Chapter Text
The name field was empty. It always was. Hunter had never needed one when he was the Golden Guard, the title itself was more than enough. It commanded respect and most matters could be resolved, only with the mention of it. But now, when he was simply Hunter? He had nothing, neither a title nor a family name. He thought of all the possibilities, of what he could put in this empty field so he could get some books from the library. He could always use Noceda, but that might raise suspicions. Wittebane was out of the question for reasons Hunter didn’t even want to think about. And the names of his friends? He could, none of them would mind and the thought of being a Porter, a Park, or a Blight, brought fuzzy feelings to his chest.
But one name lingered on the back of his mind, a name he had avoided thinking about. Hunter felt its presence when he sewed, when Amity used her abomination magic and when he picked up that purple pencil to do a badly drawn portrait of him. And now, as he looked at the piece of paper, the name Deamonne invaded his thoughts once again. With it always came the uncertainty, the sadness but also the same warm feeling he got from his friends. It was a jumble, as most things were in his heart, and now that he was faced with this choice, he could no longer evade the matter.
Hunter looked at the document again, twirling his pen over and over. He could feel the sheet scrunching up from the tension in his hand, his face was getting heated. This would not do, he did not want to think about Darius lying lifelessly on the ground, or the sewing lessons they never finished or the-
He picked up the pen furiously and scribbled Hunter Deamonne.
It was done. The ink had already dried, his decision set in stone. Hunter knew he shouldn’t be taking this so seriously, it was just a library card. Darius wouldn't even have to find out that his name was appropriated in such a trivial manner. But as he looked at this simple document, his feelings still a tangle of confusion, it somehow felt right. He could be Hunter Deamonne, even just for a bit.
-
He wrote it again and again. On tests, on questionnaires, on discount cards. Turns out that having a name was important when one is allowed to exist outside of their obligations. And to Hunter it was like a habit at this point. He had successfully trivialized the name Deamonne and Darius didn’t even mind. Titan, he even encouraged it.
While Hunter's sudden confession took him by surprise, Darius had told him he could use it if he wished. Documentation was already all over the place and no one would be the wiser if the family name of the former coven head suddenly appeared beside his. Weight had fallen off Hunter's shoulders; he no longer felt he was taking something without permission. And while most of the wrongness had faded away, something was still lingering on the back of his mind.
It felt temporary. A momentary solution to a problem Hunter didn’t even know he had. Surely once documentation was back in order, it would not be very appropriate to carry this name. It was not his, not legally at least. Hunter refused to think about the implications, to raise false hopes within himself. Expect the worst to avoid disappointment. It was how he survived the Emperor’s Coven and this type of thinking had yet to fail him.
But lately, it felt harder and harder to be so fatalistic. For once the good was aplenty and the bad was few and far between. Hunter knew he shouldn’t but he allowed himself to relish being referred to by it, whether it was his friends teasing him or his teachers calling attendance. It felt like he belonged somewhere, like he was finally where he was supposed to be instead of just drifting around like a ghost. And in the end, even if it was just temporary, he would carry the name Deamonne to the best of his ability.
-
"Still nervous?"
"Nervous? Of course not! I am very prepared! I know all the theory, all the glyphs and I can even name every notable abomination witch from the past 100 years!"
Oh, Hunter was nervous. Darius could hear the slight exasperation in his voice. He hoped that taking a walk to school instead of teleporting would clear his boy's mind but it seems it did the opposite; it made him overthink again.
Darius smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hunter, you ace every test, every time. If there's anything good the Emperor's Coven did for you, it was to prepare you for all subjects possible."
"Yeah I know, I just want to do good in your track. Plus Professor Hermonculus doesn't like me, so there's that."
"That old boot doesn't like anyone. He told me I would amount to nothing as an abomination witch and look at me now! Don't let him get to you but if he is excessively rude, tell me and I'll make sure he is discreetly demoted."
"Darius!"
"Kidding, kidding. Well, not really."
Hunter let out a chuckle, the pent-up anxiety leaving him for a bit. Seems like the walk was a good idea after all. Darius wished they could do it more often, but he usually got called to work early in the morning. Far too early if you asked him. But today he was to spend the day with Lilith in the Historical Society. She had unearthed some quite interesting archives that would hopefully shed light on the Golden Guard situation. If all went well, Hunter would be able to piece together yet another part of his past. If not…well, Darius would make sure Hunter thinks of the past as little as possible.
