The Shadow, the Orc, and the Princess: Part Five (complete)

Female Main Character x Male Monster (both cis)

The shadow man didn’t take me in the night like I had expected. He left me in the stupor he gave me, letting me sleep through it while he vanished back out the window. I had been prepared to fight my way from his clutches so now I felt unfulfilled as I walked down the halls. I decided some training with Veerle and Kirsha was just what I needed to work out that frustration, even if another part of me was perfectly sated.

I sighed with content, remembering the shadow man’s near invisible hands upon me in the dark. The warmth of his mouth. The prowess of his great cock. I really did enjoy our rivalry, our bond; it would be a shame to have to kill him.

I walked down to the rooms where Kirsha and Veerle were staying, throwing open Kirsha’s door, expecting to see her still curled up in a bed with her blankets tangled around her.

“Get up, young lady.” I tugged on the blankets and they pulled away with no fight. “We’re going to-”

Kirsha wasn’t in bed.

Maybe she was with Veerle, I thought, and went to the adjoining room. I saw a shape laying under the blankets, but Veerle would never sleep in like this. I yanked back the blanket and found the shadow man poised there.

“What have you done?” I snarled.

He sat up in Veerle’s bed and chuckled. “I knew I couldn’t take you so easily, so I planned a distraction for you.”

“You fucked me to steal my girls?” I roared at him.

He placed a finger where his mouth should be. “Keep your voice down, princess. Someone might hear and come running, and that would be extremely bad news for you.”

“Start talking,” I snarled between gnashed teeth. “Or I will gut you where you stand and have no qualms about it!”

He stood and held up his hands defensively. “Whoa now, princess. Kill me and you’ll never see your women again. That’s kind of the plan.”

I charged at him and he back up. “You’re much angier than I anticipated,” he laughed.

I inhaled hard and exhaled even harder. My hands were trembling to hold a blade, and my skin itched to feel hot blood upon it. “You fucked me to steal my girls. I thought our fucking was sacred.”

The shadow man’s stance went soft. “You think so?”

I charged again and he stumbled backwards. “Talk!” I roared.

“I didn’t want to take you after the deed. That felt cruel. So, I had my boys capture your lovely warriors. They’ve been traveling all night.”

“Unharmed?”

“Of course. But who knows what the little one is capable of,” he scoffed.

I was biting down on my cheek to feel something other than blind rage. “You took them so I would follow you willingly. Now you’re holding them hostage as blackmail.”

The shadow man nodded. “Should anything happen to me and I don’t report back to my men by the week’s end, your ladies will be killed. Travel with me and you’ll be able to see them safe and sound back home.”

My breath shuddered as I exhaled. Staring him up and down I tried to find something different about him, something I couldn’t recognize. But the shadow man was always the same, always tall, always dark, always intriguing.

“Why are you doing this?” I whispered.

His head tilted to the side. “I’m doing this for you, princess.”

“Is that what he said?” I swallowed the harsh lump in my throat, but it didn’t budge.

He nodded and stepped closer towards me. “Your father is looking out for you. Arda the First isn’t.”

I laughed. “And how do you know?”

“I trust my gut on this. I thought you were smart enough to know better. Did you really let that miserable woman get to you?” he snapped.

I charged him again, but this time he didn’t flinch. “Don’t fuss at me like you care! You used sex to trick me last night! I’m not too fond of you either.” I went to slap him but he grabbed my wrist. I threw my other hand and he caught it as well.

“I care about you more than you think.” He strained as he tried to hold me.

“With your cock!” I grunted as I tried forcing him back, but he stood as still as stone. I pushed again, almost falling into his arms.

“That’s enough princess.” He pressed his forehead to mine. “I can knock you out right now.”

I glared up through the dark fabric covering his face. I thought I could see something beneath, but the fabric gave away no secrets. “That head has to be good for something.”

The shadow man chuckled. “Your ladies need you, don’t forget.”

I huffed and quit fighting. He let go of one of my wrists and pulled me out towards the stables. Veerle and Kirsha’s horses were gone, and mine was already loaded and waiting on us. The shadow man picked me up, setting me on its back before hopping up himself.

“Are you ready, princess?”

I rolled my eyes. “Just go. Don’t make me any angrier than I already am.”

“As you wish.” We took off, leaving Arda the First’s palace.

We rode for a long while without saying anything. The further away we got, the most exhausted I began to feel. I had slept so soundly, so content from the shadow man’s great affections. But I was feeling more and more like I had not rested the entire time I had been at my grandmother’s palace.

