The golden sun sat high in the sky like a king atop his throne, imperiously casting his heated gaze down upon the lowly mortals of Maegwyn. Its noontime rays of warm, gilded light shone down upon the city’s many residents, warding off the late autumn chill that had been felt deep by those toiling below to the bone since they had begun their morning labors. The scintillating beams brilliantly illuminated the city’s curtain wall, its storied history and battle scarred surface doing little to stop the bright reflections off of its pale stone construction. Greatly standing out amongst the shining stones of the wall, was a head of long and straight hair of raven black hue. The color contrasted so greatly with the materials of the wall itself, that it almost seemed to greedily sap the very light reflecting from the shining stones.

This deep black hair, rare in a land more rife with mops of blonde or brunette, was that of none other than the Empress herself, instantly recognizable for any discerning man within sight. Her wan, almost sickly in pallor, face blended in so well with the shining, pale stone of the wall that were it not for her hair, she would be all but invisible. Beside her strode four large and heavily armored men of the Empress’s Shield. Fully kitted for war, they surrounded her as she overlooked the city, keeping any soldiers or workmen well away with practiced stares of malignant menace so overbearing, that despite their faces remaining unseen beneath their opaque great helms, they exuded an aura of dread so great that none dared approach.

As Nathaniel returned from the his trip to the parade grounds along the main thoroughfare, intent on reaching the palace, he sighted her eye catching hair and unmistakable appearance atop the curtain wall, and smiled to himself. It seemed that, this fine day at least, he would not be pressed to brave peril once more by making the crossing to the Spire. As beautiful and wondrous as its graceful architecture may seem, having come so close to the plunging depths of a watery grave crossing its only means of entrance, he was rather loath to return. Cheerfully he diverted his path to the interior of the curtain wall’s gatehouse tower. Seemingly sufficiently chastised since his decidedly unsatisfactory prior encounter, the gatehouse guards admitted his entrance after sighting naught but his cheerful visage, allowing him to step out onto the wall with but a brief delay.

“Your Majesty, how fortunate am I to happen upon you in this happy hour. I was prepared to trek all the way to the palace to seek your audience, but my eyes chanced to spy your fair raven locks from afar.” Nathaniel respectfully bowed his head to the Empress in greeting, ensuring that he maintained a sizeable distance so as not to unnecessarily provoke the ire of her bodyguards.

He laced his honeyed words with flattery, knowing that she would be far more amenable to lending him the aid he sought through her arts if he so praised her. With her austere neutrality of emotion and the terrifying reputation that she had so carefully cultivated in the minds of her noble courtiers, she was decidedly rather inexperienced with her vassals even daring to match her gaze without trembling, let alone with receiving such high praise appealing directly to her vanity.

“Good day to you as well Nathaniel. I was just observing the city’s preparations for war, would you care to walk with me?” She nodded to him sagely, however her neutral tone did little to mask the faint rosy blush that settled upon her pale cheeks at his flattery. With a wave of her hand, she signaled to her guards to step aside. Returning her gesture with a curt nod, the guards parted for Nathaniel, allowing him to enter their protective envelope before reforming it around the two of them. Now with his addition, the party resumed its circuit around the wall, looking down upon the city below and observing with calculated gazes the frenzy of its activity.

“For what purpose does the Lord Protector seek audience with me? Are there any grave tidings newly received to which I am yet unaware?” She continued regally, her speech suddenly formal as she referred to him by his office rather than name, clearly caught off guard by his sudden flattery, and overcompensating in her effort to return their conversation back to task.

“Your Majesty, I have come to inquire upon your workings, as we had discussed in weeks prior. They may be our only hope of beating back the forces of your treacherous uncle, and it is my duty to ensure that this city is protected to the best I am able.” His tone became grave and his face lost its cheerful expression as she cut to the root of the matter.

