The Noble Queen-A Shadow Slave Fanfic

Noble left the Archives with a ridiculous smile on her face.

Her plan had gone even more smoothly than she had hoped.

Hex had made assumptions without her having to lie and had come up with a plan with minimal input from her.

Noble would have loved to have left the papers on the Archive's doorstep like an abandoned child and hoped for the best, but she had decided to see it through for two reasons.

First, she had said she would handle it. Even though she hadn't asked for it, Noble had been entrusted with something valuable. Leaving it behind and hoping for the best seemed irresponsible.

The second reason was the archivist, Hex. Noble needed to make sure he understood the gravity of the situation.

The professor would have felt terrible if she had caused the young archivist trouble when she could have helped to avoid it.

Fortunately, he was reasonable and saw the value in anonymity.

But, just to be safe, she wished him well. Her essence flowed strangely, indicating that her Kingdom Keeper attribute was at work once again.

That put her mind at ease.

'I'm probably overreacting anyway. It's just a report. Maybe Hex and I will be the only ones who care. I could be making a mountain out of a speck of dust.'

The academic community gained hundreds of contributions daily—sometimes even into the thousands now that so many additional people had Awakened in Antarctica.

It was possible this little report would fall through the cracks and be given no credence, especially since the author would not identify themselves.

All of her angst was for nothing.

'In a week or two, I will all but have forgotten that this even happened.'

Blowing out her cheeks, Noble pulled on her tether and returned to the Jade Palace.

As much as Noble wanted to stick around and see the report be added to the database, she had other commitments. It was time to get on with her day.

'Who knows? Hex might delay the release to further distance himself from the report. I'll check in the morning. Most likely, everything will be fine.'

——

"This is not fine!" Noble stared at her communicator, her face growing pale. "How did this happen?!"

Having awoken bright and early in Ravenheart, Noble had made breakfast for her family and then headed to the Academy.

She still had a ton of work to do and there was her meeting with the government too. It was going to be a jam-packed day.

A day that came to a screeching halt the moment she picked up her communicator and looked at the news

The top story was from none other than Frey.

"Tomb of Ariel: The Surprise Revelations that Nobody Knows."

Not only had the nonsense-free reporter found the entry in the database, he had stayed up all night reading it and making an article of his own.

And if he had picked up on the report…

Noble scrolled down the news column.

"Oh…Spell."

Every major news source had an announcement about the report on the Tomb and its mysterious author.

But that wasn't the worst part.

Just as Noble was reaching the bottom of the articles, the page refreshed with an official statement by Clan Valor.

"We question the validity of a report by an unknown author. Neither Lady Changing Star nor any of those with her lay claim to this piece of literature. We ask that the author come forward and identify themselves immediately. Compensation will be awarded to anyone who can provide information that might shed some light on who this Nobody might be."

"They are hunting him." The professor mumbled to herself.

Her hunch, it seemed, had been correct. If the account was false, then Valor would have ignored it and let people think what they wanted. Their offering of a reward meant that the person who wrote about the Tomb of Ariel was worth finding.

If Sunny wasn't a fugitive before, he was now.

Because a Great Clan had come out so publicly, Noble doubted very much that they would let the author of the article go with just a slap on the wrist.

"Who is being hunted?"

Noble jumped as Bee Two's voice emanated from her alcove.

"Someone who survived the Tomb of Ariel."

The Professor explained.

Coming out from the alcove, Bee Two joined the Master at her desk.

"I had noticed a drastic upswing in the mention of that place in the media overnight. Are you concerned for the person being hunted?" The android asked with a human-like tilt of the head.

Noble pursed her lips. "No, I suppose not. Why should I be?"

The professor was the only link back to the mysterious Saint hiding in her daughter's shadow. Outing him would be admitting her own part in revealing the information.

And she wasn't about to bring that heat on herself.

"I don't know." Bee Two shrugged. "It's not like you are the one who went to the tomb."

"If I had you would be calling me Saint Noble," the professor shook her head. "Alas, I'm still a Master."

Bee Two reached forward, pulling the golden bracelets from her wrists before she even registered what was happening.

"What are you doing?!" Noble demanded of her assistant.

The android whirred softly as a light passed over Noble's thin frame.

"Yes, still a Master," Bee Two confirmed.

"How did you do that?" Noble's mouth dropped open.

"I acquired an upgrade after that Awakened tried to pass himself off as a Sleeper and disabled me. I won't be caught unaware again." The android's eyes glowed red before returning to normal.

"I didn't install any upgrade like that." Noble furrowed her brow.

"I never said you did." Bee Two nodded.

"When you say 'acquired,' do you mean—" Noble felt alloy fingers press up against her lips.

"It's better if you don't ask questions that you don't want the answers to."

"You know what? You're right. Ignorance is bliss," Noble decided.

"Then you might not like knowing that Clan Song has just issued a similar reward for information about this Nobody."

Noble tilted up her chin.

"I don't care. It doesn't concern me."

"So you've said before, but your eyes have twitched both times. Isn't that an indication that people might be telling falsehoods?"

"Sometimes," Noble felt her eyes begin to swirl.

"Then if that is the case, you do care about this Nobody and what happens to them." The assistant reasoned.

"If you say so." The professor did not feel like arguing.

"It makes some sense that you would care. You care for almost everyone. It is out of character for you to deny it." The android began to pace as it worked out the puzzle. "The only reason people tell lies is to avoid telling the truth. What are you avoiding, Professor Noble?"

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Noble shut her eyes. "Perhaps I was trying to avoid having this exact conversation with you."

"That actually makes sense," the android stored the information, "but if that is the case, then why—"

"Bee Two, I have a lot of work to do. Please check the Memory chamber. I anticipate at least a few explosions in our upcoming class."

The android placed its hands on its alloy hips. "And if there aren't?"

Noble leveled her gaze at the sassy assistant. "Then I'll make some."