would change nothing save his level of boredom for a time. "But I am not above accepting an arrangement. What can you offer me in return?"

By the lost expression he saw, Darkness knew this was a more than difficult thing for her to consider. Again, she was common born, and she probably thought he was considering something in the manner of monetary gain. So, to her, the idea alone was more than likely out of her reach.

Not that he would accept money or trinkets anyway.

Her face fell. "I have nothing of value to offer you, Baron."

"In trade, then." Darkness smirked, whether the girl was aware or not she was playing into a familiar old game of his. While he enjoyed the rigors of a spirited prisoner and their attempts at escape, cooperation had its virtues as well. If he made things sound undeniably legal and fair, then he would have that. "I will allow you to do as you ask, Lidene, but on one condition." He lifted a finger in declaration, "Once you have completed the errand, you must, indeed, return here. But in service, not in chains. You will work. That is…" He quirked a brow, "if you have any worthwhile talents to contribute."

As he spoke she raised her eyes to him and seemed, by expression, more than willing to agree to this. Upon his suggestion of skill, however, she shifted in hesitation. "I am trained in my grandmother's craft, Baron."

"And that would be?"

"Doctoring, medicine making, delivering child…"

"A wise woman," he finished for her, "You needn't have said any more than that." That would definitely come in handy. His Goblins did very little in regard to health care save when nursing their own wounds, and would not ask for help. The servants learned to manage on their own for their own benefit. But he had been known to follow in the same practice merely because he would never trust anyone else with treatment. He'd come out better for it. After all, he was not missing any arms or legs nor was he deathly ill. In fact, he was in perfect physical shape -- save for his eyes. Other methods that had been tried had failed or made his condition worse. So trying something old-fashioned would not be too difficult at all. "Yes," Darkness mused, "You might be of use eventually."

He snapped his fingers, watching her tense and turn back in the direction of the door as Blix obediently reappeared.

"What would you wish of me, Lord?"

"Blix, I trust you were paying attention."

"Yes, Master."

"Then you know what is to be expected of you. Escort her back to where you found her. See to it her task is finished and she is returned here unharmed."

Blix bowed with a kind of grace that should have been foreign to so loathsome a beast. "It will be done, my Lord."

"Then be gone."

TO BE CONTINUED…