“I have pondered our situation with great care and arrived at an answer. I am no warrior, no master of the esoteric arts turned to battle. My workings may be the product of a well disciplined and learned mind, but I have not the ability to strike down even their artillery, let alone their entire army. While I have read of great feats in the days of yore, entire armies emboldened by workings of empowerment granting the strength of bulls and the heart of lions, I cannot rework the bodies or minds of any save my own. While I have some mastery over influencing the weather, I can no more incite the heavens to smite down enemy generals than I can strike the bulls eye of a target with a droplet of water flicked from my hand.” She watched impassively as her honest admission of her limitations was received rather poorly, Nathaniel doing little to conceal the draining of hope from his face and the donning of a crestfallen expression.

“However, I have found suitable means to at least put our foe at great disadvantage. They have already been hopelessly delayed by fell weather, their detour, forced upon them in their vain effort to take Maegwyn by surprise, has cost them precious weeks that we have had to prepare. While the rains have not stopped them, and have let up as of late, the clouds heavily laden with water yet linger. I plan to call forth the rains over the entirety of the capital region on the eve of battle. Bearing in mind the current state of the skies, the most I can promise you of this great inundation is seven days of continuous rainfall. That is enough, I hope, to both flood the river and to turn the long miles laying between the city and the forest to muddy bog.” Nathaniel’s crestfallen expression shifted to one of cold calculation, his interest piqued as he pondered her plan.

It was truly unfortunate that she could not simply just wave her hand lightly and erase all of their problems, but he supposed if that were possible then the civil war would not have been won at such great cost. Not with the blood of tens of thousands of young men over eight long, grueling years if such an ability had lain within the Empress’s repertoire. While not as terrifying as the unleashed wrath of the heavens directed at their foes could be, rain would certainly heavily favor their forces in battle. Weary from their long march through adverse weather, surely the enemy would already be exhausted by the time that they reached Maegwyn. If all that remained at the end of their long march was yet more chill rain and miles and miles of mucky, half flooded farm and pastureland, then they would not be able to rest and recover from their ordeals.

While everyone within the city knew the hope of reinforcement from the recalled second and third legions marshaled from the east was distant, more than a month away, the Duke was surely not so knowledgeable of their situation, having been secluded upon an isolated road ever since his disappearance. The enemy would lack knowledge of the disposition of the Empress’s forces, and would surely act while keeping in mind the looming threat of the any of the legions in the various regions surrounding the capital arriving to relieve the besieged forces of Maegwyn. The Duke’s invaders would be pressed for time and coerced into a preemptive assault before the abatement of the rains would allow their troops to recover.

A heavily exhausted enemy having gone weeks with precious little rest would likely be sickly and weak, surely out of sorts enough to give even their half trained peasant conscripts, at the very least, half of a chance of victory. Furthermore, while the walls of the city were certainly antiquated to the point of almost complete obsolescence in the modern day, that was only true when the enemy possessed means to bombard the walls with heavy cannon. If the entire capital region were to be drowned in ceaseless rains for the next seven days then, unless they took exceptional care with their artillery, the powder involved would become sodden and render the cannon impotent.

Against the likes of infantry, the curtain wall would avail itself tremendously well, finally used in a manner of battle for which it was actually envisioned by its long dead designers. Additionally, in light of the first company of artillery’s preparations for battle, their own cannon having been emplaced in shelters protected from the rain would be almost entirely unaffected by the planned deluge. Likewise, with the flooding of the banks of the river, already churning and roiling even without the introduction of rain, the swollen waterway will be all but uncrossable by the invaders, greatly diminishing the length of wall that would then need to be fully defended.

“You are keen of thought, Your Majesty. A great deluge will certainly cause great strife within the enemy camp, and I dare say their forces, weakened by weeks of endless rain, may yet be just weakened enough for our own greenhorn men to handle. However, seven days is but a brief span of time in comparison to the length of a possible siege, and we know naught the hour of their coming. I beseech you to wait upon casting your working until the final hour. We will have unknowingly squandered what may have be the only chance our men have if the rains give way before the coming of the enemy.” His thoughtful face scrunched as he considered the delicate timing with which the Empress’s working must be made. They would have cast aside potentially their greatest weapon if she erred and preemptively enacted her art.

