(HIATUS) Prodigies Against the Throne // Hunter x Reader

| 10 | If A Chapter Doesn't Have A Silly Title, Then You KNOW It's Gonna Be Bad

Words: 3041
Date published: 1/6/2023

- not proof-read -

It was small at first. Barely noticeable. A harsh punishment here. An impossibly high standard there. In all honesty, it never was to you directly. You did what you were told as you were told to do it.

You weren't hurting for yourself. You were hurting for him. Hunter was suffering, and you weren't sure he even realized. The very man Hunter had dedicated his life for seemed to value it so little. You'd notice how Hunter would tense up when informed that Belos had called for him. You noticed it from the beginning but didn't think much of it. Slowly, certain clues began to arise, telling you that something more sinister was up with Hunter and his uncle.

The insomnia was caused by nightmares. You never learned much more than that, but the nightmares were nightly, and that wasn't normal. You had almost gone to him once, making it as far as to his door before thinking better of it. You feared he would be upset with you, considering he never was willing to open up about them.

You heard him apologize in his sleep and your heart broke when you realized he was crying.

He worked so hard to prove himself. He would spend countless hours overtime perfecting his skill, much past a point that could be deemed healthy.

He always seemed so shocked when you showed you cared or when you did extra for him. He acted as though kindness needed to be earned through hard work and dedication rather than handed out for simply not being a jerk.

He had panic attacks if he failed something asked of him. He would hyperventilate and seemingly drift from reality a bit - but maybe it wasn't actually detaching from reality. Maybe the things he said were things he always believed. Maybe that was just... how he was raised.

The day it all really snapped together, you weren't even meant to witness it. No one was. You were sure of it. The piece that completed the puzzle couldn't have been more clear of a clue.

You walked past a slightly cracked door but were drawn back by a conversation.

"I have put forth so much effort into making you great. I've clothed you, fed you, and put a roof over your head. I even made it so you could use magic, and this - this is how you repay me? A failed mission with nothing more of a reason than simply messing up? I expected so much better from you. It hurts that you would do this to me." You were terrified for whoever Belos was talking to, having never once seen this side of him, but as soon as you heard the person's voice, your heart shattered.

"I-I'm sorry, Uncle." Hunter sounded so desperate when he said that, his voice cracking from emotion.

You ducked away into a closet down the hall, shutting and locking the door before casting a spell. You couldn't believe that you were risking spying on the emperor within the castle, but you couldn't risk not knowing if something terrible happened to Hunter.

"Do you like to see me in pain, Hunter?"

"No, of course not!"

"Then why do you fail me?"

"It's not on purpose! I don't mean to! A-And maybe... Maybe there's a better way to go about this than-"

A strange green razor-sharp tendril flashed by Hunter's head, narrowly missing him and slicing off a couple of slivers of hair. You held your breath as they drifted to the ground. You couldn't believe what you were witnessing. You couldn't begin to comprehend the gravity of the situation.

Hunter had dedicated his entire life to this man. He idolized him to no end and painted him in the perfect light. Hunter genuinely saw him as a hero. This same good man had almost killed him, and they were both so casual about it as if this was a regular occurrence.