The Ward's Guard

"Then why didn't you say ignored if that's what you meant?" Caden asked as he placed his hands on his hips, slightly annoyed at the apparent miscommunication.

Caden watched her with a mix of concern and confusion, "what the Maal . . ."

"What the blazes is so funny?" --- Corporal Fischer followed closely behind his captain as the regular inspection was performed. He saw a nod of respect every time the captain passed a man wearing the Praetorium emblem, and Fischer noted their impossibly professional postures and uniforms, constantly feeling the pang of worry that he wasn't quite meeting those standards. Every time his captain glanced in his direction, he straightened his back as much as he could and tried to adopt the emotionless expression of the guards around him, only to feel it slowly slip away as he walked. He sharpened his blade, he cleaned his uniform, and he polished his armor just as the rest, but even with his first month in the Praetorium Guard under his belt, he still felt that he wasn't quite meeting the expectations. After what seemed like an eternity, the men they were walking past changed, and so did the captain's attitude. As more and more of the men wore the King's emblem, the captain growled and glared more, trying to get them to correct their postures. To their credit, they did, but the second that they thought they were out of Fischer and the captain's sight, they went right back to their slouched position. The captain spoke without looking towards Fischer, "if anything, let these poor fools be an example of what not to become. You understand, my boy?" Fischer nodded, trying to look respectfully even though he was technically a seasoned warrior. You had to be in order to be accepted among the ranks of the General's personal guard. It just didn't help that he was the youngest recruit brought in by the General's command, ever. "Yes, sir." The captain nodded, but continued to growl and shout at the men he passed. Fischer winced on behalf of the guardsmen, knowing full well the wrath of a captain of the Praetorium Guard. Fortunately, this inspection didn't have much more ground to cover, but at the rate that the captain was stopping to shout at the king's men, it would seem like an eternity.

Caden furrowed his brow as he spoke, "unless you try to fight me, I can't think of a reason why I would toss you aside into a wall."

"It's my bed, surely you can find another that is just as comfortable."

"Well then, what do you propose?" Caden folded his arms.

"I want my room for myself," Caden stated.

"Do friends share bedrooms?" Caden asked, a small sense of genuine curiosity entering his voice despite the overwhelming amount of skepticism.

"You spoke of having," the general paused, "what did you say, friend?"

Caden paused again, wishing for some sort of clarity. "I'm not sure why you want that so badly."

After a moment of deliberating, Caden slowly nodded. "I suppose so."

"To avoid spending wealth on unnecessary decorations," Caden told her matter-of-factly.

"How far did you take it?" Caden needed to know how much of a dismal dungeon she had turned it into before she went anywhere near it, but knowing how persistently annoying the Raveness was, he doubted he would get a straight answer.

Caden looked at her with suspicion, "what exactly did you do?"

Caden stopped suddenly, he didn't move or speak for a moment before looking towards Riva. "Why the Blazes would you burn my bedding?"

"It's still on the table," Caden mumbled to himself without looking up towards the Raveness. "If you're offering my room back, then I'm expecting everything that was in there when you stole it to still be in there."

"What do you really think that it achieved?" Caden made a fist with his left hand, "my thoughts are my own, and the decision on whether or not to share them will remain my own, understand?" ---- The sergeant scoffed as Allivia walked away, he then turned around to the palace guard. "Tell me everything you know about her, guardsman." He felt a bead of sweat trickle down his brow, "I don't think that's a terribly good idea, uh, sir." "I disagree," the sergeant regarded the man that stood before him distastefully, "and I think our commanding officer will as well."

"Nothing," Caden said too quickly as he turned back to his meal. "What I wanted to ask you was whether or not you think I should trust you after what you pulled last night." --- "So you haven't tasted Praetorium steel, then?" The sergeant smirked, "we take very poorly to any breach in our sense of professionalism, and if someone of lesser rank believes they can push us wherever they want, we push back." The palace guardsman took a nervous gulp, unsure on how to proceed as he reviewed the consequences of crossing the sergeant against crossing Allivia. He hesitated. With a clink, the sergeant's blade started to be slowly drawn from its scabbard. "How hard are you willing to push, serving girl."

"That drugged tea placed me under your influence," Caden said, looking up only to pause, taking in her appearance for the first time since she has entered the room. "Are you . . . What?" ---- "Then let me make one thing perfectly clear," he stepped towards Allivia until he stood right before her, placing his hand on the hilt of his blade. "Turn around and leave now, or I'll toss your corpse to the swine myself." The palace guard's heart nearly stopped at the threat, "Sergeant!" He leapt forward to try and gain the larger man's attention, "I mean, sir. That seems a little much, don't you think?" With a single glare, the Sergeant caused the palace guardsman to stop in his tracks. "If you, a serving girl believes that she can bully her way past the King's own guards, then such a breach in security must be addressed immediately."

