"Darius! Wake up!"
Darius bolted upright from his cot just in time to catch the bucket of water full in the face. Blinded temporarily he tried roaring through the coughing and spluttering.
"Happy Birthday!"
A roar of laughter assaulted his ears as his coven mates slapped him on the back and shoved what he supposed to be a cake in front of him. It was a visually horrifying concoction dyed an abominable shade of lilac in a mounded lumpy mass. Darius groaned and sank his head into his palm, water running in rivulets down the back of his neck while the jostling pack of buffoons about him broke out into raucous singing.
"How wonderful that you are here! Without you life would be so drear…"
Through his fingers Darius could see abomination streamers and other decorations littering the sanctuary of his bedroom. A mound of presents stood piled on the floor by his desk and someone had brought a barrel of what looked like apple blood. With a final off-key howl his classmates fell apart laughing and clapping each other on the back. Someone shoved a cup into his hands and everyone set about devouring the monstrosity that was his cake, leaving him to his own devices. Darius ran a hand over his sopping hair, taking in the thronging mass of noise that his private quarters had become. His mood vacillated between the supreme irritation of having his rest disturbed and the quiet pleasure of knowing himself valued. Worth celebrating. His fellow scouts took their turns individually congratulating him and offering well wishes for the coming year, and he granted each of them a gracious smile and a sincere compliment in return. He should have been thrilled, but after each one of his friends and acquaintances made their happy returns his mood tempered a little more.
He's not here. Darius looked down at the cup in his hand and tried not to care. So what if Alador didn't come to wish him a happy birthday. He was most likely off with Odalia again, being all lovey-dovey. He was probably following her around, doing whatever she told him and staring at her like a love-struck puppy. Trying to stammer out something stupid and romantic.
"Enjoying yourself?" A thin, white arm snaked around his shoulders. Darius turned to see Lilith's tight, patronizing smile. "Happy Birthday, Darius. I was so happy to hear that you had been invited to the castle. I felt certain Alador would be, but having you here too is a pleasant surprise." Darius stood, his mood souring fast.
"Lilith, how nice of you to drop by! I'm surprised you have time to hob-nob with peons like us anymore. Dyed your hair I see. Does it make you feel more dignified?" Lilith smirked.
"Oh Darius. Haven't you been listening to the words of our beloved Emperor Belos? All of the Covens are equal in dignity and it pleases the Titan to see us fostering goodwill and cooperation. Isn't that the whole reason you're here? The Emperor graciously extends his hospitality to elite members of all the covens so you can come train with the best!"
"The best? Meaning you?" Lilith scoffed and gave him a slight shove.
"Don't get huffy. I mean the Emperor's Coven."
"More like the Emperor's jackasses." Darius ignored Lilith's shocked squeak. "From what I've seen, most of these so-called 'elite members' of your coven spend most of their time pushing around wild witches and kissing up to Belos. That little pip-squeak, what's her name? Kiki-moron? It's honestly painful to watch how desperate she is for him to notice her." Lilith crossed her arms angrily.
"Well sorry I said anything. I would've thought you'd at least be grateful for the chance to show off. It's like you don't have any idea how to keep your head down and just stay in line!" Darius was scowling now, his patience nearly eroded.
"Look, Lilith, I only have to keep training with you all until the end of the month, then I am free to do whatever the hell I want with my time and my clothes. Those disgraceful costumes are practically rags. NO room for expression or flair." Lilith shrugged, exasperated.
"Well then, open your presents! It looks like you have quite a few. Maybe there will be something in one of them sufficiently expressive for you." Darius snorted.
"I doubt it. It's such a drag being the only one with any sense of style in this entire castle." Lilith scoffed and grabbed a present from the stack, shoving it into his hands.
"Just open it, you fashion disaster." Darius raised both arms to chuck it at her when he hesitated. The item he held in his hands was a large, indigo, paper-board box with a silver ribbon that shimmered and shined as it twisted in the castle candle-light. It looked expensive, nicer than anything his friends could afford. It was hefty and its contents shifted inside as he tilted it. Darius gingerly undid the silky ribbon and lifted the lid off of the box. Inside was a mass of rich purple witch's wool, soft and warm under his fingers.
There was a note inside.
Darius,
Happy Birthday!
I heard through the grape-vine that you like to try your hand at crafts. Here's some witch's wool in case you wanted to make yourself a cloak. Hope you like the color.
