Shadow Buttons Chapter 2

Chapter Two
The Castle’s Lord

Ravenlunnatic whirled around and angrily faced her friend.
“It’s your fault Mei Ling left!”
“Me?!” A now furious Naturalunicorn answered. “I was trying to be nice to her!” The two animals glared at each other, and RL let out a low growl. NU broke the glare and smiled at the raven.
“Ravens growl?” she asked her friend, amused.
“Yes.”
“So which way are our rooms?” NU asked, changing the subject. Still a little frustrated, the raven simply pointed up the stairs in the entrance hall.
“Ah. And where was that place Mei Ling seemed nervous about? You know, behind those curtains?”
“The west wing,” RL responded, giving up on her anger. “Should we go check it out?”
“Well, where do you want to go?” NU asked, not feeling like arguing that minute.
“Let’s check those curtains out,” RL said joyfully and flew through the open door from which they had come toward the ballroom. The hall that was just shadowy before now ran shivers down their back. They entered the large ballroom, quivering in what they told themselves was excitement and scampered as quickly as they could to the curtains. RL lifted the curtains slightly with her beak and peered into the dark, loaming hallway.
“Don’t go behind there!” a small voice whispered urgently.
“You take the rear end and keep watch,” NU said almost over the voice, organizing the exploration party.
“Wait-who said that?”
“Umm, nobody!” the voice whispered again, faintly. The castle was silent of any noise other than that of our heroines.
“Oh good, nobody’s here,” NU sighed, relieved. She must’ve been hearing things. Lighting her horn to be extra bright for the trip, she turned to RL.
“Let’s go.”
“There’s a creature of evil down there!” the voice pleaded faintly again. NU paused, listening hard.
“That’s ok with me,” RL declared.
“Who said that?” NU demanded. Her answer was silence, and the presence of the voice lifted like a fog.
“Stop making those weird noises to scare me, Raven! Follow me and keep quiet!”
“What?” RL asked, taken aback. “Why do you always blame the bird?”
“SSH!” NU took careful, quick steps down the stairs on the very edges of her hooves. RL snickered at the sight.
“Unicorns can walk on tip-toe?”
“Yes,” NU whispered, indicating she did not want to talk anymore. The stairs spiraled down, getting darker as they got lower. RL’s once steady heart beat quickened in her breast. She flew closer to the unicorn as NU scrunched her nose.
“This reeks of decay,” she murmured, the scent of earth and mold overwhelmed her nostrils. A shivering glow ran over the unicorn’s body as her natural purity cleared the air around them. As the stairs ended, NU stepped on a stone floor littered with old moldy hay and dirt. RL landed next to her and glanced around in the darkness, her heart a hummingbird in her ribcage. Barred cells with nothing but cobwebs and rusty chains continued along the wall across from them, and stretching on into the darkness. The wall parallel to the cells was dotted with a suit of armor every yard. They walked along the cells, eying each one to see if there were any signs of life.
“Anyone home?” the unicorn whispered into the dark.
“Hello?” the raven squeaked, wishing fiercely that no one would respond.
Her wish was not granted. Loud, tormented howls instantly filled the dark silence, screaming in agony and shaking deep into their bones. NU stopped walking and stood ridged like a corpse, her legs frozen in place. RL shook with every feather of her being, only her friend standing beside her kept her from flying away from this place. It was one thing to be afraid; it was another to be afraid alone. Almost instantly- although to the pair it felt like forever- the howls receded into the dungeon, making the darkness around them seem much larger.
“Hey NU, do you think we should turn back now?”
“No. Somebody needs help, we must help them,” NU declared. She dowsed her horn and backed against the wall, letting her eyes adjust to the dark. No one was going to find her because of the light. She eyed the dungeon for the source of the sound. With her night vision, RL glanced up at the unicorn and wondered where her sanity went.
“Uhhh, okay… What about us though?”
“We aren’t screaming in agony,” NU pointed out. She smiled down at the raven. “Well, maybe you are.”
“No, I’m not,” RL snapped.
“Good, let’s go.” NU stepped away from the wall and continued down the dungeon. RL followed her meekly, not wanting to be alone.
Creak. Squeeeeak. Clank. Clank. Clank. One of the suits of armor stepped off its stand and was lumbering toward them, holding its large axe over the suit’s shoulder. A glowing symbol lit the helmet’s otherwise hollow interior.
“Uh oh,” RL squeaked.
“Hello there! We’re looking for whoever was screaming just now, want to help us?” NU asked, eying the animated suit of armor.
Clank. Clank. Clank. CLANK. It moved closer, making no notion of having heard or cared.
“I have a really bad feeling about this,” RL gasped, and fainted. NU scooped up RL without taking her eyes from the suit. The suit kept on walking, having blocked their path.
“Umm Um… Do you know LC? I’m looking for her.” The suit non-emotionally swung its axe down on the unicorn, like her head was a log to be split.
“EEEK!” NU screeched in terror, bobbing off to the side and avoiding the deadly blade. It wasn’t safe to play around anymore.
“I’ll be going now!” NU whinnied as she whirled around and tore back up the stairs, her horn blazed as brightly like the sun to blind any followers. Only when she was back at the top did she stop long enough to listen for her attacker. The clanks faded away in the distance and stopped. The pursuit had ended. Gasping for breath, NU stared back down the dark stairway.
“Hmmm. Maybe we can try to knock the knight over,” NU plotted out loud. “I hear that armor is too heavy for them to get up easily.”
RL twitched awake, and seeing she was away from the dungeon, muttered,
“Thank goodness.” NU unceremoniously dropped her on the floor.
“We need to help whoever was screaming,” she stubbornly declared.
“But you can’t see very well down there,” RL stated. “I have night vision, doncha know.” NU backed away from RL. Being able to see in the dark was creepy. Was RL always able to do that?
“Since when?”
“I’ve always had it. I just never let on,” RL claimed, pretending to have this conversation for the first time despite having already told the unicorn about her power earlier that day. The oblivious unicorn stared suspiciously at the raven.
“Hello? I’m on your side!” RL declared indignantly. This made NU snort at her self-righteously, but she let it drop for now.
“So go fly down there and tell me what’s up,” NU ordered.
“I can also give you night vision…” RL offered, not wanting to be alone down there again.
“No thanks! That’s way too strange!” NU shoved RL towards the stairs impatiently.
“Go on now! Go!”
“Okay okay!”
“Just stay close to the ceiling and the knight won’t get you.”
Down the stairs RL flew, with less care then-the first time. Despite the danger she had experienced before, her curiosity to see what would happen won over caution.

