The castle of the shadows master

On the cold night of winter, we could hear the scream of a lost soul. Her face was deformed by the pain, the tears flooding her eyes. Arja screamed to the sky with all the force she could have.

"I am gonna kill you! I will find you and kill you!"

The sinister bite of the darkness in her heart could be felt by the countries around and everybody was hiding deep in their bed at this moment.

The soul cried out loud for a few hours, and then, it was silent.

Not even a bird dared to move a wing.

She stood up and left. Letting the traces of the blood that was running from her skinless body behind her.

****

The weather was particularly cold today and the wind was biting everybody who would dare to stay outside. At first, he entered the inn and sat at the first table he saw. The people already inside thought this man was another curious dandy there to visit the castle in the mountains.

It was an old kingdom much before the Arak'thor's family, before the two kingdoms of Faranza and Hereja.

This castle was part of history, except for a few monks or curious travelers, nobody would ever go there. It was an old ruin and the rest of the village around was abandoned for a long time. This castle was around twelve hundred years old, stones were missing, and vegetation covered most of the architecture.

The maid came and asked him what he wanted but the man didn't answer, he only showed what he wanted by pointing to a beer on the other table.

He was covered by a large black coat and a hood. The lady could only see the bottom of his face. She saw his voluptuous red lips, his large jaw, and a few black hair locks falling around. She felt her heart beating in her chest and didn't dare to complain to him. As they thought. When she came back, he only asked for the place of the castle. She smiled a bit and explained to him the path to go through the forest and reach the village.

"But you know, there is nothing left to see there. You could stay warm here, I would know how to entertain you much more than these old stones."

Everybody heard and laughed. They thought the young dandy would be embarrassed by her proposition.

"Let the guy alone, Melinda! You are not old enough for him."

The man who said that had a greasy laugh, he was very rude and without education. Many men were laughing with him, proud of his joke.

The dandy raised his hood, everybody could see his magnificent face. He had a very large smile, so large that we could not see his eyes.

With a sweet soft voice, he answered.

"My lady, I am afraid these men are right, you are not old enough for me. I can only invite you to walk with me tomorrow in the direction of the castle and enjoy a bit of company far from these brutes for a moment."

They all laughed, she turned red and surprisingly shy. She had not expected him to say such a thing.

He finished his drink and went to rest. When night fell, Melinda put away the jugs and dishes in the room before going to bed herself. She passed the dandy's door and stopped herself for a second. That night she tossed and turned in bed several times, wondering what she should do. Should she follow the dandy? The next day he went to the counter to pay. He put some gold coins on the wood and smiled at the innkeeper.

"I hope that will be enough"

Of course, that was enough, enough to purchase the entire inn! The innkeeper counted his coins with such joy as he didn't notice his maid left the inn running after the dandy.

"Wait for me!"

She was short-breathed as she caught him on the path. He waited for her to join. Then they discussed the situation of the Kingdom. He was attentive to the complaints of the maid. He understood that the population outside the capital was in extreme poverty. The more he heard about the situation and the happier he seemed to be.

After a few hours, someone finally listened as she was talking about politics. She shared with him all her thoughts about the Kingdom.

"The royal family only counts pigs! They eat as they want during the time we work like slaves. Some mothers don't even have enough milk in their breasts to feed their newborns. Is it normal? Someone should give them a lesson."

The man was intrigued and he asked in an almost sensual voice.

"The royal family? How many are they? "

Melinda answered with hatred in her voice.

"The king and his queen have two children, Ulrich, the crown prince who acts like a peacock, and his young sister Arja. Except for being beautiful, she knows nothing of the world, she is pathetic."

As they were discussing, he was smiling more and more. Soon, they arrived at the castle. He touched the doors slowly, caressing the stones. She was surprised by his attitude and a bit terrified to see him showing so much love and tenderness for this lost place.

"Wait, you like stones that much? People with money will always surprise me, their hobbies can be so... strange..."

She was a bit mocking him as she thought he was a sweet young dandy. Then, he took a deep breath and let out a roar. She slightly panicked as this man was not mentally healthy. He had an issue and she didn't dare to say anything anymore.

Soon after, the doors opened by themselves. She saw the old ruins opening their doors in front of her. The dirty stone became bright by magic, the damaged textiles became repaired, and everything came back to life in front of her.

We walked slowly to the main entrance, following the path that leads to the throne. He turned and sat.

"The Shadows master is home. Don't worry Melinda, soon, the pigs will receive a lesson."