“I thank you from the depths of my heart that you care so for my subjects, Nathaniel. Were my uncle possessing of but a fraction of your consideration for your men to temper his ruthless nature in the years that he served me during the civil war, then perhaps caution would have saved the lives of many of our men. But you need not worry, while I have failed to divine the precise location of our enemy along King Hagar’s way, I will be ready for them when they eventually clear the forest, and the rains will fall down upon their heads in short order. I would be more precise, yet my attempts at scrying upon them have been stymied time and time again, as if a great fog had settled over the entire region, concealing it from my gaze. I am afraid I will be unable to predict the exact date of their arrival.” Her expression twisted with a small frown as she confessed her frustrations. Despite her experience and great learning, her attempts to perform such a simple trick as scrying upon her enemies had been made to no avail.

It was a harsh blow to her pride. Acknowledging her limitations to Nathaniel previously had been harsh enough, but at least she had held no illusions regarding her capability of performing those near mythical feats. This time however, it was different. The act of scrying merely requires a passing familiarity with a particular region and the ability to broaden one’s mind through a medium. It was simple fare for even the petty conjurers that she so looked down upon, let alone for someone of her abilities. It did not even require exotic reagents and catalysts to perform! Yet here she was, openly acknowledging that even in such a simple field, one in which she felt complete confidence, when tested in her time of dire need she had been found wanting. It was a death blow to her pride as a witch.

The entire affair reeked of interference by another one of her kind, unfortunately one seemingly far more capable than herself if they had so effectively countered her far seeing gaze. Blessedly, while her gaze into the dense forest had been blocked by means unknown, preventing her from following the progress of their enemy’s march, she could still sight the outlet of the road upon leaving the forest through more mundane means. Whenever the foe dared to leave the protective embrace of the thick and gloomy boughs, she would be prepared and waiting, ready to release an inundation of water down upon their heads the likes of which they could not image.

“I am grateful to hear that you will be prepared for their arrival through your own means. While I had considered posting scouts to the edge of the forest to spy upon the road, the Home Guard possesses naught but soft city boys within its ranks, and none of them will ever possess the means or capabilities to hide from the sight of the experienced woodsmen present in the Duke’s army. The only men in the city so capable are the peasant levy sworn to the local nobility. I would never trust even a small contingent of theirs so isolated from the intimidating proximity of the arms of the Home Guard and so close to that of the Duke, lest they take the opportunity as means to defect and undermine all of our efforts from within. But I must say, this fog of which you speak is worrying. While I am hardly an adept of the esoteric arts, I can only conceive that if it is the result of the same bastard that enabled this deceitful ploy of the Duke, by erasing the presence of tens of thousands of men in the first place, then we are in dire straits. If he can so effectively block your sight from afar then, if I may be so bold, will he not also possess means enough to dispel the rains and enable the Duke’s army to cross the miles between the forest and Maegwyn with but little difficulty? While I did express my dearest hopes earlier as I learned of your plan, upon second consideration then if the rains are prevented, no matter the preparations we have made up to this day, I have but little confidence that the Home Guard will be able to repel our foe.” Nathaniel replied while stroking his chin lost in thought, his earlier enthusiasm all but vanished as he considered that even with the Empress’s workings, she would likely serve only to counter the fell workings of her counterpart in the enemy’s ranks. Her skill merely compensating for that of their foe’s pet conjurer, rather than becoming the weight with which he had hoped to overcome the disparity in quality between their men and that of their foe, and tip the scale of the battle back into their favor.

