The Shadow King

Richard's POV:

I sighed as I sat in a chair in Paris's study. Laurence had been throwing temper tantrums left and right today.... and it was starting to get to me. "PARIS! I need you to go get me a bottle....of something... anything.... I don't care what it is," I called out, expecting him to hear me. In response I got the tune of the piano playing in his music room. There was a soft melody playing in there, a lullaby for me. Laurence appaeared beside me then.

"Richard." Laurence began, holding up his fingers. "I have been thinking." He began as he sat down on the floor, staring me down. "That we could ship her to Africa and paint her skin black." He told me. He had been constantly fighting with her all morning. I sighed.

"No one is sending Iris to Africa. She's actually pretty nice....Now shush before I get your little child body drunk," I warned, wanting to listen to Paris trying to calm me from the music room. Laurence groaned then laid down on his back and put his feet up against the sofa.

"Richard, honestly. I can't have a human. It's not right. I'm a child." Laurence insisted. Now he was admitting this.

"If you aren't careful, we'll do what we did to Louis to you and make you a girl," I teased and laid down on the couch as I tried to close my eyes for rest.

"NO!" Laurence shrieked. "I don't want to be a girl! They have emotions!" He got up then and disapeared from my sight. Suddenly Paris stopped playing the piano. Nooo.... my solitude....my rock. I got up then and rubbed at my eyes as I stood up and walked to the door. Seems one of us is going to have to sacrifice some time for Laurence to make the other one happy.... We both don't need to be miserable. I walked down to the music room and opened the door, walking in.

"Paris PLEASE!" Laurence was in the room begging Paris for something. Paris kept shaking his head no.

"No Laurence. Go ask Baleen." Paris grumbled. "I'm trying to play."

"I NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED IT THOUGH AND BALEEN WILL JUST TELL ME NO!" Laurence complained.

"Are you thowing this because you want attention?" Paris sighed out.

"I WANT ATTENTION!" I spoke up suddenly and walked in, sitting down on the piano bench next to Paris. I glanced at Laurence. "Go play with Baleen." I started to play my favorite song on the piano- the one I played when Paris first walked in to hear me play.

"Grah." Laurence puffed out.

"Take a deep breath. Someone seriously needs to introduce you to a nintendo or something." Paris muttered the last part. He stood up then and walked over to a shelf and pulled off a book. He walked over to a rocking chair in the room and took a seat in it then motioned for Laurence to come to him. Laurence skipped over to him then got into his lap.

"What's this?" Laurence asked sweetly.

"This is a book."

"I KNOW THAT! What's it about?"

"This book is called The Princess Bride."

"PICK SOMETHING ELSE! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ABOUT A LOVE STORY! EWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. YOU TWO ARE THE ONLY LOVE STORY I NEED." I banged my hands down on the piano and then groaned, turning to him.

"I've got a story for you.... It's about a girl who had a little brother once. She was asked to babysit him, but she made a foolish mistake and her brother was taken from her by...." I nodded to him to see if he knew the story already. After all, they made a great movie out of it. Laurence settled down in interest and got into the floor, crawling over to me and waited to hear more.. He didn't know?

"I'm going to go get some blood... don't be too scary on him."Paris said then teleported away. I dropped my jaw then. I'm all the blood he needs.... I sighed and looked down at Laurence. Guess I'm babysitting.

"She picked up the baby and tried to tell him a story to quiet him down, but he wouldn't stop whining, and so...in a fit of frustration and irritation, she went to tell him a story about the Goblin King that she read so much about. Legend had it that the Goblin King would take away any baby if you said the right words....snatch them right out of the crib. The baby was too upset to calm down, and so she walked towards the doors and turned out the light....saying the words she thought were fiction. As soon as she was out of the room, the baby stopped crying, and when she went back in, she found a mean little goblin under the sheets, laughing at her as he crawled out of the crib. Soon enough, the entire room was infested with goblins and the one and only Goblin King appeared before her," I paused then to see his reaction. He looked skeptical.

"That's not true. I've never heard of a Goblin King before.. but the story is kind of cute. Keep telling it." He urdged me. I smiled. At least he's behaving. I bent down, picking him up as I stood up.

"How about we watch the movie based off of the story I'm telling you? You'd like it much better...." I started to carry him towards the doors then.

"Will you watch it with me?" Laurence asked sweetly.

"Sure, I've got nothing better to do, and you're too cute to say no to," I said, giving a smile as I took him to the living room and set him down on the couch. I put on The Labryinth and sat down beside him as I started the movie. Laurence curled up to my side and watched the movie with me without saying a word, astonished the whole time. At the end of the movie, I turned the tv off and looked at him. "So what'd you think of the ending?" I smirked.

"Someone should have made that actor into a vampire... He's hot!" Laurence giggled then and got to his feet, stretching. He looked back at me then and grinned. "Richard."

"Yes?" I smiled at him as I stood up, looking down at him. This is soooo much better. He's actually behaving.

"I'M BORED. Do something else with me now. Let's do something fun! Let's go make pasta." I shook my head.

"Get Baleen to do it... I have to practice the piano so that way Paris can enjoy me playing it later. After all, if I'm going to surprise him with that new song...." I smirked at the thought of keeping it a secret from him. He'd be so happy and thrilled.

"Baleen is doing something else." Laurence told me and waved that idea away. "You can practice later. Let's do something, anything. Come on! I'm just a kid. Feel my needs of wanting something to do every second of every day." He urged.

"Go write a research paper," I said and waved him off. "That's what the human kids do nowadays."

"No they don't! Besides... I know everything there is to know. What else is there that I don't know? Not very much." Laurence told me. "If I wrote one then I would just be tired the moment I begun it and we would be right back to me asking you to entertain me." I sighed then and ruffled his hair.

"Do you ever get a mate in the future..... It's been...thousands of years and you haven't found your mate yet," I mumbled softly. A mate would make him less bored.