The note wasn't signed.
Lilith leaned in. "Wow, doesn't that look nice! I'm definitely jealous. Is there a special someone we should tell poor Alador about?" Darius clenched his teeth but flashed her a condescending smile.
"Don't you have some ass to be kissing, Lilith?" Lilith scoffed.
"What, you mean to the Golden Guard? That pompous idiot only got where he is because he's a relative of the Emperor. The fact that our emperor keeps him around in such a prestigious position just goes to show how generous and kind hearted he is to unfortunate weaklings." Darius' patience snapped. The memory of ashen hair framing a scarred and exhausted face and a creeping swell of blood flashed within his mind's eye.
"Oh! He likes weaklings? Well then he must really have a soft spot for you."
He knew as soon as he said it that he had gone too far. Lilith pulled back immediately, face twisted in shock and pain. She stepped back, muttered something vaguely apologetic and darted away through the crowded room. Daris watched her go, surprise sinking into shame and regret within his chest. He hadn't meant to hurt her…at least not that badly. For all her pretensions she had come to wish him happiness on his birthday and he had repaid her with cruelty. Still…
Her implication that the Golden Guard was only the incompetent beneficiary of nepotism rankled him. It shouldn't. Maybe Lilith was right. She was almost certainly around him more often and could have had more chances to see and understand his abilities.
Was he a good leader? He was definitely a good teacher.
What was he like on the field of battle? His form in training was perfect, flawless, sickeningly inspirational.
The bloodstain meant he had been hurt, had made a mistake somewhere.
Darius' musings were suddenly interrupted as he was grabbed from behind in a tight hug.
"Guess who?"
The voice was teasing and familiar, but the hands that wrapped around his waist were strange to him, scared with long broken nails on the ends of fingers screaming for a decent moisturizer. Darius disentangled himself and twisted around to find a cloaked figure slightly smaller than himself. Two golden eyes twinkled up at him from beneath the safety of her cowl.
Darius gasped. "Eda!"
Eda flashed her toothy grin at him. "Hey there, hot stuff! Happy Birthday! I thought I'd drop by and join the fun! Sorry for not showing up earlier. I had to wait for Miss Prissy Pants to leave. What in the world happened to you? You're all wet! Your hair is dripping, let me dry it for you" She reached up to mess with his hair but Darius caught her by the elbow and pulled her into an alcove near his window.
"What in the Titan's name are you doing here?" He hissed. "Do you know what will happen if anyone recognizes you?" Eda grinned at him, flashing her sharp teeth.
"Oh re-lax, you great big softie! The Emperor's been trying to get his hands on me for years! He's just an old fuddy-duddy and all the mindless dolts he sends after me are just as bad." Darius' eyes softened as he took in his old school-mate. Her hair had violent streaks of a shocking white like lightning in her vibrant hair. There were dark bags under her eyes that looked older and more haggard than he could have ever imagined on someone as fierce and formidable as Edalyn. She was painfully thin and taller too. Probably as tall as Lilith by now.
"Are you really okay?" He asked softly. "I hear you've been selling human junk at the Night Market. Are you making enough to get by? How are you even getting your hands on all that human stuff?" Eda cocked her head and shot him an annoyed glare before cracking her signature smile. She punched him none too gently in the arm.
"Look at you, acting all mature and being worried about little old me! Take a chill-pill, Darius! I've got it made in the shade while you gave up all your magic for a nice little tattoo." Darius sighed in exasperation and rumpled the unruly mass of hair and…were those twigs?
"I am perfectly happy in the Abomination coven, thank you very much." He hissed in pain as she socked him on the arm again.
"Look, you know me. I think you all are sell-outs for joining covens in the first place. I gotta say that I'm glad that at least you didn't join the Emperor's coven, even though you're definitely good enough." Darius scowled.
Why do people keep saying that?
Eda rambled on. "Honestly I don't know what I would have done if you had tried out for the Emperor's coven against Lilli. It was bad enough…"
"I spoke to Raine. They said you two broke up." Eda's mouth snapped shut. For a moment she stood in frozen silence, gaze blank and unseeing, pupils swelling rapidly until they consumed her whole eyes. They looked like the eyes of a frightened beast. Darius gave a shocked gasp and reached out a hand to grasp her by the shoulder. "Eda? Are you okay?" She snapped her arm back and turned away covering her eyes with her hand.
