The Ward's Guard

"There's nothing I'd rather be, nor any other life that I'd rather live." That wasn't true, but he'd rather not think on it too much.

He nodded, "warfare is my life, and there's nothing that can be changed about that now." A sense of resignation followed his words, but he thought little of it.

Caden shook his head, "retiring?" He cleared his throat, "I don't really think about leaving my office much. Besides, I've seen no one else capable of handling the duties that come with it."

Caden snapped up, glaring at her for the use of the nickname. He didn't speak, but simply inspected her, unsure what to think.

Pior shot up from where he had been taking a nap, "well, no time to leave like the present!" He then began to hurriedly pack his few meager belongings.

"Perhaps the point you missed was old, I am not as spry as I once was." He visibly winced over the admission, "I'm still capable of fighting and killing, I just . . ." He stifled a yawn, cursing himself for not finishing the statement even with how hard he had pushed himself the night before. He hated the pain that came the next morning, but then again, that was the point of a punishment, wasn't it?

"I know many people who would disagree with that statement," Caden said, leaning back into the chair with a yawn of his own. "But I do see why you mentioned simply talking to one another last night, it seems to not be a waste of time."

"Perhaps you accidentally drank a potion that made you unreasonably giddy?"

Caden raised an eyebrow, "I've never fallen in love with anyone, why would that change now?"

"You're the one who brought up the subjects of warmth and evil," Caden corrected her.

"I don't know about gushing," Caden said, sounding slightly skeptical.

He tried to slowly lean forward, groaning in pain as his sore muscles complained at the unwarranted movement. "That's one way of looking at it," he said after he had sat up straight

Caden almost chuckled, "you might call me a captive audience."

"I wouldn't say squishy, either." Caden nodded, "and I doubt a 'warm princess' would drug her husband to get him to talk more at dinner."

"And yet you enjoy bringing warmth to my otherwise cold and dismal home," he tilted his head, looking at her curiously. "So which is it?"

"Either the Raveness is not as evil as you think, or Riva is. For this sort of thing," he gestured to the furnished room, "doesn't come from an evil torturess."

"I merely have a question." He opened his eyes and looked directly at Riva, "if the Raveness is evil, then what does that make Riva?"

"I'll admit that I agree with you, evil is hardly warm." He adjusted himself, finding a better spot in the chair. "Although I am the feared sword arm of the king, I am meant to be feared and respected, not 'liked.'" He furrowed his brow as a memory came to mind, "you told me that while Raveness was not your title, you were Riva, correct?"

"This whole warmth thing, and bringing it into my home." He spoke as he failed to stifle a yawn, "I can only imagine what your dungeon looked like if you decorate like this."

Caden paused, considering the accusation. "I suppose so," he said as he closed his eyes for just a moment. "Was that your intention?"

He nodded, "I stated before, Ivian rarely does anything without a strategy." He leaned back, a small sense of relief coming over his face as the aches and pains of last night's drilling was relieved just a bit. "These halls are cold, Raveness, I will not lie about that, they are as cold as this room was when you first entered it."

Caden groaned, rolling his shoulders to work out the soreness from his uncomfortable night before and trying to keep his eyes as open as he could by focusing on the paintings more intently. He growled softly as his mind continued to remain dull and slow, refusing to gain an edge through his anger and frustration at it. Instead, he walked slowly to the nearest chair, and went to sit down confidently, but instead he practically collapsed. Much to his surprise, the chair was heavily cushioned. He glanced up towards Riva, "your doing?"

I don't know, Caden admitted quietly to himself before clearing his throat. "What I mean is that I don't trust you yet, and that presents an issue if you want to sleep in the same bed as me." He nodded to himself, believing that sounded to be a good enough reason.

After just a moment, Caden returned to inspecting the artwork. "Not tonight, Riva." ------ With a salute, Fischer watched the captain walk off as he turned to enter the company barracks with a sigh. He may have not been able to hear the men inside of the building, but he knew what they would be up to. He rolled his shoulders, squared up his shoulders, and pushed through the door to find the men inside tending to their equipment. It was almost insufferable how much they tended to their gear, it was practically everything that they spent their free time on. He got a few glances from the men, but fortunately he didn't see anyone that he had been worried about at that moment, so he quickly made the way to his bunk that was positioned right in the middle of the room, much to his displeasure. But he didn't complain, he would never complain after everything that had been done for him. Everything was going smoothly as he started to put his blade away to be polished until he heard the door to the barracks open once more, revealing one of the company's officers, sergeant Nowak. Fischer adjusted himself so that his back faced the door, that way he wouldn't be recognized, but that never worked. He heard the sergeant's boots on the floor and turned around to be confronted by the older soldier's beaming face. "How's the young lad holding up today!" "I'm fine, sir." Fischer hardly noticed the powerful slap of the sergeant's hand landing on his shoulder. Nowak let out a hearty laugh, "that's great! We can't have our youngest member falling out on us, now can we?" "I'm still twenty, sir," Fischer corrected the sergeant quietly, trying to not draw attention to himself. "That doesn't mean anything, you're the greatest soldier on the battlefield I've ever seen!" Nowak shouted as Fischer winced, recalling the 'heroic deeds' that Nowak was referring to. "Sir, it wasn't really all tha-" "The General himself saw your actions, my boy! I was standing next to him, and he told me on the spot that he needed you among his personal guard, never seen that before in my life!" Fischer remembered that moment very differently. "Sir, it was not that much, really. I'm lucky enough to even be here." Nowak slapped the corporal on his back, "and humble too? You'll make captain before I retire!" He pushed Fischer forward so that all of the men in the barracks could see him, "let's here it for corporal Fischer, men!" A single cheer went up, with every man raising a hand into the air and nodding towards the young man, who wanted nothing more than to crawl under his blanket and wait until he was called for duty again. Sergeant Nowak chuckled again, "they respect you, boy. In fact, I know a few wish they were you." He sighed, appearing to reminisce a past that wasn't his own. "I can only imagine what it must be like for you, you're entire life in service to the general ahead of you. You'll make captain and then who knows? You might find a way to get even higher than that!" Fischer cleared his throat, trying to shrug off the larger man's arm off of his shoulder. "Thank you, sir," he muttered. "Well, better let a young man like you get his rest, am I right?" Nowak beamed at Fischer, who nodded and tried to smile in return, but it felt fake even to him. Nowak only chuckled again, and pushed the young man towards his cot. Fischer let out a breath he had been holding without meaning to, and barely got off his armor before collapsing in his cot. He could barely glance around the room in fear of meeting another man's eyes and seeing their hope for him in them. He knew what an honor it was to be invited into the general's own guard and all, but still. He would have never said no, but he had hoped to be out of the service before his twenty-fifth birthday, and no one left the Praetorium Guard lest they were retiring, even if they felt like the fraud that Fischer was. He sighed, and wrapped his arms around his pillow, pulling it close to his chest. He made a silent wish into the pillow, and drifted off to sleep in the cold barracks, surrounded but alone.

"It really means a lot to you, doesn't it?" Caden asked with a sigh.