Once Upon a Dream (Golden Guard x Gender-Neutral Reader)

(Blood) Stained Glass Windows

Dear Titan, did you regret taking this shift! It was 1:30 in the morning, you hadn't slept in at least 24 hours, and you still had probably another half hour or so until you were finished. Then you'd have to go to the Grave and fill out the patrol report and notify the next shift, another 15 to 20 minutes. After that, there was the flight home, which added 10 minutes on, putting your arrival at around 2:30. And that's assuming there are no interruptions!
Your eyelids felt heavy and your feet dangled numbly in the open air. It was a good thing Mortis got regular sleep, otherwise you'd both be two exhausted to keep flying! Right now though the two of you were flying low, so you wouldn't have to worry that much.
So far the scouting had proven to be uneventful, the most entertaining thing being the epic battle between two rats for a musty corn chip. It was short-lived though as some old hobo was also hungry and had the high ground. Then he hamboned some ominous warning at you and scampered away. The sheer pathos of it all almost made you quit your life of crime, go to school, join the bard coven, move to the toes, settle down, and raise a family, but then you remembered that dictatorship existed everywhere on the Boiling Isles and that the coven system was inherently flawed in its roots, causing all its branches to be corrupted as well. Now the plan was to get a sandwich at some point.
I wonder what the fam is doing right now... You pondered over it in your brain. Probably sleeping, the lucky bastards!
Another corner turned, another blank street. You understood that these patrols were necessary to maintain a presence in Olde Bonesborough, but who would be going through this side of town at night? There weren't a whole lot of other gangs to worry about. Most of the other organized crime groups in Bonesborough were small-fry wannabe sellouts, no serious threats there. Now the Latissa Banshees on the other hand? Different story, totally respectable group! But they had their turf and you guys had your turf. There also may or may not be a bit of an unspoken alliance. Neither group liked the Emperor's Coven, and you know what they say! "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." 
Enemy...
...
EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE MY ENEMY!!!!
Ah, the human realm had some bangers! One time Eda brought back some human music devices and played a few songs for you and King. That shit slapped. The words on the album cover said "Wasteland, Baby!" but it might as well have said "Heaven's Hymns." Not to mention when Luz came over from the human realm with all the music in her phone, you almost started to believe in miracles!
Only almost though, you were still a broke, cursed, street urchin/orphan living in a society where you're persecuted for not giving up a part of yourself in order to "please the Titan." Or the fact that you had to resort to criminal activity in order to help others who can't help themselves because of the ridiculous rules that make up the framework of this society. And we haven't even gone over the fact that you're being hunted by a boy who had been taunting your dreams for over a decade!
Yeah, you weren't too sure about miracles.

As you peered into the night, you could feel the night peering back. It felt like water washing over you, warm, pleasant, and numbing. The empty streets were your high seas and with each wave you found yourself floating further out into this strange state of bliss. It was almost like a break. A break from the calamity that is life. No hectic family running from the law. No friends flirting for the fun of it. No crimes currently being commited. No, none of these things, just the strange swaying waves that carried you further away into the night.

This must be what it felt like to not exist.

Then you felt it. The cold creeping back into your veins. It frosted over the back of your neck first, then it shot into nerves, sending goosebumps up and down your body. It was like somebody's frigid arrow piercing your spine and severing it from your cerebellum. It was familiar, borderline intoxicating, and you knew from the moment it passed over you what it was.
Him.
He was watching you. You didn't have to look over your shoulder or anything to know it either. Dreamboy, you son of a bitch! Can't I have an evening that's relatively easy for once? You were red with anger under the mask.
Alright what was the plan? He didn't know you knew he was there, meaning he'd been robbed of the element of surprise. Plus you had more knowledge of this side of town. Blondie might as well have been flying around blindfolded! You thought over your options. Go back to the Grave? Absolutely not. Duck into a random building? Might get the owners in trouble with the EC. Home? Hell no! St. Tribrachius? Unprece- wait, that may actually work. Going through the woods would allow for cover and familiar terrain for you to lose him in! And even if you couldn't shake him, you wouldn't be leading him anywhere important! It seemed like the best option at the moment. With that, you began to float towards the approaching city limits.
