Chapter Text
Today almost everything had gone perfectly for the Golden Guard. This was something that practically never happened. The night before he had actually gotten a whole six hours of sleep compared to the usual three or four he got. He felt a bit more refreshed, alert, and energized because of that which felt quite nice. On top of that, for his morning shift, all he was assigned to do was simply patrol the castle and order coven scouts around, an incredibly easy task. When lunch came around, the castle chef served him a lot more food than usual. Although that was rather odd, Hunter wasn't complaining one bit. The more food he ate the more fuel he had to carry out his duties. Finally, for his afternoon shift, he was assigned a very minuscule list of wild witches to be captured and placed into covens. The list was literally only six people which was also somewhat odd, as usually, these lists were dozens of names, but, again, Hunter wasn't complaining. The less work the less physical and mental strain. He had captured them all with ease, and better yet, Kikimora hadn't even tried to hinder him, unlike the last time he had a mission like this. Now he had plenty of free time to do whatever he wanted, another thing that was extremely rare for him. Today could not have gone any better.
It was five in the evening as Hunter eagerly approached the throne room. He was still in full uniform, mask and all, and was on his way to inform Belos that his mission had been completed. He was beaming with excitement as he had done everything flawlessly today. His uncle was gonna be so proud! He was gonna make the titan proud! He couldn't wait to make his report. He pushed open the enormous doors and entered the throne room. Belos was also in full uniform, sitting on his throne reading a report sent to him from a scout. He looked up at the approaching Golden Guard, making an annoyed face under his deer-like mask. Hunter promptly bowed to him, a grand smile hidden under his own mask, "O grand highness and my beloved uncle," Hunter proclaimed, "I am pleased to inform you I have successfully captured all your enemies on the list! They soon will be bound into your brilliant coven system, purifying their magic just as the titan intended!" The young boy beamed. He smiled more under his mask, excited to hear his uncle praise him for his accomplishments.
Belos glared down at his 'nephew' with his glowing blue eyes. He wasn't impressed in the slightest. This was just another job completed, and these jobs were so easy a toddler could do them. Although he had to admit, it was rather amusing to see the little boy's enthusiasm over such meaningless things. "The Titan has big plans for you, Hunter." The Emperor said flatly, "Maybe if you continue to be successful, one day you might stand the chance of making him proud." Belos held back laughter, as it was rather fun manipulating this grimwalker just like he had done to the dozens before this one. He had made his missions purposely easy just to butter him up, and Belos was thrilled for Hunter's perfect day to be ruined when he heard the news, "Now, I want you to go talk to the castle chef. That will be all, Hunter. Dismissed." Belos ordered.
Hunter left the throne room feeling confused and disappointed. He had really expected his uncle to give him a lot more praise than that. After all, he had done everything flawlessly today, but he supposed beggars couldn't be choosers. He had to take what he could get.
However, that was the least of his concerns. Why on the isles would Belos want him to talk to the castle chef? This was an order that Belos had literally never given to him before. In fact, he hadn’t even told him what he wanted him to talk to the chef about. It wasn’t like the emperor to give such a vague order. Did his uncle want him to bring him dinner or something? Definitely not if he didn't mention what he wanted to eat. How perplexing…
As he approached the dining room, Hunter figured that since he had no idea what Belos wanted him to do, he might as well get himself some dinner while he was there. He wasn't hungry yet due to the massive lunch he had been served earlier that day, but he didn't really care at the moment. 5 PM was the beginning of one of the windows where Belos permitted him to eat, and he'd rather skip the dinner rush that always began at six. Hunter spotted the chef preparing the table for when most of the castle inhabitants would eat dinner, and he promptly sat down in his assigned seat. Hunter slid his mask to the top of his head to expose his face, preparing himself to eat, "Hey, Chef Clementine," he greeted, "Belos wants me to talk to you for some reason, but I don't know why, so just whip up the usual."
Chef Clementine bit her bottom lip, scratching her head nervously. She knew she had to break the news to the poor kid. "I'm sorry, Golden Guard," she apologized, "but I can't serve you anything tonight."
