The Shadow

“This cannot go on.”

A man in a sharp looking suit stood up from his seat in excitement.

“This is unacceptable!”

“He will drive us to ruin!”

“You have to do something about this.”

A tyranny of voices sounded throughout the council room as wealthy men started to argue amongst themselves. One man adorned with a crown on his head and who wore a fur-lined cloak watched the council. He seemed calm. They were all angry with him, but he knew how he would settle this matter once and for all.

He looked at his guard, sitting by his side, who nodded.The guard, a strong, dark-skinned individual got up from his chair and whistled loudly. The whole room fell into a silence before his calm voice filled the air, “The king wishes to speak.”

The men in the room looked at their monarch. He stood up now before walking to the middle of the room so that he could better face all of his men. “I will hire Shadow.”

The silence in the room was suffocating as the men stared at their king. Shadow? The name was taboo on the lips of anyone. It was blasphemy coming out of the monarch’s mouth.

After a moment of silence, one brave soul spoke up, “You can’t possibly mean you’re going to communicate with that killer. That’s insane!” The man looked horrified at the idea.

The king looked at the man. “Did I stutter?” He paused and looked around. “This meeting is adjourned.” With those last words, the king left the council room.

The wealthy individuals looked at each other. No one knew what had just happened, but they all felt a shiver run down their spines at the mere mention of the Shadow. This was exactly what they wanted, but, at the same time, inciting the help of the Shadow was always a drastic move.

The Shadow was a well-known bounty hunter in the Kingdom of Vaisal. A bounty had never escaped the Shadow’s grasp and to be on her list was to be as good as dead.

With this in mind, hiring the Shadow would solve their problems, but it also meant that the thief was as good as dead.

The man that had broken into their homes, the man that had stolen their wealth, the man that had avoided the police for months, would be six feet under the ground soon enough.

He was already dead!

The Shadow moved quickly through the castle.

She seemed to flow through the dimly lit corridors as if she were actually one of the shadows decorating the walls.

If the servants happened to stumble upon her they would quickly hide away in fear, some of them even uttered soft-spoken prayers.

No one dared to approach the Shadow. And who would? Dressed in all black, a hood obscuring her face, a massive bow slung onto her back, deadly arrows filling her quiver, and an excess of throwing knives decorating her body: she was straight out of a nightmare.

It was a solitary existence being the Shadow, but no one asked her whether it bothered her or not. Everyone stayed away from the menacing force that was the Shadow.

She now stood before the large oak doors that guarded the king’s throne room. As she stood there it seemed as if she were hesitating. Could it be that the ruthless Shadow didn’t want to enter the room? This woman could kill a man without hesitation and yet, why did she waiver before entering the king’s throne room?

Eventually, however, she knocked on the door and waited while the dark-skinned individual from the meeting answered the door. He looked at her and shuddered a bit, praying to his pagan Gods as he stared at the she-devil.

The Shadow paid the man no mind as she entered the throne room. Any hesitation that she might have had while standing outside the door was now gone.

The king had his back to the Shadow as he looked out his window. His kingdom seemed calm, but there was a thief on the loose that needed to be stopped. He was breaking into the homes of the wealthy and even though he never stole much, he still needed to be stopped.

The Kingdom of Vaisal couldn’t afford to have someone running around and angering the king’s most valuable allies. If he was left unattended he would bleed the kingdom dry. The thief had to be stopped. And with the help of the Shadow he was already dead.

The king continued to look out the window. He seemed to have the audacity to keep the Shadow waiting even though other men would never think of doing such a thing. Most other men would be on their knees begging for their lives if they were to find themselves face to face with the she-devil.

Eventually, when it so pleased him, the king turned around and faced the woman clad in black. The Shadow had yet to speak a word. She looked in his general direction, but the hood that covered her face obscured whether she was actually looking at the monarch or not. It had been a long time since anyone had gazed upon her face.

“I have a new bounty for you.” The king said as he walked toward the bounty hunter. It seemed like he had no fear of this deadly killer and was now face to face with her. The woman was small compared to the well-built king, but there was no denying that the woman could have an arrow piercing through his chest in a moment’s notice.

The king, seeing that she would not respond, continued. He pulled out a piece of paper with a rough sketch on it. “A criminal has been terrorizing the kingdom and I want you to get rid of him. He has already terrorized our neighboring kingdoms and it is only a matter of time before he bleeds our vaults dry as well.

The police have been on his case for months with no leads. He has a way of blending into the night. Makes me wonder if he’s not one of your kind… Anyway… I want you to catch this man. I want his head.” The Shadow grabbed the piece of paper. The police had done a very poor job of depicting the man as she looked at the sketch.

“Can you do that for me?” There was no response from the woman but as the king looked up he saw her leaving the throne room with the criminal’s sketch in her hand.


The king grinned, knowing that the criminal was as good as dead. And a dead man couldn’t steal.

Siblings

It was dark. It was always dark when he went to work. He waited for the nights when clouds covered the moon and the world plunged into darkness. He needed all the cover he could get as he climbed the walls of the rich and privileged and broke into their homes. The man didn’t want to do what he did, but he didn’t have a choice.

So, he climbed the wall diligently. He had his eye focused on a window on the top floor. The window was never locked and it would make an easy point of entry. Slowly, he climbed the wall, hoping that the moon would stay covered by the clouds and that he would stay cloaked by the shadows.

Finally, his calloused fingers gripped onto the ledge of the window as he hoisted himself up. He balanced himself on the ledge as he opened up the window slowly. Luckily, the window opened noiselessly and he slipped inside.

The duke’s home was lavish. Even in this forgotten attic, covered with dust and debris, there were valuables piled high that could feed a poor man for a year. But this man never stole goods. He only stole cash. A stolen good could be traced back to its owner and seller. Cash could not. No one looked twice if he paid in gold coins just as long as he had a nice shirt on.

Moving quickly and silently he kept to the shadows as he moved throughout the house. Soon, after checking behind the duke’s self-portrait the man found the building’s safe. It was so typical for the rich man to hide his money behind his own portrait. Would they never learn?

The man, taking a moment to check his surroundings decided that he was alone and that it was safe to proceed. He pressed his ear against the cold metal and listened to the heartbeat-like sounds emanating from behind the safe’s dial. Soon enough he heard the distinct click of the safe opening and he smiled in success.

There was never a safe he couldn’t crack. Grinning, he looked inside to find a burlap sack. He grabbed it quickly and opened it to find gold coins. He grinned again before reaching inside the sack and grabbing about half of the coins. He quickly shoved them into his pockets. Moving quickly, he shoved the sack back into the safe and closed it.

He retraced his steps, his pockets now chiming with the sound of fresh money. He climbed out the window, thinking about his actions. Did stealing make him a bad person? He wondered how much longer he could fool himself into thinking he was good. But, the man didn’t dwell on the dark topic for long, instead he closed the window behind him. He grinned, knowing that no one would find a trace of his break-in. He always made sure to cover his tracks whenever he committed any crime. This was how he had managed to evade the police for so long. They could find nothing: no clues, no witnesses, nothing. He was like a shadow in the night that came and left without a trace.

For this reason, he was able to leave the duke’s home with his pockets full of gold coins. He could have stolen everything within the safe, but he only ever took what he needed, never anything more. He didn’t steal because of an innate evil lurking inside of his heart, but instead he did it for her.

Following

Hmm,interesting

Am on this bring it on