Faint of Heart

01

𝓐𝓵𝓸𝔂𝓼𝓲𝓪. 𝓜

SOMEWHERE THEY SPEAK FRENCH. IDK ALOYSIA WASN'T PAYING ATTENTION TO THE ROAD SIGNS.

"How in the Her Majesty's dear Europa did you become a royal guard?"

Aloysia glared up at them. The stupid dumb stick that the guards had her training with clattered to the ground as her sparring partner (more like assigned humiliator) held their stupid dumb stick at Aloysia's throat.

"Are you going to just stand there or are we going to go again?" Aloysia snapped, exhaustion getting to her head. Her wrists were twisted and burned to the point she could barely feel them anymore. Being a trainee Forsaken, she isn't allowed to use her power during combat. They have her wear these idiotic cuffs that burn like scalding metal so that she's in too much pain to use her ability. She isn't even joking. Forsaken have been around for like... however long they have been around for and the best normie minds couldn't find a better option than literal torture. The things barely work too. She can still conjure herself a few tiny strings.

"Did you not hear me?" Her sparring partner sighed. "You rely too much on your power if you can't tell. All you do is slide and jump around and try to stab me even when you don't have the opportunity!"

"Well in the military my only job was to use my bippity-boppity magic and not die. Not exactly used to the whole no-power thing." Aloysia kicked away the sad excuse for a weapon from her throat, staggering up with a limp. Her bones felt like shattering. The pain was even worse as she struggled out a sarcastic bow. "Sorry if that's not the royal way, Your Majesty."

They rolled their eyes, spinning the pole stick thing behind them. "Mocking Her Majesty in her castle. You are a lost cause, Ms. Malinowski."

Aloysia felt her eye twitch. Malinowski? Did this uptight, royal guard nuisance think they could just go around calling her that? "It's Aloysia, Leo."

"That's Royal Guard Romano to you." Leone (that was their first name. Leo didn't like it when she called them that. So she only called them that) spun the pole in their hands, scraped and scarred. Aloysia felt like smashing her head into a wall just from the snobbiness radiating off them. It was so weird because they didn't even look snobby. Curly dark hair like Florin's was tied back into a low ponytail. Their clothes, a training tank and leggings that could use a lint roller. Then there were those brown eyes and skin that, for the last hour, stared at Aloysia like a pest.

"Well, I'm sorry oh Her Majesty's royal plaything. You going to go running to her–" she raised the training stick to Leone's chest, pain ripping through her muscles "—or we going to fight again?"

They slapped off the stick and sighed, walking back to a starting stance. "Her Majesty will have a fit knowing I'm spending so much time on some unpatriotic girl."

Here we go. Another tangent on the Queen's greatness and niceness and bla bla bla. Her and her royal behind could give her a thousand dollars and Aloysia would still not care about that lady a single bit. Leone talked about Queen Katherine so much it felt like they were... well more than a royal and her bodyguard. "Oh please, you're the only person's time I can waste. Y'know, since your entire guard wants my head hung on a wall," Aloysia complained.

"They don't want your head on a wall." Leone hit the first move, an easy swipe to Aloysia's ribs. She dodged, jumping back and bruising her ankles as no strings came to hold her up properly against the ground. "They simply see Forsaken abilities as dangers to Her Majesty Katherine."