Slash

Mission: Failed

     I pull my large black hood over my head, keeping my gaze low and hidden as I smoothly pass by the crowds. Chatter and laughter fill my ears, people drinking together and clanking glasses, merchants posted by the path, shoving their products into peoples faces for why too much coin, women hanging their clothes out to dry for their husbands....this is not what I am here for though.
    I see a large gathering of men in their blinding silver armor, all standing together, listening to the head guard, like he was some preacher spreading gods name. Perfect. They all have their back to me. I walk up quietly, glancing around at all the men, trying to pinpoint who might be the weakest, the most distracted, the most forgetful one. I spot a lone man leaning against a brick wall, his visor up on his helmet, picking at his eye. I take a small breath, preparing myself for what's to come. I silently walk up next to him, not bringing attention to myself, like I was just a poor beggar watching the glorious guards get chosen for their destiny. Then...I lunge. I quickly grab him by the throat, spinning us around so we are behind the building, him pinned up against the wall. I can see the fear in his eyes when they finally meet mine....his eyes tell me he's never taken a life before. What a great guard. I almost feel...bad...for killing him. But what's more important? Saving my brother at the cost of a couple lives...or lose my bothers life? I quickly slit his throat without another doubt, and I quietly lower his body down to the ground as to not being attention to myself. Thick, dark red flows from his neck, soaking into the dead yellow grass and dirt, staining it with was once was his life. I grimace at the brutal sight, but I don't allow myself to even feel an inch of guilt. I've spent my whole life, training, just so I can save my brother and we can run away from this horrible snobby kingdom, and start a new life together. One that is not haunted by our pasts...one where we can finally be ourselves.
   I drag the body further behind the wall, crouching down as I start to remove his heavy armor as quiet as I can. I faintly hear the generals loud, commanding, booming voice echo through the air, spewing nonsense like your life doesn't matter when it comes to the kings. That loving for the king is the greatest honor of all. That without the king, no one would even be alive right now on their own, and that's why there's no need to leave this kingdom. The king is closest to god himself, and we are yet just little mice feasting on the crumbs he throws us. Fuck....i hope no one actually believes that. It's clearly just some propaganda to keep all of us in line. But...I do know that most of everyone here does believe it. It's sad...but not my problem. My only problem is Don. Saving Don. I can only hope he's smart enough to not play into whatever this general is spewing out.
   I slip the armor on over my clothes, not wanting to have to part with them for this disguise. I put the heavy silver helmet on, flipping the visor down over my eyes. Huh...these are a lot harder to see out of then I imagined. It's like I'm stuck in some prison cell, and the bars are blocking my view of the outside world. But...slightly better than just wearing a hood and hoping it doesn't blow off.
    I stand in the very back of the crowd, my arms crossed as I raise a suspicious eyebrow as the generals words. Jesus...does this guy ever shut up? I wish I could see his stupid face behind that helmet.

   "And so, my good men, today is a day of trial...but no error. This is your soul purpose! This is what you have been put on the planet to do! Protect your wonderful king! Protect the kingdom! Your lives are nothing when it compares to our glorious king Jackson! You will all be able to die with great honor, for dying for yourself is yet but a selfish act in itself. Live for your king, fight for your king!

   Oh gods...that's so bad. Horrible, even. He's not very good as speeches. And...I'm started to speculate he's got some weird crush on the king. There's no way that anyone found that speech inspiring...

    Well...the crowd cheering tells me otherwise. I let out an exasperated sigh as I lower my head and slowly clap my hands, shaking my head at the absurdity of it all. I never had respect for the king, maybe just because he took my bother from me, but even looking past that, he seems like a cocky fat jerk. The general starts to lead us all to an open field, full of burlap sack dummies with red painted targets on their chests, all lined up in a long row, one dummy for each guard. We all take out places about 10 feet away from our dummy, and the general walks behind us, still talking, never shutting up. Maybe that's just a man thing, Don never knew when to shut his mouth either.
 
      "This is where you will be able to show your sword skills. The kingdom does not take just any boy holding a metal blade. Of course, we will be training you to get better, but if the gentleman cannot even hold his sword straight....like you."
   He stops at the man next to me, his arms shaking as he struggles to keep the blade up straight, he's probably sweating puddles under all the armor.
    "You. Remove your helmet."
   I watch with wide eyes as the man drops his sword, and slowly peels his helmet off. He looks so scared and ashamed. It's just so sad that men feel like they have to master a sword to become great men. What makes a swordsman any greater than a chef? Or a wood maker? Or a butcher? They all take skills. This poor boy was probably in the same situation my brother was. Selected against his will.
   "Your weak, boy. Even the armor can't hide your shrill arms. You do not have what it takes to protect our glorious king. Go home and hang your head in shame."
   He commands, and the boy finally just breaks. Tears start to leak out of his round brown eyes, and he immediately covers his eyes with his arm, storming off, leaving his blade behind. I feel pity for the boy, even though no one else seems to. I watch him run off, before full on running into a flag post, flailing backwards as he groans in pain before scurrying off again. I accidentally let out a small snort, going to try and cover my mouth, but I'm unable to from this stupid helmet.
   "Is something funny?"
   Shit. Am I next? I quickly go silent, standing up pin straight, immediately holding my sword up perfectly, keeping my head facing forward. Shit....what do I say? I've never had to act like I had manners before. I always have just said whatever I wanted. And right now I want to say yes. But I know I can't! And...my voice. It's not exactly extremely feminine, but it's definitely not like his. Tough aand low and commanding. I can't seem weak like that other boy. I know I'm not weak...but my voice might make him think different. Well...I might as well try to sound more manly.
"No sir!"
   That was horrible. Absolutely horrible. But...he seemed to have bought it? It's hard to tell since I can't see his face. He slowly starts to March away, making me let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding.
   "Alright men! This is your chance to prove yourself to the king, and to me! Are you ready?"
  "Yes sir!"

   Okay...how am I going to go about this? Should I just attack like I normally would? But what if I'm actually way better than everyone? That would bring me too much attention. But if I don't try that hard, and everyone else is extremely good, that would give me too much attention too. I have to be good enough to make it as a guard, but not too good to get recognized. I'm just trying to slip into the shadows so I can find my brother.

"Go!"

   I take a deep breath, stalling for just a second to watch the first man. I watch as he stabs the chest of the dummy, his form was off, his stance was unstable, sure, he got the blade through, but it wasn't impressive. Okay...I'll just to the same then. I run up to the dummy, but the second I get close enough, my training habits come through without thinking. I swing my blade, slicing her head of the dummy off, watching in horror as it tumbled down tot he ground. God damn it....what is wrong with me? Why am I so bad at following instructions? He said the chest! Not the head! I watch in fear as every single other guard stabs the chest...except me. Well...mission failed.