"I don't. I'm going to be lonely forever but I will always have you and Paris. That's why I crashed your brother's birthday party those many years ago." He gave me a crazy look. "Sucks to be me!" He laughed.

"Go enjoy your human pet!" I pointed to the door then. He's never getting a mate?! I need a vacation from entertaining him! I love him to death...but help!

"Ewe no. I hate humans.. They are so boring and quite predictable. Love me Richard." He started to cry. I sighed and bent down, picking him up as I bounced him up and down.

"The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round," I started to sing as I tried to cheer him up. He giggled as he started to cheer up then, finding the song funny.

"What ARE you doing?" Laurence asked. "Is this an american thing?"

"Yes it is... It's a nursery song for children that mothers sing to help calm their children," I told him, nuzzling my face into his. He giggled and curled up to me.

"The wheels on the bus go round and round.. ROUND AND ROUND." He giggled as he started to sing and hum the song. Oh boy.... I shook my head.

"Now go show Baleen the new song I taught you," I suggested, going to sit him down on the ground again.

"Okay! BALEEN! I LEARNED A NEW SONG TODAY ASWELL AS A FACINATING STORY ABOUT A GOBLIN KING!" Laurence disapeared as he shouted it. I widened my eyes. HOME FREE! I took off running for the front doors of the house. Laurence appeared in front of me shortly after and smirked. "I can't find Baleen. Looks like he's sleeping. Sooooo you will be my victim. The wheels on the bus go round and round... round and round... round and round... The wheels on the bus go round and round... ROUND AND ROUND, ROUND AND ROUND. Is there a next verse to this or does it keep going? Are there any more rymes that I can learn?" He questioned. Oh....my...goodness gracious. I took out my phone and a set of headphones, sticking them on his head and pulling up one of Bethoveen's songs. I hit play and handed him the phone, starting to walk away before he could complain. I heard him following me and roughly humming Bethoveen's songs. Soon enough he was a pro at it. I smiled. At least it's something good for him to be learning. He took out the headphones after a minute.

"I'm hungry." Laurence complained.

"Go drink from Iris," I suggested as I stopped to look down at him.

"I don't want her blood. Her blood... is her blood. I want some human food." He pouted up at me then. "Cook me food Richard." I nodded and started for the kitchen. I'll give him a bowl of ice cream.... It's simple. I went in and got out the ice cream tub and a spoon, pulling the lid off and sticking the spoon straight up in it. I slid it on the counter for Laurence to get. He watched me then raised an eyebrow. "You mean I can have some?" He asked me and then smirked. He grabbed the tub and began to eat it without hesitation and was finished with it quicker then I expected. He giggled and I swear I seen his eyes dialate. "Richard, my friend... pal... best man..." He began and grabbed my hand. "Let's go dancing! LET'S THROW A PARTY!" He giggled and dragged me towards the livingroom and let me go. He appeared near the couch then grabbed a pillow and threw it at me. I dodged it and narrowed my eyes.

"Laurence, nap time," I said, making sure to sound like he had no choice in the matter. I walked over to him and grabbed him as I laid down on the couch, pulling him with me as I held him down to make him sleep. Hopefully this works.... I nuzzled my face into his neck and took a deep breath, loving his smell. He always smelled nice, just like Paris- except Paris smells better always. Laurence giggled and exposed his fangs then, rubbing them across my ear and bit me.

"No nap time, I want everything." He giggled and flipped us then. "Richard, let's play a game." I widened my eyes and looked up at him worriedly.

"What kind of game?" You bit me....

"Any game! How about cards... or chess. Anything you want. How about we do something cool. Let's go jump out of a plane without a parachute." I shook my head quickly, tightening my grip on him as I made him lay down on top of me.

"No....You are going to calm down and take a nap. First one to fall asleep wins," I whispered in his ear, kissing the top of his head.

"I can't sleep now. I'm on top of my game." He tried to get out of my arms, I could hear his little heart pounding in his chest. No more ice cream for him.

"No, sleep or else the Goblin King will take you away," I teased as I made sure to not let him slip away.

"Richard, the Goblin King is a myth silly." Laurence told me. "Trust me, I would know of all people." He tried to squirm his way out of my arms. "Let's go clift diving."

"No! I'm not going anywhere until you take a nap," I said sternly, exposing my fangs to him. He exposed his right back to me and giggled.

"Let's drink from eachother." He teased and went to bite me. I widened my eyes then. What do you tell a vampire that's older than you but looks like a kid?!

"PARIS! HELP ME!" I shouted quickly, hoping he was in earshot. If he bites me....this might get out of control. I squeezed my eyes shut.

"Laurence, get off my innocent mate and come here." I heard Paris order. Laurence jumped off me and ran over to Paris then and jumped up into his arms and giggled.

"Hello Paris!" Laurence said sweetly. "Can we go clift diving?"

"Did you have sugar?" Paris asked then and looked towards me. "Richard..." I shrunk into myself in guilt, looking over at Paris with a weak smile.

"I may have...given him a full tub of ice cream to get him to be quiet," I said softly. I'm in sooo much trouble, aren't I? Paris shrugged then and looked at Laurence.

"Want to hear a bedtime story?" Paris asked sweetly and motioned for me to follow as he walked away with Laurence. I got up in interest and followed after them. Paris seemed to be doing a compulsion on Laurence, to settle him. "Richard is going to tell you a scary bedtime story to put you to sleep." Paris began as he was walking Laurence to his room now.

"But I'm fresh out of stories! I made him watch the Labryinth," I complained. I don't know another one off of the top of my head.

"Well do an off brand story about the Labryinth." Paris suggested. "It will do just fine, give him something to think about next time he messes with us like he has been doing." I nodded and looked at Laurence.