His worried musings were interrupted by an unexpected peal of most unladylike laughter from the Empress that subsided almost as quickly as it had come, devolving into undignified giggles until ceasing entirely as she once more took control of herself. It was a grave affront to her cold and emotionless image, where even a smile was rare, let alone raucous mirthful laughter. Her guards unconsciously whipped their heads from where they had been scanning the surroundings back to the Empress. Beneath their helms, their slack jawed and wide eyed expressions betrayed the depths of their shock at the Empress breaking her usual ice cold demeanor.

“Your ignorance upon the intricacies of the esoteric arts is once more noted and forgiven Nathaniel. I believe at some point I will need to personally school you in the foundations if my kind so persist in opposing us. However, this time at least you could have seen through the illusion crafted by our hated foe yourself. While I will grant you that we know little of this practitioner’s abilities other than that he is able to conceal the movement of an entire army, no man, not even those endowed with the ability to bend and shape the world around them as they see fit as with my kind, is without limits to their abilities. This man, while without a doubt powerful compared to the usual fare of fools that dare to claim themselves practitioners of the esoteric arts, lies constrained by his own limitations. He has crafted an illusion in your mind, causing you to forgo sense in your dread of his abilities and because of this, admittedly somewhat understandable, fear of the unknown you have failed to gage his own plainly evident shortcomings.” The Empress paused as she formulated her words, her hands raised high for dramatic effect, and the faintest trace of a smile upon her face.

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It was a rare thing indeed that she found a man of such experience and capability as Nathaniel lacking, and even rarer were those times in which she herself could make an observation that had managed to elude his keen eyes. But witchcraft was a field in which she had vast knowledge, second to none in her own modest estimation, and she was overjoyed for once for her hard won knowledge to not only be relevant to the discussion at hand, but for it to be useful in seeing something that her loyal vassal had not.

“I may be rather inexperienced when it comes to the waging of war, but even my untrained eye has noticed the difficulty with which our enemy has been forced by ill circumstance to make their march. Delayed for weeks, they would surely have lost the element of surprise long ago, even if my spies had not located them. The muddy sludge which that ancient earthen road has surely become could have been no boon to them. While again, inexperienced in strategy and tactics, I have instead extensively studied the fields of trading and logistics and have travelled with many a caravan. Wagon wheels and horse hooves alike become easily mucked down in such conditions, greatly exhausting both man and horse as they march. Extended periods of heavy rain soak through the linings of tent and wagon covers alike over time, dripping down upon sleeping soldiers or precious cargo and severely damaging, if not entirely, ruining the contents. Food, always in short supply to cut costs and free up space when travelling to a known destination and along safe roads, becomes scarce as delays mount and rationing is eventually enforced, weakening man and beast yet further. Foraging for food can augment rations, but only delays the group even more and is therefore no true solution. Every day wasted is another day for food to spoil, for cargo to be destroyed by the ceaseless rain, or for the opportunity to profit to slip away. Or in this case, for the element of surprise to vanish and for us to be given time to muster our forces to repel their invasion. There is no advantage I can discern to so deliberately suffer from the rain, and yet here our foe has tolerated a delay of weeks due to it, despite relying upon the element of surprise to make his attack. I can only conclude that this man, skilled enough as he may be to block my attempts to gaze upon his fellows from afar, lacks the means to bend weather to his will as I do. He may be adept at opening his mind, as loath as I am to admit he is likely far more skilled and subtle in the expansion of his senses than I when acting outside the body and within the realm of thought. I am also sure that he would be more than able to erode and dissect most workings if I were to actively deploy them against him. However, no matter his mastery over the ethereal, a working existing as a physical material is different. I am not turning my very thoughts into rain, I merely manipulate the clouds and water that already exists. The storms formed by my workings will persist even if I were to withdraw my influence entirely. While he may pose some threat with small workings, perhaps able to dry some quantity of powder, shield cannon from the rain, or to firm up and harden uncertain ground for an elite few to effect a crossing of the muck, it will likely be few and far between that he can enact workings of any consequence. If he cannot drive off mere clouds, how could he ever hope to calm a raging river or to solidify hundreds of acres worth of muck enough to march an entire army across?” Finishing her lengthy analysis, her lips quirked, and her eyes sparkled in a look of smug satisfaction.

