Kel should have withdrawn her gaze immediately, but curiosity got the better of her. Though his muscles were well defined, without the thick armor and bulky mantle, the emperor was unexpectedly wiry.
The way he stood in the water left his bare back entirely exposed to Kel. A large tattoo on his right side climbed from his lower back to his shoulder blade. It was identical to the marking on his armor—a black dragon.
That mark had become a symbol of fear for the western kingdoms in recent years, but the Serin Empire hadn't always been represented by a dragon.
From history classes in the palace, Kel had learned that leadership in the empire was highly volatile, and most of the emperors declared a new national symbol when they took the throne. As a result, a variety of flags, seals and uniforms all historically denoted Serin citizenship.
Like previous emperors, the Dragon Emperor issued his own national symbol when he came to power. However, he also gave the order that all other symbols must be burned under the threat of treason. Only a year after his coronation, arrests and trials began for anybody caught with a banned mark.
How befitting of the Dragon Emperor, Kel thought to herself, to so ruthlessly establish the mark of his rule, and a mark that represented his own title at that. He was probably the continent's first ruler to make himself the national symbol.
But now wasn't the time to be having a history review. Kel refocused her attention on the matter at hand. She needed to sneak away before the man in the water noticed her presence.
Just as she was preparing to sneak farther downstream to continue the hunt for medicinal herbs, the emperor suddenly turned her direction. With a muffled gasp, she dived down into the bushes, hoping to have avoided his sight. How would she be able to explain herself if she was caught?
After several noiseless seconds passed, Kel bravely peeked over the top of the leaves covering her face.
The stream was empty, babbling happily along its undisturbed path. It was as if the man bathing had never been there at all.
"Did he… drown?" Kel whispered to herself.
It was a ridiculous thought, but she could think of no reasonable explanation for his silent disappearance. There was no way he could have slipped out of the water without so much as a splash.
She raised her head a little higher to increase her range of vision and pivoted on her heels, doing a full sweep of the area. As she came to face the trees, she carefully searched for some trace of the emperor's figure.
"You're much bolder than I thought."
Kel started at the low-toned voice behind her. She whirled around to face the source of the voice, crashing awkwardly through the brush as she did so.
The Dragon Emperor stood waist-deep in the stream directly in front of her, glowering.
Kel was at a loss for words. She felt like a criminal caught in the act. She really hadn't intended to spy on the emperor, but no excuse could justify this situation.
"I suppose I did take away your wedding night," the emperor grinned slyly, slowly moving toward her. "Is this your way of asking me to take responsibility?"
More bare skin slowly became visible above the rippling water as he strode.
"Don't come near me!" Kel shrieked, holding her hands out to block the view of everything below the man's incredibly sculpted abs.
"I should be the one saying that," he snorted, heedlessly continuing his advance.
Kel's face flushed behind her upheld hands. It was true that she had spent more time than necessary admiring his body earlier, but this was too much.
Unconcerned with her distress, the emperor quickly closed the distance between them. He rigidly grabbed hold of her wrists as he came within reach and pulled her arms out of the way. Kel instantly scrunched her eyes shut.
"Open your eyes," a very irritated-sounding voice commanded.
Please punish me some other way! She silently begged, her entire face now a deep shade of crimson.
As if in response to her inner plea, the emperor's grip on her wrists tightened. Kel knew she had no choice but obey.
Growing up in a predominantly male profession, and often being mistaken for one herself when she was in uniform, she'd seen her fair share of naked men in her life. The circumstances now shouldn't even phase her.
It's no different than those other times, she chanted to herself as she slowly peeled her eyelids apart. Something dark slowly came into view where the lower half of the emperor's body should have been.
"..Pants?" Kel wondered aloud, scanning his linen-covered legs.
"It seems you were expecting something else," the emperor smirked.
"No! I jus-," Her eyes flicked back up to the man's face as she realized where she was staring. "W-who bathes with their pants on?" she stammered.
"Well, with peeping princesses around, one can never be too careful."
"I didn't peep!" Kel yanked her arms away and crossed them across her body. He was the one half naked, so why did she feel so exposed under his burning gaze?
"Is this the second time today you've been allowed to roam freely through the forest?" the emperor asked, his piercing eyes locked with hers.
Kel hastily dropped her gaze to the ground, put off by his powerful aura. Of course, it was only natural that he'd already know about the whole ordeal from earlier.
"I'm not trying to run away," she muttered, knowing that was exactly how things looked.
