Harkness hissed at the sight of the scar, though it was faded, and a deep frown settled on his brow. He didn't like the idea of anyone hurting her, let alone a huge and powerful animal like a dragon. There was nothing he could do about it though, and it wasn't worth getting upset over.
Not like her next question was.
His expression darkened considerably, and he looked away from her, turning his hooded eyes to the floor. "No." He replied shortly, refusing to look at her. "No, I don't do anything rash. Not any more. Becoming a bodyguard was far from the most rash decision I've made in my life. It was one of the soundest ones. The rashest thing I ever did, was continue our little treks out into the forest.
"One evening, I realised that we'd forgotten our blankets in our haste to get out without Mother noticing. While I was gone Elody was... attacked." He swallowed heavily, eyes growing distant, and his voice became a hollow shell. "She was brutally abused, and left for dead. When I found her, she was hardly breathing. I... I picked her up and carried her home, but she was bleeding everywhere. Mother called the doctor, Father just cried. The doctor came, and did all he could for her. And she pulled through.
"But she isn't the same Elody. She can't speak, she can't walk, she just... sits there, and looks at nothing. It's like she had been possessed, and now the sweet, kind, stubborn girl I loved is locked away. Because of me.
"Because... because I wasn't there to protect her. That's why I became a bodyguard. So I could be in control. So that I could stop that kind of thing happening to anyone."
His jaw was clenched, skin pulled tight across his face as he recounted the story.He didn't realise that his hand had clenched around the handle of the tea cup, until it broke, and lukewarm tea spilled all over his lap. Harkness' face went blank then, completely unreadable, and he stood sharply, the legs of the chair almost breaking with the force of his movement.
"Thank you for dinner," he muttered, and headed towards the door, only just remembering to duck as he went through it. He let out an explosive sigh, and kept walking back towards the garden. He needed some time to think.