Shadow Queen - Azriel x oc

↳ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 3 - ᵘⁿᵉˣᵖᵉᶜᵗᵉᵈ ˢᵃᵛⁱᵒʳ

 ゜✧*̣̩☽⋆SHADOW QUEEN✧*̣̩☽⋆゜

𝒜𝓃 𝓊𝓃𝑒𝓍𝓅𝑒𝒸𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝓈𝒶𝓋𝒾𝑜𝓊𝓇

I woke up, looked around, and almost screamed at the sight before me.

"You thought you could escape me so easily?" he said as he reached out his hand towards me. However, I immediately swatted it away. It was the same hand that had caused me immense pain and belonged to the man - or rather, the vile creature hiding in the body of a High Fae. Some weaker humans were much better men than he would ever be. This man had tortured me both physically and mentally, and he was someone I had once loved. I curse you, Cauldron.

"You're a monster," I involuntarily stepped back. I had promised myself I would never back down again, not to him or anyone. I wasn't weak anymore and would never allow myself to be in that position again. "And you're a fae? You might have the ears of one, but we both know that doesn't make you one. We are all different kinds of monsters, Sombra."

" No, you- I would never commit such atrocities like you did".

His face looked youthful, just like we first met when power didn't mean everything to him. I think he honestly felt something for me, and I felt the same for him. But the man he has become is far from that. His hair is long, and the dark tresses matching his eyes reach his shoulders. My mind played tricks on me, showing me that the beast had always been there, but I had been too blind to see it.

Wake up.

"You could save yourself some time and just accept it." No. He was lying. I would never be like him.

He then took something from behind his back, and I wanted to scream. My hand reached to scratch my neck. The all-too-familiar weight of the metal and the flashbacks were overwhelming. The collar that turned me into his slave, the one that robbed me of my free will, rested on his left hand. His eyes glinted in the little light that shone over his face, and he looked at the item with adoration. He lived for the power that things could give him.

This wasn't real, was it? I'd run from him.

"Release your true self, pet," he smirked.

"I should've killed you when I had the chance," I growled.

Wake up.

He took a few steps closer, and the touch that once comforted me now made me feel repulsed. How times change.

"I will find you, Sombra. I'll have my Shadow Queen back," he said, with a determined look in his eyes. His gaze fell on my left hand, and there it was - his ring.

WAKE UP.

⋆ ⁺ ₊ ⋆ ☾ ⋆ ⁺ ₊ ⋆

"You're safe," a voice whispered.

I opened my eyes to stare back at a pair of paradoxically warm grey eyes. Not brown. Not brown.

I gasped and looked at my left hand where the golden band with the hideous stone used to be, which I had shattered into a billion pieces in my dream. However, it had all been just a dream.

Your mind could be your worst enemy.

Then, I heard her talk, "Sorry to wake you, but you started mumbling and breathing heavily. I didn't know-" I stopped her rambling by touching her shoulder. She was shocked by the contact.

"No, it's alright. I should be apologising for bumping into you... yesterday?" I questioned unsurely. I scratched my neck and noticed the lightness I felt in my chest. It was so much easier to breathe now. I realised that there was no longer a necklace around my neck, nor were any arrows piercing my body.

Had she taken them all out by herself?

"That was five days ago. You had enough poison in your system to take down a dozen Illyrian warriors."

I breathed. Shit. Whoever sent that hunting or whatever-its-purpose-was party knew what they were doing. Yet I couldn't think of a single person.

"Thank you. For whatever you did." My voice was raspy, and noticing my discomfort, she handed me a glass of water.

"You were lucky. You just ran into the only person who had a stock of all the herbs there are," she laughed and motioned to the shelves behind her. Due to all the flasks and jars she had on the wall, she looked like a healer. My nose itched at seeing them, but that didn't calm my uneasiness. Why would she have so many herbs?

"Pardon me for being nosey, but... where are you from? You mumbled in a language I've never heard before. Is it from the Continent?"

Fuck.

She didn't look like a threat. No one would help a stranger, care for them for five days, to just kill them. She could have killed me while I was asleep, only if she knew how. But I didn't feel any stabbing pains near my heart, just the permanent pressure I'd never been able to relieve.

Open up a little. I remember my late friend's husband's words. Not everyone is out to kill you.

I ran a hand down my hair. She had even taken the time to brush it. If she were to kill me, she had prepared me to look gorgeous on my deathbed--minus the clothing.

But her eyes told me she couldn't hurt a fly. They were pure. My shadows, although tucked in tight, confirmed this.

"Well, can I get my saviour's name?"

"Laenna," she said and stuck out her hand. Her other went to tuck a strand of hair behind her round ear. She was pure Illyrian.

I placed my hand in hers. "I'm Sombra. I owe you one."

She shrugged it off. "I couldn't leave you there," she excused.

"Many would've. Most only help when they know who I am. Not before."

She flipped her braid to the back sassily. "Good for you... I'm not like most people."

"Most don't have that amount of herbs. Do you deal or something?" I asked, furrowing my brows. She didn't look like someone who'd trade herbs that weren't quite medicinal, but appearances could be misleading.

I'd know about that.

"How about a trade?" She caught my attention.

"A story for a story. I tell you about the herbs, and you tell me about that mysterious language."

"You got yourself a deal, Laenna."

"Let's get you some clothes first."

゜✧ *̣̩ ☽ ⋆ ゜゜✧ *̣̩ ☽ ⋆ ゜゜✧ *̣̩ ☽ ⋆ ゜

What do you think of this chapter?

Any suspicions about who Laenna is?

Love you all

𝓛𝓲𝓪