The Ward's Guard

Caden moved forward to push her back out of the room as he cursed himself for not locking the door, only to reflexively lurch backwards when she took of her mask. He looked to his two guards who flanked the door, but they only tried their best to back away from the Ravenness. When Caden looked back at the woman, he was immediately struck by her powerful blue eyes that seemed to pierce their way past the blood. He took a quick breath, looking away from her eyes as he cleared his throat. "What do you want, woman?"

Caden felt the urge to shout at her to leave, but instead all he did was take a shaky breath. Her words made sense, which only made him hate them more. "I'm not opening this door, woman."

Caden opened his mouth, but the thought of simply talking with that woman caused him to pause. He cleared his throat, "go away."

Caden felt his heart nearly stop, but after a few deep breaths he was effectively back to normal. Hopefully it would last. "What do you want, then?"

Caden flinched from where he stood in front of his window that overlooked the courtyard that was dedicated to military drills. No one ever disturbed him in these quarters. He growled in annoyance, gesturing for one of his ever-present guards to check who was at the door without looking away from the courtyard itself. There were only a few men drilling at this moment, but Caden could easily pick them out as men he had chosen for the Praetorium Guard. He may have admired their proficiency, but it was their absolute loyalty that had snatched his attention. As Caden was making his observations, the guardsman peaked open the door to peer at who was trying to disturb the general, only to slam the door back shut, his face turning pale. Caden turned around and approached the man who only wordlessly shook his head. Caden scoffed, "who wishes to disturb the king's own general!" After he called to the other side of the door, he waited for a response.

@Chasmgoat @Blessing of Potency

Caden stormed into the meeting chamber that he had set aside beforehand, whipping out his blade and striking the nearest chair, shouting as the blade whistled through the air, only to get it lodged in the wood. What he would give for a servant to be nearby for him to pummel. He settled for the chair, moving to rip the sword back out so he could swing it once again. As he moved his offhand to get a solid grip on the sword's hilt, he realized that his hands were trembling. He felt a looming sense of dread rising in his chest, causing his gut to twist in ways that caused him to nearly retch. He growled, quickly shoving away that feeling to have it be replaced by his anger. He grounded his teeth as he yanked the sword out of the chair, only to swing again and again at it, each strike becoming more and more powerful than the last as he shouted with all of his fury. Every time that the anger seemed to drain away, he could fan the flame by simply considering being married to that . . . that witch of a woman. He hated how his body seemed to freeze up on its own in her presence, how his breathing quickened, and his blood turned cold. He hated that he couldn't control himself, how she had power over him, and now he would be married to that creature. Caden's face itched, and as he moved to scratch it, he could feel tears coating his cheeks. He balled his hands into fists and screamed at he shoved aside the chair with all of his might, forcing it to shatter into pieces. He was left panting as he stood above the fragments of the chair. "Remind me," a voice, light and smooth, spoke from the darkness that formed in the far corner of the room, "to never let you near any furniture I remotely like." Caden spun around, cursing himself for allowing someone to enter the room without him noticing. Just as he had turned to face the voice, he noticed that his personal guard were as surprised as he was. In the blink of an eye, they were in front of him with their weapons drawn. Caden considered the situation for a moment, allowing it to distract him from the outrage that had happened merely seconds ago. The gravelly quality of his voice returned in earnest when he spoke to the man. "Might you be the hunter I requested?" A figure leaned forward in its chair towards the light, his face still mostly covered by his hat's brim that had to be of foreign make, as Caden didn't recognize it to be one that the noble-folk typically wore. The brim was short and flat, and the hat itself looked to be short and round, with a pinch near the forehead, as if someone regularly grabbed the hat at that spot. What little Caden could see of the man's face revealed him to be a young adult, somewhere in his early thirties. He wore a rough brown overcoat on his shoulders with a mismatched shirt and pants that looked to be from two different outfits one would see a nobleman wear. The man smiled pleasantly as he seemed to fiddle with some small metal device with one hand, making a clicking noise. "At your service, what do you need 'hunted.'" Caden watched the man carefully, "there are traitors to the king wandering the woods. I need them found so I can kill them." The man chuckled, "is that all?" Caden nodded, "they have proven to be elusive." The man sat back into his chair, making a louder clicking noise with the device, before placing something in his mouth that seemed to come from it. "Easier done than said. The question is, can you meet my fee?" "Whatever it is from the king's treasury, I can negotiate with you, hunter." "There's nothing in that room that I could want, general." The man took a moment to think about it, "what I want is simply ten minutes in the Ravenness's rooms, that's all, just ten minutes." Caden felt the outbreak of emotions that he had just experience threaten a return at the simple mentioning of her name. He spoke quickly to keep himself from dwelling on that. "If that's all, then I can give it to you." "Quite brave of you, general. I look forward to seeing how you manage that." The man stood up, revealing that he was in fact, at least two heads shorter than Caden. He then stretched in a casual manner as if he had been sitting for too long. "If that's all, then I will be on my way." Caden stepped forward, standing up straight to show his height and power. As he did so, he felt his confidence soar at the sight of the man's stature. "Remember hunter Exegesis, I will know if you fail, and I always deal with failures personally." The short man chuckled, "really general? Did you not hear my reputation? In all, I'm surprised that you're willing to risk the Ravenness's wrath for this, you people are so terrified of her, after all." "Why I'm willing to risk it is not your business, hunter. Just get your job done, and I'll handle your payment." The man smiled, "if that's the case, have a 'zu-bop of a day!'" The man let out a belt of laughter at his own words before leaving the general alone with his guards in the meeting chamber. Caden then turned towards the men at his side, "what by the Stars does that mean?"