“I need water,” I said groggily to the shadow man. “I can’t keep my eyes open.”

He reached up from the reins and placed his hand upon my forehead. “You don’t have a fever, thankfully.”

“Shut up.” I pushed his hand away.

The shadow man stopped my horse and got off, helping me down. As I walked I felt the exhaustion in my legs and I had to sit down.

The shadow man took a canteen out and handed it to me. “Is everything all right?”

“None of your concern.” I yanked the canteen from him and guzzled down the water inside. It wasn’t as cold as I would have wished, but it did the job of clearing out some cobwebs.

He knelt down before me and watched me while I drank. “I think you’ll begin to feel better once you’re at home.”

I glared at him.

“I’m serious.” He stood up. “Your father said that Arda the First used to keep your mother drugged.”

“What?” I scoffed.

“It’s not my place to talk about it. But I think Arda the First may have more in common with her enchantress rumors than you would believe.” He took out some bread from the saddle bag and handed it to me. “Eat this. I think you need it more than the water right now.”

“Are you a parent or something?” I snatched away from the bread from his hand and inspected it for anything funny.

“Not exactly,” he chuckled in amusement.

I bit into the bread and chewed slowly to make sure the flavor wasn’t tampered with. I looked back up at him, watching him tend to my horse with some affection. I sighed and slouched, removing any pretense of stature or strength. I felt awful.

“We can’t rest too long.” The shadow man held his hand out to me. “Come on. Lets go.”

I took his hand and finished off the last bite of bread. He hefted me onto the horse and got on behind me. Once his arms wrapped me to take the reins I leaned back a little.

“You can rest, princess. No need to try and fight it.”

“Shut up,” I grumbled.

He chuckled. “We’ve still got a long way to go. It’s best if you rest now. You still plan on fighting me, don’t you?”

I put an ugly scowl upon my face.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” he laughed.

We traveled all day, taking short rests only a few times. I must have dozed off at some point, because I was woken by the shadow man stopping. I realized it was late, and the air was getting colder.

“I’ll get a fire going.” The shadow man set me down upon the ground and pointed. “Go to that river and tie your horse up there to rest. Should be plenty of grass and water for them.”

I looked him up and down, not saying a word as I turned to take my horse. I sat by the river as my horse drank, listening to the water burble along.

The shadow man came up a second later, dunking his hands into the water and washing them off. “Come on, I’ll get a fire started and it’ll be warm there.”

“Fine,” I huffed. I followed him, sitting under a tree as he got the fire going.

“How are you feeling?” He asked. “You slept quite awhile.”

I shrugged. “I feel like I could sleep more.”

The shadow man chuckled. “And here I was expecting you to fight me every step of the way. It’s been rather boring, princess.” The fire crackles, glowing embers appear and they grow. He took a step back, admiring his work before coming to rest beside me.

“I didn’t want to use our bond that way. But I needed to make sure this plan worked. I’ll apologize to you properly when you are home safe and sound.”

I rolled my eyes.

“I promised to protect you,” he continued to insist.

I scoffed. “Protect me? From what? All my life I have been trained and prepared to protect myself and others. I don’t need your masculine ego hovering over me!”

“It’s not that,” he snarled. “You may be a skilled warrior, princess, but you still have vulnerabilities. We all do. There are some things in this world you can’t be prepared for.”

“And an old lady was one of those things?”

“Yes! You’ve never spent time with your grandmother. You don’t know how to deal with her.” He then shook his head and looked away. “You can’t do everything. You need to figure that out.”

I leaned further back and pouted.

The shadow man got up and stoked the fire, adding more dry sticks to get the flames to grow and engulf the logs. In the light, it appeared that the black stain on his hands was fading.

I leaned forward, watching his hands and trying to catch if it was the shifting light of the flames or his actual skin. He moved away, going towards the horse where I couldn’t see his hands at all.

“I have one blanket, you can have it,” he said.

“What about you?” I grumbled.

“I’ll survive.” The shadow man took the blanket from the saddle bag then tossed it at me. He sat back down near me as I placed the folded blanket in my lap.

“Survive this. Survive that,” I mumbled under my breath. “Who the hell do you think you are anyways.”

“Talking to yourself, princess?”

I sniffed. “Asking a relatively easy question of you. Just who are you? You can’t just be the shadow man. You must be some actual person.”

He laughed. “You’re only asking this of me now?”

“I never really cared before. I just…knew you.”

