I spent a restless night tossing and turning in my bed. Sleep was the furthest thing from my mind, but with nothing else better to do, I was determined to at least give it a good try. But I don’t think I managed more than an hour when I heard the chiming of my doorbell the next morning. I gave a gruff reply, but didn’t budge from my bed.

I listened as the servant entered my room, placed a tray on the low table in my lounge area, and then quickly scurried out of the room. I was left all alone with the pleasant aroma of breakfast wafting to me, but I couldn’t even think about eating right now.

My head stuck on replay of last night, starting with Master Kiev’s revelation about the living death, my impromptu fight to get entry into the Emperor’s room, and most especially the latest ultimatum delivered to me by the man responsible for turning my life upside down.

My mind had been on overdrive, trying to figure out a work around or something I could do or say to take the guillotine off Earth, but I always came up with the same conclusion. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. The only thing I could do was what I was told and what was expected of me.

Or else.

What absolute bullshit.

Every part of me wanted to scream at the injustice of it. What? Just because I was born to a certain person and had a certain ability, I had no say about my life or what I could do? It felt like my chest was being squeezed from both sides. My head pounded from the headache that had been growing for the last few hours.

I threw back my covers and dragged myself out of bed. If I stayed there with my thoughts, I was pretty sure I would implode or go crazy. Maybe both. And I was pretty sure the Emperor would count all of those options against me and plunge Earth into the next great extinction.

So upward and onward as they say. Though at the moment I couldn’t remember who on Earth had actually said that. Or if it was an actual quote. Maybe I never knew. I shook my frazzled head. What a great way to start off the day.

I knew Dur-rele would be showing up soon for my lessons. I hoped I could give better than half-remembered quotes and marginal effort. I was pretty sure he would be reporting my every move to the the Emperor. Which meant, I couldn’t be half-assing anything.

I stumbled to the shower and blasted myself with hot water. Damn. That actually felt good. I let it scald my skin with hopes it would burn away my tiredness and all the aches and pains. I stayed there until the water began to turn to ice. But it seemed to do the trick. I didn’t feel quite so weary when I finally turned the water valve off.

I stepped out of the shower half-blinded by the water. I reached for the towel I had hung just outside the shower door before getting in. Only the towel wasn’t where I had left it.

Something crashed into me. I was thrown back into the shower against the far wall. I gasped for air and found I was unable to move. I looked toward the shower door to see a man standing there. He had a scowl on his face and his palm out toward me. After a moment, he let his arm fall back to his side. The pressure that was holding me to the shower wall released.

“We haven’t been properly introduced, Highness. I thought I would remedy that,” the man’s gruff voice replied.

He remained just outside the shower door. He was shorter than me by about half a head, but large muscles were quite evident underneath the black uniform he wore. It was Mr. Muscles. The man I had seen guarding the Emperor’s office my first day at the palace. And he wasn’t supporting a very friendly look on his face.

My god, if looks could kill.

My heart felt like it was trying to pound its way out of my chest, and it was like my throat had been squashed in a vice. I rubbed at my neck as tried to figure out what the hell was going on. It was then my mind finally caught up with what he had just done.

“You have telekinetic abilities?”

“I am Captain Kaller Hame. Protector to the Emperor and Captain of all of the Zahnian guards assigned to the White Palace.”

The way he said all had me freeze for a moment. It was then that I dared to actually make eye contact with him. The danger that resided there was enough to give me great pause. And I knew exactly what this was about.

“Look, I’m––”

The other man cut me off. “I don’t care that you are the Emperor’s chosen Heir. If you even think about threatening my charge again, I will kill you.”

His words hung there in the air for a few moments. He glaring at me, and me trying my best to hold his fiery gaze. This man wasn’t kidding. I could feel the truth of his words. Even though I was pretty sure his actions would probably earn him swift repercussions, he’d take me out and suffer the consequences without hesitation.

Master Kiev had said that Protectors could go to great lengths for those they protected. I had certainly learned that about my dad, but to see it from the other side… well it was quite an unsettling experience.

“That’s not what happened,” I said in self-defense. It sounded lame even in my ears, but under the circumstances, it was the best I could do.

“Really? I saw the recording. It tells me otherwise.”

Shit. He was right. I couldn’t deny it. There had been that pause where I had considered turning the gun on the Emperor, but then thought better of it and tossed the gun back to its owner.

