Chapter 1: Prologue/1 and 2

Prologue: 

The kingdom of Drall was neatly tucked away into the safety of the cold, snowy eastern mountains.

 it's great walls and towers were built rather uniquely into the mountain, tunnels led throughout the kingdom and into the depths of the mountain, providing safety for the citizens of Drall and easy access to the rich mineral deposits that had made the kingdom so wealthy and prosperous. 

The citizens of Drall were a rather odd bunch of people, mainly because they had chosen to make an alliance with the dwarfs of this mountain which was almost never heard of.

Dwarves and humans rarely got along but the king of Drall and the dwarf king of the eastern mountains were the very best of friends. 

twenty-five years before the people of Drall settled in the mountains, when the king of Drall and his people were in ruins, fleeing from their western homeland due to the fear of war, the dwarf king graciously rescued the people of Drall, helping them build a mighty kingdom in his mountains, a kingdom that dwarves and men happily shared. 

It was an odd but stable alliance and everything was good. 

~~~~~~

Atop the highest tower on the mountain several astronomers gazed up at the Stars, bits of parchment gathered in their arms as they bickered back and forth.

"It is to happen, you must see it!" One of the stargazers exclaimed to his colleague.

"My calculations cannot be wrong, every three hundred years the witch moon appears in the sky causing great but necessary change!" The astronomer continued.

His colleague laughed. 

"Don't be ridiculous! The witch moon is but a fairytale!" He exclaimed. 

However as the stargazers bickered back and forth, a great celestial body began to rise and dip above the surface of the earth, the stargazers noticed and immediately ceased their arguments as all three Men gazed up at the sky, their mouths dropping open in utter bewilderment and astonishment. 

"By the gods.. it is real!" An astronomer cried out into the night sky as he sank to his knees and began to pray.

The others stared up at the great witch moon, it cast an eerie red glow over the earth as it rose and covered the smaller regular nightly moon in the sky. 

~~~~~~~

Across the kingdom tucked away from view of the commoners, Prince Astryn and his merry lesser lord and lady friends stared up at the witch moon, laughing, drinking and smoking as they did. 

The Prince took a little leather pouch out from his coat pocket and looked around at his friend's with a mischievous grin.

"I've got something very special for us tonight!" He excitedly exclaimed as his friends gathered around him, curiously gazing at the small leather pouch in his hands.

"What is it?" Daphne, A Duchess of House Silverwater, asked the Prince. 

He grinned and opened the pouch, letting everyone around him see inside. 

They all gasped and started laughing merrily. 

"Ah! Starleaf! I haven't smoked Starleaf in years!" Casein, Lord of House Stonewall, said with an excited smile.

The Lord did a small drunken dance as his peers agreed with his statement and laughed at his drunken antics.

Prince Astryn sat on a stone bench as he packed a pipe with Starleaf for all his friends, they'd celebrated all night for the rise of the witch moon, there was a prophecy handed down, descendant to descendant, from Prince Astryn's bloodline, the royal house of Faeys. It was predicted that there would be great change when the witch moon rose, a fierce ruler from the Faey Bloodline would bring great change to the world. 

Astryn's mother, Queen Amica, was a seer. She'd had visions in the past months of Astryn, a great crown placed upon his head as he is named King of Drall. 

And so this was the reason for the princes small celebration, The witch moon had risen and as Astryn and his friends gazed up at the crimson night sky, buzzed and lightheaded from the Starleaf, Ale and tobacco, they all whispered;

"Hail to the King." 

Chapter 1 - Demon of the Grey Fields

Morgan Azureviper, A Duchess and the future wife of Prince Astryn,  glared down at her hands as her handmaids styled her long luxurious blonde hair into an elegant braid; she wore a beautiful white dress with lilac accents.

She sat there with a scowl on her face, thinking of what Prince Astryn had done.

She gripped her dress with her hands, the spoiled Prince she loved so dearly had cheated on her over the last few years, he had lain with every pretty maid and servant he saw and it infuriated The Duchess to no end. 

Her mother and father had arranged Morgan and Astryns marriage with the king and Queen when both of them were only children, they were to be wed on the day they both turned eighteen.. which was today.

Morgan knew she should be excited, she would be Queen one day yet she was distraught.

 She was deeply hurt by the Prince's betrayal, so much so she did not know if she could love him anymore. 

Although she was hurt, she still longed for the Prince. He was so handsome, so intelligent, so tall and muscular, his dark hair the color of rich chocolate, wavy and long, rolling down to rest atop his broad shoulders, his blue eyes were the color of sapphires. His face would be pretty were it not for his body being so large and bulging with muscle, he was the prime example of how a prince should look.

Morgan sighed as her maids finished styling her hair, she stood and made her way through the twisting halls of Azureviper Manor. 

