Chapter four

Bonding with daddy.

Shadow was dressed in his blue jeans and a black top, just laying on his belly in the main entrance doing some colouring and humming a simple tune when his father kneeled down and laid next to him in the same position. Collin watched his son neatly colour in a picture of a bunch of flowers, using different shades of pinks and purples along with greens and blues for the leaves. Shadow stopped humming and laid his blue pencil down then looked to his right.

"Daddy do you like my picture I'm doing for mummy?" Shadow asked with a smile and a happy tone of voice.

"Yes your colouring is becoming much neater…guess what?" Collin answered his son in a warm tone then asked with a slight hint of excitement.

"What is it daddy?" Shadow asked with curiosity in his tone as he looked at his father with slight excitement.

"Well since I haven't had the time to spend with you just lately, your mother thought it would be good for us to do some father son bonding. Since your mother and sister are off doing some shopping I thought we could do something together, just the two of us." Collin answered in a loving tone and smiled at his only son.

"Oh…you know…I don't mind that you've been too busy to spend time with me daddy. I understand that you have a lot to do with ruling over the Underworld and other stuff." Shadow stated in a calm tone as he sat up on his knees.

"I'm glad you understand that I can't always spend time with you Shadow." Collin said to his son in a slightly shocked tone, not expecting his 5yr old to understand to this extent since his sister did not at this age.

"Daddy what will we be doing today then?" Shadow asked curiously while calmly looking at his father with a smile.

"Glad you asked Shadow. I was thinking..." Collin started to say but was interrupted by one of the kitchen assistant.

"M-My Lord there is an urgent matter in the kitchen that needs your attention, I would normally ask Lady Emily but she is not here." The assistant announced as he bowed to his ruler.

"Very well then, lead the way." Collin replied with a sigh as he got up off the floor then said to his son before he rushed off, "I'll be back in a little bit ok Shadow, please don't go disappearing."

"Ok daddy, see you soon." Shadow said with a smile as he watched his father leave the room then laid back on his belly to continue with his colouring, feeling a little upset about his father being rushed off suddenly.

"Guess it can't be helped." Shadow whispered to himself, shrugging it off and giving his full concentration into his picture.

It was an hour later that Collin returned to the main entrance carrying two cups of blood for himself and Shadow but now there was another problem, Shadow was nowhere in sight. Collin sighed as he walked out of the palace to see if Shadow was anywhere around the front gates. He stood at the bottom of the steps and looked around carefully for his son. Shadow was nowhere to be seen.

"I thought I told him not to go disappearing on me." Collin whispered to himself with a frustrated sigh.

"Yeah I know you told me to stay but I had to put away my things. I didn't want mummy to see her picture before I got a chance to give it to her, that and I didn't want to leave a mess where someone could have gotten hurt." Shadow said from behind of Collin in which made Collin jump up in surprise, spilling their drinks a little also.

Collin turned around and saw his son standing on the top of the entrance steps with his hands behind his back and rocking backwards and forwards on the balls of his feet with a warm smile directed at him. The distant from him to Shadow was a fair bit and Collin couldn't help but to wonder how Shadow managed to hear him so well but then he decided to put it down to Shadow's unique gift of darkness. Collin just smiled at his son and walked over to him, climbing up the steps then sitting on the top step. He motioned Shadow to come and sit next to him, which he did and Collin passed a cup over to Shadow, who thanked his father for it and started to carefully drink the contents inside.

"Ok as I was saying earlier before I had to rush off...Oh what now." Collin started to say to Shadow before once again someone came up to them in a panic.

"My Lord someone had been caught sneaking around the gardens without permission. He is being held prisoner for the time being but we need you to speak with him and pass off a sentence." A palace guard announced as he bowed respectfully to his ruler.

"Right lead the way and Shadow I want you to go and stay inside just in case there is more intruders ok." Collin said in a serious tone then walked off with the palace guard.

Shadow got up, turned around and walked inside like his father had instructed him to then Shadow headed towards the kitchen with his empty cup, wanting a small re-fill. When he reached the kitchen doors he put his little hand on it and gave a big push to open it. Shadow peeped through first before going inside. It was highly busy inside with the cooks rushing around preparing lunch and cleaning up. Nobody noticed a small black and red hedgehog enter with his empty cup, that was until someone almost tripped over him.

"Master Shadow what are you doing in here? You know you are not allowed in the kitchen, it is far too dangerous for a young child such as yourself. I suppose since you are here now what is it that you want?" The head chef asked as he moved Shadow gently out of the way of others rushing passed.

