The morning sun peered through the window, struggling to get past the thick drapes. Only when it was far above the horizon did its light become bright enough to suffuse the curtained room, rousing Edin from slumber. Edin rubbed his eyes before he opened them, crawling out of bed to draw back the curtains that had ceased to keep his room dark. Not like they were ineffective—there were two layers of curtains, and he had only drawn the second, thicker layer. His eyelids shut as harsh sunlight flooded through now-unobscured windows, but it did not take too long for his pupils to adjust. He then left the room and trod down the stairwell to the main hall.

The clock chimed nine times by the time Edin was on the way to the dining hall, ready to start the day with a decadent meal. He panicked a little when he heard the ninth chime until he realized that he was no longer working, and thus was not late for any morning shift. His mind wandered to where Arden was. She was busy guarding a town, he supposed, and here he was, jobless and useless.

The doors opened on their own as he entered the dining hall. At once, magic began laying out a feast for him. From one end of the castle, he could hear the sizzling of eggs and meat, their savory scents making him salivate. While the kitchen was preparing the protein, the drinks were already being delivered to the table. A jug poured a mug of milk in front of him, which he quickly drank—his tongue was clamoring for moisture.

He set down the mug. As magic whisked it away from him, his eyes caught sight of a note on the table. He picked it up and read it.

Since you're no longer a guardian, we'll have to rework your daily schedule. Starting tomorrow, you shall begin breakfast no later than eight, and train the rest of the morning until lunchtime at half past noon. You will then resume training at one until dinner at six. You will be permitted a ten-minute break for every hour of training you do. For today, though, you may relax.

There is a second note which shall be delivered to you after breakfast. It will show you how your new practice will be conducted in my absence.

— Arden

He set the note free from his hold, letting it drift towards the floor before magic swept it out of his sight. He sat at the table and watched as it set itself. A placemat flew across the hall before landing and unrolling itself in front of him, and soon after, his first course floated to its designated spot: a bowl of cereal drowned in chilled milk. Without hesitation, he picked up his spoon and drained the bowl dry.

He was lucky Arden was not dining with him. She would have been frowning at him from across the table.

But she was not, and so he forwent many of the manners he had been taught, caring only to satisfy his parched tongue and starving stomach. He was not a total slob, for not a single crumb landed on the tablecloth, but he wiped his mouth far less than he usually would. The only benefit to not being a guardian, he supposed. It did not take long for his lips to be dripping with bacon grease, orange juice, and oil from fried eggs—Arden's worst nightmare.

Breakfast ended on a sweet note, with a stack of syrup-drizzled pancakes. Just as he was about to leave the dining table, a slip of paper zoomed through the air and halted in front of him. The bold letters on the top of its page told him that he was the intended recipient.

Edin took the note from the air and held it with both hands. It read:

Even though I won't be around most of the time, that doesn't mean I can't help you to control your curse. I've created a golem to help you out while I'm away. It's in the courtyard. Once you get there, you can read out the instructions on the back of this note.

— Arden

The mention of a golem raised his eyebrows. The golems that she had created so far were for him to destroy, not receive aid from. He let the idea amuse him as he made his way to the bathroom to get ready. Once he had showered and dressed, he proceeded to the courtyard with the note in hand.

He arrived a few seconds later. As Arden had stated, there indeed was a golem standing in the courtyard. Unlike the ones that he had destroyed in sparring sessions, it was of a smaller and leaner physique. It had more defined hands as well. Next to it was a sack of brown dust, a metal scoop peeking from the top of the sack. Edin did not need to read the label to know that it was decomposing powder.

The golem turned its head once it noticed his presence. It made a small gesture and then pointed at the slip of paper in his hand.

Edin held up the note and flipped it to its backside. On it was a set of instructions. After skimming them, he recited a line: "Reveal the beast."

The ground rumbled beneath his feet. A hole appeared a short distance from him, next to where the golem stood. A pole was erected from the soil, and fettered to it was a growling creature, of the same species as the beasts he had slain the days before.

At once, the golem took a few steps back. Edin almost laughed. Though Arden was its creator, it sure did not share the same personality.

All humor soon faded out of his figure, though, for he knew what he had to do next. Edin skimmed over the note one last time, folded it, and put it in his pocket before he summoned his sword. He eyed the beast.

He took a deep breath as his hilt nestled itself in his palms. He raised the sword above his shoulders, traced a line across the creature's neck, then sliced through it with his blade. He gritted his teeth as blood poured out of the newly decapitated corpse.

In his mind, he chanted one word: control.

His arms tensed as he forced them to stay still. No matter how many times he had done it before, the temptation was just as strong. He kept his head down. He faced his side. He even held his breath for a brief moment. Nothing he did could subdue his thirst for blood.

Edin glimpsed the golem out the corners of his eyes. It did nothing but stare at him with curiosity, tilting its round head in observance. He wondered how it would react once his curse seized control of his body. Would it stumble backward in shock? Scramble away from the scene? Cower in fear of being the next target for his blade?

At last, he could not restrain himself anymore. His eyes burned with desire as he thrust his sword into the corpse. A sadistic smile slunk up the corners of his lips as he cut through flesh, splattering the ground with—

Wham! The golem seized Edin by the shoulders and shoved him to the ground.

Edin fell with a hard thud, now knocked out of his trance. He looked up at the golem. "Ow," he said, rubbing his arm, "you didn't have to push me like that."

The golem did not react.

"Did she tell you to push that hard?"

There was no answer.

Edin sighed and then got up on his feet. He took a step forward, but before he could reach the sack of decomposing powder, the golem grabbed the scoop and sprinkled the substance over the corpse for him. All traces of the monster transformed into dust, and the metal chains that once tethered it faded into thin air.

