Shadow of the Crown

by Amber Morant

  She dressed in her infiltration uniform and pulled a balaclava on her head and pulled it down, so it only covered her neck. She would put it on fully once she was outside. It was too hot in here to breath with it covering her. If she had her mask, she would have worn that now, but this would have to do to hide her identity.

  "Okay, let's get this over with so I can go back home."

  Anjuu opened the window and looked down. Only a story above the ground, not too bad. The crisp summer air felt cool against the little exposed skin she had. She took a deep breath and flipped over and locked the window behind her. She placed a small row of needles that she dug from her pocket so anyone that touched the sill might prick themselves with the needles and poison they were covered in. Once she was positive the trap was set up properly, she began to climb down. She grasped where there were holes within the wall and began her descent into the darkness down below.

  Within the walls, she could hear people still running around, their boisterous chatter floating through the bricks. It helped her hide the sound of her own movement, but if someone were to look at the building, a large black shadow would be all too obvious. It was late at night though, so if someone did spot her, it would most likely be someone walking out of the building and so intoxicated, they would only have focus on getting a taxi back home. Even guards driving past wouldn't be thinking to look at a building for a person climbing.

  Someone said the word rebel on the other side of the wall. Anjuu paused on her descent.

  The first voice was deeper and gruff as if he had smoked since he first came from the womb. "Do you really think they'll just be hiding out there? Please, they're smarter than that. Probably got themselves holed up in some backwoods trailer park off-grid so no one can find them."

  "I mean, it's the only place that hasn't really been hit by the rebels yet. Last time someone went in there, they said they even saw a large beast. I'm sure the rebels have some animals, maybe even some skin walkers in there with them," the younger man’s voice replied.

  "Well, if they are in there, I hope they finally kill the queen. Damn tired of those cave dwellers controlling our lands."

  Anjuu bristled with rage. She wanted to cut them down here and now for their blasphemy against the queen. Instead, Anjuu took a deep breath and continued down the wall. If there were rumors of beasts anywhere, they would be in the nearby forest. If after the investigation she was still irritated, perhaps she would eliminate them as well. For now, she needed to focus on her mission.

  The still air was eerie. Where the large cities, such as the capital were, constantly busy, there were almost no people out tonight. The forest in front of her pushed away any additional sound away from it, absorbing only the calls of the owls and wolves hidden within.

  "All right, let's get his over with," Anjuu muttered and lifted her mask so that her eyes were the only things exposed.

  The outskirts of the forest had paths that traveled inward for only a few feet before halting. Each one seemed man made. Based on the conversation from earlier, Anjuu judged that there were many who tried to venture into the forest and prove their bravery but quit shortly thereafter or dispersed throughout the trees without a step, made as they were devoured by madness. If the forest was truly mad and dangerous, then she was simply a fly in its clutches.

  Sticks crunched under her feet, signaling for any animal in the vicinity that she simply did not belong here. How long had it been since she had any wilderness training? It was part of the common core for shadows, yet there were few actual assassinations who were required to go into the wilderness nowadays.

  As Anjuu continued to venture farther in, a fog started to fill the area. A hinderance as she bumped into trees, navigating her way through. Within moments, the fog was too thick to even see what little stars visible overhead were. Wisps of air fluttered past her, greeting her in solemn silence. Her deep breathing the only rhythm in the still trees.

  Without warning, voices filled the fog.

  "Stranger..."

  "Enemy..."

  "Death..."

  Anjuu turned to look, but even with her sharper vision, the fog was just too thick to let her see who was speaking. The voices continued their chants, growing louder as more disembodied voices filled the grove. Anjuu felt someone of them brush against her, and she stretched out her hand to grasp the person but didn’t catch anything.

  "Show yourselves! Damn you! In the name of the queen, I command you to show yourselves and give yourselves in to the law!"

  One voice broke out from the rest. "No, you will surrender yourself in the name of the true king. Let the earth be your judge, shadow."

  Anjuu felt the ground below her shake and then large spires of earth erupted around her. Each one spiraled upward until they reached a peak only a few feet above her head. She was trapped in a cage, and there was no way to escape. As the realization came over Anjuu, the fog dispersed, revealing only a small handful of people surrounding her, who were also accompanied by a large brown dragon.

  Her anger flared. "You dare use a dragon against me? Dragon guardians are an extension of the throne! How dare you betray your oath?"

  One of the people walked up to Anjuu's cage. She had white fur covering her entire body and large cat-like black ears extending from the top of her head. A cait shidhe. "I took an oath to defend the country, not a person. Perhaps you should rethink your own oath, shadow. You are paid to kill, yet you are a lapdog to that woman."

  The cait shidhe spit on Anjuu. The shadow wanted to kill the woman, but with the earthen cell surrounding her, it was impossible. Anjuu took a deep breath, noting that she still has some advantages in her situation. After calming down, Anjuu looks out at the others surrounding her. Many of them are cait shidhe like the one in front of her, but she did see a few elves and even drow in the mix as well. Why a drow would want to fight against their savior baffled Anjuu, but she kept it to herself for now.

