Masquerade - These Masks We Wear

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

"Well, no' exac'ly." Fischer looked away, "but you were pretty drunk."

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

"Mmm hmm." Nico closed his eyes and sighed. "'ow long will I have to stay 'ere?"

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

"As long as the medic says, bu' I'll stay wif ya as long as ya like."

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

"No, you... You doesn't have to. Woulda wanna anger the general."

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

"I'm no' needed fer du'y for a while." He stretched, "besides, I can't have the person who did tha' to ya coming back to finish the job."

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

"'Livia," Nico whispered.

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

"She- No." Fischer shook his head, "she'd never do tha' to ya. Or she wouldn' 'ave back before I-" He cleared his throat, "before I left."

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

"Well, she did. I think... She seems to think Wendy is tryna steal me away from her. And... I stomped on 'er foot. She didn' like that at all... Maybe... I dunno. The woman is insane, she is."

Edited August 10, 2021 by Zephrun's Imperium

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

'The woman who stabbed you is insane? Why the blazes would you think that?!"

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

Nico smiled. "She ain't evil though."

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

"'Ain't evil?' Now I'm wonderin' if you're insane." Fischer stood up, placing his hands on his hips. "She blazing stabbed ya, how is tha' not evil?"

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

“She’s…. No ones evil.” He furrowed his brow. “At least…. I dunno. I doesn’t like the idea of ‘er gettin’ hurt.”

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

"Anyone who even considers hur'in' someone like you is definitely at least wondering of they're evil. Besides, wha' could you ever do ta be justified stabbin' over?"

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

“I’m not worth anythin’, Fischer, she doesn’t need no reason to kill me.”

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

"Tell me, wha' do ya think you're worth to tha' Wendy girl?"

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

“She cares a great deal for me. I doesn’t see why, but…. She told me she loved me, that’s gotta count for something’”

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

"Then don' say you're worf nothin'." Fischer stared Nico down, "do ya think she's a clever girl?"

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

"Yeah." He chuckled. "She... she reminds me of you sometimes."

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

"Then give the blazing girl some credit." He sat down, leaning forward towards Nico. "Both us see somethin' in ya tha' we no' only think is worth somethin', but worth fightin' for. So le' me ask ya, do you trust us?"

Edited August 10, 2021 by The Ward's Guard

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

"I... yeah, I guess I do. But it just... I'm not... I ain't a good person. I really ain't."

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

"You stop. Tellin' yourself tha' is doin' ya no good. You wanna know par' of the reason the Preatorium Guard is the best?"

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

"What is it?"

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

"While we 'ave incredible trainin' and experience, the importan' bit is tha' we think we're the best. Because of tha', we go about trying to live up to tha' belief." He paused, considering his next words carefully. "It's the belief in yourself that will take you the farthest, we can only help you on the way."

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

"It's too late for me, Fischer. I doesn't have a shot at redemption."
---------
A knock came at the door to Castle Praetorium. The knocker in question was a withered, hunched over old man and after a polite chat with the guards who answered, he asked for the woman of the house. 

"I don't know why you'd want an audience with her," said the guard. He'd offered to lead the old man up the stairs. "She's a witch."

"She is not a witch, I know that for certain," the old man replied. "She is only a woman. An extraordinary woman, for certain, but a woman all the same. All the wonders she performs are not magic, but simply her perfected science. 

"If you say so... I still think she's a creep. She put a spell on the master, you know. A love spell."

"A love spell you say?"

"Yes. How else would you explain the noises from their chambers that are so common now? General Praetorium would never fall for that woman."

The old man nodded. "Yes. Yes, she is hard to love."

"Well, this is her office, sir. Good luck with whatever it is you want."

Edited August 10, 2021 by Zephrun's Imperium

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

6 minutes ago, Zephrun's Imperium said:

"It's too late for me, Fischer. I doesn't have a shot at redemption."

"Now why the blazes do ya believe that? Why do you think you even need some grand redemption at all?"