L'n'L: Shadowslayer

Once upon a time, there lived a boy. The shadows of his mind often appeared to pester him, and he had nothing to defend himself with, so he simply tried to live with the curse. However, he stumbled often, for the shadows dimmed the land all around him.

One day, a princess found him in the dark and they fell in love, then grew together until the boy became a man. However, the shadows threatened their bond, so he became a knight, vowing to protect his princess. The myriad of memories the pair shared formed for the knight a mighty spear, and the growing passion he bore for her became the steed that carried him into battle. At last, the shadows diminished, and the knight saw the land clearly, until he found a shining crown waiting for him. Wearing it, the crown revealed a grand castle, so he claimed it and ruled over the land as its prince.

However, though the prince remained brightest in her heart, the princess had many other knights. While apart, the shadows stirred in the prince's mind and began to feed on the doubts of his imaginations: "what if they served to better protect her instead?" The shadows delighted in such thoughts and sometimes grew so monstrous that the prince could barely defend his own keep, even with his steed and spear. Finally, the shadows became so terrible that he nearly surrendered his rule to the darkness, but they suddenly shrank when the princess appeared!

The princess made a promise to the prince, that the two would one day join their lands and rule over the new kingdom together as king and queen. This promise became a shield that proved effective whether the shadows became as fragile as frost or as fierce as fire. The shield would crack and bend after so much wear, but the princess would always return to repair it.

So, the prince fought fiercely to defend his land while waiting patiently for the princess and the promised time, and the shadows were never again quite so troubling as long as he bore the shield.
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I drew before writing, so while the two may not be related exactly, they both share similar meaning. They are dedicated to my Princess, ~Kimmorz~