Forbidden Love
Chapter Twenty Three
It was a beautiful night, and the pale, yet beautiful glow of the moon in the sky brought a smile to King Sombra's face as he stood on the balcony.
One may think he was at peace, and while that was not a lie, something still disturbed his mind.
The Avatar of the Moon herself, Princess Luna, had been, for the past week, having what would be called nightmares, however, that exact term might not be applicable here, due to the fact that the Princess slept during the day, as the night was under her rule.
Perhaps those would be called 'daymares' or something similar, mused the King, unable to think of anything but what Luna had told him about the nature of those dreams...
"Luna, you seem to be tired," remarked Shadowlance as the Lunar Princess yawned once again.
"I agree," added Sombra. "You have been yawning quite a lot, and you were close to falling asleep in your soup… "
"Us? Tired? Of course not! " denied the Princess. "We art…"
"Luna…" sighed Sombra. "I know your dreams are less than pleasant, but surely you have not been attempting to evade sleep in order to avoid the dreams? Have my spells not been working?"
"Huh? " exclaimed the Princess, for this inquiry caught her off guard. "Of course We have not! Why- why would We?"
Shadowlance exchanged a look with the King, who sighed again.
"Luna… You can tell me anything," offered the former. "I won't judge you for it. And here's the plus side, you won't have to tell Sombra!"
"Just what are you implying?" asks the latter, narrowing his eyes.
"Luna trusts me more than you, duh! I mean, I've been with her for way longer, and I've always been there for her. "
"And I haven't? Honestl-"
"Come on, you're the one who started fighting with me just for a date!"
" Have you got a memory problem or something? You were the one who started it by cursing when you saw me! And for your information, I'm the one who's been with Luna every time she's had a bad dream! I've been the one to comfort her, to reassure her, to calm her!"
"But-"
"...Can you two please stop fighting?"
At the sound of Luna's voice, they both stopped, and all was silent, until Shadowlance decided to use this opportunity. "Luna, if we stop fighting, promise me you'll get some rest? Being sleep deprived isn't good for your health, and even if you try to run on coffee, it won't work. Trust me, as someone who had to drink sixty nine cups of coffee, I know. "
"That's because that Café doesn't make their coffees that powerful, but Shadowlance is still correct. You can't just operate on coffee alone."
"..." There's no reply.
"...Luna?" asks Shadowlance.
Sombra stands up and walks over to the Princess' chair, and taps her gently, only to confirm what he already suspected. "She's fallen asleep…"
"Well, I'll take her back to her room."
He smirks as he gets out of his seat and pulls her chair back to pick the Princess up, but Sombra gets out of his own and takes her.
"Let me take her back to her room. You look exhausted, and having to go to Luna's room and then to the other side of the Castle to your own would tire you out even more."
The Vampire scowls. "And what, your room is close to hers?"
The King nods. "Don't you know? Her room is right next to mine."
This statement of his only increases the Vampire's scowl. "Well, there's no reason why I shouldn't be able to walk a little extra for Luna."
"Shadowlance. I am more worried for Luna's safety. Should you collapse on the way there, you would drop her and she would get injured."
" And what says I would collapse? Surely it isn't that far. "
Sombra chuckles. "You know, I am really fond of stairs. They provide good exercise, are fun to slide down, and if an enemy comes looking for me, they'll have to climb all those stairs. I even put a spell that doesn't allow teleportation so they'll have no choice."
"So?"
"If you want to go to take Luna back to her room, you'll have to go up fifty flights of stairs."
Shadowlance's jaw dropped open. "I always thought you were a little crazy, but I never thought of you as a complete madman!"
"I bid you pleasant dreams," the King said, smiling, and carrying the Princess in his arms, left the room.
Shadowlance paced around in his room. He is taking Luna away from me! All my chances to do anything for her? Taken by him! He's spending too much time with her! And his room is right next to hers… No! He cannot win her heart! But he has too many opportunities to…
My plan of becoming a seer to reassure her that the future would be fine not only backfired, but also caused her to worry even more! He ran his hands through his hair in frustration, and groaned. I need a way to stop him from getting too close, or I won't even be able to have a chance against him.
His gaze fell upon a leaflet he had received while training to become a seer the previous week. It was a travel guide.
He picked it up, and opened it, flipping through the pages, until he stopped.
Looking for the perfect island getaway? A house on an island that's surrounded by a beach?
Look no further, for this matches the description, word for word! The island is situated far from any population, so privacy is not a worry! There are also spells placed there to specifically ward any insects, so your vacation shall be bug-free...
An island getaway in the middle of nowhere? That's the perfect holiday! Luna can relax and spend time with me! And the best thing is...Sombra won't be anywhere near her! She'll be mine! All mine!