"Once upon a time...there was a little vampire boy who got himself into a lot of trouble by pestering his two friends. His first friend- Evan- got a little fed up with it and decided to read some old stories to him, coming across one about a vampire king who would come and take children away that were no longer wanted to build his kingdom. Well, Evan decided to play a prank on the child by telling him about it and threatening to say the words that would summon the vampire king....Do you know what happened Laurence?" I smirked then and leaned in real close. "He said, 'Vampire king, vampire king....please take this child away from me.' but lucky for the child, those weren't the right words. The right words were," I glanced up towards Paris and then looked to Laurence, "Oh great one, I summon thee from the depths of Hell. Take this damned child with you." Laurence was halfway asleep as he looked at me with a freaked out look.

"What the heck are you talking about?" Laurence mumbled. Paris chuckled and walked into Laurence's bedroom then sat him down on the bed and covered him up. I sighed as I leaned against the doorframe.

"You know Laurence....sometimes I really do wish that the goblins would come take you for a day," I whispered then. "Expecially today. I wish that the goblins would take you away right now....just so that when we get you back, you'd be more behaved." Paris kissed the top of Laurence's head as he finished tucking him in then went to walk away.

"Love you both..." Laurence mumbled sleepily. Paris smirked as he walked over to me and kissed the top of my head.

"You and me both." Paris mumbled into my ear as he walked out into the hall.

"Love you Laurence!" I said with a smile as I shut the door behind me, going towards Paris. I suddenly felt like something was wrong and stopped. "Paris...." I looked at him in confusion. Paris turned towards me and gave me a funny look.

"That's odd... His thoughts cut off mid sentence." Paris mumbled. I ran back to the door and threw it open, peering inside. I saw a little form in the bed, so I walked over cautiously, pulling back the covers to see a small vampire giggling madly up at me. I widened my eyes as I saw it was a child vampire. What the.... This isn't Laurence! I jumped back as he hopped to his feet and lashed out for me, trying to get my wrist with his fangs exposed.

"PARIS! THERE'S A LITTLE MONSTER IN HIS BED!" I shouted quickly, but the vampire pinned me down onto the floor and bit down into me neck, making me yelp. The little vampire was kicked off of me quickly and Paris stood over me with his fangs exposed towards the tiny thing.

"What the heck is going on?! LAURENCE!?" Paris asked worriedly. I got to my feet then and rubbed my neck as it was bleeding. Where is he? I looked around and noticed a few more little vampires I'd never seen before standing around and giggling.

"Children of the shadow world?" I raised an eyebrow.

"The Shadow King is coming," one of them said and giggled towards me. What.... Why does this remind me of the La- I stopped, wide eyed.

"P-Paris.... I may have cursed Laurence to another dimension...."

"You know the helaious part about this is the fact that Laurence has powers over shadows." Paris noted the irony. A tall vampire stepped out from a shadow in the corner of the room with a smirk. His hair was as dark as night with a few red streaks in it- dark as blood. His skin was a pretty pale color, not the kind that was sickly looking, but the kind that was gorgeous. His eyes were a light violet color that seemed to stare into your soul and see it for it's worth. He wore a red tank top underneath a black leather jacket and a silver studded black belt that held up black skinny jeans. His boots were a polished black leather that suited his look nicely. He looked like a dark prince type that you'd see in a rock band, and he held a riding crop in his hands, hitting his hand with it lightly as he saw us.

"There....you....are.... I should thank you both for what you've done for me. I've been waiting for someone as special as Laurence to fall into my hands," he purred, his eyes lingering over us and then landing on me with a smirk. "You were the ones to say the words...were you not?" I widened my eyes.

"Give him back," I whispered.

"What?" He narrowed his eyes at me.

"Give him back! He's not yours to take! It was not serious!" I shouted at him, getting worried for Laurence. What if I never see him again?! I took a step towards him, exposing my fangs. "He's ours!"

"Um...No, he's not," he said and laughed at me. "You clearly said the words that make him mine for eternity....Though, there is a way for you to get him back. I hate to tell you it, but it's part of the game's rules. You have to solve my maze and get to the castle before the stroke of midnight. If you don't, he becomes a part of my kingdom forever." He smirked and inspected his riding crop.

"He's not yours, ha. Do you know who I am? I am the male that brought that boy back from hell! He's mine and I won't let you have him so easily. When you walk for a while in hell looking for him then come back and try to take him from me." Paris hissed. The Shadow Prince raised an eyebrow at him.

"So? That doesn't really matter to me. You see, rules are rules. He's mine because he made it so," he told Paris as he pointed towards me. "Besides, it would have had to happen sooner or later. I knew it as soon as I saw him that he was destined to be offered to me by some foolish person out here. If you want to play my game for him, then I welcome you to it, but you aren't going to win," he warned, giving a huge smile at us both. "I'll even let you both try."

"Piece of cake. I can beat your game with my eyes glued shut." Paris hissed out. "You have no clue who I am." He laughed at him then.

"You're Paris, Prince of France and leader of the vampire revolution against the old kings and queens. That is your mate, Richard, who was by your side throughout the revolution. I know exactly who the two of you are.... and I can tell you straight up, you're not going to get to my castle before the stroke of midnight." We were suddenly standing in a meadow outside a large wall. "Inside there is the labryinth. You must solve it in order to get him back, and my castle is in the middle of it. Get to it before the stroke of midnight, and you get him back. If you don't....well...." He smirked, exposing his fangs to us as he started to fade out of sight. "Tick tock." Watches appeared around our wrists then, showing us the time and each second ticking by. Paris looked towards me then and smiled.

"Don't worry. We will just teleport in." Paris closed his eyes as he tried to concentrate, probably to read someone's mind and find out what the place looks like inside before he'd teleport us in. "Heh. Nothing... absoultely... quiet." He chuckled and looked at me. "IT'S SILENT AGAIN!" He dropped to his knees in pure happiness. "I'm staying here forever." Wait, you can't hear my thoughts as well? I waited to see if he'd react to me. When he didn't say anything, I widened my eyes. I CAN THINK ALL I WANT! I laughed breathlessly and found myself kissing the walls.

"HE CAN'T HEAR A SINGLE THOUGHT I'M THINKING! I'M FREE TO THINK WHATEVER I WANT!" I shouted and cheered. Paris stopped laughing.

