ShadowLand: This is Just the Beginning

The sun slowly rises in the beautiful graceful blue sky as its rays caress and nudge against the land. The birds are chirping, singing a song of life, flying from branch to branch. The wildlife is frolicking around as the nocturnal wildlife sleeps. The village people are getting up to start their day as they go to and fro singing, laughing, and talking. The castle attendants are getting up and beginning to cook, clean, gathering clothes, and drawing baths for the king, queen, princess, and baby prince. The housemaidens go and wake up their respected royal family member. The queen, king, and baby prince get up and start their morning routines. Once finished, dressed, and situated they make their way down stairs. They await their daughter to get ready so that they may eat. "Lady Seraphin, rise and shine" said Layla as she pulls the covers back to keep Seraphin from grabbing the covers as usual. "Let me sleep Layla. I was having thee most wonderful dream." "I am afraid I can not let you sleep longer my lady. It is time to get up and get bathed. Your family is awaiting you so that they may have breakfast" Layla replied causing a scoff from her. She stretched out her body as she sat up in bed and placed her feet on the floor. She stood up and made her way to her personal bathroom. Stripping from her night clothes and letting them fall to the ground as she stepped in to the hot bath that was drawn for her. Layla stood by the door waiting for Seraphin to finish bathing. She washes and rinses her hair first and then lathers up her body getting every inch of skin cleaned. Once she was cleaned, she stood from the bath and stepped out, drying herself off and wrapping her hair up. She steps away from the tub as Layla comes in and fastens up her clothes once they were on. Removing the towel from her hair, she ran a brush thru her hair before Layla took the brush to finish brushing through her hair and putting her hair up into a tight bun. She put her shoes on and then walks down stairs with Layla. They entered the dining hall and greeted everyone before taking their places at the table. Everyone began to put food on their plates and digging into their food. They all talked about the upcoming Samhain festival and her birthday as well. "Lady Seraphin, are you excited for your coming of age" asked one of the attendants. "I am very happy. I will finally be able to meet my wolf and my vampire!" Once everyone was done eating and talking, they all gathered up the dishes and began cleaning. The family helped with cleaning so that everyone could leave the castle and help set up for the festival. The family, attendants and warriors all made their way to the village following the dirt path. This village was created by the Queen and King where all supernaturals and demons can live together in piece and harmony. She was looking around when Layla came up beside her. Layla and her are best friends and pretty much inseparable. Layla grabbed her hand and they skipped the rest of the way to the village as everyone behind them giggled. Once in the village they all went their separate ways aside from warriors being on the royal family. They all greeted the villagers. "Sera, we should go help with the gazebo and trellises" said Layla causing the two warriors behind them to from at the use of her name. "I think that is a splendid ideal Layla." The girls made their way to the gazebo and trellises as the warriors followed behind. They grabbed an assortment of flowers, veins, and ivys and began weaving them together for the gazebo. Once they had multiple woven, the warriors took them and started hanging them up in the gazebo. The girls then grabbed a new assortment of flowers, veins, and ivys and started weaving them around multiple trellises. The warriors started grabbing up finished trellises and placing them in various places. The girls stepped back to examine their work and looked at one another. "Something is missing." "I agree" said Layla. They looked around for the missing piece and they both set their eyes on twinkle lights. "That is it" said Layla. "Those would look beautiful pared with the woven flowers in the gazebo." "Yes they would" said the Queen as she snuck up behind the girls. The girls jumped and turned to look at her. She waved the warriors over and they grabbed the twinkle lights and begins weaving them through the woven flowers in the gazebo and then turned them on and stepped back. "It is beautiful" the three women said in unison. The guards nodded their heads in agreement. "Come girls, we should start heading home. It is getting late and we still need to eat" said the Queen. The girls nodded and gathered up with everyone at the entrance of the village and made their way back to the castle. Once at the castle the smell of food wafted up their noses as the cooks had left the village earlier and started cooking. They made their way to the dining hall and sat down as the food was being brought to the table. Once all the food was served everyone started piling food on their plates and started digging in. They ate until their bellies were full and they couldn't eat any more. Everyone gathered up the dishes and any left over food and started cleaning up. Once the cleaning was done they all started heading to their respected rooms. She stepped into her room and proceeded to stripp out of her clothes. She put her night clothes on and then went to bed. Pulling the blankets up to her chin, she rolled over and curled up and drifted off to sleep. *Dream P.O.V.