> Warning: The mc and ml do get in fights often because they are both clowns. Also, there are a lot of miscommunication and interruptions. This is just a warning in case that might put people on edge. Also, Shafir does make mention of hurting himself to rid of the curse mark but he mentions it in the act of ripping and tearing it/his skin away.

“I-I’m sorry Vice-Captain! I won’t s-say it again!” The young man shielded his face from Shafir’s assault, his fists connected to the arms repeatedly. If this idiot thought apologizing would save him from an ass-whooping, then he was sorely mistaken. It pissed him off more. While Shafir was thinner than the other male, it didn’t stop him from using everything in his power to keep the man pinned under him. Shafir was livid. Who did this little shit think he was? Shafir brought his fist down to connect with the arms once more. Of course, he was a piece of shit, so it was only natural that his mind would be full of shitty thoughts. Eventually, Shafir let up on his assault. 

“S-Someone get help! Get the Captain!” The knight yelled and one onlooker took off to find someone to pull Shafir off his junior. The elf tried to wiggle out from under Shafir, and that only spurred the older male on in his anger. He had someone get the captain, and that was honestly the last person Shafir wanted to see today. If Shafir beat him until he was unconscious, then perhaps he could work it out. Besides, this idiot needed to be punished for the shit that came out of his mouth. Shafir sadly didn’t get to finish the punishment, though. 

“Shafir! What are you doing?” A voice boomed behind Shafir and he rolled his eyes. This was going to be so much fun. It was going to be a pain, but that was beside the point. While it would’ve been smart to get up and greet his captain properly, his mind decided against it. He was already this far into being in trouble. Why not dive deeper? So he stuck up his hand and flipped off the voice. 

“Doing as I please, Captain.” Shafir returned to the man under him. If he didn’t give his full undivided attention, the little worm might get away. Not on his watch. No matter what happened, he was not letting him get away with it. “You will respect your superiors.” Shafir brought his hand back and his wrist was stopped. When he turned around he saw the Captain, the oh-so-famous Eliqinor, House of Honors, looking back at him. His brows were furrowed, and he was pissed. When wasn’t he pissed? He always looked mad when he saw Shafir. 

“Stop it. You know this isn’t your job to discipline him.” Shafir tried yanking his wrist back from the firm grip and was disappointed to find that Eliqinor wouldn’t release him. Not that he ever did. Didn’t this man know it was futile trying to stop him? How often did they have moments like this? Perhaps too many to count.

“I won’t stop unless he apologizes.” Eliqinor let go of Shafir’s wrist and sighed. He ran his hands through his hair, thinking about what to do next. The dark elf turned back to his target and forced his weight back down on him, causing him to groan. 

“You leave me no choice then,” Eliqinor said before reaching down and grabbing Shafir by his waist. It took little to yank the shorter male off the young knight. Why did this idiot have to be so fucking strong?! Once he was in the air, Shafir wiggled like a cat, trying everything in his power to fight back. The knight that Shafir had been wailing on had squirmed away like the worm he was. Fuck that guy. Fuck Eliqinor. 

Once Shafir was no longer deemed a threat to the junior knight, Eliqinor put him back down. This was it. He was sick of this idiot interfering in everything. It was his fault this was happening, anyway! If he had been a little harsher on their subordinates, maybe they wouldn’t be talking shit about him behind his back. Eliqinor let out a sigh and looked around at the crowd, who were whispering, but Shafir wasn’t listening to them because his eyes were trained on Eliqinor. Stupid idiot, always ruining everything…

“Fuck you.” Out of instinct, Shafir drew his fist back and threw a punch in Eliqinor’s direction. The other acted in kind and he connected his fist with Eliqinor’s face. This was a common occurrence for the two of them. Shafir would always throw the first punch and before you knew it, they were on the ground tussling like two kids. “Stupid fucking idiot.” 

“What the fuck, Shafir?!” Eliqinor easily tossed Shafir to the ground and Shafir realized his mistake in the heat of his anger. What pulled him back to his right mind was the feeling of his face meeting the dirt on the ground. Eliqinor pinned Shafir’s arms to his back, and a heavyweight helped hold him down. That didn’t stop him from writhing on the ground like a fish out of water fighting for its life. A growl came from his throat as a warning. He didn’t care how much his arms hurt as he thrashed. That only prompted Eliqinor to press harder down on him. The man honestly had so much muscle it was almost always a losing battle with Eliqinor and there was the possibility he would fuck up his shoulders in the process, but he really couldn’t care less. 

