The Noble Queen-A Shadow Slave Fanfic

The Chancellor's meeting table was filled with a mix of mundane people and Awakened. The screens on the walls around them had even more faces from around the world.

Noble knew some of them, but others were unfamiliar.

The emotions of those in the room were a mix of negative feelings: anger, anxiety, fear, and frustration.

"We can't risk this much for so few people!" Some dark-haired woman on the screen was practically screaming.

"You've made your feelings quite clear." Saint Jet rolled her eyes on another screen. "The decision has been made. You can leave this meeting any time you like."

Glancing toward the door, Gui coughed lightly. "Perhaps we should all take a short break. Master Noble has arrived, and I should fill her in on the situation. We will reconvene in ten minutes."

The Chancellor pressed a button and the screens all paused in place before fading. Those in the room got up from the table as well, relieved to have a moment to stretch their legs.

When things cleared, only three people beside Noble remained: one Saint and two mundane people.

"I don't think you should stay for this part," Saint Cor said to the mundane woman beside him.

The woman's eyes were sunken and her short hair was disheveled. Everything about her said she needed a break, but the lady scowled instead. 

"I'm not going anywhere. This is too important." 

Gui nodded. He motioned to Noble, who was still frozen in place, and sighed wearily.

"Please join us. There is a lot to discuss." 

The Master took one of the empty seats. A tray of food came and was left on the table while the four got situated.

However, none of them seemed in the mood to eat.

"What is this about?" Noble asked, breaking the silence. "If it is about something Bee Two has done–" 

"It isn't your android this time." One corner of Gui's mouth turned up slightly. "I would prefer a problem like that any day of the week." 

"Oh." Noble was relieved and at the same time very troubled by his words. "Then… what?" 

"Skinwalkers," Wake of Ruin's gravelly voice echoed in the office. 

Gui folded his hands on the table. "We know you have been patrolling Ravenheart for the Skinwalker. And I assume you reflexively check around the Awakened Academy when you are in the Waking World."

"I do." Noble blood ran cold. "Is something wrong at the Academy?" 

The professor had been so intent on getting to her destination that she hadn't paid a huge amount of attention to the places on her way. Had something slipped by her? 

"The Academy is fine. After the initial search to eliminate any of the vessels, we have implemented some safeguards in the NQSC. So far, they have been keeping us secure." 

After the news broke in the media that the Skinwalker was loose, panic became rampant in the city resulting in a temporary shutdown. Since she had been in Ravenheart when the story was made public, Noble hadn't been able to assist in restoring order. But it seemed they had been able to manage without her. 

"That's good to hear," Noble nodded, "However, I sense a 'but' coming." 

"Indeed you do. We may have things under control here, but the Eastern Quadrant has not been so lucky." Gui glanced at the short-haired woman, who remained silent. 

Cor took up the explanation. "Jet went after Master Yosh and found him. He must have known she was closing in because he took a last stand in a minor port town. The entire place was obliterated." 

The professor lowered her head. It was what she had expected, but hearing the words out loud still hurt her spirit. "I'm sorry to hear that." 

"It's tragic, yes." Gui agreed, "but also suspicious. Those who fled and survived were cleared before being allowed to enter other places. None were found to be taken by the Skinwalker. Saint Jet had a sinking feeling that more was at play, so she and a few others have been investigating." 

"If I am here and you are telling me this, then you must have found something." Noble didn't like where this was going, but there was no way that she was going to leave the conversation now. 

"The port wasn't taken...but the city closest to it was. Over a million people were possessed by the Skinwalker without anyone knowing or putting up a fight. All of them are now merely vessels of a Nightmare Creature." 

Cor ran his fingers through his raven black hair. Noble could tell he felt personally responsible for the loss of life. 

"What can we do? Surely there is no way to destroy a million vessels even if the Great Clans pitch in!" Noble had seen the Sisters of Song struggle to fight a single vessel. 

Granted they hadn't gone full-out in that encounter because they didn't want to destroy the palace. Yet, Noble doubted even Mordret could do much against so many. 

"We cannot kill them, so we did the next best thing. We contained them." Gui brought a picture up on the closest screen.

A semi-opaque dome surrounded what Noble assumed was the city in question. Even with the aerial view, Noble felt the scene looked oddly familiar. That is when she noticed the shimmering markings at the edge of the mysterious bubble.

"Is that what I think it is?" Noble squinted, hardly believing her eyes. "Are those runes?"

'It looks like Crestfall did in the Nightmare!' 

"I hoped that you would recognize it," the Chancellor nodded. "Master Cellio provided us with a copy of the rubbings from your Nightmare. With those schematics, some reverse engineering, the help of a shaper, and a lot of Spelltech, we have been able to create a version that keeps things in instead of out." 

"You have?" Noble continued to stare at the screen as the aerial camera slowly scanned the perimeter. If there was anything inside the cloudy bubble, it was staying there for now. 

'Who would have thought Nic's insistence on getting those tablets would lead to this?' 

At the time, Noble had thought his desire to know more had been for his own gain. Now she was glad that the librarian had taken the extra moments to glean all he could from the rubble of the underground chamber. 

He had helped save countless lives. 

"I am glad it seems to be contained. Jet did good work finding them." 

"It wasn't Jet who found them," Gui corrected her. "It was a man and his son who were visiting and noticed the strangeness of everything. Their report is what led to the city being sealed off." 

"The barrier was enacted this afternoon," Cor glanced at the bubble in the twilight of the Eastern Quadrant. "But we think it will hold." 

Noble furrowed her brow. "So far it sounds like you have everything under control. If that's the case, why do you need me?" 

Something wasn't adding up. Noble felt the mundane woman's emotions spike with the question. 

"The man and child who reported the problem. They are caught inside the containment field also." Gui explained carefully. 

"Their names are Lonzo and Teran." The woman broke in. "They aren't just any two people. They are my husband and son. Please, Master Noble. I need you to save them."