"Hey, Darius, wake up!"
Darius turned a bleary eye to his neighbor who was roughly poking him in the arm. The violent excitement of yesterday had turned into a restless night. Every time he tried closing his eyes his mind swelled with the shadowy image of a crumpled figure with its head in its hands. Visions of crimson bloodstains bled into the dreams which haunted him whenever he slipped into brief snatches of sleep from which he started awake, heart pounding in his chest. Overall, his disaster of a night had left him drained and lethargic in the face of a new day and all its annoyances. Darius cleared his throat and tried to blink away the crust in his eyes.
"Sorry. What was that?"
"I said, would you please pass the scrambled Griffin eggs?" Darius passed the large steaming bowl without comment and turned his head to stare at two figures seated alone at a table across the dining hall.
Alador and Odalia.
Darius' eyes narrowed. Alador was sitting, shoulders hunched over his project while Odalia leaned into his shoulder blabbering on and on about Titan knew what. He could hear her high, overtly sweet voice cut through the din of the cafeteria and it set his already throbbing head to pounding. She wasn't even supposed to be here. No one was supposed to be in the castle without express permission from a coven head or the Emperor himself. The only reason he and Alador were even there in the first place was because of this "Leadership Training Internship" they qualified for after graduating from Hexside. Alador must have snuck her in somehow, or she was pulling strings with her family's connections. Either way, she shouldn't be here, distracting Alador and wasting his time. At least they were here, acting decent, and not making a disgusting scene out in public, or breaking curfew off at her place, or whatever else those two found to occupy themselves.
It hurt .
Darius had to be honest with himself. When it came to Alador, being shut out hurt. He missed their companionship, their banter, even their stupid rivalry. Back at Hexside it had been them against the world. Raine, Perry, and the Clawthorne sisters rounded out their posse but the two of them had been inseparable in class and competition. At one time he had hoped that maybe...maybe they could be more. Odalia had been a good friend too, once. Or maybe she hadn't. It was hard to think of her now as anything other than the possessive nuisance who had slithered her way into their lives, consuming the camaraderie that Darius had taken for granted.
Darius blinked, roused from his musings as he realized that the object of his disdain had risen to her feet and was heading for the exit. He watched her, shoulders tense and eyes narrowed. As soon as she disappeared around the corner Darius was up, crossing the floor and sliding into the empty seat across from Alador. Startled, Alador looked up, the contraption he had been tinkering with slipping from his hands.
"What? Who?" His eyes narrowed behind his goggles. "Oh, it's you, Darius. What do you want?" Darius was taken aback by the resentful dismissiveness in his friend's voice. He leaned forward and spoke hurriedly.
"Alador, what's been going on with you? I haven't seen you at practice for weeks! You almost never show up for coven meetings, you've been slacking off on assignments, and our superiors have noticed. I know you've received at least two disciplinary notices for failure to show or complete your work. What gives?""
"Oh, so that's what this is about." Alador shrugged. "I've just lost interest, that's all." Darius stared at him.
"Lost interest? What in the muck do you mean by that?"
"I mean… " Alador took in a long breath and sighed. He lifted his goggles and gave Darius an exasperated glare. "I just think that I have better things to do with my time than this stupid internship." Darius gaped. Were his ears working right? Was he still in bed dreaming?
"What?"
"You heard me, Darius. As soon as our trials are over next week I am out of here." Darius narrowed his eyes at his friend and spoke through gritted teeth.
"You mean the trials that you'll probably bomb because you haven't been training?" Alador scowled back.
"Since when do you care? I thought you were 'Mister-I-do-whatever-I-want', but now you're sucking up to the Coven heads. I hear you even applied to be an Aide!" Darius scoffed and crossed his arms.
"I didn't apply , I was nominated! And anyway, I haven't accepted it."
"Yet." The tone was cutting and resentful. Darius growled.
"What does any of that have to do with you sabotaging your chances?"
"Titan, can't you just drop it? Sorry I'm not cut out for coven politics like you are, Darius!"
"Politics my ass! We signed up for this whole show because we wanted to get the best training!"
"No, Darius! I joined the advanced class because you wanted to, not because it was something I actually cared about."