Only there was no way this guy could know that, even if he suspected it, he couldn’t prove it. I knew deep down that he was only doing what my dad would have done (had done for me on many occasions), but I didn’t care. I was sick and damn tired of everyone pushing me around and trying to tell me what to do.

I hesitated.

Maybe I should just take the warning and let it be? I had barged into the Emperor’s room after all. And there had been that moment when I held the gun, and maybe a few others after the Emperor had made his ultimatum that I thought some very unpleasant thoughts about my birth father.

But thinking wasn’t acting. And it certainly didn’t give this bastard the right to assault me. In my own freaking shower. What the hell? For a brief moment, I considered that maybe this was the Emperor’s handiwork. Him sending his thug to warn me off?

But that didn’t quite track.

I was still getting to know my birth father, but I was pretty certain he wouldn’t have sent this big lug after me. Thuggery didn’t seem his type. He was more of a I’m-just-going-to-nuke-everything kind of guy.

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Nope. This jerk was here on his own. So he would probably get an earful from the Emperor for even being here. I felt a little satisfaction knowing someone else would be on his bad side. But it only lasted a moment.

This asshole was still in my shower and had thrown me around like I was a sack of potatoes with his mind. Okay, so if I had gotten some decent sleep and hadn’t spent all night deep in the bowels of my own personal mental hell, maybe that last little bit would have caused me to make the smart choice and just shut the fuck up.

I wasn’t feeling especially smart right now. Just angry. Really fucking angry. I found myself pushing off the back wall, standing up, and planting my feet firmly. Well as firmly as I could in a still slick shower floor in bare feet. I put a hardness in my voice as I spoke.

“I was trying to get in to see the Emperor. That’s all. His guards wouldn’t do as I asked, so I pressed the issue. And quite frankly, I’m offended you would think I would harm my own family.

“What the hell gives you the right to come barging into my room while I’m taking a shower and assault me with a baseless accusation? So get out of my way before I move you out of the way.”

The other man looked amused and more than a little smug. “You think you can take me, little Prince? Go ahead and try.”

There was a part of me that yelled at me to stop. I swear there was. Really. But most of me didn’t care. Nor did I care that this guy was far more of a threat than the other guards I’d tangled with last night, and I knew a confrontation with this dude wouldn’t go so well for me. Call it intuition or my Perception Dome-ni at work. Whatever. But this guy’s whole demeanor screamed death and danger.

But in that moment, all I could think about were those three mark 12’s and watching them as the Emperor had shown a simulation of them targeting Earth. Then watching as the planet I had grown up on become a lifeless rock. Maybe I couldn’t lash out directly at my birth father, but his guard seemed like the next best thing.

It was all I needed to send my fist flying. As the Protector blocked it, I twisted my body around to let my other fist fly. This one aimed low at the other man’s rib cage. He blocked that too and moved me backwards. Once again, I was slammed against the wall of the shower. And I couldn’t help but think this fight was decidedly unfair. He had an advantage I couldn’t possibly match.

That alone should have made me rethink this stupidity, but as soon as the pressure from the Protector’s Dome-ni released, I launched myself across the shower with a scream of fury. I should have been afraid, but it was like all the anger that had been building up since the weeks of my departure from Earth had finally broken loose. It was free, and there was no stopping it.

I channeled my rage through my hands as I threw punch after punch. And not one of them landed. It was like he was standing still and gently slapping away my attacks as if I was an annoying bug. A wide smirk cut across his face, which only caused my anger to build. I wanted to wipe it away. I wanted to see him bleed. I wanted him to scream for mercy.

Part of me was shocked at the thoughts and feelings raging through me, but it was only a small part. The rest was desperate to do some serious damage. Part of the problem was I was still stuck in the shower, on slippery ground, and waaaaaay outclassed by this hunk of muscle. I needed an upper hand, something to give me an advantage.

In a flash, I was throw back against the shower for the third time. The pressure this time was over my whole body. I could not move, not an inch. I could barely breathe. All I was left with was the ability to glare menacingly at my opponent. Yeah, that was definitely not going to help me win this thing.

“You had enough yet?” the other man said like he was scolding a child for getting out of line.

He stood there with an outstretched hand. The palm facing me. The palm moved a little my way and the pressure intensified. It felt like I was being crushed by hundreds of pounds. My lungs refused to work, and he just stood there, not even breathing hard, while I felt like I was dying.

“I can do this all day, you know. All you have to do is stop struggling. You do that, and I know you’ve taken me seriously. This can all stop.”