Morgan arrived In the great hall to find her mother and father looking on at her proudly.

You'll be a fine Queen one day, her father had said to her as he hugged her.

You must be so excited! Her mother had exclaimed as she embraced her beautiful daughter. 

Her parents led her outside where a carriage with her family crest, a great blue serpent and a falcon holding a Trident in its claws, was awaiting. all three climbed inside, The horses whinied and started to trot pulling the carriage in the direction of the royal church where Morgan was to be married.

~~~~~~~~

Prince Astryn Snickered as he smacked a rather well endowed maid on her plump behind causing her to let out a yelp.

She turned and glared at the Prince, her gaze softened when she saw who it was and she bowed.

"Your highness." She said through gritted teeth as she struggled to control her anger in front of the Prince.

He grinned, knowing how much he irked the girl and knowing she could do nothing about it.

He reveled in the power rush it gave him as he skipped through the kitchens, taking an apple from a tray and biting into it. 

Astryn made his way to the dining hall and a wicked grin spread ear to ear as he spotted his twin sister eating breakfast at the table. 

He sat beside her and she glared at him.

He leaned over and looked at her with a mischievous look in his sparkling eyes.

"You know.. something has been troubling me dear sister.." Astryn said with a grin.

His sister Astrid sneered at him, used to the years of his annoying antics and rude behavior.

"And what could possibly be troubling you my bothersome brother." She replied, icily.

He Snickered.

"I saw you kissing her. I thought perhaps father would be interested in hearing about your sudden unnatural love interest."

Astrid's eyes widened in fear and she gave Astryn a pleading look.

"Brother.. don't. Please." She said as tears started to fill in her eyes.

He leaned over and whispered with an evil grin plastered on his face.

"I suggest you make it worth it to hold my tongue." He said into Astrid's ear.

She looked at him, tears falling down her face and dripping onto her lap.

She nodded and Astryn grinned wickedly.

"Good. Now today is my wedding and I am craving candied fruit. Fetch some for me will you, dear sister?" 

"As you wish, brother." Astrid said as she stood up, wiping away her tears and giving Astryn a hateful glare. She walked off with the Prince sitting there with a smile on his face. He loved to torment his sister, she had no interest in Men and he knew this yet his parents did not, sure they suspected but they refused to see the truth of the matter. He knew if he were to tell his father of his sisters attraction to the same sex there would be endless drama and arguments, so he held his tongue but he didn't let Astrid know he would never tell their father. No, he liked having his sister shower him with gifts and favors under the threat of blackmail and he'd continue to do this for as long as it pleased him. 

The Prince had several servants bring him his breakfast and he quickly ate as it was approaching noon.

After he was fed his servants dressed him in his royal wedding robes and he made his way down the many stone steps of the royal palace until he made it to the church courtyard where his wedding ceremony would soon begin. 

~~~~~~~~~

Morgan gazed at Prince Astryn standing at the altar, he looked so handsome in his wedding robes and her heart swooned over her soon to be husband and King. 

She was still conflicted over him being unfaithful but she ignored the thoughts in her head as she was filled with love at the sight of the Prince.

Her father walked her to the altar and Astryn took her hands in his, he smiled at her and leaned over, whispering in her ear and telling her how beautiful she was.

Once more her heart swelled with affection for the man that stood before her.

The priest started his long and drawn out speech about marriage and the holy vows they were to take for the church. 

"And so Prince Astryn, do you agree to take Lady Morgan's hand in marriage?" The priest asked as he finished his speech.

"I do." Astryn said with a smile.

"And do you, Lady Morgan, agree to take Prince Astryn's hand in marriage?" 

Morgan hesitated for a moment, then looked up at Astryns smile, his white teeth gleaming in the sunlight.

"I do." She said with a Shaky breath.

"Then by the powers given to me by the gods I pronounce you husband and wife, you may now kiss the bride, forever cementing your bond." 

You are reading story Prince of shadows at novel35.com

Astryn leaned down and kissed Morgan deeply and passionately, the gathered crowd of guests clapped and cheered and the musicians began to play.

People began to dance in the courtyard and Astryn took Morgan's hand and led her to the crowd, he spun her around and they began to dance.

Suddenly a tremendous tremor shook through the ground causing people to stop celebrating, the sky began to darken and people gasped as the witch moon suddenly rose into the sky, covering the sun in the middle of the day and casting a blood red light over the entire land. 

Astryn felt a sudden sharp pain tear through his entire body, he collapsed on the ground, people screaming all around him, Morgan shrieking his name as he fell to his knees.

Suddenly the Prince's physical features began to change, the crowd fell silent as they watched in horror.

