Pining and Denying (A Goldric Fic)

Call

"No. Even better! It was, drumroll please, The Golden Guard!"

"The... Golden Guard?"

"Yeah! Met him out in the woods. He was really annoyed at me first, but I eventually won him over with my wits and charm."

"No you didn't. I refuse to believe that." Emira said as she and Amity looked at him with doubt clearly written over their faces.

"On which part," Edric asked, "That I met The Golden Guard or that I managed to woo him?"

"Both, honestly."

"Well, suit yourselves. If you're not going to believe me then I won't tell you about it!" He said, dramatically crossing his arms. Truth be told, their skepticism didn't bother him. He knew they'd react that way, especially because... well... Edric almost couldn't believe it either.

Out on the walk, at least the second half of it, Hunter hadn't felt like a soldier. He had acted more awkward after the fight and after Edric got hurt. And his face being visible definitely helped with that.

He'd had a tooth gap, for crying out loud. Would anyone have expected The Golden Guard to have a tooth gap? And an absolutely adorable one at that?

Emira just rolled her eyes, "Fine then. Tell me about your misadventures with 'The Golden Guard' later," she made air quotes as she said his name, "All of us need at least a little sleep before our parents come back. And when they do," Emira looked him dead in the eye, "I guarantee you that they'll be calling a member of the healing coven asap. So you better have your story straight by then."

Edric chuckled as Emira put her hand under his for support, helping him walk to their shared room.

When they arrived, Edric's eyes flickered over to the crystal ball by his nightstand. There were no alerts for missed calls, so he didn't have to worry about that.

All he could really do now was wait. And with the state of his leg, there was a good chance that he'd have plenty of time for it.

***

"I will say, I am glad that the mission wasn't a failure. I realized that shortly after the night began. So why, I ponder, did it take you so long to return? You didn't get... distracted, did you?"

The emperor's voice was calm, like it most often was when addressing him in front of the guards, but Hunter could still feel his body going rigid at the accusation.

What could he even say to that? Because yes, Hunter technically had gotten distracted and walked the wrong way.

"Yes," he settled on, "I was attacked by a particularly troubling beast and lost hold of my staff for a bit. I truly apologize for my late arrival."

He wasn't lying. He had been attacked and he had lost hold of his staff for a moment. He didn't lie.

Belos lowered his head slowly, keeping his gaze firmly on Hunter, who was in a bowing position on the floor, and for a second Hunter feared that he was going to be reprimanded. But after a few seconds of silence, Belos simply sighed, "I suppose I can excuse your incompetence, since you were attacked. But you will make sure it doesn't happen again. You know what will happen if you do." He said, tone cold as ice.

"Thank you emperor. It won't happen again." Hunter responded, almost automatically, lifting himself from his position and trudging out of the room, feeling the empopros gaze on him the whole time.

A breath he didn't know he was holding, escaped his lips as he closed the door behind him.

It's not like his uncle had specifically asked him for the details. No, he'd just left it out because it didn't matter. Edric Blight didn't matter.