Twisted Choices

Chapter 22

Trying to teleport out of haste didn't work quite well for him.

So Hero fell side-first on cold and hard wood planks. He sat up, rubbing his temple as it hurt from colliding with the floor. He murmured curses to himself as he got up, before stumbling a little. He held tightly to his bed, but ended up falling onto the soft duvet. He sighed as he stared at the ceiling.

Things were changing.

He thought that he'll be general until he retires, then die some boring death in a old cabin in the woods with fifteen cats.

He's 21 now. He never thought that he would live until this age when he was still with his father. Now, he has magic, and there's some weird shit going on and Darryl probably has theories that Hero was most probably not a human. He himself also noticed, but he did not really give it attention. He noticed that his eyesight has improved, greatly. Years ago he was a little shortsighted, which caused him to be clumsy. Ever since he joined the underground, his aim with guns and bows were extraordinary.

He even caught sight of two of his soldiers banging in the kitchen late at night.

He made sure the food were still... Uncontaminated.

His reflexes were ridiculously fast. A group of soldiers were having a small brawl in the dining hall and a half eaten apple had flown towards him from behind. He had no idea why his hand shot up, but was puzzled as to why there was an apple core in his hand. He turned around to glare at the now silent soldiers before crushing the apple into bits and throwing in onto the floor. He demanded them to clean up the entire dining hall afterwards.

Nearly all senses have increased. He smelled rotten food in the kitchens all the way from his room, and ordered the cooks to get rid of it. Surprisingly, the cooks did not even smell anything. Hero heard some nasty rumors being spread in the dining hall from outside, and his soldiers were given punishments. Five rounds around the castle, if you stop or start walking, another round is added. When surrounded by machines, the incessant high-pitched sounds made him go mad.

He sighed and got up from his bed, deciding that a warm bath could help him ease down. He was wrong. After stripping himself and taking a good look at the mirror, he released the concealment charms on his skin. His skin was (baby)soft as ever, but was littered with ugly and nasty scars. Small scars on his arms, long and wide ones on his chest, long and thin ones on his back and more and more small scars on his thighs and his calves. There were dark marks on his shoulders and waist from burns and bad bruises. Usually from his father or being around explosives. The scars were also from his father and the battle.

He stared dully at himself. Long strands of golden hair dangled in front of his eyes. He pushed them behind his ear, before biting his lip at his eyes. He was born with dark blue eyes, and now, they were pale. He couldn't see the blue anymore. He couldn't see his irises. He looked blind. Dianne used to tell him that undeserving boys got pretty eyelashes, and he realized that he was one of them. He chuckled bitterly at the nostalgia. He never seemed to fit the role of a general, according to first impressions. He looked nice and pretty in royal robes, not stern or terrifying. His height had always been a bitch. He no longer had that much of an appetite anymore, only having small pieces of bread and a cup of coffee everyday. So he looked small, weak, frail, and even feminine.

He hated it.

But it does come with benefits. Merchants from other countries try to steal from the castle. And when the pretty, slender general greets them, they let down their guard. And once Hero finds out, the merchants get to meet his soldier personality, and none have lived to tell the tale.

He sighed and turned away, preparing the bath tub. After it was half full, he sank into it with a groan, man, he deserved this. He soaked for a good five minutes before he started actually washing himself. He had to sleep early today, so he could wake up in a good mood. Hopefully. Then after a short briefing with his soldiers, he needed to do a ton of paperwork, do his rounds in the castle, base and the towers, before entertaining Markus. He sighed and leaned back.