He sighed and lead back against the tree. “All the times we fought. Each time we laid together. You never questioned who I really was?”

“You were you and I was me. That’s all that mattered. I trusted your secrets and that you had to keep them. I trusted you when we fought and when we fucked. I knew, deep inside, that we understood one another.”

“I knew that too,” he sighed. “Every blow struck. Every orgasam shared. I knew it was because we were kindred. Our souls were made of the same substance.”

I scoffed and unfolded the blanket. “You sound like him.” I wrapped the soft fabric around me like a hooded cowl and hid most of my face from view.

The shadow man turned his head towards me. “Your father has some good ideas. Do you suddenly not believe them because of Arda the First?”

I slouched down even lower so the only thing visible of me was my legs and eyes. “I don’t know anything anymore.”

He chuckled. “What an excuse. I never thought I would hear you utter such a thing, princess.” He looked up into the sky. “I used to look at the sky when I was feeling my worse and think to myself how you must be looking at it too.”

I cut my eyes at him.

“Do you think that’s laughable?”

I looked away  in case he decided to look at me. “Why did that give you comfort?”

The shadow man’s laugh was almost silent, but I could hear it upon his breath. “Because, my goal is always you.”

I looked at him again, my heart going at an unusual pace. “Don’t tell me that you’re soft, shadow man!”

He kept his gaze focused upon the sky. “You think that’s soft? I’m telling you who I am. Isn’t that what you wanted.”

I sat up slightly. “I meant a name. Not some…confession of…”

“Romantic feelings?”

I held my breath as my heart started that strange palpating again. “No you don’t.”

“I do. Don’t you?”

I sat back and clutched the blanket tighter around me. “I can’t even think about such things right now. Not when I can’t even know my status within the family.”

“You know your status,” he scoffed. “It never changed. You are Falko’s daughter, his heir. His chosen heir at that.”

“I am the daughter of Julian.”

“Really, where?”

My mouth hung open under the blanket.

“Show me,” the shadow man insisted. “Show me where you are Julian’s child. Go on. If you are so sure about it. Show me.”

Tears came to my eyes and I tucked myself into the blanket. I whimpered and sniveled, trying to keep them quiet so he didn’t realize he wounded me in the worst way possible.

“Princess,” the shadow man breathed softly.

“Shut up!” I barked at him. “Just leave me alone!”

I felt his arms around me, holding me tight in an embrace that was silent but spoke everything.

“You are Falko’s child. There is not a drop of Julain in you.” His hand stroked the back of my head. “Falko raised you, he loved you, he poured everything of himself into you. You are his match in every way.”

I whimpered and shook my head.

“Am I lying?”

“Shut up,” I blubbered.

The shadow man chuckled. “If you have doubts, your family are the only ones you can talk to about them.” He released me then peeled back the blanket to reveal me. “Be angry if you must. But that’s the truth.”

I rubbed my eyes and huffed. “Don’t tell anyone you saw me cry.”

“I won’t.” He touched my face and wiped away the tears that lingered. “It’ll be another of our secrets.”

I looked up at his mask, trying once again to see through it and find his face. “Why do you keep yourself a secret?”

“I have my reasons.” He pressed his thumb on my lips. “When I am ready, I’ll show.” His thumb pushed between my lips and pressed down upon my tongue. I bit him and his low growl rumbled through my ears and into my bones.

“Easy, princess.”

I sucked his thumb, coiling my tongue around it as he kept it there.

“You need to rest,” he breathed.

I crawled into his lap, wrapping the blanket around both of us. “I’m still pissed at you.” I kissed his cheek through the mask.

He moaned and put his hands upon my hips. “But you still want me.”

“My body is a fool.” I rub myself into his lap.

His hands run up my back. “If you need to be comforted, all you have to do is ask.”

I shoved him against the tree, pressing down upon his shoulders as I grinded against his lap. “Be quiet.”

The shadow man moaned. “Go ahead. Take from me what you need.”

I glared at him then removed myself from him. “You ruined it.” I flopped back down upon the ground, wrapping the blanket around me again.

The shadow man sighed. “You want to stop?”

“Yes.” I huffed.

“Alright.” He settled again. “Do you mind if I take care of myself then?”

I remained silent.

“Princess?” He murmured. “You got me worked up. I’m going to take care of myself.”

“I don’t care,” I grumbled.

He chuckled. “Okay. Then if you don’t mind. I’ll just get comfortable, right here.” He let out a moan that tickled through my body. “You’re the only one who gets me this hard.”

