"Darius, wake up."

Darius bolted upright, nearly colliding heads with the speaker who was bending over him. He blinked in the bright mid-day sun as he tried to recollect what he had been doing. He was outside, under the blossoming cherry tree at the back of the dormitories. His book, which he had been reading it seemed just moments before lay sprawled in the grass next to him. He looked up and groaned. The Golden Guard stood over him, arms crossed and head tilted in that disapproving way he did.

"Falling asleep so easily these days, scout?" Darius began to rise but a gesture from his superior officer arrested him. "Don't worry, kid. You've been working hard in morning practice the past few months. A growing boy needs their sleep after all. You're what, seventeen, eighteen?" Darius stiffened and snarled.

"I'm nineteen. I'll be turning twenty next week on Friday"

"Would never have guessed. Happy birthday in advance. What were you reading?" Darius shrugged.

"It's just a novel Perry Porter is lending to me. It was so boring it put me to sleep in the first chapter." The Golden Guard chuckled and leaned his shoulder up against the tree.

"Sure, kid, sure. By the way, I hear congratulations are in order." Darius couldn't help the grin which sprung out across his face.

"Congratulations? Whatever for?" The Golden Guard snorted.

"Don't play coy with me. I heard your coven head just nominated you to be his aide-de-camp. That's a big responsibility for someone your age." Darius resisted the violent urge to preen as he basked in this delightful praise. "So are you going to accept?" Darius scoffed and lay back in the grass.

"No way. I can't imagine anything more boring. Listening to people, nodding and smiling at their stupid ideas, doing whatever they tell me to? Puh-lease. I have to put up with enough of that as it is." The Golden Guard was silent for a long while. Darius looked up at the inscrutable face. "What? Don't like my answer?" The Golden Guard sighed.

"It's just a shame. You're so gifted, and your classmates really respect you. I think you'd make a great coven head in time. This position would put you on the path to real trust and power within your coven." Darius sat up, blushing slightly.

"They respect me? You really think that?" The mask nodded slightly.

"You've turned some heads, kid. Most of the coven heads have noticed your abilities. That's probably why you were nominated for the position in the first place. If you play your cards right, you can only go up from here. Just so long as you're not late for your coven meeting." Darius blanched.

"What time is it?"

"It's about five minutes to two." Darius gave a yelp and jumped up.

"Are you serious? I have to go! I mean…" he stood stiffly to attention. "May I be dismissed, sir?" The Golden Guard laughed, a bright, boyish laugh, and Darius felt a strange flutter in his belly at the sound. He realized suddenly that the Golden Guard was small, shorter than he was by a good six inches at least, and very slightly built.

"You are dismissed, scout. Now off with you." Darius took off running down the hill, glancing back to see the thin figure watching him until the rising of the hill obscured him from view.


He barely made it in time, only escaping a reprimand by the skin of his teeth and some well timed flattery. The meeting was boring, as usual, and he had difficulty staying awake as the minutes ticked interminably on. Finally they were dismissed and he started back to the dormitories to change for afternoon drills when he realized with a start that he had left Perry's book up by the cherry tree. He groaned and trudged back up the hill to his favorite napping place when he came to a sudden halt.

There, to his astonishment, was the Golden Guard, stretched out atop his cloak under the tree and fast asleep. Darius approached cautiously, not wanting to wake the man. His face was hidden behind the golden mask he always wore, but his chest rose and fell with quiet steady breathing. Darius's book was held limply in his lap, and it looked as though he had been reading through it when he had fallen asleep. Darius cursed under his breath. He had to get his book back without waking the man, and he had to hurry to get changed before drills.

As quietly as he could Darius knelt beside the sleeping figure. He held his breath and gingerly eased the book from under the gloved fingers. The man stirred, but did not wake. Darius breathed a sigh of relief and slipped the book inside his tunic.

He was struck suddenly with an idea. He looked down at the mask, solid, unmoving, unfeeling. He wondered what the face looked like under that mask. Once he and the other scouts passed their final exams they all would wear masks like this one, their individual personalities subsumed into their coven identities. The thought had always unnerved him slightly. The idea of seeing the man's face consumed him with a curiosity he could not resist. He reached out both hands and touched the mask, felt its smooth, cold surface. His fingers pressed upon its edge and lifted gently. It came away little by little until…

Darius stared at the peaceful face beneath him. The person before him looked young, only a few years older than himself. Far too young to be in such a position of authority and power as the rank of Golden Guard. His face was thin and pale and strikingly handsome, with a defined nose and brow. His hair, which hung down around his face, was thin and flaxen. A single strand of it fell across his eyes. Darius stared at the face. It looked kind, gentler than he would have imagined, but also worn. There were dark circles under his eyes and a long, jagged scar across his cheek.

The figure stirred again in his dreams and his head turned slightly, brushing the inside of Darius's wrist with his scarred cheek. Darius felt the butterflies drop in his belly suddenly, a warning. He had crossed a line somehow and the only way forward was an immediate retreat. He hurriedly but carefully replaced the mask across the sleeper's face then turned and ran away down the hill, pressing his book against the swarm in his stomach. This time he didn't look back.