How'd he even find me? Was he waiting for me to show up? Pfft! Stalker! What else did he do? Spend hours searching for information on you, ignoring sleep and skipping meals in the process? Who does that? Obsessed people, that's who! Good thing you hadn't done anything like that! No sir! Just a perfectly normal, non-obsessed witch.
The neighborhood ended abruptly, a crumbling wall of bone separating the city from the wilderness.The wall was the last remnant of an urban secession, a city divided against itself. It was an era of Bonesborough's past that just refused to die. You almost let your mind dwindle away on Bonesborough's past, but you shook it out of your head. Now was not the time to look back on history, the present was at stake.
You rolled over the wall and watched the darkness grow as a cloud drifted over the moon. It was a starless night thanks to the cloudy skies, which you were grateful for. Maybe the darkness would throw him off! You squinted at the trees. While you were well versed in these woods there was no way you could navigate them in the dark while flying. You had to dismount Mortis. It wasn't something you were particularly happy about, but it had to be done! Both of you could end up injured if you steered him the wrong way, so with a twinge of guilt and nervousness you slowed to a stop and hopped off Mortis. He transformed back to normal and hummed at you.
"Shh... I know, but it's easier this way." You whispered to him before he went wooden. You placed him in your jacket and began your trek through the woods. The forest was alive with the sound of owls, crickets, and swaying leaves. The air was humid and buzzing with pent up energy. Leaves and branches crackled under your feet. Bushes rustled as you passed by. You listened for the sounds mirroring the ones you were making, but you couldn't tell if they were your own or not. Then a thought occurred.
What if there's actually no one behind me? This question troubled you deeply. If there was nobody behind you it meant you had abandoned your patrol for no reason other than paranoia. That you weren't a qualified Phantom because you jumped the gun at a feeling. That you'd let down Cas and Jenner again. But what if he was there? If he was then you might lead him back to the Grave or he might follow you home and figure out your identity. Right now you could be wasting your night walking through the woods and putting more time on your shift, or you could be leading the Golden Guard to a place where you're all alone with no possible backup, but far away from everything you hold dear. If you looked behind you there's a chance he'd be there and ready to fight. If you looked behind you there's a chance he wouldn't, having hid from your gaze or just not there at all. All of these outcomes weighed in on your skull, making it feel like it could collapse at any second. You didn't want to worry about that right now. You just knew that you had to get to St. Tribrachius
After about 10 minutes, you could feel the land had inclined dramatically. At this point you were gripping onto roots, rocks, and tree trunks just to keep going! Your mask started heating up with your sweat and deep breaths. Your lungs were starting to sting from the exertion. All of this trouble for someone you weren't even sure was there. It would be worth it though, just to make sure. Cas seemed to be more sympathetic now, maybe she'd understand. It's not like she hadn't been followed before and had to lead the perp away. Jenner on the other hand would probably be more of a hardass about it. You could hear him now.
Oh you left your post because of a gut feeling that turned out to be pointless? Kitchen duty for a month! The tiny Jenner in your head scolded. He'd definitely have something to say if you messed up. It made you even more wary of your situation.
You reached for a root hanging out of the hillside. The top of the mound was only a few feet away, and at this point, you were ready for it to be over. In fact you were so ready that you overlooked the severe looseness of this root. You pulled it out of the hill in a kinetic spur, gasping as gravity slammed onto you at full force.
You were going to tumble all the way back down the hill, which would gain you many broken bones, included but not limited to your fucking neck and spine, as well as so many gashes that they'd probably make a public pool out of your blood once you innevibly bled out. Your vision went red right before you slammed your eyes shut.
"OH FUCK!" You cried as you dropped...
... gently onto the floor?
You pried open your eyes one at a time to check the scene. You were in fact not at the bottom of the hill, bleeding out with bones sticking out of your body, but rather curled up on top of it. For a moment you just laid there, processing what had happened. Once you snapped back to reality, you threw yourself up and patted all over your body. You felt real, you looked the same, and you could still feel pain. Yup, you were alive!
