There had never been a better plan.

            Of course, convincing the others was the hard part now. Ren knew that enemy troops were approaching, and that within a day their castle would be surrounded. The enemy soldiers had cut their communications with their troops that were on the outskirts of their territory. Without those connections, the war was lost. Ren was never one for accepting defeat, especially against the forces of Aznia. He glanced over at JR and his chest clenched in jealousy as he saw him trying to console the queen. As part of her royal guard, they had all sworn to lay down their lives to protect her. To JR, Ren knew the vow was so much more. It was clear as the sky was blue that the two were in love, much to Ren’s inner dismay. Now, Ren knew that this was his one shot at proving he could give them a happy ever after.

            Looking over, Ren could see Minhyun and Aron sharpening their swords. The scraping sound of metal against the cold rocks had Ren’s skin crawling. It was odd, how much that the four men he’d sworn to live his life with had really made an impact on him. Ren had no living family anymore, his older brother dying on the battle field months ago and his parents dying during a hard winter when Ren was no older than seven. Baekho, Aron, Minhyun and JR were the only people he truly held dear to himself. That was an awful thing to admit, solely to himself of course, when he was in the queen’s royal guard. Her life was worth more than all of theirs combined, yet it seemed even that could not make Ren love her.

            With a resigned sigh, Ren looked down at his outfit. He wore his favorite black cloak over his armor. He would miss the cloak the most, but desperate times called for desperate measures. He stood from his spot in the corner of the room and took his sword out from its sheathe. That drew all eyes on him, especially when he had been so quiet when he’d heard that they were all waiting to die. Ren laid his sword down across his queen’s lap and he squared his shoulders.

“You trusted your life to all of us, did you not?”

            The uncertainty in her eyes shone, but she nodded with the courage she could muster. “I did, and you have all proven that my trust was not misplaced.”

            Ren a breath in, and he undid his cloak. “Then I need you to take your clothing off, and put mine on. As fast as you can. Baekho, go saddle up the horses. Aron and Minhyun, you need to go quickly pack anything you can from the kitchen.”

            The looks of confusion crossed over everyone’s face, but Ren was not deterred. He began to strip down, losing the shirt first. He watched as the queen caught on, and she slowly let her own cloak drop to the floor. “Ren, you do not have to do this. We can think of another way.”

            JR looked utterly lost as Ren offered the queen his shirt, “I don’t understand, what else could we do aside from wait here?”

            Minhyun shook his head as he stood, pulling Aron up with him. “Jonghyun, they’re switching places.”

            Ren nodded, handing over his pants and slipping on the queen’s shirt. His long black hair flowed over his shoulders and added he touches he needed for pulling his plan off. He looked up and met JR’s eyes, “Jonghyun, do you understand now? We have a chance, if you can get to Orvance’s armies before Aznia blocks us off, the queen can command them. You’d have Aznia surrounded, it will only take you a few hours to get there if you hurry. With any luck, it won’t be too late.”

            JR’s eyes clouded with shame then, “You won’t be joining us.” It wasn’t a question.

            Ren didn’t even have it in him to lie, “No, I won’t be.”

“Ren you’ll be killed, we can think of something else. Right?”

Ren just gave him a soft smile as he fastened the queen’s cloak around his shoulders and slid her crown on his head. It was odd, having such an object in his hair. It was a pity that such a beautiful thing would be the death of him. “Can you promise me something?”

JR’s eyes flicked over to the queen, watching as she slid on Ren’s favorite cape. “I can try to, you know I always try.”

His eyes stung as he watched Baekho come back into view, knowing that the horses were all saddled up. They would be leaving soon. Leaving him alone. “When you have children, name one after me?”

JR looked ready to cry, “Ren-“

He held up a hand, his head shaking no on instinct. “Minki, call me Minki.” The name was so foreign now, having not been used since his brother died months before. It was his name though, his birth right. With his death cracking down on him, he knew that it was what he wanted JR to know. Aron and Minhyun came back, their cloth bags filled with what looked like different meats. He hoped they were smart enough to gather as many water skins as they could carry. Without another word, Ren dropped down in front of the queen in the most respectful bow he could give her. “My lady, if there is one thing I beg of you, its that you keep them alive.”

He felt like crying when she knelt down with him, taking his hands in her own. “My lotus flower, this is much more than I ever wanted to ask of you. I will do my best to keep them safe.” Ren pulled her into a brief hug before standing and helping her up. She was his queen, and he was her new life line. “You all need to hurry. Don’t give up, okay?”

There was a pause, tension filled the air and made it heavy. The plan was set, and death was still looming over them all. Ren took Baekho’s hand and gave it a squeeze, “You all better not lose this war, or I swear I’ll haunt you.”

Watching them leave was hard. Ren stood at the window and watched as their horses ran. The backs of his beloved friends slowly faded out of sight, only the kicked up snow from the trail being left behind. The staff had evacuated from the castle, leaving Ren alone in the throne room. He sat on the throne, the cushion unlike anything he’d ever sat on before. Now he understood how the queen had been able to fall asleep in it after long days. He wished he could just relish the feeling, but he glanced at the sword that was leaning against the wall across the room he knew that in a matter of hours his life would be ending. All he could do was wait. By the time he heard the marching of enemy soldiers, the sword was in his hand and he sat straighter in the chair. When the castle door fell moments later, he was ready. With footsteps drawing near, he closed his eyes and prayed that if there was some sort of god that it would keep his dear friends alive. As the footsteps drew nearer, he opened his eyes and prepared to fight.