"What's changed? I thought you were excited for this, and now what? It's gotten hard so you want to drop out? Since when do you run away from something just because it gets tough? Or have you spent so much time with Odalia your brain has started to seep out of your drooling face?" Alador's knuckles went white as they clenched his goggles and a hiss escaped from his clenched jaw.
"You're a jerk, Darius. Besides, what Odalia and I are doing is more important than stupid coven stuff, you'll see. She's got this whole vision for a business we've been working on together…"
"Would you shut up about Odalia!" Darius couldn't help the venom bleeding into his words. "Honestly, ever since you two started dating all you've done is follow her every word. She might as well be the Titan for how much you worship the ground she walks on. At least we know you picked the right coven! For her you're the walking, sometimes talking personification of a mindless abomination!" Alador's face went positively purple.
"Well at least Odalia can support me and be happy for me, Darius! At least she sees what I'm good at and values me for who I am. It's thanks to her that I'm getting anywhere in my life right now. I know you think I'm just a stupid goof-off, but Odalia's helping me to be better than that." Darius snorted.
"By taking up all your time? By pushing you away from your friends?" Alador's expression twisted and he barked out a bitter laugh.
"That's rich coming from you."
"Excuse me?"
"You know what I'm talking about!" It almost sounded like Alador was about to start crying . "Odalia's told me all about the things you and Raine and Lilith have been saying about me! You think I'm just some stupid nerd who'll never get anywhere, but I'll show you all that I'm just as capable as any of you." Darius stared at him, bewildered.
"Look, Alador, I don't know where you get off…"
"Darius."
Darius looked up to see Odalia's face drawn in a condescending smirk. "While I'm sure the two of you have been having a simply enthralling conversation, I'm afraid that my dear Alador and I have important business to discuss. He's been so wonderful. I really am so lucky to have such a talented man as my partner."
Alador ducked his head, blushing as red as a tomato and tugging on his ear in pleased embarrassment. Odalia's saccharine tone made Darius feel sick to his stomach, but nothing could be worse than how obviously Alador enjoyed being flattered and fawned over. How could the idiot not see how much she was playing him? Odalia leaned over Darius, her sweet-smelling breath hot and foul on his face.
"Why don't you run along and play, Darius."
Darius gritted his teeth and took in a deep breath, placing his palms flat against the table to steady himself. "This doesn't concern you, Odalia. Why don't you go find someone else to bat your eyelashes at?" Odalia chucked.
"Oh, Darius, I didn't know you thought I was so charming! Thank you for the compliment, darling, but really ? Trying to hit on me in front of my boyfriend? That's pretty brazen, even for you." Darius choked at the accusation. His stomach tightened as he watched the embarrassment on Alador's face morph instantly into one of jealous rage.
That idiot!
The bitterest fury swelled within his chest like it would break him and Darius stood up so suddenly his chair fell to the floor with a loud clatter.
"Shut up, Odalia! You think you've got everyone here fooled, but I've got news for you! I know what you are! You're just a conniving, self-absorbed, manipulative little bi-"
"That's enough, Darius!"
A heavy gloved hand came down on his shoulder, pulling him back and steering him firmly towards the canteen doors. Caught off guard, Darius struggled against the unyielding grip of his unknown assailant as he was firmly marched through the doors. He looked up and blanched as he caught the inscrutable mask of the Golden Guard, remorseless and utterly unfeeling as the man hauled on Darius' uniform with the unspoken assurance of utter humiliation. Twisting around he managed to catch a glimpse of Alador's sullen, down-cast expression and Odalia's infuriatingly smug face, eyes bright with triumph.
"I thought you were done with this." The Golden Guard's voice was low and icy.
The two of them were standing against the back wall behind the Cafeteria where the Golden Guard had promptly shoved him for a verbal dressing down. Darius fixed his eyes on the dirt at his feet, refusing to look his superior officer in the eye.
"I thought you were more mature than this. Of all the witches I've mentored you struck me as one of the most capable and intelligent and then you go and pull something this stupid? You can best believe that this is going to get back to your coven head and with Odalia's connections you'll be very lucky indeed if you don't end up out on your ass barely a week before your trials! And then, what? All of the work you've put into the last few months, all of the relationships and connections you've built for yourself gone like that!" He snapped his gloved fingers in Darius' face. Darius winced at the sound.
