Shadow Knight And The Lost Princess

Chapter 1 - A Dark Shadow

It was evening. The rain had just stopped. Eighteen year old Riyana stepped out of her house and walked into the garden.

Her eyes fell on a small puddle of clear rainwater on the ground. In its reflection, she noticed something strange on the roof of her house. Someone was standing there. Or at least, that was what the reflection seemed to show.

For just a moment, Riyana caught a faint glimpse of a strange, dark shadow. She immediately turned around and looked up at the roof. There was no one there.

Riyana had always felt as if a shadow was following her. Someone was secretly watching her. She could feel its presence almost everywhere she went.

But the shadow had never appeared directly in front of her. Who could it be?

Riyana often found herself thinking deeply about it. She had never seen her biological parents. She knew nothing about who they were or what had happened to them.

Sometimes, Riyana imagined that her real parents were angels and perhaps they were the ones watching over her from the shadows. For now, Riyana lived with Mr. and Mrs. Revans in a small town called Green Town.

When Riyana was twelve years old, the Revans family had adopted her from an orphanage. The three of them lived happily together as a family. But deep inside, Riyana still felt different.

She knew that somewhere in this world, her real parents existed. And she had no idea who they were. It had happened six years earlier, shortly after Riyana had left the orphanage and come to live with the Revans family for the first time.

She was still getting used to her new home and learning the ways of her new family. It was a moonlit night. After dinner, Riyana had gone outside for a walk by herself.

The road was completely deserted. Suddenly, a speeding car appeared on the road. The driver seemed to have lost control. Perhaps he was drunk.

The car came rushing straight toward Riyana. Hearing the sound, Riyana turned around. But she wasn't fast enough to escape the car. She was terrified. Her body froze, and she couldn't move. Riyana immediately closed her eyes.

Then, out of nowhere, a stranger appeared. In the blink of an eye, he grabbed Riyana and pulled her into the bushes. A second later, the car crashed into a large tree nearby.

Riyana fell to the ground, trembling with fear. Slowly, she opened her eyes. Through the darkness of the bushes, she saw a strange figure wearing a black mask. The shadow was walking away.

Within moments, it disappeared completely into the darkness. Riyana stared after it, unable to understand what had just happened.

Who was he? Who had saved her? Was he an angel? Or was he a ghost?

The sound of the crash brought Riyana's new parents and several people from the neighborhood rushing out of their homes. Her new parents ran toward her and helped her to her feet.

Everyone's attention was focused on the car that had crashed into the tree. But Riyana kept staring into the darkness. That was the direction in which the mysterious shadow had disappeared.

Even six years later, Riyana still remembered that night. She often wondered about the mysterious figure who had saved her. But after that night, the shadow never appeared before her completely again.

Still, even after all these years, Riyana could sometimes catch a faint glimpse of it. And sometimes... she could simply feel its presence. It was evening again.

Riyana was sitting alone in the small garden outside her house. She was going to college tomorrow. But she wasn't excited about it at all.

She was certain that college would be just as boring as school had been. Riyana was troubled by questions about her existence. She was worried about her future. She didn't know what she wanted to do with her life.

She had no plans. She had no idea what the future held for her. She didn't even know what fate had written for her.

Just then, Riyana noticed some movement in the house next door.

The neighboring house had been locked for the past two days. But today, someone was there. Riyana looked toward the house. At that exact moment, one of its windows opened.

A young man with long hair appeared at the window. The moment his eyes fell on Riyana, he immediately closed the window. Riyana found it strange. She stood up and went back inside her house.

...

(The Mad Man)

Far away from the city, on the seashore, stood a huge and luxurious house. It belonged to a man named Carsia Kim.

Carsia was a handsome man who appeared to be around forty years old. Lost in his thoughts, Carsia stood on the balcony of his house, staring out at the sea.

His right hand man and manager, Doc, approached him. "Sir, we found a girl," Doc said. "She's not the one we're looking for, but she looks remarkably similar to the girl you've been searching for."

Carsia turned around. "How old is she? Where is she now?"

Doc replied, "We found out that she's twenty years old. She's not here. She's the daughter of a farmer in Ukraine."

Carsia's expression became serious. "That's fine. Bring her here. Pay her family a large amount of money and convince them to hand her over. If they refuse, kidnap the girl and bring her to me safely."

Doc assured him that he would bring the girl before Carsia as soon as possible. Then he left.

Carsia went into his bedroom. He turned on the music system and played an old melody.

The sound of an old piano and violin filled the room. After a while, Carsia walked over to a table and opened its drawer. He took out a photograph. For a long moment, he simply stared at it. His eyes slowly became wet.

There seemed to be memories attached to that photograph memories from a distant past that still hurt him. Carsia became completely lost in the picture. The girl in the photograph looked remarkably similar to Riyana.

Next Chapter...

Chapter 2 - The Shadow's Attack

It was a beautiful morning. Riyana woke up earlier than usual. Today was her first day at university.

She got dressed in a pretty pink dress and walked into the hall, where her mother had already prepared breakfast for her.

"Good morning, sweetheart," Mrs. Revans said with a warm smile.

"Good morning, Mom."

After breakfast, Riyana picked up her college bag and said goodbye to her mother before stepping outside. Someone was already waiting for her near the gate. It was Lena, her old school friend.

Lena was wearing a pink T shirt and a pair of round white-framed glasses. The moment she saw Riyana, she gave her an oddly amused smile.

Riyana narrowed her eyes. "You're wearing the same color as me again!"

Lena looked down at her T shirt and then at Riyana's dress.

"Excuse me? You're wearing a pink dress, and I'm wearing a pink T shirt. Those are completely different."

Riyana rolled her eyes. "What