The suit of armor was waiting at the bottom of the stairs for her. Frightened already, she hovered close to the ceiling and attempted to maneuver, her wings slapping the stone ceiling with every flap. Short as the suit of armor was, its axe was on a long pole. Sparks flew as the axe blade scraped across the ceiling straight at the raven. Dodging it, RL thought she saw something laying still in a far off cell, but to avoid the axe she dove straight for the stairs and flew up them as fast as she could.

“Back so soon?” NU asked from the top of the stairs, just in time for RL to flutter down beside her.
“It has a really big axe!”
“I saw that earlier,” NU pointed out. “Maybe if you try to rust it…”
“NOOO I’m not going back down there alone again! You’re getting night vision and you’re coming with me!” A crack of lighting boomed through the halls, and suddenly NU’s eyes couldn’t look away from RL’s. The room appeared so dark that the raven’s teal eyes were the only visible things, and NU shuddered as a foreign energy filled her. She blinked and the room was back to its slightly lighted self, but NU felt repulsed by the new feeling in her eyes.
“NOOO!” she whinnied in horror.
“There! Now you go and see what’s down there…” RL smugly told her friend. The unicorn would not listen.
“Cursed raven from the night’s shore, what have you done?!” Clearly upset, NU the drama queen ran as fast as her hooves could take her from the offending raven.
“At least now we can both see the enemy,” RL explained, called after NU. Naturalunicorn ran further down the hall and into the entranceway, screaming loudly,
“MY EYES, MY EYES, MY BEAUTIFUL EYES!” Giving chase, RL tried to make the unicorn see reason.
“Your eyes are fine! Come back!!”
“AAAAHHH, MY EYES!!”

