Beyond the Shadows

"Elena!" Lily voice trembled in fear

As Elena turned only to notice Lily,

"Lily, thank goodness you're safe! " she exclaimed as she rushed towards Lily

"How are you here, Elena?" Lily asked ,surprised as yet shocked.

Elena eyes welled up with tears

"I just couldn't move on after I found out you had been abducted. I knew I had to find you," Elena replied

"Oh, Elena, I am so sorry for I didn't wish to drag you into all this ." Lily said as her voice filled with regret

"Don't blame yourself, Lily. I chose to come find you. I couldn't just sit back and do nothing knowing your life was at risk." Elena said her eyes set in determination

As they spoke, the sound of screams echoed through the air, grabbing their attention.

"What's happening?" Elena asked, her voice barely a whisper

'Death', a silent whisper

"They're slaughtering those who tried to escape," Lily whispered, her eyes consumed by fear. "I see of us to be careful, Elena, so we don't end up like them."

Elena eyes widened in the horror. "Those monsters," she said, her eyes showing pity for the victims

"We'll be fine, Lily, my dad, the King won't rest until he finds us," Elena said as she tried to sound convincing.

Raven walked on towards the Shadow Mistress. "So what do you think?" Raven said.

The Shadow Mistress replied, "I guess you really are of use, after all."

"I am who I am, woman. You know I'm of great help, as you know I'm of great importance in this business."

The Shadow Mistress responded, "That would be for me to decide."

Raven then mentioned, "So, as for my reward, I want my posts back and 10,000 good coins."

The Shadow Mistress laughed out in jest, "and who spoke of rewarding you." She replied

Raven asked, "What?"

"See this as a plea to me for your life. I wanted you out of the business and this world, but yet I decided to let you live, as you have proved useful by getting me a royal blood." The Shadow Mistress said

"I seek no plea, for I was the one who did much in this business. I own it, and you're just a mere woman speaking of such. You should beg at my feet, begging me to come back to the business, for you are nothing without me. I want my reward, or the Princess returns with me." Raven said, his voice laced with anger

"You know, I really thought you had your senses back, but yes, you failed." The Shadow Mistress laughed in mockery.

"I should have begged at your feet?."

Few men came. As they stood beside Raven, Raven felt something wasn't right. The Shadow Mistress picked up a dagger, playing with it as she moved beside Raven.

"You know, I really wanted to give you a special gift by letting you live," the Shadow Mistress said. "Hold him," the Shadow Mistress ordered. Two men heeded her command, pulling him down on his knees.

"No, you can't do this to me," Raven said in fear.

The Shadow Mistress taunted, "Who are you to dare call me weak?"

Raven pleaded, "Just let me go. I no longer want a reward or the Princess. Just let me off."

The Shadow Mistress sneered, "Maybe if you had, I would have accepted. But not now that I see you as a traitor."

The Shadow Mistress slit Raven's throat with the dagger, and he bled out, groaning in pain, until he finally died. The Shadow Mistress ordered the two men to pack Raven's body and get rid of it.

Three days had now gone by, with King Cedric's search for his daughter, Princess Elena, all in vain

The Shadow Mistress entered, and her presence was announced by a distinctive sound. "And how is our princess doing?" she asked, her tone dripping with mockery.

Elena, seemingly weak, looked up at her. "Who are you?"

The Shadow Mistress smirked. "I am called by many names, girl , but I am the one who rules this realm. I am the boss."

Elena's eyes widened in disbelief. "How can you be so cruel and slaughter your own kind?"

The Shadow Mistress laughed. "Ah, we have a lecturer among us. I rule my own world, and I didn't get here by being weak. I rose from the pits, from nothing, and I've fought to be the top."

Elena pleaded, "Please, have mercy. Let us go. You can change. It's not too late."

The Shadow Mistress mocked her, "Girl, I made my choice when I left the pits. You're still lecturing, but don't worry, you soon to be sold off, a princess would surely prove of much worth."

