Warning: This story contains mature themes like cannibalism, racism, and more. Read at your own risk.

A small sheep watched; a miniature frame drum held in his paws. His breatharian were all peacefully grazing in a field within a small village bordering a goofy looking castle. He stared at them wearily, putting down the tambourine in hoof as he reaches to pick up a notepad, taking notes as they grazed.

Uh huh, he ponders as he writes down: They stand on all fours and sink their flat teeth into the strange green weapons. They don't seem to realize I am an outlier in their current dumbed state.

He puts the notepad in the green blades their shepherd informed them was grass when they were born. He picks up his tambourine and approaches one of the bigger sheep, walking on two legs to do so.

"Hello there, sheep buddy!" he greeted with a chirp. The sheep blinked up at him with disinterest, pulling up grass with him as he met the strange sheep's gaze.

The sheep's left ear twitched, and he lowered his head, chewing consistently, disengaged with the small sheep. Other sheep glanced up at him briefly before they baa in laughter, their tone demeaning as they all disengaged from the sheep.

The small sheep sighed, putting his head in his hooves. Of course they didn't want to talk to him. No one in this stupid fenced up pen wanted to have an actual decent conversation. They all baa to their heart's content without uttering a single comprehensive word. They were stupid and that puzzled the small sheep.

What made him so different? Why could he understand the shepherd's speech, but when he tried explaining it to the others, they all just laughed like he was the one who was stupid?

He huffed, folding his arms together as he walked over to the shepherd, sitting down in a manner that made the other sheep stare judgmentally at him.  A clawed hand reached down to stroke his head.

"I am not like them," he informed, reaching out to pull the shepherd's other hand down, using his hooves to guide the strange bipedal reptilian to wrap around his petit body.

The shepherd sighs, hugging him. "I know."

The shepherd's eyes were dull as he hugged him until suddenly his eyes brightened up.

He looked down at the sheep with a smile. "Perhaps you could see the king," he suggests, grinning as he picked up the sheep and held him close.

"The king?" the sheep echoed, foreign words on his tongue. His eyes found their way to the castle. "Is that why there's a castle there. I always wondered what lay within it. Curiosity so to speak." He looked longingly to the castle, wondering just how different it was in comparison to this boring field.

"Yes, Leukadios, the king. He is our ruler, and we look up to him for all our affairs. In other words he tells us what to do and helps this country in time of extreme troubles."

"Is there other people like him?" The sheep leaned forward, eager to know more. His hoof heels were lifted in the air.

The shepherd has a look of confusion. "Well yes, but the king is who we are supposed to listen to."

"What are they called?" the sheep inquired as he picked up his notepad and begun writing in it what his shepherd was telling him.

"For the love of the king, you are a weird sheep," he remarks before clearing his throat. The sheep waited eagerly, shaking his tambourine in his excitement. "Well, there's the queen and the princess. There also are knights who guard the king, queen, and princess."

Leukadios felt himself shiver at the mention of a princess. He rapidly clicked the button on his pen in paw, annoying all the sheep in the pen. "A princess? What is she like?" He was starting to imagine all the possibilities of meeting the princess rather than the king.

Perhaps I should be asking the princess why I am different. Do princesses know everything? Should I sneak in and find out? Should I ask her what happened before I got to this weird containment center?

Leukadios leaned even closer if it was possible.

"Oh, well she's the daughter of the king and queen getting ready to become ruler when both king and queen dies. I don't know much about her myself, but she helped solve the mystery of a murder that happened to one of her knights. Thank God she did. We don't need shapeshifters around here."

"What are those?" Leukadios queried, blinking innocently up at the shepherd with pleading eyes.

"Go-- you ask way too many questions little one," the shepherd sighs as he rubs his face with his palms. "Shapeshifters are strange creatures who, as the name suggests, can shift, or change their shape into whatever person or creature of their desire. The one I am speaking of in particular is a dangerous shapeshifter who attempted to sneak into the castle but was caught and killed before the Princess died."

