You were in your castle the day you learned the enemy had been defeated.

Well, technically, you didn't learn it then. You'd known it would happen for several days beforehand. You'd had agents in the army that dealt the final blow, and your embedded spies had been sure to let you know long before the official announcement. As one of the princes of the realm, it paid to be informed, especially since the throne was now quite empty. The final battle in the war had brought victory, but it was not without cost, even if it was a cost that you would be more than happy to pay.

You were in your chambers when they came to you. Two men, warrior-knights, still clad in the leather and steel they had worn during the battle. They had clearly rode through the night to be there, so you met them with all hospitability, nodding to them, and asking them if they wished to sit.

"My lord is most kind." The leading knight said, an old man with a drooping beard. "But we are tired, and would return to our barracks for rest."

"Of course." You said. "You have come to me with news of import, then? You would not be here otherwise."

"Indeed." The knight said. "I am pleased to report, my lord, that the enemy is defeated at last. Our armies surrounded their capital, and broke through after a pitched battle. Losses were quite high, but we cut off the palace, and destroyed the royal family and their trusted servants. The enemy army folded after that, and the city surrendered to us."

"Good!" You said, as though you had not already known this exact thing. But it was important to keep up appearances, important to seem like you knew less than you did. Especially now. "My father, the emperor will be most pleased with you. Tell me, how is he?"

The knights shared a look, then the first one admitted it.

"Y-your father, my lord. I am sorry to say that he died bravely during the final battle. He and his elites were cut off from the rest of us, and though we struggled to reach him, we were not fast enough. I am told that he fought like a lion, and took many of them with him."

Fought like a lion? Hardly! The old fool was cut off and overwhelmed in moments. He always knew how to pick a fight, but once he picked it, he never knew how to let go. I always figured he'd die like that.

Outwardly, you nodded gravely, lowering the tone of your voice as if to try and conceal a sudden pain.

"I see... that is very sad, my friends. He will truly be missed."

"He was a great man, my lord."

He was a fool who led us to war after war with no thought to rebuilding in-between. It's just good that he finally got himself killed now instead of after it's too late to repair things.

"He was." You said blandly, ignoring your own thoughts, though you knew they were correct. "Is there anything else you have for me? I hope you understand, this is heavy news. I must process it."

Inwardly, you were quite happy with the situation. You were one of the sons of the emperor - former emperor now - and his death had left the way to the throne open. Your brothers were scattered, many had died during the war, those that survived were not well placed. You were. You'd been building towards this since you were old enough to even consider the future. A giddy sense of euphoria seemed to overtake you as you considered the possibilities. The fact that you would be emperor was not yet inevitable. But you were the one with the best chance. None of your brothers, and few of your sisters could challenge with any realistic hope. You had built alliances, you had learned to weave words, mastered the political arts. The citizens of the empire loved you for your level-headed intelligence, and lack of an ego compared to many of your kindred. The soldiers of the empire tolerated you; they didn't love you, but nor did they hate you. Many of them supported you as individuals.

In short, your future looked quite bright indeed. You would not be able to take the throne right away, but once the mourning period was over, you would be the natural choice to become the next emperor. Your father had been a fool in most respects, but he had been right in one thing. Expansion was key. You would lead your people, your empire, into history. Into legend, and myth. The fall of the Kingdom of Silyir was only the first step. Under you, the empire would expand rapidly. There would be new wars, new enemies, new victories. Of course, that would take time. You were not stupid. The current war had cost you much, the country needed time to recover. To train new soldiers, to take in crops, to stockpile food. War had come upon you, and though you had won, it had not been without its price.

Your father's ambition had been laudable. But his limited intellect had seen him squander the potential of his vision. Not you. You would be better. Taking what he had learned and perfecting it. You would prove yourself first his equal, and then his better.

Everything was falling into place.

"There is one more thing, my lord." The lead knight said. "One of the royal family did survive. The youngest daughter. She tried to sneak away dressed as a maid during the chaos, but we found her and captured her. She arrived here with us, my lord. Lacking your father's orders, I did not wish to kill her, but..."

"You are quite correct." You said to him quickly. "Not to kill her, I mean. It was the smart choice to bring her to me. Yes, indeed it was. I will reward you for that. I have uses for her, I am sure."

You smirked to yourself, feeling the fire in your loins as you considered this new and unexpected boon. You knew her, at least a little. Prior to the war, most royals in the land had tended to visit each other for ceremonies, traditions, and general meetings. Surely, you had seen her shortly before things got heated up? You considered for a moment, throwing your mind back until you recalled the an image of the girl.

She had been young then. Only fifteen? Something like that. Your father had just started to train you for the throne, so she would be around eighteen to nineteen now. Maybe twenty at the oldest? She'd seemed young when you had met her, but that was a trait of her line. Back then, she had already been showing promises of beauty. Her hair had been copper coloured, and long. Vivid in tis colour. Her face had been refined, hinting at the adult she would become. You wondered if she had lived up to that promise? Well, you could certainly find out, couldn't you?

Prisoners of war faced one of several fates, depending on their importance. For common soldiers, they could be ransomed back to the enemy, made into slaves, or even released if their captor was in a generous mood. Often, this was a practical matter as well, since taking so many slaves would be difficult in the middle of a war, and if you killed them all, you would quickly get a reputation that would ensure that no one eve surrendered to you again. Releasing them could make you seem merciful, making others more likely to turn aside rather than oppose you in the future. But this was for normal soldiers. For royals, it was different. A ransom could be paid, but the kingdom of Silyir was unlikely to be able to pay due to the fact that it no longer existed. So that was out. She could be released, but she would become a rallying symbol for those loyal soldiers who had managed to escape the final battle. Executing her would be the most practical, but you didn't much like that idea. Not because of your mercy. Rather, you remembered the girl from when you had seen her last, and how she had stirred your blood. The thought that she had finally fallen into your hands was intoxicating. How could you simply throw that away? Kill her and be done with it? It was the best option from a practical point of view, but it had no soul to it, no grace. It was what some unthinking machine would do.

No, you were better than that. You licked your lips slowly, anticipating the days to come a great deal more now than you had a moment ago. She could not be ransomed or released, and you would not have her killed. That left only one fate for the princess. To be enslaved. And more than that, to be enslaved by you. To be dominated, humiliated, stripped naked, perhaps. To be used as a tool, made into a living sex toy.

You were smiling now. A glittering malice filled your eye as you contemplated the next few weeks.

Tomorrow. You would have her brought to you tomorrow. That would be all the time you needed to make ready for the encounter. You wondered if she would scream or cry. You hoped she would beg. If she was defiant, that would be good too. You liked it when they were defiant at first.