The Shadow Mistress taunted as she left

"Please, let us out, let us go!" Elena shouted

"I'm sorry, Elena, for getting you into all this."Lily apologized

"All hope isn't lost yet, Lily."

Lily doubted, "You really think so, Elena?"

Elena confidently replied, "I know so." Elena reassured her

Some hours passed as the cage fell silent. Elena eventually fell asleep, only to wake up and find the guards absent, except for one sleeping man.

She carefully reached for the keys, stretching her hands as far as possible. As then, Lily woke up, whispering, "Elena, what are you doing?" Elena signalled her to be quiet as she continued her attempt to grab the keys.

The guard suddenly turned

"Elena, be careful!" Lily warned. The other girls woke up, curious about Elena's plan. With one final stretch, Elena managed to grab the keys and unlock the cage. "Let's go, you all!" she urged, but the others hesitated, fearing recapture and death.

"This is a death wish, Elena." Lily expressed her doubts

"What are your plans? That we run all the way, " She questioned

"I know it sounds weird, but yeah, I don't have a plan, but there is this hope. Do you want to stay here in this hell of a place, used and dumped like trash, or do you want to regret your whole life knowing that you had the chance to escape from this hell? " Elena said, her tone convincing

"Yes, Elena is right. If we work together, we have a chance to escape. If we stay, we die, but if we run as fast as we can, maybe, just maybe, we'll make it out alive." Lily said, convincing some of the hesitant girls.

Some of the girls agreed to follow Elena, while others decided to stay behind. They held their heads high as they ran, emerging from the basement and into the forest. "Wait, we're in the forest!" Lily exclaimed. "Seems like a well planned way," Elena said, "running underground to avoid detection of the demons and then into the forest to avoid drawing attention."

As then, the echoes of two men talking nearby caught their attention. Elena, Lily, and the girls hid behind the trees, watching as the men approached. One of them decided to take a break and walked towards Elena's hiding spot. She tried to move to the other side of the tree, but the man had already seen her. "How...?" he said as before he could finish, Elena slid behind him, grabbed his dagger, and stabbed him in the back of the neck.

The second man witnessed this and raised the alarm, shouting that they had escaped. Elena pulled the dagger from the first man's neck and threw it at the second man, piercing his chest. More men emerged, shouting, "Catch them!" As Elena, Lily, and the girls took off.

The men began chasing Elena, Lily, and the girls as they ran for their lives. The Shadow Mistress not long arriving got furious as she joined the pursuit, shouting, "Find them!" As the sun began to set, the girls grew tired and hid behind trees and rocks. The Shadow Mistress and her men arrived, scouring the area. One of the men approached her, saying, "Boss, the sun is setting. I advise we return, knowing what lurks in the night." The Shadow Mistress silently pulled out her dagger and stabbed him in the stomach. "I decide what we do. I want them all back, dead or alive. A simple order," she said, her fury evident with the man corpse laying on the ground.

The men continued searching. As then, the Shadow Mistress noticed a cloth behind a tree. She pulled it out, revealing Elena. "And who do we have here?" she said, stabbing Elena with her dagger. Elena fell, and Lily emerged from her hiding spot, rushing to her side. "You know, Raven always felt like a curse to the business," the Shadow Mistress said. "But I thought bringing a princess would prove him wrong. Now, half my girls are gone, all because of you, such a big loss. You're a problem, and I always get rid of any problems." She ordered one of her men, "Get rid of her." The man approached Elena, axe in hand, as Lily tried to defend her. The man pushed Lily, causing her to hit her head on a tree

"Lily!" Elena shouted, but Lily had already fallen unconscious. The man approached, axe in hand, ready to strike. "Time to go, princess," he sneered, attacking Elena. Blood splattered everywhere as the man's head came off, his neck gushing blood. The axe fell to the ground, and a figure emerged from the shadows. Elena's eyes widened in shock as she saw the man who had saved her, his claws dripping with blood, a smirk on his face.

"Mr. nice," Elena uttered