A Disguised Singularity

Prologue

Briskly walking down the broad inner corridor of the palace, the young empress refused to rest until she had an audience with her husband of ten years. With barely an hour left of daylight remaining, the light shining through the tall windows was blood red from the sun's dying rays. A fitting color considering the nature of my hasty return home. Most would have stopped at the palace dining hall, which was flooded with all manner of visitors, workers, soldiers, and guards at this late hour, but Ren knew better than to waste any time searching there because Rurdinia was still at war. My husband is likely conversing with his advisors in his 'war room' even at this late hour... just as he was when I left.

Oinatz, the emperor of Rurdinia, along with his father and grandfather before him, made it their mission to gradually swallow up the small neighboring countries that lay along the southern border of Rurdinia. The end goal of their ambition? To unify the continent and bring peace. To some extent, Oinatz's and his forebears had succeeded. The constant wars and bickering between the small independent city states was practically solved overnight. No one on this continent had as well trained and steadfast an army as Rurdinia. However, the large southern desert that split the continent in two, eventually got in the way of the family dream of unification. At that point, the dreams of expansion quickly traveled across the northern sea to Eluria. Of course, her husband wouldn't dare call it expansion. Officially, the start of the conflict with Eluria was due to some slight done by Odol, the Elurian King and Ren's grandfather. In all honestly, the conflicts beginning was nothing more serious than the bickering that had once consumed the southern independent states. Unfortunately, at some point, one of the two countries had seriously offended the other and now they were in full out war for the past three years. Although Oinatz wouldn't dare admit it, Ren was positive that he was giddy at the prospect of adding Eluria to his empire. Oinatz's father and grandfather had both moved Rurdinia's boarder during their reign and now Oinatz himself was itching to make his mark in the north.

A few months ago, in need of respite from the war talk and constant influx of soldiers and advisors, Ren left the palace to spend time with her newborn in the solace of her husband's vacation house. It was built by his father not two decades ago, on a small remote island off the southeastern coast of Rurdinia. She enjoyed that island house almost as much as the palace even though it was far smaller and had less amenities. It had done its job perfectly at relieving her of her stress. She'd spent days in the warmth and comfort of its private beach, leaving her refreshed. Then a new group of guards came to replace the ones that had been stationed on the island and she suddenly was privy to her husband's underhanded plan. Apparently, Oinatz was far more desperate to end the war and take Eluria then she could have ever imagined. Ren made plans to return home the moment she knew what he was up to. It took over a week for the large group to pack and then make their way across Rurdinia to the capitol where the palace stood, but eventually she arrived with her infant son in tow.

A couple minutes, Ren finally spotted the door of the room her husband no doubt occupied. The two young guards posted outside Oinatz's war room straightened as they became aware of her intent to enter. Their gold and black uniforms appeared almost baggy on their thin youthful frames. Unfortunately, they were very likely the only ones left to guard the palace. The more experienced, blood thirsty guards were probably off carrying out Oinatz's order. The bolder of the two young men stepped forward and put out his arm as a signal for her to stop.

The guard began his timid warning, "Ma'am, you will have to..."

"Silence! That is empress to you, sentry. Now get out of my way or I'll make sure you regret it!" Ren commanded as she waved a stern hand in his direction and continued her approach. "I will see my husband this instant." The guard's eyes widened in surprise at her swift rebuttal, and it almost made her smile. Clearly, he wasn't anticipating such a resolute and defiant response from a woman. Lacking the proper wherewithal between his legs to stop her, the boy quickly stepped aside and began opening the door for her as she proceeded towards it without lessening her stride. His smart companion followed suit.