"Oh... Oh no... I don't want that. I want to hear your thoughts... Let's go." Paris got back up then and started to follow the wall, searching for a way in. I followed after him, trying to contain my excitement. He can't hear my thoughts! Hah! I don't have to filter them! For once in my life, I can think about anything and everything that I don't want him to know! I started watching him as I let myself think about how much I loved him and then how much he was going to love all the surprises I've been hiding from him. It was such a relief to be able to think it all at once. I couldn't do it at home! I laughed again and ran up to him, wrapping my arms around his waist.

"Guess what I'm thinking?" I teased. Paris pouted.

"That's not very nice to make fun of me not being able to hear your thoughts at the moment." Paris purred out into my ear. "You better be thinking of how much you love me and me only."

"Of course I'm thinking of you.... and all the girls I've eaten," I added on to mess with him. Of course I forgot almost all of them. I can't even remember how many.... All I need is Paris... He looked bothered by what I said.

"Your thinking about the girls?" Paris sniffled. "You better not be! I'm going to make sure you never see another woman again when we get back. I'm going to surround you with men. Ugly men." I frowned.

"Of course I'm not thinking about the girls. I don't even remember them.... All I want is you, and I'd bite you right now because I have the element of surprise, but we are a bit busy at the moment trying to find the way into this place." I pouted as I looked to his neck. I want him so bad.....especially since how he can't hear my thoughts and I can think about biting him all I want.... He looked up then at the top of the wall.

"Let's see if we can reach it. Let me get on your shoulders." Paris suggested. I sighed and picked him up, pratically tossing him towards the top of the walls. He'd just have to be a cat. He grabbed onto the top, just barely able to reach it but somehow did. He pulled himself up on it and sat down on it then looked down at me with a smirk. "You want up?" I shrugged.

"You go ahead and start trying to solve the labryinth. I'll find another way in. If you get lost...use this," I pulled out a whistle I had in my pocket and threw it up to him. "I should be able to hear it from a long ways away and try to get to you." He nodded.

"Have fun down there," Paris stood up then after catching the wistle and put it in his pocket. He looked towards the labryth then and sighed. "He's got some land I tell you..." He said then disappeared.

Laurence's POV:

I woke up grogilly- as if I had been knocked out by some sort of magic- and found myself in completely new surroudings. I was laying in what looked like a small pit that had been lined with tons of fluffy soft black blankets and with red velvet pillows to provide cushioning. It was like a little nest.... Sunlight spilled in the room, and I spotted a male sitting in what looked like a grand throne. His legs hung over one of the arms of it as he leaned back, relaxing. His violet eyes were watching the windows across the room curiously, as if there was something out there he enjoyed. A black riding crop was in his hands, and he flicked it gently everyonce in awhile. His flipped his black hair out of his face and sighed, a small smirk playing on his lips. I'd never seen him before in my life, not even in the future...and I know everything. There was no way this being could exist and be here. None of this was familiar...at all. I absolutely had no clue what was going on anymore. This was unfair, was I destined to see other's furtures but not my own? Was that what I have been seeing for so long? That doesn't explain him though... I sat up then, making myself known that I was awake. I pushed the blankets off of me so I could get out and leave this odd place and find Paris. Paris must be worried after all... and Richard.

"Good morning Laurence! Sleep well?" The male said as he saw me sitting up, grinning towards me. His eyes had lit up as he looked towards me. "Those PJs suit you nicely.... They made a good choice," he whispered to himself. I looked down at my clothes and freaked. He dressed me! What does he even mean by they... and he knows my NAME!

"Who are you?" I asked quickly as I got to my feet and strumbled out of the pit of comfort and walked towards him. I might as well, right? There isn't anything else to do. He laughed and moved to sit in the chair correctly, watching me.

"I'm the Shadow King, or- as others know me since how they completely destroyed what and who I am- the Goblin King. That's how the humans have chosen to remember me- fiction." He sighed and stood up, looking down at me. I raised an eyebrow. This has to be a dream... Paris I swear you better wake me up.. this is not funny. I crossed my arms then as I looked over this... so called Goblin king. I walked towards him then and put my hands to my sides, giving him a death glare.

"Your a liar. The Goblin King doesn't exist. Otherwise I would have seen this coming.. and I would have tried to avoid this from happening. YOU don't exist and YOU are just a figment of my imagination." I said cruely as I clenched my jaw shut. I stopped just a few inches from him then and I shoved him backwards before he could react. His eyes widened as he stumbled backwards, but something kept him from falling that I couldn't see. A chorus of hisses came from around me suddenly, and I was grabbed, pushing me down onto my knees.

"You will respect our Shadow King lowly vampire," someone hissed in my ear.

"Timmy, that's quite enough. It's fine... Let him go," the so called Shadow King said as he was straightening his clothes and running his fingers through his hair to fix it. I was let go instantly. I looked around me then as fear broke out in my chest. I was scared out of my mind now. I looked into the eyes of little vampires... it was creepy. I looked back towards The Goblin King and got back to my feet. I looked for a way out of this mess then, obviously I had either been kidnapped... or this was a really bad dream. I tensed up as I took a step back from him. I tried to summon shadow powers then, holding out a hand for them to grab it. They didn't come thought, my friends... my shadows... Never reached back. I looked towards him then as I narrowed my eyes and tried to focus on him, hoping they would take him... nothing. I hissed out in fustration. No wonder why I couldn't see him coming, my powers doesen't work right here.... I rolled my eyes. Now I have to play the game everyone else plays... life. He laughed as if he knew what I was trying to do and shook his head. "That's not going to work Laurence. No vampire in my domain has any power here...not unless they are appart of my kingdom, and not even then sometimes. I am the Shadow King, what'd you expect?" He walked towards me then picked me up. "Now tell me, Laurence, did you really think you'd keep away from me any longer? It was only a matter of time until someone summoned me to take you," he whispered in my ear, exposing his fangs with a dark smirk on his face. I exposed my fangs then and hissed at him.

