Shadows

Chapter One

I met him, unofficially, for the first time when his brother was flirting with me and refused to take no as an answer and I, clad in the glamour and pomp that served the titles my family held, of the newest Astaporian fashion was being courted and flirted with by men left and right; at least they took no for an answer. Every man stared, but it didn't make me uncomfortable, no, see, I had grown accustomed to it. Both the Astaporian Princes Icas and Demetri were infatuated with me, I still do not understand why. I preferred Demetri though, we were friends and I had avoided his brother's affections to the best of my abilities, which was hard considering Icas Le Deux is a hard man to say no to.

Demetri was there and he noticed the shift in my stance when Damarion came over and punched his brother, Baegor. He, naturally, assumed I was frightened and led me away after Damarion apologized to me about his brother's actions. I nearly fainted, his voice sounded like satin and dusk, such a glorious combination.

I felt his eyes on my back the whole time I was walking away. So, I added a little bit of a sway in my hips to tease him.

The second time I met him I recognized him, but, alas, did not know his name. We were at a ball and Demetri had left my side for a minute to get us drinks. I was wearing my favorite dark green dress with gold and black accents. Demetri was the Crown Prince now. His brother, Icas, had disgraced himself along with my deceased brother's friend, Daemon, and had been disowned.

Damarion walked over as casual as talking, a 6'7" incredibly handsome man walks over, dark eyes and dark hair with skin the color of a white pearl. So beautiful, so elusive. He introduced himself and I nearly fainted. Again.

Demetri walked up at that time and I realized my time with this man, that drew me inso, was coming to a close. So, I tilted my head and gestured with my eyes to the dance floor. He understood, thankfully. "May I steal Miss. Veleris for a dance?" His eyes shone with mischief and I nearly pounced on his arm when Demetri said I could go.

I kept myself together on the outside but was screaming like a middle schooler who had learned that their crush liked them back.

Pathetic, really.

He took my hand and led me onto the floor, my breath caught in my throat. I held his gaze for as long as I could muster, and glanced down, my eyes firmly on the button of his dress shirt. His left hand was warm against mine, his right hand firmly placed on my waist. I inhaled sharply, glancing back up through my eyelashes shyly. And, so, our game began. A game that would last eons.

His eyes were studying my responses to him, the way his fingers on my back would cause me to arch into him and cause a soft blush to bloom on my cheeks. Or how his lips felt near my ear, his breath stirring my hair; and I felt how rapidly his heart beat, of the muscles beneath his clothing. Every moment spent dancing with him was a break from reality, he was a free feeling, a reality that I wanted, one where my life didn't exist in the way it did in this one. He was a fantasy.

We danced for the majority of the night before we both decided we needed air. He walked me to the balcony that over looked the royal gardens. "Would you like to go down there?"  He asked me politely. "Of course." I replied, my voice as sweet as honey. The walk was long and I yearned to be out of the sight of the balconies, out of sight of the people drinking and smoking on them. I didn't realize until later on in my life that the Queen watched us walk into that forest.

We stopped at the beginnings of a clearing, the "garden" was actually a forest. A very peaceful, calming sort of forest. As young children Demetri and I would play hide and go seek with Daemon, Icas, and Vahaerion. We had numerous places to hide, and we even staged a couple of fake weddings. Daemon and Vahaerion built me a little cottage by one of the rivers that cut through the land. They told me on my sixth birthday that fairies were there, of course I called bullshit on that because I had seen the wood and river nymphs. Anyway back to the actual story: