Kingdom of Shadows

Chapter One

~Chapter 1 ~

A repulsive smell rose up from the marsh through the humid air, accompanied by the sound of goopy, almost gelatinous bubbles popping with a squelch and a faint sulfuric aroma to add to the decaying stench of the swamp, in no way helping Adrielle\'s urge to run as fast as possible away from it.

The small group stood at the shore, enveloped in dense, thick fog, she with her hands clasped tightly to her mouth, and he with his resting on the hilt of his sword. The canines at their feet were eying the mire; Ansia with a cautious expression, as reluctant as her mistress to enter it, and Knofos with a somewhat irritated look in his blood red eyes as he sat obediently at his master\'s side. He looked over at the small white othrin, who was wrinkling her black nose at the scummy water. He glanced up at Daemon, and they exchanged a short, amused look at the reactions of the females in their charge.

\"There\'s not a chance I\'m touching that, Daemon.\" Adrielle stated, crossing her arms and glaring at him. \"It will ruin my clothes and the smell will never leave my hair.\"

\"Princess, it stretches for miles in both directions, we have to go through it.\" He retorted with a roll of his crimson eyes.

\"I\'m not swimming in that filth! I still have some of my dignity, you know.\" She replied hotly, showing more contempt for him than the bog.

\"It would be more like wading than swimming, really...\" he smirked. She locked her arms more tightly, tossing back her long, fair hair with a flick of her head and refusing to look at him, shutting her eyes and turning her face away.

\"I said no. I\'m not going across.\"

The ebony haired warrior raised an eyebrow in disbelief, then strode slowly towards her.

\"With all due respect, Princess...\" Daemon said in a tone that didn\'t mirror his words, \"You are going across, one way or another.\"

Without giving her a chance to change her mind, he knelt down on one knee, his arms snaking around her slender waist. One hand rested upon her hip and the other came to land on her rear, and she yelped as he stood and hefted her unceremoniously over his shoulder, her legs and arms dangling limply.

\"Coming, Knofos?\" he called to the dreyan over Adrielle\'s shouts of protest.

Knofos stood, wagging his tail. He glanced at Ansia, then lay town and barked at her shortly, tilting his massive head to his back. She took the hint, and raced up to him with surprising speed, settling her tiny form between his broad, black furred shoulders. Without hesitation, he raced into the bog after Daemon and the still screaming princess.

\"Get your hands off me, you pervert! I am a princess! I demand you treat me as such!\" she shouted, now kicking her legs in an attempt to get him to release her.

\"Look, Princess pain-in-the-ass,\" he remarked, squeezing hers as he said it, \"I\'m here to keep you safe, not comfortable. Plus, your father said nothing about how I was to treat you.\"

Undeterred by this comment, she continued her protests.

\"Unhand me! Put me down immediately!\"

Daemon stopped in the middle of the pond, up to his waist in the thick muck and syrupy slime.

\"As you wish.\" He said, and abruptly released his hold, sending her shrieking into the deep mud and becoming submerged in the acrid swamp water. She splashed back to the surface, coughing and spluttering.

\"Pick me up, pick me up!\" she cried wretchedly, and was deeply grateful when he did so, not saying a thing when his hands found their former positions.