“I suppose I had not considered the limitations evidenced by their torturous march. My shock at the, to my eyes at least, great feats already performed by this man, has clouded my judgement of his capabilities. I may have to take you up on your offer of tutoring in the esoteric arts if foes of such power are to become commonplace amongst the ranks of the enemy.” With a bashful look Nathaniel confessed his own shortcomings. While he was somewhat disheartened to have been cowed so easily by the intimidating achievements of the unknown practitioner, he was gladdened to have his fears assuaged by one far more knowledgeable in the esoteric arts than he.

“With your assurance that your working will succeed I will be able to rest at ease. While I do not have full confidence in the men left to guard this city, between the coming rains and the fortifications that they have been toiling away to erect for the past few weeks, I reckon we may have a fighting chance at victory. Have you found our preparations to your liking, Your Majesty?” His face, recovered from the earlier gloom, was now brimming with confidence as he addressed the Empress. Perhaps there would be no cause to abandon the city after all. Although that thought still seemed to require a miracle.

“I admit that I possess naught but an untrained eye, but with a gladdened heart I have observed the training of men and the building of our defenses. I have not seen this city so full of life since the days of my father’s reign. It has been truly wondrous to once more experience such an aura of vigor and vitality within these aged and decaying walls. For being able to effect such a miraculous transformation, I feel full of confidence in your ability to hold this city, whatever the odds may be. I know they may have been difficult to grasp for a non practitioner but, you have my deepest gratitude for taking my dire warnings should the city fall to heart. I have seen from the frenzied activity of the city that you have done your best to ensure it will not fall at any cost, even in our current unfortunate circumstances.” The Empress’s radiant face was almost joyful as she praised him, but every word spoken seemed to cut through his flesh like a knife as he recalled his own determination to betray her trust.

“I am merely doing my duty as the Lord Protector, Your Majesty, there is no need to so profusely thank me for merely that. I must remain in atonement for not countermanding your order to deploy the fifth and sixth legions to the west, until such time as the danger has passed. You were right to rebuke me for failing in my duties as Lord Protector, and I have thought carefully upon my place in this Empire. All of my decisions have been made in accordance with the request of integrity you made of me at our last meeting.” He tried to brush off her praise, appearing humble and dismissive as his guilt for betraying her trust threatened to boil to the surface.

He felt the need to confess, to admit to her that he was not the man that she thought he was, but held back knowing that the fate of thousands of men depended entirely upon him breaking his oath. Perhaps all of their preparations would pay off, that the Home Guard would be able to repulse the foe at least until they were relieved by the eastern legions. But he dared not hope so, knowing well that despite the Empress’s own optimism that it was naïve thinking. He could not afford for the Empire to be crippled by a defeat at Maegwyn, he must ensure that the bulk of their forces, and most importantly the Empress, survived to fight on in more favorable circumstances.

His most fervent wish, even as a chill went up his spine as he squirmed beneath her penetrating gaze, was merely that she cease her undeserved praise. It was out of character for her to possess so great an interest in any man but her uncle, and after that man’s betrayal he had thought that she would never trust another man so deeply again. However, contrary to his expectations, she seemed to be slowly placing her trust in him. But deep down he knew he was not worthy, that he would never be worthy of that trust no matter what ideal he fought for or how much he tried to support her in her time of dire need, that he was no better than her uncle.