"You've made a lot of progress in this program, Darius, and it would be a real shame if you flunked out because you couldn't keep your mouth shut. I won't always be there to get you out of trouble."
"Don't do me any favors." The bitter, mumbled thought escaped him before he could stop himself."
"Seriously, Darius? If I'm being honest I didn't think you were capable of behaving in such a petty, juvenile way. You told me that you weren't involved in a love triangle, so why did I just hear Odalia accuse you of hitting on her?"
"Because she's a liar who'll say anything to make me look bad to Alador!" The cry burst from his lips, burning in his chest as it tore through him. The absolute injustice of it all stung his heart and filled him with helpless rage. He looked up, suddenly face to face with the Golden Mask and the dark, narrowed eyes behind it. "You know she is! She says and does whatever she wants and knows she can get away with it so long as she bats her eyelashes at the right people!
"It's just not fair!" Darius hated how much like a child he sounded to his own ears. "How can someone as smart as Alador be so stupid! He's throwing his chances away with coven, making a fool of himself, and not even for his own dreams but for some money-grabbing plan of Odalia's! She's taking everything from him and giving nothing back and he's just letting her do it! I don't get it! Why is he letting her destroy his future? She is so horrible. I hate her!"
"Even if you hate her, even if she is as bad as you say, you don't do yourself any favors by cursing her out in front of Alador! You're only going to make him defensive and he'll side with her against you, isolating himself further. You'll just be giving her what she wants in the end." Darius pulled himself up to his full height and scowled back at his superior officer, fury completely stripping him of caution or shame.
"Well what else am I supposed to do? Just sit back and watch? Keep a low profile for the sake of my career while my friend is throwing away his life? I hate feeling this useless!" Darius' eyes stung suddenly and he blinked to hold back the burning tears that threatened to overflow. "I should be done caring about his stupid nerdy behind. It's too exhausting trying to compete with Odalia. Honestly it would serve Alador right if she cuts his short-sighted, asinine, googly-eyed heart out and serves it for dessert! Why can't I just let it go?" The Golden Guard scrutinized him, eyes meeting his through the slits in the mask.
"Darius, I know I said it before, but you really care about people, don't you? That might be a weakness, or it might be your greatest strength. I wish I knew. Either way you need to be more calculated in the way that you go about showing it. Alador is his own person and a grown witch. It is an unfortunate fact of life that sometimes the people we care about make bad decisions and we can't stop them. In fact, trying to stop them only serves to make them more stubborn about their stupidity. And if, as you claim, Odalia is playing with you then for Titan's sake show me what you're capable of and be smart enough to beat her at her own game!"
The Golden Guard sighed suddenly and sank his head into his hand, sounding tired and dejected. Darius felt a sudden pang of guilt. Less than 24 hours ago this man had come back from what he could only assume was a disastrous mission, coated in blood and limping from whatever injuries he had sustained in the service of the Emperor. This conversation couldn't possibly be helping. He swallowed back the anger in his throat and dropped his gaze back to the dirt and to the satchel that the Golden Guard had let fall to the floor. It sat there, lumpy, misshapen and dejected, just like he felt. Through its opening Darius could see what looked like ration packs and potion globes.
Odd .
Darius' eyes narrowed and he glanced up at the Golden Guard, taking in his whole appearance. Under the cloak, the man had exchanged his usual golden tunic for a curved breast-plate over a dark woolen shirt with a dense, protective weave.
His combat uniform.
"Are you going somewhere, sir?" The Golden Guard looked up at Darius, confusion written in the tilt of his head.
"You're dressed like you are about to head out on another mission. Also, your pack is filled with supplies. Are you being sent back out again after…?" He broke off, biting his tongue. The Golden Guard was silent for a moment before giving an exasperated chuckle, gripping his staff with both hands.
"Trust you to notice my clothes. You're right. Due to everything that happened during the mission yesterday I will be going back on site to try to salvage what I can. I probably won't find anything, but the Emperor is…disappointed by my failure."