The head chef was a light brown male deer dressed in his chef uniform of the colour white and he had caramel colour eyes that were filled with kindness towards the small infant vampire.

"I'm sorry and I know I'm not allowed in the kitchen unsupervised but I came for a drink. I would have asked my daddy but he had to rush off and deal with an intruder." Shadow apologised then explained in an innocently cute tone and smile as he showed his empty cut to the chef by holding it up high.

The head chef smiled and took the cup from Shadow's grasp then went over to the fridge to fill the cup up. The deer went over to a device and placed the cup inside and pressed a few buttons. Shadow watched with curiosity as the machine made a humming noise then shortly after a ping to signify it was done. The chef opened the door and took the cup out and handed it over to Shadow carefully. Shadow took the cup that had warm blood inside, he figured that the machines purpose was to warn things up so naturally he started to think of other things he could put in there to warm up but that would have to wait for another time and for when there was nobody around too.

"Thank you...I best be off, I don't want my daddy catching me in here especially when it's this busy." Shadow thanked the deer then left the kitchen to find a comfortable place to sit down and fill his tummy with the nice warm blood in his cup.

"Hello Master Shadow...aren't you supposed to be spending the afternoon with your daddy?" Ruby, Shadows hired nanny asked as she and Shadow lightly bumped into one another.

"Yes but he keeps getting called away so I'm just going to find a comfortable place to sit and wait for him...no doubt he will only be called away again." Shadow replied in an indifferent tone then whispered the last part in an annoyed tone that Ruby didn't pick up on.

"I see well don't go hiding anywhere too difficult otherwise your father won't be able to find you...I shall see you tomorrow after breakfast, I have something special planned for us to do tomorrow." Ruby announced with a smile.

"What is it?" Shadow asked with excitement, his little tail wagging with joy that he's going to have some sort of surprise.

"Well you will just have to wait but I'll give you a clue...It involves playing outside away from the palace and with other children." Ruby smiled down at him as she saw the concentration on Shadow's face as he thought.

"I know where we're going...I heard you talking about some park thing with mummy and daddy, is that where were going?" Shadow asked wondering what a park was since he has never been to one before.

"Well so much for the surprise but yes that's where we are going. Have fun with your daddy, I have to get ready for our fun day out tomorrow...bye." Ruby admitted with a smile then rushed off down the hallway.

Shadow waved a good bye and then decided that the nearest and comfortable place to go was the den he made using pillows and blankets. It was located in one of the empty rooms that didn't have a door to push open. Shadow walked a little further up the hallway until he reached the door less room. He entered and walked up to his little den then sat down on one of the huge purple pillows. Shadow wiggled to get comfy and leaned back on the pillows that were propped up against the wall, slowly sipping at his drink as he waited for his father to find him.

The empty room was just that, empty apart form Shadows den in the far corner. It was dull and had little light but Shadow didn't mind for he could see perfectly in the dark. The walls were a luscious deep red, similar shade to the contents in Shadow's cup and the ceiling was an off white with a giant chandelier dangling but there was no wire connection going through it to create artificial light to brighten up the room. All in all Shadow loved being in this room, he wasn't sure why that was since he had a perfectly good bedroom to go to but he couldn't care less about the reason. The only thing he cared about was the content and relaxed feeling this darkened room gave him.

Another hour later Collin was finished dealing with the intruder and was on the hunt for his son. Collin was determined to spend more then a few minutes with his son, even if it meant hiding away from everyone. He walked passed the darkish room Shadow was in and reversed backwards to look inside. There was his son, far in the corner of the room, lazing on the pillows and blankets fast asleep with the empty cup almost out of his grip. Collin smiled as he looked over at Shadow then walked in and up to his son. He kneeled down and sat next to Shadow, causing Shadow to stir from his nap. Shadow slowly opened his eyes then sat up as he saw his father, smiling upon his return from wherever he had to go to sort out that intruder.

"Hello again daddy…did you sort everything out?" Shadow greeted his father in a pleasant tone then asked in a slightly serious one as he put his cup down onto the floor.

Collin grinned then pulled his son into a fatherly hug in which Shadow hugged back.

"Yeah it turned out to be some teenager completing some dare his friends told him to do…I just gave him a warning and sent him on his way after questioning him and filling out a load of paperwork." Collin explained to his only son as they continued to hug.

"Oh…so what are we going to…" Shadow started to say but was interrupted with a finger to his lips.