“Do not be a fool Nathaniel, I cannot abide fools in my presence, let alone fools occupying the second most important position in the Empire. You have been an invaluable vassal to me, both in your capacity as the Lord Protector and when you fought under my uncle’s banner during the civil war. While I may not have always heeded it, you have provided me with invaluable advice throughout your tenure without fail. My uncle’s betrayal has put many things into perspective for me, and I find it vital both in my role as Empress and as a human being, that I have someone I can confide in, someone I can trust to stay by my side and support both me and the Empire in the most trying of circumstances. Unfortunately, through no fault of your own, I have overlooked you, my most trustworthy advisor, through all your years of leal service. As if chasing the one I had confided in utterly during the dark, hopeless days of the civil war, I ignored your consistent, reassuring presence, content with that of my uncle even as he grew increasingly distant following his resignation from his position as Lord Protector. More than any of the members of the privy council, more than any of the sycophants in the army I have to blindly serve my every whim, I trust you. I consider you… my friend, perhaps the first man I have considered such in all of my long life. I ask of you, my friend, not as the Empress, nor your sovereign, nor even as your overlord, but as one human being to another, to consider me a friend as well.” The Empress’s almost joyful expression broke into a wide smile as she confided her trust in him, her pallid complexion almost visibly shining with the brilliant light of the noon time sun. It had surely taken a great deal of courage for her to confide in someone after the emotional turmoil caused by her uncle’s betrayal had so viciously rattled her psyche. It was a boon to the Empire for her to move beyond her dependence on her uncle, to find new and hopefully more loyal supporters and friends. But how could it be him that she so trusted…

She took his right hand in hers, both of her soft, delicate hands clasping his rough and callused one. Her fingers gently fiddled with his ring, the badge of his office as Lord Protector, as she grasped his hand. He could have sworn he felt the ring heat up as she touched it, his skin tingling from some unknown shock. His face blushed bright crimson at her proximity. In all of his years of knowing her, he had never seen her so candid, so openly yearning for the friendship of another. He wanted to take her hand and promise that he would uphold her trust in all matters, that he would support her rule to the utmost of his ability until his last faltering, dying breath.

But… he could not return her feelings. She sought someone in which to place her trust, but he had already broken that very trust, betrayed her against even her most urgent pleadings. Her eager, innocent, and trusting gaze should never have been directed so sincerely at a two faced wretch like himself. Every earnest word that spilled from her lips drove an icy dagger, one of greater chill and a finer point than any of her conjured icicles, straight into his heart. He blanched, flinching under her yearning eyes. While inexperienced in candid interactions with people as she was, her guards were not. Unseen behind the great helms so completely obscuring their stern faces, their eyes narrowed. For what reason could a loyal vassal have to so recoil at the earnest promise of his sovereign?

“I am deeply grateful that you do me such honor, Your Majesty. But this is so sudden… I beg that you grant me time to collect myself so that I may give a more heartfelt answer. Sometime after our imminent peril is eased, I hope. But for now, I must leave to ponder and prepare for the coming battle.” Thrust into the spotlight by her unexpected request, he could only think to stall. He would never be worthy of her trust again, but at least after the coming battle she would no longer feel reason to offer him her friendship.

Her happy expression collapsed into confusion by his unexpected response. While it may have been sudden, knowing his usual passion for his office and his dedication to the Empire, she had assumed that he would be elated to be chosen as her confidant, eager to don the mantle of such a vital role within the Empire. After all of the careful pondering and time spent mustering her courage to make the proposition, it seemed that she had somehow erred, made some unknown mistake that had caused him to recoil at her rather than accept her offer with a smile. Beyond bewilderment, her happy face collapsed back into her usual mask of neutrality, her mind abuzz with chaotic thoughts of self doubt and confusion.

“Before I go, there was one other matter pertaining to the defense of the city that I wished to seek your council on.” He turned as he made to leave, remembering the second reason for why he had sought audience. With a regal nod of her head, the Empress motioned for him to continue.