  "By order of the true king, shadow, you are sentenced to death for your crimes against this country and abetting a war criminal. Do you have any defense against such claims?" The cait shidhe asked.

  "Yeah, I do." Anjuu looked across at the different people in the group, none looked to be of any royal bloodline. "Who is this supposed true king and who are you?"

  The cait shidhe smiled. "Soon, you will know those answers. As for me, I am not important. Simply a guardian protecting the country from scum such as yourself."

  "You call me scum, yet you destroyed farmlands and killed people."

  "We killed people who were enslaving others. Those who needed to be brought to their knees, just as you will be now."

  The cait shidhe held her hand out, palm face down, and began to lower it. The dragon behind her growled, and the cage started to shrink. Anjuu couldn't tell if the cait shidhe had the abilities of a scholar or if her dragon was the one who performed, and she controlled him with commands. The cage was now half of its original height, leaving Anjuu on her knees, unable to move.

  "Take her to the basin; the king will execute her there."

  Two of the drow nodded in silence and walked over to Anjuu. "You shouldn't have betrayed your people, shadow. Beg for mercy before the king and he may pardon you," one of the drow whispered as he bent down toward Anjuu. He held a small needle in his hand and pressed it against her skin.

  "Like hell," Anjuu snapped back. She felt the needle push into her skin and then the cold liquid inside flowed into her blood stream.

  "Farewell then, sister." Before Anjuu could retort, her vision went dark and she entered a dreamless sleep.

  "Get up, dog!" The familiar cait shidhe voice rang out.

  Anjuu's vision was still blurry, but she could feel a mist drift across her face. The darkness of the trees was also replaced by greenery encompassing the meadow. As her vision cleared, she could see a waterfall next to them that towered at least four stories.

  "I said get up!" A swift kick landed on Anjuu's side. She coughed, gasping for air.
The strength she held before was gone. Whatever they had used to put her asleep had drained out most of her energy. The rigorous training to be able to recover from a poison was null from the unknown toxin the injected into her today.

  The cait shidhe was standing next to a large flat stone. She was surrounded by even more rebels than there had been earlier. Each one appeared more menacing than those from earlier. Still, only the two drow from earlier seemed to be the only drow within the group.

  As if being pulled by ropes, Anjuu was pulled forward until she reached the stone. She glared at the cait shidhe, wanting to throw more threats at the woman, but her voice was inaccessible. Whatever they had used, she needed to get her hands on it. A poison like this was too powerful to be in the hands of a rebellion. No, it needed to be contained by the shadows. Once she found an escape, she would make sure to bring others from the guild and steal that poison.

  "Any last words, shadow?"

  Anjuu could only reply in silence. Her eyes darted in every direction, but there were no openings. Not yet at least. Despite the rebels capturing her, Anjuu’s mind raced to every training scenario she had been taught. Every drow knew the dangers of being in a deep forest where the potential to bleed brought upon beasts that could destroy them. More so within their home country Ombramoor, but even now the hunter become the hunted when blood flowed.

  As soon as the invisible ropes released Anjuu, she bolted toward the cait shidhe. The woman reached for a blade to take down Anjuu, hoping the shadow would try and dodge. Instead, Anjuu continued her charge directly toward the blade. She only had the one chance to get it right. An attack that would make her bleed, but not immobilize her for long. It sliced the inside of her arm open, blood splattering against her clothes and the cait shidhe's fur. Anjuu cringed from the pain but was glad it made its mark just as she had planned.

  "Fucking bitch, just die already!" The cait shidhe swung the knife again, this time aiming to kill Anjuu.

  "Don't worry, I will die. It's the shadow way. Tonight, you will be the one dying." A loud howl filled the clearing, echoing off the waterfall.

  "What the hell was that? You said this place was free of wolves."

  Anjuu chuckled. "Oh, it is free of wolves, I'm sure. But you should know in the wilderness the smell of a drow's blood in combat will bring—"

  "Kitsune..." the other two drow said in sync.

  Another howl, this time closer. Anjuu sighed to herself in relief. There was a slim chance of one being around. Blood of a drow was catnip to the kitsune. As the rebels looked around themselves to find the source of the howl, Anjuu covered her hand to stop the bleeding and dashed toward the tree line.

  It only took seconds before the cait shidhe saw her escape and called for her to chase after Anjuu. If she stayed in the trees and away from their fog, she would be fine. For now, she needed to get out of here and report to Kalio that the rebels were being led by a dragon guardian and someone claiming to be the true king. Whomever that was, he needed to die. No, all of them needed to die.

  She turned through another grove and saw one of the trees had a small hole at its base. At one point, it had been an animal’s home. Most of the grass and other plants were now overgrown. Anjuu slipped down into the burrow and waited until she could hear the footsteps of the rebels run past her. Thankfully, no one seemed to notice her or the burrow.

  Now just wait until those idiots leave, and I can figure out how to get out of this place myself. She sighed and laid her back against one of the walls. It was cramped inside, but there was just enough room to let her sit up straight. Whatever animal had dug this out had to have been the size of a small wolf to create this place.

