Lirian was in his room with a dozen servants around him, even his mother and several aides were there, the aide Antonasia was inspecting his wound. She was a warlock and like most warlocks, she had an insatiable curiosity for knowledge and her specialisation lay in alchemy.
"It's a clean snap," she said after a quick check, ", I can give you a pill to heal it right away, or you can do the natural recovery it will take about six weeks."
"Let it heal naturally," he answered and shifted on his bed, he had lost count of how many pillows had been stuffed under his shoulder and after a certain number, it caused him even more pain.
"A good choice," she smiled approvingly, ", I'll have a sling made for you,", the luxuries of healing medicines were not supposed to be allowed to prince candidates, but she did so anyway, after seeing him today she had a feeling he would choose the natural route.
To have your injuries heal naturally was a sign of respect to your opponent, and after his battle today she could tell that despite his lack of grace he had a degree of honour to him.
Soon the room emptied out and only Lirian and Taliyah remained, "That move of yours was very bold if you fought a real battle like that..."
"I would have lost my arm," said Lirian, "I had to make a bold move to take you by surprise but I still lost anyway, that's how it goes sometimes doesn't it, you put your everything into one move but no matter how desperate and bold the move is you fail all the same.", he gave a dry chuckle.
"If you didn't hesitate that would have been your victory," she said with a smile, but beneath that was a wild tremor in her heart, to be beaten by a child in skill was a server blow her confidence.
Lirian furrowed his brow, "You don't need to make me feel better mom, I lost this time, I'll try even harder in the future."
"Little one, can I ask you something?"
"If it's about those laws that I used while fighting, I'm not sure I know either mom, it just happened!", he knew that was very strange and he had little control over what happened there, in truth the system had two theories, one was that it was the intervention of a god which was almost impossible, the other was much more likely, the 10 000 godly essences inside of him were all dormant however even in its dormant state the laws were attracted to the essence and revered it.
Taliyah nodded, "Sleep well little one, you should rest up well for the week, starting next week you'll be busy in school."
The next day a servant brought in all the fragments of the broken sword, not even a splint was missing, it was the order he had given before he left the courtyard, he placed it all on his desk drawer and over the week he slowly put it back together.
It was a difficult task to complete with only one hand, but he didn't want to wait to restore it, it was obviously unusable but he had no intention to use it any more, after putting it back together he got a glass case and put it on a display stand.
A week later Lirian lay sprawled across the back seats of a limo, with his head supported by his right arm, and his left arm in a sling was holding onto a drink, he sipped it through a straw as the limo crawled through the traffic.
"Are you planning on tucking your shirt or at least buttoning up your collar and sleeves?", Anya asked irritated at his unsightly clothing, it had been ironed and fresh but now it was filled with wrinkles.
"Nope, it's uncomfortable," he replied and lazily took a sip of his drink.
"It's not going to look good when you put your vest and coat on."
Lirian scoffed, "It's a hot summer day, only a mental patient would wear such things in this weather."
Anya frowned, "You can get away with dressing casually at home Lirian, but out here your dressing also represents your mother, if you are dressed badly, your mother will be criticised for it."
"Tsk, fine, help me sort out my clothes,", he clicked his tongue in frustration.
When he was done setting his clothes, he stretched out and took his place across the seats again.
He caught Anya's eye and he noticed a glint in hers, 'Here we go.' he thought.
"Does stretching across the seats like that make you feel taller than you are?", she asked teasingly, she was also frustrated with his lack of grace, it was no wonder why all the etiquette teachers had quit.
"Says the short nation.", he retorted, and tried to hide his grimace, there was something about occupying multiple seats that made him feel bigger than he was, but he'd rather die than admit it to anyone.
"It is cute and adorable, for a lady to be short Lirian," she glanced at him and giggled loudly, ", but when a boy is short it is just hilarious."
Lirian looked away and focused his gaze outside the window, but Anya was far from done teasing him.
"But it should be okay if you remain so short even when you are older all you'll have to do is show the girls the results of all my massages over the years, of course, you're too young for that now, but a few years from now I bet you'll come running to thank me."
He felt a shiver run through his whole body; those massages were his definition of a guilty pleasure, one that he didn't want to live without and would never admit to wanting.
"Oh, forget about it, for now, there's something else you should know, someone that you know quite well is going to be a teacher at the school, in fact, I've seen to it that they will become your homeroom teacher."
Lirian looked surprised he doubted it would be any of his personal teachers, they were incredibly qualified, he doubted they would lower themselves to teach in a high-world school, and other than that he didn't know anyone from outside his home, "It's not you, it is?"
"No, of course not I volunteered to guard you at the school but that's all, I bet that you'll be surprised, oh here's a hint, it's someone you know but you have never learnt their name."
'Only to be my guard,', he chided inwardly, ', more like so that she could watch a bunch of pretty young children to get herself off too, that paedophile.', there was no way she could ever convince him that she wasn't one.
Lirian eyes opened wide, "The neighbours! no that's not possible, how could a teacher afford to live so close to us."
"That teacher's name was Hira Jenkins, and her ex-husband is the director of Xelia's largest inter-galactic trading corporation."
"It's only been a week since I sent those pictures and they are already divorced!" he exclaimed.
"That's not all, the most surprising thing is that she walked out of the marriage and got absolutely nothing."
"This sounds like a fun mystery to solve while I'm there, but would you mind telling me why you put me in her class, if she finds out that I sent those pictures she is going to hate me."
Anya chuckled, "While I doubt that she knows who sent the pictures, just by looking at the angle she would be able to tell that it came from the manor."
"Anya, I hate you,"
"Don't be like that, remember you're a prince candidate, being stuck in a messy situation is a good way to discipline yourself, and one day when you become a prince, you'll think back to simple problems like this and laugh about it."
He was busy glaring at her hatefully when the limo came to a stop, Lirian looked up at a 50-story skyscraper that covered an entire block by itself, that would be his school starting from that moment onwards.
"This next part you'll do alone," said Anya and she vanished into the shadows.
It was a very strange feeling for Lirian, he had spent his entire life alone, but for the past ten years he had always had someone accompanying him and at his side and now he was alone once again, he oddly felt slightly frightful, he wondered if the past ten years were just a delusion he dreamt up, it wouldn't be the first time his mind did such a thing, and the moment he entered those halls the people would storm towards him with weapons and try to kill him with every fibre of their being.
He looked back at the limo, 'No it can't be the driver would have tried to kill me while I was in the car or he would have driven off a cliff at some point, no unless the driver is just some automaton, I created to do tasks for me.', he shuddered violently and walked back towards the limo.
"Take me home!", he shouted in a fit of desperation, that was the only place he was safe, and it was where he needed to go, even if it was a delusion, he would rather stay in it.
At least there he would have salvation, he felt himself being pulled apart by contradicting thoughts in his head, some told him that it wasn't a delusion and some told him that it wasn't, in his desperation he found it odd that his other selves were quiet and as he blinked into the throne world, the black winds had broken free from the green arouras and wrapped around him.
In those moments, the insatiable madness and dementia began to encroach on his mind that had become unstable for just a moment and he could no longer tell the real and the fake apart.