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...39...
A COMPANION👫
The emperor came walking through the door not so long after the little prince had predicted that it was him who had arrived in the courtyard. Peter received him at the entrance with a bow of obeisance, welcoming him home. He smiled and gratefully acknowledged Peter before stepping into the receiving area. He saw the little prince the moment he did so. The little prince was on his feet the moment the emperor stepped into the receiving area. They all paid obeisance to him.
'Little,' the emperor addressed him, a little bit happy to see him there by the small smile that adorned his ever handsome face. The little prince's forced response smile was but a half hearted one.
'First,' he said. The emperor came to him and sat down.
'Your presence surprises me,' he said although it did not. 'You sent me off to the armory so you could lazy in your manor. What then has brought you to my manor?' he asked as he took a seat. The little prince also sat down as he gathered his thoughts and put them into words.
'I needed to see you First for I bear a very important for you.'
'My Lord,' Peter said courteously, 'The Third Prince has since been here, waiting for you,' he continued.
'Is that so?' the emperor asked Peter who knew that it was not a question that was meant to be answered. 'Did you await me for long?'
'I have had the feast that Peter prepared me as lunch before you came. That means it was long enough,' he told him.
'I'm sorry,' the emperor apologized to him. 'Peter sent me a message bit I could not return instantly.'
'It is thanks to you not returning that I had to savour a feast. So do not apologize first.'
'Were you that hungry?' the emperor teased him. The little prince laughed at his words.
'Tease me all you want.'
'My Lord.' It was Peter once again. They all turned to him. 'Please help me scold the Little Prince and his aide. They lazied about their manor as you said and yet they came with practically empty stomach. I am offended because the empire is in bounty. The little prince and his aide can not neglect their health so,' he complained to him.
'Maximilian,' the emperor said settling fierce eyes in his brother. 'Is that true? Did you come here empty in the stomach despite piling all the work on me?'
'First I-'
'Alongside your aide? You left this woman hungry with you?' the emperor asked.
'I-' he cut him off once again.
'I care not if you are hungry, but do not starve Octavia! By God, treat your woman right!'
'First! She is not my woman!' he protested.
'She belongs to you. Therefore she is yours! Treat her right!' he turned to Octavia. 'And you, this is partly your fault. How can you choose to stay hungry with your master? If he wants to fast, secretly eat even!' he snapped at her.
'My Lord,' she said to the emperor. 'It is not my choice.'
'I give you that choice this instant!' he said in slight anger.
'I shall listen to you my Lord, at least on this matter,' she succumbed with a slight bow.
'Better!' he said.
'Thank you My Lord,' Peter beamed in gratitude.
'Now what is the message that you bring to me?' the emperor asked the little prince who reached into the inner pocket of his hood and brought out the reason for his visit. The green envelope spoke for itself the moment it met the light of day.
'That Draco Kingdom, they dared!' the emperor sneered.
'The Empress dowager is with them on this,' he further explained. 'I think that they are doing this with her backing.'
'Give it to me.' The emperor took the letter, opened it and quickly skimmed through it. When he raised his head, done with it, he handed it back to the little prince.
'What shall I so about this first? Shall I call it null and void?'
'No Little, allow them. They asked for it and they will get what they want,' he said with an underlying threat in his voice.
'I shall.' The tension in the air hung on for a while. Then, the emperor stood to his feet and stared at the little prince with questioning eyes.
'That is all, is it not?' he asked the little prince. His brother hesitated and then nodded at his words.
'It is,' was his reply. But as the emperor turned and made to walk away from the receiving area, he stood to his feet and spoke with some sort of desperation. 'Wait!' the emperor stopped and turned slowly towards the little prince.
'What is the matter?' he asked him with a look on his face that gave away the fact that he knew the little prince still had more questions for him but was clearly hesitating to say them out, probably unsure. He wondered what sort of question made his brother seem so unconfident.
'First,' he began after he inhaled and exhaled very deeply in preparation to reveal the questions that the emperor had deduced to be hard.
'Yes?' he said to him with a raised eyebrows. 'Speak up, I listen,' he said to his brother. But, when the little prince did not say anything else for over another minute, he had to speak again. 'Little, shall we go to the study and speak in private?' he asked him. The little prince shook his head to the suggestions and sighed, again.
'No first, that is not necessary,' he assured his brother.
'Then speak to me, tell me, what bothers you Maximilian?' hr asked his brother, saying his given name. The little prince sighed again and he began to worry that something had gone wrong somewhere, probably with Lady Rose. 'Do not scare me little, tell me,' he demanded.
'Alright, alright I will!' he snapped at the impatient emperor. Everywhere went silent for a moment and then he began to speak of his worries. 'First, you have a maid named Jaele,' he began.