  Anjuu closed her eyes, listening for anymore footsteps from anyone else still in the area. Her focus was quickly interrupted by a soft whimper farther into the burrow. She froze, recognizing the sound of the whimper. A kitsune cub. The burrow wasn't abandoned. She had just found herself in far dangerous territory on sheer dumb luck.

  "OK, let's check it out. It may just be a baby and I can kill it quickly before mom finds out." Anjuu crawled farther into the burrow. The walls were now shrinking until she could barely move beyond going forward or backward. There would be no turning to look behind her now. Within seconds, Anjuu found the source of the crying. A small kitsune cub was hiding in the corner. His front paw was deformed, bent at an angle that prevented it from standing up without falling over again.

  "Poor thing. Your mother should have given you mercy and let you die long ago. Is she truly trying to keep you alive still? Let me take you out of your misery."

  Anjuu pulled out a large knife, prepared to slit the kitsune's throat and let it die. Even if the creatures hunted down her people, there was no point in letting one suffer. She placed the blade against the creature's neck and in one slice, the cub was slumped against the ground, drowning in its own blood.

  "You'll thank me in the afterlife later where you can run free. Your mother on the other hand won’t be so thankful during her current life. So, I hope you understand, I will be borrowing you as well to survive her wrath."

  The kitsune cub let out one last gurgle as it stared up at its killer with begging eyes. Anjuu tapped her forward, letting out a small blessing for the creature before lifting it up and wrapping the canvas around her shoulders. Her own scent would be drowned out and the mother wouldn't be capable of finding her.

  "Just like you, child, I will also become a far more useful tool. A man wants to try and become king, then I will make sure that we now go to war with him and destroy any who wish to stand in our way."

  Eight

  Kalio paced the garden. Each bush held a secret from her. A whisper of treachery, a taste of poison, a plan for her demise. Too many wanted her dead now. She had heard the whispers already since Anjuu had left. Ten had been sent to the dungeons to await execution, including the head chef. There wasn't poison in her food, but his action spoke loud enough in the kitchen that she feared he was planning the toxin.

  Even now, Kalio held a vial around her neck that held an antidote for most poisons just in case. Along as the rebellion survived, she would not be safe. She had brought peace to the sniveling elves and brought balance to the powers the drow now held, yet they dared to fight against her. It was inconceivable, yet here she was, a kitten surrounded by salivating dogs waiting for her to make one wrong step.

  The queen sat on one of the older stone benches. It was surrounded by a gravel-covered ground, with larger stones scattered about and a few Bonsai trees. The castle may have been built in the view of elves, but her small garden was a memory of her own rock gardens back home. The only place she could call her haven.

  Grabbing a thin wooden rake, Kalio began to push the sand in different directions. Eventually, she had to stand to continue her design of swirls through the earth. She had never learned the actual methods of creating a rock garden growing up, she simply watched those who could afford them and made her own way of managing her own.

  "Ah, to be back in Ombramoor with my people. At least there, I can trust they wouldn't kill me. I would be treated as a hero to them all," she mused to herself on returning to her home country. It had been many years since she had the ability to travel back home.

  She looked across, at the completed design, and smirked. "To hell with the stress. They want to try and kill me so badly, then they can come across the oceans to kill me."

  Kalio threw the rake on the ground and walked back into the castle. Her shoes clacked against the floor, echoing through the halls to ring her presence for all. She listed all the items she needed to pack. Riding clothes, money, and a sword. There was no need to pack much. She still had a home waiting for her in Ombramoor, and they would provide for her while she was there.

  "Taishi! Where the hell are you?" Kalio called out. She could hear footsteps scurrying away in fear from around the corner. Most likely servants that were afraid of her wrath.

  After what seemed like an hour of storming through
the castle halls, Kalio was met by an older drow male. He bowed down to her, his uniform still crisp from a fresh ironing. "My apologies, My Queen. My guards said you were looking for me?"

  "I have been looking for you all damn day! When I call for you, you come. It's not that difficult. Perhaps you're getting too old to be captain of the guard."

  The man's eyes widened. "My Queen, I did not mean any disrespect. Please forgive me." He paused, waiting for her rebuttal but none came. "How many I be of assistance to you?" Taishi stood up, his confidence returning to the glisten in his eyes.

  "I'm leaving."

  "Wait, leaving? Your Highness, you don't mean to tell me that you no longer wish to control the country we fought so hard for."

  Kalio's eyes narrowed. He was questioning her, yet his voice almost seemed relieved at the idea of them giving control of Narishma back to the elves. "No, I am simply going on a trip back home. It's been far too long since I've seen my people. It is about time I see how improvements are going there. Until then, you are to stay here and make sure everyone still thinks I am here. Understand?"

  "My Queen. I am the Captain of the Guard. Should I not go with you to keep you safe?" He began wringing his hands together, yet his eyes never wavered from looking at her.

  "Did you conquer the country on the back of a dragon? Are you a dragon guardian?"

  "Well no, but—"

  "Don't argue with me, Taishi. Do as I say and when I return, I will decide if you deserve the title of Captain of the Guard or not."

  Taishi let out a small cough, bowed once more and turned away. If there was any doubt in him before, it was gone now. He would keep the servants and guards busy while she was gone and make sure the entire castle ran just as it would have without her.