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...18...
HE WAS HERS💘
The air around her stilled as she tried to comprehend just what he had meant when he had said such a thing to the bitch sitting right there with them. It annoyed her to the core, his words that indirectly tagged her a plaything. So, that was what she was? She was a toy? She was just a toy to him? A toy who he could choose who and when to play with her. Lady Rose was totally pissed. His words reverberated in her cute little ears, but the smile that the bitch sitting across her had smiled haunted her even more. The emperor had that stupid Princess Hera-Mera in his mind, and she totally hated it. He, the beast, he was hers, hers and hers alone. She didn't know just how to make the bitch understand that. But, she had to make her do so.
'Well, it's your choice,' Hera-Mera answered him with a shrug. Their seemingly loving chat infuriated her to the core of her very being.
'Where is my aide?' she suddenly butted into their cheesy talk. 'Tell me where on earth Xiera is!' she demanded furiously.
'She is attending to something outside the palace Mine. She will be back in about an hour's time. So, go do something while you patiently await her you hear?'
'Why does it feel as if you are chasing me away?' she asked him with a cute pout on her face. He smirked.
'Vura shall get you the spear from the armory,' he said to her in a bid to deviate her attention from her aide. It totally worked.
'Shall she?' she enquired with eyes that were alight.
'Why don't you go pick a horse at the stables, your own horse?' he urged her.' She smiled broadly.
'Really? Really really?' she asked him, quite elated.
'I am not a liar.' She was out of the dining room in the careless blink of an eye. Vura quickly followed behind her mistress after a small bow to the emperor. He sighed contentedly at their absence.
'She being a nuisance to you?' Hera-Mera asked him as she chewed softly on a cherry. He said nothing to her, reaching for Lady Rose's abandoned cup of tea. He lifted the cup to his lips and took a sip. She knew that he had heard her question, but she choose not to repeat it.
'Mayhap, sometimes she is,' he said in answer to her question after about two minutes had gone by. She smiled happily at his reply. So he had been musing over her question?
'Women always are My Lord,' she said to him, 'especially when they are pissed, and she was.'
'Was she?' he pried. Hera-Mera nodded in response. 'But, she smiled. I saw her do so, happily.'
'Not everything is genuine My Lord, with women.'
'Hmmm,' he nodded. 'Eat Hera,' he urged her. 'Eat your food. You are as slight as a rod,' he told her.
'Am I?' she asked in surprise, staring herself over. 'Am I really?'
'Yes you are.'
'Ah, I see. You are worried about your affianced aren't you? Don't worry, I am healthy. And though I might be slight, I shall still bring you pleasure in the matrimonial bed.' He chuckled at her statement.
'I doubt that Hera. You have to put on some pounds if you want to keep being affianced to me. I like thick women. The thicker, the better,' he said to her. She smiled at his words, not denoting the hidden sarcasm in his emphasizing words.
'I will try.'
'Even if you try, I don't think you can get there, like Lady Rose.' He added the last three words to press her buttons, to annoy her. He knew she was jealous of Lady Rose. He had caught the dirty stare she gave the lady occasionally.
'She is not I My Lord,' she informed him. 'No Princess Royal, much less one who is affianced to a great Emperor should look like that. Her thighs are too thick and her breasts are too full. The society favors slender women your highness and definitely not one that has been stuffed to the brim. I don't even know why I am dwelling on this for she is not here to be yours,' she ended.
'And how sure are you my affianced?' he asked her with a smirk. Surprise made her white cheeks colour, prettifully. She tried to speak, but he beat her to it. 'Let's call it a day pretty slender Hera,' he said. He emptied the cup of tea, stood and walked away.
'Damn it!' she said after he was completely out of sight. This insult, it was all because of that arrogant bitch!
B
ut she had to bear it all!
Meanwhile in the Royal stables, Vura assisted her mistress in the selection of a horse quest. They settled on one which was oxblood, the exact colour of her abundant hair. She fell in love with it and instantly named it Red Rose. Vura stared at her with a sad smile and she wondered why. But, she didn't ask, maybe something was troubling her. It was too soon to be asking personal questions. They had only just met this morning! Vura also brought her personal horse. The name of her horse was Crochet.
'Shall we ride to the weaponry My Lady?' Vura asked her.
'Yes!' she said excitedly. 'Yes we should do just that!' Then, she mounted her horse. The horse seemed to love her too, just as much as she had loved it on first sight.
'Alright My Lady,' Vura answered and mounted after her. They ride to the weaponry at a light pace.
When they arrived, they dismounted and went to the large building. There were so much guards stationed about everywhere. Vura went up to the door. One of the guards at the door blocked their path.
'What brings you here right hand of the emperor? And with an intruder?' He immediately asked Vura eyeing her one -sidedly.
'I am here on the Emperor's orders,' Vura answered him, raising a seal which she had brought out of nowhere. Lady Rose noticed that it looked like the one the emperor had in his room. Wait, was that his seal? Like the imperial seal?
'Isn't that your master's seal?' she asked Vura with fascination.
'Yes My Lady.'
'Then why do you have it?' she asked her with suspicious eyes.
'He gifted it to you My Lady. He said to use it anytime you wanted. He said to use it to go anywhere except out of the Fortress, and if you were to do so I am to knock you out without mercy and bring you back.'
'Wow! And where was I when he said all these to you?'
'You were sound asleep in bed when I arrived here around past midnight. He gave me an orientation of you and I came to know that you have a penchant for leaving. He trusts you My Lady. He gave this to me knowing that you wouldn't choose to leave the Fortress without informing him.'