"Woo! That's the second time death has tried to claim me tonight and to no avail!" You threw your fists up in victory, but flinched quickly afterwards at a new thought. If you were alive, there had to be a reason why. According to logic, you should have fallen all the way back down the hill and died! Instead you were up at the peak of it. It didn't make sense! You opened your jacket briefly and spotted Mortis, still wooden, inside. It couldn't have been him, and last time you checked you didn't have the ability to spontaneously teleport! Float, yes, but teleport? No! Even if you had floated up here, it would have taken you longer! You have noticed. There wasn't a logical explanation, unless...
A sliver of moonlight peaked out of the clouds for a moment. In this brief second of light, you caught a fleeting glimpse of something shining in between the brush of the woods. And just as quickly as it appeared it vanished. What's that? You squinted at the brambles, bushes, and trees, unfortunately though you did not have night vision so seeing what was on it proved to be quite difficult.
You took a deep breath and shuffled towards the bush, ball of light in hand. You peered past the leaves and pushed your hand through the brush. Something was reflecting the light of your orb! A shiny face popped into your mind. What if it really is him? If it was, you didn't particularly feel like fighting him atop a tall, steep hill in the dark. You could just turn around, pretend like you didn't see anything, and continue to St. Tribrachius. It was the better option, but you just had to know. You patted your jacket, Mortis's cue to wake up. He crawled out of his cozy hideyhole and grumpily chipped at you. After his complaint, he staffed up. You handed him the light, which he held between his antennae, and began creeping further into the dark.
The glinting light retreated further back as you took your steps. It hid behind trees, winked at you through leaves, at one point it even circled around you completely. You doubted that it was an animal's eye, seeing as how there's only one glint. Not to mention the footsteps indicated whatever it was was two legged. It was obviously a person, or at least humanoid. You could still feel that ice in your veins. You took a step towards the glint, it retreated back again. Your frustration grew. You didn't have enough time for this!
Casting light in a new direction, you moved on, glancing over your shoulder until you could no longer see the glint. The trees started thinning out bit by bit until you could see it. Its silhouette was barely legible against the mountains. The towers and columns stood like ancient beings of stone. They were tired and worn after centuries of storms. The structure's buttresses were desperately trying to hold everything together, but even they were falling apart. As you got closer, your light bounced off stained glass, casting colorful beams into the surrounding area. A bitter howling wind shuttered through the open doors. It almost sounded like the building was wailing. If you weren't already frigid, you'd have probably gotten chills.
"In we go..." You mumbled as you stepped into the belly of the beastly structure.
The Shared and Sacred Stones of St. Tribrachius. You had seen drawings of it in its prime at the CFK. It used to be gorgeous. You turned your gaze toward the ceiling (well the proper term for it would be "the heavens'' as most of the ceiling had crumbled to the floor). The clouds hung like death in the sky. In the distance you could hear thunder roar. You continued on through the sanctuary. If you had been here before the Persecution, this place would have been flooded with people of different cultural backgrounds and beliefs. It was once a place of indiscriminate love, where witches and demons from all over the Isles would eat, play, and most of all, worship. Hatred for different spiritual beliefs hadn't been bred back then, but it was sure as hell living now. I wonder what caused that rift to form? (-Cough cough- PHILIP WITTEBANE AND HIS INTOLERANT ASS! -Cough cough- Sorry guys, I had something in my throat)
The temple was mammoth in size. Being designed to fit huge groups of people, that made sense, but now it served as a hella grand hide and seek ground. You drummed your staff against the ground and an array of candles and torches lit all at once. It allowed you to take a good look around. There were a multitude of entrances to other rooms in the form of archways, at least four staircases, a second story to the sanctuary, and an eerie atmosphere that did not bode well for you. It was obvious that people were still coming here, as some of the candles had hardly melted down at all. There were even spell markings! Last time you were here, some of these weren't. They were scoured over the open floor. It would make for a very interesting game of hopscotch if some of these were still active. That thought made you quite wary of stepping too close to any of them.
