It was a few hours before dinner, and yet Axel and the rest of his group were already back at the castle.
Their job had been cut short due to the tour from Hexside. There was a class coming in to tour the castle so that they could 'Know what to look up to!' if the posters that Axel saw posted around the halls were anything to go by.
'The Coven will spare no expense to make people think they're cool'
Many scouts were given jobs to make sure that the planned path that the students would be walking through is as perfectly presentable as possible.
Things like posters being set up, making sure that scouts knew where to stand when the students walked by to seem as impressive as possible, things like that.
Though not every scout had a job to do, the planned path wasn't the longest after all, and that left a few scouts to have some free time. Axel being one of those scouts with free time.
With some free time, Axel walked around the castle. He's been living here for a while and yet he didn't know much about the several rooms that the castle held.
Due to the castle's extreme love of symmetry, every room had it's double and every hallway had it's other each leading to new doorways and other hallways.
As Axel explored, he found that most door were locked. Though there Axel couldn't find a way to unlock the doors.
'Some kind of magic door?'
Axel knocked on one of the doors, wondering what could be on the other side of it. He would have taken a look through the keyhole if there is one.
Listening to the sound his knocking caused, Axel noticed that it didn't sound like there was anything on the other side of the door.
Grasping at the doorknob, Axel pulled again trying to open it.
"If you're looking for something I can assure you that you're in the wrong place," a scout commented startling Axel.
"You know what's behind here?" Axel asked pointing to the door he was trying to open.
"A wall," the scout replied, "Quite a few of the doors here," the mumbled.
"Have you tried to go through one of these?" Axel asked.
"No, one of my old family members helped design this castle actually," the scout replied, "He kept complaining about the several fake doors," they said.
"You must know a lot about this castle then," Axel commented, "Beetle by the way," he said reaching a hand towards the scout.
'He seems like someone who could give me some good information about the castle'
"Aloe, and yeah I do," they said shaking Axel's hand.
"I'm guessing you don't know about every room do you?" Axel asked.
"Almost, there's a room on the first floor that I don't know about" Aloe recounted.
"Well it seems to me you do know about it," Axel questioned, "So why are you saying you don't?" he asked.
"I know the purpose of every room in this castle; I could tell you how to get to the closet bathroom no matter where you stand in this castle, but that room? I got nothing," Aloe said.
'Interesting'
"So where is this unknown room?" Axel asked.
"Left of the dining room, right of the bathroom where the men's side is on the right," Aloe recounted.
"Thanks for the information, with the time off we have I'll may go check it out," Axel told Aloe.
"The doors probably," Aloe began to say, "Wait, time off? You're one of those lunch shift workers, aren't you?" they then asked.
"You work the dinner to breakfast shift?" Axel asked.
'Makes sense, right now would be their time off'
"Ugh, I cannot believe I was talking to a lunch shift worker," Aloe said in mock embarrassment while putting a hand over his mask.
"I could say the same thing talking to someone who works the breakfast to dinner shift," Axel replied.
"How's it feel not needing to work through the night?" Aloe asked.
"How does it feel to work when all the wild witches are asleep?" Axel asked.
"Wild witches come out at night!" Aloe exclaimed, "They're just not as prevalent," they said.
"Hey,"
"You said in yourself, we get the harder jobs," Axel boasted.
"Hey!"
"Harder? You don't have to work while tired," Aloe remarked.
"HEY!" a guard captain yelled out behind a corner gaining the attention of the two scouts, "Hexside's about here, get into position and shut up!" the captain yelled out before leaving.
"Let me guess, you didn't get a role?" Axel asked Aloe.
"Nope," Aloe said, "That's because lunch is my time off, unlike you who gets a break," they complained.
"I can't be listening to you, I got work to do," Axel said before turning to go.
"Have a good easy day!" Aloe called out as Axel left.
"I hope you like your easy workdays!" Axel yelled back with a wave.
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Axel, being someone who liked being an actor, would love being anywhere near the spotlight of any production.
So, when he got his role for the Hexide tour, he was ready for whatever it would bring.
'Stupid piece of paper'
His job was to stand near the entry way and look cool so when the Hexide students walk into the castle it feels more majestic.
When Axel was given the slip of paper that his job, he almost threw it back at the guard captain who gave it to him. Though, he didn't, because it would get him in trouble, and because the guard captain had nothing to do with his job, they were just the messenger.
Axel was stationed in the first hall of the castle, a hall he had walked through many times when entering the castle.
After only a moment of standing at attention near the gate, Kikimora walked past the scouts and to the front gate.
The gate then swung open allowing Kikimora to walk through.
"Welcome, children of Hexside," Kikimora greeted, "Emperor Belos welcomes you to his castle," she announced.
Axel couldn't quite see Kikimora, but he could guess that she was talking to the students.
'Well at least I don't have to stand straight for too long'
"We're honored by visits from students," Kikimora said, "You'll soon be a part of a coven, some lucky few might even find their home here, is the mighty Emperors coven!" she told the students.
From where he was standing, Axel could hear the students getting excited about the prospects of being in the Emperor's Coven
"You are the future of the Isles, my job is to teach you its past," Kikimora continued.
She then brought the students past the coven scouts.
It was the scouts roll to salute Kikimora as she and the students walked by, but as the students walked by them Axel saw someone very familiar.
'Luz?'