"I didn't see you coming. You better be glad too, or I would have stayed in hell to keep away from you." I told him wickedly. "Now put me down before you get a nasty wound." I leaned in towards his throat and snapped my jaws at him teasingly. He only laughed and sat back down on his throne, putting me in his lap.

"Now, now....let's behave Laurence.... After all, I've been planning this day for quite some time.... Thousands of years of waiting has made me impatient, and you won't like me when I'm upset," he warned as he touched my nose gently to mess with me. He smirked and kissed my forehead. "After all, you are my one and only mate."

"Your not my mate." I hissed then and tried to get out of his lap. "I don't have a mate." I told him as I squirmed to get away from him. "I'm cursed. Haven't you heard?" I asked and glared him down. "You can't fool me." He laughed.

"Alright, if you say so," he said and let go of me as he watched calmly. I backed away from him then.

"I have to go." I stated. "You have to take me back." I crossed my arms as I watched him. He nodded thoughtfully.

"Yeah- No. I'm not taking you back because at midnight, you'll be mine forever. You'll never be able to leave without my permission," he said with an evil grin. "Now how's that slice of apple pie? Timmy, take him to his room for now, will you? I've got his friends to take care of." He stood up and disappeared into shadow, leaving me with all the tiny vampires who looked towards me with wicked smiles. The one that must have been Timmy stepped forward and grabbed my hand, starting to drag me out of the room as a few others followed as back up. I tugged on my arm to try to get free of him.

"Let me go! Don't listen to him!" I hissed out towards the tiny vampire and then pulled his hand towards me, biting it to ensure that he would let me go for good. He yelped, but he didn't let go as he then yanked me to him and bit me back to get revenge. His friends pinned me down as they teamed up on me. I screamed and kicked them away from me. "Get away from me~ you freaks of nature!" I screamed at them and hissed harshly. I was suddenly yanked away from them then.

"No biting! What have I told you? He's not allowed to be bitten except by me!" The Shadow King shouted angrily, wrapping me up in his arms as he curled my hair around his fingers. "You know this! Since how you are all incompetent, I'll take him myself. No supper for you," he hissed towards them and picked me up bridal style, starting to carry me away. I struggled in his arms and groaned.

"Let me go! You sir are very dilusional!! I'm not going to stay here forever! Not with those monsters in there!" I yelled in his ear and hit his chest. "Your going to seriously make me very angry... and YOU DON'T WANT ME ANGRY!" He laughed at me and then stopped by a window, making me look outside.

"You," I saw a giant maze surrounding the castle walls then, stretching for miles and miles, "are going nowhere Laurence. You'd never be able to get out, and I'm not a forgiving master." He then started to walk with me again.

"Excuse me? YOU ARE NOT MY MASTER!" I growled at him then. "Your going to die." I said and then started to laugh evilly. "Very soon. Paris is coming for me." I assured him. "You'll get ripped apart." He shrugged.

"He'll come too late. You see, there is a game to be played here, and you are the prize, my fair mate. If they manage to get here and solve the maze before midnight, then they may have you back...If they don't, you'll be apart of my kingdom forever, and I'll mark you just to be sure." His lips pulled up into a smirk as he looked down at me. "I think that you'll come around soon though.... After all, I can make this complete hell...or heaven, your pick," he said teasingly as he leaned in and kissed my cheek. I blushed then, starting to wonder about how acurate this male was on the whole mate concept. Maybe he didn't know what mate means to me? We must have two different ideas of the word mate... because I should get a sense of who he is if he was my mate. I looked away then. Paris will come for me, he will be on time too. He's always on time and comes.

"Your wrong. He's going to win." I whispered softly. "Your not going to exist to me after he does too." I looked back up at him. He shrugged and stopped outside a door, opening it to reveal a bedroom. He set me down inside and ruffled my hair.

"Get some rest.... You're a little grouchy," he teased, going to shut the door. I noticed then that the room was made up for a girl. The bedsheets were a light pink and there was a whole butterfly tree mural on the far wall. I raised an eyebrow.

"Why am I in a girls room?..." I giggled then as I got it.. Oh he thought I would be a girl... didn't he. I glared him down and got serious. "I'm not tired. Your sick, you know? For thinking that you'd get lucky and have a girl for a mate. Serves you right. You ended up with little old me." I hissed then exposed my fangs on him. "Now I want a new room made up, right now. I don't care how much it will cost either of anything. Get it done." I stepped towards him. "Or I will eat you alive." He only laughed at me as he came into the room fully, shutting the door behind him.

"So you finally admit it?" He asked, referring to our whole argument about who is who's mate. "If you want another room... I can always stick you in the dungeon. You'll deal with this room until I have time to renovate it for you."

"I should reject you, can't even get the colors right." I tsked as I looked around the room. "That would crush your little soul. Maybe I'd be free then." I glared him down. "Don't think I won't. I can wait for another one to come around in a few centuries once you rot away." He shrugged and opened the door then, losing interest fast. He stepped out into the hallway then.

"I could honestly care less right now whether you like it or not," he told me cruelly, shutting the door behind him. The lock clicked instantly, and I heard his boots clicking against the floor as he walked away. I frowned and looked around the room, deciding to do the makeover myself. I walked towards the bed and smirked as I ripped off the covers and started to have my fun throwing a small temper tantrum, ruining the room. I might as well do something while I wait for Paris to rescue me from this hell. I jumped up and down on the bed in boardum as I ripped the covers up. This is why you don't leave me alone when I am mad. I smirked evilly. as I finished on the blanet and kicked one of the pillows across the room and then the other, breaking something that sounded expensive. I froze in place then laughed as I worked on the sheets. I jumped off the bed and walked towards the cute little nicknacks on a book shelf and threw them towards the floor, over my shoulder. I worked at the books then, taking small time to read their covers before tossing them. I looked towards the fireplace then and pranced towards it, picking up the blanket and threw it into the flames. I stood there, watching it burn away. Well... this day took an odd turn. I faced the rest of the room then and walked towards the bed then sat on it to catch my breath. I was totally board now, maybe I should start on the dresser... I turned towards it....