Leukadios tilted his head in curiosity trying to piece together what the shepherd was trying to tell him. Why would the Princess die? How would she die? Was this dangerous shapeshifter trying to do something terrible to her?

"I don't understand, sir," he remarked, ears flattening. "Why would the Princess die if this shapeshifter were to be alive?"

The shepherd smiled warmly. "Because the shapeshifter was there to kill her," he bluntly informed with a grim expression on his face.

Leukadios didn't have any sort of expression on his face as he continued to ask questions, "Oh. Did this shapeshifter kill anyone else?"

"Yes," the shepherd began, clearing his throat. "But wouldn't you rather meet the Princess and ask her this yourself?" His eyes looked back to the ninety-nine other sheep in the field before looking back to the one strange sheep.

That does sound like a superb idea. But why change the topic?

"Yeah, I would like to ask her a few questions," he bleated as he clicked the pen still in his hooves.

"Then let's go see her."

Immediately the sheep began to dash away. He only made it a few steps before a wooden staff was placed in front of him.

"Now, now," chided the shepherd. "We must prepare for the journey to the castle. It may appear close by, but it's actually farther away than it seems. Plus, don't you want snacks?"

"Nah, I'm on a very important mission, sir. I will have no time for a snack break," he informs as he starts chewing on his pen, making it click still with his teeth.

The shepherd chuckled, smiling awkwardly at Leukadios. "Well, I'm going to fetch some food. However, I won't be bringing anything for you so be warned." He left for a few minutes, making Leukadios impatient.

While he waited, he stood there pondering his master with fond intent. His master, though he had been referred to as "the shepherd," actually had a name. His name was actually Misham and it meant 'their savior.' It was true: their master was their savior as he watched over them and gave them food, shelter, and water. Everything they needed, he provided. He looked up to their master; he ate bread and so he wanted to eat bread.

He wanted to be a reptilian person so badly.

Misham returned with a supply of red meat, bread, water, and fish. Is he bringing the whole hut with him? I don't think we need that much food. And why fish when you already have red meat?

Luekadios stared for a little too long and Misham just laughed. "Oh don't worry, bud. I was planning on sharing."

Luekadios ignored him and the two begun the long promenade to the castle.

There wasn't much to keep note of on the walk. Most people pointed at him while he stood on two legs holding his tambourine like it was a sword in one hoof and his pen and notepad in the other like it was a crucifix. Nothing he wasn't used to already.

Though he did swear to see the same cat four different times following them with a strange wispy appearance, but Misham promised him that most cats in the village were brown tabbies.

He tried to gaze into his eyes to see if he actually believed what he was saying himself, but his eyes appeared holden and the two didn't speak for a while after that.

Eventually Misham broke their silence, "what kinds of answers are you praying to receive from the Princess, pray tell?"

Luekadios frowns. He didn't think that far. What kinds of answers was he hoping for from a to-be-Queen? Surely, he couldn't ask her how he came to be. Wait, how was I born?

He glances over at Misham for answers. "What? Don't have an answer yourself, huh? You want to know how you were born, don't you?" Misham shakes his head as Luekadios nods. "You just exist," he answers vaguely.

Luekadios gazes at him. Was that a riddle or just a vague answer he spotted? Either way he was disappointed.

"What does that mean?" he asks as Misham suddenly stops. Were they there already?

He looks up to see a giant building made of gray-black bricks that looked climbable. I wonder if I can sneak inside.
            His insides jumped with excitement, and he could barely contain himself. He couldn't believe he was actually here.

"So how do we get inside?" he inquires with a bounce to his hooves. He started clicking the pen rather fast.

"We...wait? I suppose we could let them know we're here—"

Luekadios wasted no time, putting his tambourine, pen, and notepad in his mouth. He then made a mad dash for the moat that separated the castle from the rest of the kingdom and immediately started swimming like his life depended on it.

