The Noble Queen-A Shadow Slave Fanfic

Rain quickly laid out her case. "I worked extra hard to finish my studies for the year. Even if it is a short break, I would like to try some training. I think it would be useful in many regards to have–" 

"Yes." Noble stared evenly at her daughter, ignoring the spike in emotions from her husband. "If...I mean when I get things up and running, you may enroll if you desire." 

Rain's face lit up. "Really?!" 

Noble nodded. "Really."

As much as it hurt Noble to think about one of her children willingly entering the embrace of the Spell, she knew it would be foolish to deny her daughter this chance.

Hypocritical even. 

She had trained Rain many times before, though the circumstances were different. At the end of the day, Rain was her own person who would make her own decisions in life. 

"If you want to take that path, I will do everything in my power to make sure you succeed." The professor just wished it didn't make her heart ache so badly. 

"Dad?" Rain could see she had struck a nerve once again. 

The ambassador looked up at her with pain in his eyes. 

"Nothing is set in stone. Taking a few classes doesn't mean I am obligated to take on the Nightmare...does it?" Rain peeked at her mother, who confirmed that this was true. "I just want to learn." 

"I know," Fort wiped moisture away from his face, forcing a smile. "I think it has just been a very long, emotional day. We can talk more tomorrow. I trust you, Rain. That's the important thing." 

"Thanks, Dad. That means a lot." Rain laid her head on the shoulder of the man beside her on the bench. 

Noble yawned. It really had been a long day. It was strange how time worked. Some days were filled with things that would be forgotten as a person's head hit the pillow while every detail of others would be ingrained in the mind forever. 

This day certainly fell in the second category.

 Noble's yawn was contagious, and soon the other family members were also showing signs that bedtime was nigh. 

"We should turn in before it gets too late." She stretched. 

"But Mom, I'm not tired," Brock smothered his sudden intake of breath as his eyes shut. 

"We have a lot to explore tomorrow. We will need our beauty rest. Beyond that, now that we don't have electricity, we will have to be more frugal with our resources. Unless we use one of my Memories, all of the light at night will be made by fires."

Noble indicated the oil lamp on the table and the fireplace in the kitchen. The latter had burned down almost to embers. 

"Let me show you all how to properly bank the flames for the night. We don't want anything in our new place to catch fire while we are sleeping." Noble led her family through the process, which the others had only practiced once or twice before coming, and then dug through one of their boxes to find candles. 

"Remember to blow these out before you go to sleep," Fort warned his children as he handed them out. "I'll leave the lamp dimmed in the upstairs hall tonight in case you need to go to the restroom." 

They would all have to share one restroom for now, but at least it was indoors! There were only two things that Fort had requested when having the house constructed, and indoor plumbing was one of them. 

Noble was incredibly thankful for his foresight. The public facilities were unpleasant to use in Ender's Deep, and so a private space inside the home could not be undervalued. 

After the kids had prepared for bed, Noble and Fort made sure the lights were out before going to their room. 

For the second time since entering the house, Noble was amazed at what she saw. Not only had Fort managed to unpack her clothes and hang them in her new closet, but he had put the linens on their new bed. 

"What do you think?" The man wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulder as he beamed. 

Noble's hand covered her mouth. 

The second provision that Fort had made was for his wife's comfort. He had commissioned a specially designed bed. Since there was no spelltech in the Dream Realm, they could not bring their floating bed with them. 

While Noble could have floated with a tether like she did normally in the Dream Realm, Fort had not liked the idea. 

Thankfully there was a low-tech solution to ease the effects of Noble's flaw. 

Running her hand along the braided vines, Noble tested their strength. Each one was thicker than her arm and attached to the open rafters overhead. Fabric interwove to make a gossamer canopy that shimmered like stars. 

The way it hung made it look like a rectangular hammock. 

"It looks so nice! I can hardly believe it. It's a bed fit for a queen!" 

Noble had finally gotten used to her bed at home after years in her pod and a stint in her Nightmare. So it was nice not to have to switch sleeping methods yet again. 

"I'm glad you like it. Trying to communicate exactly what I wanted across worlds was not easy." Fort smiled, enjoying the awestruck look on his wife's face. 

"Well, you did it perfectly." 

Noble called forth the [Lucent Taper] so that Fort could place the lamp in the upstairs hall. 

Then together, they tried out the new piece of furniture. Noble snuggled under the covers and weighted them to hold her down. The vines only moved slightly under the increased weight. 

The professor sighed happily. 

"Like laying on a cloud." 

Fort pulled her close to himself. "Makes sense. I'm here with an angel!" 

"And yet something is bothering you. Did I not give a large enough reaction to the big reveal, because I think I can do better!" Noble put on her best shocked face. 

Her antics earned a small chuckle of acknowledgment from her husband before he looked up at the ceiling. 

"It's Rain. This is the second time she has talked about taking on a Nightmare. I...I love her, but I don't like it one bit. How am I supposed to be ok with it?"

His words were spoken softly, but they filled the whole room. The pair lay there in silence for quite some time. 

"I don't know," Noble admitted. "Maybe we don't have to be ok with it as much as support her choices. The worlds are changing and we have to change with them, whether we like it or not." 

"Hmph..." Fort wasn't sure what else to say.

Hadn't he brought Rain to the Dream Realm with the promise that she could make her own decision when the time came?

"I still hate it." He puffed out his cheeks. 

"I understand. We can't always protect them, but we can do our best to prepare them." Noble said the words as much to herself as her husband. 

"Then you better prepare that girl to conquer the world," Fort responded seriously, "because she may be crazy enough to try and do it." 

"I'll do my best," Noble rested against her husband's chest and closed her eyes. 

They both had their own worlds to conquer tomorrow morning, so they needed a full night of sleep. 

Just before drifting off, Noble did one last check for the Skinwalker. 

Finding nothing, her body relaxed, and she dismissed her candle Memory. In the darkness, Noble summoned Helios and gave him a silent command to guard the house. He padded off, ready to fulfill his mission until morning. 

'Thank you, Leo.' Noble thought as she drifted off. 

Noble might not be able to protect her children forever. 

But for tonight, they could all rest in peace.