"Sir, are you sure that it's okay to go back out so soon? Aren't you still injured?" The Golden Guard stood motionless for a minute and Darius noticed the gloved fingers tighten their grip around the staff. A slight sound escaped from behind the mask, like the man was swallowing around something hard.
"The Emperor has given me an order, Darius. It is my honor and duty as the Golden Guard to carry out any task he gives me. Besides, I'm not really hurt. Out of all of us I came away with hardly a scratch on me. Not like…" He stopped on a sudden, shuddering intake of breath. Darius swallowed at the memory.
"I know. I saw. I mean, I saw some of it. That scout, the one who lost her arm, will she be okay?"
The gloved hands tightened so hard around the staff's ivory handle that Darius could hear the crackle of leather fingers grinding against each other. When the voice came it was hollow and broken.
"She…she didn't make it. She must have passed right before we got through the gates." Darius felt as though he was going to be sick. The image of the scout's lifeless body, her corpse , on the Golden Guard's back draining blood behind him saturated his mind accompanied by a revolting swell of nausea.
"She.. she died? What? That doesn't make any sense! In the Emperor's coven you can use all forms of magic, right? So, she should have been fine! Don't you all have training in healing magic?" The Golden Guard turned his mask away.
"Most of us do, but it wasn't enough. All of the scouts trained in healing magic were unconscious and I…I don't have that training. All I know how to do is fight." Darius could hear the guilt dripping from every bitter word.
"Isn't that more reason not to go back out there? What if someone else gets hurt?"
"You don't need to worry about that, Darius. I swear to you that no one else is going to get hurt on this mission. I won't be bringing anyone else with me into the line of fire." Darius gaped at the man in front of him, hardly believing his ears.
"Wait, wait, you're going out alone ? With all due respect, sir, that's crazy ! You got hurt yesterday, what if you get hurt this time and there's no one out there to help you?"
"Then there will be no one else who gets hurt along with me."
"Sir…please!" Darius felt his chest tighten. All the emotional torment from his argument with Alador swelled up again, inflated by fear for his teacher. "Please let me come. Even if it's just nearby, let me be there in case you need someone. Please I…I just need something to do right now. I need a job of some kind." He looked up and cocked what he hoped was his most charming smile. "Besides, if you want to keep me out of trouble, what better way to do that than by taking me with you?" The Golden Guard snorted.
"So I'll keep you out of trouble by taking you into danger?"
"I won't be in danger if I'm just keeping watch, right? Come on! You're the one always on my case about how I need to live up to how talented I am. Or…" Darius leaned into the Golden Guard's space, looking up at him with what he hoped was an authentically suspicious frown. "Maybe you didn't really mean it. Did you just tell me all those nice things to make me feel better about myself or something patronizing like that?"
The man gave an affronted snort and Darius couldn't help the thrill of elation that rippled through him at the sound. He pressed ahead, leaning in further until his superior had to lean back, their faces so close he could see through the slits in the mask to a pair of narrowed, magenta eyes.
"If you meant it, then prove it. Let me come with you on this assignment."
The magenta eyes stared back, scrutinizing him. Darius could feel a bead of sweat trickle down the back of his neck as he exerted every ounce of his self-composure to keep his gaze from faltering. Finally the eyes softened and a sigh escaped from behind the mask.
"I am leaving in fifteen minutes. If you can pack what you need, inform your coven head and be back within that time limit I will allow you to come with me, but…" Darius could have kissed him.
"Thank you, sir!"
"I said, but. Only if you listen to what I say and follow every single one of my orders. Is that understood, Darius?" The youth was fighting a losing battle to keep a grin from splitting his face.
"Absolutely, sir! May I be dismissed, sir?" The Golden Guard gave yet another familiarly exasperated sigh and waved his hand.
"Don't make me regret this, Darius. You're dismissed."
Darius bolted for the dormitory, legs pounding beneath him.
He could do this. If he couldn't be helpful to Alador then at least he could be useful to someone else; someone who actually cared what he thought and was willing to accept his help.
Alador could stew in his own pot for now. He had bigger Selkidomus to boil.