“Get down here and fight me like a man.” Shafir spat out the words like he was trying to spit at the older elf. Fuck him, Shafir thought and kicked his feet. If he was lucky, he might connect with Eliqinor’s backside. Eventually, Eliqinor began laughing at Shafir’s futile attempt to get out from under him. Shafir wondered if that’s how the junior knight might have felt when he was pinned under Shafir. Eventually, his will to fight died down and Eliqinor made himself comfortable sitting down on Shafir’s ass. There was no way that was comfortable, at least, for him it wasn’t.

“I would, but it seems you have already lost. Shafir… Just come back with me and we can talk-” 

“Fuck you.” Shafir tried to squirm, hoping he could deter Eliqinor from pressing his entire weight against him. It would make him rub against the ground comfortably and humiliate him further in front of the crowd of onlookers. This, of course, backfired, as Eliqinor probably still saw Shafir as a threat. “Get the fuck off. I can’t fucking stand you!” There was a moment of silence and then Eliqinor slowly loosened his grip on Shafir, lifting his weight off. 

“You’ll follow me then? And actually, listen this time?” Shafir sighed and nodded, careful not to bust his chin against the ground. He hated this guy. Shafir hated this guy. He couldn’t even bear to look at Eliqinor. His stupid face and his stupid- The pressure was lifted off him and Shafir took his time standing up. Brushing the dirt off his clothes, he felt eyes on him and he looked up and saw that the crowd of knights was still there. The nosy lot. 

“The fuck you all staring at?!” The knights looked away quickly and shuffled off to their duties, seeing that the show of their captain taking down the vice-captain was over. If he had to be honest, while none of them had done anything wrong, he couldn’t help but feel contempt. They looked at him like he was a damn creature they could gawk at for show. 

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Eliqinor straightened out and cracked his neck before placing his arms neatly behind his back. The only sign of Eliqinor being in a fight was his hair was slightly messy. To think he looked perfectly fine while Shafir looked like he had a fight with a dirt pile and lost. Once Eliqinor started walking away, Shafir followed like a dog being dragged on a leash. They exchanged nothing for most of the walk back to the office and honestly, Shafir couldn’t care less at this moment. 

Shafir rubbed his jaw from where Eliqinor’s fist had made contact and his muscles screamed in protest. It seemed no matter how many times they fought, his body still wasn’t used to the force that Eliqinor used. It wasn’t as strong as it could be because Shafir knew how easily Eliqinor had taken down some of the bulkier elves when they were still teens. Though the pain felt like a dull ache compared to the burning that sat around his wrist. The same wrist that Eliqinor had grabbed, it itched and blazed like it was incinerating his skin. He felt the urge to rip his glove off and scratch at it. To rip and tear his skin open until there was nothing left of that black curse. 

“Did your mission go well?” Eliqinor didn’t dare to spare Shafir a glance and walked as if this was a normal occurrence for them. Typical. Shafir’s hand absent-mindedly covered the wrist that ached and sighed loudly. Eliqinor didn’t see his actions as one for concern, which explained why he didn’t turn around and bother him about it. At that, Shafir felt a wave of relief wash over him. “How… Have you been well?”

“As well as one can be when they are always being treated like shit.” Shafir rolled his eyes and Eliqinor stopped in his tracks. This caused Shafir to full bodily run into Eliqinor’s back, and Shafir had to push Eliqinor to get him to move out of the way. “The fuck? Move out of the way. You fucking mountain.” This only made Eliqinor look like he was going to lose his calm demeanor, causing the older elf’s eye to twitch, and Shafir took pride in his ability to get under Eliqinor’s skin. The man was notoriously well-known for keeping his cool in all things. Except, of course, with Shafir. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Shafir felt his spine stiffen, and he went into his naturally defensive mode. This was always the routine for them. Shafir would do something wrong, Eliqinor would get questioned, and whether he lied or told the truth wouldn’t matter because it's not like anyone would believe him, anyway. Even his own superior, Eliqinor, wouldn’t believe him. Not that it really mattered, since they knew each other for so long. Eliqinor probably thought he had Shafir’s character pinned extremely well. He could go fuck himself. 

“No point in explaining it. You wouldn’t believe me, anyway.” Eliqinor walked up to Shafir and there was a look of confusion clear on his face. Why did he seem so confused by that statement? It was the truth, and that was why he never bothered explaining. Shafir was a hopeless case. Eliqinor was an ass and fucking stupid. They were like two pieces of the perfect distrust to create a whole pie of miscommunication. 

