The Shadowman

Title: The Shadowman



Author: Cold Silence



E-Mail: writer.coldsilence@gmail.com



Category: Alternate Universe. Medieval Times.



Pairings: So far: 4 x Relena



Warnings: NC-17. Yaoi. OOC. (I'm trying to keep them IC, but I don't think I've succeeded.) Death. Squick. Incest. Rape.



Website: http://coldsilence.tumblr.com/post/433113072/index





 

The Shadowman

-Chapter Two-

        Somewhere inside Castle Sandrock, a predator was on the loose. His footfalls fell silent against the beige, marble surface of the floor, earning him many curious glances by the liveried servants bustling about. He ignored those who genuflected or saluted at his passing, because there was only one prey he had in mind. Finally reaching his destination, a bejeweled hand pushed against the heavy oaken doors of the library.



        Shelves and shelves of books stretched towards the high ceiling, which housed thousands of volumes collected over the years the Winners have ruled. Seated at one of the tables was a statuesque beauty, who occasionally turned the page of a book she was reading. Each of her movements were fluid and elegant; showcasing her noble heritage. Bathed in the lights of the oiled lamps lining the room, her white evening gown took on a gold hue that matched the strands of hair strewn over her shoulders.



        The woman did not detect her stalker's presence; she was so absorbed in her studies that she didn't see him until slender fingers encircled her waist. Her painted lips parted in a soft gasp of surprise, but her astonishment was soothed away by the seducer's voice.



        "My golden dove sits with her head in the books, making my heart ache with jealousy that her attentions -- "



        "I am not a bird, I am a woman."



        "--are on the scrawled text and not on her dear husband."



        "When jealousy extends to inanimate objects, I fear for your health, Quatre."



        Quatre Winner made a petulant face at his wife, and at the same time inched his fingers upwards until they graced the bodice of her dress.



        "Come to bed Relena. I miss you when you stay away this long."



        " 'Come to bed' he says." Relena wrinkled her nose as she mimicked him. "Why don't you quit the charade and say you want to romp like wild rabbits?"



        "All right, I want to romp like wild rabbits. Can we go?"



        "No thank you."



        The king gave off an exasperated sigh, and abandoned his toying of her dress in favor of sitting in another chair and facing her.



        "Relena, you are hardly behaving as a good lover should."



        "I am your sister."



        "You are my wife!"



        "Your sister." She finally drew her eyes away from the book to pin the other man with an icey, cornflower blue gaze.



        "If you must insist, then sister." Quatre's tone was hard, though there was a faint trace of hurt in his voice. "Above and beyond all that, you are a queen, and as Queen it is your duty to produce an heir. How long have we been married?"



        "Two very long years." Relena lifted her fingertips to rub at her temples. She knew where this conversation was going.



        "TWO years, and not once have you ever shared your bed with me. The people are getting restless, they need to know that the Winners will always rule."



        "Of course we will always rule, we have the Shadowman. Am I the only one who finds the entire thing disgusting? We suckled from the same mother's breast!"



        "Accept it Relena. Accept that this is the way things are, as they have been for over a thousand years."



        Her mouth fell open to give her husband a nasty retort, when a rapping at the library door interrupted them. Quatre gave Relena a silencing look, before commanding the interloper to come in. A troubled Tsuberov stepped inside and closed the door behind him.



        Quatre noticed the slight limp in his walk, and rose his voice in inquiry. "Did Duo set your shoes on fire again?"



        The way Tsuberov's nose pinched in anger answered his question. "My liege, I came to speak to you on that very matter."



        Relena, who was by now used to Duo's antics, waved a hand in dismissal. "We'll buy you new shoes. Eventually he'll get tired of it, he always does."



        "It's not about the shoes." Though I wouldn't mind it if I had a new pair to replace what the brat burned. "It's Duo. I notice he's been... restless lately."



        "I have noticed the increase in his disruptive behavior." The king raked his fingers through his blonde locks, and lamented that the Shadowman wasn't as easily tamed as his hair. "I thought pouring tree sap into every chair in the dining room was a bit much."



        "He RUINED one of my best dresses!" Relena interrupted the conversation with a reddish tinge coloring her cheeks. It was embarrassing, to say the least, when she tried to stand up after eating breakfast and found the chair was firmly attached to her bottom. After much brouhaha, they finally decided that the only way to detach the Queen from the seat was to cut out the back of her dress.



