"Darius, wake up!"
Crack!
That was definitely a bone. Darius fell back, hissing in pain, holding his arm against his chest. All around him explosions rang out as the scouts flung spells at one another. His opponent, seeing his injury, hesitated with his arms at his sides.
His mistake.
Darius pivoted on his back foot and spun, using his momentum to pull his abomination around his body and slingshot a spike at his dueling partner. It hit the scout squarely in his exposed chest, sending the toothy-faced runt flying across the yard. Roaring in pain and anger at his moment of weakness, Darius darted across the field after his opponent. He formed a long scythe and raised it over his head, ready to bring it down with vengeance on the defenseless scout beneath him.
Without so much as a sound the Golden Guard was between them in a flash, his staff catching the abomination scythe with the easy grace of authority. Darius found himself staring down into the dark eye slits mere inches from his own. His rage was gone in an instant, replaced with surprise and apprehension. One gloved hand came up and…patted him on the cheek.
"Well done, Darius, but I think that's enough for today. I don't want to send too many scouts to the Healing coven today." The mask tilted in what Darius could only imagine was a teasing grin. He blushed, embarrassed by the condescending gesture, and shrugged his shoulders to hide his irritation.
"The little brat got lucky, that's all. I handled it." The scout, whatever his name was, had picked himself up by this point and was standing awkwardly to attention. Darius realized suddenly that all the other duels had ceased and the whole regiment was watching them. The masked face shook side to side and gave a great sigh. He turned to the defeated scout. "Are you hurt at all, Weldon?" The scout shook his head, eyes downcast. The Golden Guard slapped him on the back. "Then I suggest you find yourself a new sparring partner for another round." He pulled out his whistle and blew a long blast. "New partners! One more round and then we'll break for the morning roll!" The onlookers dispersed to find new partners, but Darius was arrested by a firm hand on his uninjured shoulder.
"Not you, Darius. You'll be taking yourself and that hand straight to the Healing coven." Darius huffed, tossing his hair back arrogantly.
"Not a chance. I'm not hurt at all, so there's nothing for them to do. I can handle a bruise like this on my own."
"Right, that's it!" Darius found himself suddenly frozen in his flamboyant posture and levitating as the Golden Guard marched with him out of the palisade. The humiliation of being carried along like this was more than Darius could bear.
"Sir! I'm sorry sir!" He managed a strangled yell through his clenched teeth. "I spoke out of turn, sir!"
"That's an understatement, kid!" The voice of the Golden Guard had lost its easy manner and had taken on the tenor of a growl. "When I give you an order, you had better believe I expect you to carry out that order post haste without any posturing nonsense, especially when you're injured. I swear I'll have none of your cheek, you puffed-up popinjay!" Darius could hear faint laughter from the dormitory windows as he was unceremoniously paraded across the empty grounds to the Healing coven's field tent, where a few of the senior scouts were preparing salves and solutions inside. He stumbled and nearly tripped as the Golden Guard set him free before the folded doorway.
"Now you are going to march straight in there and get that hand healed. I am going back to finish up with your classmates. I will be back in ten minutes to see that my orders have been carried out to the letter!" The Golden Guard turned on his heel in a swirl of ivory cape and marched away. A healing coven scout giggled behind Daius and pulled gently on his uninjured elbow.
"You'd better come inside. The Golden Guard isn't used to being crossed." Darius nodded, still a little stunned, and allowed himself to be led inside. It did hurt, more than he liked to admit even to himself, and the attentions of the Healing Coven would be a welcome relief. He sat gingerly on the edge of a cot and hissed as one of the senior staff extended his arm. She worked away silently on his injury for a moment before tilting her face up to smirk at him.
"So…what did you do to make him so mad?" Darius looked down at her, annoyed by the question.
"The Golden Guard?" She nodded.
"Yes. I don't think I've seen him quite so miffed in a long time."
Miffed, huh? That's a word for it, I guess.
Darius shrugged and fell silent. Her eyebrow hitched but her inquiring eyes remained fixed on him, waiting for his answer. He sighed. "It's not nearly as interesting a story as you seem to think. I just told him I was fine and he blew up on me! What? Does he think I'm some weak baby Snaggleback who can't take care of myself?" A sudden wave of pain laced up his arm and he gave an involuntary gasp of pain.
"Hmm. Well, he was right that you needed to be seen. What was your plan, exactly? Wait for it to heal on its own? That's pretty stupid, I must say. I think I'd be pissed too if I was the person responsible for you, and the Golden Guard is particularly sensitive about injuries on his watch." Darius huffed, impatient for this interview to be over.
"Really? I would have thought someone like him understood the risks of being a soldier and all that rot." Her smirk faded and she sighed.
"He does understand. Trust me, I know. That man understands all about what it means to be a soldier." It was Darius' turn to gaze inquiringly at the witch, but her lips remained sealed, her eyes firmly on her work. He watched the witch's progress until she finished casting her spell and stood.
"You're all done, but I want you to rest your wrist. No more training until tomorrow, understand?" Darius scowled, but nodded in assent. She smiled at him and then looked over his shoulder. "He's all yours, sir." Darius snapped his head around. True to his word, the Golden Guard had come back to check on him. He stood, leaning against a tent pole with his arms crossed, masked face as inscrutable as always.
"So, Darius, what did you learn today?" he asked as they walked back along the field to the parade grounds. Darius bit his tongue and drew in a deep breath.
"Insubordination will not be tolerated, sir."
"Well, that's one lesson. Anything else?" Darius looked puzzled at the witch, wondering what he meant. The Golden Guard stopped for a moment to look Darius in the eyes. "You were distracted today. You broke your wrist because you were off in dreamland thinking of something else, and I can't be there to wake you up every time. In battle you leave everything else behind you. If you don't, you put yourself and others at risk. I've seen you make a great deal of progress these two weeks, but your mind still isn't in it." His voice hardened slightly. "I know you and a certain person in your coven have been at each other's throats recently. Is your problem with Alador something I need to know about?" Darius looked down at his boots in embarrassment.
"No, sir. My problem isn't really with Alador. It's with Odalia." The Golden Guard sighed.
"I see. In that case it is something I should know about. Love triangles pose a risk to company morale. If you have feelings for Odalia and she picked Alador you should at least be mature enough to respect her choice." Darius flushed and jerked his head up.
"No, sir! You don't understand. I'm not in love with Odalia! It's…" How on earth could he explain this? "I…I think she's leading him on, sir. I think she's out for what she can get and she'll make a heart-broken fool out of him." The Golden Guard was silent for a moment, examining the young man before him, then chuckled unexpectedly.
"You actually care about your friends, don't you? Who would have thought it? You really don't have a thing for Odalia?" Darius huffed and drew himself up indignantly.
"As if? What an insult to my good sense of taste!"
The Golden Guard broke out into a hearty laugh and slapped Darius on shoulder, the injured side this time. Darius winced as the bell for roll mingled with his superior's laughter.
"Off with you. You're still on probation so you better not miss another roll call. Darius nodded and continued on alone. He looked over his shoulder once to catch sight of the figure flying off towards the castle, cape fluttering in the breeze. He thought with some relief that he should count himself lucky he wasn't actually punished for his moment of arrogant defiance.
At least until he sat down to breakfast and had to listen to Alador tell everyone within ear-shot how ridiculous he had looked being carted across the field.