Upon hearing that, Hunter didn't take her seriously in the slightest. He couldn't help but burst into a fit of laughter, "I'm sorry? Did my ears just fool me?" He said in between giggles and snorts, "Who put you in charge? Have you forgotten that I am your superior? I get to tell you what to do, not the other way around." Hunter's laughter faded, knowing he had to get serious, "Since you're clearly deaf, I said I want the usual." Hunter then pulled out his artificial magic staff from under his cloak, pointing it at the cook as a threat, "Now, you don't want me to tell you a third time, do you?"
Chef Clementine took a few steps back, her stomach dropping. If the Golden Guard was already threatening her over this, she was horrified to think of how he might react when she told him this next part. "M-My deepest apologies, sir, but, please listen, It wasn't my decision. Trust me, I'd definitely give you what you want if it were up to me. It's Emperor Belos' orders. He ordered me to not serve you dinner tonight."
Now it was Hunter's stomach that was dropping. He instantly lowered his artificial staff as he realized what was happening. This was why his uncle had wanted him to talk to the chef. "W-What?" Hunter mumbled in shock, his sass vanishing into thin air. He tried to go through everything he had done today that would warrant this kind of punishment, but he had done everything perfectly, so why would Belos be doing this to him? "B-But…! I didn't even do anything!" Hunter cried.
The chef sympathized with Hunter, knowing the poor kid didn't deserve this. "I know you didn't." She said with a frown, "The Emperor said you aren't to have dinner to make sure you don't do anything."
Hunter was desperate to believe this was some sort of sick joke, that the cook was just pulling his leg or something. He had done everything perfect today, and he had been putting 110% into all his shifts ever since the last two times he had gotten in trouble. He had to be back on Belos' good graces by now, right? "Please, tell me your joking, madam," Hunter pleaded, "I don't understand why my uncle would do this when I haven't done anything wrong recently!"
Chef Clementine frowned more, seeing that desperate look in the kid's eyes broke her heart. "I wish I was joking, sir, but unfortunately I'm not." She eyed at her surroundings, making sure no one else was around. When she saw nobody, she leaned a little closer to Hunter. "Listen, I gave you that big lunch for a reason." She whispered, "I wasn't even supposed to do that, so please don't tell your uncle about that, sir. I need to keep my job. I have a wife and son back home."
"I should've figured something was up when you did that," Hunter whispered back with a frown. Hunter then realized that if the chef had sneaked him extra food during lunch, maybe she could sneak him some food right now. It was worth a shot to ask. "Wait, if you did that before, can't you just give me something right now?" Clementine looked down at him, quietly shaking her head 'no.' Hunter broke into a nervous sweat, knowing he was running out of options fast. He really didn't want to do this, but if he wanted to eat, his last option was to try and blackmail her, "You're leaving me with no choice, Clementine." Hunter mumbled while rubbing his nose bridge, "If you don't serve me dinner I'll be sure to tell Belos about you defying his orders and sneaking me extra food during lunch. You will lose your job without a doubt, but listen, I'll offer you a deal. If you give me dinner I promise not to say a word, so, if I were you, I'd just sneak me some food. Do we have a deal, chef?"
Chef Clementine groaned. Why was her boss a bratty teenager? She had tried to help him and this was how he repaid her? Well, if he wanted to play the manipulating game, she supposed she could play along. She took off her mask, exposing her pale white face, brown eyes, freckled cheeks, and dark blue hair, glaring at Hunter in the eye, "You're really gonna do this, sir? You do realize you'll not only take me down but yourself too, right? You'd not only be telling the emperor that I defied his orders, but you'd also be telling him you also hadn't caught me and had gobbled all that food right up. Now, that doesn't sound like such a wise thing to do, huh, Golden Guard?" Hunter's face heated up as he scowled in anger. He knew she was right, but it wasn't like he was gonna admit that to her. His last ditch effort had failed and it looked like he wasn't gonna get to eat tonight. Clementine sighed, rubbing her nose bridge in annoyance. "Sir, listen. I would like to give you something, I really would, but Belos said that this was also the will of the titan. Neither of us want to dishonor a god, do we?"
Hunter felt his blood boiling inside his vessels. If this was the will of the titan, then he had no choice, but that didn't mean he wasn't mad about it. However, he knew he couldn't just blow up in the open. He needed to get to his room first. He slid his mask back down to obscure his face, standing up from his chair "Excuse me." He muttered as he stormed off to his room.
