Chapter Text
Shit.
I failed again.
I failed and now Uncle won’t get his relief from his curse and I’ll be punished because I failed for the fourth time in a row now and what if he replaces me because I’m an idiot who can’t even get a palisman from an old senile witch and what if-
“Hunter. I asked for my report.” Hunter snapped back to attention, shifting into a salute.
“Apologies, Emperor, for my inattentiveness. It won’t happen again.”
“I hope not, it would make me very sad if I were to have to replace you, Golden Guard.”
Hunter stiffened, he began reciting the mission report without much thought to it. I have to keep this position. I’ve worked so hard for it. I can’t let it all just go to waste. I won’t let it go to waste.
Hunter took a breath before speaking again, “I’ll do better, sir. What may I do to make this failure up to you?”
Belos rose from his throne and made his way toward Hunter, he slipped off his own mask first, exposing a face that displayed a rare softness. He then reached out and removed Hunter’s mask, pushing down his hood.
“Hunter, you do realize I’m going to have to punish you for this. I don’t enjoy it.” Belos stroked Hunter’s cheek lightly, tracing the scar on his cheek.
Then there was the harsh backhand to the same area with Belos’s gauntlet-covered hand.
Hunter felt a dollop of blood trickle down his face.
“Take off your shirt, Hunter.”
Hunter quickly complied, removing both his cloak and tunic.
“Bend over, hands on the wall, like usual.”
The moment Hunter’s hands touched the wall he heard a sickening crack as pain blossomed in his shoulder, then another as the pain moved to his elbow, then his wrist. He winced as he felt a blade move deftly across the nape of his neck, the blood trailing down his back, pooling a little in the small divot of his lumbar.
And then Belos pulled away, gently placing an ungloved hand on Hunter’s shoulder as he pulled the him close.
“I don’t enjoy this, Hunter. Why must you make me do these things?”
Hunter looked down, “I- I’m sorry, sir. It won’t… It won’t happen again.”
“Good, now go to your room, I’m sure you have paperwork to do.” Hunter’s heart swelled at the kind smile his Uncle gave him, at the gentle reassuring squeeze he gave his shoulder.
Granted it was the shoulder Belos had dislocated and then broken two minutes prior, but Hunter didn’t mind.
It was his fault that he needed the punishment in the first place, and Belos was still being kind and loving towards a failure like Hunter.
———
Raine heard a short scream of pain from inside the Emperor’s throne room.
Scratch that, more of a screech. Like that you would hear from a child who fell out of a tree, but it stopped quickly. Almost quickly enough that Raine could have thought they imagined it.
They were so close to just walking past when their curiosity got the better of them, and they stopped for a moment.
Only two minutes had passed when the doors opened, and none other than the Golden Guard stepped out.
With a noticeably bloody arm and partial back, from what they could make out in the short glance.
Raine stumbled as they spun around, following the Golden Guard down the hallway.
“Er, hello, Golden Guard. I’m very sorry to bother you but uh…” they searched for a decent way to ask about his condition.
“What do you want?” He snapped, Raine vaguely noticed that he sounded young, much more so than the other coven heads.
“I just… er, you’re bleeding. I was wondering if you’re alright?”
The Golden Guard stiffened, “I will have you know, Raine Whispers, that I am in pique… physical… condit….” The Golden Guard slumped against the wall, then fell to the ground.
“Hooooly shiiiiiit. What do I do here? Shit shit shit shit. Uhm. Infirmary? But he was just in the emperor’s… wait… what if he… Shit.” Raine let out a huff, “Alright. Darius will know what to do.”
They hiked the Golden Guard onto their back and balanced him there as they used a short burst of bard magic to teleport themself and the Golden Guard to the middle of Darius’s room.
“You’d better have a damn good fucking reason to be dropping the fucking Golden Guard on my floor at 2 in the titan-damned morning, Raine.”