        Wincing at both the memory of this morning and Relena's voice, Quatrie tried to placate his wife by gently rubbing her shoulder. "Duo didn't mean any harm.  Besides, all I need to do is speak to him. I highly doubt tanning his behind like when he was a child would work at his age."



        Fighting to keep a grimace off his face, the king smiled to put the two people in the room at ease. Ever since the day Duo was born, he was connected to Quatre the same way all Shadowmen were linked to kings of the Winner family. If he tuned out all his thoughts and turned his gaze inwards, he would feel vague impressions of the violet eyed boy's emotions, the same way Duo could feel him if he shut everything else out. Yes, there was definitely a restlessness there, in fact he could tell Duo was up to no good right at that very moment.



        "Though spanking sounds promising, I actually had another suggestion." Stepping a bit closer, Tsuberov leaned towards the two monarchs and spoke in a conspiratorial whisper. "All the other Shadowmen I have had the privilege of tutoring became the same way once they reached Duo's age, and there was only one thing that tamed them all."



    Here he paused dramatically, and everyone waited impatiently for him to finish.



        "They got married."



        Relena burst into laughter. "Is that man's answer for every problem? Get married!"



        Tsuberov was indignant, but he held his ground. "Everyone knows the calming effect taking a wife has on a man! Why not? Besides, a new heir to the throne will need a Shadowman. Duo is of age, it's about time he began looking for someone."



        Inadvertently triggering memories of the married couple's earlier conversation, Tsuberov didn't notice how Relena tilted her nose up and Quatre looked away. The king tried to bury his thoughts of the heir with memories of the past.



        When Duo was born, Quatre was a mere two years older. At the time, he didn't understand the alien feelings that cropped up somewhere deep in his chest the night the Shadowman was birthed. He could never forget the day when he finally understood that the strange, extra bundle of emotions ie hie him were all Duo.



        It happened a long time ago when he was three years old, on the day he was allowed to hold the newborn child for the first time. Before they conquered the kingdom of Sanc, the Winners had lived on a land prone to seismic activity. Quatre was all alone in the nursery with his nanny and Duo when the estate was suddenly rocked with a massive earthquake. The walls collapsed all around them, killing his caretaker almost instantly with its crushing weight. It took hours for the saddened servents to dig through the rubble for Quatre's and Duo's corpse, but what they found instead took their breath away.



        Encased in a ball of black light, Quatre was humming a lullaby to the laughing babe in his arms. That day he understood: Duo was born to protect him. He felt it inside whenever his dark magic filled the air, that the Shadowman's one true purpose was to live for him. There was nothing more special than that.



        "A wife." Quatre hardly heard himself speak, and his own voice stirred him out of his reverie. "A wife. Why not? It is worth a try. I'll hold a ball in his favor and invite every eligible maiden in the kingdom. Surely he'll find one to his taste."



        Tsuberov looked triumphant, while Relena expressed her chagrin by wrinkling her nose. "Good luck getting him wed. You'll have to find a woman who's not afraid of him and stupid enough to put up with his antics."



        "Relena." Quatre shot a warning look at his wife. Duo may not be a model citizen, but he wasn't about to put up with anyone badmouthing him.



        Suddenly, the library doors burst open, and the Master of Swords, Pargan, made haste to enter and bow to the King and Queen. His chain mail clinked as he straightened up and announced in a dire tone, "The monsters are finally making their move. They are crossing the mountains."



        King Winner allowed a smile to grace his lips. They had been pushing back the monsters out of his kingdoms for years, but finally they had worked out a plan to rid them once and for all. He focused his thoughts on a single emotion, need, and before anyone could blink, Lord Duo melted into existence from the shadows cast by the bookcases.



        The Shadowman took one look at Pargan and burst into a wide grin. For some reason, he had arrived holding a stirring spoon, which he treated as if it were a pointing stick.  "It's time isn't it? The vermin from the mountains are coming!"



        "Yes. Our plans are finally coming into fruitation," confirmed Quatre.  "You know what to do."



        Duo's low alto voice reverberated through the library, his laughter fading as he took a step back into the shadows. The inky darkness wrapped around every inch of his body, gleaming teeth and violet eyes the last things visible as he said, "Watch out sweethearts, the Shadowman's coming for you."



        Pargan dipped into a respectful bow towards the King and Queen before turning to leave the library chamber. Tsuberov was about to do the same, when Quatre's voice made him halt mid-step.



        "Tsuberov, if you happen to pass by the kitchens, tell the cook to dump whatever it was she was cooking for tonight and make something else."



        Grumbling, the old tutor finally left the room.







End Chapter Two