~An Hour Later~

"What...have...you...done?" I heard him hiss from behind me as I stood over a completely destroyed room. He spun me around by my shoulders and glared down at me coldly, any ounce of fun times and adoration in his eyes gone instantly. He narrowed his violet eyes and exposed his fangs. "I think it's time you learned why I'm called the Shadow King," he muttered lowly.

"What's next you want me to destroy that you love?" I threatened as I looked him over. I could start with his body. I eyed him over, debating on where to begin. If only I could show him how much I enjoyed shadows too... He'd let me go home instantly. His nails dug into my shoulders and shadows gripped my legs then, anchoring me to the ground and paralyzing me to where all I could do was talk and look around. He stared at me, looking at the white button up shirt I was wearing then reached down, slipping it off of me as he left me bare chested.

"I hope that you liked Hell...." he whispered, a dark look in his eyes as he produced that little riding crop of his he had been playing with earlier. I tried to step away from him then as I was getting a bit scared, of couse I couldn't move an inch.

"Hell was like drinking tea at the mad matter's." I informed him and laughed slightly to myself. "Your a bit late for tea actually." I gave a slight smirk as I remembered hell very well. "You should go next time." He didn't laugh at it as he touched the tip of the riding crop against my chest and dragged it up to my chin slowly, making me tilt my head up to him.

"You.... are going to wish you had been a bit more friendly," he told me as he looked at me.

"I was just remodeling, honestly." I said innocently, but my laugh got the best of me. He hit me with it against my chest, causing a welt to form and a little bit of my blood trickled down. Pain lanced through me and made me yelp. "Stop," I insisted then. "You wonder why no one loves you." I hissed through the pain. He shook his head.

"I don't need love....and you are the only one who hasn't behaved. I can offer you anything you ever wanted- as long as you just stay with me. But it's not good enough for you, is it? The rest of them are happy," he hissed out and licked my blood off of it.

"Don't taste my blood, you stick monster. That's precious. You better be paying for that." I growled and tried to hit him, unfortulatly I didn't move. I clenched my jaw slightly. "Sorry, I prefer the real world where I get to know everything and can play it with the upper hand." I told him.

"Well....get used to being in the unknown," he said angrily and looked at me, clearly pissed still. He had only gotten angrier the more he saw what I did to the room. I sighed, deciding to switch everything. My only way at getting rid of him is to fool and distract him.. Paris is going to owe me big.

"Okay." I said softly as I looked him in the eyes. "Whatever you want, tiger." He looked back at me then in shock and then narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"If you think sweet talking me is going to make me let you go, you better think again," he warned.

"Your not much of a mate." I said softly, trying to get seductive. He raised an eyebrow at me and watched me closely.

"What do you want?" He said, still sounding upset with me.

"Your attention of course." I smiled sweetly. "I'm a child, I need it... full time." I licked my lips then. "Otherwise your going to have to put up with a trashed room every time you leave me." He rolled his eyes and started picking his way through the mess towards the door.

"You don't want me to babysit you," he muttered and hissed in pain as he stepped on a shard of glass from a broken music box. He pulled his foot back and looked down to see him bleeding. "Darn it.... You will pick this up!" He looked at me in anger and then the shadows let me go. "Right now!" I placed my hands behind my back and watched him.

"Nope. I don't clean, but that was cute of you... trying to order little old me around." I smirked. "You clean it." I walked towards him but froze up as I caught his scent and shrieked. The little maniac was right.. He was my mate. I felt my fangs expose themselves so I covered them up and took a step back from him. I'm mated to a monster.... Oh this is too ironic. I turned away from him then. "Oh man.... I hate fate." I whispered. He disappeared then, probably wanting to get away from me in case. I turned my head over my shoulder and looked down at the glass he stepped on and then groaned. "GET BACK HERE!" I yelled angrilly. He didn't appear though, probably hiding somewhere. I crossed my arms. "This is why I shouldn't have a mate." I said as I looked up. "They can't handle the fact I am young looking!" I yelled. I swear.. Who makes the mate matches anyways? He came back after a few seconds, his foot now with a band aid on it.

"What?" He said calmly, all emotion wiped off of his face. He didn't have his little toy with him this time.

"Your going to get it." I muttered lowly as I walked towards him. "DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I WAITED?!" I yelled and grabbed his shirt before he could leave me, begining to cry. "Your so mean. Hiding away in the shadows." He bit his bottom lip as he looked down at me.

"W-well... are you talking about the thousands of years or the five minutes where I left to go take care of my foot?" He offered me a small smile.

"THOSE THOUSANDS OF YEARS! I'M OVER CENTURIES OLD, WITHOUT A MATE- WELL WAS." I crossed my arms as I let him go. "Evil little moster you are." I turned from him then and whimpered. "You didn't want to meet me." He sighed and got down on his knees next to me to be on level with me.

"Look... I didn't know where you were, who you were, or even what gender you were. I did my best to prepare for you, and I guessed wrong. I made this room for you....about....well, I can't even remember it was so long ago. My only company here is the little vampires that were offered to me back in the older days. I'm not even believed in anymore. I'm forgotten...left to be known as a fictional story where I'm a Goblin King, not the Shadow King. I waited for what felt like forever trying to find you.... After all, you had to be offered to me by someone in order for me to take you back with me. I couldn't find you," he whispered the last part then and looked down at the floor. "You didn't even recognize me as your mate when you woke up, but I knew as soon as I saw you...."

"I'm stuck in a child's body... what can you expect? This body is about as useless as it can get when I don't have powers backing me up." I grumbled. "Your just going to have to deal with it." I told him and looked him over. "You really wanted a girl mate..."

"I could have cared less what gender you were Laurence.... I went with what I thought would be.... If you really can't stand the room until I can fix it, you can always sleep in my room. I'll sleep on the couch," he suggested as he sat back and watched me. He seemed so much more tame than before when he was angry with me.

