Shadow of the Dark One

Chapter Twelve - Another One

A Chiatoan soldier tapped Jed on the shoulder. He'd yet to see himself the mirror, turned to the man with one eye on him, the other to the door. His chest puffed and he leered forward on the tips of his toes.

"What do you want?" asked Jed, placing a hand to his knife.

The soldier took Jed's hand, the one on his knife and pulled it to him. "Just thought I'd say hello," said the soldier. "It's such a lovely evening."

"You're not right in the head," said Jed, jerking his hand away and back to the knife. His wandering eyes quickly searched the room, seeing countless eyes upon them. "Have all of you been eating goat weed or mushrooms?"

Riko reached over to Jed, pulling him around. "Listen," said Riko. "You need to take a look at yourself."

Jed immediately saw the woman in the mirror, exactly the way he would've looked if he'd been a real woman wearing a flowery dress. He touched his face and the beauty mark on his cheek, rubbed a finger along his softer skin. He wore lipstick and blush, and a red ribbon in his hair tying a bonnet to it with a bun beneath. "Well, that's attractive. But, what about him?"

Riko pulled closer. "Get information," he whispered. "about last night."

Jed turned to the man and smiled, then thought for a second and curtsied, dipping his knees. The other two soon found unwanted admiration of their own, two young men approached and asked if they were single.

"No," said Sano. "Of course," said Riko, looking to Sano. "For two handsome young soldiers like yourselves, we'd do anything." Prince Sano placed a hand on his forehead, blocking his eyes and blushed.

"Oh, Ma'am, if you have a headache, a drink is what you need." said a soldier. "A round of ale for ourselves and our lady friends." said another soldier. "Come and sit with us." said a man at the table to their backs, pulling another chair.

The toothless inn-keeper began pouring drinks and smiling when several coins flipped down upon the bar from every direction.

The three ladies each sat at three different tables, each having a drink and laughing at the soldier's tall tales. Prince Sano had kept his blonde hair and blue eyes, still being the youngest and the shortest of the three. His shyness for the uneasy situation made him drink instead of chatting with the boys. He'd laugh, then pull the mug to his mouth and needlessly sip until having another. All at once, he felt queasy. A soldier touched his hand and pulled him to his/her feet. He found himself unable to stand, his knees locked in place yet wobbled, afraid to step.

"What's wrong with me?" asked the Prince. "How'd this happen," he said, speech slurring as well as blurred vision. The soldier carried his shoulder to the steps leading upstairs.

"You sure are the prettiest thing I've ever seen," the man whispered, actually lifting her feet to make it appear the Prince was taking steps of his own accord. "I couldn't miss an opportunity like this," he whispered. Sano looked back, seeing the other two women still cutting up with the soldiers. He suddenly didn't recognize anyone and yearned to go somewhere and lay down as the room spun from side to side and the ceiling drew closer.

"Take me to a bed," said Sano.

"Yes, Ma'am," said the tall, goofy looking soldier. Sano noticed his lips drooped. He took a finger and placed it against the droopy lip and pushed it back into his mouth. Then, his ears began to sag. He used a finger to push those back as well. A door swung open and Sano felt as though he was thrown down upon a bed. The room spun, the ceiling going round and round. Sano closed eyes, sank into the soft bed-covers and passed out. "What's this?" yelled the soldier.


Downstairs, the men suddenly stood at every table, some cursing and spilling drinks, and shouting. Jed and Riko looked to each other and laughed, seeing themselves as they always were, two lowly, civilian-dressed soldiers.

"Time to go," said Riko, standing and pulling his blade, a cup of ale in the other hand. Three men backed to the door while one pulled the bar and set it in place, locking the double doors.

Jed didn't see the Prince. "Where's Goldie?" he shouted. "Don't know," said Riko.

The only open path lead upstairs. Jed knew dropping out of a second story window would hurt, so he pulled his knife and guarded the rear as Riko climbed the steps. Twenty men surrounded them, knives and swords at the ready. "You're a bunch of fakes." said a soldier. "They stole from me." said the inn-keeper. "Tried to kill my brother." A chair flew over the stair rail, striking Riko in the side. He winced and kicked it, knocking it into the back of Jed's head, causing him to fall forward.

The men beneath grabbed Jed's feet, dragging him down the stairs. Riko still carried a cup of ale and flung the contents over the men. The room filled with snow. Believing he could now perform magic, Riko took the cover from an oil lamp and held the cup next to it. "Release my friend," said Riko, "or I'll burn this whole place down." The snow-covered men believed him and allowed Jed to stand. Jed joined Riko upstairs. The two ran into an open room and shut the door.

"Who are you two?" asked a tall, young soldier.

"This is our room, get out," said Jed.

The soldier opened the door and was met by swords, hands latched into his arms and pulled him away, back into the room. Jed had grabbed him, using the soldier to shield himself from the silver blades. Looking to the barred window, Jed saw a dark figure laying on the bed. "Guess who's drunk," said Jed.

"I did it," said the soldier. "I didn't mean to do it."

"What was it?" asked Riko. "What happened to the Prince?"

"Prince, said the soldier, pulling a sword. Jed lunged for him, pushing him against the wall. Another sword stuck through the wall from the hallway, almost plunging into Jed's chest. The young soldier pushed, seeing another sword almost strike him. "I didn't know it was a freak," he said, pushing Jed across the bed, landing on top of the dark elf.

The door slammed open. Riko held the glass cup in one hand and it slowly rose over his head, stopping the men where they stood. "Don't make me kill us all," he yelled. He looked for the oil lamp, seeing it on the other side of the room. The men saw it too and rushed inside. Jed kicked the young soldier from the bed where he'd fallen on top. The soldier struck the others, knocking two to the floor, not including the tall one. Jed rolled over, pulling Prince Sano around to shield himself.

"What is that thing?" yelled a soldier, seeing the half-naked elf laying on top of Jed. "It's a monstrosity."

"It took that girl I brought in here." said the tall one on the floor. "I think it ate her. I swear, it ate that young girl," he screamed.

Riko thought for a second and saw the cup filling with blue energy. As the soldiers stood and raised swords again, he slung the contents of the cup across the soldier's faces, who suddenly became fat, their shirts and pants popping buttons and belts. Arms and legs grew, as though they'd each eaten another entire person. Folds of fat swelled and burst through clothing. Some fell down again, almost trampling each other and screaming in pain from the effects.

Riko thought again, filling the cup with energy. He slung the blue liquid across the wall behind the bed. Parts of the wall vanished, revealing the darkness outside. He filled the cup again, looking down from the second story hole in the wall. Riko poured the blue contents of the glass and waited. "Let's go," he yelled, dropping straight down as if diving into water. Jed picked up the sleeping elf and ran. As he jumped, pushing the elf in front to shield, he yelled "Riko."