I woke earlier than I needed to, in desperate need of the bathroom. The large windows inside the bedroom allowed a peek at the towering trees around the palace. From the other side of the bed, the scent of cinnamon came off Myles's skin. Every night he smelled different.
My mind wandered to how things could have been different if he was a woman. The marriage could be more genuine if there was even a sliver of attraction. Myles was a good person and even had some qualities I looked for in women. He was soft-spoken, eager to learn and help, and smart. He started learning how to cook some basic dishes in the absence of a chef. "If only" was a phrase, I said a lot when I thought about him.
Getting out of bed, I ignored the swelling in my shorts and walked into the large bathroom. Every morning I woke I felt like I would burst with sexual frustration. The sun was rising and open to see since the walls were mostly glass. The sea reflected the warm light. The view without fail got me to pause and gaze and the beauty of nature. After quickly relieving myself, I stepped in the shower, tossing my brown shorts out before hot water began on its own.
Water rained down from the ceiling and steam pumped out of the greats on the walls. Soon the sounds of the rainforest played from the speakers on the roof. This was my favorite room in the small palace. In the week since the announcement I found that my showers had grown longer than they had been back in the South.
I had the timeline for the day but still took the time to allow my hands to roam to my lower body and take care of my raging manhood. Even after reaching completion, I still felt frustrated but shrugged it off.
After washing I stepped out and dried myself off, water still ran from my hair and walked to the sink using the towel to cover my lower half. Knowing Myles was running late by then, I turned the sink to full power to coax him from his sleep. I washed my face with the water still running and soon saw Myles. He wore cream shorts and a crop top.
"Good morning," I said from the sink as I scrubbed my face. He stared at me for a moment as I continued dragging my washcloth over my face. I could see his eyes wandering down from the mirror before he snapped his head up.
"Good morning." He looked like he was in deep thought.
"You okay?" He stood dazed in the doorway. With a shake of the head, he walked to his sink and stared at himself before he prepared for the day. Not being a daft individual, I could tell that he had a passing attraction to me. Luckily, he kept it to himself.
Even though I was up before him we were both dressed at the same time. I walked out the door and saw our guards waiting on us. Mileta would be with Myles on his excursion to the slums while Alejandro would accompany me to my meeting.
I looked back at Mileta and Myles as they went down the front stairs, then turned to Alejandro. He led me down the back stairs and through the back door where we passed the pool and stepped onto the private beach.
From the beach I could see a luxury yacht anchored a few miles out, Surrounding the yacht were small gray vessels. The Coast Guard had painted their branches' names on the sides in bold black paint. As we walked closer to the shore Alejandro waved his hands in front of us. I began feeling weightless and my feet left the ground as we flew over the water and hovered above the yacht.
Alejandro lowered his hands, and we landed on the deck of the ship. Everything was silver. After gaining my bearings, I noticed the roundtable on the center of the ship. The heads of the military branches stood and bowed their heads. Alejandro remained within earshot but stayed back as I went to take my seat.
"You are at ease," I said. They all smiled and took their seats.
"Sir, we would like to welcome you to Panama, and to your first joint military meeting. I am Almirante Cero," A gray-haired, pale man said. His white dress uniform gleamed in the sun that had risen past the horizon. His accoutrements were from the Navy and the nameplate in front of him.
A woman with artificial blond hair smiled at me before standing to speak as Cero sat. "I am General Gomez of the Marines. Under you I lead the group discussions. I am here to answer the questions you have. If at any point there are questions we don't have the answer for I will find them."
"What do I need to know." I said, cutting the formalities.
"If I'm being frank sir, we have no military issues other than a few rebels we squash here and there," she said. I ignored her from then on out.
They will need to get replaced.
I looked at the members, knowing that something was wrong. There was no way a military member could afford an antique 2001 Rolex watch like the General of Soldiers was wearing on his wrist. They were all being paid well by someone. I could not relive them on the spot for suspicion or treason. I would figure out who was pulling the strings before I made that move. Whoever was running them had to be powerful for them to lie to a royal which could hold the punishment of death.
"How much money will you all require modernizing our force?"
