Chereads / SILK'S SCENT. / Chapter 16 - BEARABLE.

Chapter 16 - BEARABLE.

ONCE AGAIN ― peace found its way back to the royal palace after the princess' situation was healed by the help of an ancient warlock from incan mage council  ;   the  princess had recovered rather quickly ,  with the help of the young warlock who had ended being chosen as her playmate , upon Antonius' insistence ( a decision neither Azazel or Persephone liked much ,  but ambrosia was fine with it ,  so they didn't interject . ) and now that she had a friend her own age , ambrosia kept busy with her lessons and playing around with the warlock ,  albeit the two of them bickered a lot too  ― ambrosia looked happy .

of course ,  the three of them still had their meals together .  and ambrosia was particularly chatty , then  ― talking about the fun story albert had told her that day ,  or about the new book she'd finished ,  or about her progress in academics .  Persephone too  ― now being the one who led the small council meetings mostly  ― shared the news of state affairs with her and subtly taught ambrosia about politics herself . they still spent time together ,  but not as much as before  ― which was alright ,  according to Persephone . 

but azazel , however ,  felt bummed .  he did not voice it ,  of course ,  but he did . his own daughter ( and perhaps the only person he chatted with not regarding work ) was now too busy to see him as much as she did in past  ;  antonius said it was a part of growing up , that she needed to make her own friends that weren't family .

" it would shape her personality ,  your highness . " he said , not at all helping Azazel's irritation . this whole 'growing up' part was ticking him off , for some reason he couldn't explain . and frankly , he didn't bother to either .

as a result , his visits to the crystal palace grew more over the days . and almost every day , he could be found lounging around with his share of work in the empress' office , the two of them sorting through their duties in silence .  he could have her called to the emperor's palace  ;  the empress  would often say to him .  and it did make sense ,  after all , the emperor roaming around the palace with his work was quite unbecoming of his position .  but the truth was he preferred the crystal palace ;  the ambience , or the empress' quiet presence in general was rather relaxing .

whether it was the faint scratching of pen against paper , or the wispy sound of sighs that so often would leave past her brims ,  or the ever lingering mild smell of silk and lilac   ;  azazel found the work hours passing easier sitting in the brightly lit , surrounded by books old and new , office of the crystal palace .

their conversations too , had slowly progressed from strictly work to their day-to-day lives .  penelope being the one who did most of the talking ,  telling him the stories of the court  ― the messages nobles had for him ― and what not . once in a blue moon ,  azazel too brought stories on the table , about his early years as the emperor .  talking to her was easier now ,  and much less like a chore than it had been before .

one such afternoon ,  when ambrosia was busy in her classes ,  Persephone received an invitation from the emperor ;  fixing her hair ,  she headed towards the palace where he'd asked for her . reaching the rose gardens ,  she met the sight of the man lounging by the lake ― dressed in the same foreign robes , with the same dreamy look painted over his face .

" blessings and glory upon the sun of the empire , "  she greeted ,  and he stood from his place .

" good afternoon . " he greeted back  ― something he had only just started doing ( the reaction he'd earned by antonius still made her laugh )  ― and strode over .  reading into his wordless instruction ,  she followed his steps as they led her to the lake .

oh   .    .    .    perhaps her surprise lasted a bit too long ,  for when she looked down at the hand extended towards her ,  she found that the emperor was watching her with a frown  ― as if she'd done something peculiar .

" don't just stand there . "  he deadpanned ,  and in reply she simply took his hand as he helped her on the boat , before climbing in himself .

and once more ,  silence fell between them .  however it never really seemed to bother the either of them ,  this time Persephone couldn't help but think he was thinking of something ,  because each time she felt a pair of eyes on her  ― she turned to find him turning back away . how weird  ,  she inwardly commented ,  but didn't say anything .  

ahem  ― once she was back to observing the clear , flowing water   ― she heard a call for her attention .  turning ,  eyebrows raised in question , she looked at the emperor who was yet again staring at her face blankly .

" your highness  ? "  she asked ,  and instead of an answer ,  he extended his fist towards her . she tilted her head  ― and he opened his fist to reveal a folded origami lily in his hand . a smile bloomed over the empress' features ,  marine eyes rising to his .

" it isn't that hard "  he said ,  scratching the back of his neck with his free hand as she took the flower from him .  " you've done very well , your highness . " she said ,  fixing the paper-made flower over her brooch and looking at him for approval .

" does it suit me ? "  the child-like joy over the usually inscrutable face made him smile ,  

" it looks bearable . "