[Midday]
[Julian's Bedroom]
"Damn." I said, looking at my reflection in the full-body mirror in the bathroom.
I stood there, half naked, with only a towel covering my lower body, fresh out of a warm bath.
I ran a hand through my still wet hair, which was now shoulder length and white, instead of the usual short black.
"Why didn't Isadora say anything about this?" I wondered out loud.
My hand went to my face, feeling the smooth pale skin, high cheekbones, chiseled jaw and my full, pink lips.
"I'm even more handsome than before." I noted without shame.
My eyes traveled down to my bare torso, noting the definition of my broad chest and the water droplets running down my rock hard 8-pack.
"No one would believe me if I told them I am only ten years old."
And that is true, I don't look my age, at all. I look like I am at least in my mid-teens, so about 15.
My hand traveled down to my groin, and I felt my package through the towel.
"Yeaaah." I nodded to the mirror with a broad smile. "You're carrying a big weapon there, Julian."
I walked out of the bedroom with a big grin on my face, happy with the results I found during my inspection.
I strolled over to the closet and put on some loose clothes that was still fit for someone of my standing.
Knock.
A knock sounded on the door just as I finished dressing.
"Enter." I announced.
Nala stepped in and immediately inclined her head, not making eye contact with me.
"My Prince, congratulations on your awakening and being chosen as the champion of the goddess." Nala said, without lifting her head.
"Thank you, Nala." I found Nala sudden respect for me quite distasteful. "How may I help?" I asked, wanting her to leave as soon as possible.
"His Majesty instructed me to inform you that you should wear your combat gear and to meet him in the castle's training grounds." She said.
"I will be there." I simply said.
"Then, I will be taking my leave." She turned on her heel, intending to leave.
"Please do." I walked back to the closet, planning to change into any combat gear I could find.
I don't hate Nala and I have no ill wishes towards her, but when I found out the reason she treated me and my sister like that, I just couldn't help but be bitter.
I mean, she was taking out all her frustrations on innocent kids. Kids who had no idea what was going on between the grown-ups, and she did that for years.
And Nala is not stupid, so she knew what she did was wrong, but she still kept doing it, and that's pisses me off.
I will continue being hostile with her until the day she apologizes.
On the way to the closet I noticed I didn't hear the sound of the door closing, I turned around, only to find Nala kneeling in front of me with her head pressed to the ground.
"What are you doing?" I asked her.
"I apologize, my Prince. The way I treated you and Princess Isadora these last couple of years was absolutely disgusting and neither of you deserved it.
Your Highness and the Princess were completely innocent and oblivious to what was going on in outside world, much less about what was going on between His Majesty and Duchess Rubiette.
I was fully aware of this, but I still treated you that way. I will make no excuses for my behavior, I will accept any punishment you demand, even if it's my life.
I just want to ask for one thing my Prince: forgiveness.
Please forgive me?"
'I didn't expect her to apologize so quickly.' The rapidness of the situation caught me slightly off guard.
'Well, I did say that I would forgive her if she apologized, but she did it so quickly. She didn't even get to suffer.' I was feeling slightly unhappy. 'It feels like she's getting off easy.'
'Relax, Julian, there is no need to be petty. The woman apologized, let this be the end of it.' I decided that I should be the bigger man, just this one time though.
After a few moments–which certainly felt like hours to Nala–I finally made my move.
I squatted down to her level and put a comforting hand on her shoulder, lightly stroking it.
"Don't worry about it, Nala. You are forgiven." I said with a small smile. "But remember what I told you?"
Nala lifted her head and looked at my face.
Unbeknownst to me, I released a considerable amount of killing intent, making my smile look like that of a smiling devil, causing a chill to run down Nala's spine.
"Don't let it happen again. Do you understand me?"
"Y-yes, your Highness. It will never happen again. I promise." She dropped her head again, almost headbutting the marble floors.
"Good." I said, getting up from my squatting position. "Now, leave. I have to get dressed. And don't forget to apologize to Isadora."
"Yes, my Prince." The door clicked close behind Nala.
Sigh
I let out a heavy sigh before undressing and putting on the combat gear I found.
It wasn't anything impressive, just all black tight fitting attire that highlighted my muscle and lean figure.
I stepped out of the room and Isadora wa leaning against the wall, waiting for me.
"Took you long enough." She said.
"I had some thoughts to mull over." I said, striding down the hallway.
"Do some of those things include Nala's apology?" Isadora asked, walking next to me.
"Yeah."
"And how do you feel about it?" She inquired.
"It's water under the bridge." I simply said.
"What does that mean?" Isadora asked, not understanding this unfamiliar phrase.
"It's bygones." I said.
"What?" She asked, even more confused.
"I'm over it." I clarified.
"Why didn't you just say that?" She asked. "You keep using these weird phrases that no one understands."
"I'll try not using those weird phrases anymore."
This not the first time something like this has happened. Sometimes during conversation I use sentences or words that I used to frequently say on Earth and the people here are unfamiliar with them.
But this also confused me, because the people here don't have the same phrases or speak the same languages that exists on Earth, but they have Latin all over the place, which was a language on Earth.
"Here we are." Isadora said, pushing open the massive doors that led to the back of the castle where the training grounds are located.
The training grounds was massive, made to house thousands of knights. Racks upon racks of different weaponry was all over the place.
Some were wooden and some made from strong and sharp iron.
There was a lot of dummies, and platforms for dueling, even targets for archery could be seen.
Father was standing in the middle of the grounds, next to two small cages that was covered with a cloth.
"Why is this place so empty? Where is the knights I read about in all those books during our time in Arx Immortalis?" Isadora asked Father.
"Most of those guards are on the borders, and the rest are patrolling the capital." Father answered.
"Are you telling me that we are so understaffed that the knights responsible for protecting the castle had to be conscripted too?" I asked, to which Father just nodded. "What is the reason for the lack of manpower?"
"Now's not the time for that, but know that you are being watch and protected at all costs."
The moment the words left father's mouth, dozens of figures appeared out of nowhere. Their sudden appearance made the hair on the back of my neck raise.
I could feel the danger radiating off of them.
These figures wore pitch black coats, the hoods over their heads throwing a dark shadow over their faces, allowing one to only see red glowing eyes.
A moment later the figures vanished, as if they were never there.
"Enough of that." Father said, acting like that didn't just happen. "I want you say 'status'."