"If you lay the bait, you see the animals hiding in wait." My mother would tell me that.
"Around nineteen trillion to improve equipment," she said. The way she smiled let me know how crooked she was. It was wide and toothy. My brother had given me the latest modernization reports and the stimulus packages they had received, so I knew the trillions they wanted were unnecessary.
"I will start the paperwork. If that is all then I will make my leave," I said standing. The leaders stood and bowed to me as I turned my back on them. Alejandro walked over and pulled us into the air. The breeze blowing my tan clothing against me. It only took half the time to land on the sand, returning than it had taken to depart the beach.
"They're full of shit aren't they?"
"Absolutely sir. Will you be leaving the grounds today?" He looked over at the ship and rolled his eyes.
"No, I will spend some time in the gym," I said. He nodded before leaving me alone. I made my way back into the house and changed into workout attire before going to the gym downstairs.
The fully stocked gym was my second favorite place in the palace. I started with warm-up exercises before getting to work on the bench. I loved the adrenaline rush that came from working out. There was magic that could both keep me fit and give me the same rush, but physically doing it made it all feel earned.
In the middle of my deadlift, I heard someone coming near. It had been hours of working out and my body rejoiced when I dropped the bar causing a loud bang and turned to Myles who was waiting near the entrance of the gym.
"I'm sorry for interrupting but I need a moment of your time." He spoke with a flutter that he always had when speaking to me.
"What's going on," I asked as I reached for a cup filled with water. He eyed me as I drank before speaking again.
"I went to Progress Village and found a lot of things that need correction," he said as he walked closer, knowing his voice was soft.
"What are the issues," I asked him as he twiddled his thumbs.
"There needs to be a cancelation of utility privatization on utilities in lower-income communities. The infrastructure needs an upgrade and schools need building," he said.
"How much is that estimated to cost," I asked, blinking sweat out of my eye.
"At least six trillion per favela," he said. The stuff he mentioned sounded important, but that money's needed for my military trap. The upgrades could wait.
"No," I said and reached down for my bar.
"What do you mean no?" He looked at me with surprise.
"We have more pressing things happening on the military side. You know what the military is, right? It keeps those things standing during a war," I said.
"Please don't talk down to me," he stated. He pressed his lips together in outrage.
"Calm down. Nobody is talking down to you. I think you live in this imaginary world of butterflies and rainbows and I'm trying to show you that this world is filled with guns and blood. You need to grow up and see what is important," I said as both hands tightened around the bar to prepare for another lift.
"I don't like your tone and don't tell me to calm down. Not everything is about fighting, you're being an animal. Who cares if we have a good military, if the quality of life is shitty. You are being arrogant." His face red with rage.
"I'm not arrogant, I'm being logical. If you would stop letting emotions rule your every move, you might stop acting like a fucking bitch all the time," I spat at him. That immediately turned the situation.
"You don't get to talk to me like that," he said in a low tone.
"What are you going to do about it? Fight me? I doubt you can defend yourself, you soft ass bitch," I responded as I let the bar drop and stood straight up. To add to the intimidation I began burning mana, a fundamental use of the Mana Node. I rapidly absorbed the ambient energy around me and converted it into kinetic energy without manipulating it into a magical spell. I did it so quickly that the pressure in the room built causing my hair to go rigid.
Taken aback, Myles stumbled before steeling himself and releasing energy into the air. I did not expect the amount of energy to come from a man as reserved as Milo. His power was almost as strong as mine, showing that even the weakest of royals had natural gifts to rest upon.
"What do you want to do," I said. I began changing the structure of the air into iron and other metals. The sound of the colliding particles creating an eerie song. Transmutation of objects into metals was my specialty, meaning I always had a weapon. Transmutation and manipulation was a common specialty, but paired with my natural gifts I could do amazing things.
Myles stared at me as he slowed his mana burning down to a complete halt. "You aren't worth the fight." He walked away without looking at me.
Something about him walking away got under my skin. Him saying that I wasn't worth a fight caused me to form a knife from the metal fragments in the air and throw it into the glass wall, shattering a section. The only thing I could think about was getting under his skin the same way he had gotten under mine.