When the chief finally regains his awareness, he could only see black. At first, he thought blindness had stuck him, but he notices something was making it hard to breathe, as well. He tries to shout out to the rest of the villagers, but the attempt causes him to choke.

As he wanders into the dark, trying to find an exit, the fog in front of him slowly clears. The pitch-black turns to gray. Outlines of people enter his vision. He runs towards them. As he approaches, the mist unveils the dark mistress, surrounded by his daughter-in-law and the villagers. The villagers stand stiff, appearing as if they were soldiers in training.

He reaches the crowd, and the Mistress turns to him, smiling. "There you are, we've been waiting for quite some time now."

Thick dark chains cover the villagers, wrapping around their bodies, and covering their mouths. The chains all lead back to the Mistress who grips them in place.

"Now that we're all here, I will continue where I left off. I'm hoping we've gotten over your need to attack when faced with a tough conversation, and we can finish without any further delay," the Mistress says, giving the widow a quick glare.

Still not able to comprehend what happened, the elder stays silent.

The Mistress speaks to the crowd with a calm, sympathetic voice, "I am deeply sorry for the loss of Lander. He was a very important person to all of you. I understand your feelings, but I cannot and will not allow the act of attacking my children to be excused. Although I do not hold your people in high regard, I was hoping to walk away from this town without causality, but that man gave me no choice."

The widow growls in response, struggling to escape the chains. The villagers follow her lead.

"I expected your stubborn natures to not allow you to listen to reason, but I had to at least try," the Mistress sighs. "Thankfully, I have a backup plan." She disappears into the ground.

The chief searches his surrounding, waiting for her to resurface.

He feels her presence behind him. He shivers as her fingers wrapping around his shoulder.

"You seem to be the only person with some sense of reason," the Mistress says. "I guess it does come with age, doesn't it?"

The chief nods slowly in response.

"Do you know why I left you unchained, wise elder?" The Mistress asks. She continues, giving no time for him to respond, "It's because I think you are the only one who can control your emotions and stop your people from getting themselves killed." She bends down, her long neck stretching as she moves her head next to his, and whispers into his ear, "If you want your people to live, restrain them with that rope over there. I can then release them from their chains, alive."

His daughter-in-law stares at him, resistance still in her eyes.

He looks around at the people he's known since they were children, practically raising them. He wants them to be able to fight for their fallen friend and loved one. He wants to fight for his son. But is the cost of fighting worth it?

The Mistress pulls the chains, causing the restrained widow to writhe in agony. "Choose quickly. Can't you see the pain they're in?"

The elder's eyes well up as he looks at their torture. The chains drag across their bodies, tightening unrelentingly as it tears into their skin. It forces itself in their jaws, cracking their features and robbing them of breath.

The elder slumps in defeat. He grabs a few rolls of rope and walks towards the villagers. His daughter-in-law tries to resist, pulling away.

If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

"I'm sorry... I'm too weak," he says, his voice cracking as he tries to fight his tears.

"It's done," The chief says, as he finishes tying up the last of the villagers.

"You made the right choice, elder. Your people will live another day," the Mistress responds. With a wave of her hand, the chains dissolve.

As soon as the villagers release, they fall to the ground.

The chief runs to them.

"Don't worry, elder, they're struggling has just temporarily sapped their energy," the Mistress says. "I may be a master of shadows, but I keep my promises." She turns from the disheveled man.

As the chief kneels next to his unconscious daughter-in-law, he can't get a question out of his mind. He calls to the Mistress, "why did you spare them?"

She stops, responding, "to be honest, I don't care whether you live or die. But once you're a ruler of a kingdom, killing an entire village in a land protected by the kingdom you have a treaty with… doesn't go over well." Her voice trails off as her form disappears into the void.

The chief looks around him at the villagers lain on the floor, they're hurt but still alive. He puts on a smile. The smile weakens as he feels water streak his face. "It must be raining."

He looks around his battered village. The windows broken and doors knocked off.

At the center of the town, his son's lifeless body lies alone.

His smile breaks, tears flowing from his eyes, and whispers, "I'm sorry... Lander."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Viktor sits in his office, tapping his pen against the table. He already knows the news is going to be bad by the way the officer attempts to build confidence outside the door.

He knows why most men he works with fear him. His face shows no telling of how he's feeling, naturally sitting as an uncaring scowl. He likes the distance it places between him and the rest of the officers, though the side effects became tedious.

He leans forward, taking the paper from the top of the towering pile of paperwork. Due to how long the diplomatic party is taking in their attempt to get a strong political relationship with the Minotaurs, the amount of work to be done multiplied immensely. This wasn't helped by the easily noticeable, but hardly ignorable, pacing of officers whenever they had to deliver news with any slight negative aspect.

Viktor glances at the clock, his eye twitching at the sight. He looks out the door again, before returning to his organized piles. "Are you going to come in, or are you reporting to yourself?" Viktor asks, startling the officer.

The officer rushes in the door and salutes his superior. "Sorry sir, I got a bit distracted."

Viktor looks up to get a glance at the officer. He's fairly fit, blond hair, brown eyes, and on the younger side. Most likely new to his position.

"I could tell," Viktor replies, returning his gaze to the paperwork. "What have you come to tell me?"

"Well... there were reports of a large dark cloud in our lands," the officer responds.

Viktor stops writing. "Where?"

"In a small village settlement next to the north end of the border, near the devil's hideout," the officer answers, gaining confidence.

"Have you sent men to investigate the area?" Viktor asks, shifting his head to meet the officer.

"Yes."

"What were you able to find out." Viktor places his pen down and sits straight.

"I wasn't able to get much information, the people were quite shaken. Only the elder could speak and even he..."

"Did I ask what you didn't find out?" Viktor interrupts, clasping his hands together as his scowl deepens.

"Sorry, sir." The officer gulps. "The elder said the Shadow Mother attacked the village."

Viktor leans forward, his eyes narrowing, "Why?"

"In defense of a child found in the village."

"How many casualties?"

"Only 1, but..."

"Then we can't do anything," Viktor cuts him off, continuing his work.

"But sir, they were on our land and attacking our people. Surely there is something we can do," The officer says.

Viktor stands, towering over the man, his gaze piercing down at him. "She followed the rules of our treaty, she only killed one person and it was in self-defense. If we attack now, we'll be seen as the ones who broke our agreement, pushing all the neutral parties, that we've spent way too much time and money trying to convince to join our side, along with the people we are currently allied with, to join the dark army. One village, let alone one man, is not worth our entire empire."

The officer slumps his shoulders, becoming silent.

"You're new, so I'll ignore your resistance this time, but from now on, I'll need you to keep it short." Viktor sits back down.

The officer turns to leave but stops before the door. "Sir, please allow me to support the villagers in some way."

The room goes silent. Viktor's head slowly rises to meet the officer's gaze. He sighs, "very well, you have two weeks. And you'll have to figure out funding yourself."

"Thank you, sir," The officer's face brightens as he turns to leave once again.

"What's your name, officer?" Viktor asks.

"The names Justice, sir." Justice salutes before leaving the office.

"That should keep him in line for now," Viktor mumbles to himself. After Justice made some distance, Viktor dials a number into the phone at his desk.

"She's become active. Initiate project sunrise."