Click... clack... click... clack... Your strides were long and purposeful.
Clack clack clack clack! Those steps were not. You snapped around in the direction of the noise. Instinctually, your body took up a defensive position. Mortis's golden light dimmed and was replaced with a crackling ball of (f/c). 
"Are you even trying to be stealthy anymore?" You taunted, voice echoing off the remaining curvature of the building. You weren't sure which you'd fear more; silence or an answer? The singed scent of artificial magic filled the air, along with the whirring of a spell at work. A crimson glow emitted from behind a pillar at the entrance and was gone in an instant. Another sour breeze wavered the candlelight.
"Oh, so you finally acknowledge me!" A grin crept onto your face at the sound of his voice. Chipped, cocky, arrogant, lowkey attractive, it was him alright! Internally you applauded yourself for your sixth sense.
His voice sounded louder than it actually was. Much like yours, his words bounced around the room even after they'd left his mouth. You took your stuff in both hands and relaxed your arms. One foot in front of the other, you leisurely strutted toward the largest window of all, weaving around the circles on the floor. Its panes were broken in some places and a large crack split it in half.
"Aw, did I make you feel left out, love?" You cooed. The silence was so loud.
"Why do you feel the need to call me that?" The flusteredness in his voice was so palpable, you couldn't help but cackle at it!
"Because you're so charming, of course!" You said with a laugh left in your throat.
For a moment you marveled at the stained glass. You tried to wipe the tears from your eyes, but were swiftly reminded of your mask.
"Isn't this place gorgeous, Blondie?" You opened your arms toward the windows as you spoke. Depicted on it were beings from all over the Boiling Isles sitting around a low table. They were having a feast, laughing, smiling, just being together. Some of the faces and bodies had been chipped away over the years, leaving gaps at the table. In this light, some of the faces looked sadder than usual.
"Are you talking about this place? This crumbling, blasphemous, broken, spell-ridden building? If so, then absolutely! The safety hazards and sin add just a dash of flare, don't you think...? Wait, how'd you know I was blond?"
"Don't worry about it."
So dream Blondie and real life Blondie both had similar hair... Maybe they looked exactly alike? You wouldn't really know for sure though. The only way you'd ever find out was if they both took off their damn masks.
Footsteps clopped out from upstairs. You looked up at the balcony. Sure enough, there he was. The candlelight cast ominous shadows behind him as he perused along. His mask was flickering with the flames. Their fire cascaded him in even more gold than ever before.
"So you're the Specter Soltare." Dreamboy wasn't expecting you to respond.
"And you're the Golden Guard." He slowed at your word. You could just barely make out a scoff.
"Not many people know about me, I'm impressed." The Golden Guard said with dry accentation.
"I'm not, you were stupid easy to find info on." Liar. "I wasn't gonna check you out until I saw your little posters all over our side of town. I didn't know you liked me so much!"
You twirled your hair around your finger as you followed him from the ground floor. Blondie groaned and pinched the bridge of his mask as he threw his head back.
"Do you ever stop doing that?" He hunted. You cocked your head to one side.
"Doing what?"
"That thing."
"Be more specific, sweetheart."
"THAT thing! When you called me that word, or when you did that thing in the alley!"
"... Do you mean flirting?"
"Sure, let's call it that. Do you ever stop doing that?"
"Not when you're around🖤~"
"I swear, if it weren't a crime, I'd kill you."
You chuckled at the sound of his annoyance. He didn't know what flirting was! In its own way it was kinda hilarious, but also kinda sad. Was he really that disconnected from the world?
"Speaking of crimes," The Golden Guard interrupted your train of thought. "You, Specter Soltare, are under arrest for crimes against the Emperor!"
You stopped walking and just stared up at him.
"Honey, we've tried this already, and it ended up with me getting away!" Your hand lifted towards the roof. "There's an open exit right there! Nothing's stopping me from doing it aga-"CRASH!!!!