He never realized just how bare bones his room was. He had always had somewhere to go and something to do. His room didn't even have a window, it never had one. He was wishing it had. It had only been three days, albeit three days without anyone or anything for reference outside of the three thoroughly messed up meals a day.

"Seriously, how do you fuck up oat meal to the point that it is a charred block sitting on top of the bowl?" Guard Tilde spoke while staring at the rejected... food. It even had a broken tooth stuck in it, so Costan had tried to eat it. "If they served him stuff like this before house arrest, it's no wonder as to why he wanted away from here."

Captain Giagan entered the hallway, coming to begin another investigation. He stopped in front of the serving trolley, lifting the cloche to inspect the offending item. He put the cloche back over the culinary abomination and ordered the kitchen closed and personnel detained for investigation.

"Your assessment is correct, both on the offending item and the prior treatment before house arrest. I have been taking this matter more seriously since the incident, but this is the second time in two months that a member of staff has done something that resulted in injuries to a member of the Royal Family."

"What am I to do about the nutritional concerns", Tilde asked, gesturing at the door to Costan's room. This wasn't the first time something was refused because it was inedible.

"Three days, and six of the nine meals were inedible. Give him basic field rations, but make him surrender the non-food portions and all trash from them, especially the combat spoon. I'm also calling in a recently retired drill instructor to make sure he gets appropriate exercise."

"Yes, Captain, it shall be done."

Captain Giagan marked the trolley and serving tray with evidence tape, snapped a few photographs, then entered the room to assess the injuries for the investigation log. Costan was sitting on his bed, holding a hand over the side of his mouth.

"Let me see."

Costan groaned, but didn't object. The left top canine was broke off, and a premolar was cracked.

"Alright, tell me what happened from the time you got this morning's breakfast menu."

"I marked oatmeal with the provided chromon. Then I received a brick on top of a bowl. I was hungry, so I tried to eat it. One or more of my teeth broke in my attempt at eating it. Then I sent it back."

"Have you had any contact with the kitchen staff outside of marking your meal choices on the menus provided with the chromon provided?"

"No, Captain."

"Are you certain?"

"I am certain."

"Until further notice, you will be eating standard issue field rations. You will surrender anything and everything that is not food to the guards. When finished eating you will surrender all trash and the spoon to the guards. Do you understand?"

"Yes Captain."

Giagan didn't want to just leave Costan like that. He knew doing so was driving yet another wedge in between Costan and everyone at the palace, but the rules for the grounding were set by the Emperor. Leaving a child alone for days in what was a glorified solitary isolation was never a good idea, and this was "until I say he's not".

The Emperor and Empress had last say in the matter, not Giagan, not Costan. The terms of the house arrest were not nearly as strict as the grounding and were only until the full investigation was over. They would have been more likely to just tell him never to do that again, but a cursory investigation revealed that he had already owned or had controlling share of many critical companies.

They were still trying to figure out why he bothered doing this through ClawSec instead of Talon Cops or Venom Company. Both were far more serious security firms than ClawSec, maybe he forgot because he was twelve or realized that they would have been automatically seen as a threat. Then there was the fact that the user manuals and specifications for the ships were forwarded but not read before everything.

How did they miss a terabyte sized file marked Code Black Confidential? It didn't matter, they would get their shit together in time. Maybe there was something good in that file, and all the others that had been sent this way and that. Costan was a busy little child, busier than most stock brokers.

Most of it was wrapped up tightly under red tape and code black, occluded to the point it looks like a paranoid counter intelligence group advised him. If Emperor Karcos hadn't taken direct control over his child's holdings, they would have spent the better part of a century trying to figure out all the companies he owned or had controlling interest in. Still took them months to get the abridged version of what all was going on.

Ten months of dragging time, field rations, and Instructor Grimclaw. The Palacial Staff didn't exactly know what to think about it, and were afraid to ask when retired Captain Grimclaw showed up. They quickly grew accustomed to the constant daily physical training and yelling. Costan did not.

Costan, with half a year of solitary confinement and being drilled like a recruit, was what a military psychiatrist would call disgruntled. Costan was not in the military, as appealing of an alternative as it was. Twenty months in a year, thirty three days in a month, thirty six hours a day, and he hated all of it and everything else.

It was month eleven, day twenty, seventeenth hour of the confinement when Costan was summoned by the Emperor. Instructor Grimclaw was not pleased by the interruption, but relented and escorted the wayward heir. The office of the Emperor was the same austentacious ordeal it was the one time Costan had seen it before.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

He had walked in unannounced that time, hoping to ask a question that the Empress didn't have time for. He had been noticed and escorted out in short order. He never got to ask that question, he had to get the answer the hard way. Even sending them mail didn't work, electronic mail as well. Most of all of this wouldn't have happened if they would have just read the email requesting to attend a barbeque that day, or the other ones detailing everything.

The two mercenaries were new to the office. Not new to Costan. One was from Talon Corps, they loved their starchy uniforms. The other, serious and slightly unprofessional looking one, was Venom Company.

"Have a seat."

"No, I'll stand."

The aids in the back of the room got a bit more nervous at Costan refusing the offer of a seat at the Emperor's desk.

Emperor Karcos sighed. "Costan, the past few months have been rough for you, but take a seat. We have a lot to discuss."

Costan scoffed. "If you would read my emails, we wouldn't have to discuss anything."

Before Costan could refuse again, Giagan appeared behind him. Captain Giagan felt like a babysitter sometimes, grabbing Costan by the nape once again. He picked the thirteen year old up and deposited him in the chair.

Costan was not fond of being handled in such a way. The chair was super plush and pleasant, though. No, he had to maintain his grumpiness.