Chef Clementine watched as he marched off, letting out a pained sigh. "I'm sorry…" she mumbled to herself.
Hunter swung open the door to his room, and he would've slammed it shut too if he wouldn't have gotten in deep trouble for that. Flapjack had been patiently awaiting his owner's return and was excited to see him back, but he was shocked to see Hunter practically throwing a temper tantrum. Hunter growled in fury as he threw his mask, cloak, and Golden Guard tunic on the floor, not even bothering to put it in its correct spot. He tossed himself on his patchworked bed in his yellow button-up vest, belting out a groan of fury. Flapjack flew in front of him, tweeting to ask what in the world was wrong.
"Uncle is denying me food again!" Hunter bellowed, burying his face in his hands, "And this time I didn't even do anything! It's apparently to make sure I don't do anything, and it's the will of the titan so I can't get around that!" He whined as he flopped his arms to his sides, sighing, "I know I can't defy a god or Belos' orders, but this SUCKS!"
Flapjack frowned. The poor boy didn't deserve this. He rubbed himself against Hunter's cheek, tweeting soothing and loving things to him. It's gonna be okay. I'm here for you. Let it all out. It's okay to be upset. Were some of the things the little cardinal cooed to Hunter. Hunter hardly ever heard such kind and caring words, so this managed to completely cool off his temper. However, the boiling rage he once felt was now replaced with deep sadness. He may not have been hungry yet, but it was only a matter of time. It was gonna creep up on him at the worst time and then gnaw at him all the way until morning. It always did whenever this happened. He couldn't stand another night of having to sleep on an empty stomach but knew there was nothing he could do.
Hunter slowly rolled over to his left side. His eyes hung low as the acceptance of his situation settled in. Perhaps he should've seen this coming, "Maybe I do deserve this…" he mumbled as he sadly stared at nothing, "I failed my palismen mission and then stupidly defied uncle's orders to go to Eclipse Lake. That must be the reason why he's doing this. I guess It makes sense that he wants to make sure I won't screw up again." Hunter closed his eyes, curling himself up into a ball, "I must be making the titan upset with all my failures…if this is the will of the titan this must be his punishment for me." He muttered as his heart broke at the thought that he wasn't good enough for the titan…or anyone.
Flapjack couldn't stand to see Hunter like this. He knew that what Belos was doing to him was a load of balderdash. Flapjack began pulling Hunter's hair, causing him to jolt, "Ow, ow, ow, ow, OW!" Hunter cried. Flapjack stopped pulling his hair as Hunter frantically sat up in his bed, narrowing his ruby eyes at the bird, "Hey! What the heck was that for?!" He hissed.
Flapjack tweeped at him, telling him to not be ridiculous. This wasn't his fault. Nobody deserved this. He told him that what Belos was doing to him was wrong, and that food was a basic right. No one deserved to be starved.
Hunter raised a brow, confused at this notion, "What are you talking about?" He questioned, "Of course, I deserve this, and this is a normal punishment that everyone gives to defiant people. Food isn't a right, it's a privilege and meals have to be earned; everyone knows that."
Flapjack looked at him with a very concerned look in his good eye. The poor kid was so manipulated that he thought getting starved was a typical punishment people gave? This broke the little cardinal's heart. Seeing Flapjack's pained face caused Hunter to frown. He didn't want him to worry. This was the first time Hunter had been punished out of food since Flapjack had chosen him to be his wielder, so he hadn't known about this happening. Hunter knew he had to explain this was normal for him, "Oh, don't give me that look, Jack-Jack." Hunter consoled as he gave the little cardinal some pets. "I'll be fine. Sure, it's not fun, but I'm used to it. This just happens every once in a while. I'll be able to tough it out. I always do."
Flapjack only frowned more at this. This wasn't fair to him. Hunter was a growing boy; he needed to eat. Flapjack needed to find a way to help somehow, but there wasn't much he could do. The last time something similar to this happened he had tried to force Hunter to raid the pantry at two in the morning, which nearly ended with them both getting caught. That would've just made the whole situation worse. Hunter could get in massive trouble while Flapjack could get himself eaten by Belos. It wasn't a safe idea to try that again, so he began trying to think of other ways to help. Then, he chirped, suggesting Hunter to try and negotiate with the castle chef.