"What are you trying to pull on me?" Caden asked her while raising his eyebrow. ---- The sergeant didn't look the least bit intimidated, but instead paused to consider something. "You said your name's Allivia Nordy, correct?"

Caden opened his mouth to argue, countless points that he had thought of after the argument the night before pushing themselves into his mind before he stopped himself, actually acknowledging what she had said. He lifted his cup, looking uncertain. "Uh, yes. That's the point I was trying to uh, make." ---- "You're a serving girl," the man stepped out into the light, illuminating the Praetorium emblem that was on his shoulder. "You have no authority to enter this chamber, and you will return to your duties. Understood?" The palace guard coughed to try to mask his surprise at the sergeant's words. He cleared his throat, but kept silent for the moment, intrigued and worried at how this interaction would end. He felt that he should intervene, but his curiosity held him back for a moment.

"Did I say that you could enter?" Caden asked without looking up. ---- "On who's authority, serving girl Nordy?" The man asked critically. His companion groaned, bowing his head and placing it into one hand while leaning onto his spear with the other. "Just let her through, makes everything easier." The man snapped around to face him, "'just let her through' what, soldier?" "Just let her through, Sergeant Wagner, sir," he said with a sigh. The sergeant scoffed, "you could at least stand at attention. Now," he turned to face Allivia again, "on who's authority?"

While he swung his body weight, trying to stretch his sore muscles from his "drills" last night, Caden took deep breaths to slow his thinking. He was almost sure on what to think about the Raveness, his answer not changing from the night before, but something felt off as he went through the motions. He cursed himself for allowing such feelings to cloud the judgement that he had relied upon for years with no failing to this day, why now? He grunted, a new pain arising in his shoulder. He knew he was getting older, but he refused to lower the intensity of his drilling, especially after his shameful actions the night before. He should have never trusted that witch, but now that his moment of anger had passed, he had spent the entire morning pondering on what had happened, his gut twisting and turning at thoughts that came to his mind. He missed the clarity that came with his anger, the singleminded focus on the task at hand, none of this contemplating and questioning. He sighed, turning to the cold and plain breakfast that still stood on the desk in the captain's office that he was in, placing his hands on his hips as he realized that he hadn't quite recognized how hungry he was. The guard on the left perked up from his lazy posture before smiling knowingly, "of course, ma'am." He gestured towards the door as the other guard, far taller and muscular than the other as he stood just out of the light to make the details of his face obscured, lifted up his arm to stop Allivia. "What business do you have here, server?" The first guard sighed, exasperated.