"Oh I don't care. I don't plan on sleeping here again. You may be my mate, but I have to go. I'm needed with Paris and Richard." I told him sweetly. "They are my family." He looked away when I said that, closing his eyes as he seemed a bit guilty about something. I frowned.

"You didn't go out and harm them.. did you?" I asked cautiously.

"No...of course not... I just took them back to the beginning because they were halfway done with it about thirty minutes ago," he admitted.

"Your mean... I need them to get here on time." I crossed my arms. "You'll put them back. You should play fairly."

"Hey, they are the ones that seperated themselves to solve it faster," he complained as he looked back at me. "They asked for it... Besides, I could have stuck them in the amnesia fields, but I didn't, now did I?"

"You... little.." I hissed lowly. "If I end up stuck here because you didn't play right... you are going to be very sorry." I took a step towards him. "I don't plan on being nice after the bad news."

"You aren't nice anyways," he teased, giving me a wicked grin as he watched me. "Besides, if they do get here, I will mark you before they can take you away.....Either way, you are getting marked today."

"No... I'm not." I took a step away from him then. "I don't want to be marked. That keeps the cuties away." I crossed my arms. "Baleen wouldn't be too happy." Where is Baleen anyways? He laughed and reached out, pulling me down into his lap before I could get away. His fangs exposed themselves as he started to nuzzle his face into my neck.

"You don't need any cuties when you have me," he said softly as he wrapped his arms around my waist.

"I... I don't know about that." I whispered. "Baleen and I are close." I teased him. "He's more then you will ever be to me." An annoying butler ghost that won't pass on and is bound to me forever. I felt his fangs graze my neck then as he was tempted to bite me, his grip tightening. I squirmed then in his arms. "Stop, I'm not ready to be marked!" I objected, frightened at the idea. He made a small noise of disappointment as he paused, taking in my scent.

"But why not?" He whined, almost sounding like the child in this relationship.

"I don't. I'm not ready for that... I'm still a child." I blushed. "Physically."

"But that's no fair.... You said you were cursed," he mumbled, still not moving away from my neck. He pressed his face against me then and kissed me there.

"You'll have to break my curse." I teased him, knowing that'd be impossible. He sighed and then kissed me again.

"But I don't know anything about those kinds of curses.... What if I can't?"

"Then I will remain markless for all of eternity." I told him and lifted the corner of my lip up into a smirk.

"Then I'll just mark you now to get it done," he whispered and bit down without warning. I screamed and tried to get out of his arms as I felt a rush of adriniline fill my body.

"That's no fair!" I cried out. He deepened the bite before he started to release his venom in me, sending a good kind of chill down my spine- thrilling me as it made me feel happy. I was in pure ecstacy within seconds. I quit squirming and purred slightly at the feeling of him biting me. This is so unfair... I don't even know his name! I should have been more catious. Now I'm his. He pulled back after another minute and licked his lips as he looked me in the eyes. He leaned in and kissed my cheek as he slowly let go of me, letting me make the decision whether or not to stay in his lap. I narrowed my eyes slightly at him, but couldn't find it in my heart to keep it up. "Your going to pay for that, I hope my curse rubs off onto you now." He laughed and shook his head.

"Hope all you want... Your curse is yours.... Oh, I never told you my name..." He frowned and looked at me curiously. "I know yours, but you don't know mine....How terrible of me.... My name is Ashton....Ashton Crow the Shadow King," he told me, giving me a sweet smile. I blushed as I looked him over again.

"Ashton huh? You don't read minds right? That would suck..." I grumbled. I swear if you read minds...  He shook his head.

"No, I can't read minds.... Your thoughts are safe," he whispered and leaned in, kissing my cheek again. I leaned away from his face and looked at his lips.

"Stop kissing me... that's too much for our first... meet. I can't believe you marked me!" I hissed. He gave the cutest pout I'd ever seen.

"But what if I never see you again? Look," he pulled out a small handheld mirror, watching as it rippled and then showed Paris and Richard in the maze. "They are halfway through it again." I grabbed the mirror and smiled softly as I got a good look at them. They are still alive- or are actually here! I looked back at him then.

"So that's a good thing." I encouraged. "I get to go home soon." I sighed. "You'll have to kidnap me some other time." He frowned and looked at the mirror.

"But it's against the rules to take someone that wasn't offered to me," he said softly as he then touched the mirror lightly. They suddenly were being chased by vines as they were wrapping around their ankles. I gasped and pulled the mirror away from him and held it to my chest.

"Don't hurt them!" I hissed. "Look.. I've been marked by you right? So now I am yours." I muttered. He looked at the mirror as if he was considering snatching it back, but he didn't as he held himself back. I backed away from him then and curled up with the mirror close to me as I watched him. "Don't hurt them, they are your family now too." He sighed and stood up.

"Well.... If you really.... reaaaally like them that much..." he trailed off and kicked a book out of the way. "I will see...about maybe helping them....." He glanced down at me to see if it would make me happier. I nodded then and smiled sweetly at him. I scooted back towards him.

"If you be nice, I will work something out with you to fix our problem about not being able to see eachother. I will work something out." He looked me over consideringly and then disappeared into the shadows again, reappearing after a second with Richard and Paris. He was holding them by their collars and threw them down onto the floor. Richard quickly stood up and exposed his fangs, going after Ashton. Paris looked towards me and smirked, rushing towards my side and picked me up.

"There you are, let's go home." Paris said sweetly and kissed the top of my head. "After all, I just suffered that stupid labrynth for you." He looked towards Richard, waiting. Richard had pinned him down, glaring at his he was preparing to tear him to pieces.

"I'm going to murder you," he hissed out and leaned in towards his neck. Ashton stayed still as he narrowed his eyes.

"Bite me and I'll throw you both back into the maze before you can say hemoglobin," he threatened back towards him.

"You two, don't... He's my mate." I whispered softly. Paris dropped me then and widened his eyes.

"YOUR WHAT?" Paris asked. Richard froze immediately and looked back at me in shock.