His skin quickly paled until it became a ghostly white, The Prince began to shrink, his modest height of six foot three began to diminish as he shrunk to a smaller five foot seven, he rapidly lost weight and muscle, his shoulders shrank and became delicate and slender, his waist turned inward and his hips flared and widened giving him an hourglass figure, his thighs became plump with fat and his behind swelled leaving him with a cute and attractive ass.

Next his feet and hands shrank becoming dainty and small, his ribcage shrank, then his chest began to swell with fat as large milky white breasts spilled into his shirt, pushing the fabric outward.

His chocolate colored hair grew and spilled into the prince's eyes as his hair grew and grew until it reached his now slim waist.

He let out a girlish scream as the bones in his face cracked and changed, his vocal chords rearranging causing his voice to raise higher and higher until it was a silky soprano. 

His face was reshaped until he had a beautiful heart shaped face, a small button nose that was slightly upturned and wide blue eyes filled with shock and terror.

Last but not least he let out a final scream as his upper canines extended into sharp white fangs, his blue sapphire eyes changed slightly, becoming a colder ice blue with a red ring around the irises. 

He looked up at his wife who had a look of complete shock and horror plastered on her face, similar to all the other guests.

She felt her heart hurt and she looked down at the Prince who now resembled a beautiful, busty, brunette Princess. 

His wide eyes were filled with fear as he gave her a pleading look for help, she noted with a bit of regretful amusement and strange affection that he looked at her like a scared doe would look at a person.

She felt her heart swell as a familiar feeling of love and need overtook her, she couldn't help but feel the urge to protect this beautiful creature, with his exotic eyes staring up at her, his lips trembling in fear as he whimpered. 

The moment was cut short though as Morgan felt a sharp pain run through her body and she too collapsed to the ground, she screamed as she felt her bones crack, she grew taller, so tall that she now stood as tall as Astryn was before his recent change.

The crowd gasped as Morgan's smooth skin changed to a pale, greyish white color, her big brown eyes filled with inky darkness as the whites of her eyes became solid black, her irises changed to an unsettling yellow color. 

She felt the back of her dress burst open as large black bat wings grew from her shoulder blades, her ears elongated until they resembled elf ears, her teeth sharpened and became fangs while large grey horns sprouted from her forehead, curling backwards like a rams.

Her face changed ever so slightly, her features changing until she resembled a strange yet angelic beauty.

The changes slowly stopped and sitting there beside the Prince was a beautiful, tall grey demon.

The crowd began to panic and rush towards the palace as more people started to collapse and change, becoming creatures from legends.

Some became grotesque, terrifying monsters that fled into the night, some although very few even changed sex like the Prince, others became beautiful beings from fairytales like elves, fairys and angels. 

Eventually as the panic began to die down, almost all the citizens of Drall suddenly found themselves not so human anymore.

Chapter two

Astryn stared at his new female form in the mirror, his now demon wife, and his father and mother stood behind him, their faces full of concern and worry. 

The king and queen had undergone some minor changes themselves, not quite so dramatic as their son turned daughter but still quite different from regular humans. They too had the same ice blue eyes with red rings around the irises that Astryn had along with pale skin and razor sharp upper canines. 

"Well you certainly can't be king now." His father said rather sullenly.

Astryn spun around and glared at his father, tears filling his eyes.

"And why is that!" He snapped at his father with an unexpected hiss. 

His father looked away awkwardly. 

"Son.. um.. Astryn. Well look in the mirror I shouldn't have to go explain this to you, you aren't a dense boy.. girl." His father stammered, growing slightly irritated with his son turned daughter. 

Astryn was about to argue further when his unchanged sister walked into his room.

Astrid had a giant grin plastered on her face and she smiled wickedly as she saw her twin brother standing there in their mother's almost too small nightgown, his curves and large bust stretching it, pouting at himself in the mirror. 

"Get out." He said as he saw the look on her face. 

Astrid smiled and walked over to him. She screamed with joy inside as she realized he was now several inches shorter than her and he had to look up to meet her gaze. 

Astrid handed him a box of candied fruit and smiled wickedly down at him. 

He looked up at her his lips trembling, his strange little white fangs showing. 

"Leave." He hissed, not wanting his sister to see him like this and gloat over his unfortunate circumstance. 

She just laughed and sat on the edge of his bed. 

"A bit ironic isn't it, dear sister." She said with a sneer noticing him wince at being referred to as female. 

"No." He said softly, looking down at his feet. 

Astrid laughed, earning her a glare from her parents and Morgan. 

"You should leave Astrid. Your brother is very upset right now." Her mother, the Queen said in a strict tone. 

Astrid laughed, she stood up, deciding to get one last verbal jab in. 

"Brother?" She said with a sneer, opening the door and stepping into the hall. 

