Anna's Dream

Anna's eyes snapped open, and she sat up and looked around her room. A strange black fog was flowing under the door and had covered the entire floor. The fog seemed to have drained what little color filled the room, leaving behind only the shades of gray her eldritch sight afforded her.

What the fuck?

She slid out of bed and walked over to the door, pulling it open. On the other side was a massive throne room constructed from ominous looking black stone.

At the far end of the room sat a throne on which a figure clad in black armor sat. The figure lifted their hand and motioned for her to approach. She hesitated for a moment before taking a step through the doorway.

Fuck it. Even if it goes to shit, I'll still have a good story to tell.

She walked up to the throne, her bare feet padding across polished stone before she reached the stairs that led up to where the throne was placed. She looked up at the figure, her eyes lingering on the faceplate of the helmet.

That's weird. I can't see his eyes.

The figure's helmet tilted down and then quickly turned away.

"Sebastian!" the figure shouted.

I was right! He is a man! A very young man too.

Another young man came rushing over. The newcomer had pale skin, dark eyes, and black hair that was cut shoulder length and tied into a ponytail. He was wearing fine clothing and looked to be some sort of servant.

"My lord, what do you nee…" he said.

His words trailed off, and his eyes went wide when he saw her.

"Go get her a cloak or something!" the man in the armor said.

"At once, my lord!" the other man said.

He turned and rushed away, disappearing into a room just behind the throne. She watched him leave and then turned to face the man on the throne once more.

"So, are you going to tell me what's going on here?" she asked.

"I invited you here because I wanted to ask you for a favor," he replied.

"Okay, what is it?" she asked.

"It can wait until Sebastian returns," he replied.

"Alright then," she said.

She started to look around the throne room.

Sure is big in here, and empty. I wonder where everyone is? Elaine told me that throne rooms are always filled with courtiers and advisors and guards and all kinds of other people, so where is everyone? And why's it so fucking dark in here? I thought humans needed more light than this to see. It's like they're dwarves or something.

Sebastian returned and handed her a cloak. She wrapped it around herself and spent a moment looking the man over. He seemed to squirm under her gaze.

"You're a darkling, aren't you?" she asked.

"That's what the humans call us, yes," the man on the throne replied.

She turned to face him again.

"So, what does some darkling boy want with me?" she asked.

The man in the armor stiffened and Sebastian sighed.

"I told you this wasn't going to work, my lord. Anyone formidable enough to best Sir Uther in single combat isn't going to be intimidated by your father's armor," he said.

"But how could you tell?!" the boy on the throne asked.

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"The throne room's empty, and you're using some kind of magic or something to move the armor around cause it's too big for you," she replied.

"This is all wrong! You were supposed to be terrified that the Dark One summoned you and beg for your life!" he said.

"Yeah, that was never going to happen," she replied.

He slumped over and whined.

"But what about mother!?" he asked.

"My lord, we must go! The Chamberlin could come to investigate the gate circle at any moment!" Sebastian said.

The boy quickly jumped up and started to rush in an awkward way towards the room behind the throne.

"Hey! Send me home first!" she said.

"I will once the gate recharges, but we can't be here when Lord Edwards arrives!" the boy replied.

She sighed.

I'm going to get scolded for vanishing again, aren't I?

She followed after the boy, entering into the room.

It was a lavishly furnished office with an armor rack sitting against the wall near the desk. The boy held his arms out and the armor floated off him and returned to the rack where it hung itself. He then stepped out of the sabatons, and they floated over to join the rest of the set.

Sebastian went over to another door and peeked out before motioning for them to join him. They crept out of the room into a vast hallway where the men led her deep into the Dark One's castle.

They reached a room on the far side of the castle where Sebastian opened the door and gestured for her and the boy to enter. She stepped into a luxurious bedroom with the boy and Sebastian following after. He closed the door behind them and then walked over to a table where he pulled out one of the chairs.

"Please sit," he said.

She walked over and sat in the chair, making sure to keep covered in front of the boy.

He can't be more than twelve or thirteen. No wonder he got all bashful when he saw my boobs.

He sat across from her at the table and looked down at his hands shyly.

"So, are you going to tell me what all this is about yet?" she asked.

"I overheard father say that the adventurer who bested Sir Uther was on the way to the kingdom of Thornvald to lift the curse and defeat the sorceress who placed it. My mother is that sorceress, and I don't want her to die," he replied.

"Oh, well, you don't have anything to worry about. Now that I know who the sorceress is, I won't go to Thornvald," she said.

The boy's face lit up.

"You won't?" he asked.

"Nope, look, I can't keep things from my friends, and as soon as they find out, Thokri and the elves will back out of the deal. Their kinds don't want to get involved with the Dark One, and everyone knows I won't go without them, so that's really that," she replied.

The boy smiled brightly, and Sebastian put his hand on his shoulder and gently squeezed.

"Now you have nothing to worry about, my lord," he said.

"So, when can I go home?" she asked.

"The gate should be ready in a few days," Sebastian replied.

Yep. I'm getting scolded for this. Oh well, at least I found out it had something to do with the Dark One before we got there.

"So, am I supposed to sit here wrapped in a cloak until it's ready or something?" she asked.

"No, of course not! I'll fetch you something proper to wear immediately!" Sebastian replied.

"Just get me a big shirt and a belt. I don't need anything fancy," she said.

"Of course," Sebastian replied.

He bowed slightly and scurried through a doorway on the far wall of the room.

"So, what's your name anyway?" she asked.

"Rupert Shadowheart," the boy replied.

"My name's Anna. It's nice to meet you, Rupert," she said.

"It's nice to meet you, too," he replied.

She smiled at him, and he looked away shyly. They sat there awkwardly for a few minutes until Sebastian returned, holding a folded shirt and a sash in his hands.

"This should fit you well enough, miss," he said.

He placed them on the table and then put his hand on Rupert's arm. The boy got up, and the two of them walked a polite distance away. She stood up and let the cloak drop to the floor before pulling the shirt over her head, tightening the cord at the neckline as far as it would go. She then wrapped the sash around her waist and tied it in the dwarven style.

"You can look now," she said.

They turned around and seemed to relax when they saw her. They walked back over to the table, and she picked up the cloak and handed it to Sabastian who tossed it over one of his arms.

"I'll have one of the maids bring this back to the master's study," he said.

"Could you have them bring us up some dinner?" Rupert asked.

"Of course, my lord," Sebastian replied.

He left the room again, and she turned to Rupert.

"So, what now?" she asked.

"Do you want to play a game?" he asked.

"Yeah!" she replied.

He sprang up and rushed over to a cabinet where he picked up an ornate box and brought it back to the table.

"Have you ever played Fraxel before?" he asked.

"Nope, never heard of it," she replied.

"That's alright. I can teach you how to play," he said.

"Alright," she replied.

He opened the box and took out a game board along with a few dozen pieces and began to describe them along with the rules with great enthusiasm.

"And that's it! Easy right?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied.

"Let's start!" he said.

"Okay," she replied.

They started to play, and within a few moves, she began to dominate the board quickly, defeating the boy. He stared down in shock for a moment before looking at her with wide eyes.

"But you said you never played before!" he whined.

"I haven't. I'm just really good at games," she replied.

"So, do you want to play again?" he asked.

"Sure, just don't get mad when I beat you," she replied.

"You won't beat me again!" he said.

He started to reset the board before they began again. She won in half the time.

"But how!?" he asked.

"I told you I'm really good at games," she replied.

He started to set the board up again.

"I'll get you this time!" he said.

She sighed.

Oh, well. It's better than being stuck in a city full of cannibals.