Fowlhunter [GL]

The Warden General stood in the doorway, in pure robes and black ribbon: General Ju, with medallion-yellow hair twisted into a braided bun. Ennanis didn’t have the opportunity to see her often, as she was a very busy angel. In fact, they had only ever met twice: on the first day of her induction, and today, for their first progress meeting, to be held annually for every year Ennanis was in the Royal Division.

It was about Prometheus-damned time. Ennanis had a lot to ask.

General Ju smiled warmly. “Come in, young Warden Zoleil.”

Ennanis bowed and did so, closing the door behind them. The General herself shuffled around behind the desk.

“Apologies for the mess. This isn’t my office. Just borrowing it for this meeting,” she said apologetically as she sorted through the folders strewn over the desk, stacking up loose sheets. Amid the hustle, she glanced up at Ennanis and remarked, “Oh, how you’ve grown! Have a seat, dear, or you’re going to make me feel so short, oho.”

So Ennanis dragged out the chair and sat, trying to contain her anticipation as General Ju tidied up. Finally, the woman finished and settled in her chair, wiping her brow off with a sigh.

“So, Zoleil,” she announced brightly. “Congratulations on one year of being a Warden. I’m very proud of you. Here is your new schedule for the year ahead,” she slid the sheaf in front of Ennanis for her to read, “Have you any questions?”

Ennanis squinted at the schedule. “It’s all prison duty?”

“Yes. The longer hours will be more challenging, but I trust that you have every capacity to deliver, Golden Rose,” General Ju answered.

“How will I have time for undercloud missions then?” Ennanis asked.

“You will be exempted from leading missions,” the general said. “From now on, you are to focus on guard duty.”

Ennanis shifted. “How long will this be for?”

“Oh, only the first hundred years,” she said. “It's necessary training to temper a Warden’s mind. Being in the Royal Division isn’t meant to be work you can do in the snap of a finger, mind you.”

“One hundred—” Ennanis twitched. “Sorry, General, but I don’t want to be on prison duty for one hundred years. I want to be a Beast hunter, like my mentor.”

“All of us have done prison duty, Amanita Zoleil included, before moving on to other specialties,” General Ju said, tone turning mild. “You must have patience, darling. You are still extremely young. A single century is a short time, barely a breath.”

“But we don’t have one hundred years to waste,” Ennanis protested. “General Ju, you are in charge of overseeing the Graveyard Division nightly, are you not? Then you must know how dire the Beast situation is right now. Amanita told me so—that there was a new leader, making the Moon’s army more dangerous than before.”

In the past year, following Amanita’s ominous words, Ennanis had tried to gather information on the Graveyard Division herself. But it was harder than she thought it would’ve been. In the darkness and chaos of battle nights, information that could be gleaned from a greybelt’s testimony was scarce.

Especially when it came to this new leader. It was rumoured that all who laid eyes on her… had died. One who did manage to catch sight of the leader and survived to tell the tale, said this of her:

“A princess… hair like rivers of white death, rooster’s feathers spilling from the back of a black gown. A bird-mask in place of eyes, a cruel grin like a razor. She moved like a silver storm, leaving death and destruction in her wake. Among all the other Beasts, I have never seen anything so utterly inhuman.”

“What makes you think that you being there will change anything?” General Ju returned smoothly. Her amiable smile had begun to tighten. “An unqualified, impulsive Warden? Compared to the others before you, you are not even so talented, young Zoleil. You may take twice, thrice the amount of time just to reach the level of the other Wardens. Long story short; you are not permitted to skip prison duty. This is not up for negotiation.”

“Fine,” Ennanis said faintly. Maybe she should have brought chocolates after all. She’d devour them herself and feel slightly better about this whole thing.

“And, about the Cockatrice,” added the general. Here a slow, satisfied smirk spread across her face. “We’ve got her safely behind bars. All the more reason you should pay attention to your job; it’s a very important one.”

“Um. Who?”

“Why, the Princess of Beasts, of course,” General Ju tilted her head. “The Moon’s new leader, that you spoke of. Unless you didn’t know that much?” She sighed. “And here you wanted to pledge yourself to fighting Beasts, when you don’t know the first thing about them.”

Because none of this is told to us? Ennanis thought, biting down her annoyance. She’d thought that by joining the Wardens she’d learn more, but she felt like she knew even less than before. But her irritation was eclipsed by the greater shock of:

“The princess is in the sunprisons?” Ennanis gawked. She had walked up and down the rows of cells, but none that she had guessed would be the leader of Beasts herself. “Where?”

“She is a very dangerous criminal, possibly one of the most despicable there is in existence,” General Ju said heavily. “The Cockatrice, a mythical beast capable of turning those she sets her eyes upon to stone. Not only that, she is capable of incredible manipulation. She has been sequestered in the back row of cells, furthest away from the other inmates, so she may not influence them with her honeyed words. To add salt to injury, she takes on the form of a weak child no more than your age.”

Ennanis’ blood ran cold.

General Ju studied her. The rose-haired angel’s complexion had completely drained. There was no hiding such a reaction.

“So it was you,” she steepled her fingers, gazing into quivering slit-gold eyes, “who left all those gifts in the Cockatrice’s cell. How interesting. No one would admit to it. You covered your traces very well, I must say. You would make a great criminal yourself.”

Shakily, Ennanis looked back into the eyes of the Warden General.

“Don’t worry,” her lips curved. “It is an easy mistake, for an angel inexperienced like you. But you’ll have more than enough time to make up for your sins. Close your ears, and I’ll see you in another hundred years, hmm?”