"Stop, stop, stop!" The shepherd ordered as he reached out to grab a hold of Luekadios, however his claws passed through the sheep's wool, and the determined sheep continued paddling to the small bit of land holding up the castle.

"Wow!" He breathed as he got up and personal with the castle, touching the stone that aligned themselves perfectly to separate the royalty from the outside world. It was way bigger than it appeared from farther away!

He dug his hooves into little grooves made in the castle by something or someone and began to follow in their footsteps, climbing up with little trouble despite never climbing a wall before. But it felt so familiar to him that it gave him a strange sense of dejavu anyways.

He made his way to a window, finding some strange substance that had dried out surrounding it. It had a thick texture, but he was worried about how he would get inside. Did he just have to break the window?

"Hey! Get down from there! We want to meet with the Princess, not cause a scene!"

Despite Luekadios' willingness to obey his shepherd, he truly just wanted to meet with the Princess. Thusly, he ignored him and mentally apologized for it in his head.

He bashed a hoof on the window, breaking it with a loud crunching sound. Little pieces of the clear barrier scattered inside; they also cut slightly into him, creating unnoticeable wounds underneath all the wool in his legs.

"Luekadios!!" Misham shouts as Luekadios sticks a leg inside, looking from his shepherd to the mysteries that was the castle.

Yup. I am ignoring you. Goodbye until we meet again inside the castle. He slipped through the hole he made, barreling for the door, and ignoring everything that was in the room he found himself in.

He thrusts open the door, panting loudly as he made his way down a long hallway with servants every which way. He groans. How was he ever going to find the Princess in this mess?

Immediately, he runs past these servants, making them all exclaim with shock at what they were seeing.

He kept going, suddenly slamming headfirst into metal, falling over, and allowing for the pen, paper, and tambourine to fall to the ground. He attempts to pick up his tambourine before his ear twitches at a metallic sound and he is met with the tip of a sword and a non-dinosaur-like entity with pale peach-white skin and dull claws.

He yelps, clutching onto his tambourine harshly.

"Oh, pardon me," he remarks as he takes a step away from the creature who in return takes a menacing step forward.

"What are you?" the stranger asked with fire in her eyes.

Luekadios reminded himself that he was a talking sheep who was walking on two legs; it was unusual for a sheep to do these things. "I'm a sheep," he answers, allowing himself to talk slowly so he could choose his words carefully. "My name is Luekadios."

The strange pale dinosaur with no scales pointed her sword harder at him, pushing the tip against his snout. "What are you doing here? How did you sneak in?"

He wasn't intimidated now. She didn't seem too hostile.

"I climbed up the wall. Master told me a lot about this castle and who was within it." The metal bounded creature glared at him as he continued. "He's a local shepherd. Perhaps you've heard of him? Misham; do you know that name? He's a really nice shepherd. I probably should've waited for him so we could talk to the Princess, but I got a little too excited," he rambles as his eyes glow.

The strange metallic creature pulled her sword away. "You're a part of a herd?" she wonders aloud.

"Yes."

Luekadios was curious. "What are you? You're not a dinosaur, and you seem to want to protect this castle. Are you a knight?" he inquires as he shakes his tambourine.

The cladded creature regards him for a few moments before responding. "Yes, I am a knight. And yes, I am not a dinosaur; I am a human." After a few more seconds of confirmation, the 'human' speaks again. "My name is Sue by the way."

Luekadios picks up his notepad and pen, "I'm Luekadios. And as you can see, I'm a talking sheep. You don't seem surprised I can talk though." He then whispers, "Unlike most folks around here."

"You said you were looking for the Princess?" she asks.

He tips his head at her. She wasn't going to say anything else? "Uh, yeah I am. Master Misham told me she could be found here and so here I am." He looked past her expectantly.

Wait what do Princesses look like? Is this the Princess?

"She's here. She's currently in the dinning quarters getting prepared for a visitor. I will bring you to her, but I'd advise you to stay quiet so she can focus on her politeness for when the Queen of Dragaroos comes by."

