Gigi awoke to a sharp knock at her door. She shot up in bed, her mind yelling that she was late for something. However, she looked around to find a pitch-black room. Gigi gazed out the window to the waning moon high in the sky, nestled amongst a blanket of stars. Drake stirred beside her.

“What’s going on,” he yawned.

“By the gods, if I know,” she grumbled. Swinging her green feet out of the bed, she stood and stretched, her nightgown unfurling as she did so. The knocks came again, this time more insistent. “Gods, I’m coming.”

Gigi opened the door to reveal an extremely tired and irate-looking Griselda. Behind her, a young lamia girl cowered.

“Gigi, you have a visitor,” Griselda turned to the little lamia. “What did you say your name was again?”

“Evi,” she chirped.

“Well, Evi, here is Serena’s daughter. You apparently said you would watch the children when her time came. Well, it’s here. Have fun. Do NOT wake me up again.”

Griselda gently pushed the child into the room and disappeared back to her room. Then, it was just Gigi and Evi staring at each other in the doorway. The tiny lamia was the spitting image of her mother with long red hair sitting atop golden reptilian eyes, but she had her father’s powerful black body.

“You’re the delivery lady,” the girl said.

“Yeah, and?” Gigi put her hands on her hips. “You have a problem with that?”

The child shrunk back. “No, ma’am.”

Drake poked his head over Gigi’s shoulder, shrugging his tunic into place. He looked down at the little girl and gave a warm smile.

“Hey, I know you,” he said, pointing at her. “A troll almost ate you.”

The little girl’s eyes went wide. “You’re Drake, the shadow man!”

He scratched the back of his neck and grinned. Gigi shot him a withering glare. How was this whole kids thing so easy for him? She had been raising her siblings her entire life, and children always seemed terrified of her. This guy grows up with beer-swilling soldiers, and kids love him. It didn’t make any sense.

Drake bent down, putting his hands on his knees, and lowered himself until he was about eye level with the little girl. “I sure am, little lady. Want to see a trick?” The little girl nodded vigorously.

Drake held out his hands and cupped them, then began to whisper. Small, granular black blobs started to gather inside his palms. They swirled and danced until they took shape. It was a little lamia, a tiny miniature of the girl. However, it was no statue. It slithered and moved with life. Drake reached out and placed it in the girl’s open hand.

“It should last about...three hours, give or take,” he winked.

“I love it!” the child exclaimed. She tackled Drake with a hug, careful of her temporary shadow gift, almost knocking him over.

“Showoff,” Gigi grumbled. “Wait, so where are the rest of you? Aren’t there like...Well, a lot.”

“Oh, they’re back at the farm. I was sent to come get you.”

The bottom of Gigi’s stomach dropped out. Of course, they had to go to the ranch. How could she have been so clueless? She had been so comfortable in bed, but now she would need to put on actual clothes. She groaned internally and cursed her well-intentioned lover for volunteering them to do this.

“Did your parents let you go by yourself?” Drake asked.

She shook her head no. “They dropped me off on the way to get the eggs.”

“Okay, let’s get ready then. Have you ever pet a green worm?” Drake took the child by the hand and started walking toward the front door. Gigi stared after him in amazement and frustration.

“I’m not ready!” she protested.

“Get dressed, and we’ll get Glorp ready, okay?”

Gigi sighed and assented before closing the door and getting prepared for what was sure to be a very long night.

***

They hit the cobblestone when the dark of the night was at its zenith. The roads were clear aside from a handful of cheery drunkards and ladies of the evening, making their way to the ranch without delay. Evi fell asleep on Drake’s lap as they rode.

Gigi felt a slight pang of envy. Kids always seemed to be scared of her. The little one had known Drake for half an hour, and she was napping on him. No, she was the scary delivery lady. She sighed. Well, if she was the mean one, so be it. Didn’t someone have to be? She supposed it was better to be feared than loved, although both seemed nice. She grimaced. If they had children, he would surely be their favorite parent. She felt jealousy over her non-existent children’s affection. Then, she scolded herself for being ridiculous.

Before long, they arrived at Vistane Ranch. From the outside, the large farmhouse seemed relatively quiet. However, they entered pure chaos when Drake opened the door with Evi in tow. A cluster of children were fighting over what appeared to be a home-spun stuffed animal. The older children played an unruly game, which Gigi assumed was tag. Whatever it was, the rules involved tackling and occasionally wrestling.

“Uh, Evi, how many brothers and sisters do you have anyway?” Gigi asked.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

The tiny lamia began to count on her fingers until she ran out. “More than ten,” she replied.

“I sense thirteen moving shadows, not counting ours,” Drake said.

“That’s a thing you can do?” Gigi asked.

“Am I showing off again?” he smirked.

“Smart ass,” she mumbled, smiling.

She surveyed the entropy that dominated the dining room. Okay, Drake had his way. She had hers. You couldn’t charm a group of screaming kids out of a free-for-all like this. You had to come down on them with an iron fist. Otherwise, they would walk all over you. They were like wolves, smelling fear. Gigi was terrified of being pitted against an army of children, but she would be damned if she was going to show it. She stepped forward and crossed her arms menacingly.

“OKAY ENOUGH! We,” she pointed to herself and Drake, “are in charge tonight. You will do what we tell you when,” she bared her fangs, “we tell you to do it. There will be no back talk, or I will wash your mouth with soap. Do I make myself clear?”

“I DON’T WANT TO EAT SOAP!” cried a small boy.

“The delivery lady is scary,” Evi whispered to Drake.

He shrugged with a small smile. “She certainly can be.”

A chorus of blubbering and sniveling was released as the chaos dissolved into tears. Sobbing overtook the house in moments. Gigi’s sensitive ears felt like they were being stabbed with knitting needles. She clasped her hands over them as they twitched in pain. Whoever said it was better to be feared had not been talking about toddlers. She grimaced. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, she needed his help.

