Nearly twenty years had passed since the end of the Long War. Nearly twenty years since the end of a conflict that ravaged the entire known world down to fractions of what it once was. Nearly twenty years since the changes it thrust upon the survivors took hold in their societies. Nearly twenty years since the High King of Avalon fell in the last battle of the Long War. And coincidentally, nearly twenty years since the birth of Prince Jaxis.
He stood up from his desk and began pacing around his room. A wide space with high ceilings and open floors, the walls displayed many of his possessions. Everything from his swords, to his armor to even shelves for the models and carvings he did in his spare time. In one corner sat a training dummy and a mannequin with his armor. In another sat an easel with a large collection of drawing and painting supplies scattered around it, a half-finished work awaiting completion. Another contained his workstation and tools for his more hands on hobbies. And in another sat his bed, large enough to hold at least six people comfortably and far too small for just him.
Combined with tented ceilings and a balcony with a view of the city to die for, it was a prison anyone would be happy to serve time in.
Unfortunately, a gilded cage was still a cage.
Jax sighed, pushing the curtains aside and moving to the balcony. Built into the side of the mountain, the castle sat at a nearly unassailable position. Natural, sheer cliff face walls to the rear and the best the royal engineers could build for the others. Then came the city surrounding it and the massive standing army guarding it. And beyond that, the super wide river that led to the sea and the fleet of ships bobbing in it like bath toys. It was enough protection for a god, let alone a scion of the Kingdom of Avalon.
Yet for his mother, the Queen, all of that was not enough and likely never would be enough. And so here he resided, in his room at the back of the castle, in the tallest spire in the most secure wing of the most secure building in the most secure district in the most secure city in the entire country.
And likely the entire world.
So extreme were his protections that the tower he called his home rested above the summit of the mountain itself. And on some days, even the clouds themselves flowed beneath him like waves on the ocean.
And despite it all, despite all the good intentions behind it, despite how necessary all the precautions may or may not have been, Jax hated them.
Being the youngest of the Queen's three children didn't help matters. Being her only son made it even worse.
The Long War stole much from every nation involved, even the victors. Though Avalon managed to avoid the
extremely
bitter taste of defeat, victory still came at a heavy cost. By the end of the seventeen-year long conflict, the majority of the nation's male population had been whittled down to a mere fraction of the original amount. What once had been a 1 to 1 ratio of men to women, by the war's end sat closer to 1 to 4. And compared to the other participants, Avalon got off comparatively light with that imbalance.
With the majority of the nation's soldiers, sailors, dragon riders, and sorcerers all dead at the end of the war, the few men left now found themselves in a rather odd and unorthodox position. And so, the war changed things.
The door to his chambers opened and the telltale sound of clacking metal and the sliding of leather entered. He sighed again.
For starters, now the militaries of the world were mostly composed of women. And that extended to the royal guards. And in his case, his personal bodyguard.
Though the war had ended, threats against the royal family didn't just go away. In many ways the war never ended, just that the means of fighting had changed. Especially with a significant lack of people to throw into the gears of the machine. In recent years, assassination attempts against nobles, royals, priestesses and sorcerers had increased in the surrounding kingdoms. And so, the Queen, in her infinite wisdom, began restricting the young prince's freedom. Once he was free to roam the city at will; now he was effectively confined to his own private wing of the castle.
Of course, that didn't exactly stop him from attempting to sneak out. But with River around, they usually stayed as just that: attempts.
These days, almost no one had access to the young scion. Even Jax's sisters were told to stay well enough away from his section of the castle. Only the guards, his instructors, and his personal chef were allowed in or out, though in practice, they effectively lived with him in his small slice of the castle. In many ways, Jax was more protected than the Queen herself.
River made sure of that.
River was a special case. Though she was only a few six years older than himself, she'd fought and clawed her way up to becoming one of the most respected and, in many ways, feared fighters in the royal guard and by extension, the kingdom, even able to match war veterans in one on one combat. Her status as a minor sorcerer probably helped in that regard, giving her enhanced speed, strength, stamina, and above all else, durability. With the magic that flowed through her veins, she even recovered from wounds and illness far better and far quicker than most. And with it too, came the gift of extended life.
Perfect for a royal bodyguard.
Especially when that bodyguard's charge was, not only the only male left in the royal family, but also the sole sorcerer.
He turned around; the view of the city mostly obscured by clouds anyway. River stood at his door, her body covered in a shimmering visage of magically enhanced plates and panels, all custom built, and following the curves of her body like a work of art. On her back, hung her primary weapon: a massive single edged sword with a blade long and thick enough to cleave through cave trolls like they were nothing but melted butter. The fact that her powers allowed her to swing it with the speed and precision of a dagger made it only the more deadlier. At her side, rested a small pack.
She stood at attention, her arms clasped behind her back, her collapsible helmet folded below her neckline as Jax scanned over her. Someone recently cut her signature silver hair back down to her preferred length and style. An almost boyish mop atop her head with the sides and back trimmed considerably closer to her scalp. One less thing for someone to grab onto in a fight she reasoned.
Jax crossed his arms, giving her a small smile. Nearly half of her twenty-six years had been spent guarding and training him. She knew him well enough to know a coming question when she saw one. Still, her royal training rarely allowed her a moment of levity, even just between the two of them. River never entirely dropped her guard.
"You're here alone so I assume you want something," Jax said.
She tensed ever so microscopically. Jax's eyes narrowed. Like a doting hawk, River made sure that the only person he was ever alone with was her. The few meetings with others outside the guard and royalty he did have were always supervised by her. Hell, even the meetings
with
other guards and royalty were still supervised by her. So pervasive was her presence in his life that she'd become as permanent a fixture as the sun itself.
Not that Jax exactly minded. If his mother had to force a jailer upon him, he was glad it was his River.
"I'm afraid I don't understand, my lord," she said.
Despite her appearance, and despite the fact that even without armor, she stood almost three full inches taller than him, her voice still surprised him with how feminine it sounded, how warm and comforting it was, how
girly
it was. Her voice flowed out of her like cool, gentle wind on a warm day.
"I've retired for the evening. A little early, I know, but normally you return to your own quarters... In the suite below me."
She took a step forward, "My lord, I-"
"If you're here this late in the evening, you're not here as my bodyguard River, no more honorifics."
