Tom's Perspective

Once I had gotten fully adjusted and put on the tie that had been tucked into the blazer where I couldn't see before, I looked at myself in the mirror. I definitely need to brush my teeth and hair, I don't even remember the last time I brushed my teeth. It must have been at least two weeks ago. I searched his cabinets for a spare toothbrush and found one. A bright red, regular toothbrush. I brushed my teeth for a good two minutes, hoping to get out all the of the gunk and build up on them. I then flossed and dug through his unsorted cabinets to find mouthwash. I found small bottle of mint flavored mouthwash and swishes it around in my mouth for a while before spitting it out. I took a bit of water from the faucet and washed out the excess mouthwash from my saliva. Now that I was more hygienic, i stared and attempted to crack a smile. I couldn't really smile when I thought about the situation. I was about to be the first in line for the Red Leader.

If he dies, I have to deal with all of this. By deal with it, I mean leave and attempt to not be assassinated. Still, I attempted a smile. From now on I'll be respected more than I've ever imagined, and I'll have the power to destroy countries. It's a daunting thought, one that made me take a deep breath. It scared me to imagine such responsibilities under my watch. This entire army will now look from Red Leader to me. I tried to push away my nerves and found a comb easily on the counter. I began combing my messy hair and sighed when it jumped back up. I continued to comb it until it got to a manageable level of less spikiness. I thought about using hair-gel but decided against it because I hate the way it makes my hair feel. The door slowly opened and Tord poked his head in. "Here's that choker." He said and held out a dark blue choker with black lace and a finely cut blue sapphire in the center. It had little sapphires trailing along the sides all around the choker as well.

He stepped into the room fully and stood over me in full decoration. He had a very fancy red suit with a high red collar that made him seem almost like a vampire. I think it looks rather silly, but I don't have to wear it. His hair was smoothed back except for his two horn-like tufts of hair, and he had many little details to his outfit. His fancy long black leather gloves with red detailing, his pin that showed his infamous symbol, his long black leather boots with low heels. All of the strangely fashionable things that I never would have seen Tord wearing before. "Tord, have you always wanted to dress this way?" I asked curiously and stared at his fashionable outfit. "Yes, almost always, I just never had the money, time, or attention to wear such things." He explained and grinned. "Why, do you like it?" He asked playfully. I snorted and flicked his forehead. "No way dork, you look like a twenty layered cake. Way too much, and nobody wants you." I retorted and noticed the shoes sitting in the box on Tord's bed.

"Give me those-." I said sharply and took them out, slipping them onto my feet. There were pretty standard black form-fitting slick shoes with low heels. I experimented with the shoes and walked around in circles, getting used to heels of any sort. I'm not used to hearing a subtle clicking as I walk either, definitely something new. I yelped when my heel got caught on the carpet and I tripped. Moments before hitting the floor and getting a bloody nose, a pair of arms grabbed me from behind. I shook slightly out of instinct as Tord helped me stand up. "You alright Thomas?" He asked and fixed a loose strand of hair that was hanging over my eyes. "I'm fine- can we just go already-?" I hissed and slapped his hand away. "Hmm, somebody's awfully snippy. Do you want to do something relaxing before we go?" He offered and I crossed my arms. "Like what?" I asked with narrowed eyes, looking at him suspiciously. "Wanna play a shoot 'em up game?" He asked and got cozy in his gaming corner on a beanbag chair. I sighed and sat down next to him in a similar beanbag chair, letting myself relax. "Yeah, sure." I agreed and Tord handed me a controller.

After playing a multiplayer shooter game for what seemed like hours, Tord glanced at the clock and then swore. "FAEN-! Come on- before we're late-!" He said and quickly turned off the console, grabbing my arm and pulling me out into the hall. "Hey- let go-." I snapped and pulled away my arm. He calmed himself and began walking through the halls with me trailing behind him. "Are you ready for your little coronation, Tom?" He asked and slowed down to my pace, gently rubbing my back. "I guess.." I muttered and looked away from the excited man. I really don't want to do this right now, or ever. "Are you sure?" He asked worriedly and hovered over me closely. I crossed my arms and glared at him. "Yeah. I'm fucking fine." I growled and my expression softened at the sight of his excited face. He was really happy to see me become part of his army. "You're sure excited to have your rival part of your scheme hm?" I commented and kept my glare. "Yeah, I am. It's so exciting to know you're going to misbehave, and then I'll get to punish you." He purred out with his thick accent, leaning closer to me.

I pushed him away and cringed. "I hate you." I muttered and walked faster, immediately matched by Tord. "Oh come on Tom, I was only kidding. Can't you take a joke?" He said and playfully pushed me. I growled and crossed my arms. "Let's just get this stupid ceremony over with before I feel like killing myself." I said darkly and glared harshly at the taller man. "Alright, alright, I get it. Here, you forgot to put this on." He stopped for a moment as did I. He carefully undid the collar on my neck, placing the sapphire adorned choker onto my neck. "There, now we're ready." He said and placed the collar in his pocket, continuing our route. I reached up to my scarred neck and ran my hands along the soft lace, enjoying the feeling. I had never had something like a collar or choker before, and I enjoyed the way it held my neck and comforted me. It was secure, like holding hands or sleeping while cuddling. It made me feel oddly safe. "Hey Tom, you're spacing out." Tord snapped me out of my thoughts as he lead me back behind a stage area.

"Just follow me and stand beside me, the whole event should go by smoothly." He assured me and began to walk up onto stage. I followed him and watched as soldiers poured into the large room. It seemed like a place for big events like holidays or important announcements, or something like a theatre. The were also many cameras that probably streamed to other soldiers, I suppose ones that couldn't leave their stations. I began to sweat as hundreds to thousands of eyes trained on me, watching me awkwardly scurry behind Tord. Once we stopped, Tord took a moment to correct my posture so that I wasn't nervously hunched over. Paul and Patryk along with other officials like generals walked onto the stage on the opposite side, and Patryk handed Tord a mic. Tord cleared his throat and glanced at me, as if checking before turning on the mic. "Are you ready?" He whispered and I nodded slowly. He flipped the small switch on the mic and looked out upon the crowd, which was deadly silent with a bit of coughing or sneezes.