Chapter Text
The Blights were a difficult family to deal with. They always wanted a way to make profit, and using their children was an easy way to do so. But if you introduced fear into their perfectly crafted system, it would crumble underneath them. The golden guard hardly ever made house calls, the idea of it made him sick. Invading someone's personal life was something that often happened to him and inflicting something like that on other people made everything about his life worse. Yet he was given direct orders to confront the Blight's at their home. They had once again manufactured weapons for private use. But they managed to do so under the coven's nose, enraging the Emperor.
"You wouldn't dare make the Emperor upset over a tiny little mistake would you? Just give us the list of clients you sold to and we'll be out of your way." the golden guard said with a smirk hidden behind his mask.
Tormenting Odalia had to be one of his favourite pastimes. And getting to see the faces of her children afterwards was a joy. They despised the woman, and yet watching her get put in her place scared them. Probably because of what would follow.
"Of course. I will send them to the Emperor tomorrow. I am sorry for the inconvenience again." the woman stammered.
"Good. This was your final warning. The Emperor is not tolerant of such behavior." the golden guard turned on his heel and twirled his staff in his fingers, a final flare to show his superiority over the woman.
He passed through the exit and came face to face with the Blight children. They were all staring at him with awe and fear in their eyes.
"Would you like anything?" He asked.
"How would someone, I don't know, join the emperor's coven?" the boy asked, smirking and taking a step closer.
The golden guard froze. For some reason, he was… blushing. His heart was racing and he found himself taking a step away.
"Ed, joining the coven isn't the best option. You know what happened with Lilith." the youngest interrupted.
"I know! Just seeing mom like that was amazing. And having a coven member living with her-"
"Absolutely not. Mr Golden Guard, please convince him not to join." Emira said.
The golden guard cleared his throat, "I suppose you could enlist at one of the many stations in Bonesborough. Or I could personally set something up and talk you through it myself. That way you can think about it more."
"Yeah sure. I'm sure you are a very busy guy so if you send me a letter I can meet up with you. Or just drop by the house if that's easier." Ed smiled.
His siblings let out a sigh of relief and grabbed their brother by the arm, dragging him back to their house. The golden guard let out a sigh of relief before boarding his staff and flying away. His mind raced with thoughts about the boy. Most of them were screaming at him to turn back and ask the boy his name. He could probably ask his uncle, and if he joined the coven there was a chance they would be seeing each other far more frequently. But something about him was just so… innocent. He knew what joining the emperor's coven changed people, and leaving it changed them too. But he had a job. And if swaying a decision- a personal decision- was the only way to keep someone safe, he would never take a chance like that.
----
He landed at the Emperor's Palace, prepared to put on yet another facade. The hallways were filled with guards changing positions as he stalked his way towards the throne room. He knocked on the door, and upon hearing the words of his uncle, he entered. His uncle sat on a throne, his mask on.
"How did the discussion with the Blights go?" Belos asked.
"They will be sending a list of the clients they sold to."
"Good. You are dismissed."
The golden guard hesitated slightly, enough to cause his uncle to question him.
"Hunter, what is on your mind?"
"I've been thinking. If we can send someone undercover at Hexide, we can get closer to the human and the owl lady. They have been a nuisance for long enough and it is time we get rid of them." As soon as he finished talking, he bit his tongue, unsure as to what he should do.
Belos stood up and walked over to the boy. Hunter flinched. Belos took off his nephew's mask and let it drop to the ground. Belos raised a hand and Hunter screwed his eyes shut, only to find it landed softly on his cheek. Belos tilted Hunter's head to look at him.
"Hunter, if this plan is to go ahead it will lie on your shoulders to complete it. Do not fail me again." Belos commanded.
Hunter nodded, "Yes, Emperor. I won't fail you."
----
Hunter sat in his room, holding his stuffed toy as his palisman hopped around his bed. He started rambling to himself- and to the cardinal to some extent- about how he now had to ignore all of his emotions and pretend to be someone else. Not that he didn't do it already as the golden guard. But he just felt like this whole plan was based on his interaction with the blight kid. He shoved the thought from his mind and fell back onto the bed with a groan.
"At least if I go to sleep now, it will all be over and done with. And hey, maybe I can take you out to school." Hunter shut his eyes and felt darkness fall upon him as he sunk further into the soft blankets of his welcoming bed.
----
He woke up in the morning, his palisman cradled in the nook of his neck. He supposed nobody would disturb him, given that he jammed the door and locked it. Five times. He leaned out of his window after opening it and placed his palisman into the makeshift bed that he placed an arms length away from the window, hiding it from everyone above and below. He climbed back in and looked at his new school uniform, groaning slightly. He guessed that this was what normal children felt like every day, but he was above them. He was better than them. He was the golden guard. But not today. For the majority of it he had to be Hunter Williams. The new transfer student at Hexside. He slowly put his uniform on, making sure to cover his tattoo with plenty of makeup and put on a few 'presents' from his uncle. He moved the furniture away from the door and grabbed the school books that he had placed on it. He unlocked the door. Five times. He walked out, wearing a makeshift mask to hide his identity. Sure he knew the guards patrols and missed every single one of them, but he couldn't be too careful. As soon as he left the castle gates, he knew he had partial freedom. All he had to do was be a good student. A prodigy. Just like the golden guard was.
----
The walls of Hexside were larger than Hunter expected, and the amount of students that were running to their classes was smaller than Hunter thought there would be. His uncle had persuaded Principal Bump to let Hunter attend- even if the persuasion was more threatening to take away the schools funding- and had even given Hunter a small pendant and a woven bracelet that could mimic magic. And yet something nagged at Hunter's mind. The Bight son was in his Hexide uniform when we met. That means he goes here. If we meet I'm going to scream. He turned into his class, and wanted to run into his seat, but the teacher held him at the front of the room while the other students filed in.
"Everyone, welcome our new transfer student, Hunter Williams." the teacher introduced.
The students gave a courtesy wave as Hunter went to his seat, keeping his head down as not to disturb anyone. As the teacher went on about making multiple chords with multiple instruments, Hunter couldn't help but look out of the window. And then he saw them. The stupid boy he found himself thinking about when he went to bed.
"Hunter. Hunter, are you paying attention?" the teacher snapped, pulling him out of what he was thinking.
"Yeah sorry. Please continue."
"Alright, can anyone tell me what homophonic means?" the teacher asked the class.
Hunter raised his hand, part of his brain still absent and out of the window.
"Hunter?"
"Oh, um, is it something that's characterized by the movement of accompanying parts in the same rhythm as the melody?" Hunter responded.
"Correct Mr Williams."
Hunter smiled to himself and thought: maybe Hexside wouldn't be so bad after all. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of something hitting the window with a small pebble. He looked out the window and saw the Blight twins, giggling and waving slightly. Hunter waved back before turning back to the teacher, a blush creeping onto his face. This is definitely a problem.