Darius walked through the forest, searching for any signs of the golden guard. He had been searching for hours and still found nothing. Part of him wished he had brought Eberwolf. Titan knows its acute tracking abilities would be helpful.
He shrugged off the thought; it was too late for that now anyway. He had already gone and he would not rest until he found something. Something that would at least indicate where he could be. That he was alive. He had a promise to keep, after all. He couldn't live with himself if he failed.
"Where did you go, little prince?" Darius sighed. Just as he was about to leave and try a different area, something caught his eye. Light being reflected off something a small distance away on the ground. He cautiously walked towards the object, eyes growing wide as he realized what it was.
The mask of the golden guard lie cracked on the ground, next to a torn and tattered cloak.
It seemed as if something had happened, but he knew that wasn't the case. As annoying as he was, the golden guard was extremely formidable, and there were no signs of any sort of attack.
Darius thought a moment before taking the mask and cloak, and heading back to the castle. Perhaps if he took it to the emperor, he could buy more time to find him.
••••••••••••••••••
Hunter's eyes fluttered open, eyelids still heavy with sleep. He groggily adjusted himself, so he was laying on his back, looking up at the ceiling through half lidded eyes.
He noticed that he was on the couch rather than the room. 'I must have fallen asleep while we were watching cartoons' he reasoned. He felt a little bad that he fell asleep, but he did feel slightly more rested.
He didn't get up quite yet, as he still felt too tired to move. His arms felt heavy as they rested on his stomach. His whole body felt heavy, so he just continued to lay there.
His mind started to run, as it often did whenever he woke up. He took in his surroundings, actually paying attention to the details of the place for the first time. He took note of anything interesting among the various items scattered on the walls and shelves.
He hadn't noticed till just now the giant, framed "owl lady" wanted poster hung above the couch, along with a banned poster of luz tapped to it. He let out a chuckle, amused at how proud Eda was of her status, even if she is a criminal.
He sighed softly. He was still confused. He had so many conflicting emotions. He felt safe, but at the same time he was scared of what would happen next. He was growing to like being at the owl house, but he still felt guilty. Guilty for leaving. For turning to the enemy for help. They used wild magic avidly. The very thing that killed his family and cursed his uncle. Maybe what Belos did with palismen was. . . questionable, but everything else was good, right? He did everything to help people. To protect them from wild magic, like he couldn't do for his family. Right? He wasn't wrong. He couldn't be wrong.
But they seemed so happy with how they lived. Wild magic and all. Now that he had seen it up close, it didn't seem dangerous. It wasn't hurting anyone. They lived like the families he had seen in the cartoons he watched as an escape from his own life, and how scared he was of messing up, or disappointing someone. They were happy.
He couldn't see how wild magic was so bad it could destroy a family, when it seemed to bring this one together.
His thoughts were interrupted by Flapjack stirring awake next to his head and hopping onto his forehead, looking down at him. He gave a small chirp, cocking his head to the side like a confused dog.
"I'm okay, thanks buddy," Hunter said softly, looking out the window. Still light out. "I wonder how long I was out."
Footsteps sounded from the hallway , gradually getting closer. Luz rounded the corner, smiling when she saw Hunter awake. "Did you have a good nap? Feel more rested?"
Hunter nodded, tiredly sitting up. "Yes. Thank you again, I owe you," he said. "For the pancakes," he added.
Luz gave a small laugh and sat beside him. "So I'm going out to meet Amity, and I thought it might be good for you to get some air, so I wanted to ask if you wanted to tag along? We could find something to hide your identity to be safe," she spoke.
Hunter pondered this for a moment. One one hand it would be nice to get out and see things without the pressure of being the golden guard. On the other, he was terrified of being seen and possibly brought back to the emperor. But if he was hidden. . .
"Sure."
...........................
Guess who's baaaaaack
Finally managed to finish this chapter, sorry it took so long. I needed a break from the responsibility of writing because life decided to burry me in other responsibilities.
Sorry this one's a bit short, I promise the next one will be longer, AND Edric will finally be introduced to the story. But it's still gonna be a slow burn, so just be prepared.
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy and I'll try to start updating more often again.
Bye
YOU ARE READING
Of Poison and Glass (goldric)
Fanfiction(cover art not mine) tw: slight descriptions of abuse, possibly self harm (i'll put the warning in the chapter and before it starts) Nothing is worse than the betrayal of the one that raised you. But what if it means you're finally free? Hunter can...