"BUT YOU SAID THAT YOU DIDN'T HAVE ONE!" He shouted at me, a complex series of emotions on his face.

"Your telling me... I swear he was never in my future.... I didn't see him at all! Apparently I can't see my own mate coming for me." I muttered. "So it's a shock to me to, trust me." Richard looked down at Ashton then and narrowed his eyes.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't leave you with a nasty scar for what you did?" He hissed out. Ashton shrugged.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't throw you back into the maze and make you solve it." I paled.

"Guys! We can go home, right Ashtie? It's cool now. I worked everything out." I explained to them. Paris still looked upset, and confused about everything. Ashton pushed Richard off of him and started towards me.

"No, you may not leave yet. You still haven't made a deal with me," he said, narrowing his eyes towards me. I nodded in agreement.

"I will come visit you twice a week." I promised. "Deal?"

"You could always stay," he whispered as his gaze softened. "You could become apart of my kingdom....You'd eventually be able to use your powers here...."

"NO! I am not staying here, I love these two too much to leave them. How about you get night shifts?" I asked him quickly, not even thinking that one through too well. He raised an eyebrow at me then.

"Hmmm.... But how will you get here?" He mused, glancing up at Paris and Richard who had gone to stand next to his mate cautiously.

"They'll hand me over willingly if you promise to return me." I said sweetly. He smirked then and nodded.

"Deal.... As long as they hold up to it... I won't steal you away forever and ever," he told me as he kissed the top of my head.

"You have to hold up to it as well." Paris hissed out, grabbing me and pulling me to him protectivly. Ashton glared over at him then.

"I didn't have to take you out of the maze," he hissed back, crossing his arms.

"I would have solved it already anyways." Paris hissed back.

"I can always keep Laurence," he threatened, exposing his fangs. "After all, he's my mate."

"I object." I mumbled. "I don't want to stay here forever." I reminded Ashton. His eyes flickered to me then to Paris.

"How do I know that you won't just.... keep him?" Ashton said, sitting down on the ruined bed.

"Have you seen me over react?" I asked and gestured to the room. "They'll return me. I promise, right Paris? Richard?" I looked around me.

"N-no," Richard started, wanting to protest the whole thing. I frowned and stepped on Paris's foot.

"Heh!" Paris hissed and took a step back from me. "As the Laurence wants."

"But Paris, he's our little child," Richard complained, wrapping his arms around him.

"Then we have a deal. As long as I get to see him- here- every night, I will release you three back to your other world," Ashton said, crossing his legs as he looked pleased.

"They agree because I agree." I told Ashton sweetly. "So we have a deal." I nodded and shuffled my feet around. "If it is broken then we will have to make a new deal." He gave a nod then and stood up, raising his hand up with the palm up. A necklace appeared in his hand then from shadows, and he walked over to me with it.

"I just remembered... I have this," he said sweetly and put it on me. It had a little dark pendant on it that swirled with a bit of light. "It will allow you to return to here anytime you want....without the problem of becoming part of my kingdom after midnight- as long as you wear it... You just have to concentrate on coming here, and it will bring you to me." He gave me a smile and then reached out towards Paris and Richard. "If you want to go home, I suggest you come here." Paris walked over to us then and wrapped me up in his arms and picked me up.

"Ready to go home?" Paris asked me sweetly. Richard came over quickly, pulling me away from Paris.

"I'm so so so so so sorry!" He cried out, burying his face into my neck. "I won't do anything like that again!" I nodded and rested my head against him.

"Your so in trouble." I purred into his ear and laughed. "I found my mate because of you!" Ashton sighed, grabbing Paris and Richard and taking us back to my bedroom in Paris's manor. He let go and disappeared from our sights then.

"That's the only good thing that came out of that though.... I'll not joke about stuff like that again... I'm so sorry," Richard mumbled to me. I nodded as I couldn't help but start missing Ashton already.

"How much longer until it is dark?" I asked sweetly. Richard glanced outside and shrugged.

"A few hours perhaps?" He guessed and then set me down, kissing the top of my head. "Don't worry too much about it though..." I nodded before walked away from him with fury.

"You jinxed me!" I yelled over my shoulder. "You told me that story and then it all ended up being true."

"I didn't think it was real!" He said in defence following after me. "I would never have said that if I knew that he was real!" I stopped and looked towards him as I got a vision of the next set future due to these events... I blushed as I looked towards Paris.

"Phone call." I told him as his phone started to go off in his pocket. Paris raised an eyebrow at me then pulled out his phone and walked off, answering the call. I looked back at Richard. "We should go check in on Louis." I sighed out, putting myself aside to fix later. He looked a bit sad but nodded.

"Alright... I guess we should. It is day three after all... He is going to be executed tomorrow," Richard whispered, glancing towards Paris curiously.

"You want to know about Paris, well let's go check him out then take him with us to see Louis." I suggested. He nodded then and started walking towards Paris.

"Who's calling sweetie?" He called out and wrapped his arms around Paris's waist. Paris smiled at Richard as he looked at him and stood still, on the phone and listening to someone. I walked up to them with interest.

"Oh? She's just a vampire Charlie, in fact she lives with me. Would you like to meet her?" Paris asked curiously. Richard frowned and looked up at him.

"Who does Charlie want to know about? Lauren? Raven? Val?" He started to list names off of the top of his head.

"Raven," Paris told Richard. "MHmmm, come over tomorrow then if you'd like- oh right, your grounded. Well good bye then." Paris laughed softly then hung up. I smirked as I looked Paris and Richard over. Richard pulled away from Paris then and gave him a smile.

"We need to go check on Louis.... He's going to be killed tomorrow, and I'm sure he could probably use some support considering werewolves are his worst fears...." Richard crossed his arms as he studied Paris. Paris nodded then and gasped.

"I forgot about it being today, was his third day. Time did pass!" I smirked and walked up to Paris as reality was hitting him hard.

"Come on and let's go then." I suggested and grabbed his hand.