* "Seraphin, I've been waiting for you" said the mysterious man She followed the man into the castle as he explained to her everything that had happened. They stayed up for hours talking after everyone else has gone bed. "How do I know you?" "You've always known me Sera. You just have to remember" the mysterious man replied. He placed his hand on hers as he pulled her up guiding her up the stairs. Her hand tingled in his as sparks glided up her arm. He stopped in front of a room as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. He reached up and untucked the strand of hair as his hand grazed her cheek causing more sparks to flow through her body. "I hope you will remember me my love" the mysterious man said. *Dream Ends* Someone started shaking her make her wake up from what seemed like a very real dream. "Laylaaaa, you woke me from my wonderful dream again. I was so close to figuring out who the mysterious man was." "Lady Seraphin, do not whine. I have to wake you up. It is time to get up and get ready. Then head down stairs for breakfast" she said teasing her. She reluctantly got out of bed and headed to her bathroom where she proceeded to bathed herself and then got dressed. She walked with Layla down stairs and they were greeted by everyone before they took their places at the table and began eating delicious pancakes, eggs, and bacon. After breakfast they all cleaned up. She went back to her room to jot down in her diary the dream she had two nights in a row and how it felt so real to her. The dream reoccured once again the same way. No matter how hard she tries to see more she gets woke up. She keeps thinking to herself that if only she could fight harder that she might be able to to see the dream man and then just know. She still doesn't understand why she can feel every touch while she's sleeping which confuses her even more. Days have passed until finally it was the night of Samhain. She was up way before Layla came to wake her. She had already bathed, brushed and braided her hair, and dressed herself. Layla smiled at her. "You look breath taking my lady". "Thank you Layla." They walked arm in arm down the stars and arrived to the dining hall before anyone else. They took there seats beside one another like always and waited on everyone else to join them. Everyone finally joined them and sat in their respected seats and began digging into their food. She looked around the table. Her mother Queen Alexxis is the queen of witches and an Alpha Luna of werewolves being her wolf is much bigger and stronger than Alpha wolves. Her father King Kalai is the very first original vampire. Her baby brother Tomas is a vampire and werewolf so he is a hybrid and only 2 years old. Her best friend Layla is a witch. The others are witches, demons, werewolves, fairies, and so on. She smiled as she ate her breakfast. Excitement coursing through her body in anticipation to finally be able to meet her wolf and vampire. Her birthday and the Samhain festival didn't begin until the full moon was high in the sky. At exactly 11pm she would ascend, meet her wolf, and meet her vampire. Everyone went off to do their own things and get food prepared for the festival. She walked around the courtyard looking up to the sky and then to the garden where she had walked to a bench and sat down. She thought about the mysterious man in her dreams and tried to picture what he looked like. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't realize she was being watched from the woods nearby. "My lady, the day is about to come to an end. Come inside so that we can get you ready for the party" said Layla. She pulled herself from her thoughts and the eerie feeling of being watched and headed inside with her best friend. They made their way upstairs. Once in her room she cleaned herself up and changed in her party clothes which was a beautiful white silk gown. Her hair was curled and placed up in a ponytail. A tiara of flowers was placed on her head and her face was made up. "You look stunning my lady" said Layla. "Why thank you my friend." After one last look over the girls made their way back down the stairs and greeted everyone at the front door. Everyone walked down the path to village. You could hear the music as the village people frolicked around having a grand ol' time. They entered the village and began the festivities. Time felt like it had slowed down. The festivities and merriment proceeded around her. The feeling of being watched became so much stronger. She looked toward her parents and they wore a strange look on their faces. When they noticed her watching them they started smiling and waved her over. She shook it off as if she was seeing things and walked over to them. "Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats and let the feast begin" said her father. Everyone grabbed seats and began digging into the food. They ate, they talked, they laughed, they cried from laughing so much, and they cheered. All was good through out the night. People started getting up and walking around, dancing, and all in all having fun. The night was still young and there was still several hours before her birthday would begin. She shook off the idea that she was being watched and started having fun with everyone. She danced until she couldn't dance anymore and laughed until her belly hurt. Clink, clink, clink. Everyone stopped and looked in the direction of the clinking to see the Quuen and King standing beside the gazebo. Everyone gathered around and made a path. "Ladies and gentlemen, it is time. Princess Seraphin Luna, will you come forward said her mother. She slowly made her way through the path towards her waiting parents. Everyone bowing and kneeling as she passed them. Her father reached out his hand she took his hand as he lead her up to the gazebo center. He stepped back down off the gazebo. "Princess Seraphin Luna, my sweet daughter. I have looked forward to this very moment since you were born. You are an amazing, beautiful, talented woman and I could not ask for a better daughter than you" said mother through tears. "My sweet baby girl, my little princess, you are an amazing woman. You are strong willed, a fighter, and you never give up. You impress me more and more every day. Never give up my sweet princess" said father. "It