The Fallen Angel - Prinxiety (ON HOLD)

Chapter Two

Sweat dripped down Roman's forehead as he raised his sword. His opponent raised his as well, leaning forward threateningly. The prince prepared himself and then lunged forward, swiping at his opponent with quick and precised movements. The sound of clanging metal rang through the air. 

They battled with intensity. The man before Roman was keeping him on his toes, but as he got more and more into a rhythm, he could feel his victory growing near. He lunged forward, bringing his sword up as though he was about to bring it down on his head. His opponent raised his own sword to block him. With his attention diverted, Roman took the opportunity to sweep him off his feet by hooking his foot underneath the back of his knees. 

The man yelped and stumbled backwards. Roman stepped over him and held his sword pointed toward his throat. Silence fell over them. The only sound was their breath; both of them were panting with exertion.

A smile spread across the prince's face as he pulled his sword away. He offered his hand to his opponent. A chuckle came from behind his helmet as he accepted it. "You win again, Your Highness," he said with a resigned sigh. The knight reached up to take off his helmet, shaking out his hair. He ran his fingers through his messy brown hair. "I'll have to continue practicing."

"You gave me quite a fight, Val," Roman replied, clapping the knight on the back. "You've improved drastically since you joined the royal army."

Val laughed and shook his head. "I'm a doctor," he said with a shrug. "While I'd like to say I'm a good fighter, I'm just naturally better and healing."

"You're a gentle giant," he agreed. 

They moved off the training field to the barracks, getting refreshments after their rigorous training. They were chatting when Logan entered. He looked a bit tenser than normal, making Roman arch his eyebrow as he turned toward him.

"Your Highness, your presence is requested in the royal conference room by your father," the advisor said stiffly. 

He gave Val a simple nod and then walked back out without waiting for Roman to follow. The prince looked toward the knight and gave him a shrug. He then hurried after Logan. The advisor was walking with purpose back toward the palace, not slowing for him.

"Whoa, Logan, wait up," he told him, still feeling the weariness from his training session in his muscles. "Has something happened? You're acting really stoic... well, more stoic than usual."

The advisor paused and took a deep breath in through his nose. He adjusted his glasses and checked his posture. "The king simply said there was an urgent matter he wished to discuss with you and I," Logan said. "I'm preparing myself for the worst, Your Highness. Perhaps one of our neighbors have declared war. I'm not sure, and I'd rather be relieved than shocked by the severity of the situation."

Roman shrugged. He got where his friend was coming from, but he also thought it was a little pointless to get worked up when they weren't aware of what the meeting was about.

They continued their way into the palace, heading toward the conference room. They passed Patton on the way, who stopped to talk to them. "Oh hey guys! Where are you going?" he asked, his cheerful nature still prominent as ever.

"There's evidently an urgent meeting my father has summoned us for," Roman told him. "I'll tell about it once it's over, alright?"

He nodded and hurried along. Patton was never one to get involved with the royal business, even though he was welcome to attend meetings. Roman made sure to keep him informed anyway. 

Logan opened the door for the prince as they reached the conference room; it was customary, seeing as he was of higher status, but Roman thanked him anyway. His father and mother were sitting at the table, awaiting their arrival. The head of the royal army was also in the room and they nodded to him as he took his seat on his father's right. 

"Now that we're all here, I have to inform you of a situation that has risen on our northern border," the king began. He gestured to the table in front of him, where a message was laying face up. "We received this message just before noon. It states that the village of Swanhold has been experiencing disturbances from a group of magic users. They're called the Steel Talons. They claim that they're earth mages that have been driven out of our kingdom due to the laws against the use of magic. They're threatening to attack the town with real force and start a rebellion in protest of our magic laws."

Roman blinked in surprise. Magic hadn't been a topic of discussion since... well, since his brother disappeared. He looked toward his mother, seeing the visible sadness in her eyes. "Why were they driven from their homes?" the prince asked. "Our laws prohibit the use of magic, but magic users themselves are allowed to live here."

"I'm not certain that there's a single answer for why they were driven out. If they were breaking the law, they would've been dealt with appropriately. Unless there was a severe violation, punishment wouldn't have been eviction from the kingdom," Logan said, adjusting his glasses.

The king nodded. "There haven't been any serious violations of the law since it was passed. Our kingdom has never been heavily populated with magic users."

"So, they're really just a group of magic using mercenaries who are trying to start a riot?" Roman asked. The others around the table nodded in agreement. He frowned and thought about the idea of a group of magic users unleashing their power on innocent bystanders. An idea popped into his head. "What if we were to undo our laws?"

Silence fell over the room. Everyone was fully aware of what had caused the laws to be created. His mother's eyes narrowed a little. "Why would we do that? After what happened to your brother, how can you suggest that?"

"Hear me out, we could embrace magic as part of our kingdom, for real this time," he explained. "We could call for magic teachers from other kingdoms to come and help us set up schools. We could use magic to fight magic instead of sending in plain troops to fight earth mages. We could do it better this time and prevent what happened to Remus from happening to anyone else in our kingdom."

No one voice opposition or agreement with the suggestion for several long moments. Finally, his father stood up. "I will not make a decision on changing our laws at this moment. That is a topic for another meeting."

Everyone started to make their way out of the room as the king instructed his military officer to send extra aid to the village of Swanhold. Roman sighed a little but smiled at Logan lopsidedly. "Well, I didn't get shot down immediately, so that's good, I think," he said. He chuckled a little at himself. "I wonder how things would change if we did make magic legal again."