Chapter 12: Within the Shadows
This couldn't possibly be worse.
Schatten hated it. Hated it. Who did that despicable Dorl think she was, anyway? Always acting so arrogant, so commanding, like she was the one in control… Where did she get the nerve?
She's just pathetic… Moira's the one with power. Does Dorl really think she can match up to her? Why can't she just die? That would be just peachy. Angry thoughts buzzed in his head so intensely, he stopped as soon as touched down on a solid, stable surface and tried to clear his mind again. He couldn't pinpoint the Gate of Time's location when he was this wrapped up in his own thoughts.
Schatten quickly took of again, bounding down the craggy mountainside effortlessly and hovering the faintest bit before his feet gently touched down on the dirt ground surrounding the Horn Mountains.
Isn't it bad enough that Dorl's plays the part of the high-and-mighty? Sheesh, it's not like Moira has to act like she's depending so heavily on that so-called "prophet"… Like she's ever made a truthful prediction in her life...
As he pushed aside the last of the vegetation in the dots of forest, few and far as they were, that were splashed along the mountain, Schatten sighed and glared over at the seaside-cave in the distance. It looked old, and it looked unvisited, like no one would ever bother to come to a place like that. It looked like a hole in some rock that wasn't worth trekking out to look at.
But Shatten knew how false these sort of assumptions could be. He didn't cared how hopeless an expedition seemed, or how many gruesome caves he had to hike through. It meant beating Dorl, that intolerable old bat, and there was nothing else in the world that Schatten would like more than putting her in her pathetic place and showing Moira who the reliable one really was.
"For Moira… Moira the Great..." he said aloud, clenching his fist in determination, as he leaped down form the small cliff and started towards the seaside. "Anything for our lady…"
"Talking to yourssssssself, again, Ssssschatten?" the midnight-black lupine flinched at the unexpected sound of a voice, and then recognized it and sighed irritably. Another annoyance? he thought bitterly
"Schwarz Blumen." He stated plainly, without even bothering to look at her. Who else would come this far out of her way just to bother him, anyway?
The copperhead troublemaker simply grinned mischievously and slithered up to him. "Why sssssssso far from home?" she crowed sultrily.
"That is of no concern to the likes of you, Schwarz." Schatten informed her bluntly. "Leave me alone."
"Tsssssssssk-tsssssssssk, Sssschatten. You do not like me much, now do you?" Schwarz inquired, feinting that his brushing-off remarks stung. Schatten rolled his eyes, groaning lightly, and gently pushed her aside.
"I'm busy." He said harshly.
"Oh… Another Gate for your dear Moira, hmm?" Schwarz pressed. Schatten gritted his teeth and tried to keep his impulse under control. At this rate, Dorl would be reaching the Gate of Time in no time. Why couldn't Schwarz Blumen ever leave him alone?
"She is our sovereign." He told the trouble-making snake. "I pledged my allegiance to Moira the Great."
"Sssssssssssovereign? She isssssss far more human that I believe you'll admit to yousssself, Sssschatten." Schwarz leaned in a little, gently holding Schatten's chin in her scaly palm. He made a small, disgusted sound.
"Do you believe you could possibly stand to her?" He scoffed. Schwarz's sneer only deepened, and she laughed. Schatten didn't think it was particularly amusing.
"My day will come, Sssssschatten. Sssssssoon." She told him mockingly, but the ambition in her slitted red eyes was hard to ignore, especially when she insisted on always getting so close to him.
"You seemed to tell him different." Schatten reminded her crossly. At the mention of that encounter, Schwarz winced and growled a little.
"I ssssstated the truth." She corrected him matter-of-factly. "She isssss one for thosssssse meddlersssssss to fear. She is our missssssstressssss, no?But that doesssss not mean I will not have my way." She gently slid her hand away and puckered her lips at him. "Farewell, Ssssschatten. Bonne chance."
And at that, she turned and slithered, looking carefree and satisfied, like she had already forgotten any reason she had to be bothered.
Schatten shook his head angrily. Why did Moira keep that schemer around? Between her and Dorl, who was hardly in it because of loyalty, Schatten never seemed to grasp a moment's peace or ease. And Leonessa? Who ever knew what she was thinking? He seemed to be the only one whose pledge of loyalty, sealed in blue blood, meant a thing to them.
He started off angrily towards the cave again. It didn't matter. No, after all's said and done, Moira has still the most important thing in the equation. He would be the one please her, regardless of whatever secrets the others had.
And no arrogant bats, devious snakes, or shadowy lions were about to get in his way.
And especially not him.
(A/N: Now, as opposed to the last chapter, which was short and really pathetic on my part, this one's short, but I like it. I think it'll leave reader's thinking… And writing Schatten and Schwarz is so interesting.)
-Flames-the-Rabbit344, signing off!