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The Owl Lady would soon be captured. After all this time, all these months, all these years… That was, if everything went the way it was supposed to. It was no secret that Edalyn Clawthorne had been on the run for quite some time, especially not to Hunter. His uncle was the person chasing her for all these years after all, and the boy had been taught to hate and hunt her for as long as he could remember.
So when Lilith Clawthorne, the coven head of the Emperor’s coven and coincidentally also the wanted criminal’s sister, had entered the throne room a few minutes ago Hunter was quite sure his uncle would banish her for failing him one too many times. But being the generous man he was, he decided to give her yet another chance to capture the Owl Lady, for good this time. It was clear that this was her last chance though, and the black haired woman seemed resolved not to fail her Emperor again, so she bowed and left the room, her head held high to show her determination to obey Emperor Belos and bring her sister to him as soon as possible. And well, from the look on her face, the black haired woman seemed to actually appreciate her leader’s generosity for once…
I should hope so. He’s been kind enough, she shouldn’t keep breaking his trust.
“What was that?”
Hunter froze, whipping his head around as he looked at his uncle, realizing he must’ve said his thoughts out loud. Again. He was glad Belos couldn’t see his wide eyes and twisted mouth because of the mask he was wearing. The last time something like this happened it hadn’t been on, and that…well, that had earned him a few new scars on his body. Apparently the emperor wasn’t in the mood to punish him now though, he just tilted his head curiously as he inspected his nephew, waiting for an answer.
“My apologies, I didn’t mean to speak. It won’t happen again.”
“I do wonder how you managed to form a sentence despite, apparently, knowing you’re not supposed to speak unless spoken to. But do enlighten me, what did you say just now?” Belos repeated, his hand forming a fist to emphasize the seriousness of his words. If he didn’t answer his question now, there would be a consequence. And not a good one, that was for sure.
Great job. Now you’ve managed to annoy him and spoil his mood…
“I was saying that I do hope Miss Clawthorne appreciates the opportunity you’ve given her, at least this time. Considering her recent failed attempts to capture the Owl Lady, I mean. It seems to me that she might’ve been hesitant to capture her sister before, but in the end, she knows what’s right and she’ll bring her to you, Emperor Belos. Then the Owl Lady will be healed and won’t be a danger to society anymore…I’m certain she will be a very useful asset to this Coven too.” the boy responded, bowing slightly as he felt his uncle’s gaze on him even through the man’s own mask.
“You’re very observant, nephew. Miss Clawthorne does seem to be a bit…hesitant when ordered to capture her sister. Such behavior is quite disloyal, wouldn’t you agree? I will certainly let her know how dissatisfied I am with her work after the Owl Lady’s petrification. I assume you know better than to ever cross me or hesitate when I give you an order, Hunter. Because if you don’t…well, I won’t be as easy on you as I am being on Miss Clawthorne. The Titan and I have big plans for you, you mustn’t disappoint us. Unimportant people like Miss Clawthorne might get a second chance, but the chosen one can’t mess up even once. Failure coming from my right hand man isn’t acceptable.”
“I wouldn’t think of it, sir. I promise. I will do whatever I must to please you and the Titan. B-but may I ask what you meant by ‘petrificatition’?”
“Of course you will. That wasn’t a suggestion, nephew, you know failure is not acceptable from the golden guard. Ever. And well, the owl lady won’t be joining our coven. She refused to join us for years, and now it is too late, her soul can’t be saved anymore. Wild magic made her lose all her sanity…A petrification is the only way to ensure our home’s safety. It will put the owl lady out of her own misery and keep other wild witches who have yet to be captured in line. You understand, don’t you?”
Hunter’s magenta eyes widened even more, a gasp escaping him. A petrification was irreversible, and it was only done to the worst kinds of witches or demons…Those who committed crimes or made mistakes that couldn’t be forgiven or fixed. Was Edalyn Clawthorne really that bad? She’d never really endangered anyone openly…had she? At least not without a valid reason…
But the Owl Lady could just be placed in a coven, then she wouldn’t be dangerous anymore! We’ve done it to countless people who didn’t want to join a coven!
“I…A petrification? But you promised Miss Clawthorne you’d heal her sister and let her join the Emperor’s coven! Why didn’t you tell her the truth?”
Belos leaned back in his seat and sighed softly, still facing the golden guard as he started to explain, “I remember telling you a few minutes ago that she hasn’t been as loyal to me as is expected from a coven leader. If I told her about the Owl Lady’s real fate, who knows what she’d have done. A sibling's love can make them do… drastic things when their br-sister is being threatened or in danger. I couldn’t risk her hurting you or any of the guards in her outrage, right?”
