Brandon

I'm not sure what I expected to see happen, but watching Aphrodite get up and beat the dust and sand of herself as casual as can be wasn't one of the possibilities I had in mind.

I looked around the sparing yard for the first time, wondering why her bodyguards were also unworried. It looked as though only Cassius, Thonas, Igrus and I were stunned. I don't like being in their company of ignorance.

"That was a beautiful stroke, Aaliyah," Aphrodite says as she moves towards her opponent. The guard removes her helm and my world narrows for a moment.

She isn't a great beauty like Aphrodite or an exotic beauty like my Induku siblings. What she is is radiant. As I watch her move a hand through her short silky blond hair I know I'm completely head over heels.

She stands at about 5 feet 4 inches, slender with long delicate fingers. Her skin is tan, her nose sharp and strong, and her eyes soft with brownish gold eyebrows.

I hear nothing as conversation and congratulations on the amazing sparing are exchanged. I sidle closer to her and watch as a slave hands her a cup of water. Her head arches back and her long slender neck is exquisite. My evaluation is interrupted suddenly as a finger pokes into my ribs.

"Go talk to her." Xolani suddenly says into my ear. I stammered as I try to play dumb as though I have no idea what she is talking about. I think the wine went to my head.

"Well if you don't go now I promise you, you will never see her again." She says with a surety that leaves me choked, conflicted and worried...?

"Who is she?" I ask in a whisper, as I watch her speaking to Aphrodite with only a slight difference instead of the humility one would expect from a guard, even an important one.

"Not sure. But she is leaving today. Go!" Xolani says shoving me. I stumble towards her as she leaves the sands.

"Hello", I say sheepishly. She smiles, seemingly amused by me. Which causes me to blush and my hands begin to sweat. "I'm Brandon, I saw your fight. You are very good."

"Thank you," she says with a smile, I melt. "Excuse me, I have things to do." She walks away, leaving me destroyed, embarrassed, happy.

I am inexperienced when it comes to women, probably inexperienced in a lot of things but women are a subject I'm particularly lacking in. I know I'm a prince, and intellectually I know I can have any slave girl I want but that route has been thoroughly closed by mother who thinks slavery an abomination and would rather kill people cleanly. The servant girl's fear to fall with child with an unmarried royal also making bedding servants a difficult mission without outright commanding them into my bed, not something I've yet had the balls to do.

Apparently, there is nothing wrong with having a few bastards so long as there are already legitimate children to inherit though...

At least that's what Uncle Adrian says so I remain a virgin, a catch 22, and of course, other extenuating circumstances that make me an embarrassment among my peers. Thinking about my circumstances hardens my resolve as I rush forward to catch up to her as I notice her heading towards Weapon's Master Adonias, whose presence I'm only noticing for the first time.

"I was wondering if I could spend more time with you. Aaliyah wasn't it?" I ask as we get to the Weapon's Master. His presence gives me a slight confidence boost, he always admonishes me for a lack of confidence and I admire the sadistic bastard and don't want to be embarrassed in front of him more than I already am in weapon's practice.

Aaliyah looks towards the weapon's master and smiles mischievously before looking back to me. She looks at me consideringly.

"How old are you anyway?" She asks instead of the first thought that came to her mind, which I hope wasn't a refusal.

"Old enough to admire a beautiful woman and be entertaining company," I respond and notice the scowl on Master Adonias' face. She looks at him again but the man stays silent as is his way. I look at him again closely and notice the resemblance for the first time.

"Are you two related?" I ask suddenly as a sinking horror starts building in my stomach.

"You have bigger balls than I imagined propositioning my daughter in front of me," Master Adonias says and I swoon, light headed. Stumbling slightly and suddenly feeling ill. Aaliyah stabilises me with a hand on my arm that is much stronger than it looks.

"Are you ok?" She asks with a worried look.