'What does it have to do with you?' he asked him. 'Wait, is she a spy?!' he continued. 'How dare she?!'
'No! No First, she is not a saboteur. Calm yourself and listen to me. Infact, this is nothing to get worked up about at all,' he informed him.
'Alright, go on.'
'That maid First, I want her,' he finally let the cat out of the bag.
'Little?' the emperor asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes and his brows raised high in suspicion.
'Give her to me First, I implore you,' he pleaded with him.
'Wow! She is mine. Why on earth should I give her to you?' he was definitely having loads of fun doing that to the little prince, teasing and taunting him despite knowing what was happening then.
'It is not like you have any use of her. Di you even know if she actually exists?' he accused him, a little bit annoyed by the emperor's teasing.
'That little brother is a challenge, one that I am not going to pass up for anything in the world,' he said to the little prince.
'But First, I didn't mean it like-' he was interrupted by his brother who was not even listening to him.
'Peter!' he called. The butler came to him and bowed slightly to him.
'Yes My Lord?' he answered him.
'Bring me all the maids in the royal manor. None of them is of less importance so bring them all to me, everyone of them that you can find,' he instructed him.
'Yes My Lord,' Peter said to him with another bow and left the receiving area, going to do just as he had been instructed to do by his master.
'First,' the little prince protested. 'You really do not have to do this.'
'I hand picked every maid in my manor Little. I will not have you accuse me of nonchalance to my face and equally let you go scot-free,' he said to his brother. His stern voice bore a slight note of anger that told that he was offended by that at the moment. The little prince looked at him and sighed at his words.
'First,' he said in a more pleading voice, hoping to dissuade his brother into doing whatever he had set his mind to do.
'What are you betting on this?' the emperor asked, ignoring his plea. 'Yes, what? Quickly say it!' he gently said to his brother in excitement of his impending victory. The little prince sighed in resignation.
'Fifteen rubies,' he suggested half heartedly.
'-and three diamonds,' the emperor interrupted him just as the footsteps of so many whom he assumed to be the summoned maids began to draw close to them.
'And three diamonds,' the little prince agreed in exasperation. He already had the premonition, one that he would lose to his brother.
'That is good!' the emperor agreed as the maids began to come into the receiving area in a file that formed twelve rows and thirteen columns afore him. There was altogether a hundred and fifty six maids.
'My Lord,' they all paid obeisance to him with a small bow. He stared at all of them. He walked through the space between the tenth and eleventh row. He stared at the thirty fourth maid whose head was still down like all the others.
'Raise your head,' he said to the petite girl who did so quite uneasily, her fright vivid in her wild eyes.
'Yes My Lord,' she still managed to say despite it all.
'Haele,' he said. 'You are Haele,' he said again. The maid nodded at his words.
'Yes My Lord. I am Haele,' she answered him. He nodded at her and let her put her gaze to the ground by backing away, still studying the rest of the maids.
Then, he walked straight and up to the fifty second maid. He stared down at the dainty beauty. 'Jaele,' he called her. 'You are Jaele aren't you?' he asked her.
'Yes My Lord,' she supported him. 'I am indeed Jaele,' she answered him. He nodded and turned to his brother with a triumphant smirk on his face.
'So Little, what were you actually saying?' he drawled. His brother ignored him, reaching for the bag that Octavia was handling him. She had put the fifteen rubies and three diamonds into the yellow money bag.
'You win First, so just take it,' the third Prince said to him in resignation.
'Ah little,' the emperor said to him as he took the money bag and shook it softly, satisfied with winning over his brother and not about actually having acquired his money by that means. 'Peter,' he called out. The butler came to him.
'Yes My Lord?' he answered his master. The emperor handed the yellow money bag over to him.
'Put it away on my behalf,' he ordered the butler who nodded and received the yellow money bag.
'I will do just that My Lord,' he assured his master and left to do so.
'You are all dismissed!' he told the maids who chorused yes My Lord and all began to file out accordingly. 'Except Jaele,' he continued almost instantly. The maid with the name stopped short for a moment, flustered before standing in place with her head bowed and her eyes to the floor. She was apparently scared. When they were all gone, he spoke to her. 'Lift your head,' he said to her. She was able to do so for but only a moment before she swiftly lowered her eyes, terrified. He said nothing in that. 'Jaele, do you enjoy working in my manor?' he asked her.
'Yes My Lord,' She told him with a slight bow as if it were necessary.
'Then, would you mind leaving?' he asked. She met his eyes then, fright vivid in her eyes.
'My Lord?' she said in a broken yet questioning voice. What on earth had she done wrong?
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...OmaPhinaPhire🔥