"Dragaroos? What are those?" He tilts his head. Were they Kangaroos that drag their victims?

"Oh it's a term used for the mix of dragons and kangaroos. How old are you by the way?"

Luekadios didn't have any clue. "Uhhh, I don't remember." He shrugged with an awkward laugh. "Alright then. Follow me, then." Sue informed him, her brown hair wiping with her as she turned around.

She sped off and Luekadios followed her with a skip in his step as he shook the tambourine slightly. Everyone stared at him as he followed, but he didn't care; he was going to meet the Princess.

They approached a large room with two wooden doors that arched to fit in with the dark gray roof. Luekadios heard the clatter of cookery from outside the door; it sounded busy.

The Princess was within those doors.

Luekadios reached a hoof out to the gray-black metal and raced inside with wide eyes. He'd never seen such magnificence in his life. There were plates upon plates scattered about on a golden-and-black dinning table. Servants galore rushed to prepare something that smelled heavenly.

He had no idea what he was smelling, but he wanted to sink his teeth in it and marvel at how glorious it must taste.

He wrote down what he was smelling on his notepad: sulfur—he had no idea what it was, but he knew the word and that whatever it was must be meat. His master cooked meat all the time and it smelled like that.

"Ophelia!" Sue called, reaching a peach hand out to a woman in a purple dress who happened to be muttering things to herself, hands in her hair. She looked rushed.

The girl stopped, turned around to meet brown eyes with Sue, and approached with a slow gait. When she got closer, Luekadios noticed her looking at him with disbelief. 

"Sue," she greets before glaring at the walking sheep before her, "Strange sheep that is bipedal for some reason." She angles her eyebrows. "What is this, Sue? A magical creature?"

"Well, yes but I would assume you wouldn't be quick to question me since you are expecting a dragon-kangaroo and a talking sheep is not that farfetched."

"Don't talk back to me like that, Sue. I'm just weirded out by this thing. Is he a devil?"

The sheep was taking aback, shaking his tambourine for no reason. "Pardon me, a devil you say?" He inquires with wide eyes. "I don't even know what a devil is, let alone am one."

"Why is he here?" Ophelia asks Sue, not looking amused. She was definitely stressing out about this event with this Queen.

Sue sighed. "He wanted to see you for some reason."

"Luekadios!" A voice rang out. His master was here, quickly approaching with a stern-yet-concerned gape. "There you are! I told you we needed to wait—"
The Princess lifts a claw to silence the other dinosaur-like creature. "Is there a specific issue you need to address?"

"Luekadios here, having many questions, wanted to see you in person. He was very curious about you."

Ophelia nods, wearily staring at Luekadios. "Would you like to have dinner with us? We are preparing for the Queen, but you are welcome to join us."

Sue stiffens. "Are you sure about that, Princess? He's a—"

The royal dinosaur slaps her tail over Sue's mouth. "Yes, yes. Now the Queen will be here any moment. We shall wait. It's nice to meet you, sheep."

It didn't take much longer. However, to entertain himself, Luekadios played his tambourine. The servants seemed amused at least. It didn't help them get things done faster, but they sure enjoyed the mini concert.

Then everything was silent as a tall pink-and-green creature hopped into the kitchen, taking everyone's breath away.

A pouch holding a crown could be seen and the pouch was green while the rest of her body seemed to be covered in scales. Only her head, pouch, and legs were covered in fur and had the appearance of a kangaroo. Gray horns lay on the top of her head, separating her ears from the rest of her head. Wings were sheathed from her back, being green and lacking any fingers as the Queen had paws, still having claws on them despite looking like a kangaroo. 

She was tall. Around ten feet tall, even being taller than the Princess, who was a whopping nine feet.

She appeared serious, yet her clawed kangaroo paw ended up in her pouch.

"Greetings, Queen Chyrsanthe." Ophelia curtsied politely, quickly elbowing Misham who grabbed Luekadios and helped him bow as he bowed.