"That pretty little creature is definitely not my brother, no she is more of a little sister now." Astrid said, closing the door just in time to block the book that Astryn had thrown at her. 

~~~~~~~~

Astryn sat at the small desk near the stained windows in his room, he had a glass of whiskey in his hands and a decanter sitting on the edge of his desk. 

He took a large gulp and winced as the whiskey burned his throat going down, perhaps far more than it usually did when he drank.

He did not want to deal with his change so he'd woken and decided to get drunk, his new handmaid was unfortunately the girl he had groped the day before and on many occasions before that. 

He could see the sheer glee and amusement in her eyes as she dressed him in a tight uncomfortable corset, soft lace stockings and a white and pink dress. Of course his parents had ordered him a new wardrobe and unfortunately for him they had decided he should wear clothes like a proper lady, which entailed dresses, skirts, corsets, stockings and all the things he dreaded being seen in. 

They saw him as their daughter now.. a princess and he hated it. 

He was bitter that alongside his manhood being robbed so too had his crown, he'd never be king now. His only hope of being anything more than a princess now was to one day be Queen and frankly that too was impossible as he had married Morgan and there could not be two Queens nor could he leave Morgan for a man, just the thought of being with a man made him sick, the crown was worth a lot to him.. but not that much, besides he was starting to grow very fond of Morgan, she'd stayed by him through this so far when she could have easily left him. 

No, the crown would be passed to whatever man her parents wed his sister to. 

He took another gulp of his whiskey and drained the glass, he pulled the lid off the decanter and poured himself another glass.

Morgan came into his room and smiled sweetly at him, he could see a bit of pity in her eyes as she gazed at him with his little hands wrapped around a large glass of whiskey, his plump pink lips pouting as he scowled deep in thought. She was wearing an elegant silver dress that was tailored to her new height and cut off below her shoulders to fit her large wings which rested on her back, closed and relaxed, tucked tightly against her shoulder blades. 

His father had made her one of his Regents and he seethed inside from jealousy, he should be regent! He screamed in his mind.

He calmed himself with another swig of whiskey and gave Morgan a weak smile. 

She sat on the chair nearest to him and reached across the desk taking his slender hand in hers. 

He grimaced slightly as he noticed Morgan's hands were now slightly bigger than his but he pushed his nagging thoughts aside and quickly relaxed.

"This must be hard for you." Morgan said with a look of pity. 

Astryn nodded and gazed at her, a curious look on his face.

"Is it not for you?" He asked and gestured towards her horns. 

She shrugged, "I'm not so sure."

She stared at the grey marble fireplace in the corner of the room they shared for a few moments and gazed at the burning embers. 

She thought from her experience so far, almost everyone in the kingdom had changed, the poor, the rich, the holy, even some of the dwarvish citizens had changed into imps and mischievous little demons. 

Everyone was all so caught up with the confusion and chaos that ensued after the change, trying to get things back in order, back to regular day to day life, that no one had really paid Morgan Azureviper any notice or attention. 

She felt powerful now, being so tall, so strong and fast, she'd found that she could even use her wings to propel her forward when running. 

At first she felt uneasy about her rather unnatural appearance but as she'd gazed at herself in the mirror she'd slowly grown more and more in love with her angelic face and graceful expressions.

Then, though she hated to admit it and she still felt so bad for him, Astryn becoming this elegant creature that sat before her, so graceful and delicate she couldn't help but fall further in love with him, strangely enough she was overjoyed with his new form, she found it hard to admit that she much preferred him like this. 

He would no longer be unfaithful this way she could see that. 

Though he didn't realize how he sat and acted so prim and proper, so much like a girl now, Morgan couldn't help but see him as a beautiful princess. 

As the day dragged on Astryn progressively drank himself into a drunken stupor, late afternoon he got up from his chair, stumbling and slightly struggling to breathe with his corset pulled so tightly, he tripped and fell onto the bed, giggling as he rolled over and closed his eyes. 

When Morgan found him passed out on the bed in the early evening she gazed over his busty body and licked her lips. Unlike most royals she knew how to undress herself which she did in this instance too tired from her long day to ring for a handmaid.

She slid into the bed beside her 'husband' and reveled in the feeling of being so much larger than his small petite form.

She gently loosened his corset and carefully pulled it off so as not to wake him, then she pulled him close to her, wrapping her arms around him and gently sliding a pillow under his head. 

Morgan Azureviper sighed, she knew her new life was something she would need to get used to although it was something she didn't particularly mind getting used to.

You can find story with these keywords: Prince of shadows, Read Prince of shadows, Prince of shadows novel, Prince of shadows book, Prince of shadows story, Prince of shadows full, Prince of shadows Latest Chapter