The familiar façade of Hexside came into view, the surroundings filled with the loud voices of the incoming students. Hunter did not look as nervous anymore but still lacked the usual enthusiasm with which he went to school. Darius hoped that seeing his friends before class would take care of that.
"And here we are. Do you want me to pick you up after school?"
"No, I think I'll be going to Stoneskull Square today with my friends. Gus told us there's some sort of flea market there and I want to check out if they have some animated patches."
"Very well. I will be in the Historical Society today so if you need anything just-"
Darius heard someone clear his throat beside him and the familiar face of his former abominations professor came into view. Hermonculus still carried his ever-present sour expression and Darius could feel it in his bones that this encounter would be unpleasant.
"Darius Deamonne. And Hunter."
"-Deamonne, thank you very much." He placed a hand on Hunter's shoulder again and looked Hermonculus directly in the eyes. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"
Hunter stiffened a bit beside him, whether because of the sudden touch or the casual use of the family name, Darius couldn't tell and didn't have the time to, before the professor's nagging voice took his attention again.
"Mr. Deamonne, I wanted to discuss with you my proposal to the council. It simply cannot wait."
"Did you submit it through the formal channels?"
"Yes, but-"
"Then it will be processed when the time comes. It is hardly appropriate to discuss this now when I'm dropping off my kid. And I'm expected soon so I don't have time to dally around." Darius said this with a finality in his voice as he wasn’t really in the mood to discuss a proposal that was already rejected. He turned his attention back to Hunter, not caring for any polite farewells with the professor.
"Have a good day and good luck with your test!"
His farewell snapped Hunter out of his daze. The boy gave him a hasty hug and mumbled a ‘goodbye’ before running towards the entrance.
Darius would have to talk with him about this. If Hunter felt uncomfortable with the name, the man wanted to make sure that the boy knew it was alright to change it to something else. Hunter might be using it out of obligation, which was the last thing Darius wanted, even though he had been thinking more and more about making it official. The papers had stayed in his desk cupboard for a while now, taunting him to be more decisive. But this wasn't about him now, was it? He couldn’t just place them on the table, expecting Hunter to make a decision. It needed to be the right moment if that moment came at all.
Darius found himself lost in his musings again, a common occurrence when it came to his kid these days. He had decided to walk the distance to the Historical Society, to give his mind time to process the events of the morning but also to visit the now-finished Golden Guard memorial. It stood proudly in one of the city's squares, a grand thing, made even more beautiful by the golden orioles swaying in the breeze near it. The only thing that sullied it was the lack of names on the plaque. Beside his mentor and the one before him, the rest had remained nameless which was something he and Lilith hoped to rectify today.
Darius knew Hunter's pain of not having a family name to claim so he could only imagine how it was to have neither. It was bad enough they would remain faceless, so he wanted to make sure these people got even the shred of the respect they deserved; to not be lost in the folds of history.
Despite the serenity of the place, he did not want to linger more than necessary here as it brought him no good to get lost in the past. The former head witch took one last look at his mentor's gentle face and continued on his way.
-
For once the Historical Society was bustling with activity. The usually quiet place was now full of people talking over each other, trying to decipher forbidden books, hidden archives, previously lost knowledge, and much more. The secondary search of the castle had proven fruitful, revealing more of Belos' secrets than anyone had hoped for. Almost all of them were troubling, but knowledge was knowledge, no matter how vile it was.
Darius made his way to Lilith's office, trying to avoid the flurry of papers and people before him. Fortunately, the office of the former coven head was quieter and much more conducive to any research they were about to do.
He saw Lilith pouring over another batch of documents, her face scrunched in concentration and hair ruffled by the many times she had run her hand through it. All was going well it seemed.
"I thought we agreed to do this together?"
"What..? Ah Darius, glad you are finally here! And those are not the Golden Guard archives; just some records about the building of the castle. It's how we found the secret passages after all, which I know you are well acquainted with. But never mind that." She put down her papers and pointed at a single box on her desk, "This is the reason we are meeting today."
A single box. Darius would admit, he expected more. Is he supposed to believe that the history of 400 years of Golden Guards was in this solitary box?
"Is that all there is?"
