The Noble Queen-A Shadow Slave Fanfic

Chapter 853 853: Craft Project

"Do you know him?" Ray's question startled Noble.

Her description had been rather specific, so it was only natural for the young Awakened to ask.

'Saint Shadow? Sunny could find a better name for his third personage?' Noble rolled her eyes internally. What did she expect when his incarnation in Bastion went by Master Sunless, and she knew him as Saint Sunny? At least he kept in theme.

Her daughter's eccentric brother had said he also lived in a Death Zone, but Noble hadn't imagined it was Godgrave until this moment. If he knew a war was coming, then surely he knew a clash was likely to take place there.

So why in two worlds did he claim a citadel there knowing it would become a battleground?

'It was intentional.' Noble pressed her lips together. 'And Changing Star being there as well is no accident. She is powerful, but even a Death Zone is not a place she would go for a leisurely stroll. She was there on purpose to see Saint Shadow, but why?'

Noble could think of only one reason, and she wasn't sure that she liked the implication at all.

'Seems like I will need to have a conversation with my daughter's shadow very soon.'

The professor tucked away her burning curiosity to address Ray's question. It had barely been a second since he asked, but her mind had traveled all the way to Godgrave and back in its wanderings.

"I have heard something about this Dark Lord," Noble answered. "There was a rumor last Solstice about someone rescuing Sleepers from that part of the Dream Realm, but no one could ever fully confirm what happened. I think Saint Shadow may have been the culprit in that instance as well."

None of the professor's charges had been part of that strange incident last year, and most people had decided that the students had not actually been in a Death Zone, just near one.

Not that that was better, but it was certainly easier to understand. Now that Ray had seen and spoken to the solitary Saint, there would be no denying his existence. And if Changing Star had met with him, there was no need to anymore.

'Very curious.'

What was also curious was why Tamar and Fleur would have needed to stay to talk.

Sunny was not huge on sharing secrets, and the ones he did share were usually too outlandish to be believed. Lady Changing Star was not known to be verbose either.

Surely…

Noble's communicator buzzed and chimed. Ray sat up as she floated it into her hand.

"What is it? Is that news about the girls?" The boy looked beside himself with hope.

"They are conscious." Noble nodded. "But you should rest a moment longer, I think. You underwent a lot of stress when you awoke."

"I have to see them, Professor. Please!" Ray pleaded.

Child of Promise could feel his desperation, and her expression softened.

"Fine. I will take you, but only because you called me Professor and not Teach." Noble smiled.

Ray was under so much stress because he was worried about his friend and girlfriend, whom he had left behind. Seeing that they were alive and well would do him a world of good.

Noble helped him disconnect the few machines still monitoring his vitals and found a bandage for the drip of blood on his hand.

The pinprick was already healing, but it was better to be cautious. Together, the pair left the room and headed down the hall.

No one was in the hall to object to her choices. The only person who even seemed to notice was the nurse behind the station at the end of the corridor, and she was just happy to see Ray walk out of there of his own volition.

Searching out the emotional signatures of Tamar and Fleur, Noble led the way to the lower level of the facility.

Noble hid her frown from Ray as they walked.

'The three of them are still tangled together somehow. What exactly did I do?'

The connection wasn't anything tangible, of course, but the professor could still sense it. Though it wasn't a kingdom, she had accidentally crafted something.

How exactly it had happened, Noble wasn't sure.

'Do I tell them what I've done if I'm not even sure what it is?'

Three Sleepers ending up in the exact same spot was not something that Noble had ever heard of occurring before. The Spell challenged people as individuals, even when entering Nightmares. The only conclusion that Noble could come to was that her interference had caused the anomaly. Had it also caused them to end up in Godgrave?

'I hope not!'

The professor could not rule out the possibility. Thankfully, all three of them had come back, or Noble would have felt that guilt whether it was deserved or not.

'This is…going to require some more research.'

For now, Noble would keep the information to herself. At least the trio was already friends before her intervention. Otherwise, she would have been little better than that cursed belt from her last Nightmare.

'No, it would be worse because they wouldn't even be able to share Aspects.' Noble paused, 'but they can be physically separate without ripping out each other's cores, so we will call it a tie.' Like the belt, Noble hoped whatever she had done was a blessing in the end, even if it had caused a little bit of a problem. Only time would tell.

'It's not like I know how to undo it. And even if I did, would that make things better or worse?'

That was important to know. Sometimes untangling a knot created a worse one or even cut the thread altogether. How terrible would that be?!

Noble contemplated trying to tie two strangers together with her emotional powers and then immediately separate them. This posed at least two problems.

She would be joining people against their will, and if she couldn't undo it, that bond would be permanent.

Depending on what that meant, the consequences could be dire for them and for her if she were discovered.

'I'd be an evil matchmaker.' Noble shook her head. 'No more human experimentation until I'm certain of what I'm doing.'

What did that leave? Nightmare Creatures? Did Noble really want to tap into their hatred and try to bind them to each other? When she had connected with the Skinwalker, he had tried to slip into her soul. What if the next creature were more successful?

And even if Noble could successfully recreate what she had done to the sleepers, would that give her any real advantage?

Noble wasn't sure.

'Perhaps if I could get Ki Song and Lord Anvil in the same room, I could bind them together and stop this senseless war.'

The professor knew this thought was folly. Not only were the Sovereigns too powerful to succumb to anything she might try to do, but Noble suspected that the next time they faced each other close enough to speak would be the final time.

And Noble didn't want to hasten that moment at all.

From beside her, Ray gasped and took off down the hall. Looking ahead, the professor could see why.