The Royal Camp Of The Crown Prince Of Deprekia Kingdom:
Loud pantings could be heard and sweat was filling the ground which made the sand turn to mud under the body that was bouncing up and down on the ground doing the ninety degrees push-ups.
"Two hundr---hundred." Said the half-naked man that was wearing wide pants with a scarf covering his entire head and face but was showing his eyes and his upper body that was dripping wet with sweat.
He could not continue after hitting the two hundredth push-up which is why he fell on the sand in surrender ignoring the fact that his body will be filled with sand due to the sweat that was all over him.
The man was fighting to catch his breath thankfully the scarf that was on his face allowed him to breathe freely. His chest which was jumping up and down rapidly due to his fast breathing rate started to hurt because of how hard his heart was pounding.
He closed his eyes tightly before rolling over on the sand to rest on his back so that he can exhale more Oxegen since he could not breathe properly while putting the weight of his entire heavy body on his chest earlier.
"Again, Claudius. Do it again. Another two hundred." The exhausted man on the ground widened his eyes when he heard what his trainer said.
He instantly sat up while still panting and looked up at the bald man that was in his late thirties in front of him who was wearing his steel armour as always and standing up next to the half-naked man whose body is now filled with sand.
The bold man aka the trainer was there to count and make sure the crown prince won't forget any exercises or try to cheat " Edgar, are you trying to kill me? I have been doing this for the past three hours. I need a break. I'm tired."
The trainer sighed and kneeled on the ground and started silently removing the sand from the half-naked man who was still trying to stabilize his breathing rate "Claudius, you need to understand being the crown prince is never going to be easy. In the war when you get tired, the enemies will not give you a break to drink some water and refresh before continuing. They won't have mercy on you. They will kill you without hesitation. So even if you are tired and can't even breathe, you have to keep going. KEEP GOING, Claudius."
The crown prince silently listened to what his trainer was saying before pushing away his hand since Edgar was still trying to clean his upper body from the sand then he rolled back to his position and started doing his push-ups again which made a proud smile appear on his trainer's face.
When Claudius finished the other two hundred push-ups, he struggled to get up to drink a glass of water before walking back to Edgar who was watching him with a tiny proud smile that did not vanish from his face during all the time that the crown prince spent doing push-ups
"What's next, Edgar?" Although the crown prince's upper body was all sweaty and red due to his struggles to finish his push-ups, he was ready to do other exercises that Edgar would give him.
The bold man patted the prince's strong and wide shoulder "You can go wash up and have some rest. I have other young men to train." Then he walked out of the training ground that was made from sand to make the training harder than on the normal ground.
The crown prince was still breathing loudly as he gazed around the area looking at some soldiers training on the same ground that he is in before looking at the area of the camp where there were full set tents for the crown prince and all the guards that escort him everywhere since he was a teenager when he started his training period with Edgar.
Claudius cracked his neck and tried to get rid of the biggest amount of sand that was stuck on his naked upper body as possible before walking to his tent that was surrounded by guards who make sure to keep the crown prince safe.
The first thing the prince did was to go take a bath and get rid of all the sweat and sand on his body, face and hair before walking back inside his room just to stand in front of the mirror silently looking at himself.
His smooth milky complexion, the perfect shape of his face, his sharp jawline, his grey eyes, and finally his long grey thick hair that reaches almost the lower part of his back.
His face was perfect in such a way that you would believe that God took his time to create a face like his.
The word perfect was not even enough to describe how beautiful the crown prince is.
Although Claudius knows how beautiful he is, sometimes he hates it which is why he covers his face and hair most of the time. He hates attention especially when people keep staring at him making him feel as if he is some type of alien and not a normal human being just like them.
"Claudius, I see you are admiring yourself." While the crown prince was silently staring at his face and his semi-wet long hair, he was interrupted by the entry of Edgar who said this and walked inside the room with some books in his hands that Claudius did not pay much attention to.
The prince glowered at his bare chest in the mirror while touching the hard muscles that were built due to his tough daily exercises with his trainer before caressing the necklace that was dangling on his buffed chest and turned around to face his trainer who was still busy placing the books on the nightstands " What are you doing here? Have you finished training the soldiers that you told me about? Also, why are you bringing all these books to my room?"
"You need to study after eating." Claudius sighed in frustration after hearing what his trainer said then he walked forward to sit on his bed to wait for the maid to bring his food for him while watching Edgar putting the books in order on his nightstand " You told me I can have some rest, why are you saying that I have to study now?"
Edgar patted the last book before walking to the entrance of the tent where the maid was waiting with the food and took it from her in order to bring it inside for the prince who immediately started filling his mouth with food because he was starving due to all the exercises that he has done today.
"A rest from the physical training. Your brain needs some training too. Read half of the first book today and finish it tomorrow and do the same with the others every day after you finish your training." Edgar sat down on the bed next to the prince while watching him eat.
Claudius looked sadder than usual which made his trainer get worried especially because he noticed how the prince's flame to live happily keep shutting down progressively every day "Claudius, what's wrong? You know you can talk to me like your older brother or even father, you can tell me what's wrong with you?"
"I'm tired. Not just physically, I'm tired of everything. I'm sick of everything, Edgar. I feel so lonely and bored no matter what I do. Nothing seems fun. You know what I mean?" The prince mumbled complaining about the problem that he has been facing lately while just playing with his food using the fork since his appetite suddenly vanished.
He removed the plate from his thighs and placed them on the nightstand so that he can take one of the books to read it while Edgar furrowed his eyebrows in both concern and confusion "I don't get it. Do you want me to bring Eleanor or Harriet to keep you company tonight?"
"You don't get it. No, don't bring them. I don't think sex is for me. It was not pleasurable when I tried it.." The prince rolled his eyes in boredom when he heard his trainer's suggestion of calling some odalisques for him. "Then what do you need Claudius?"
The prince slammed his book close " I need my family. I missed my father and Cathleen. I miss looking at my mother's paintings. I miss my brothers. I have heard that I have two baby sisters. They are seven and I have never seen them in my entire life. It has been twelve years in this training camp. That's enough, I want to go back home now. I'm ready. I can't carry on staying here any longer without seeing my family."
"I will talk to the king and see..."
"No, I will talk to my father and go back home because I am NOT staying here any longer, Edgar."