"Eh! Sorry, I'm just really tired." Darius watched her in silence for a minute with a frown on his face. When she didn't make a move he heaved a dramatic sigh and reached around her to grab a plate covered with one of the last slices of the hot mess that was his birthday cake.
"Here." He pried the fingers of her free hand away from her side and placed the plate in her open palm. "If you're going to crash my party, the least you can do is finish off some of this noxious nightmare my coven-mates are trying to poison me with." Eda's clawed fingers hesitated for a moment, then curled around the edge of the plate and brought her other hand down from her face. Her pupils still seemed to swallow up her eyes, but she cracked a half smile and gave him a shove.
"Oh, I see. Getting me to fill in for clean-up duty? Well I guess if I have to." Darius smiled in reply.
"You have to. Think of it as your present to a long-suffering friend." He watched in grim astonishment as she practically devoured the cake with a single bite, licking crumbs off her fingers and even the surface of the plate. She was definitely not getting enough to eat, no matter what she said.
"Eda, I…"
"Guys! Look outside!"
Weldon was suddenly standing just a few steps away, looking out the window and pointing towards the gate. There was a rush of bodies and Darius found himself separated from Eda, shoved up against the window frame in a gaggle of curious gawkers. The main gate of the palace was open and through it a few caped figures rushed in. Darius could see the Golden Guard at the head, staff arm outstretched and levitating three unconscious coven scouts before him while across his back he carried the small, lifeless form of another coven scout. Behind him trailed four more scouts supporting each other, limping along as fast as they could.
As soon as they made it across the threshold a swarm of Emperor's coven scouts poured out of the courtyard alcoves and rushed toward the bedraggled group. The Golden Guard lowered the three bodies into the waiting arms of their coven mates while others slung their arms under the staggering forms of the four walking coven scouts, guiding them towards the Healing Coven's tent at the far end of the training grounds. The Golden Guard didn't slow, but sprinted on with the still motionless body of the small scout draped over his shoulder.
"What do you think happened?"
"They look chewed up!"
"There's no way the Emperor's Coven could get this hurt unless it was something crazy bad."
"Oh my Titan, he's missing an arm!" Someone shrieked.
Darius saw it too. He felt the burn of bile rising in his throat as the Golden Guard turned to enter the tent sideways and he saw the white robe completely drenched down one side in violent red. The unconscious coven scout was indeed missing an arm. The two disappeared from sight behind the white folds of the tent, followed shortly after by the rest of the injured scouts and their escorts.
The voices around him rose in an excited clamor of speculation and astonishment. Some were whispering enthralling theories, some shouting their shock and disbelief, but to Darius they all sounded sickeningly entertained. There had been so much blood. Was it all from the one coven scout? Was the scout even still alive after losing that much blood?
The tent flap was wrenched suddenly to the side as the Golden Guard burst out of the tent. Behind him hurried a figure in a Healing Coven uniform whom Darius recognized as the witch who had tended to him all those weeks ago.
Leyna
She was gesticulating violently and saying something to the Golden Guard, who seemed determined to ignore her. Darius could see that he was limping slightly with one arm cradled against his chest like it pained him. His bloody cloak clung to his body and moved sluggishly against his brisk pace, weighed down by the heavy red dye that marked where the body of the fallen scout had lain. Leyna reached out to grab the Golden Guard by the sleeve, gesturing back towards the tent. Darius was too far away to hear what they were saying, but he clearly saw her concern and frustration crying out through her body. The Golden Guard wrenched his arm away from Leyna and kept limping away as best he could.
Leyna watched him go for a moment, her hand still reaching out towards his retreating figure, before her shoulders slumped and she turned to slip back inside. The Golden Guard kept up his punishing pace until he passed out of sight into the darkness of an alcove. Just like that the courtyard was empty and still; a dark trail of blood the only witness to the chaos of a few minutes ago.
The witches around him were all buzzing with speculation but Darius' eyes were fixed on the dark alcove where among the shadows he could just make out a lone figure leaning his back against the wall. Darius watched him slump, slowly sliding down to the stone floor, masked head in his hands.
Darius felt a slight pressure on his wrist and Eda's voice whispered in his ear.
"Thanks for the cake. Happy Birthday, Darius. Hope I see you around." And then she was gone, vanishing like smoke into the press around him. He could only hope she was disappearing to somewhere safe. Somewhere far away from here.