Naturalunicorn burst threw the nearest open door she could find. It was bathing room. She shut the door behind her, knowing the raven would not be able to open it. Realizing where she was, she pumped water into the deep tub and plunged her head into it. Outside the door, RL caught the eye of the man in the tapestry again and didn’t feel safe being alone. Calmly, she tried to talk to her friend through the door.
“I did no damage to you whatsoever. You can come out now.”
“AAH cursed raven from the night’s plutonian shore!”
“You are NOT injured! Stop insulting me!”
NU wondered about her safety in the presence of “that bird”. She began to search through the bath scents for something that could possibly tranquilize the raven long enough to escape from her.
“Come on out now… you are NOT hurt! You’re just overreacting,” RL demanded from outside the door. She knocked on the door with her beak when she didn’t get a response. Finally sighing, she said,
“Fine, I’ll go back to our rooms. You can come out after I leave.”
NU, having found nothing useful but bandages, eyed the door wearily.
“You do that.”
Alone, RL flew up the stairs, somehow found the way back to her room and closed the door behind her.

Downstairs, NU grabbed a roll of bandages for later use, and peered cautiously out the doorway. Satisfied that RL was gone, NU made her away into the castle’s kitchen. She began her plans to rust the “knight”.

RL felt very lonely by herself in her room. Tthe shiny things in it had distracted her for a while, but they had only made her remember brighter times, when she, NU and LC would make daisy chains, wade in the ocean, or dance under the moonlight together. If LC had been there, she might’ve pointed out that the three of them never did those things, but she wasn’t and RL had a powerful enough imagination to make-up memories- so in her “memories”, she began to miss her friends. With the image of fun times together and guilt for acting impulsively, the raven’s wings carried her out of her room and somehow landed her in the kitchen a minute after NU found it.

The kitchen seemed large for a single serving maid, but Mei Ling went diligently about her work, washing the serving platters left over from dinner. She smiled softly at the pair when she noticed them, but kept working.
“Are you looking for a snack?” she asked over her scrubbing.
“No, I’m fine, I’d just like a pot of water,” NU answered, grabbing a pot off a hook on the wall.
“I would like a snack,” RL chimed in at the same time. NU’s focus on Mei Ling as the girl took the pot from the unicorn made RL’s presence go unnoticed. NU eyed Mei Ling worriedly as the maiden handed her the filled pot.
“Need any help? You’re always working.”
“Let us help you, Ling,” RL insisted. NU noticed RL this time and reared in fear, whinnying mightily. Bursting out of the kitchen with the pot’s water dripping everywhere NU ran far away from that bird as she could, screaming,
“AAAAAAAH! Cursed bird of the night’s plutonian shore!!”
“What is with her?” RL asked the maiden.
“I don’t know…” Mei Ling responded, worried about the unicorn. “Did you two have an argument?”
“No.”
“Oh.” Mei Ling blushed with embarrassment- she must’ve assumed the wrong thing.
“I think I’ll just go talk with her,” the raven declared. Mei Ling nodded, still blushing, and went back to the platters.
“If you need any help just call me,” RL offered.
“Alright,” Mei Ling answered, the red on her face hidden by the back of her head. Not lingering anymore, RL took after her friend.

Having run through another random door, a dripping NU found herself in a library with towering bookshelves. Although some books were on the shelves, most were in piles on the floor, and some were on the lone desk in the room. The bookshelves themselves were arranged unintentionally like a maze, with many twists and turns. NU even spotted the occasional scroll.
“Ooh I love books!” she whinnied with pleasure. Her pleasure was short-lived, and she stood stiffly when the Raven’s voice broke into the library.
“Hey NU, wait up!”
“AAAAH! Cursed bird keeps following me!!” Loosing more water, NU tore off at top speed, weaving in between bookshelves, leaping over book piles and out another open door.
“Don’t worry! I won’t hurt you!!” RL called ruefully after her friend. Not having to leap over things, RL managed to keep an eye on her friend as the unicorn ran down halls and through random doors.
“I’m your friend!” RL insisted, not far behind. Before NU knew it she was running back through the tattered curtain, down the stairs, and into the dungeon. The suit of armor was still against the wall, but a man with long red hair and dark blue eyes stood in front of NU, blocking her path. She skidded to a halt, having barely avoided impaling the man in front of her. Seeing that the unicorn had stopped, he relaxed and addressed her.
“Can I help you, my beauty?”
“Yes, please,” she gasped.
“Get rid of that raven on me!” RL fluttered in and looked annoyed with NU. She was only trying to make amends! The man looked at the weary pair and smiled at them.
“Here, let me guide you someplace nicer. A dungeon is no place for beauties like you.” Turning them around, he started to lead them back up the stairs. NU, tired enough not to question followed him. Giving a sigh, RL decided to rest on NU soft white back. A bad idea. All at once, NU’s wits returned and she remembered what the raven had done. Turning around, she ran screaming past the man and deeper into the dungeon, RL tumbling off of her back. With a quick toss of a stone the man toppled a suit of armor, blocking NU’s path. She whinnied in surprise and stopped.