The Queen lowered her head, her horns pointing at Luekadios like sharp swords. "It's nice to be on speaking terms," the kangaroo-dragon responded. "Finally," she utters with exasperation. Chyrsanthe's clears her throat as she continues, "Did you prepare the banquet?"

Her gaze then falls on Luekadios, Misham, and Sue. "And what are these commoners and this—Why is this sheep walking and holding a tambourine?"

"It's complicated. Even I do not know why," Luekadios remarked as he bowed. He cleared his throat. "Sorry, did I need to ask you for permission to speak?"

The Dragaroo chuckles, "I like him."

"Why? He's a little too talkative for even my taste," Sue remarks, putting her hand on the hilt of her sword that was now sheathed.

"I don't think I can explain it. I just think a talking sheep is cool."

"Shall we eat dinner then?" Ophelia wonders, indicating with a claw to the table that was now set with food.

"Of course!" Chyranthe responded as Luekadios claps a hoof against his tambourine, making a metallic rattling sound.

They sat at the table and Misham put out his stick to halt Luekadios before he could greedily grab at anything. "That's not for sheep!" He waggled his claw at Luekadios, who set his regard on the food he had tried to grab.

It was brown-and-red, a bone sticking out that was equally as dark as the rest of the strange delectable.

Luekadios didn't understand. "Why not? Why can't I eat it?" He wonders curiously. He reaches out again, not learning his lesson as he was smacked by the stick once again.

"That's meat. You're supposed to eat grass."

Hearing such words, Luekadios' ears fell. Why was this a problem with his master of all people? He frowns.

"I don't see anything wrong with it," he declares as the Queen's head turns to them, her green-and-blue eyes regarding him kindly.

"If he wants to eat meat, then let him. If you're bothered with it then just leave," the Queen informs, eyes narrowing at Sue and Ophelia despite talking to Misham; Ophelia's arms were crossed while Sue's hand tightened on the hilt of her sword appearing quite shocked.

"I guess, but perhaps maybe not this meat," the shepherd still remarks, keeping the plate of meat away from Luekadios' grabby hooves.
Chyranthe rolls her eyes. "Fine then," she reaches for a similar-looking meat. "He can have a different size." She grabbed a bigger one.

Luekadios had no idea what was going on, but he didn't care what kind of meat he had. He was craving it no matter what. He hated grass; it tasted so woody, and it was difficult for him to digest anyways, which was weird because everyone in the sheep community could eat grass except him.

Luekadios was handed the meat and he scarfed it down before anyone could do anything about it.

Ophelia, Misham, and Sue scrunched up their faces.

"You just ate..." Misham trailed off, looking disturbed.

"Get out," Ophelia orders.

"I don't understand," Luekadios responds tilting his head.

"I said 'get out.' Now please get out!" Ophelia begged, her voice getting higher.

"What did I do wrong?" He asked, turning to Chyranthe who shrugged at him.

"I said GET OUT!! Sue, kick them out!! They're no longer welcome here. That demon just ate his own kind!!"

"Huh. Guess he did," Chyranthe remarked, unbothered.

I just ate a sheep? Huh, guess that's why master was bothered. I don't really feel too bad. Those guys were jerks to me anyways. They deserved it.

Luekadios felt his skin burn slightly as he was picked up by his ears. He looks up at Sue with wide eyes. He thought things were going okay, but he guessed the Princess was bothered with what he just did.

I haven't even done what I came out here to do, not that I really understood what I was doing myself.

He and Misham were then carried over to the wooden door and throw out. He then lookeds up and sees the strange cat.

"Hello," the cat purrs before she vanishes into the earth.

What just happened?

End note: This is the story that The Ghost Knight is a part of. I don't know if this is the second draft or the first. I tried to find the second, but I forgot if this was the first or second. Probably the first because for whatever reason there's something about permissions for my second one. Might have to add that in later.

Either way, this is what I was thinking of turning into a series. With major changes clearly, but it's still got the potential for an adventure sort of plot.

Regardless, hope you enjoy.