It is eerily quiet in the school now that the students are in class. As I finish up the last of the cleaning in the school cafe, I hear the door open behind me. "We're closed," I instinctively say with my back against the door.
"Lil-Lillian," a pained cry whispers.
Knowing all too well about that particular cry for help, I immediately whip around to find Sienna all beat up nearly crawling on the ground. Her hair is all tangled and ruined. Her clothes look as if she got them out of the dumpster with dirt and rips in them. Just all around bullied and beaten.
"What happened to you?!" I exclaim as I run over to her. I pick her up off of the ground and help her to a nearby chair. Doing my best, I wipe her tear stained face and dust off her clothes.
"Rachelle and Fiona," Sienna whimpers. "They heard that I was talking to you and asking you for help, so they beat me up and told me to find you as a warning to not mess with them."
Beyond angry. Beyond pissed. This is a whole new level of absurd that I have ever seen, and there isn't an emotion in this world that can explain how I'm feeling right now. As a breather, I stand up to go fix Sienna a cup of water and bring over a couple of crackers just so that I can walk off some of the steam that's spilling over from how boiled I am.
As I hand Sienna her water and crackers, I see Zaku's signature orbs floating under a nearby chair. They seem to be gesturing for me to go to the back of the cafe, so I oblige.
"Sienna, I have to go into the back to get something. You can rest here for as long as you need to, but I'll be right back," I inform before slipping past the doors, ensuring that it's closed all the way.
"Is there anything that I can do for you?" Zaku instantly asks after sliding out from my shadow.
I give him a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"
"I can do so much more than just provide information about people, and you know that. Use me as you wish."
Gazing down at the floor, I try to collect my thoughts.
[Can I really use Zaku's power to my advantage? Wouldn't that be too much? Just using the information against those girls as blackmail should be enough leverage, but it wouldn't be satisfying enough... Satisfying enough?... Am I becoming sadistic or something?...]
Zaku notices the sudden confused expression on my face and waves his hand at me to get my attention. "To answer your questions, yes, no, and being sadistic isn't a bad thing."
"Forgot that you can read my mind. Feels weird but whatever." I lean against the prep table next to me and stare up at Zaku. "My dear prince," I jokingly start with an evil smirk on my face. "Can this princess of yours use your powers?"
"Anything for you, my princess," Zaku responds in a more literal sense.
Zaku holds out his hand to me, so I slip mine into it. Slowly yet gradually, I can feel a surge of warmth enter me. After about a minute or so, the feeling stops, and Zaku kisses my hand. "Transfer of power is complete," he announces.
"Probably should have asked you before this, but what is your power?"
"Things that only the dark can do. Blind, paralyze, induce sleep or fear, control, kill. Things of those nature."
Glancing at my hand, a faint but noticeable symbol is etched onto my palm. "What is this symbol for?"
"It's my symbol. Kind of like a branding that wears off. If you use my power, one of the spikes will disappear. After all of the spikes disappear, you will have ran out of my power, but you can still gain more afterwards with another transfer."
That's right... Zaku is the only personification of darkness since he was created in order to form a silent country that's dedicated to the darkness.
---
A couple of days ago....
"Hey, Zaku, are you the only one of your kind?" I ask as I work on some math homework.
Surprised by the random question, Zaku stares at me through the headboard mirror while he massages my back. "As in like, the only person of darkness?" I nod my head in response. "Well, yes. I have been 'alive' for many many millennia, and I have never met another personification of darkness. It was eventually relayed to me by the universe that I am the only one. The reason why the universe created me was because those of Light are becoming too powerful."
"Those of Light? Are you saying that there are others like you but just of different elements."
"Of course, there are! You think everything works on its own? Originally, there wasn't a need for a ruler of darkness as the universe deemed darkness to only be fleeting. Something that was only made because light was there to create it. However, the King of Light is growing too powerful over the other rulers when they were supposed to be in harmony, so I was 'born' as a way to balance out the King of Light."
"Why didn't the universe immediately make you king? Why are you just a prince?" I continue to ask, but now staring back at Zaku through the mirror.
Zaku pauses as if he was ashamed to continue explaining. His furrowed eyebrows seem to hold a lot of sorrow and mistakes in the numerous wrinkles that it makes.
"A prince can't become a king unless he has people who follow him and a human queen by his side. I have tried many times to get others to follow me, but their loyalty was just a façade in order to gain my power for evil purposes. I have long given up in trying to get people to follow me due to the fear of being used and fake loyalty."
"I guess you giving up on followers has also affected your ability to find a queen," I assume before continuing on my homework.
"I did try to have a queen before you; however, the universe rejected her saying that she wasn't a true queen and that I will know when I find my true queen."
Bashful from his comment, I couldn't help but hide my face in my hair as I pretend to focus on my homework. "Am I... your true queen?"
"Ah... well... I mean..." Zaku hops off of my back and turns around away from me. "I did feel a pull from you before I met you. I wanted to know if that pull was my body's way of saying that you are my true queen, so...."
Peeking through my hair, I glance at Zaku's broad back and notice that his tan neck is terribly red. Realizing that we are both blushing, I drop my pencil and jump up to give Zaku a hug. "Let's build your followers together so that you can become king."
---
"I have a question for you," I say to Sienna after I sit down at the table she's at.
Recovered a bit from her episode, Sienna does her best to look at me in the eyes. "What is it?"
"If I were to say that I was something like a queen or princess, would you become my subordinate after I free you from Rachelle and Fiona?"
More confused than scared, Sienna actually looks me straight in the eyes. "I'm not sure I understand, but even if you weren't a princess or whatever, I would follow you for the rest of my life if you can save me."
"Swear to the darkness that you will obey only my words once I save you," I command as I stand in front of Sienna.
[This kind of feels strange being demanding... however... I don't hate it....]
Unsure of what to do, Sienna grabs my hand and gazes up at me. "I swear to the darkness that I will obey only your words for as long as I live."
'Those who find comfort in the dark eventually find others who do the same.'
A singular sentence echoes through my head after Sienna pledged her loyalty. I have never heard that voice before, so I don't really know how to respond to it, but I do know that a small purple halo-type ring now floats over Sienna's head.
I raise my hand over the purple halo and begin to wish for Sienna to call down. At that moment, I cool feeling trickles from my fingers, and after a while I notice that Sienna has visibly stopped shaking.
"The darkness will now protect you forever," I comment before lifting Sienna to her feet. I expect Sienna to still have a timid expression on her face once slide her hair away from her eyes, yet I see a striking contrast to my expectations.
The look of someone who has given up fear.