1: ORE DYNASTY

"He's back."

"Prepare his room."

"Have his bath ready."

"Tell the cook to prepare the usual."

The entire Palace was frantic. News just got in that Prince Olumurewa, and his army was on their way back. Their return meant victory for the people of the Dynasty; it also meant the inhabitants of the Palace had to walk on eggshells because the Prince was a hard man to please.

He had a quick temper that burned and left a scar, and although he was rarely ever seen outside the Palace, the whole town knew of his quick fits of rage and how he had no respect for anyone, not even their King.

The war had lasted just a few days, but the inhabitants of the Palace were able to relax in the Prince's absence. Now that he was returning, the tension was high again, and everyone had to be on their best behavior.

***

The Prince was currently on a leisurely ride back to the palace. Beside him was his right-hand man and long-time friend, Jamal.  Riding behind him were the rest of the army.

He had already sent word of his arrival, and the people were outside their homes, singing victory songs in welcome. The war with the Amu Kingdom had been a quick one, but it claimed the lives of many of his men before it ended.

He had made the mistake of underestimating them from the beginning, and he would never make that mistake again.

Amu was a small Kingdom, but they had fought with their last breath, each soldier prepared to die. His grandfather would say, "The most difficult man to fight is the man who is ready to die."

Ore dynasty won the battle but never had he lost so many men. To Amu, for that matter! The thought bruised his ego, making him bristle with rage, his hard body tensed atop the horse trotting beneath him. He was the Chief of this army, and he had let them down.

"You shouldn't look so glum," Jamal said suddenly. "We won."

Murewa turned hard eyes on his friend. "To me, we lost," he said, swaying as the horse moved beneath him. "I lost twenty men."

"It's our loss," Jamal corrected. "The whole Kingdom would mourn these great men who fell for Ore to rise."

"Enough!" Murewa ordered, and Jamal sat back. "Are you trying to make me feel better?"

"Yes."

"It's not working," he snapped. "The whole Kingdom would mourn, blah-blah-blah, who gives a fuck about the Kingdom? They weren't there! We saw it with our eyes, our brothers falling around us. Amu didn't come to battle to win; they came to die. And that is the most dangerous battle of all. A man who isn't afraid to die would put up a dirty fight because he has nothing to lose. My men went down like flies because I didn't anticipate that; I didn't anticipate anything at all!"

Jamal gave him a moment to calm his nerves. After a few seconds of silence, he said, "It was a battle. Lives must be lost. We lost fifty men, but we brought Amu down to her knees. We have more than half of their gold and oil to make us even richer. We brought back hundred of her people as spoils. Amu would never rear its head again."

Jamal fell back, allowing the Prince to ride ahead. He hoped his words alleviated some of the pain in the Prince's heart because Prince Murewa acted out pain as fury, and if he entered the Palace with this black mood, hell would be let loose.

He was right.

When they reached the Palace, all its occupants, except the King, were waiting outside to greet them and celebrate their victory.

The Minister of Culture, Sir Adekoya, stepped forward, his face wreathed in smiles as he looked up at the Prince who was still sitting regally on his horse.  "My Prince." He bowed his head in honor before speaking.

"On behalf of the royal cabinet, we say congratulations. When we got the news of your imminent arrival, it joyfully pleased us. I was, however, sent to inform you of a celebratory cabinet meeting that—"

"Quiet!" Murewa growled, and it was like the entire Palace went silent at the command. He slid from his horse and stood a few feet from the Minister,  causing the people to shrink back in fear. The Minister bowed his head. "Look at me," Prince Murewa said.

"I dare not look my Prince in the eyes."

"I would have your eyes cut out and placed by my bedside; that way, you'd look at me for the rest of my life."

He could do it, and he would. They knew. A pin-drop silence descended on the horde as they all recognized that the Prince was in one of his black moods.

Everyone bowed their heads, thanking their stars it wasn't them on the receiving end of the Prince's outburst. The Minister raised his head and locked gazes with the Prince.

"The army has just arrived from a war that took twenty lives, and all you and the other thoughtless cabinet members can think about is a celebratory meeting? You want to eat and drink to a victory you didn't participate in."

The Minister opened his mouth to speak, but the Prince's silent glare shut him up.

"Get lost," he said, pushing against the man's shoulder as he made his way into the palace.

The crowd parted for him to pass, no one daring even to raise their heads. Everyone wondered what was wrong when they eventually looked up to see the rest of the Ore army ride into the Palace.

They had won this battle, so what exactly was the Prince's problem?

The Army rode into the Palace with about a hundred enslaved people behind them, along with carts filled with gold and barrels of oil.

The occupants of the Palace saw this and began to rejoice again, all except Minister Adekoya, who thundered out of the Palace in anger. 

***

Murewa marched down the hall towards his room, with Jamal following behind. As they walked farther up the arched hall, the noises of jubilation receded, and Murewa felt some of his temper abate.

Jamal quickened his steps as they approached Murewa's room so he could have the door opened before the Prince reached it. He knew the action would irritate Murewa, but he couldn't help himself.

Murewa glared at him as he swept through the open door, and Jamal tried to hide his smirk.

"Didn't we send word that I was coming?" Murewa stood frozen in the center of the room, his gaze roaming the empty space.

"We did. Well, you did," Jamal answered, stepping into the room to stand beside the Prince.

"There is no woman in here." Murewa turned to Jamal like he was the origin of all his problems.

Jamal swallowed back an impetuous response and cleared his throat in a bid for time to rearrange his words. When the Prince got like this, it was extremely annoying, but it was best to ride it out instead of further inciting him.

"I would go and get Awelewa," Jamal said finally. "In the meantime, I think you should try to relax and calm down. No woman will want to be in your bed if you are this way."

Jamal was taken aback when he noticed a crack in the Prince's demeanor as a slight smile curved his lips. "Only if you were more, uhh, active, you would know what a woman wants," the Prince shot.

Jamal opened his mouth to respond, but as quickly as the Prince's smile came, it was gone. "Get out, Jamal," he commanded. "I will go take a bath, and I want Awelewa in my bed before I finish."

                                    ***

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