Valley of Shadows and Roses | ONC 2024

Chapter 7

Today is princess Luna's birthday. It has been exactly one year since the Shadow Lord appeared in the kingdom of Rose Valley, and it has been exactly one year since he cursed her. Three hundred and sixty-five times she died, and came back to life. Princess Luna would say that she has already started to get used to it, but the truth is, is it even possible to get used to one's own death? She lost her fear. She stopped fighting. But you never, never get used to it.

There was no lavish ball in her honor this year. On the contrary, on this day, Princess Luna had to stay more in the background than usual. The people still remembered what her last birthday had brought, so it was as cursed day to them as Friday the 13th. And for that very reason, she had to be more inconspicuous than on other days of the year. After all, the heroes and not the villains of the story should be celebrated. To them, Princess Luna was the same villain as the Shadow Lord because she brought him into their kingdom. Therefore, she had to be invisible.

Fortunately, as a young child, Luna didn't really like learning how to be a proper princess and learned to sneak perfectly through the castle corridors. She knew all the secret nooks and crannies and the deployment of guards and servants around the castle. She could move like a ghost. No one noticed her. And she uses those skills even now.

Luna couldn't be confined within the four walls of her bedroom. She really felt like a ghost then. She was utterly forgotten. Not even her own father had the courage to visit her and wish her a happy birthday.

Princess Luna was no longer a princess; she was something everyone wanted to bury in the past.

Luna walked discreetly through the corridors and watched the events in the castle from the shadows. People's audiences were held in the throne room. About every second complaint was about the shadows, which seemed to increase daily. According to Luna, they are still the same; they just make their presence more apparent. The forest is now their territory, and anyone who violates these boundaries will pay for it. The people were angry because the king was not doing anything about it. But what could he do? There was no sight or sound of the dark prince. The king was also worried. He was worried about his daughter in his power.

In the kitchen, Luna caught the maid stealing food. She just smiled at her apparent fondness for chocolate and went on. The lords smoked in the men's lounge and discussed how to solve this crisis. Of course, they were talking nonsense. It was like a competition who comes up with the biggest one. None of them would actually dare stand up to the Shadow Lord. They were just showing their ego, but they were afraid of him like little children of monsters under the bed.

Luna's name was also mentioned, so she stopped to listen. They talked about how selfish she was to damn her own people because of her pride. Luna wanted to fly in and clean their stomachs properly. But she kept calm and told herself those fools weren't worth her attention.

And also, someone just caught Princess Luna spying.

"It does not belong to a princess to eavesdrop on someone else's conversation," said the guard commander.

"It's also not appropriate to gossip behind someone's back," the princess justified her behavior. "They don't seem to mind, though."

"Doesn't the queen of court intrigue suddenly like it?" The Commander shot her a daring look.

Luna laughed. "I'm also good at coming up with suitable punishments. Which reminds me, I know a perfect punishment for them for condescending to me." a mischievous smile bloomed on her face. "We will send them into the Dark forest to meet our lovely shadows. And if by chance they come out of there alive, they can tell me if they are still as brave as they pretend to be."

"You shouldn't joke about shadows," the Commander scolded her. "You haven't experienced how very dangerous they are. You wouldn't want to meet them face to face."