.The Shadow Knight.

-9-

"So, you calm now?"

I pulled a throwing star out and chucked it.

"Feisty." Elise said, watching it stick out between her fingers, stabbed deep in the wood of the table. "But don't try angering me, won't end well for you."

"I was already told I was forcefully wed to you, nothing can be worst."

"Now now I am being nice here." She pulled it out of the wood, flipping the small weapon in the air before her wrist flicked and I felt a shock in the middle of my chest. "I can be bad too."

My hand trembled slightly as I pulled the throwing star from my corset, probably having gotten a small cut as the impact sight stung.

"Right, I apologies, this is all new to me."

"I do realize that but do not abuse on it as I do not have eternal patience like a dragon would."

"Right....Why was I called?"

"So back to the maps I showed you before." She waved at the table. "This is Kazaras' capital city, you see it is actually very close to the boarder, more close then any of the lands ruled over that you could have learned about, not even a single other town standing between the boarder and us."

"It is a bit stupid of placement if I can say."

"I do agree but even tho I am destined to the throne by birth I am no man."

"I was told here it is usually men on the throne."

"Usually?!" She said, clearly annoyed, knuckles resting on the table. "More like it is unheard of  woman ruling, I made many sacrifices for this."

"Everyone does to get to their dreams."

"Akito..." I froze as my name came from her mouth instead of the half mocking nickname she went with ever since she started talking to me directly. "I killed my own twin to ensure that the empire didn't fall in wretched hands that would cause our downfall because they were fed with the toxic knowledge that men are the superior beings in all the land."

"Wow... I am sorry emp--Elise."

"Don't be, that vermin had it coming, I smiled as I cut his head clean off his shoulders, what was your sacrifice?"

"Elise, why am I here?"

"Fine.... So the boarder is right before us, when looking out the window of the tallest tower of the castle you'll see the horizon and right after it is the boarder, on the other side is the empire of Lorik, it was once part of the empire but my father and brothers tore the empire in two long ago when I killed the true heir to my throne and now they are starting to act instead of their empty threats."

"The Wither Away poison."

"Exactly, they could have very well blamed your death on us and force our ally against us and even an empire will fall faced with the wrath of dragons at a broken treaty."

"So exactly, to the detail, what do you want from me Elise?"

"A few things, to look into these attempts as all I was told about the shadow knights is their ability to track down people and their fighting prowess, simply to bring a new point of view to all this, find a reason to declare war and for it to be justified and I guess just strike more fear in the heart of my enemies."

"Those I can do."

"What is your sacrifice?" I rose a brow. "What? Technically we are married, I know I know the others already told you that you could back out if you really don't want me but for now I just want to get to know you."

"What if I wanted off this ride right now?"

"Just give it a month and if you really don't like it I'll back off, I know how to take a no unlike some men."

"You really hate men." I said as she walked to the couch with a shrug and sat down, an elbow on the armrest holding her hair up and knees crossed.

"Men have been the bane of my existence and I never met one that didn't think with their dick before their brain." I was happy my collar was rolled up over my mouth as I took slight offence in that, I may not be a man but I have important parts of them. I leaned back against the table.

"You just haven't looked well enough."

"Might be but even my own staff can be pigs."

"Women can be too."

"Never said they couldn't be but here in Kazaras men have usually more power over us women so the mentality is different from where Kia you come from, Solor, first main difference is that no men can get on the throne."

"Well, they could if they passed the tests but well, history speaks of no such case after the first elemetal and king of Solor and he was self appointed."

"True and so.... Will you tell me your sacrifice? You said everyone does make sacrifices."

"Well yeah, choosing between sleeping in or waking up early already is a sacrifice, for one choice you sacrifice having more time in the day and the other you sacrifice the total amount of time you can have in a day."

She started laughing softly, it was mesmerizing... I fear waiting a month to say no will be too long to wait out... 

"If you look it that way then all of life is a sacrifice but I want to know the one that really mattered in your life, I could have remained a court lady, biting back my hate for the system and die poisoned by the idea of change or act on my desires and brandish a sword to end to life of a fool and correct the mistakes of my ancestors and I did just that."

"I'd say there is two moments that my life took a serious turn." I said, the previous interactions forgotten as we chatted.

"Are they too private to share? I am interested but I can remain in the dark about it."

"Well I am wed to you so I suppose I can speak, they happened a decade or less ago, I had time to process them."

"I am listening." Her dark eyes were locked with my own, I was nervous under such strong gaze but I shook it off.

"Well I guess the first was when I was young but my mother started my training, being also a shadow knight as that is a role passed down in family and only the current queens, the eldest child and the families of the knights themselves should really know the extent of what we are, we are myths to the rest, I was unable to mold wild magic no matter the training I was put under until the day I got the chance to met the silver queen's eldest child, the gatekeeper between the spirit and our realm, a big owl spirit found something it liked in me so in exchange of a sacrifice, hosting the spirit in my body for reasons I wasn't told it would grant me its powers, I agreed."

"Interesting, I should ask about these powers as the influence of spirits isn't as strongly felt in my empire as overseas but I want to hear of the other one first."

"It was after my mother went on a mission for the crown, we know our job comes with high mortality but it still was a shock to all as she was the most gifted of all, the true shadow knight, leaving no trace of her passage and no one outside the knights and the queens knowing off her deeds, so skilled in wild magic she could rival any fully formed elemental mage."

"She must be proud of what you became I assume."

"I would be, unfortunately she is dead."

"I apologize."

"No need, it was years ago, she died on the mission, no one knows the reason, no body was ever found just a bloodied discarded blade I took as my own and signs of a struggle leading to a cliff, it is assumed she fell to her death as scraps of clothes were found but couldn't be identified  but since there wasn't any other bodies it was a must that it was hers.... I was given the choice that, along with my father, we'd be cleansed of our memories of our knowledge of the knights by a mage specialized in the mental side of magic or to take up the blade she left behind and go on as the next generation of her family to be a knight..... Well, as I am standing in front of you, you know what my choice was, to keep on training and become a knight to honor her memory."

"As I said, she'd be proud."

I just gave her a smile behind the cloth, I think I can get used to this.