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Hunter knew to expect backstabbing. That was the first thing his Uncle taught him. And the most important thing - he emphasized. He made sure the lesson stuck.
The Castle, while it was a place of order with only the best and most loyal in their midst, was teeming with the worst aspects witch-kind had to offer. Jelouse among one of them, coupled with the desire to prove oneself and strive for the best, was a deadly combination.
Hunter, being young and presumed inexperienced, could be considered an easy target by many. Not to mention the position he was in. People were itching to get him out of the way to give themselves the chance to become the next Golden Guard.
He was warned never to lower his guard.
Every attempt at friendship, comradery, or even simple pleasantries could allow somebody an attempt to stab him in the back - figuratively or literally. His Uncle had seen many promising young witches and demons fall for this. He had called it the oldest trick in the book.
Hunter thought he had taken this lesson to heart.
No, he knew he did. He never got close to any scouts or castle staff, especially not to the Coven Heads. He always trusted his Uncle's judgment.
But even then, it seems he had grown too comfortable, even if he knew the dangers lurking around.
Some were closer than others.
The wild witch got away. He fooled them with a well-placed illusion spell and slipped through their defenses. The search was still going on although Hunter got the feeling that they won't be finding him. His feelings grew stronger the longer they spent in the wilderness without any fresh track to follow.
"No sign of the wild witch," the Captain saluted them. "What should we do, ma'am?"
She addressed Kikimora over the Golden Guard, after all, she was her direct superior and protocol demanded her to do so. Despite that, Kikimora had been insufferably smug all afternoon.
Kikimora gave Hunter a sly look. "Send some scouts down that path," she pointed further away. "And you take the rest in the opposite direction. Regroup in two hours if you don't find anything."
"Ma'am," another salute, and the Captain was gone.
"I will go this way then," Hunter pointed to the path ahead. He didn't much care to spend a minute more than necessary with Kikimora.
"In a hurry, Golden Guard?" she said in that honeyed, mocking tone of hers. "If you have any ideas where to search for this wild witch, I am more than willing to listen."
Hunter scoffed.
"That is of course, if you have something worthwhile to say. For once."
He frowned under the mask, but he wasn't going to let it show. He should be heading off, leaving Kikimora in the dust. Hopefully, some beast can rough her up on her way back.
"Running away, so soon?"
"As if," Hunter said. "In case you have forgotten, we have a job to do. Some of us take it seriously, instead of having everything done by the scouts."
He was ready to get onto his staff and fly off, but he heard the sound of something rushing at him.
The next time Hunter gained consciousness it was well into the night and he was left all alone in the wilderness. He groaned and sat up to lean onto the tree he was slumped against.
His head was killing him, he vaguely remembers bashing it against the tree as he went down.
That's when the pain started.
There was a gash on his side.
As he moved around he reopened the wound and fresh blood was now pouring out of it. He didn't have anything on him that could help, all he could do was press his hand against his side and hope that would be enough to quell the flow.
It's going to be fine, he told himself.
All he had to do was return to his room. His healing kit would more than suffice, and he was trained to take care of it himself.
He took a moment to collect himself. He knew that he was attacked - Kikimora threw a spell at him when his back was turned. A rookie mistake on Hunter's part. He should have known that Kikimora would take any opportunity that came her way to get rid of him. She certainly tried ever since he had known her.
There have been fewer incidents in the last couple of months. He must have grown comfortable.
Hunter stood, and then he had to brace himself against the tree as dizziness almost got the better of him. Somehow, he managed to grab his staff, and he was amazed that it was still by his side. He expected Kikimora to do a more thorough job than that. But he wasn't complaining, this only made getting back easier. Now, he just had to hope he could fly straight and not crash along the way. That would be the last thing he needed.
On top of getting back to the Castle safely and getting his wound patched up, he also needed to think about what state the place would be in when he arrived. Hopefully, his Uncle was still up and he could properly talk to him.
He did not doubt that Kikimora already arrived back and spun some tale about him being killed by the wild witch they were looking for.
Hunter groaned. This wasn't the first time he had been wounded like this. It wouldn't have been the first time that he was left for death either.
But it would be the first time that he was stabbed in the back like this. His Uncle's warning was ringing loudly in his head. Not as if he trusted Kikimora to begin with, far from it. But out here, on a mission, they were teammates. Allies. Hunter expected at least some courtesy. He should have known better than to let his guard down like that - he knew Kikimora better than that. How foolish can he be? His Uncle is going to give him a serious talk too if he finds out.
He should be thankful that she didn't have the diligence to make sure she finished the job.