Two Lonely Shadows

Prologue: I. Am. Strong.

??? P.O.V.

I smiled as I appeared from my shadowy domain in the dark alley of the kingdom. She was afraid, but she was powerful, and she was going to give everything to me. She was crying, her thin shoulders shaking, causing her beautiful flowing silk red dress to send waves of red light which hid the blood stains of an earlier fight. Her short black hair was curled and within it, laid streaks of white and gold, she had just come back from a party I assumed.

My crimson eyes glowed solemnly through my crow colored hair. As I walked towards the woman my black cloak transformed into a similarly colored coat with gold tracing the seams, my black pants covered by the ends. I kneel down beside her replacing my grin with a worried look before speaking.

"Miss?" She jumps at my words and turns to look at me before relaxing. She must have noticed that I'm dressed as a noble. "Are you alright? You were crying in the alley and I was afraid that a group of horrible people would have found you and done some awfully horrible things to you."

She doesn't even try to fake a smile, her eyes betraying her every emotion. "N-no," she cries once more. It seems her mind doesn't want to remember something, so I give her a push by resting my hand on her back. 

"It's alright miss, I will not tell a soul if you do not wish me to." I gaze into her eyes carefully, not letting any emotion but sympathy fill my own. 

She cries out again and looks down at the ground covering her face with her hands. "I've just found my husband sleeping with another woman, a whore who knows nothing but lust. It is the day of our marriage one year ago and I had gotten us tickets to go to a party today. When I got home I found them in our room and.." She cries out again before continuing, "I ran out here to get away from him and he followed me with the intent of getting rid of me and I-he-"

I stop her, putting my hand on her shoulder. "It's alright, I know exactly what happened." She looks at me, her face betraying everything once more. She cries then closes her eyes and hugs me, resting her head on my shoulder. I refuse to look up because I do know exactly what happened.

The familiar cold feeling of a blade being put up against my throat doesn't surprise me. Her soft sobs quickly turn into quiet laughs as I'm forced to my feet by two other men. I don't resist too much, the blade at my throat is less than dangerous to me but I don't want to seem like I'm not surprised. I let my face give away panic as I am pulled to my feet with my arms pinned behind my back and a knife very close to 'killing' me.

"Oh, sometimes men are so gullible if they see a helpless woman." She stands up, her red dress casting a mix of silver and red light along the shadowed walls of the alleyway. If I wasn't planning on blackmailing and killing her I would have gladly taken her back to my castle and treated her like the queen I saw her as. "Especially noblemen who want nothing but to get into her dress." She walks closer to me, swaying her body dominantly and confidently, her silk red dress following suit. I almost forgot I wasn't mortal when I felt the knife press harder against the skin on my neck.

I quickly spoke, "W-What do you want from me? M-Money? I-I can give that to you if you truly wish!" I struggled but not so much as to ruin my clothing with blood, I wasn't afraid of it happening but I had to put on an act right? After all, that's what makes the game fun.

"Oh and this one's sober!" She laughs, "That's even worse! Just another rich man wanting nothing more but to get some pleasure out of his boring politically filled life with the King! How pathetic!"