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The Faerie Fort was distinctly alive, in a way the rest of the world wasn’t.
Lit by the soft light of the glowberries in the trees, shadows danced across the walls. Grian, Jimmy, Martyn, Mumbo, and Impulse tended to stay near the south walls, gesturing with their spyglasses. Scar moved a lot, but he could often be seen by the north walls, where Joel sat alone; if one looked hard enough, they could see the light shining through the colorful crystals Scar carried. Bdubs, Etho, Skizz, and Tango moved often, but they were usually seen whispering to each other. Scott and Pearl stayed near the axolotl pond.
Cleo and Bigb’s shadows stayed with their masters, as did Ren’s. It was a protection granted only to the court of the Shadow Queen.
Lizzie’s shadow followed her, but it didn’t copy her, like one would expect a shadow to do. It liked to exaggerate its movements, as if mocking her, or slip away and shadow other people. Lizzie could often be heard arguing with it.
Most of the others were unsettled by it. Ren thought it was adorable.
Sometimes, when he was talking with his queen in her circle, he’d glance down at the forest floor and realize that his shadow and hers had begun to dance. Lizzie would look down and laugh, and draw him into a dance of their own.
Lizzie ran out of the cave, her pink hair blowing behind her. Joel chased after her. His foot caught on nothing, and then he was falling, falling, falling. He fell down into the darkness, and when he was back, he swore he saw her shadow grinning at him.
The Queen of Shadows could, on occasion, be convinced to do tricks.
Her stories danced in the lantern light, mermaids and pirates and kings. Ren loved watching her shadows- but he loved watching her even more. The way her brows would furrow in concentration, the way her eyes sparkled, the way her hands moved. She was just as cute as the shadows she made on the wall.
Lizzie taught Ren how to make simple shadow puppets. They were, of course, nowhere near as good as the Shadow Queens, but he had fun. And they always made her giggle.
The two of them would stay up long after the rest of the world had gone to sleep, telling stories and acting them out in the lantern light, giggling so hard it was a wonder Cleo and Bigb didn’t hear them from up on the mountain.
Pearl ducked away from Lizzie’s sword, into the torchlight. She could hear Scott calling her, still on the ladder, but she couldn’t answer him. The darkness seemed to be everywhere, inescapable, keeping her terrified and still for the Shadow Queen’s blade.
Ren had always liked the sunlight. He was no cat, but he would hardly turn down a good nap in the sun.
Until he met Lizzie. Suddenly, sunbathing was much less appealing, and Ren preferred to take his naps in the shade. He found himself ducking into the darkest corners, finding shade wherever he could. The shadows held him close, kept him warm.
The dark that he used to fear when he was small was suddenly comforting. The darkness kept him safe and sound. It was home.
The light was bright and colorful and loud, but it was the shadows that really scared him. The shadows that used to be his, that used to comfort him and keep him safe. Now Bigb felt them hold him still, keep him steady, so the Shadow Queen- his Queen- could kill him. Her light was so bright it was blinding, but everyone knew to fear her darkness most of all. Bigb knew that better than most.
Everything tended to look better in good lighting.
Not Lizzie.
Lizzie looked best in the shadows. In soft grays and silvers, her eyes really sparkled. She practically glowed.
She was so, so lovely, especially in the dark that she loved so much.
Ren thought most things looked better in darkness, really. The grays and silvers were prettier than the world’s true colors. And the shadows made everything seem- softer, almost. The light- the light was blinding.
Lizzie’s beauty had never been blinding. It was one of many things he loved about her.
Jimmy watched with bright eyes as Lizzie stumbled past the door and into his trap. She shrieked as she fell, and he could almost hear the lava bubble and hiss with glee. He tried to ignore the feeling at his back, like the dark corners were watching him- waiting for him to get a little too close. The Southlanders used to joke that he would jump at his own shadow if he still had it- but considering who they were playing with, Jimmy didn’t think there was anyone who wasn’t a little bit scared of the dark.
Lizzie seemed to always know what happened in the shade.
She insisted that she didn’t listen to what the shadows told her, for the sake of the game, but, well-
Ren still didn’t believe that she just happened to come talk to him while he was falling apart in the darkest corner of his tower.
She seemed to always know when he needed her.
Bdubs felt his heart pounding and his hands shaking and his head spinning. He did what he had to, he did what he had to, he did what he had to. The other reds were yelling behind him. Lizzie lay in front of him, bloody and bruised and broken. She lay in a puddle of darkness, the queen in her shadows. The red had drained from her eyes, leaving them blank and black, black, black. She was just as dead as Jimmy and Mumbo and Skizz, as any other dead thing, and yet he felt as if she weren’t. As if it wasn’t just the other reds chasing him, she was too. He felt the darkness on his heels as he ran. He felt Grian’s arrow in his back, and Lizzie’s shadow pulled him into the dark.
Lizzie was shade and shadow. She was darkness, in all the best possible ways.