is time. Close your eyes. When the ascension is complete, you will then shift into your wolf and get to meet her, then you will shift to your vampire and get to meet her. Once the meet and greet is done you will have items in front of you. They are all yours. When it hits midnight, you will be able to leave the gazebo because you will kit be supercharged then. Good luck my daughter" said mother. She closed her eyes and she began to feel power course through her body. She felt sparks, heat, and coolness against her body. She felt the pin pricks stop and opened her eyes. Her bones began to break and shift as she screamed out in pain she saw paws beneath her. She looked around and sniffed the air, her senses became stronger. "Hello, my name is Sage. I am your wolf. It is a pleasure to finally meet you." "It is a pleasure to finally meet you as well Sage." Her bones began to shift back and looked down to make sure she was still clothed like her mother told her she would be. She smiled inwardly to herself as her gums ached. She reached up and poked herself with her fangs. "Well hello my lovely, my name is Ruby. It's a pleasure to meet you." "The pleasure is all mine Ruby." Her fangs vanished and she looked down at the entrance of the gazebo. She saw the gifts laying there and thought to herself how much her body ached as she reached her hand out and everything appeared to float in front of her. "My dear daughter. The book, is your grimoire, do not let anyone touch that book. Keep the book hidden. The other is a necklace from your father and I. The vile contains a drop of royal blood, and the paw is imbued with my essence. You will need these in days to come for your wolf and your vampire" said mother. She examined the necklace and placed it around her neck. She placed her hand on her grimoire as it vanished. She finally sat down for a few to breathe knowing she only has 3 minutes left before she can leave the gazebo. She closed her eyes and took in a deep long breath before letting it go. She opened her eyes and saw the gazebo was no longer around her but all the children were surrounding her as well as her best friend holding her baby brother. All the adults were surrounding them in fighting formation. "Take care of your baby brother my little princess. We love you" said my parents. All the parents said goodbye to their children as the celestial creatures swooped in and grabbed the children flying away with them. Layla, Tomas, and herself was on the celestial phoenix she was all to familiar with. Cronos lead the other celestials caring the children. The children screamed and cried and she knew she needed to get them to calm down. She began to sing as the children began to slowly calm down and listen to her. They flew for what felt like hours and everyone was getting extremely tired. After a few the celestials flew into a glowing portal and landed on the other side in front of a strange castle. She felt the portal break as the door to the castle opened and 3 people walked out. "Hello, my name is Harley. This is my cousin Ayame, and this is my twin brother Lykin. Welcome to the Enchanted Castle also know as Safe Haven for supernaturals and demons. Let's get everyone to their rooms, get some sleep, and we will gladly explain everything in the morning. Follow us please" said Harley. Everyone followed the 3 in to the castle and up the stairs. They grabbed a room and went in. With her new hearing, she could hear everyone drift fast asleep. She stood there looking at all the doors to the children's, Layla's, and Tomas's rooms. The ladies had went to their rooms as well. "Is everything ok" asked Lykin and instantly she knew the voice, the voice from her dreams. "I believe I will be just fine. I will like I know you." "You should. My sister, cousin, and I used to live in Shadowland before coming here to get this place ready a month ago. Your parents had a gut feeling and lo' and behold their gut feeling was right" he replied. She looked at him for a few trying to comprehend everything that he had said. "Come with me. We'll talk and I'll explain as much as I can to you" he said as he held his hand out for her. She took his hand as sparks shot up her arm and through her body, he lead them back down the stairs and to a sitting room. He sat on the couch and she sat beside him as she pulled her legs up to her and leaned her head on her knees. He started telling her things and the whole time all she could think about was the sparks coursing through her body as she touched his hand. He placed his hand on hers once again and the sparks coursed through her body once again and his sweet chocolaty spice scent teased her nose. "Mate" said Sage and Ruby in unison as she let out a low growl. He smiled and sort of chuckled. "So, dreams first, got you thinking. Now you know. They told you just now, didn't they" he said. She nodded as her face flushed. "You're my mate Seraphin. You always have been. It was hard for me to leave a month ago because I wanted to be there for your coming of age but duty called and I had to leave. Now you're here and we can be together. I know you feel it when I touch you. I know you can smell me. Just know this, I will wait for however long you want me to wait to physically be with you. I promise I'm not going anywhere" he confessed. "Later, after I wake up, will you explain this mate bond to me. It was supposed to be explained to me after my coming of age but then the attack happened. Will you tell me everything?" "I will explain everything to you tomorrow after we tell everyone what happened and explain how to use this place" he said. She started yawning as she leaned against him. He wrapped his arm around her and with his free hand grabbed the throw cover and put it on them. He laid back on the couch with one leg on the couch and one dangling off as she snuggled closer to him. He held her closer and tighter as the drifted off to sleep.