Hunter stared at his uncle, still shocked by the fact that he’d lied to Lilith Clawthorne about what would happen to Edalyn once she captured her. His first instinct was to tell the Emperor how unfair this was, but of course he pushed this thought down and managed a small nod, he knew better than to try to berate his wise uncle. The man was smart, he could speak to the Titan after all, and if he thought lying to Miss Clawthorne was the better option then he was certainly right. But…the blond boy couldn’t help but feel like a petrification might be a pretty harsh punishment for a petty hag whose only goal in life was to spite the Emperor. Wouldn’t a petrification let her win? If Belos thought she was evil, shouldn’t her punishment be something that made her regret her choices in life instead of something that would allow her to die with a smirk on her face?
“You don’t feel pity for Edalyn Clawthorne, do you? Or for her sister?” the Emperor suddenly growled, getting up from his seat and walking to Hunter until he was looking down at him with his blue eyes glowing from barely concealed irritation and suspicion.
Hunter felt so incredibly small now, even smaller than he usually felt whenever his uncle stared at him. A shudder ran over his back and he gulped, trying to stand as straight and still as possible as he mumbled, “O-of course not, sir. I am just…surprised to hear the Owl Lady will be petrified instead of initiated into our coven.”
“I would like to know why that would be surprising. You’re supposed to be able to read between the lines by now, Hunter. You should’ve known I wouldn’t just forgive the Owl Lady for all her misdeeds.” Belos’ voice got louder and Hunter saw out of the corner of his eye that he motioned for the remaining guards in the room to leave, which meant he was in trouble. The guards quickly left the room, probably relieved to be released from their duty earlier than expected, not at all caring about their poor Emperor and the idiotic boy who made him lose his temper once again.
I messed up, I messed up, I messed up! Why am I so stupid! Why couldn’t I just keep my mouth shut and let my poor uncle have some peace and quiet so he can be well rested for the petrification and interviews and stress that’ll follow! Nooo, I just had to make him angry…
“I-I’m sorry, u-uncle. I didn’t-“
“Is it appropriate to call me ‘uncle’ at this moment? I don’t think so. Now answer my question, Hunter. Oh, and stop mumbling. You know I don’t appreciate it when you do that.” Belos interrupted him, ripping his nephew’s mask off and tossing it to the side as he took off his own mask so the boy could see the curse spreading on his face.
“Well, I was just thinking. I mean, petrification is only done to the worst kinds of witches and demons, because it is irreversible. But the Owl Lady hasn’t done anything that could be compared to other people who were petrified. Most of them killed other people, ferociously attacked our castle or stole something important from our coven…According to the papers I read, Miss Clawthorne hasn’t done anything of the sorts. I was merely wondering why you’ve decided she deserves a petrification while other witches who refuse to join a coven aren’t met with the same fate. But if you say she is too far past the point of redemption I agree with you, you know best after all, Emperor. I apologize for the inconvenience.” Hunter quickly spoke, his head held low as he nervously bit his lip.
“So…What I gathered from this is that you think our family deserved to die.”
“What?! I’d never think that!” The boy stopped breathing for a second, his eyes widening in complete shock as his hands clenched into fists to stop them from trembling so much.
“You think a wild witch should get to keep her worthless life so she can cause even more damage? That thinking got our own family killed! Wild witches killed them, they killed your parents, your grandparents, your cousins, your siblings, your aunts, your uncles, everyone! And you’re saying I should spare the Owl Lady, one of the most dangerous witches who ever lived, because you feel like it? That woman will come for you next, to end what her evil group of wild witches started! And did you ever think about what that would do to me? I would have no family left, I would lose the nephew I care so much about, just because he decided to give a wild witch, a thoroughly diabolical monster a CHANCE! You still have a lot to learn if you believe that would end well. Maybe making you the golden guard was a mistake after all…Oh, what would your parents think if they saw and heard you right now? Wouldn’t they be disappointed? Angry? They’re dead because of wild magic, and now their son is defending it…Oh Hunter, I can’t let the wild witches and their cursed magic get to you, they can’t have you. I won’t lose you again…”
“I never meant for my words to come across like that, Emperor Belos! I didn’t think about what I was saying, I never wanted to make it sound like I don’t care about our ancestors or about you! I do, I do care! You know I do! I won’t question your choices again, sir, I promise I won’t. That was never my intention, my loyalty is to you only. It’d never be to a wild witch, sir!” the golden guard was shaking at this point, his eyes burned and his lip trembled as he knelt with his hands folded together, looking up at his uncle while sniffling pathetically. He was too panicked to pay attention to those last words Belos spoke, the sentence not staying in his head long enough for it to make proper sense.