I felt a wetness begin to seep from my mound.

“I’ll try t be quiet,” he whimpered.

I peered from a small crack in the blanket and saw he was still fully clothed and his hands were behind his head. “Liar,” I huffed.

The shadow man laughed. “You peeked.”

I dropped the blanket and glared at him. “Okay fine! You got me. I’m angry and confused and ready to rip my hair out from the roots. But the one thing I know for certain is that, physically, I need you.”

The shadow man sighed and held out his hand. “Take me then.”

I crawled back into his lap, pulling out his cock and stroking it slowly. I leaned my forehead against his shoulder, breathing deep as I felt him fill my palm, going stiff, then dribbling from the tip.

“Princess,” he moaned. “Take me.”

I stripped off my bottoms and placed myself on top of him. His tip slipped and prodded at my folds then I felt his fingers. I whimpered as one touched me, rubbing my clit and gently opening me for his cock to slip inside.

“There now,” he growled. “Pretend there’s nothing else in this world, princess. Everything and everyone is gone, it’s only you and me here. No worries. No doubt. Just bodies.”

I sink further down upon him, a wash of relief going through my limbs. He fills me to the brim, and I take him as deeply as I comfortably can. His finger continues to brush against my clit, making my breath and body falter.

“You and I know each other too well, princess. But that’s because of fate. You and I were made for each other, even before we were born.”

I rise up, feeling his cock slip from inside me then strike the inside of my thigh. He holds himself, guiding his tip back inside which I ease down upon.

“Without knowing it, we worked all our lives to find each other.” He moaned and threw his head back as I bounced upon his lap.

I pressed my face into his neck, gasping with each motion I made. I needed him, but I wasn’t ready to express just every way in which I did.

“You feel that, princess?” He whispered. “Everytime we join together like this, it’s perfect.”

“Shut up,” I whimpered.

He chuckled and rubbed his thumb against my clit again. “I can’t tell you every secret just yet. But I promise I will.”

I cried out then, breathing hard against his chest as I moved myself faster. The more pleasure I felt, the less I had to think, the less I had to be concerned with. The shadow man threw me down and took control. He knew what I needed, he understood I wanted to forget. He lifted my leg, holding it to his body as he gave me the hard, powerful comfort I wanted.

“Princess,” he growled low.

I threw my head back and dug my fingers into the earth. The strong pulse of his cock inside was beginning to take my breath away, just like I wanted. I need that one quick rush of relief and then I would be able to rest. I could let my body wilt, and I would slip away for the night.

I felt the shadow man on top of me, his body writhing and twitching. Then that heat, that soft, glowing spark he left inside me. I sighed, wrapping my arms around him as our bodies melted and pooled together.

“Leave my father,” I whispered. “We can run away. Just us.”

“No,” he growled. “Even if that’s my most frequent dream, we can’t do it.” He lifted up slowly and removed himself from inside. “We have too much to get back to.”

Tears fell down my cheeks and I closed my eyes in hopes of stopping them. “I know.”

The shadow man knelt down, bringing up my thighs and I felt his tongue. He licked me clean, making me tremble and cry out with renewed ecstasy. My body was exhausted, but my mind was more than alive.

“Do you need more?” He asked.

I opened my eyes, gazing at the shapeless shadow above me. I raised my arms and opened them. He understood without me speaking a word and laid his weight upon me again.

In the morning we continued on towards home. I still felt groggy like the day before, but now there was an itch that traveled through my skin that never seemed to be sated or go away.

The shadow man pushed my hand down as I tried scratching again. “It’s not real. It’s your grandmother’s toxin working out of you.”

I huffed and looked away from him. He kept his hand over mine, and the black stain was more faded than yesterday.

“Why do you think you know so much?” I grumbled.

“I only know what your father told me to look out for. He knew your grandmother would try something with you. She’s never liked Falko, nor your mother.”

I rolled my eyes. “Because they conspired against my real father?”

“In her head, yes, that’s what Arda the First believes. She wants you to believe that too. I understand the truth must be hard to take in but-”

I pushed his hand away. “A masked man speaking about truth, how cute.”

He sighed. “Even in this state you must realize this isn’t you. The real you is in there, but the effects of Arda the First are still holding you. I’ll let that slide.” His hand returned to the reins. I studied his knuckles and the way the stain faded the most there. Through the dark stain I thought I saw markings, maybe a hint of green. But that could have just been the way the stain faded.

