The man in front of me stayed silent, and I regret saying it almost instantly as one look was all it took to find out that time wasn't in fact kind to him. The dark circle under his eyes looks so horrid, I am sure he hasn't been asleep for a while. Then again, I imagine being a duke is an exhausting task.
"No, it is the cruelest it has been. A lot like you. Athaliah, Maybe because it is what your name signifies."
I froze. How does he know the meaning of my name? It is not exactly a common name. Growing up, I was taught by Baroness Bernice that my name was a prayer, of what exactly I do not know, as the queen Athaliah in the record is very wicked, with her slaying the entire royal dynasty after her sons death, and being overthrown in the seventh year. They couldn't possibly praying for me to fail now could they? Oppositely, my mother taught me it means God is exalted. The time of the Lord. I have no clue what time she was expecting me to be, but it is certainly a weirdly regal name for a female.
I am not quite sure what they thought whilst naming me.
As if I am meant for a greater purpose than simply marrying someone of higher power. Sometimes I delude myself into thinking that I am. Maybe that is what education does. Inspire and give hope. After all, I spent my entire childhood learning Creonian, Vranida, and 7 other languages. Alongside the subjects meant to be for the crown prince which were taught to all the girls simply because there was no male.
"Excuse me, that is the double meaning, and it is the time of the Lord, not yours," I explain, trying hard to not shake my head due to this man's tendency to tease people. Somehow, I really have the urge to beat him into shape before someone's father does. My punches would probably be less painful. Afterall.
However, the man in front of me is unrepentant in his jokes. Or should I say unrelentingly obnoxious? I imagine he is very alike the person emperor Joaquin mentioned, except I am seriously annoyed and instead of a heart I am inclined to give him a taste of my wrath.
"Maybe you are the time He gave to me. My Athaliah." In the slight scent of petrichor, I could sense the shower that will take place. As if the clouds is about to give up and let go of their hold. As though, something that should not be expressed would be.
I immediately, turn aside in the other direction and started walking on the path my sister did. It is nice how this place is both warmer and still rains more rarely than the north, that is to say, there are sunny days here. It feels like a utopia in comparison to my place before.
The walls were decorated beautifully with murals that made us feel like we were in the middle of a forest, and before I knew it, the sweet sound of music reached my ears. I do not know how to describe it, it was sonorous, heartrending and dulcet at the same time. Like the heartbreak of unrequited love.
"I am afraid for you then. Do you even know how I usually act? Someone as possessive as you would have their lives worn out worrying." Despite sounding rather narcissistic, I stand by these words due to the fact of how I might end up behaving. After all if emperor Joaquin is not so pleased with me, I would most likely be told to build up as much connections as possible through another way.
The situation differs depending whether or not the emperor accepts me. It is sort of sad, to have one's fate depend on a man. I weep inside my heart and move on. If only I had more power would things have changed? Or is this era by itself doomed?
"I wouldn't worry too much, when two people meet, they are changed one way or another."
Obscurely, the man in front of me said, one of the many incomprehensible sentence he uttered. First, call him by his name. Second, stay in his coffin. Third, a business. I seriously do not know how to deal with this man. "What are you implying?"
As I ask this, the sound of the music increases, a sign we are very close. I fasten my pace and was about to open the door only to stop to double-check my outfit. More or less, safe. Not a single thing out of place. However, before I could open the door, another hand touched the handle, holding it in place.
"I mean, It doesn't matter how you are right now, but when your heart beats like this." He grabs my hand and placed it on his chest, where his heart was. Even with the layers of clothing, I could feel his heartbeat. Robust and hurried. As if it slowed down, he would stop living. "You will change."
Is this a confession?
I blink my eyes for a moment before the person in front of me nonchalantly opened the door. So he is also attending? Doesn't a duke have many things to do? I ponder, but the thought is interrupted by the influx of stares from the people inside.
"Dawn of blessing be upon the Vranid empire."
The entire room begins to bow and curtsy in one fell swoop. I look around, only to be confused. This greeting that is used only for the imperial family. This reverence and respect. The target who definitely isn't me. Who on earth is this man exactly?
I cast another stare at maister door blocker. At the imposing stance he beheld, The first ever time I feel the air of a ruler fully enforced. Like a lightning bolt that cannot be hidden. Thunderous and dangerous. For second, I got lost and realized.
No, this is not a ruler, but a soldier.
A man shadowed in the scent of blood, a man who is drowned out by his own vengeance, a man who the crowd bows for. So contradictory yet fitting at the same time. Like a legend in the process of being written. This man...Emperor Joaquin?
"Do you regret rejecting me now, Aliah?"