"Yes, but there's another batch of archives we still haven't touched so more might crop up. Regardless, I knew you would be interested in any piece of lore about the Guards. I had to ward off the rest of the department with a stick, they were itching to get their hands on it."
"Well thank you for that. Wouldn't want any information to get out while we still have the last Golden Guard alive. The last thing Hunter needs is any more attention to come his way."
Lilith made a face at that. One that many of his friends did whenever he mentioned Hunter. Yes, he knew he was being parental and mushy and soft. But he was also right to keep the boy as far away from the politics of the Isles as possible. If he could help it, Hunter would never have to deal with any of this for the rest of his life.
Darius opened the box and the smell of old paper hit him immediately. The documentation was yellowing, some of it torn at the edges but still intact. He didn't know what he expected but the abundance of medical records was not surprising. Belos did not treat his nephews with care.
"Notes and medical records on Hunter, on Magnus, on Isaac, and three more. That's-"
"The Guards from the fifty-year reign, yes." Lilith took half of the files from his hands, leaving only the ones about his mentor and Hunter. "It is just as I suspected. Belos might have started to keep records only after he came into power. Bureaucracy spares no one, not even false emperors it seems."
Darius quickly flipped through his mentor's file, already knowing most of its contents. Magnus had shared the reasons for his injuries and his woes, placing his trust and need for comfort in Darius. A rueful smile crossed his face at those thoughts and it fell immediately when he saw the little section dedicated to the cause of death. Lost during a mission. A lie. His mentor did not lose his life during a mission. There wasn't anything strong enough on the Isles to claim his life, besides Belos.
Darius had hoped that the former Emperor would have at least recorded the truth of that but no surprise there. Truth was foreign to that vile man, even on papers no one but him would see.
He put down Magnus’ documents. There was no use losing himself in the past now. The present, Hunter, was more important. Darius picked up the file and was greeted with more of the same. Date of birth, which he files in his mind for later use, records of all his injuries, and a fortunately blank slate for a cause of death. But there was something else. The small notes in the margins looked suspiciously like observations Belos had made about Hunter. Darius forced himself to read them, to see what he had allowed to happen right under his nose.
The sheet got scrunched up from the tension in his hand. He was barely able to stop himself from throwing the vile thing away. Darius felt a hand on his, trying to pry it away from the document.
"Darius, you are going to tear it apart. Breathe."
"Let me tear it apart, burn it even! He doesn't deserve for his words to outlive him. I would not have anyone else see what he wrote about Hunter and Magnus, and all the rest." He couldn't sit still anymore, the anger making him pace around the room. Darius knew he was making a scene. He did not care.
"Yes, you are right. I will file those away and only record the names for the plaque. No one else needs to see those… unsavory observations."
"Unsavory? That is a small word to describe…this." He threw the document on the desk, not wanting to look at it anymore. "And it is all my fault."
"It's our fault, Darius. Ours. We were too lost in our own heads and problems. And Hunter paid the price." Lilith looked away in shame, her eyes glassy.
"Yes, he did. And to think I was ready to give him adoption papers." Darius could no longer hold his tears back. He sat on the cushioned chair, staring at the floor and allowing them to flow freely. "He deserves someone better, someone, who did not allow this abuse to happen."
This snapped Lilith out of her stupor and she rushed to his side, grabbing him a little too hard. "Hey, now! None of that, you old fool. The boy adores you and you apologized and promised to do better. How can you even think of giving him hope and then taking it away like this?"
"Lilith-"
"I do not want to hear any sorry excuse that is swimming in your head right now. I thought you dealt with this after our first visit to the castle. You can't let yourself be so easily lost In guilt. Believe me, I know what it does to a person.."
Darius held her gaze for a moment more and abruptly got up from his seat. She was right as her sister was before her. He really was a fool.
"I am going to hold you to your promise not to let anyone else see those documents. This stays between us."
"Yes, of course, but what-"
He brushed off the tear tracks, straightened his clothes, and took a deep breath. "I am going home to do what I should have done from the very beginning. And…thank you. You Clawthornes really are good at this type of rough pep talk."
Lilith gave him a small nod, the tension leaving her face. She placed a hand on his shoulder and after quick good luck, he teleported away. There was no time to dilly around anymore, Hunter would be back in a few hours and everything had to be ready by then. It was not the time to lose himself to his weaknesses. For his and for Hunter's sakes.