"I'm not sure if the solution is more guards.." The emperor's arm unexpectedly shot out, grabbing Kel's side just below her ribs. "Or more competent guards," he finished, plucking the chunk of salted meat from where she'd stashed it in her belt.
Kel stood stupefied. Was he a dog? How had he known the meat was there? He even seemed to be aware that she'd used it to bribe the soldiers. Nothing had gone unnoticed under that terrifying scarlet gaze.
The emperor stepped closer to her, once again reaching out to her waist. He pulled her in until hardly an inch of space remained between them. With his breath tickling her ear, he whispered, "you'll find jewelweed if you follow this stream farther east."
With that advice, he turned and stalked away through the brush, leaving Kel alone.
There was no doubt now. The Dragon Emperor knew everything on Kel's mind. She shuddered, replaying the conversation in her head. Regardless of how he managed to find out, one thing was certain: this man was no ordinary human.
Kel managed to find the jewelweed quickly, thanks to the emperor's direction. After securing a small bundle, she hastily made her way out of the forest.
As she pushed through foliage, she tried to ignore the nagging suspicion that the emperor had sinister motives when he told her about the herb. If he knew the kind of plant she was looking for, then he likely knew why she was looking for it.
Had he led her to a jewelweed doppelganger that was actually highly poisonous? Or had he sent someone to finish off Barclay before she could get back to him?
Neither scenario was outside the realm of possibility considering she was dealing with the Dragon Emperor. She just hoped she could rely on his words that he wouldn't kill Barclay while he was still useful.
In contrast to her rapid hike back through the forest, the guard's leisurely pace back through camp was painful to bear. Kel's feet itched to run. The voices in her head were screaming that Barclay was in danger.
After what seemed an eternity of trekking between tents, they finally arrived at the familiar little canvas hut. Kel immediately moved to duck through the door.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" the guard huffed, holding an arm out to stop her.
The other piece of meat! With the whirlwind of anxious thoughts swirling around her head on the way back, she had forgotten that the emperor took it from her.
Her waist tingled, remembering the sensation of the emperor's touch. She put a hand up to calm the uncomfortable tingling while contemplating what to tell the soldiers. To her surprise, there was a bulge in her belt.
It was the meat. The emperor must have returned it when he grabbed her the second time.
Kel blinked forcefully, trying to dispel the feeling of the emperor's touch as she granted the guards their eagerly awaited prize. She quickly retreated into the tent as the men began to gobble the meat.
Barclay was exactly as she left him, curled up on the ground with the bag of goodies stashed securely in his embrace.
"B-Barclay?" Kel whispered, bending down.
"Kel? What is it?" Barclay murmured.
The strength in her legs gave out as relief washed over her, and she crumpled to the ground next to the burly man.
"Hey! Kel, are you ok?" he hissed, nudging her with his elbow.
"Everything is fine," Kel breathed.
***
The Serin group spent three more days on the road before reaching the capital city. The jewelweed worked like a charm, and Barclay's condition was improving by the day. Every evening, Kel would discover fresh provisions carefully stashed away in their tent. Barclay was certain Dash was to thank, but Kel remained impartial on the matter.
"If he really wanted to help us," she had insisted repeatedly, "he wouldn't have sold us out in the first place."
In contrast to what Kel always assumed about the inferior Serin Empire, the capital city turned out to be a sight to behold. The roads were clean and wide, buildings large and architecturally commendable, and the people all seemed neat and well mannered.
The palace was shockingly anticlimactic in comparison with the rest of the city. It was certainly beautiful, but hardly more so than any of the other structures in the city. For a man as narcissistic as the emperor, the lackluster castle didn't quite fit.
Kel was quickly settled into a building to the west of the main palace. It was unsurprising that she was allowed comfortable living conditions. Thanks to her status as royalty, she could count on this much.
What brought greater comfort was when she learned that Barclay had also been given a small room in the same building. Though the circumstances were far from ideal for his recovery, it was much better than rotting away in a dingy prison cell.
Kel had just flopped on the bed in her own room when she heard a knock at the door.
"Come in," Kel called lazily, feeling much more at ease than a war hostage should.
The door creaked open, and a man entered. She propped herself up on her elbows to get a better look.
"Dash."
A river of muddled emotions flooded her mind as she stared across the room at her old friend. This was the second time they'd faced each other since that fateful night in the clearing. Out of all the questions she wanted to ask, there was only one she could find the words for.
"Are you a traitor?"