“When did you start working for my father?”

His body behind me stiffened.

I clicked my tongue. “Was it before you came to challenge me that first time? Or did that happen later? Because if it was before, then you’re not the first person my father has chosen for me. Did you know that?”

He cleared his throat and his hands tightened upon the reins.

“So you didn’t know that,” I chuckled. “Oh yes. My father picked this young, strapping orc fellow before you. Brevalan,” I said with some nostalgic flutter to my voice. “Granted, I haven’t seen him in quite some time. But he is supposed to be my betrothed.”

“I hear orcs are good lovers,” he replied.

I bit my lip as I didn’t get the exact reaction I was expecting. “I hope so,” I replied. “I really liked him.”

The shadow man shifted in his seat. “Do you miss him?”

I sighed. “Sometimes. But it’s been so long. I don’t even know if my father still intends to keep his promise to him. For all I know, he sent Brevalan far away so there could never be a question that I’m-” I stopped and furrowed my brow.

“Princess?”

“Nothing. Just realizing something.”

The shadow man sighed and he turned my horse in another direction. “It’s been some hours. Lets take a rest.”

We stopped by a stream, letting the horse drink while we stretched our legs and get something to eat. The shadow man washed his hands in the river, and more of the stain faded away. There was a green cast that remained, but also, I could see faint marks on the back of his hand.

He stood and wiped his hands on the ends of his tunic. “It won’t be long from here. With any luck, we can reach the castle by sundown. Although, I suspect we may need to sleep and finish the trek in the morning.”

I nodded and sat down upon a rock, holding my head between my hands.

“Princess, are you alright?” The shadow man came to my side, kneeling down beside me. He stretched out his hand to touch me, but I got the jump on him. I knocked him off balance and down onto his back. I placed my knee upon his throat and showed him the needles I kept tucked away in my clothes.

“Don’t move,” I said warningly.

“What the hell are you doing?” He coughed.

I shoved my knee into his throat. “Don’t talk. Just stay still.” I grabbed the top of his hood and he shook. I pressed a needle to his skin, not piercing but letting him know it was there.

“Princess,” he growled as his body went stiff. “Listen, you can’t do this, not now. You’re not yourself. You’re not going to-”

“Be quiet,” I hissed. “I’m not going to kill you. I just want to see who you are before I leave. I’m taking my horse and heading home. If you start walking you’ll make it tomorrow in just enough time to save your men from being slaughtered by me.” I tugged at his hood again. “But I am not leaving here until I see who I am dealing with.”

“Princess, please-”

I pulled away his hood, untangling the excess fabric around his neck. What I saw confused me, but the realization of it hit me faster and harder than a flying stone. I stood up off him, laughing to myself as I began pacing.

“Princess,” the once shadow man said as he sat up.

“No!” I threw up my hand to make him silent. “Stay silent. Do not say anything else.” I stared him up and down in disbelief. “How can I possibly take this?”

His long braid fell down from the pins at the back of his head and hit upon his shoulder. His thick brows pinched together as he watched me. Was he concerned for me or for the fact that his and my father’s long secret had been revealed?

Brevalan stood there, lifting his stained hands then dropping them back down to his side. He held his tongue, but kept his eyes focused upon me.

“What was the purpose?” I scoffed. “Why hide from me?”

“You’re not well right now, princess. You’re not in your right mind-”

“Shut up!” I was sick to my stomach and the itch had crawled up into my brain. I felt an ache all over, and my mind was going so fast. There wasn’t a moment for me to think, all I could do was feel everything and react to it.

“Don’t try and tell me that! No! All these years you’ve been in that disguise! All these years working for my father! Was this the plan? Were you pretending to be this…this shadow man to get to me? To learn how to fight me? So that way you could do whatever my father asked you to?”

“No!” Brevalan gasped. “Please, Leo was-”

I charged him with one of my needles, but he grabbed my wrist and fought me back. I kicked him and went to break his grasp, but he managed to keep a hold of me. We struggled and pushed at one another until I dropped the needles in my hand. When I did, I’ll admit I fought dirty, but I kicked him somewhere sensitive.

Brevelan tried his best to keep his composure, but he was weakened and I took my chance. I struck him in the jaw, knocking him over onto the ground, and then I ran. I took my horse, leaving him there in a state I might never fully understand. I left him his bags and I turned to him before I left.

“I will deal with you better once you make it back!” I snapped. “Until then Brevelan you best get to walking.” I rode off, heading towards home as fast as my horse would take me.