The Noble Queen-A Shadow Slave Fanfic

Digging out the Soul Shard had taken some time and trying to break it open had taken even more. By the time Rain felt the strange sensation trickle into her soul, she was almost too tired to appreciate its significance. 

Almost. 

She lay down on the ground, soaking in the small amount of power that she felt flow into her. 

"I'll keep the carcass. I'll make you some arrows that might actually do some good." The teacher said, his mouth curving up slightly. 

"You would do that for me, Teacher?" Rain tilted her head up in surprise. 

"Of course. I cannot have my only disciple dying because of poor workmanship." The dark deity waved his hand dismissively. 

"Thank you, Teacher." Rain was too happy not to have to make the arrows to argue about whether her own were inferior. 

She shut her eyes, reveling in the stillness of the moment. The ice felt good against her aching body. Rain was cold but happy. 

A toe pressed against her shoulder, causing her to cry out. 

"What are you doing?!" She screamed as her eyes popped open. 

"Enough rest. You'll freeze out here if you fall asleep. Plus, you should get that shoulder looked at. I can't have you getting infected with monster drool, can I?" The man sniffed. "Plus, you kind of smell." 

"I do not!" Rain inhaled deeply, choking on her own stench. "Ok...maybe a little." 

Looking at the horizon, Rain realized it was later than she thought. As much as she didn't want to admit it, being caught out after dark in the wilderness near Ravenheart was not something she could handle just yet. 

Groaning, Rain stood and gathered her things. Although her tutor had offered to make her arrows, she would have to take the knife with her to see if it could be salvaged.

Rain tucked the battered blade back into her jacket. That was a problem for another day.

It was time to go home. 

Rain hadn't really thought too much about her appearance until she reached the city gate. While the guards didn't ask too many questions after she announced that she killed a dormant beast, they did spend extra time checking to make sure that she was in her right mind and not "taken"—whatever that meant.

It wasn't until Rain made it to her home and saw her family's faces that she realized just how gruesome she must look.

And now, looking at the creases in her parents' faces, Rain could see that her reckless behavior had done more than just annoy her teacher.

For that, she was regretful.

To ease their minds, she had told them the events as they unfolded.

Fort rubbed his head, looking years older than when the conversation began.

"Let me get this straight. You went out into the wilderness, tracked down a Nightmare Creature, battled it in hand-to-hand combat, and killed a dormant beast all by yourself?"?

"It does sound pretty fantastic when you put it all together like that." Rain rubbed the back of her neck.

The teen had left her mysterious teacher out of the story, of course.

The dark deity had told her not to mention him to anyone, but more than that, Rain was worried about what her parents might think if she admitted there was a man living in her shadow.

They would think she had gone insane!

With the current evidence before them, she wouldn't blame them for coming to that conclusion anyway.

"That is quite an accomplishment," Noble responded slowly.

"An impossible feat," Fort agreed. "Most mundane soldiers wouldn't have tried something like that. They have their armor and high-powered weapons for a reason."

"Weapons like that don't work here," Rain reminded him.

"All the more reason to be careful." Fort pressed his lips together.

"I will be more careful next time," the teen crossed her heart with her good arm. 

"N-next time?" Fort stared at the scratches on the girl's hands and face with a complicated expression. 

Rain reached out and gripped her father's hand, ignoring the stinging of her broken skin. She smiled at him gently. "It won't be for a while, I assure you." 

After his initial outburst, her father had been eerily calm. Was her mom feeding him emotions to keep him from hitting the ceiling? 

"I don't understand why you are doing what you are doing..." Fort tried not to sound as defeated as he must have felt.

Rain sighed. "If I am honest, I am not sure that I understand it myself. I can't explain it, but this is what I was born to do, Dad. I need to be strong. You just have to trust me." 

A hundred different expressions passed across the man's face before he covered it with his free hand. When he came out, there was a silent resignation in his eyes.

"I love you, and I am glad you are alright." He leaned forward and hugged the teen, careful not to hurt her shoulder. "I won't ever understand, but I will always love you dearly." 

With that, Fort touched his wife's arm and headed out of the room. 

"Is Dad alright?" Rain asked when her father left the room. 

Noble closed her eyes for a moment before turning away from the door. "He will be. I think he has finally accepted that you are growing up and going to do your own thing." 

"Have you accepted it?" Rain asked carefully. 

"I am coming to terms with it in my own way. What you did was very dangerous, Rain."

An object from beside the bed floated into Noble's waiting palm. 

"And this is what you used? I will have to get you something better." 

Rain looked up at her mother with surprise. "Really?" 

Noble arched her brow. "I can't have my only daughter going around with a subpar weapon, can I?" 

"You sound like...someone else I know," Rain chuckled. "Thanks, Mom." 

"Don't get me wrong. I am with your father in not liking these antics. But watching you tell that story just now, I saw something. A different kind of future. And I didn't hate what I saw." 

Noble's words struck a chord deep in the teen's soul. 

A different future.

That is what she wanted, wasn't it? A way for her and her brothers, and the rest of humanity to Awaken without the Spell. 

'I don't care if it takes a year or even ten, I can do it!' The girl vowed silently to herself. 

"There's just one thing. This path you are on. People have noticed. Just today, I had someone let me know that you are gaining a nickname of sorts."

"Nickname?" Rain tilted her head. She had noticed some of her peers giving her funny looks lately, but hadn't given it much thought.

Noble hesitated. "Yes, they are calling you… Crazy Girl."

Noble flinched, but Rain answered with a musical laugh.

"Is that all? Then let them talk. They aren't wrong." The girl rolled her shoulder experimentally. "There is a fine line between genius and insanity. I guess we will have to see which side of the line I fall on."

Noble relaxed. "Before you go trying for either of those again, at least let me treat those wounds properly."

The mother left the room and returned with a tub of ointment.

"I'm fine, Mom, really!" Rain protested.

"If you are going to be a fighter, you need to know how to properly treat yourself. Since you won't let me take you to a physician, let me show you what to do."

Seeing the sense in her mother's words, Rain nodded and opened the collar of her shirt. Already the bruises were turning a sickly purplish-black.

Noble smiled apologetically as she unscrewed the lid from the cream.

"Sweet Rainy. You never take the easy way, do you?" The mother clicked her tongue. "We will get you fixed up in no time. But hold still—this is going to sting."