The Lady of Shadows

Introducing Lady Lilith

"Lady Shadow." A maid called as I shifted through paperwork. It had been a month since I took over the new city. Dominic was running things in the Village rather effectively, I must admit. The Village had grown into a decent city and with the land recovering and iron and other good in steady supply the craft merchants were better off than ever. As a result I had stayed in the city to see to their comfort and progress. The knock came again as I was lost in thought.

    "Oh yes, enter." I called. The door opened and a maid entered with tea and a light lunch.

    "You forgot to stop for lunch again, my Lady." She said. I nodded.

    "That I did, I'm sorry. Thank you." I said as she set the food next to me.

    "In addition, you have a visitor coming up the path." She informed me. I tilted my head and listened in, sure enough the sound of horses and a carriage could be heard.

    "I wasn't expecting anyone..." I said looking at the day chart trying to be sure I didn't lose track of the days as well as meals.

    "The Lady tends to show up without notice. I'm not sure she even realizes it is you she will be meeting." The maid said.

    "The Lady?" I asked.

    "Yes. Lady Lilith. She is a noble who has come religiously every month to plead for the people. The previous Lord refused to ease the suffering unless she agreed to marry him. She did agree under the terms that he eased the suffering of the people first." The maid informed me. I nodded. 

    "Very well I will meet with her." I said and stood up to get a copy of the legal reform in place. I scarfed down the food and sipped the tea before heading to the grand hall. The maid cleaned up for me as I left. 

As I reached the bottom stairs to the grand hall the doors flew open. A young lady with golden flaked green eyes and hair as red flame core of a dragon stormed in. She was short, almost evenly short as me. Her skin was golden sun kissed, and her frame was a lovely curvy figure. She locked eyes with me and didn't hesitate to march over.

    "You, I assume are Lady Shadow." She said with a quick bow. I noticed as she spoke that her teeth were sharp.

    "Yes, you would assume correctly." I answered. I bowed in return, then offered my arm to lead her to the general study. She accepted and followed me. I waved for a maid to bring tea for our guest.

    "Have you been informed of my arrangement?" She asked in an icy tone. 

    "The maid that informed me of your arrival gave me a short explanation. With that in mind, I brought you a copy of the legal reforms I have established to give you ease of mind for the people here. I would also like to invite you to stay as long as you need to see that I am up holding these reforms. I would happily have a room prepared for you at once." I said as she took a seat. I offered her the reforms and sat across from her.

    "You should know that I grew up in this city and as a member of the dragon race, I see it as my land and I will do anything in my power to make sure it is taken care of. The people are my main concern at this time, but my love for this city is far more than the people." She warned. I nodded.

    "I was unaware of the dragon part of that statement, but as the maid informed me that you agreed to marry that ugly, disgraceful, swine that passed himself off as a king... I am inclined to believe you completely." She stared at me a moment before a giggle escaped her lips.

    "For an acting Lady, you sure have a way with words." She mused. 

    "I will happily recount my life with you... It would allow you to understand where I come from and why I am so... vocal." I smiled. She nodded as she took a sip of her tea. 

    "Please do, I will review the reforms as you talk." She said as she begin looking over the papers.

***

    "I see, you thought ahead on these reforms... and from the way you grew up I can understand why." Lady Lilith said as I finished my tale, including my plan to spread my name enough to be a titled noble.

    "That is also why I invite you to stay as long as you need to verify. The people of the land are the first step to getting this city and the near by lands like the village to thrive. People who respect the leader and have acceptable living conditions will put back into the community unprompted. Add the fact that the acting leader is putting effort into the community, and people grow confident in the process." I explained.

    "I get it. I think I will take you up on that offer. I may be able to help you as well." She offered. 

    "I would appreciate it... Even with the new reforms there are tons of request to go through." I said. We sat and chatted some more before making our way back to my personal study. Seeing the pile of documents on the desk Lady Lilith whistled.

    "You weren't kidding." She said, "Well lets get started." She rolled up her sleeves and picked up a large stack. We worked well into the night hours, and nearly polished off the work... but Lady Lilith began to drop her head. Rather than risk her falling face first I took the paperwork and lead her to a room. 

    "Rest up, I'll finish the work tonight, and tomorrow we can go mingle with the people." I said. She mumbled about me needing to rest as well, but I ignored it. I returned to the study and poured over the work for the remainder of the night. 

    The birds chirping alerted me to the new day. I looked up and saw the sun peaking over the horizon. I rubbed my eyes and stretched out. The door busted open at that exact moment. Lady Lilith charged in at me.

    "You stayed up through the whole night!" She yelled. I looked at her. She was such a feisty thing. As fun as Dominic would be to look at, Lilith would be fun to banter with, as well as look at. 

    "Yes." I answered simply. It seemed to infuriate her. She slammed her hands on my desk and lowered her eyes to mine.

    "A Leader can not risk their own health. How are you supposed to take me to mingle with the people when you can't even see straight?" She demanded.    

    "I can see just fine. So fine in fact that I can count the golden flakes in your eyes." I said. She snarled and for the first time in my life I was looking in the eyes of a dragon with flames curling in her mouth, "I wouldn't do that. You'll burn all my hard work. besides, I can take a short nap and be fine. After all, I am a Vampiric Elf, two of the 4 races that need the least amount of sleep." I pointed out. Elves tend to only sleep about 5 hours, while a fully fed Vampire could go a week without sleep. The only known races that could compete would be the Fairies, who would stay awake for months, and Demons, who could go over a year without suffering from lack of sleep. This seemed to calm her down and her lovely face returned to the more human form.

    "Then go nap." She ordered. I nodded and stood to do as I was told. 

*** 

After waking from my nap, I took Lilith to the city center. We walked the market where the people cheered. Many even offered gifts. Praises rained down on Lady Lilith for her devotion to the people, and on me for my kindness and the changes I started. We enjoyed the day and when we returned to the small castle, we enjoyed a nice dinner before calling it a day. I wished Lilith a fair night and retired to my own room.

Laying in bed I let the ideas fill my mind. The lovely talks with Lilith and the way our goals lined up... hers being the betterment of all people, mine being power to protect everyone that I take under my wing. I closed my eyes and let the dreams consume me.

I looked up to see Dominic smiling at me from the village gate. Beside me stood the beautiful Lady Lilith. We laughed and chatted and enjoyed our time, but something went wrong. The world around us died. A shadow fell over us. Dominic stood beside us covered in blood. I turned to Lilith, she was in her dragon form. Large, golden scales, fire spewing from her powerful jaw.... Her wings spread wide while her tail thrashed shaking the ground. I looked to the area that both of them were focused on and saw a single person. The shape was blurred so I couldn't tell if it was male or female, or even what race the person was... but the shift in the day was obviously because of this person. 

I sat up quickly. I sighed as I realized two major things.... My simple plan would not be so simple once Lilith and Dominic became solid figures in my life.... and there is someone who will oppose us.... After all, Mother did tell me that dreams where the window to the future. Head the warning they give and accept the blessings.