With a yawn I blearlily looked around my small room before settling on the woman I grew to know as my mom. I’ve been living here for fourteen years now and in that time managed to become friends with only a few of the other children. Today was my fifteenth birthday and that thought alone wiped any lingering sleep from my mind.
“Hello Liam, did you sleep well?” The woman that I grew to know as my mother asked with a small smile before setting down a wrapped present in my lap.
“Yes I did! Is that a gift for me? When can I open it? Are we going to have a party for my birthday? Is Lilith and George going to be there if we do?” I excitedly prattled questions rapidly as I gazed at the gift with hope.
With a small chuckle Saedra shook her head and sat on the bed next to the child. “One question at a time kiddo, you know I can't keep up when you guys ask so many at once. We will have a party but only a small one since funds have been a bit tight around here lately so I hope you won’t be disappointed.”
With a petulant huff I look up at Saedra “I’m not a kiddo anymore! I’m fifteen today which means that I'm a man now!” I excitedly jump to my feet and get changed out of my night clothes into the nice birthday clothes that were set out on the desk next to me before I glance at the gift again. “Do I have to wait for the party to open up the present or can I open it up now?” I try my best to flash an award winning smile, showing off my razor sharp teeth as I look hopefully at my mother.
“Yes dear you can open your gift but what have I told you about showing off your teeth like that? You know it’ll scare people and show your… unique origins.” Saedra hated telling the kind boy that, but for his safety she knew he had to get into the habit of hiding his teeth when in public, which is why she chose the gift she did.
I distractedly mumble out a sorry as I always do when she tells me that while I stare intently at the gift, trying to figure out what it’ll be this year. Last year she gave me an old dagger that apparently was owned by my father before he passed, which is usually a gift I would be getting this year as I’ll actually be able to carry it openly on me from now on. Of course this didn’t stop me in the past from carrying it secretly and only pulling it out when I was alone, but I’ve waited long enough, I need to know what she got me. Carefully, I peel off the paper from the box and set it off to the side as I know we will need to reuse it as long as we can, before opening the box and revealing my first gift for the day. It’s a.. Piece of cloth? “I’m sorry but… What is it?”
With a small sigh Saedra unfolded the cloth, revealing it to be a cheap, but well made green and black mask, perfectly tailored to fit Liam. “It’s a mask for you to be able to wear whenever you go out into town, this way you won't have to worry about hiding your teeth. I know it isn’t anything fancy and I’m sorry for that, but it's well made and should last you a long time as long as you’re careful with it.” With a slightly strained smile she offered the mask to the boy that becomes a man today.
After taking the mask I turn it over a few times, examining it in greater detail. Most of the mask was black but it had what appeared to be small vines running throughout it in various patterns. I’m not sure why but these plants brought me a small amount of comfort, almost like I’ve seen them before but I couldn’t place where I saw them as this style of plant isn’t anywhere around the orphanage. “I love it! Thank you so much Mom!” With a bright smile I put on the mask and gave her a hug before turning to the dirty and cracked mirror I had in my room. Standing at a disappointing 5’5” with a slight frame and short white hair, I was able to see the mask fit with the nice black and white clothes I was wearing. After a moment I turned away with a nod and smiled, teeth showing in all their glory behind the mask as Saedra gathered the box and wrapping before we both went downstairs to start the day.
My home isn’t necessarily a nice one but it's still home to me, and it’s where all of my friends are, even if I only have two of them. I spot both Dominic and Lilith sitting at the table with all of the other kids and I proudly take a seat next to both of them. Waiting for them to notice my new mask.
“Hey Liam you’re up late as always.” Dominic tells me with a smirk before noticing my new mask and frowns slightly. “Is that your gift from mom? It looks nice.”
“Yup! She just gave it to me after waking me up and says I’ll be able to go into town whenever I want to now! I can’t wait to go exploring with you guys now!” I look around the table as I start to notice the stares of the other kids, ones I haven’t ever bothered learning the names of since they hardly ever talk to me due to my looks. “What, are all of you jealous or something? I got a mask made just for me and you all get nothing!”
After a moment of silence a kid a year younger than me snickers. “You turned fifteen and all you got is a dumb mask? I’m going to get my father’s old sword when I turn fifteen and then become a knight!” He smugly crosses his arms and looks down his nose at me, which wasn’t difficult as he was already taller than me.
My face goes red with anger as I stand up and glare at him. “Mom made this just for me and I bet your dad had a crappy sword that would break as soon as you hit something with it! Then you’ll never be a knight and have to beg in the streets for the rest of your life.”
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He just snorts at me before looking away. “I’ve seen the sword and it's much nicer than anything you’ll ever have. I bet that you’ll get mugged as soon as you go into town alone because you look like a freak.” With a smirk he glances back at me before taking a large bite of bread, somehow managing to chew in a mocking manner.
