61 Chapter 61

Lara's eyes froze on his face, her lips trembling as they tried to form a smile. Slowly, he saw the way she looked at him change. Now, she looked at him just like she did the man in chainmail. Frightened.

"Do you have any experience with combat?" she wrote down, no longer looking him in the eyes.

"Yes," he said.

The chainmail-clad man said something. The others didn't respond; his partner shouted in agitation while the woman looked away. The guard smiled and put his hand on Dane's shoulder. His other hand, coiled into a fist, struck Dane in the stomach.

His colleague cursed, reaching for his sword, while the woman sat silently, trying to make herself smaller. Dane recoiled. He looked at the Sleeper, rage churning his belly. Grinding his teeth, he moved. 

He caught the man's hand in an iron grip and crushed it. The sickening crunch of breaking bones filled the hall. The Sleeper screamed and tried to pull away. Dane pulled him closer and headbutted him. Crack. The man, bleeding from his nose, fell to his knees, his mind not quite there. Dane let go of his deformed hand and kicked him in the belly. "Dog!" Dane cursed. The man sagged onto the ground, head on the floor. "Get up," Dane said.

The man groaned and tried. When his face was high enough, Dane booted it, and the guard fell to the floor in a mess of blood and broken teeth.

The guards outside the hall rushed in, weapons in hand. The guard in leather had his hand resting on his pommel, studying Dane warily. He put a hand up to the guards, waving them away. They seemed hesitant but after the man said something, they nodded and left.

He turned to Lara and barked something. She nodded and set to writing. She seemed to be holding back tears.

Her handwriting was barely readable now. "Welcome to the Castle Guard! Usually, we host the guards in the barracks, but we'd be more than happy to host you in our best chambers in the Tower of Dawn if you would be so kind as to forget the matter with Falon."

Dane eyed the unconscious man with distaste. A better room for forgiving this weasel? "Deal."

The man snatched the paper from Lara and began to write. "Name's Jimmy, nice to meet you." The paper said.

Dane shook his hand.

He turned to Lara and spoke as he hunched to write on the table. She glanced at Dane with uncertainty, her eyes darting to Falon on the floor. She nodded hesitantly.

Dane moved closer to watch.

"Your Flaw will get in the way of your life. I imagine you'll struggle to understand even the simplest of orders. So I've decided that Lara will be your," he paused, tapping the pen on the paper as he contemplated, "assistant. She will receive your orders, designations, and instructions and convey them to you, making day-to-day life easier.

"You would do well to heed her words. Doing something to offend the lieutenants or the Bright Lord himself is something new Castle Guards are prone to do. Their blood usually ends up on Harus's blade. Be careful."

"What about your friend, Falon? Breaking his bones doesn't anger your lord?" Dane mused.

Jimmy wrote, "He struck first."

"I appreciate it."

The man nodded and waved him away with a sigh, returning to his post. The receptionist, Lara, stood and gestured for him to follow her. She took two steps forward before she stopped, returned to the table, and picked up a pen and a fresh notebook. "Wait here a moment," she had written on a paper she handed him before going somewhere.

When she returned, two women came with her. They carried Falon away, holding his arms and legs.

***

Lara led Dane through the castle, writing bits and pieces of things to take note of. There were two types of places in the Bright Castle. Those that anyone could access and those only Gunlaug's host could enter. The latter were marked by the symbol of a serpent coiled around a tower. And as a member of the Castle Guard, he had the right to enter.

Of course, there were exceptions. For example, he could not intrude on anyone's living space without the inhabitant's permission or orders from the Bright Lord or his lieutenants. He was also told to avoid conflict with the 'Handmaidens'. They were the ones responsible for maintaining this castle, he was told.

As his steps echoed down the marble floors, Dane understood just how hard it was to facilitate his Flaw for the first time since he got the Keeper's Half-Plate.

Together, they gained the winding steps of the Tower of Dusk, where Lara lived. She pulled a key from her pocket and entered her room. Dane waited outside as she packed her things; Jimmy had asked her to make her dwelling in the Tower of Dawn so she could better assist him.

Dane didn't think every Castle Guard or member of Gunlaug's host got this treatment. Was it because of how he handled Falon or even before when Jimmy cautiously regarded Dane's eyes? Among the lower rung of Awakened, there were superstitions that those with bodily mutations caused by Aspects were more powerful than others. Could it be that Jimmy was superstitious?

Lara came out carrying a heavy monster skin bag. Soon, they were climbing the steps of the Tower of Dawn. Many people were here, sitting on the steps or walking across hallways. Some glanced at Dane's sword and kept silent when he passed. One woman had just opened her door but slammed it shut after seeing him. It seemed the Castle Guards weren't too well-liked…and when people feared those meant to protect them, it was probably due to abuse.

"I take it the Castle Guard isn't exactly as you described…it seems to me that the enforcers of your law are encroaching on it. Or are the laws just skewed?" he asked Lara when they found a pair of rooms just opposite each other.

She was tongue-tied. She handed Dane a key and retreated into her room. Dane walked into his. He found a sufficiently large stone room with a narrow window that was closed by wooden shutters and covered by a dark curtain.

There was a bed with a straw mattress, a chest, and a desk. The desk housed a basin filled with water, strips of cloth, a small round mirror, and an oil lamp. Dane had been warned to keep the windows tightly shut at night. Dane could understand why. 

Under the bed, he spied a chamber pot, and he couldn't help but scoff. Damn it, no plumbing. His duty as a guard started tomorrow, so he decided to make the most of the day.

He summoned the Ashborn Stalker and had it sleep against the door. He dismissed his armor, got into bed, flicked the switches in his heart, and slipped into a feelingless state. Outside, losing all emotional awareness was problematic, but here in the castle, where he was safe, he could do so. 

Maybe if he didn't feel so guilty, he might get some sleep. He closed his eyes.