"I already tried." Hunter replied with a frown, "I even resorted to blackmail as a last-ditch effort, but it was no use." Flapjack was stumped at this point. He wanted to help but there was almost nothing he could do. Then, he spotted Hunter's scroll in the corner of his room, giving him an idea. Perhaps he couldn't fix the issue, but he could help Hunter distract himself. Hunter had finished all his shifts and had the rest of the day off, so it wasn't like he had much else to do right now. Flapjack flew to the scroll and grabbed it with his talons, giving it to Hunter. Hunter couldn't help but smile as he gladly took it, "I suppose I could use the distraction." He said as opened Penstagram. Flapjack perched on his shoulder, not really paying attention to what Hunter did on his scroll. The first thing Hunter found was that Willow had sent him two messages, and not only that, she sent them only five minutes ago. Better yet, she was still online. Hunter's smile grew. He instantly checked his private messages, excited to see what Willow had sent him.
Hello_Willow: *Picture of Clover asleep in her school uniform*
Hello_Willow: She keeps falling asleep in the most random places! Isn't she adorable?
Hunter's smile grew even bigger, feeling his cheeks warming up. He adored it when Willow sent him pictures of her cute little bee palismen. Clover was adorable. He was about to send a message back but stopped himself. Something felt….different. "Something about texting the captain feels…funny?" Hunter muttered to himself, "It makes me feel kinda weird, but weird in a good way? I can barely explain it, I've never felt this way before." Hunter was confused. These feelings were new and very strange. This was the first time he realized that texting the captain made him feel something he had never felt before. "Should I ask her about it?" Hunter then froze, feeling very embarrassed by the mere thought of that, "N-No. That would be weird." Hunter had no idea what to send to her but eventually managed to type a message back, leaving these strange feelings completely absent from the message.
RULERZREACHF4N: ReMINds.me of fLaPjack. I ALWays.find him aslEEp in.the most ranDom spotS,in my rOOM .
Hello_Willow: Aww! Looks like our palismen have something in common !
The strange feelings grew stronger, his cheeks and the tips of his ears now burning. Wait- were his ears…wiggling? Hunter pressed his hands against his ears to stop them, his face turning redder. No one had seen that, thank titan. He would've gotten laughed at for such a thing, but why was talking to his captain making him feel so…weird? Hunter then realized Willow had sent him another message, so he stopped his train of thought to read it.
Hello_Willow: Have you had dinner yet? I know you tend to eat a bit early. What'd you have?
Hunter froze after he had read that, frowning immensely. He had gone on Penstagram to distract himself from Belos' punishment, not to be reminded of it. He didn't know how to respond to that as he didn't want to tell her the truth. He didn't want to worry her like he had worried Flapjack, so he knew he had to lie. He turned to Flapjack who was on his shoulder, "Flapjack, what do I say?" Flapjack gave no response, as he had fallen fast asleep. Hunter groaned, frustrated, "You really do fall asleep in the most random spots, huh?" He couldn't stay mad at him though, as he was just too cute. Hunter thought for a moment, then, he came up with his lie.
RULERZREACHF4N: had ThE.usUal. Some bREad and waTer.
Hello_Willow: Again?! You ate that last couple times I asked. It must get tiring eating the same thing over and over.
Hunter raised a brow. Did other people not get served the same thing every day? How strange. Actually, that sounded like such a luxury. Getting to eat something different every day instead of the same old stuff? Made his mouth salivate just at the mere thought of it. Hunter began to type a long message, trying to explain the strict diet Belos forced him to follow and that's what he got served for dinner every single day. However, he was so focused on typing his message he hadn't even noticed that Willow was also in the middle of sending him a message. He typed so slow that Willow managed to send her message before he was even halfway done with his, and what he read made his jaw drop.
Hello_Willow: Hey, I've been meaning to ask you, would you like to come over my place sometime? I know it's nearly a year before your next day off and you're very busy with your duties as the Golden Guard, but is it possible you can find some free time? I understand if not, I'm just curious.
Hunter felt his whole face steaming at this, those weird feelings growing stronger than they ever had before, "S-She…wants to see me again?" He muttered, covering his mouth. That was so touching. Hunter had missed her and he had longed to see her again after they had played Flyer Derby together. It would be so nice to see her in person again. Imagine how much fun they could have together. It would be such a nice escape from his daily chores at the castle.