With a furious snarl I throw my bowl of soup at the kid, coating his shirt in the hot liquid. I immensely enjoyed him desperately trying to clean himself off in a panic, knowing I won’t get anything more than a light scolding since it's my birthday. “How will you be a knight if you can't even avoid a bowl of soup?” I mockingly laugh at him as I grab my bread and head back to my room, grabbing my dagger and slipping it into its sheath before heading outside to explore the town.
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Easy days like today are the main reason I became a guard. Especially after getting promoted to captain after over fifteen long years of patrolling the streets, easy days like today are a blessing. Not that I would ever say that out loud or else I’ll end up having a ton of work come in all at once. Right as I turn and begin to enjoy the view from my second story window I hear a knock on the door.
“I didn’t even say anything out loud..” With a sigh I turn around to see what issue I have to deal with now, only to see a young boy standing in my doorway. “Hey you’re Liam right? What brings you here today?”
Glancing around nervously the young man takes a step into the room, looking a bit ragged but overall unharmed. “Y-yes sir im Liam. I um, I was wondering if I could become a guard.” The boy mutters while staring at the floor like he was trying to bore a hole into it.
“You want to be a guard eh? I guess I shouldn't be surprised considering your past.” I trail off for a moment before continuing with a cough. “You will have to pass both a written and physical exam, provide your own weapon, and swear your loyalty to the king. After all of that, you’ll be able to go on patrols with a senior officer until you’re deemed fit to patrol on your own safely. Are these things you’ll be able to handle?” I look Liam up and down for a moment after asking, noticing that he hasn’t really grown much since I ran into Saedra with him last year.
“Y-yes sir! I have my fathers dagger and I was taught to read and write earlier this year. I’ll work really hard and show that I have what it takes to become a guard. I want to become a guard like you someday.”
I could see the determination in his eyes so all I could do was sigh and hand him a few forms to fill out. “Take these and fill them out, make sure to read them carefully because you’ll be responsible for following the rules and regulations you’ll find within.” I pull out a pencil and pass it to the boy after he takes a seat on the other side of my desk, wanting to talk him out of it but knowing it isn’t my place to do so. After a good twenty minutes of reading and signing, the boy passes the papers back to me so I can look over them. “Alright everything looks to be in order, I’d advise that you take the rest of the day to rest up for a few hours while I prepare for the written exam. You can either head down to the waiting room or you can leave, either way, just don’t be gone for too long.”
With a quick nod of his head and a muttered thank you Liam got up and left the room, closing the door behind him. After staring at the door for a moment I let out a sigh and began to see what guards are on standby today before choosing one that generally followed the rules quite well. After calling in my assistant I pass on the information and go back to working on the scant amount of paperwork I had to take care of today.
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I feel like I’ve been waiting here for hours. Applying to be a guard wasn’t a sudden choice, it’s something that I’ve wanted to do ever since Saedra told me the story of my infancy as well as gave me my knife. I don’t know if it's because the guard saved my life when I was young, or because I like the idea of keeping people safe that I have such a strong desire to become a guard myself. No matter the reason, I decided on this path long ago and will do my best during these upcoming tests.
From the stories I’ve heard the written test is quite simple, nothing more than basic math questions and a literacy test, but the physical exam is what stopped most people from passing. Even though I’ve never received any proper training, I have had to fight the other kids at the orphanage multiple times in the past due to my looks and habit of not backing down. I won most of these fights, even if there were multiple people that I had to fight at once, but fighting a fully trained guard for a test is a lot different than my past fights. While I was deep in thought I failed to hear a man call my name from across the room.
Out of nowhere a small smooth stone hits me in the head, snapping me out of my thoughts and causing a slight headache. After the shock of getting hit out of nowhere fades I look up and see who threw the stone. A man dressed in the usual guard uniform, which is leather armor and a standard blade in its hilt, is standing impatiently while staring at me.
“You’re Liam right? I’m Roderick, your guard instructor. Today we will be going through the written exam and if we have time we will handle the physical exam as well if you’re up for it. Don’t expect this to be easy, especially for someone your size.” With an appraising eye he looks me up and down before turning around and heading out of the room, not checking to see if I followed after him. “I advise you to just leave now though. The guard isn’t a job for such a small person like you, why not go work at a bakery or something.”
I hurry after the man while vowing to get at least a good couple of hits during the physical exam to prove him wrong about me. I might be small but I’m much stronger than other people of my size and even some people a lot bigger than me. With these thoughts I follow the guard into a small room with two desks and take my seat at the smaller one in the middle of the room. The guard immediately kicked his feet up on the desk and started scribbling on a piece of paper. Judging by his relaxed posture it isn’t work related and he clearly doesn’t care about watching me too closely. If I had the desire to, I could easily cheat on the test and I’ve heard that it is actually common to do so. I take a quick glance at the paper and am curious as to why people would have to cheat on this. After all, the test seems even easier than most people say it is.