ⓜⒶŁＬⓔΔᗷˡ𝔼 M𝕖𝐭ⓐ𝕃ş (Golden Guard x reader)

Masked and Beat (pt.3)

  It had been a nice past few months- probably the nicest I'd had since I joined the Emperor's Coven.

I smiled and signed the letter with the golden quill Lilith had gifted me a while ago.

See ya soon, Hunter!

Sincerely,

Cinder

I sealed the letter- I'd mail it later today, after my mission with Goldie.

Well. Mission was dramatic, to be honest. Like my mentor, I rarely did the same combat missions as Goldie- my power was more in undercover work, spying, and strategy, so Goldie and I usually steered clear of each other. Especially after the incident from a few months ago, when the Golden Guard had to...let down his guard.

Things between us had been...awkward since then.

But I'm getting off topic: the point is, this supposed 'mission' was simply to secure the perimeter of the castle while the Hexside students visited for their field trip. Make sure no one was sneaking away, keep Kikimora from getting mad and killing a child- you know, the usual.

But before the mission, I had to report to Lilith.

I finished getting ready- my usual bold lipstick, fake fang, and eye mask...

It was nice going out as Cinder, I had realized, because without all of (Y/N)'s iconic fashion, I was less intimidating. Emira and Edric both claimed that I was still intimidating as Cinder, but....I dunno, Cinder's intimidation levels had started to feel more...genuine. Like...people were scared because Cinder was cool. While (Y/N)'s felt cheap. Like a persona that had overstayed its welcome. People feared (Y/N) because (Y/N) had powerful magic and a black-and-red color scheme.

What if I were to...

I frowned and slowly tugged off my black cloak, opting instead for just my basic outfit.

Yes. Better.

My outfit looked somewhat like a casual version of Lilith's, which I built on by adding a replica of her signature blue gem- like with the Golden Guard's mask corresponding with Belos, it marked me as her apprentice. I usually wore it as a cloak pin, but today...today it would just be a normal blouse pin, I decided.

For whatever reason, the more approachable clothes felt better today somehow.

Well. Weird musing aside, today would hopefully be an okay day. It would be fun to just...wander the castle, without worrying about deadlines or death threats!

By the time I had reached Lilith's office, I found myself shockingly optimistic, actually! Maybe Ed and Em would be at Hexside's field trip today, that'd be fun. And there had been rumors lately about a human at Hexside! That would be exciting.

I swung the door open to see my mentor in the midst of a panic.

"...Um...Lilith? You okay?" I said hesitantly, taking in the sight. She was knelt on the ground amongst towering piles of boxes, digging through things- oh, papers. It was like a leaf pile of paperwork.

"(Y/N)!" Lilith jumped. "Oh- I completely forgot about our meeting today, forgive me."

I frowned. I wasn't very in-character for Lilith to forget things.

"...Are you doin' okay?" I asked, picking up one of the papers.

"Yes, Yes, it's nothing to worry about. Just a mission is all, a very...important mission."

An important mission...

My heart pounded as I remembered what Belos said...Replacing Lilith...