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Hunter was alone in his bedroom, lying on the bed and staring into the blank ceiling. His face still stung from the cold of his last mission earlier that day, and the right cheek in particular hurt especially.
A rough knock sounded on the door, and Hunter’s heart sank. He hesitantly opened the door, and found a hand-written letter on the floor outside instructing him to report to Belos. Hunter stiffened. There was no doubt in Hunter's mind this report wasn't about anything good. He quickly went back inside his room, and put on the armor of his golden guard uniform before approaching his uncle. He pushed open the large doors of the throne room, and saw his uncle sitting tall across the hall. “You.. called for me?” Hunter asked. “Step forward, Hunter.” Hunter followed Belos’ order, walking up to Belos and getting down on one knee in respect. “Why did you fail the mission at the right knee?” Belos asked, his booming voice spreading throughout the otherwise silent air. “I’m sorry, emperor. There was a snowstorm, we were lucky most of us made it out alive.” Hunter bowed his head down slightly, the excuse sounding lame even to his own ears.
“Hunter…” Belos said, his voice sounding almost pitiful for the boy. “We have fire magic for that. Any proper guard should have thought about that.” Hunter wanted to speak back. He wanted so desperately to just finally explain his side of the story in full, but he bit his tongue. “Perhaps you were the wrong choice. Do I need to fetch a replacement?” Belos asked Hunter, staring down on Hunter from his high throne. “No.. no that isn’t necessary, I apologize.” “I’ll try harder next time.” Belos stood and approached Hunter. “Your hardest work isn’t getting the job done anymore.” Belos responded, his already cold tone expanding to anger. “If I don’t get results soon…” Belos’ voice trailed off, leaving way for a moment of tense silence. “What… What were the casualties of your failure?” Belos questioned. Hunter took a minute to search his memory. “One dead, twenty-six injured.” Hunter reported. “So you lost one of our valuable coven members, and injured twenty-six others over a bit of snow. Pathetic.” Hunter’s throat choked up a bit, but he quickly coughed back his tears.
“I do want to help guide you, Hunter. But you’re making this difficult. If you could just cooperate, I'd be able to help you. And instead you act like this.” Belos lifted off his mask, allowing Hunter to see his disappointment in its entirety. Belos dropped his right hand to the side, and clutched his chest with his left. “It hurts me to see you this way Hunter.” Belos finished off with, before turning and giving Hunter a dismissal with a simple flick of his wrist. Hunter stood, and quietly excited the room.
“Don't cry don't cry don’t cry” Hunter thought to himself over and over again, but as soon as he reached the bed in his room, he broke.