"I'm fine," I say coolly. "Excuse me, I'll go die now." I grab a decorative vase on a stand by the door, turn the corner hurriedly and vomit into it. The slave in the hallway looks horrified but remains silent, I admire slaves their stoicism, I doubt I'd survive their life.

There are no servants in the 'woman' palace; all are slaves for some reason. Mother never let me get comfortable around slaves or slavery very much but it’s a part of life, a normal part of life as far as I know. The slave girl takes the vase and passes me a cup of water from somewhere. I rinse my mouth and spit into the vase again, then I take a nice big gulp of water and leave the apartments. I need to clear my head.

The royal grounds are vast, as big as a village because technically they are a village. There are the maze gardens, groomed by soul marked slaves directed by the royal gardeners who themselves are directed by Princess Rosellet, the king's second wife and lover of gardens.

Then there are the royal palaces, the main palace for the king and the very young royal children and their mothers. It has the royal court, a grand hall with luxury couches along the walls, a buffet table every 15 days when court is held and of course the royal thrones. The king judges disputes between the nobles, mages and the commoner's cases that the magisters are unable to or unwilling to pass judgment on. One throne for father above all else and miniature ones for his wives, the princesses of Sandersoria. Then unassuming seats and table at the bottom of the dais in the corner for the Royal scribes, most everyone else stands.

The palace is vast with the art room, history room, private offices for father's advisers and of course the royal library. There are other rooms I've never been into, the place is big, bigger than is practical really. There is the West Wing of the palace reserved for the royal family. The king, his wives and their children, some parts inclusive of royal cousins. A vast place that can house 100 people easily, 40 suites in opulent luxury. The only other tolerated presence in this section besides soul marked permanent slaves are the Royal Guard.

The East Wing is for guests and the south wing for some royal bastards, guards, concubines, a few valued servants and other people the king deems useful. It's the busiest part of the behemoth of a building.

Each princess is assigned two guards for life, one is appointed to each royal child at the age of 12, that's when we start exploring outside the palace grounds. It is encouraged for the royal spawn to know the city well. And a beautiful city it is.

According to Magister Forester, Elysium was the king's way of trying to distract the country from further war during the 30-year peace where instead of expansion we were consolidating everything. An economy built and sustained by war is very strained in times of peace, and external peace often results in internal strife.

The king built a grand palace at the border between Central Province, Stormhold and the Woodland Forrest. It was a threat to take the political power from the nobles at Central because the government follows the king, but it resulted in the controlled building of a town, and then a city around the palace.

Usually, cities grow like living organisms, spontaneously and chaotic with demand for space from an increased population around a natural resource or something of value.

Elysium grew from the well-organised minds of the royal architects. First father commissioned the people who built the palace to build homes for themselves within the palaces shadow. He did this as a reward for their work since there were materials left over, and able slaves from conquered kingdoms for labour. A way to greatly reduce the monetory payment he would have had to award the architects for their impressive labour in the 4 year construction project.

When an architect is given funds to build as he pleases the results are always interesting, to say the least. Suddenly nobles throughout the kingdom were petitioning the king for building rights in what later became Elysium, the beautiful City of Lords.

It's been a week since the events at the women's palace. I haven't been there since, nor have I been to training with Master Adonias. I'm currently roaming the city looking for a good old fashioned inn for a few pints of ale and hopefully a good time. I'm both frustrated and embarrassed by my own inexperience. I must be the only prince who hasn't bedded his chambermaid in the entire history of the kingdom. Mother's coddling is too stifling and I've had enough of it.

I walk down a wide cobbled street with a water well right in the middle, strange thing to have in the middle of the road but what do I know. A tailor's store to the left next to a cobbler, a furniture store on the opposite end by the look of things. I'm completely and utterly lost for the first time in my life and there is something liberating about that. It's my first solo excursion into the city and I am completely anonymous without a guard.

I eventually find a drinking hole, not an inn exactly but definitely a drinking establishment by the sounds of singing and laughter as a friendly trio walk past me from a surprisingly clean well lit and wide alleyway. I follow it to a red door that has a big man smoking a pipe at the front.