Shafir shrugged his shoulders and walked the small distance to that stupid shack that Eliqinor had deemed as their little office. It was sturdily built, but that didn’t mean it would be something a noble captain of the knights would have as an office. He grabbed the handle of the door and yanked it open. Perhaps a small shack was perfect for him. Delegated to work in a cramped space, having been the former honorary knight of the empress. He really was nothing more than an over-glorified foot servant, but he guessed not that bad. He had a roof over his head to work and he wasn’t having to listen to the rumors anymore. 

“You know you can’t just start picking fights with people. It makes us look bad-”

“No, you mean it makes you look bad.” Shafir pointed out and stalked to the couch where he sprawled out. Eliqinor made his way behind his large desk and sat down. He went about organizing the papers on top of it. “Besides, I’m the Vice-Captain. If I want to fight some little scamp who tried to talk back to me, who are you to stop me?” There it was again, the twitch in Eliqinor’s eye. This was too easy sometimes. 

“No one said you can’t. The only rule is you are supposed to talk to me about these things.” Eliqinor’s hands rubbed his face once, twice, three times before he brought his fingers to his temples to massage them. Good! He deserved a headache! Even more so, it made Shafir happy to know that he caused Eliqinor’s headache. “You promised to do that when I appointed you.” 

“I did.” Shafir sat up now in his usual defensive state. He could stand up, walk out, and end the situation. It was simple and it would be easy, but he could never bring himself to do it. If he did, there was always a possibility that Eliqinor might hold him down on that couch and force him to explain. He could keep him in that tiny office and interrogate him further about the matter. There was a possibility that Shafir would crack under that pressure and act on his urges to-

“You! I swear I’m going to die because of you!” 

“Oh! I see how it is. So you can’t trust me, can you?” Shafir stood up and stared down at Eliqinor at his desk. Shafir felt pissed and disappointed. His face was reddened with anger and his hands were clenched at his side. “You think I’m going to stab you in the back while we are alone, don’t you?!” Why was he so angry? It was just an offhand comment. Surely Eliqinor meant nothing by it, but it still made Shafir’s blood boil. 

“The fuck Shafir! You know that’s not what I mean-”

“Oh, don’t worry. I know what you mean. Oh so great, Eliqinor, loved by all. You know what?” Shafir bent down and put his hands on the desk. He was only an inch away from Eliqinor’s face before he began speaking again. “Fuck you. Fuck your high and mighty attitude.” With that, Shafir spun around and picked up his things. He wanted out of there now. If Eliqinor didn’t stop him, it would be better yet. He stalked out of the office and slammed the door closed. Thankfully, he got out of there with as little of a scolding as possible. He was even going home early, so that was a plus. He could get more sleep. 

Though… Something bothered him. Why didn’t Eliqinor force him to stay? If he forced him against the wall and said something, he might have stuck around. Shafir wasn’t sure what he wanted anymore, and it made him feel like an idiot. Did he want Eliqinor to stop him? Or did he want him to let him do as he pleased?

Shafir wandered for a while after he left that tiny office space. If he could get his anger out, then maybe he could feel better. He didn’t want to go home in a bad mood. If he went to sleep angry, he would have those terrible nightmares, and… Shafir’s wrist itched, and against his better judgment, he pulled his gauntlet and glove off. His first instinct was to scratch at that stupid mark that stained him black. All it did was ruin everything, but no matter how much he dug at it, it wouldn’t disappear. 

“Fuck everyone.” Shafir could feel his displeasure finally bubbling up and spilling over as he looked at his marked wrist. How was this his fault? He didn’t ask for this. Why was it his fucking problem? 

First, he had to deal with a junior knight, one of their men, mind you, talking shit about their captain. The ones who signed their paychecks and made sure they had money to take care of their families. That had Shafir feeling a rage stronger than any ocean wave washed over him and he lunged at the guy. He didn't feel bad because the guy had it coming. Perhaps he could have handled it better... No. He did the right thing. That guy better had learned his lesson from this. 

The second most problem was the guy screamed for help and then that's when Eliqinor showed up. All high and mighty, like the golden boy he was. Constantly showing up at the worst moments. If Eliqinor heard the things he was saying about him, Shafir was sure he would've reacted the same way. Too bad Eliqinor wouldn't listen to him and always gave the others the benefit of the doubt. That would soon devolve into a fight, and he was always the first one to go off. 

Shafir wanted to say his anger was justified, but he couldn't help wondering why he felt stranger recently.