“In regards to the defense of the outer city, it will be the thickest and most devastating of the fighting in the coming battle. I have arranged for every member of the Home Guard clad in plate or brigandine to be stationed for its defense. They will be hidden behind barricades or within the rickety houses lining the alleyways, prepared to fall upon the unsuspecting enemy as they pass by. However, they are no more trained in arms than the rest of the Home Guard, despite their superior armor, and are only trained in the use of spears. I despair at their confrontation against our far more skilled enemies, many of whom are armed with great swords, hammers, or halberds. I beg of you, that I may employ the bulk of the Empress Shield in this fighting. While only numbering one thousand men, they are the most experienced men in the entire city, if not the imperial legions as a whole. They are skilled in the use of swords and halberds, the very weapons which I believe will be the most vital in the narrow confines of the outer city.” While it betrayed his principles, he was already long past that particular breaking point, and he requested leave to deploy her guards to the outer city. They were usually reserved solely for the defense of the palace and the Empress’s person, but he shamelessly took advantage of her sincerity and desire for amicable friendship to request their transfer.

“Without my guards, how will we defend the palace should the curtain wall fall? You should be well informed by now of the consequences should the spire be taken.” The Empress frowned, unsure of his intentions with her bodyguards.

She knew that Nathaniel held reservations of the quality of the men of the Home Huard, and should the curtain wall fall, the inner wall was but a trifling obstacle, and the palace would be the sole line of defense left in the city. The the Empress’s Shield were the only men she could trust to defend the palace, to their dying breath if necessary, and would surely be necessary there in the battle to come. Should they suffer grievous losses that could have been borne instead by the more expendable men of the Home Guard, the security of the palace, and therefore the Spire, would be jeopardized, spelling untold disaster for the Empire as a whole.

“Be that as it may, Your Majesty, their great skill at arms would be best served keeping the enemy out of the city entirely. If they cannot break the curtain wall, they cannot threaten the palace.” It took every ounce of determination he possessed to respond to her sincerity without flinching even as he lied through his teeth.

The most effective lies were those couched in truth. It was true that the elite Empress’s Shield would be of far greater use to him defending the outer city than the palace. This was of course, because he planned to abandon the city entirely at the fall of the curtain wall, and that therefore there would be no last stand at the palace at all, rather than the mere thousand men of the Empress Shield being able to hold back a professional army numbering in the tens of thousands by themselves. Of course, their losses incurred during such a heroic defense of the outer city would also be of use, noble sacrifices made to ensure that he could escape the city with Empress in tow after its abandonment, even if he had to drag her kicking and screaming.

“I am not entirely convinced that this is the wisest course of action, but I will defer to your greater experience and judgement Nathaniel.” She granted his request with the barest consideration, entirely unsuspecting of his ulterior motives.

“Thank you, Your Majesty. Then, if I may have your leave, I will set to finalizing the plans for our defense. Please trust me when I say that all I do is for your safety and for that of the continued prosperity of our great Empire. To my last breath, I will not allow you to die in this coming battle.” With a final bow and her acknowledgement with a nod of her head, he left.

He may betray her trust so severely that she can never confide in another again, but he will ensure, no matter the cost, whether in lives lost, the suffering of many, or the eternal anguish of one, that she will survive. Not only will she survive, but she will thrive, fueled by a hellish mixture of hate and anger, and bolstered by the hardened survivors of the battle for the city reinforced by the recalled eastern legions. It may cost him everything, there was no reality he envisioned in which she did not claim his head for this he knew, but she will have the strength she needs.

Not merely would she have strength enough to fight back, but to win, grinding her enemies to dust beneath her feet. Her victory will be so grand that the Duke will surely be erased from history entirely, his glorious past and great deeds forgotten in the wake of a swift and brutal end. The Aachish menace will be beaten back, scarred so badly that they never again dare to cross the border with war in their hearts, frightened so greatly that the invocations of the title of the Empress of Albion becomes a curse, a horror story with which to scare children. Nathaniel’s eyes were feverish as he left, leaving a confused yet saddened Empress and several increasingly suspicious guards in his wake.