Apparently his apology seemed to please the Emperor, but he couldn’t tame his curse quickly enough to stop it from attacking Hunter. The boy saw the green blade fly towards him but he was still too dazed and shaken up to move out of its way, so it stabbed him in the shoulder and pain surged through his body mere seconds after the curse dug itself into it, a yelp escaping the boy from the sudden, unexpected pain as his knees completely gave out and he sunk to the floor, screaming in horror. Sooner than expected, the curse ripped itself out of the boy’s shoulder again and the golden guard’s vision turned white for a moment before he managed to take a gasping breath and regain awareness, at least partially.
Awful. It felt awful. It hurt. He was familiar with pain by now, but that didn’t make the wounds or beatings he received any less agonising or horrifying. The boy pressed his badly trembling hand against the now bleeding wound as hard as he could manage to while biting his lip to ground himself slightly, trying to cope with the unbearable pain taking over his body and mind and soul. It felt like thousands of needles were stabbing him in the shoulder over and over again, not allowing him to breathe or think properly. He could faintly hear his uncle growling and cursing as he managed to fight off the curse and his arm turned into a normal witches’ arm again instead of the spike it had been before.
“-leb? Hunter…boy…know…hate…when…happens…” a voice spoke, but Hunter could only decipher parts of what it was saying as his ears were pounding, his shoulder was throbbing and he felt like he was gonna throw up any minute, though he wasn’t sure anything would come out, he hadn’t eaten today…Or at least he couldn’t remember eating. And he didn’t really care. The pain was the only thing on his dazed mind right now…
A cry escaped him as he was being lifted onto somebody’s lap, and he could make out the face of his uncle after squinting his eyes in concentration as he slowly came back to himself. The man looked troubled, running a hand through his sweaty hair which was a bit odd, but nice. It hurt, because he wasn’t being gentle enough, but even if Hunter had the strength to complain, he wouldn’t. This was a rare occurrence nowadays, him so close to his uncle while he tried to comfort him…so he knew he should enjoy it as much as he could while it lasted.
“Hunter. Oh, I’m so glad you’re okay. I’m truly sorry, you know my curse…It makes me do bad things. I was fighting it of course, but you just made me feel so stressed with your hurtful words and then the curse got the upper hand for a second and that second was long enough for it to cause damage.” Belos frowned down at his nephew and played with his forelock, twisting his mouth worriedly.
“…‘s not your fault. ‘M sorry for making you mad. It won’t happen again.” Hunter muttered, slowly sitting up and grimacing as he clutched his shoulder, holding in the grunts and groans that wanted to escape his mouth. He felt terrible, but he didn’t want to bother his uncle anymore than he already had, so he forced himself to stand up, very slowly and shakily. Apparently, that seemed like a confirmation to Belos that his nephew would be okay, so he stood back up as well and put his mask on again while sitting down on his throne again.
“You know what? You’re released from your guarding duty for today. I expect you to be ready to work tomorrow, so you’d better stay in your room for the rest of the day. Finish your paperwork and then read a book or carve something. I’ll send someone to tell you when to come out of your room. Also, you know how to take care of that wound, so you don’t need to see the Healing coven, right?”
So I’m not allowed to leave my room for the rest of the day. Got it. It’s probably better if I don’t witness the Owl Lady’s petrification…or Lilith’s, if she fails to capture her sister.
“Yes, sir.” Hunter nodded his head slowly and walked to the doors of the throne room, ready to leave and slump down on his bed, when the Emperor cleared his throat and said, “Oh, and one more thing.”
The boy turned around, clutching the mask he’d picked up on his way to the door close to his chest.
“Hunter, stop thinking so much. Just do as you’re told, you know it’s easier that way. Leave the thinking to me and the Titan, we know what’s best for you. I’d hate to have to find a replacement for you, because you’re the person I trust the most. Okay?”
Another shudder ran down Hunter’s back as he processed the words his uncle had said. He was supposed to serve the man, not give him advice about things he knew too little about to judge. He understood that now. And if he wanted to stay Belos’ most trusted person, he should stop questioning his choices and just go with what he thought was best…
“Yes, Emperor Belos.”
And as he began limping back to his room, he pushed down the feeling of uneasiness that tugged at him. The Owl Lady deserved what was coming for her, and so did Lilith, they’d wronged their Emperor. They’d wronged his coven, they’d wronged their home, so punishment was inevitable. And there was one thing Hunter knew for certain now.
Uncle knows best.
The End