Edin relaxed both arms, still gripping his sword. He said aloud, "Reveal the beast."

The hole in the ground reopened. Another monster crawled out of it, metal chains linking the cuffs on its body to the metal pole. The shackles shortened as soon as the hole closed, and the beast snapped its snout at Edin as it fought against its bindings. Edin glanced at the golem. It did not seem as fearful as before, though he did notice it tremble for a moment.

Edin returned his focus to the beast once more. He held up his sword, aimed, and beheaded the creature.

Edin's grip tightened around his hilt as his gaze followed the crimson leaking out of the newly cut neck. He pointed his sword away, at the ground and to his side. He glimpsed his blade. Blood clung to its edge, and a small puddle was forming from the drops dripping from its tip. How tempting it was to paint the whole sword, from tip to hilt, in a thick coat of crimson.

He shook his head. No, he must control himself. He glanced at the other side. There was no blood seen on the ground over there. He closed his eyes. He held his breath. No matter how hard he tried, blood flooded his mind, tainting his thoughts like a sinful fantasy. He licked his lips as he pictured the liquid flowing around him, how delicious it would be.

The innocent part of him opened his eyes, seeing how tempting his imagination was. But it was no use. He was craving bloodshed now, longing for it oh so intensely. Control? What was it? Did he even need it?

The feral side of him answered. His head whipped sideways and his arms moved of their own accord. He slashed through the abdomen, holding back a cackle—

Wham! The golem grabbed hold of him and shoved him out of his trance once more. He fell to the ground with a softer thud.

Now freed of his possession, he looked up at the golem. "Can you do it a little more gently, please?"

It did not respond. It simply picked up the metal scoop and sprinkled powder over the carcass. Edin sighed as he got to his feet. He checked the time on his wristwatch. It had only been two minutes since he started. And to think that he would have to do the same for hours, starting the next day—how many beasts would he have slain in a single hour?

"Do you know where Arden gets these beasts?"

The golem replied with a shrug.

Edin sighed once more. "Reveal the beast," he said, with less gusto.

He held his weapon loosely as the ground opened up once more. Back to training, he was.

***

It had been three days since Edin returned to training, long enough for him to grow accustomed to his new routine. He was in the courtyard, having slain another beast after his lunch break ended an hour ago. His body trembled slightly as he tried to force himself to stand still. He glanced at the golem. It already had its arms extended, ready to shove him out of his trance should he fall victim to it again. Edin nearly snorted at the sight of it—it did not even try to hide its expectation of him failing again.

The doorbell rang. Edin opened his right palm, letting his sword fall into nonexistence. He glanced at the golem.

"I'll be right back."

It bowed its head.

Edin turned his back and jogged out of the courtyard. He scraped the grime and gore off his soles just before he set foot indoors, then made his way towards the front doors. He glanced at the grandfather clock as he passed by it. It was only 1:39 p.m.; Arden was not scheduled to arrive home anytime soon, and she did not tell him that she would be arriving home earlier than usual. Who could it be?

The answer waited on the other side. Edin wrapped one hand around the handle and pulled it open. He held back a gasp.

A familiar young man with dark, curly hair greeted him at the doorstep. He held up a hand and made a short wave. "Hi, Edin!"

"Oh, Rowan," he said, his soft tone masking his surprise.

"Yeah. It's been quite a while, y'know." He scratched the back of his head. "Anyway, uh, thought I'd drop by your place. Tell you something."

"Sure, what is it?"

"Well, so they've been shuffling guardians around ever since all the recruits got promoted—well, most—sorry, didn't mean to slight you—uh, whatever. Well, basically they're moving guardians around and I've finally gotten my final schedule. I'll be stationed in Beor."

"Oh, nice. Congrats."

"Thanks."

"That's the big city in Northern Sorien, right?"

"Well, Sorien does have a lot of big cities." Rowan chuckled. "Beor is the most famous one, though. It's a beautiful city. Pretty safe from beasts too, last time I heard. At least during the day."

"Ah, I see."

"Luthien's still nicer though, personally. I mean, it's the capital. It's gotta be nicer."

"Mhmm."

"So yeah. That's not the only thing I came here for." Rowan reached into his pocket and fished out his phone. "Well, we didn't get to before you left, but I was wondering if we could exchange phone numbers?"

"Sure," Edin said. "I'll get my phone."

"Or you could just tell me yours and I'll text you."

"Oh, okay. Three-three-three."

"Three-three-three," Rowan repeated, tapping on his screen.

"Five eight six two."

"Five eight, six two."

"Nine-zero-zero-one."

"Nine, zero zero, one. Hold on." Rowan continued typing. "I sent you a text. That's my number."

"Okay."

"Awesome. So, maybe when you're free, we can hang out."

"Hang out?"

"Yeah, hang out, y'know," Rowan said, tucking his phone back into his pocket. "I know we were merely coworkers back at Stoll, but I thought, it would be nice to keep in touch and be friends. See each other from time to time, when we have time off and no work to do. Y'know what I'm saying?"

"Yeah, uh, that does sound nice."

"Mhmm! So"—Rowan took one step back and began turning on his heel—"when you're free, call me and we can meet up somewhere. Or text, if you're more comfortable with that."

"I'll keep that in mind," Edin said, leaning on the doorway.

"Great! I gotta go now, I'll see you when I see you." He waved. "Bye!"

"Goodbye!" Edin waved back.

He then closed the door behind him, his mind still processing the encounter. Friend. The word made him feel fuzzy in his chest and dented a small smile on his porcelain mask. Nobody had ever reached out to him for friendship before. For someone who had been frightened by change, this was a change he welcomed very well.