"I've never seen you before," he says after looking at me like a butcher examining a slab of meat.

"Is that a problem?" I ask, trying to disguise my nerves and hoping he turns me away all of a sudden so that I have an excuse to leave this place. This could be a den of thieves for all I know.

"No problem, just a curiosity. I'm very good with faces." He says as he blows smoke into my face. I cough lightly as my eyes start to sting. Whatever he's smoking, I don't want it.

"I'm Bien; you can call me Big Bien. What's your name?"

"Brand-." I stop suddenly, wondering why I'm giving my name to this thug and how I've gotten myself into this, whatever this is.

"Ok Brand, in you go. Good luck," he says as he opens the door and loud noise suddenly permeates the alley.

He pulls me in and shoves me through the door. I stumble into a tavern, or what I assume is a tavern. I look around as the door closes behind me.

The place is big, loud and busy. I'm not sure why I'd need luck but this place looks great. There is straw on the hardwood floor, surprisingly good quality wood for a tavern, I always assumed poor people trying to make ends meet would be tavern owners.

There are booths along the far right wall, tables in the middle on a slightly raised platform than the one I’m currently standing on and a very long bar at the back with two bar tenders behind the counter. There are two windows and they are both at least 5 meters above the ground, definitely not ground floor windows. I get to the bar and I notice one of the tenders is a woman.

"What will you have?" She asks without a hint of a smile or the possibility of conversation. All business this one.

"Give me the local Ale," I say confidently and put a gold mark on the table. She snatches it quickly and looks at me intently. She shakes her head and mumbles something under her breath.

"What's your name?" She asks I wonder why everyone wants to know my name in this place. She could be considered cute in the right light though.

"Brand," I say, remembering what Big Bien called me.

"Alright Brand, I'll open a tab. I'm Kitty." She looks at me intently again and shakes her head getting my order.

An hour into my drinks and I've made more friends here than I have my entire life at the palace. I'm into my 8th drink I think and though I found it quite bitter at the beginning I can't drink it fast enough now. It's good. Real good stuff.

The lighting was initially very dim as well but I guess I've gotten used to it. We laugh in our booth as Cris tells another crusty joke. I laugh uproaringly despite myself. This is great, and it's only turning to dusk now. The night is still young.

I wake-up as an insistent poking interrupts my pleasant rest. The room is spinning as I realize I'm in my undergarments and Kitty is standing above me.

"What happened?" I ask as I take the water she hands me and down it.

"You got robbed is what happened. How much did you have on you anyway?" She asks as she throws me a robe.

"20 gold I think," I say drunkenly. That was some strong ale.

"Spirits beyond!" She exclaims, "Why would you come here with that much gold? Are you a complete imbecile or just have a death wish?"

I grunt as I get up and stumble to the toilets. The toilet is big and tiled and well vented with indoor plumbing. This place is too posh for me to be robbed blind, literally. I think to myself as I giggle and urinate.

Outside I see Kitty and a few waitresses getting ready to leave. I tighten the robe then walk confidently to Kitty, I hope confidently.

"Can you take me home with you tonight?" I ask. She looks at me like I've lost my mind as the other ladies snicker and giggle. She remains silent, and then sighs.

"You can sleep on the floor. Let's go, lock up Adkins," she says to a thug at the door as she walks out the door and walks deeper into the alley. I follow meekly.

"Why did they take my clothes," I wonder out loud.

Kitty snorts, "Professional challenge. You made it too easy for them to take your money. They would have taken your small clothing if I didn't stop them."

I think about that for a moment as we enter a door connected to the same building as the bar and walk up a flight of stairs.

"Why didn't you stop them sooner anyway?" I ask.

"You walk into a den of thieves and flash gold marks around you should expect to be robbed," she says as we enter her apartment a stones throw away from the tavern.

I hope she lets me sleep with her.