[5]

The sun had barely just risen, the grass was damp with morning dew and the air was still chilly, but a group of men were heading into the large open yard to train when they spotted the white-haired male. Roland and King Philo elbowed their brother with matching smirks, the Knights giving small chuckles as the oldest Prince's flushed face. "You got a bit of drool on your chin, brother," Philo joked, Roland nodded as he chuckled. "You are acting as if you haven't seen a male's bare torso before," Roland snorted, his brother gave a huff as he shoved him away. River was in simple pants and flat shoes, his hair was tied up in a ponytail as he slowed from a run, and on his shoulders were large bags of grain he used as weights. As they approached him he lowered the heavy bags to the ground, stretching his arms above his head as he straightened he quietly groaned from the slight ache. "You are up early, how much of a run did you have?" Philo asked River, he greeted them all with a quick 'good morning' and a smile. "Three rings around the castle, grain bags on my shoulders, and I jumped over the walking paths for a bit of extra work, it isn't the same as at home, tending to the house, the garden, all the foraging and hunting, and wood chopping I do at home, ah, here come the children," He grinned, Astra and Elios jogged over to them from the castle, bright smiles on their wide awake faces. "Ah, you are all used to waking early, and your everyday life is far more strenuous than life in the city, good morning children," Geordo greeted, they both happily greeted them all, Astra had warmed up to most of them over the first turn. "Papa, we do hops?" Elios asked, but Astra shook her head. "I want to swim, or practice our fighting," She said, her brother pouting as he stomped a foot. "We can do fighting and our jumps, okay? and then magic training, burn off some of that power," He said as he ruffled his son's hair, Astra grinned with a mischievous glint in her eye.

As the group of men trained, they watched the small family train alongside them. Astra swung powerful punches and through jump kicks at her father, he blocked them and pushed back as he told her what to work on. Elios threw punches into his father's palms, his serious face quite adorable that some of the Knights almost cooed. "Papa, can I fight a golem?" The boy asked after they had down twenty jumps, after each jump they dropped to the ground to do a push-up, and they still had so much energy. "Fine fine, but after you and Astra have your little war," After those words the two children got to work, they used their magic to make their own little armies of five-inch tall dirt golems, and soon they were making them attack each other. River sat back with a content smile, he kept a close eye on their control as they focused their power on the dolls. "They each have a unique battle style, it isn't just play, but training their abilities and their minds, clever," Geordo said as he sat beside him, River hummed as he glanced over at him. "You have to get creative sometimes to keep children engaged in their learning, my mother taught me that much," he said before clapping as the mini battle ended, Astra as the winner again. "Okay, Astra, I want you to practice your elemental control, and Elios, I will make the golem for you to fight," He said, the boy cheered as he happily bounced on his toes. River held out a hand, a clay golem about four feet tall forming from the ground. "Once you shout for it to stop, it will crumble, don't push yourself, love," He said as he set the golem loose, the boy then ran at it and began to fight it, the golem fought back but only enough to match his strength. "We don't normally do combat training, but it is a useful thing to know, when we return home in a few days we will go hunting for our weapons training," He said, not noticing the slightly sullen look on Geordo's face.

The night and early morning were the only times he could get a rare moment to himself, River walked the dark halls of the castle as he thought about the fortnight they had spent here. "Unable to sleep?" A voice asked, startling him a bit. "Ah Your Majesty, I am sorry, should I keep to our room?" Philo quietly chuckled as he shook his head, he gestured for him to come into the sitting room and join him for a drink. "No no, you are fine, what is on your mind that has you awake?" he asked as he poured a glass of amber liquid, River took the glass and gave it a tiny sip as he leaned back into the chair. "The time we have spent here has been... full, full of new faces and friends, new experiences, full of joy and laughter, and I just cannot help but wonder if my children would do better to live in a more populated place, like this city with such open-minded people who would be far more accepting of us, but we still have access to a forest to hunt in, maybe I might be hindering them by keeping us where we live now... i know they would take to living here much easier than I since they are so young, but I am afraid of that sort of change, I am still not fully comfortable with being around this many people in your castle, which is far fewer people than living in the city... even if we lived on the outskirts, which is where I believe we could afford, it is still so many people," He said quietly, then sipped the alcohol, his nose scrunching up the slightest bit from the burn. Philo hummed as he finished his glass, eyes looking up at his family portrait above the unlit fireplace. "I would not fret, continue to think about it, what good and what harm a move could cause, and knowing you, you will need to sit down a discuss this with the children, it is a change for all of you, you are an amazing parent, I know you will do what is best for your family, just don't make yourself sick by over-thinking and losing to much sleep over it," he said with a smile, River finished the glass and thanked him for his ear and for his words before he bid him goodnight.