"Someone's coming. Do you know any good hiding places? Don't look at me like I'm talking crazy, I know you do." Collin whispered to his son as the rushed foot steps became louder.

"Don't tell mummy though otherwise she will no where to find me when I have to have a check up with the palace nurse." Shadow asked with a pleading and desperate look.

"…O-k sure this will be our little secret. So where do we go?" Collin reluctantly agreed then asked his son in a hurried fashion.

"Just follow me daddy." Shadow replied then got up and took a hold of his fathers hand and lightly dragged Collin towards the door.

They both stood beside the entrance door to the room, hidden in the shadows away from anyone's sight. As soon as the person who was rushing to find their Overlord, stopped on the other side of the entrance door, looked inside then rushed off again once it was clear Collin wasn't visible in that room. Shadow once again led the way out of the room and down the hallway, only to stop outside the laundry room. Collin gave his son a puzzled expression but allowed Shadow to lead him inside and to the far back of the room, where it was darker due to little lighting. Shadow then started to move a big tall square object along, out of the way so it would revile a special passageway on the ground that Shadow had found on one of his exploring adventures. Collin was shocked to find out his son knew about this passageway that led underground and eventually into the city if you carried on walking for about 2-3 miles straight and not turn into one of the many turnings. Shadow lifted the door and signalled his father to go first.

"Hurry up daddy I hear someone coming." Shadow ushered in an excited yet whispered tone as he watched his father climb down, a little too slowly for his liking though.

When Collin was through the door and onto the ground, Shadow then moved a large empty box in front of the door then as he made his way down, moving the box as best as he could to cover the secret door so it was hidden from anyone's view. Shadow jumped down and took his fathers hand and once again led the way down the underground hallway.

"This is fun isn't it daddy, we're like secret agents escaping from the bad guys." Shadow exclaimed in a cheerful yet overly excited tone.

"Yes that's right…agent Shadow, you have saved me from the bad people that keep taking me away. I am forever in your debt." Collin stated with an equally cheerful tone as he lifted his son up and onto his right shoulder, causing Shadow to laugh a little.

Collin walked slowly along the hallway with his son on his shoulder for a while before stopping beside two passageways on either side of them. Collin looked down both, unable to remember where each would lead them if they were to walk down one. Shadow also looked down both then smirked as he remembered where they both led and at the memory of almost being caught exiting from the tunnel to their left. That was a very exciting moment for Shadow, almost having his mother seeing him come out of a secret entrance in the kitchen supply room.

"We want to go down the tunnel on the right, the left leads to the kitchen supply room and the right leads down to the far ends of the garden…or we can carry on walking straight until we come to more optional tunnels to go down." Shadow explained as he pointed down each passageway.

"Shadow how far have you travelled down these tunnels?" Collin asked in a slightly serious tone as he turned to walk down the right tunnel.

"Not that far, just as far as the next set of tunnels. I don't really know what's beyond them thought. Can we go all the way down and find out, please daddy?" Shadow answered then asked in a pleading tone in his father's ear.

"I'm sorry Shadow not today…but I promise I'll take you down there when you're a bit older, just don't tell your mother about it. She doesn't like these tunnels and if she were to find out you play down here, well that's self explanatory ok." Collin announced in a serious tone.

"Ok daddy." Shadow whispered in his father's ear as he lent his head on Collins, yarning a little and rubbing his eyes lightly.

"I think someone is getting tired from all this excitement." Collin stated in a quirt tone as they both reached the end of the tunnel and stopped in front of an over grown bush that can be easily parted.

"N-no daddy I just need to get down and move about so I don't fall asleep." Shadow whispered then was lifted down onto the ground.

"You know you shouldn't force yourself to stay awake, if you're sleepy it's ok for you to have a nap." Collin warmly announced to his son as he parted the bush for Shadow and himself to walk through.

"But…I'm having too much fun with you. I don't want to sleep and have our time together end this quick. W-we've barely spent any time together and I know I said I didn't mind but that was back then." Shadow then explained with his voice becoming sad and with teary eyes as they both sat on the grass a little away from the secret tunnel entrance, under a very tall tree.

"Shadow it's ok we can still have fun…come here don't cry." Collin said then gently pulled his son into a hug to comfort his clearly upset son.

After a few minutes Shadow did eventually calm down and just enjoyed being within his fathers embrace, he couldn't remember the last time he and his father just sat and hugged for this long, so he was going to make the most of this hug.

