Valley of Shadows and Roses | ONC 2024

Chapter 12

Five years have passed since the day Princess Luna became a walking corpse. On the day exactly. And on every day of her birthday, the Shadow Lord graced Luna with his presence. Dusk fell on the land. They met at the tower where it all began. Every time the hands of the clock struck midnight, he asked her the question that damned her. And the princess always answered the same; she rejected him.

"Somehow, you're running out of suitors trying to kill me, dear Luna," the Shadow Lord said with a mischievous smile on his lips as they met this time.

Luna looked away from the stars decorating the night sky to the Shadow Lord. His handsome features were even more beautiful in the moonlight. It was hard to resist him. The way he walked, the way he talked. How he appropriated her. She liked the way he was looking at her.

"I won't pretend that the lack of them bothers me," Luna said nonchalantly.

"The shadows were delighted with your gifts. It's just a shame you don't have more of them."

"Why do you think I'm giving them to you? My heart breaks with the pain of their loss." she clutched her heart and covered herself with fake hurt. "These brave men who fought so bravely to save my soul are a great loss to our society."

The Shadow Lord laughed. "Surely someone will miss them, but definitely not you," he said. "You were getting rid of them."

"This accusation offends me. Why do you think that?" Luna asked him.

"For example, what about that last young man without origin? You encouraged him to chase after you. You took advantage of his ego," the Shadow Lord remarked.

"I'm just not stupid enough to be taken advantage of," she replied. "You really did me a favor by getting rid of them all."

Princess Luna truly wasn't stupid. No one was able to fool her; on the contrary, Luna was the queen of manipulation. Only the Shadow Lord gave her trouble. She couldn't read him like the others. He was confusing her. However, she was not fooled. She knew that she was just a means to his ends, like for everyone else; she just didn't know what his ends were.

"Wait," the princess stopped. "You were following me?" she asked him.

"Don't think, my dear Luna, that I have nothing to do but watch over you all day." his words were true, but he also liked to look at her. She was a strangeness to him that he could not understand. Even as a person, she was his equal.

"Are you watching out for me? How sweet." the princess smiled at the thought. "Most in this castle would say that you are the threat."

"And what do you think, princess?" the Shadow Lord asked her. "You rule it here."

Maybe once, Luna thought. No more. Her life fell apart like a house of cards.

"I guess no one told you, but you burned my hopes of sitting on the throne to ashes and dust."

The Shadow Lord laughed. He took a step closer to the princess, two, three. He caressed her cheeks with the back of his hand.

"You know there is another kingdom you can rule."

"Still hoping I'll give in?" Luna smirked.

"I hope not, dear Luna," said the Shadow Lord. "I'm sure you'll succumb one day. Maybe not today, but one day for sure. You will be mine, princess."

He pushed Luna's back against the pillar. The stone cooled her pleasantly. The Shadow Lord trapped her with his own body. They were standing so close to each other, Luna could feel his heart beating in his chest so calmly and powerfully. He was looking deep into her eyes; Luna had the feeling that he was seeing right into her soul. He smoothed unruly strands of hair behind her ear. He leaned towards her. Pressed his body against hers. His lips moved to hers, and he kissed her. Luna returned the kiss.

"Oh, my dear dark prince, you play games with me, but you have no idea I love playing games," said Luna.

"Then let's play," said the Shadow Lord, kissing her again.

And that was the end of another damn year and the beginning of a new one.

Princess Luna never revealed to anyone that the Shadow Lord visits her every year on her birthday. It was her little secret. The Dark Prince, as everyone called him, was a welcome change from the mundanity of ordinary days. Even if only for one single day. She liked how he was telling her about the distant countries he had seen. But he never told her about where he came from. He was telling her about the people he had met in his long life but never about the creatures that dwelled in the Dark forest. Maybe little hints. He wanted to seduce her. Luna had many questions, but she never asked him any of them. She didn't want to seem more interested than she was willing to admit.

It was no one's business that she was meeting with him, and indeed not why. They might argue that he had cursed her after all, but Luna felt cursed long before the Shadow Lord appeared on the doorstep of their kingdom. From the moment she was born.

To tell the truth, Princess Luna was no longer sure of anything.