The anger inside roared. It demanded blood. It demanded justice. It did not want to stop, not until it had its say. But my body could not stand the pressure. I could feel something inside pop, and an explosion of pain followed. My lungs screamed for a fresh breath. And a blackness rose up to slowly take me. And even though it went against my very core, I felt myself let go. The fight. The anger. I let it all go.

Finally, the pressure let up. I was free. I could breathe. I could move my body. I stood there for a long moment, trying to catch my breath. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to stand. My whole body in raging pain.

The Protector took a big step back as he moved away from the shower door and his hand fell to rest by his side. “I’m glad we had this little conversation. I feel we understand each other much better now, don’t you?”

The smirk grew wider as he threw me a wink. He then started to turn away. Despite the pain I was in, I stumbled forward and out of the shower. It was good to be on a surface that wasn’t slippery. I leaned over and grabbed the towel that had been tossed to the floor in our scuffle.

I then spread my feet and stood up tall. I pushed the pain away and focused on my breath. It was still a little jagged, but at least I could get mostly full inhales and exhales. In my breath, I found my center. I searched out to the pillar of strength I could always find with a little bit of focus. Something dad had taught me.

He also taught me about making weapons out of everyday objects. A towel was an easy one. I just tightly twisted it around and around. Then I folded it in half. I braced and snapped it out, letting the end sail out and snap at the back of the retreating Protector’s head.

He slapped a hand to the back of his head where the end of the towel had landed. He then turned around with fire in his eyes.

“I didn’t say I was done, did I?” I sneered.

I then brought the towel back around for another strike. This time the Protector caught it, but I was ready for that. I used the towel as leverage to yank him forward off his feet. I then twisted around and landed a hard punch in his side. It was the first contact I had managed to make, and I made sure it counted, sending all the force I could mustard with it.

I heard bone crack, and the Protector grunted. I went for another punch. He was able to block it, but barely. He was moving slower. I was thrilled I had done some damage, but I couldn’t stop now. I could feel the shift in him. His previous indifference was gone as the Protector’s anger flared.

Mine roared, glad to finally do some damage. I used the towel once more to leverage myself again. A kick sailed and met the man’s chin. The Protector let go of the towel and stumbled backward.

He stood there glaring at me and a little in shock like he couldn’t quite believe I had made him feel pain. I didn’t stop to trade dirty looks. Instead, I raced forward with an upper cut that hit his mid-section. The hit caused the man to stumble back into the bathroom wall. He crashed hard, but he managed to hit me with a punch that flung me back too.

He added the pressure of his Dome-ni. It sent me sailing through the air, right into the shower door, and then through it. Glass shattered all around me. And I landed hard among the remains of the shower door.

White hot pain seared through me. I heard myself scream. I felt something piercing my side. It hurt too much to move. Too much to think. All the anger that I had been so eager to draw upon was gone. Just like that. All that was left was pain and weariness. I just wanted it all to stop.

I heard a crunching noise, and looked up to see the Protector standing above me. His chest heaved with exertion, and there was a dangerous glint in his eyes. He knelt down, gripped the towel that we had dropped. He then straddle my chest, took the towel, and wrapped it around my neck.

He leaned down and spoke. “He told me you would be a problem. He told me I should keep a careful eye on you before they were forced from the palace. But I honestly didn’t take the warning all that seriously. I thought he was just upset at being replaced by you, again. Now I’m starting to think everything would have been so much better if they had actually succeeded in killing you all those years ago.”

As he spoke, the Protector slowly tightened the towel around my neck bit by bit, until I felt myself starting to suffocate.

“I really was going to just give you a warning, but you had to keep pushing. That’s alright. Maybe it’s better this way. Tell me the truth, little Prince. It’s just you and me here. You were going to kill him last night weren’t you?”

I couldn’t speak if I wanted to. My throat was constricted to the point that no air was able to get through. I could feel blackness coming to take me. This man was going to kill me, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

My last thoughts were of how stupid this was. I really did have to just keep pushing, didn’t I? And now I was going to die on the floor of a bathroom just because I couldn’t control my anger. Dad would be sooooo disappointed in me.

He had given up everything just so I could die millions of light years from Earth, all alone, and in the dumbest way possible. The worst part was––my family would never know what happened to me. Too bad I couldn’t at least send them a heads up so they could erect a tombstone in my honor.

Here lies Michael Nathaniel Layton. Son, Brother, Friend, and the fool who got himself killed.