"Now that you are seated, I haven't gotten any emails from you." Karcos gestured to one of the aids with a data pad. "If you would make sure to double check, it would be appreciated."

Costan knew he sent those emails, over a thousand of them probably. He made sure to keep the Emperor up to date on everything he did. If the old bastard didn't have time, oh well.

"Um, Emperor Karcos."

"Yes?"

"There are a few thousand that got sent to the spam folder..."

"All of them from Costan?"

"Some are from others concerning Costan."

The seriousness and professionalism left the room, leaving only shame, awkwardness, and the grumpiness.

"Told you."

Emperor Karcos was quick to turn a face.

"I will make sure to get caught up on that. Costan, the investigation has concluded and you are no longer subject to house arrest. You're still grounded. In light of recent events, however, I am repealing the forbiddence from technical things outside the palace. You will be undergoing the Emish Proving to teach you some respect, and no techy things on palace grounds."

Costan wanted to say a lot of things, but settled for one paragraph.

"You know that people die doing that, don't you? I understand you don't want me launching another FTL probe in the courtyard." The Emperor's gaze hardened. "I will undergo the proving."

"Good, you are dismissed."

Costan got up from the chair, then hoisted it over his head. Everyone was taking positions for the inevitable fight about to break out. Costan turned and started carrying the chair.

"What do you think you are doing, Costan?" Instructor Grimclaw sounded angry...er than usual.

"Emperor Karcos told me to take a seat and my room could use a comfortable chair, Instructor."

After Costan and Grimclaw left, Captain Giagan spoke quietly to the Emperor. "Sometimes we forget that he has autism."

The Venom Company merc couldn't take it, all signs of dignity had long left the room, and he broke down laughing. The sight of a black furred child just making off with one of the Emperor's chairs just was balancing the line, but the comment about the autism hit the dark humor on the head. His boss was an autistic child genius, and it was hilarious that he straight up took the seat.

"Ha. Ha. He straight up stole your chair! Ha!"

The other mercenary took the break in professional facade to make a point, while the Venom Company guy was laughing too hard.

"I will point out that, with the past months event not withstanding, Costan has been nothing but professional, respectful, and even courteous in his business dealings."

"Then why is he so disrespectful to me? I am his father and the Emperor."

"Probably a mixture of the autism and not being shown respect in turn? That and being belittled and even occasionally injured by palace staff."

Emperor Karcos pondered that for a second before facing the Talon Corps security officer.

"While that may be a possibility, get out of my office and take the hyena with you."

The Venom Company mercenary was on the floor, still laughing. They were carried out like sack of root vegetables.

Someone came to retrieve Costan for the proving before the week was out. He was supposedly still grounded, but considering that he was going to undergo it if he wanted to or not...

It wasn't until after the Emish took him away that Emperor Karcos got up to date with the backlogged emails. Concerns worked across the Emperor's brow. Chopped ear, broken teeth, successful business... Costan had set himself up for success outside the palace while others set him up to fail inside, and what was he doing with that chair?

Emperor Karcos was trying to find a little time in his schedule for something to do with Costan. There was very little time to be made, just enough for the emails and a quick meeting every now and then. Karcos' brow tightened, staring at where the guest's chair had been a few days ago.

"Go get Costan from his room and take him to the dentist. He's going to need good teath for the proving."

"Apologies, Emperor. Young Costan was taken by the Emish two days ago."

"Something tells me that his personal effects were not exactly geared toward establishing a homestead."

"No, Emperor Karcos, but... uh..."

"Quit stalling and spit it out."

"The two mercenaries slipped him some things through Instructor Grimclaw."

"Would you be so kind as to tell me?"

"Um, we know for sure that there was the jacket that "hyena" was wearing, no telling what may have been in the pockets. The bag that the Talon Corps lady had, it looked like an old assault shuttle crash bag. We are also running down a list of things that went missing while the two were here."

"So he is confirmed to have left with the jacket and crash bag?"

"Yes, as well as his backpack and your office chair."

"Those two went through multiple guard stations and you can't tell me what they had on them coming in and going out?"

"Emperor, that information is Code Black, level three, confidential. Yes, it was logged, but I cannot access it. Only you, Empress Yitan, and Captain Giagan can access that information."

"Why is it so restricted?"

"Because it deals with palace security, two members of the Royal Family and somehow a foreign power... it's complicated."

"Give me the data pad and start explaining this foreign power."

Emperor Karcos snatched the data pad from the aid, who cleared her throat a few times before beginning. She was trying to find the softest way of putting it.

"Spit it out! Did we forget to file his birth certificate or something?"

"Or something, Emperor. Um, you remember clause nineteen of the"

"Spit it out!"

"Every member of the noble caste are to have filed on their behalf a NC19B before they learn to write their name. If one is not filed on their behalf, they are considered a foriegn citizen until they complete the naturalization program and file one for themselves."

"So, my child is considered a foriegn citizen?"

"Um, kind of... it's hard to classify... but definitely foreign."

"That's not helping."

"Well, we could classify him as a foreign dignitary, diplomat, citizen, dictator..."

"So the document has him listed as Empirial Royal Family and as a Foreign Power, probably because of all the stuff he owns, but I control." Karcos let out a huff. "I guess we will have to wait and see. This is a mess, double check everyone's paperwork and make sure there are no more mistakes."

Meanwhile, outside of the house of Emish himself, Costan stood silently. The Emish elders were discussing things with Emish, the Immortal. It was a welcomed change of pace, nothing had to be done and nothing was to be done yet. Like being grounded but outside, Costan was enjoying this. Late Spring was nice, and he noticed how his fur drank in the light, like strands of night in the middle of the day.