Dreamer agreed. Somehow. Darkseid couldn't even begin to understand why. The girl was probably messed up in the head. Why would anyone agree? He couldn't comprehend. But that whole can of worms was for later.
For now, he was standing on the royal training grounds waiting for the two Furies to show up for a training session.
He granted Aurelie and Barda their wishes of personal training under him. He planned to check their physical characteristics and then do a little sparring.
Unfortunately, he still needed to get a weapon that was worthy enough to be wielded by him. Until then, he was better off fighting unarmed. No ordinary weapon would endure the power of his strikes.
Aurelie and Barda showed up on time together. Each of them was wearing training clothes – cozy sport-style wear that won't restrict their movement.
The third Fury, Tina, requested to become a tailor, which Darkseid allowed, allowing her to develop outside of her line of duty. Yes, it was regretful that she would not be training together with her team, but it was just a minor setback in comparison to one of his warriors being unhappy.
He brought the two Furies to the obstacle course that was set up for military drills of the palace guard.
"Begin," Darkseid ordered.
The two furies sprinted through the obstacle course, vaulting over barriers of various sizes, rolling under low-powered lasers, jumping from platform to platform, climbing ropes and walls. The course wasn't hard; most of the army would be able to clear it in a decent time.
But those two were in a league of their own. They cleared obstacles with ease, jumped over several barriers at once, and got over the walls in a single jump. They were truly on the peak level of Apokoliptian physical ability.
He watched with his arms crossed, judging the effectiveness of their movement. Every mistake was a flaw in his unit, and flaws were inexcusable.
"Again," he said when they finished, sweat running down their faces. He did not allow them to rest. He wanted to test their endurance, their ability to pull through despite exhaustion and pain. This was not the joke of the test that the Academy instructors put up for their graduates. No, this was a test of a warrior's tenacity. And he wanted to see their character.
Their second run was sharper, more precise. Their third was almost perfect; they began to fall into the rhythm of the course, learning its intricacies with each go around. The test stopped being effective almost immediately.
He sighed; he expected just as much, but it was still bothersome.
Now it was time for the main part – the sparring match.
Darkseid jumped straight between the two of them, once again denying them their respite. The sand beneath his feet spilt all over; his mass and force behind the impact were stronger than the cushioning magic on the ground.
They hesitated for only a moment, startled by his sudden action. But they managed to stay put and strike back together, one from the left, the other from the right.
In the fight, Darkseid, despite his massive size, moved like a river of fire and lava. Unyielding and unrestricted, his powers not only had the power behind them, but his movement was also fluid, almost elastic. He was an undeniable master of his craft.
Aurelie and Barda were struggling to match his pace, often missing hits from their Emperor. Soon blood started spraying all around. He was not using his full strength, but even at a tenth of his potential, he was dealing damage to them.
He felt let down. Even some of the strongest warriors on this planet were not able to keep up with him. The two of them needed to get much better if they were to stay in his employ. This won't do.
"Stop". He ordered. "Go clean up your wounds, there should be a healer waiting for you two back at the palace. Come back after treatment".
"Yes, master!" The two warriors shouted back in unison before running back to the castle.
Their training would continue like this for the next week. Endless sparring until the wounds on the two Furies would start getting serious. Hopefully, combat of his level would bring them up to speed. These two would need to improve at a fast rate; war was coming.
***
A week of intense training was almost over, and Barda and Aurelie were currently lying in the training yard side to side. It was deep at night, and the moonless night sky was bright with stars. Each speck of light in the night sky represented a faraway star system, where, perhaps, life was bustling, and people were running around doing their daily routine.
Their routine now was preparing for war. It was always that. There was never a moment of peace on Apokolips until Darkseid came to power. The long-lasting war with New Genesis was over; instead, they were allied with each other. Strange. It felt strange not to hear news from the frontlines daily. Not to hear crying mothers and fathers out on the streets, mourning their dead children. It was strange not to mourn their older friends from the Orphanage.
Life on this planet was harsh; they always knew that. But now... this impossible moment of peace before a new war was declared... What a sweet feeling.
Under the Granny Goodness' tutelage, they were trained to kill, destroy and ravage. They were little more than assassins and raiders.
Darkseid... made them bodyguards. Suddenly, their duty became to protect. It sounded like a small thing, but it felt nice. For the first time in their life, they were preparing themselves to defend and not to destroy.
The group training with Darkseid became a relaxing routine. Hardly anyone would call being beaten up to a pulp numerous times in a day relaxing. But not people from the Orphanage.
Orphanage was a facility that taught one cruelty, pain and loneliness. There was nothing more to their lives. No one cared enough to heal their wounds, no one cared for or about them. They were just toys for the sadistic nightmare of a woman to play with and nothing more.
Even the fact that they were allowed to rest and the healing, were fed and had the comfort of their beds... It was more than the Orphanage could ever offer them in their life.
People at the Orphanage lived on the brink of their lives; countless children there took their lives from the abuse and torture they had suffered. But they survived through that.
And now they were employed by the Emperor himself. Sometimes, it felt like a fairy tale. It was a ticket to a life that they never dared to dream about. And they were thankful for that.
Despite being the god of tyranny, their master was kind enough to help them, to hear out their wishes...
Stars never seemed so bright in the night sky.
The hot sand under their backs felt like a warm blanket; the two of them were slowly drifting to sleep.
"Aurelie?"
"Yes, Barda?"
"Do you think that we have a future on Apokolips?"
It was a heavy question. Both of them, at different points in time, were questioning their life on this planet. When you are stuck in hell that was the Orphanage... There were a lot of dark thoughts that came to your head. Some ended up listening to those thoughts; some, like Barda and Aurelie, managed to find someone to lean on. Thankfully, the two of them had found each other back then; otherwise, they would have probably not been here now.
"Maybe with Darkseid at the helm, we do".
Aurelie nodded in response. She thought about that too. It has been a month since the emperor rose to the throne, and he has already accomplished more than Yuga Khan did in centuries of his rule. He ended a war and got a trading deal with a new partner.
Of course, Yuga Khan was a conqueror; he acquired the current territories Apokolips was holding in his numerous campaigns. But to the two warriors raised in hell, peace was more important than the conquests. Peace, even if temporary, brought them hope that they had never had before – that the war could eventually end.
"Though his teaching skills suck", Barda said out of the blue.
Aurelie couldn't hold back a giggle. While undeniably true, her words were dangerous. What if someone overhears them? She looked around hurriedly, spotting no one around.
She silently nodded to Barda, agreeing with her. Darkseid was a bad teacher. When the two of them requested his help in training, they didn't expect much, but apparently, the emperor's idea of training was "smash until mash"…
Anyways, even if the endless sparring was ineffective in teaching them, it was useful in other aspects – they got used to fighting against someone stronger than them.
After a long week of training, the two of them were able to coordinate better, defending each other when necessary and syncing their counterattacks. At the start of the week, the two of them would succumb to their wounds in a short period of time, but now they were able to hold themselves in the fight for longer, probably ten times as long.
This week was not a waste of time. It was ineffective, but it was totally worth it. And now they also got to know their Emperor, albeit only a bit. Despite his stoic façade, he was still considerate to them, lowly bodyguards. They were practically nobodies, yet he had stopped himself from injuring them severely, halting his final strikes and. He would often carry them to the infirmary for their treatment when the two of them were out cold. He was fierce, but he cared in his own twisted way.
Aurelie allowed herself a timid smile. Under this starry sky and reminiscing about the last month, she couldn't help but think about her future. And for the first time in her life… She was hopeful.