Chapter 7: The Shadow King's Plans

Derek’s POV:

I left the princess in my bedroom. I nearly kissed her just now… what the hell was I thinking….. was I curious or did I want to play with my wife to be for a little bit? No matter. I will honour her request not to target her for my physical needs as a man and a woman to provide my needs to be met. She is small busted and slender waisted and her skin is the colour of porcelain skin with tender brown eyes with golden brown hair which compliments her eyes. She is only twenty years old with no lovers, which means she is a virgin princess. She will remain like that until and even after we marry. I do not care if she does see someone besides me, but she will belong to me and only me once we are married.

I can’t say that I’ve fallen in love with her or anything, but she will be a powerful ally to me as a princess of Aspire, and now my wife and queen of Aspire and with her by my side and her resources of her Kingdom, I will just be one step closer in my plan to get vengeance on the Kingdoms who brought down my father’s empire and had my mother killed…… once I have destroyed all enemies of my Kingdom, then and only then will there be peace in my shadow kingdom….. and then no one will be able to stop me…. I…. will become so powerful that even the servants of kings will bow before me! I grunted as I walked into my throne room opening the door and looked out the window over looking my Kingdom in the distance. My palace was a large dark palace that overlooked the Kingdom below in the valley with mountains surrounding my palace and my palace was located in the highest mountain on the edge so that I can overlook my Kingdom…. There was a cement road hill that with a bridge that separated my palace from the main bridge to gain access into the Kingdom below so the bridge was connected to the palace that allowed safety and security from the valley below, which was a safe haven from wolves and wile animals of the local forest mountain around my palace and there was a river at the bottom of the mountain under the bridge with safety rails around the bridge so that no one would fall when walking and crossing the bridge to get in and out of the palace.

My window in the throne room overlooked the entire palace and I could open the golden covered wooden doors to walk out to the balcony to over look my entire Kingdom.

As I was standing over looking the view, my army captain general came up next to me, dressed sharply as ever.

“What’s the news, captain?” I asked him as I crossed my arms as he stood beside me, “Your Majesty, I bring you news on the girl’s army captain whom you took as refuge….” My army captain informed me. “

“Go on….” I told him. “It seems that he has returned to the Kingdom of Aspire my Lord, and seems to have calmed the officials down and told them that the princess is dead….” My army captain told me. “And how do you know this?” I asked glancing at him.

“Because my scout was sent to spy on him as an under cover servant. It seems that he has informed the council that the princess had died in a river accident and her body was eaten by wolves of the forest, therefore her body was unrecoverable so the officials of her Kingdom bought the story…. For now, no one is after the girl you have taken as refuge, my lord” my army captain told me in secrecy in confidence. “Well done, commander…. I am glad…. She is safe for now….” I told him as I drank some wine and poured some for my captain from the wine vase in the throne room and he drank with me as was my custom to drink with my comrades and brothers in arms. Although I am the Shadow King, I also trained with my men whilst I was a prince under my father’s rule, the previous King.

My army captain looked at me and glanced at me for a moment with intrigue, I caught him in the corner of my eye staring at me for a moment. “What is it, captain? If you have something to say, please speak now….” I told him as I couldn’t stand it when people stared at me and had something to say but didn’t. Perhaps its because I am the King, that he is afraid for his life that he thinks I would take his life so he is cautious how he speaks to me, that’s how much he respects me and his own life that he is careful what he says to me.

“My lord…. If I may ask, just who is this girl that you have taken refuge under your care…. You’ve never done anything like this in your reign since you’ve become King.” My commander asked me. “And what is it to you what the King does in his affairs?” I glanced sternly at him.

“My lord, I beg a thousand pardons, I don’t mean no disrespect to your privacy, but in respect to the security of the Kingdom, I need to know just who it is that the King has taken so I know better how to protect the Kingdom and the person whom the King has taken refuge, my lord…” he said as he bowed to me.

I glanced at him as I took a deep breath, “Keep this in confidence what I am about to tell you, because I don’t want anyone to know in the Kingdom whom I have taken as refuge…. Yet” I told him.

“I am sure my lord can trust me by now” He told me. My army captain, his name is Maximus. Commander Maximus has served with me since I was a prince and we practically grew up together ‘

under my father’s reign and his father served my father the King.

“She is….. the woman from the battlefield….” I said as the wind swept across our faces and the breeze of the night went through our hair under a clear starry sky with a full moon out tonight.

“The warrior princess on the battlefield!?” He questioned shockingly. “Yeah…. The warrior princess of Aspire…. Is under our refuge and…. I plan to marry her” I grinned at my army captain Maximus. He looked at me shocked and confused, but more surprised and shocked more than anything.