When NU stopped, the man took his attention away from her, lowered his arm to the floor, and offered a perch for RL to climb up on. Gratefully she accepted, and the man stood upright again with the raven on his arm. NU backed up against the suit of armor, distrustful of everyone now.
“Please ladies, come with me,” the man pleaded.
“Yes, let’s go with the nice man,” RL agreed.
“Why?” NU asked.
“Like I said, a dungeon is no place for a lady.”
“I’m going back to bed,” NU declared, walking past RL and the man. “This was all a bad dream, this was all a bad dream…”
“If I were closer to you, I’d GENTLY poke you,” RL threatened, annoyed with her friend’s dramatics. They came up the stairs, and although NU tried to go back to her room the man insisted they both follow him. She was steered unwillingly back to the library, and the man took a seat behind the desk.
“Please, sit,” the man insisted, letting RL hop off unto his desk. NU stood, a purposeful distance away. As if he knew what was wrong, the man waved his hand meaningfully at NU. Suddenly, all the foreign energy from RL was gone. NU felt a great weight lift from her eyes, and lay down next to him, as far away from RL as she could get. RL felt the distance with her friend as more than just physical, but a hole inside where her friend used to be. She did not like this distance at all.
“NU, I apologize for giving you night vision.”
NU only snorted at her, giving all her attention to her healer.
“What’s your name?” NU asked sweetly, her mistrust of him gone.
“Lord Raditz, at your service.”
“Please to meet you,” NU whinnied.
“I’m pleased to meet you too,” RL cawed.
“I thought Ling said only she and her master lived here… would that be you?”
“You guessed right, I’m your host. It’s a pleasure to be in the company of such wonderful creatures such as you. Now what can I do to help you get along better?”
“Oh, well, first, I would like to thank you for your hospitality,” NU said.
“Yes, thank you for your hospitality!” RL agreed.
“You’re welcome,” Raditz said gracefully.
“The food was delicious,” NU added.
“Very filling,” RL agreed.
“I’m glad you liked it. Mei Ling is an excellent chief.”
“Yes, she certainly is!” RL cawed with delight.
“Do you per chance know Little Coyote?” NU asked, wondering about her predator friend, who didn’t seem as dangerous as her other friend at the moment. Raditz looked at NU thoughtfully, smiling.
“Little Coyote is… an old friend of mine.”
“Really? I’m looking for her.” Both raven and unicorn stared at their host, anxious for news of their friend. RL’s curiosity was also mixed sorrow over NU’s anger towards her. She darted quick, lonely glances at the unicorn. Sensing in the air their unspoken question, he continued.
“She came by recently to visit, but disappeared as quickly as she came. You know how she is.”
“Oh…” NU’s voice dropped in disappointment.
“I see,” RL commented.
“But you get along with her ok?” The Lord gave RL a ‘what do you think’ smile, not answering the question. Naturalunicorn refrained from asking about the coyote again- but perhaps another question would reveal LC’s role in this castle.
“Tell me the history of the place? It looks so interesting, and those tapestries…”
“Very well then,” Raditz conceded, clearing his voice.
“Yay!” RL cheered. She loved story time. NU adjusted herself into a more comfortable position on the floor. Raditz found himself with a captive audience, and he wondered if he would actually be able to provide what they wanted.
“I don’t know much, I only recently inherited it from my uncle. I do know a legend about it, though.”
“What legend would that be?” RL asked.
“Shall I tell it?” he asked.
“Yes, please!” RL and NU said together. NU gave RL an annoyed look, saying “copycat!” with her eyes. Raditz started the story before they could banter, though.

