12

Lesker

Marked. What does she mean by that? She leaves before I can ask anything. I have nothing to go on with. I decided to ask the librarian.

"Hello again"

"Prince Consort Lesker, can I help you with anything?"

"Yes. Can you please tell me where I can find books on marks please?"

"Marks?"

"Yes. Especially ones of the magical nature"

"Hmm, I don't have anything on that. Lady Jeir recently borrowed all the books we have on magical marks though they were few. You would have to wait till she returns them or you could go ask her"

"Oh, thank you. Can I get books on nobility then? An etiquette book to be specific"

"Sure. They're in platform 20"

"Thank you....."

"Britta"

"Thank you Britta" I smile.

"Oh, consort Lesker" she calls as I turn to leave.

"Yes...."

"Maybe wear thicker pants next time.  Yout tryst with the queen is very obvious" she says, gesturing to my pants. I look down to see a rise in my pants. I flush immediately.

I give her an embarrassed smile and quickly leave through a portal. I could still hear her cackle from where I was.

I shake my head and leave the rise in my pants to settle on its own. I bet if I started to read the etiquette books, it would deflate on its own. I wasn't wrong.

I saw a book on the expected behaviour of the prince consort. It was ridiculous. The prince consort was basically an upgraded servant.

The prince consort was to follow the queen everywhere as an escort. They weren't allowed to do anything without the authority of the Queen. They had a strict diet and weren't allowed to mix with women however they liked, including their mothers and sisters. Being the prince consort was for life. They either become king or die. They can only be relived of their position by the council.

"I used to think that book was a joke" I jump again, startled. What was with members of the royal family startling me.

The person talking to me looked a lot like Lady Jeir. He had the same messy brown hair and one could mistake him for Jeir if it wasn't for his sharp jaw and muscled body.

"Hello...."

"I'm Jayar. I'm Lady Jeir's twin brother"

"I'm prince consort Lesker. It's an honor to meet you Lord Jayar"

"Hmm, you have manners. I heard you came from a monastery but you're a scholar. You're refined"

"Thank you.....?"

"Come with me. The queen mother asked me to teach you etiquette and sword fighting. Tell me, consort Lesker, do you know how to fight?"

"No. The monastery didn't condone violence"

"Well, this place is a war zone so you better be careful. The queen mother seems to be fond of you so she wants to protect you. I don't know why though. Maybe it's the fact you have no magix or it's the fact that Queen Kohra can just kill you on a whim"

I have nothing to say. He waits a few minutes for the reply I never gave and snorts. I was pretty sure the queen mother was protecting me because of the council but I didn't say that. The royals were all crazy and I didn't want to agitate them further.

He turns to leave and I place the books down to follow him. I give the stone back to Britta who asks me to keep it.

I follow Jayar to a certain part of the palace dedicated to physical fitness.

"You're too scrawny but you're healthy. We'll build up your stamina first. You don't need the strict diet but you'll follow a set of exercises for three months because of your lack of magix"

"But I'm conducting research"

"Your research can wait. The training would only take half of your day. Well, the half you're not using in court. After we're done in a year, you can go back to your research"

"A year?!"

"Look, do you want to learn to survive or not?"

"Fine! When do we start?"

"Now" he says with a smirk.

As it turned out, Jayar was really like his sister; mischevious. The training was tough. By the end of the day, I find myself wanting to get rid of my arms and legs.

Getting to my room, I slip into my bed and fall into blissful slumber.