“DRAKE, DO SOMETHING!” she relented. He nodded and stepped forward, raising his hands.

“WHO WANTS TO HEAR A STORY?” Some children turned to him from their tears, while others continued in hysterics. “THEN PLAY HIDE AND SEEK!” he added. The rest of the children were appeased.

“Can we have a snack, too?” asked Evi.

“Of course! Gigi, can you be on snack duty while I tell them a story?”

“Right,” she said defeatedly.

Gigi had nearly screamed when she found the large cage of live mice in the pantry. The children, however, seemed very confident they were, in fact, a delectable treat. Gigi had almost wretched up her dinner when the children began to devour the squeaking morsels. She had never been more confident in her decision to swear off meat than when she saw Evi slurp up a mouse’s tail. A few minutes and mice later, the children were ready to be told their story.

They gathered around Drake, who sat cross-legged in front of the fire. He patted the ground around him. They coiled and slithered around the human, trying to get the best positions, each set of young reptilian eyes on him. He shut his eyes and began to whisper. The room grew darker, and the fire flickered.

The shadows in the room suddenly began to contort and grow long until they detached from their owners—the inky strands gathered on the opposite wall. Gigi stood in a darkened corner of the room, watching the kids split between staring at Drake and the wall in awe. She felt the claws of envy again, the worship on their tiny faces evident. Perhaps it was better to be loved than feared after all.

Drake cracked his knuckles and opened his eyes. He looked around with a small smile. “Once upon a time, there was a soldier.” The blob of darkness shifted into the form of a man.

“Was it a lamia?” a boy asked.

“He was a human,” Drake replied.

“Is it you?” Evi asked.

“Just listen to the story,” he chided gently. “Now, this soldier had fought since he was very young, not much older than some of you. He fought and won more battles than he could count.” The man on the wall transformed into a shimmering army. Then, the army was cut in half to reveal the man again.

“But despite the great glory he achieved, he was very lonely and held a great sorrow within.”

“Why? He always won,” the boy interrupted.

“Happiness isn’t always found in victory, and there was nothing but dust in the soldier's heart.” The figure on the wall began to dissolve. “The soldier was not a free man and was chained despite his great strength.” The black grains began to coalesce again, this time into a great knight. Shackles and chains flew out of the wall and at the children. They screamed and recoiled. Gigi laughed.

“He was kept in line by a great and terrible knight and his army. One day, the soldier told the knight he would fight no longer. The knight said he was to be punished.” The knight on the wall pulled out a massive blade from the ether before stepping out of the wall and toward the kids. Drake stood up and strode toward the shadowy knight. The knight slashed his sword, the children screamed, Gigi cackled, and the shadow sword slipped through Drake before the entire illusion burst.

“The knight cut the soldier, but he escaped into the river below. Even though he had escaped, the soldier was on the verge of giving up on his freedom and his life.” The image returned to the wall, this time a man suspended as if in water. “Little did the soldier know, at that moment, a beautiful woman would see him in the river.” Gigi smiled despite herself.

“Was she a lamia?” asked Evi.

“She was a goblin,” said Drake. Another figure joined the drowning shadow. A stout woman with long black hair and pointed ears swam in the inky murk. The figure grabbed the drowning shadow before darting back toward the ceiling and vanishing. “The beautiful woman nursed the soldier back to health.” The shadow man appeared again on a bed with the woman beside it. Then he stood, taking the goblin woman’s hand.

“The woman taught the soldier that living meant more than just existing. In turn, he taught her that her dreams were worth fighting for. In time, the soldier fell in love with the woman. On a special night of fireworks and festivals, the soldier told the woman how he felt and sealed it with a kiss.” A chorus of awws and retching noises came from the children. Gigi found herself coming closer to the group. She wanted to hear how his version ended.

“But the woman wasn’t sure if she loved the soldier the same way, so she ran from him.” The shadow woman broke her embrace with the man and ran off the wall. Memories of the incident flooded through Gigi. She had been so nervous, her heart pounding out of her chest. Even at that moment, the butterflies came back. The three simple words had filled her with so much fear. They still did.

“The soldier stood there like a fool and watched the river,” Drake said.

“Then the trolls came!” cried a boy.

“Then the trolls came,” Drake agreed, the shadow shifting into the woman and a troll.

“The goblin woman fought the trolls bravely,” the shadow woman punched through a large inky troll, “but in the end, fell to their king.” The gigantic shadow troll laughed silently over the body of the woman. “The soldier arrived too late to stop the trolls from hurting his love. Something for which he will never forgive himself...” his voice hitched.

The children looked at him from the wall while he gathered himself. Gigi thought she could see his blue eyes fighting back tears. The shadow soldier appeared in front of the troll. “The soldier challenged the troll king to a duel for the lives of the people, including his love.” The troll and the man stood toe to toe on the wall, the troll towering over the man. “In the end, the soldier felled the king, and his minions ran.” A black crown appeared before shattering and dissolving.

“The soldier was beside himself, finding his love so hurt.” The shadow figure scooped up the prone woman. “This time, the soldier's job was to bring her back.” Gigi stepped beside Drake and gently touched his shoulder, reassuringly squeezing him.

“Did they live happily ever after?” asked Evi.

“The happiest,” Gigi said.

The sleeping shadow woman awoke and embraced the shadow man before they both vanished. The shadows returned to their original owners. The darkness receded, and the firelight brightened the room once more.

“Now, who wants to play hide and seek?” Drake asked. The children were up and slithering before he was even on his feet. Gigi smiled and hugged Drake from behind, shutting her eyes and breathing in his scent. He smelled like fire and forest.

“You’re it,” Gigi said. He laughed.