'Really? Really really?' she asked. Her aide nodded in response to her question. 'Can I really use this to go anywhere I want in this fortress?'
'Yes, even places that have restrictions. You -My Lady- are the emperor with this seal.'
'Such power is overwhelming, being the caricature emperor. Let's get that spear and I shall feel like it even more,' she said to her excitedly. Vura grinned broadly.
'Very well My Lady.' She turned to the guard who was still standing there with a more pleasant look on his face. He looked a little bit apprehensive. Well, he was supposed to after hearing all of their discussions on the emperor's seal. 'Shall you let us in then or will there be anything else?' she asked him in a stern voice.
'You may go in with the lady,' he said to her with a small smile. The doors of the weaponry was open and they both stepped in. When the weaponry was opened, she gasped in awe.
The entire edifice was filled to the brim with all types of weapons, arms and ammunitions there were. The metal of well polished swords glistened almost blindingly. She rushed to inspect it all. There were various kinds of swords, knives, arrows, kantanas, axes, shields, armours, spears and a lot more. After half a century of mulling over it all, she finally went to the spear section and browsed through it. She settled on a silver spear that was long, light to hold and acutely sharp. She tried a few moves with it and smiled contentedly.
'I will take this spear Vura. Shall we go try it out at the training grounds?' she told her.
'Yes My Lady.' They left the weaponry and went to mount their horses. They rode to the training grounds.
When they arrived, she dismounted quickly and practically dragged Vura to it. The training grounds were huge. There were lots of warriors -both male and female- practicing, including a few maids. She wasn't surprised that the maids in this empire learnt self defense. Vura took her to a spot that was conducive and rather spacious.
'Let's practice here My Lady,' Vura said to her, unsheathing her sword. She nodded in response and whipped out her spear. They began a friendly match. They parried a little unseriously for a while. But, when Vura almost succeeded in knocking her spear off her hands at one time, she fired up in seriousness. Their spar became far from friendly, a training session, a fierce fight to resuscitate her rusting swordsmanship skills.
When she knocked down Vura to the side, her spear to the warrior's throat, she finally felt fulfilled. But something came to her then. The warrior didn't look surprised at all that she had bested her. It was as if she had known all along. And, she was sure the warrior hadn't purposefully gone easy on her. That only meant one thing, the warrior knew her capacity even some of her moves as well as if she had always watched her fight. Though she was very sure that she had never met her anywhere before. She reached out her hand to Vura who took it with a lovely smile. She helped the warrior to her feet.
'Thank you My Lady,' she said in gratitude as she sheathed her sword.
'You're welcome although it was nothing,' she said in response.
'She could make short work of you, you know Lady Rose?' A feminine voice she knew very well suddenly said behind them, causing both of them to turn to it.
'What are you doing here?' she found herself asking the lady, instantly angry. The nosy Lady was none other than the infamous Princess Hera-Mera Dracon.
'She is only just going easy on you Lady Rose,' she said, thoroughly emphasizing her name and title with so much scorn.
'Even if it were so, isn't that what escorts are meant to do? To save the face of their mistress?'
'Really?' Hera-Mera said.
'Ain't I right Vura?' she said to her. Vura nodded with a grin.
'Yes you are My Lady.'
'She is patronizing you,' Hera-Mera said with a slight laugh. Her willowy escort did same, supporting her mistress. 'Why don't you spar with my Winnie here?' she suggested, offering her escort in place of Vura.
'No!' Vura declined vehemently.
'How dare you answer my mistress that way!' Winnie retorted.
'No she shall not!' Vura continued despite Winnie's outburst. 'That is contrary to the Emperor's orders.' Hera-Mera sneered at the statement.
'Emperor's order or not, your mistress is only just scared of open defeat. She's afraid that Winnie will level her with the ground in just a few seconds. Aren't you Lady Rose?' Hera-Mera asked her with a conniving smile.
'No I am not!' Lady Rose snapped at Hera-Mera in answer to her goading. She was infuriated. She so hated this overconfident lady. 'Your whatever Winnie shall spar with me and we both shall see who will bring who to ground level,' she promised her with a calculating smirk on her face.
'No My Lady! You can not do that!' Vura quickly butted in. 'The Emperor will not hear the end if it if you attempt such My Lady. So, please do not spar with this low life. You are far above all of it.'
'It is to teach her a lesson Vura. And mind you, I shall level her.' She said the last sentence, staring at Hera-Mera with so much contempt and spite in her blazing eyes. The saucy bitch stared back at her with something more similar, hate.
'No My Lady, you will not spar with this servant. I, Vura will not allow such to happen.'
'And you are operating under whose authority?' Hera-Mera asked her.
'The Emperor,' Vura replied rasing the seal that she had used earlier. Hera-Mera's eyes widened at that moment. It was really the imperial seal and they had it. Her escort and spectators who had gathered around were no exception to it.
'Why do you have the Emperor's seal? You stole it didn't you?' she asked in surprise.
'No, He gave it to My Lady. And I order you with it to stop asking My Lady to spar with your maid!' Vura snapped at her. She was angry because the Princess had accused her of theft. How annoying!
'Now, you are hiding behind a seal?' she asked Lady Rose, realizing that the emperor must have given it to them to allow them cross into the imperial armory. 'Are you that afraid of my escort and your foreseen failure? You know very well that you will surely kiss the sands if Winnie here were to wedge her weapon against you,' she told her. Lady Rose made to answer her when a familiar voice stilled her.
'Stop doing that Mera. Do not goad her anymore,' The Emperor said, announcing his presence to all.
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...OmaPhinaPhire🔥