"Do you know what I think Shadow." Collin started to say in a gentle tone as he softly stroked Shadow head quills carefully.

"No…what do you think?" Shadow asked softly, looking up at his father with tired looking eyes.

"I think even if you say you don't mind us not spending time together and me not being able to be around all of the time, it really upsets you and you just don't want to admit it to yourself." Collin said still comforting his son while looking down at him with a loving look.

"M-maybe…but it doesn't upset me all the time. I really do understand you are super busy but sometimes I can't help but feel that…" Shadow started to say but went quirt as he buried his head into his father's chest.

"Can't help but feel what Shadow? You can tell me." Collin reassured his son as he lifted Shadow's head up to face him.

"T-that you…care more about ruling the Underworld than you do about me. I'm sorry I feel that way, I know it's stupid but I can't help it daddy." Shadow admitted as new tears filled his eyes, becoming too heavy to stay in them and slowly rolling down his cheeks.

"Shadow…I could never care about anything more than I care about you and you shouldn't be apologising for how you feel if anything I owe you an apology for making you feel that way…I'm sorry my son, I guess I need to learn how to balance everything out equally." Collin explained in a loving tone then apologised in a softer one.

The two remained sitting at the very far side of the garden, out of view of anyone and both enjoying the calmness, that was, until it started to lightly rain. Collin held onto his son as he got up and rushed back inside of the secret tunnels, out of the rain. They watched the rain become heavier with every passing minute, both knowing they will have to make their way back to the palace. Where no doubt Collin will be rushed off somewhere leaving Shadow by himself yet again. Collin decided to take a slow walk back to the palace while carrying his son in his arms, just so they would have extra time together.

"Cheer up Shadow." Collin whispered in his son's ear as he stopped at the end of the tunnel then added, "How about we grab a snack from the kitchens stock room and hide in that empty room you've turned into a den and have it together. What do you say?"

"That would be nice." Shadow replied with a small smile as he glanced up at his father.

Collin walked down the pathway that led to the kitchen stockroom, holding his son close as he approached the small door. He put Shadow down then slowly and cautiously opened the secret door. Shadow peeped through first, grinning to see no one there then signalled his father to come through as he walked inside the room. The two stood side by side in the middle of the room, looking around for something that didn't need cooking or heating up. Collin picked up a few of packets of dried blood clots crisps and Shadow picked up some lolly pops made from blood of course. The two made there was back into the tunnels, closing the door to the stockroom and making there way towards the laundry room. Upon reaching the hatch after climbing up a few steps, all movement froze as muffled voices could be heard in the laundry room. Shadow slightly lifted up the hatch that had the empty box on to see who it was.

"Daddy it's mummy, she's asking about our whereabouts." Shadow whispered down to his father then very slowly closed the hatch.

"Ok she wont be there long then we can sneak out and run to your little den and have our snack time." Collin instructed with a calm smile.

After a few minutes the voices faded into silence so Shadow once again carefully opened the hatch a little and looked out. Seeing the room empty and dark he lifted the hatch all the way and climbed out, followed closely by his father. The secret hatch was covered up so it looked like no one ever entered or exited from it. Collin and Shadow peeped out of the laundry room, down both corridors only to see it clear.

Now the plan took place, they both dashed down the hallway and sharply rounded the corner to enter the empty room where Shadow had turned it into a chill out den. They both settled down and made themselves comfortable next to each other before having their snack. Just as father and son were about to open their packet of crispy blood clots, Emily entered the room and looking a little tired too. She wondered up to the two and sat down so Shadow was in between his parents.

"Rough day my love? I could have told you shopping was painful." Collin asked in a soft yet slightly amused tone as he passed a packet over to his wife.

"Yes I'm sure you could have…but it was more busy then rough, it seems I cannot go anywhere without being stopped. We would have been home at least two hours ago if it wasn't for others stopping us and wanting to talk to me." Emily announced in a fed up tone as she took the snack from her husband.

"Well our day was interesting wasn't it Shadow." Collin announced smiling in his son's direction.

"Yes, it has been very fun." Shadow answered with a huge smile then shoved a lolly pop into his mouth.

"I am very glad you both had a wonderful time together." Emily said with a warm smile to her two boys.

(Here we have it the last chap I had done before I deleted this story but don't threat, I will not be deleting it and will continue doing more chapters. I do hope it gives you an insight on what Shadow was like and that it interests you enough to keep reading this time round. Please tell me what you think and all comments do help. I will try my best to not lose interest and also try to keep the creative juices flowing.)