The Noble Queen-A Shadow Slave Fanfic

The trees lost all their vibrant color. Shades of green and brown replaced them, all of them overshadowed by a dull grey.

Only one thing shone in the lackluster landscape.

A woman.

Or at least she had the appearance of a woman.

'A goddess?'

No, not a goddess. Noble was quite certain that she would never be able to look at a goddess, even in her imagination. The dead gods were just too unfathomable for her mortal mind. Even a glimpse might fracture her mind.

But this being in the forest was still powerful.

Divine even.

Noble could not quite look at the woman directly, but neither could she look away. Her flowing robes were glorious and blinding. Her hair cascaded like waterfalls with each step, looking otherworldly with its beauty.

The captivating creature deserved all of Noble's attention. All of her thoughts. This being influenced the world around her, causing everything to gravitate subtly toward her.

'A Demon?'

That is what the Spell called those below the gods. Noble had even owned a Memory that had mentioned the Demon of Dread. But in the paper about Ariel's tomb, a different term had been used.

A Daemon. That seemed more appropriate for the sight before her.

Although the daemon was not looking her way, Noble could feel the intense emotion.

'She's sad.'

What could make an all-powerful being sad?

Then a second emotion joined the first: loneliness.

It was more than just the fleeting emotion of being alone. It was the deep, abiding longing for companionship. The feeling filled Noble, and she was overcome by it.

Her desire to comfort the ethereal being was intense, but Noble knew her actions would have no effect on someone so powerful, so she continued to watch the scene.

With a sigh, the daemon ran her index finger down the closest tree. Her mouth moved, but Noble could not comprehend the words. What she could see was the pattern bursting forth from her touch and wrapping the tree like a second skin.

'It's beautiful!'

The daemon seemed to agree. A moment of fleeting joy filled her as a smile lit her already incandescent face.

The Divine being placed her palm on the next tree and then a third. Colors beyond anything that Noble had ever seen filled the bark and settled into patterns both fantastic and terrifying.

Then, the branches of the trees began to sway, and then dance, lifting their roots like children lift the hem of their pants to run in puddles. All at once, the forest came alive, circling and spinning in an intricate ancient dance.

The Daemon danced with them, swaying her arms to the beat of unheard music.

But then Noble could hear it, too. The wind joined in the melody. It pushed through the leaves and tiptoed through the boughs, creating a song as old as time itself.

Within the haunting harmony, the Daemon swayed, her loneliness gone for a moment as the whole forest accompanied her in the reverie.

Together, they marched into the distance, ready to frolic over the horizon for a perfect day.

The Daemon looked over her shoulder at Noble. Though her face was obscured by the blinding light surrounding her, the divine creature was certainly smiling. Her index finger curled, beckoning Noble to join them.

It sounded nice: an afternoon with no worries. The shade from those trees would provide a respite from the sun.

And the Daemon could give Noble all the information she needed to know about the Nightmare.

'I should go. Just for a few minutes.'

Lifting off the bench slightly, Child of Promise floated toward the edge of the cart.

The wagon jostled as it went over a patch of uneven ground, and the seat hit Noble from below. 

The pain shot through her body as her flaw activated. 

The fanciful dancing faded from view, replaced by the colorful stillness of the Wonder Woods. A hand shot out and pulled Noble back to Syrce's side. 

Instinctively, Noble sent out her emotional sense to search for the lonely Daemon and her nymph companions, but instead she found something that brought her back to her senses. 

'Oh...oh!' Noble blinked.

She would have to investigate that later. For now, the floating Master would have to shake off the groggy feeling the forest had put upon her soul. It felt like walking upstream in a river, but at least she was no longer caught up in the enchantment. 

Beside her, Syrce clicked her tongue. 

"You shouldn't hang off the edge like that." The Saint pursed her lips. "You might fall off, and then where would we be?" 

"Thank you. I got lost in thought." Noble averted her gaze.

Syrce released her companion. 

"My delightful and witless little Bel! Isn't she precious?"

Noble frowned. 'I am glad she thinks I'm delightful, but I'm starting to take offense that she thinks I am stupid.'

Orrin didn't comment on the blonde lady's value, but Syrce did not seem to mind.

"I know!" The Saint exclaimed, "My thoughts exactly!" 

"Speaking of thoughts," Noble hadn't realized that even a single musing could have gotten her in so much trouble. But now that the vision had come and gone, she needed to know more. "When people see these 'fanciful sights' in the woods, are they seeing what they want to see, or do the hallucinations have some truth in them?" 

"It is impossible to say. Imagination is a curious thing. The few that have escaped the woods after being enthralled have stories of seeing loved ones or visiting far-off places. Those are easily disprovable. As for the messages they got from their visions, I am not willing to discount them." Orrin lowered his head. 

"My Shieldbearer is very superstitious, even after everything that has happened." Syrce laughed. "Or maybe because of everything that has happened. It's one of the two!" 

"I will remind you, My Lady, that you are the one who won't step on cracks in the tile back home. Is that not a superstition?" Orrin tilted his chin.

"That's a fun game my sisters and I used to play. It wasn't meant in any seriousness." Syrce shook her head. 

"Then why did you cry, thinking the kingdom would fall apart when your foot slipped that time?" The shieldbearer pressed. 

"I was a child!" Syrce defended herself. "And based on what has happened since, I wasn't exactly wrong." 

While the two fell into a heated discussion about which one of them was more superstitious, Noble recalled the images that she had seen. 

It had felt so real. It was only because of her flaw and the people around her that she had not succumbed to the temptation. 

But someone traveling alone? Well, they wouldn't have stood a chance. They would have been led off some unseen cliff or have starved to death in search of the illusion before them.

Perhaps the wood was not meant to be insidious at first, or perhaps there was some unseen horror subtly controlling the thoughts of those who entered in order to detain them for eternity.

Noble knew better than to wonder about which option was more likely, at least until they exited the Wonder Woods.

For now, she would focus on something more important: protecting others from succumbing to the same fate.

Especially one person in particular…