"He said I could find you here."
"What are you doing here so soon? The speech isn't over."
"Your father told me to come see you, so I did. If you want me to leave..."
"No. Are you all right?"
"I'm fine."
"What happened over there?"
"I don't remember everything. It happened so fast, my mind shut down and I acted purely on instinct. When the ship door opened we all saw a defenseless city. I took three steps off the ship and there were hundreds of thousands of soldiers. They materialized in front of our eyes. It was like magic, I've never seen anything like it. I fought, and I survived. I remember killing more soldiers than I even had on my side. We were lucky that we were better fighters."
"I'm sorry you had to go through that."
"Yeah, I hope the next time we're better prepared."
Another day, another practice session. Orion had taken up the role of teacher once again. Demas had improved since the last time they had trained together, and was ready to show what he had learned. He swung at Orion with great skill. Orion expertly blocked.
"You're getting good. It's good to know you trained while I was gone." Orion complimented his student.
"I can't get better without practice." The prince replied.
At that moment Demas' form became perfect. He bested Orion at every turn. The general was barely able to defend himself. Then, as suddenly as it started, it stopped. The prince lowered his sword as fatigue overcame him.
"You were holding out on me." Orion panted.
"What are you talking about?"
"You were doing better than me."
"You were taking it easy on me."
"Nope. Granted it's been a while since I used my sword, but you shouldn't have improved that much."
"I just got lucky I guess. Anyway, you know your birthday is next month."
"Really? I lost track of time over there. Well, you should get some rest. Besides, I have a date."
"Sire, he is here." A timid guard announced the arrival of a slim man dressed in black.
"Why don't you remove your mask." The king ordered as the guard left.
"I can't do that. My work makes me a lot of enemies." The man answered.
"Very well, I have a job for you. You must do it tonight."
"Rush jobs cost extra."
"If you accomplish it without any witnesses, I will triple your pay."
"Well then, as soon as you tell me the target, I'm off."
"She's a commoner. A waitress by the name of Lira. She was last spotted on her way to a theater. That was an hour ago. Here is her picture, you should be able to reach the theater before she leaves."
"Understood."
The assassin left. Shortly after that, the prince walked toward the palace doors.
"Demas, where are you going?" His father demanded.
"I'm bored. I'll be back in a few hours."
"That doesn't answer my question."
"I was thinking about going to see Thalos, if that's all right with you."
"That's fine, I just wanted to know where you were going."
Thalos locked his door as he left the shop.
"Where are you going old timer?" Demas asked.
Thalos spun around. "Oh hello Demas. I'm on my way to pick up your Sinthorian power source."
"That's great, although it does screw up my plans."
"What plans?"
"I was coming to see you."
"Sorry to ruin your plans then. Why don't you go see a movie or something."
"Good idea."
Demas handed Thalos a piece of paper and left.