“Well, long ago a lord who sought immortality lived here. He loved these lands and castle, so wanted his life to continue here, just as it always had. He constantly visited shrines and temples, asking the Gods for the immortality he sought, but they refused him, keeping ever silent as Gods do when they’re watching the affairs of mortals. As a simple mortal, he was uncertain what to do to make them speak with him, so he took to his library to find the answer, almost never leaving his studies. His people began to worry about him, and when more and more books were sent to him, his court grew restless. It was far too late to stop the wheels of fate when a tutor of more evil forms of magick was hired to teach. The Lord sought every bit of knowledge he could find, no matter how sinister, in hopes that he wouldn’t have to rely of the Gods if he could help it. Frightened by what their lord pursuits, there was much discord in the kingdom. Many of the court fled, including his wife and children. Only the most loyal stayed in the castle. The peasants and servants, though unhappy, were too frightened to revolt and had no other place to go. The rest fled to town and the local farms, hoping for their.
“The Lord quickly surpassed his tutor, and soon had enough power to rival a God himself. Traveling to one of the holiest shrines to the north, on a stretch of land closest to the Gods’ Veil Island, he asked once again, for immortality. A righteous Angel named Flare appeared before him, to pass along the Gods’ fury. It was an act against nature to give him what he wanted; the Immortal Life did not favor him, and would not give him length of life that he wanted. Immortals Entropy and Chaos knew that life was ever-changing, and could not stay the same. Hadn’t he already seen that his life had changed beyond what he once had? Things could never go back to the way they were, since he had fouled his soul with his magick.
“Furious, the Lord cast away Flare’s celestial body, taking the angel’s energy from it and casting its essence into the void, the endless space from which all existence begins. From there he drew upon its energy, making himself stronger. He vowed to do this with all of the Gods unless they granted his wish. The Gods were silent, like a parent ignoring a child’s bad behavior. But it wasn’t long until minor Gods began to get captured by the Lord, who killed every one like he had the angel Flare.”
“Oh NO!” RL cried, enraptured with the story.
“What happened then?”
“The Gods, mourning their loss, began to seal passages from the Gods’ realm to the mortal one, to protect themselves. The Lord, having no more lives to steal, only lived a century longer than he was supposed to. His descendants eventually moved back into the castle when it no longer felt blighted by his presence.”  
“It’s only a legend, nothing to get worked up over,” Raditz reassured NU and RL, sensing unease from the pair of animals.
“Wow!” RL exclaimed, having enjoyed the story.
“Wait, so how’d your Uncle get the castle?” NU asked, remembering what the Lord told them of the castle’s previous ownership.
“From his father,” Raditz answered simply.
“And he got it by?”
“I’m not sure; I’d have to check the castle’s deed somewhere in this library.”
“What does that have to do with the tapestries, though?” RL asked.
“The weavers dramatized this castle’s history in the tapestries,” Raditz explained.
“Oh.”
NU edged towards the books, anxious to do some research, but not wanting to be rude by leaving the conversation early. Raditz noticed this and gestured that could she help herself.
“You two may stay and look to your heart’s content, but I must retire for the evening. Ring the bell by the doorway in any room if you need something, Mei Ling will be glad to help you.” Raditz got up and begin to walk to the door.

“Okay, and thank you for your time!” RL thanked Raditz.
“Sure…oh wait! One more thing!” Raditz’s hand hovered over the doorknob as he looked back at the unicorn.
“About the dungeon…”
“They say he used the dungeon to keep the Gods in before he cast them into the void. Goodnight, ladies,” Raditz answered, walking swiftly out of the room.
“Wait! Is LC down there?” NU called after the Lord. She got no response.
“Wow…” RL awed. “So then the knight we saw was really a God?”
Your narrator assures you that RL was making an incorrect assumption there.
“I didn’t even get to ask what the Lord’s name in the Legend was,” NU pondered out loud. Not letting this stop her, she began to look the oldest book among the historical volumes of the library. It took quite a while to find a historical text of the castle, but finally she did. It was the largest book in the library- at least a thousand pages long. RL, who was helping, asked,
“Found anything yet?” NU tossed the book at RL, who was dragged down to the ground by the weight of it.
“Read this,” NU ordered, trying to keep a wicked grin from breaking through her stern expression. Satisfied that she had tricked RL into doing all the boring reading, NU whirled around a bookshelf out of sight and dived into a fantasy novel.
RL looked at the title of the book. The Cliffside Kingdom: An unabridged history. Staring off at the direction NU disappeared at, she wondered if reading this would help NU forgive her. As she rested her wing on the book’s cover, twilight descended on the world outside.