Caden nodded, realizing that the marriage itself was about more than a simple union of two people. He didn't know what the King had planned, but he did know that he'd have to keep a close eye on the Ravenness. "As you will it, then, my lord." Caden stood up and turned to leave the room to handle a bit of business.

"But my lord . . ." Caden took a deep breath, his need to know outweighing his sense of loyalty. "Why?"

Caden waited until she had left the room, still bowing before the king. "My lord . . ." He wanted question the king's choice, but he hesitated. Doing so felt like a betrayal in its own way.

Caden held his position, hesitating to see what the Ravenness would do.

Caden muttered under his breath so that it was barely audible, "one that I stopped."

Caden took another deep breath. He could feel his blood rushing through his body, despite his attempts to keep a level head. He held his tongue, more in fear of what would come out if it were loosed, then for a lack of something to say.

Caden took a deep breath as he closed his eyes tightly before he bowed his head before the king. "Yes, my lord. Your will before mine." He did his best to ignore the Ravenness's outbursts in fear that it might invoke a similar response from him. He practiced every mental exercise he could remember to keep his head level, he just couldn't handle how much that thought terrified him.

Caden looked away from Ivian, grumbling and growling under his breath. "I don't mean to question, my lord. But is it wise to pair me with that witch?"

Caden growled at the Ravenness before turning his attention back to the King. "She can try, my king."

Caden cleared his throat, "my lord . . ." He hesitated, his face becoming a mixture of shock and disgust. "If you wish it, then I will do it."

Caden arrived at the door to the King's chambers, deciding to first quickly inspect the guards who stood at the door before proceeding inside.

Caden deepened his bow before rising and leaving the chamber. As soon as he had the King's presence, a messenger ran up to him, panting. "General, the man you asked for is ready and waiting for you in the room you specified." Caden growled, but there was a hint of satisfaction in his tone. "Gather the officers of the guard, there are changes that need to be made as soon as I am finished with this man." Before the messenger ran off, Caden had spun around to head off to speak with the man he had called for.

Caden tried to hide his dissatisfaction with not being told what it was, he hated surprises. "Very well, my lord. Is there anything else you need?"

Caden looked up to the King, "if it is your wish for me to have it, then I will accept it."

Caden cleared his throat, but it didn't extend to his thoughts. He spoke slowly, testing the King. "My lord, my only reward should be your safety as my king."

Khutan nodded absentmindedly, "yeah, sandwiches are pretty good."