Caden handed the sealed letter to a messenger that detailed to the King precisely why he needed to speak with him immediately, then stormed to the Captain's office near the barracks that he had taken residence in ever since she had stolen his personal chambers. Just thinking about that lying witch made his blood boil again, causing him to slam the door behind him to the point that it rattled on it's hinges, threatening to fall off. It was so foolish of him to let his guard down for a moment, and he caused himself pain for it. Never cutting himself, no. A warrior never inflicted that sort of pain. The general winced as he recalled the many, many times that his father had drilled that lesson into his head, forcing him to perform drill after drill. Never cut yourself on purpose, the enemy does that for you. He grimaced as he yanked out his blade, his muscles sore from his rigorous training regiment from earlier. That didn't matter, soldiers never whine or complain at pain, they never stop training, and they never let themselves be fooled by terrible witches. He swung his blade at each thought, accepting the agony that came from his arms. He would never let her trick him again, and he would never fall for another one of her lies. He would rather die then let that happen. He sighed, dropping the blade and collapsing in a nearby chair, closing his eyes and hating how much his anger taxed him nowadays. He didn't know what to do about the Ravenness. He thought she had actually been interested in him, and that she had been genuine. He always had suspicions that she was lying, but it hurt how much he had believed her lying words, and even waiting then to be true for but a moment, only to have his suspicions confirmed. He sighed, dozing off with no viable solution in sight, but he knew that he could never trust her, right? ------- With a sigh, sergeant Johann open the door to the Palace Garrison, barely looking up at the man behind the nearby small desk as he approached. "Disturbance in the Medical Wing, one of the staff defused it before it became an issue." The man nodded, grabbing a piece of parchment and preparing to write on it. "Did you have to actually do anything?" "Nah," Johann waved aside the comment, "don't even bother filling out the paperwork." The man cleared his throat, causing Johann to actually look up to see him nodding his head towards a group of men who were standing near. Johann wouldn't have given them another thought upon first glance, but with a closer inspection, he noticed the Praetorium emblem on their shoulders. Johann turned back to the accountant, raising an eyebrow. "Is there a reason I should be worried?" Just as Johann finished his statement, the Praetorium men strutted towards the two. "What is going on, here?" The man's accent matched his demeanor, unreasonably rigid and professional past any logical point. "Nothing," Johann glanced at the man's rank insignia, "captain, sir." "I expect you," the captain glared at the man, "to stand at attention when a superior is addressing you, soldier!" Johann jumped at the shouting, struggling to stand up straight and at attention on a whim. "Sorry, sir." The captain sneered at the apparently sloppy posture, "now, what are you reporting, soldier!" "A disturbance in the med wing, sir." "Who was involved?" The captain stared down the sergeant, daring him with his eyes to step out of line. "Uh, members of the serving staff, sir." Johann struggled to swallow, trying to calm his own nerves. "Names, sergeant?" "I didn't get them, sir." "Then what are you doing here, soldier!" "Sir?" Johann asked, uncertainty practically drenching the single word. "In order to finish the report, you need names, boy!" The captain glared at the sergeant, causing him to sweat across his brow. "But sir, nothing came o-" "You will not speak unless spoken to, boy!" The captain shouted, "you palace children are the worst soldiers I have ever seen! I have watched peasent militia perform more competent and professional than you hopeless lot with only a single day of training!" The sergeant clenched his lips shut, trying with all his might to not speak in the defense of the palace guard. "If the general let us have our way," the captain continued, "we would have all of you back through basic training!" He turned around, "now get back out there, and finish your report, soldier! Lives are at stake, and I will not allow your palace indolence put them at any more risk, now do your Star's Blazing job!" The captain left, leaving Johann standing at attention until he was out of sight. As soon as Johann knew he was gone, he bit his thumb after him. "Stuck up Praetorium's, I'd let Mal at them all without raising a finger to help them." The accountant shook his head, "just let him be and make up a few names so we can get this done." "Fine, Arthur, but I still hate him." The accountant, Arthur, shook his head and spoke under his breath. "Get in line."

Caden threw open his study's door, shouting in anger as he did so. He wanted to sit down and finish the letter to the king, but any measure of focus elluded him as he thoughts turned back to the dinner, over and over again. He ground his teeth, cursing that infernal witch and her lying and scheming ways. It wasn't just that she had lied to him over the tea, but it was that he should have known better then to trust that horrible woman. She drugged him only to toy with his emotions, force him to speak his mind and reveal all of his secrets. She was better than he had ever feared at feigning sincerity, forcing him to bend to her whim and coddle her like some love struck plaything. She was always lying, always scheming, and he lacked a reason for why he had allowed her to convince him otherwise. He paced the room, his blood pumping too fast for him to sit down as he started to swing his arms, trying to release the anger and frustration at both that twisted and vile woman, as well as at his own foolish self. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to shut out how deeply her words had cut him and cursing himself for even letting him be affected by her. He started to practice breathing slowly, trying to force himself into a state where h could finish his work. One breath at a time, he felt his heart slow, and he moved to take the seat once more. With a glance at the parchment that the hunter had left behind, Caden read a note offering a thanks for the payment that the hunter had received, and his breath got caught in his throat. That woman had the audacity to explode with anger at him over letting a man in her personal chambers for but a few moments, when she had stolen his when he had explicitly told her not to even go into that room. He clenched his fists as he felt himself shooting into a standing up position, unable to keep himself in his chair. He drew his blade as all of his previous frustration at that witch came a head with a swing of his blade against the chair. He grit his teeth, unsatisfied with the lack of response from the inanimate piece of wood. He felt the distinct need for something to squirm and panic under his blows, not this boring an useless chair. With very little effort, Caden yanked the blade from where it had been lodged in the wood, and stomped out of the door of his study. His burning and undeniable fire that pushed him to take each step fueled by both his frustration over his stolen room, and the Raveness's unjust reaction over his admission. "If she wanted to yell and shout over someone violating her personal property, then perhaps she shouldn't practice it, herself!" Caden took a shaky breath, cursing himself over allowing the Raveness to poison him once more. If she wanted to use her poisons to harm him, the all he would have to do is disar- "No," Caden shook his head, "that won't help at all." He turned dramatically from his unconsciously chosen path to the room that he had been told the Raveness was "setting up shop" in, moving instead to the training field to deal out his anger in a more productive way. He wouldn't go down to her level, not yet.