However, there was a problem and a rather big one at that. He wasn't allowed to leave the castle outside of permitted times, and if he wanted to see his captain he would have to sneak out. There was no way he could get away with pulling a stunt like that. He would definitely get caught, and if that happened he would be dead . His uncle would be furious if he did such a thing. The whole point of getting punished out of dinner was to make sure he wouldn't act out of line again, and if he got caught sneaking out Belos might also take away tomorrow's meals as well. Or worse, there could be even more horrid punishments thrown his way. Belos might beat him again, possibly leaving him with a fresh new scar on his body. Or him sneaking out would be the final straw and Belos might even replace him.
Hunter couldn't bear the thought of all the punishments he might receive if he dared to sneak out. However, despite all the horrible things that could happen, he still badly wanted to go. He was desperate for basic witch interaction. He was so lonely here, all he had was Flapjack, maybe Darius, and even then there were no witches his age to hang out with here. He had had the time of his life playing with other teenagers, and he badly wanted some more of that interaction with people. Plus, he had never stayed over at a friend's house before, and if he went his first would be his captain's home. For some reason, the idea of visiting his captain's house made him feel this strange feeling in his belly. A feeling he had never felt there before. It definitely wasn't hunger, and it certainly wasn't fear. He knew exactly what those felt like. The odd feeling felt fluttery and warm as if butterflies were swarming around in there. Hunter put his hand on his stomach, questioning what this strange feeling was. These strange feelings that he got around Willow were clearly getting stronger. Something strange was happening to him…that's for sure. He never used to feel feelings like this, and he had never read anything about them. Maybe he could try and find some books and do research on this, but that would have to be saved for later.
Hunter then snapped back into reality, shaking the dozing Flapjack awake, "I have to go visit the captain, Flapjack." He said, "I just have to, but how? I have to sneak out to see her and there's no way in the titan's name I won't get caught. If anyone comes to my room they'll see that I'm obviously not here." Hunter sighed, lowering his head as sadness rushed over him, "How am I gonna make this work? I'm all alone here, I can't eat tonight…and I just want to see my captain again."
Flapjack knew he had to help Hunter, and quickly began thinking of ways how he could avoid getting caught. He gazed around his room, looking for anything that would give him an idea when he spotted Hunter's artificial magic staff in the corner. This gave him the idea he had been looking for, so he quickly flew to it, chirping at him to try using it.
Hunter gasped. How hadn't he thought of that?! "Flapjack! You're a genius!" He cried. Hunter got off his bed and picked the heavy metal staff up, casting an illusion of himself asleep in his bed. Hunter knew this wasn't a perfect plan. People were probably gonna question why he was in bed so early, but it was definitely enough for people to fool people into thinking he was still here. The staff was still glowing to keep the illusion up, so Hunter tucked it under his bed to try and hide it. Then, he rushed back to his scroll, frantically typing a message back to Willow. He was so excited that his message was far more jumbled than usual.
RULERZREACHF4N: I cN ome.caaptAAin.bUt it hAs tOO be. wigHTNOw. I jaVe tO sneAK.oUt.
Hunter then awaited her response. As the little dots indicated she was typing his galdorstone heart began thumping so hard he could feel it in his throat. Then, the message came.
Hello_Willow: Really? Awesome! I'll be waiting for you! Just a note, my dads probably won't take too kindly to your visit if they knew you were the Golden Guard. So we gotta pretend you're someone else. You can go by Caleb around them, sound good?
Hunter grinned ear to ear, squealing in delight and tapping his toes. Despite the fact he was gonna have to pretend to be 'Caleb' again, he was extremely excited to go see Willow. He made his next message short and sweet so he wouldn't have to spend so much time typing it.
RULERZREACHF4N: OK.
Hunter was so pumped that he carelessly tossed his scroll on his bed, forgetting to turn it off and leaving the messages open for anyone to see. Flapjack then transformed into his staff form as Hunter opened his window, flying as fast as he could out of it. Hunter was now officially on his way to see his captain in person for the first time since playing Flyer Derby, and he couldn't be happier. Perhaps this day could be salvaged after all.