The Noble Queen-A Shadow Slave Fanfic

Noble spent the rest of the night staring out her kitchen window.

Unless he had retreated to a safer distance, Sunny was out there somewhere in the shadows.

Maybe he was thinking too. She certainly was.

Leaning on the windowsill, the pensive Master stared up at the stars.

Unable to sleep, her mind was pulled in a dozen different directions.

The pile of Memories awaiting her study.

Master Yosh and the Skinwalker. 

The plans she had for the Dreamer Academy in the morning. 

But one image pulled her back from all the other things cluttering her mind: Rain covered in blood. 

It hadn't been as bad as Noble initially thought, but the shock of what might have been rattled her more than she was willing to admit. Thankfully, today it hadn't been an emergency. Rain hadn't even needed professional care. 

That bloody scene and the ramifications of what her daughter was trying to do were what made Noble confront the shadowy guardian. He had answered all of her questions, and been honest in his responses. 

That made things harder. 

If he had lied or broken her trust in some way, she could have justified going against him. If he had tried to deceive or belittle Noble, she would have had grounds for advising Rain to take another path. 

The professor reviewed what both Rain and her elder brother had told her over and over again.

No matter which way she looked at it, her hands were tied.

The only alternative Rain would see for this training was entering a Nightmare. That was trading one possibly deadly situation for another. 

In her desire to grow strong, Rain gravitated toward danger. Sooner or later, Noble would have to accept that. 

She would have to let things play out. 

'I already have to rely on Ki Song to protect my family from the Spell and now I have to rely on a long-lost family member to protect Rain from....everything else.' 

Noble frowned. 

'I don't like it.' 

But what could she do? Unless she wanted to try something drastic...

Noble rubbed her eyes. Major decisions made in the middle of the night were rarely wise. In the morning things would look different. 

Instead of committing herself to a choice she might later regret, Noble dove into her Soul Sea. 

The shimmering water stretched far and wide, bathed by an iridescent sun. No matter how many times Noble viewed this scene, it always took her breath away. 

Beside her, a golden creature manifested on the shore. 

"Helios." 

Noble reached out and pressed her palm into the furry mane as the symncus purred softly. 

Either from her unspoken command or simply in response to her needs, the mighty creature curled up on the ground, allowing Noble to climb on his back. The exhausted Master nestled into his fur with a relieved sigh. 

"Thank you, Leo. It's been a long day. There aren't many distractions here in Ravenheart to keep my mind occupied," Noble frowned, "Or maybe there are too many distractions? It's hard to tell." 

The beautiful creature laid his head down on his paws. Whatever Noble needed, he would be there. And just now the woman desperately needed to feel grounded. 

"Things are too complicated," Noble stared at the starlike orbs overhead. "I liked it better when all I needed to worry about was what Memory I might encounter that day. Those days have long passed." 

Noble chuckled softly, causing Helios to raise one ear in her direction.

"Sorry, I was just realizing that they didn't seem simple at the time. Many of those times seemed like the end of the world too, yet life went on. Not that fighting diaper rash and killing a Nightmare Creature pose the same level of danger, but they each felt dire in their own way…"

While there was no use dwelling on what once was, there was a small amount of solace in reminiscing. So with Helios as her audience, Noble recounted what being a mother, Professor, and Dreamscape Champion had looked like before everything changed. Was she already old enough to sit on the front porch and recount the 'good old days?'

It seemed so, but the retelling of past trials and victories was oddly therapeutic.

Remembering them brought the moments in time back to life, if only for the briefest moment. It was just the distraction Noble had been looking for. 

Slowly, slowly...she drifted off on a river of her memories onto the shores of sleep. 

-----

"Mom? Mom!" Blaze called, breaking through to Noble's consciousness. 

The professor yawned before frowning. Something very rough was pressed against her cheek. Had she somehow gotten her head caught between the wall and the bed? 

Is that why Blaze was yelling at her? 

How long has she been asleep? Noble didn't remember going to bed. 

That was because she hadn't...

"Oh!" 

Noble opened her eyes to see the brown planks against her face. Her entire body was pressed up against the painted wood adorning the ceiling of the first floor. 

Her clothes hung down around her, and one of her slippers had fallen to the ground at some point in her upward float. 

No wonder Blaze sounded panicked!

"I'm fine, dear. I just got a little too relaxed in my Soul Sea and fell asleep." Noble brushed her hair back from her face as she made the short journey to the ground.

"What's going on down here?" Fort hurried down the stairs after hearing Blaze's cry. 

The young man pursed his lips. "Mom fell asleep in the kitchen and was hanging out on the ceiling like a spider." 

Fort glanced up at the ceiling as if looking for a human-sized web. "How did that happen?" 

Noble flushed. 

"I had a lot on my mind, so I tried to clear it of worry. It seems I did too good of a job." 

The ambassador nodded. "At least you did it inside." 

Noble rubbed the back of her neck. "Yeah, I think next time I will head to bed instead of staring out at the stars. Not the most comfortable way to sleep." 

The front door swung open, drawing the attention of the three in the kitchen. Brock bounded in with a satisfied grin.

"It was an excellent morning run," he announced, "and good news! There are no Dormant Beasts about because they are afraid of ending up like their unfortunate friend." 

"You better not have been hunting for them," Fort leveled his gaze at the elder twin. 

Brock held up his hands. 

"Who me? No way. Not today anyway. I was just out for my morning exercise." 

In the absence of a track team, the boy had made his own path around the neighborhood to keep up his training. Noble was a little shocked that she hadn't heard him leave. 

Exactly what time was it? 

She went to the door to peek outside when a moving shadow caught her eye. She looked in that direction but instead of seeing a figure, a package lay neatly tied with twine.

Picking it up, Noble looked at the writing on the top of the inconspicuous box.

"To: Professor Noble. From: Nobody."