Three days. Alessandro knew it had only been three days, and he had to acknowledge that it certainly seemed like a reasonable amount of time for 20 to think things over. But it was the longest three days he had ever experienced – comparable only to when he was bed bound for a week after getting injured from the war. His nerves were stretched, and he felt like he was edging closer to his breaking point with each ticking moment that passed.
He had never realized just how attached he had been to 20 until now. He had simply taken their morning and evening talks as a given, a welcome habit that he had developed over the past few months. But now that he was forced to make do without them, he understood that she may have been more important to him than he previously thought. And it grated on his nerves that he knew where she was, and how well within reach they were from each other, but he couldn't go to her. He had to wait until she was comfortable enough to approach him. Still, couldn't she even spare a greeting? "It won't kill her to talk to me for a few minutes," Alessandro muttered angrily as he flung back the sheets.
He was now so used to talking with 20 early in the mornings that he woke up even before the sun's first rays filtered through his bedroom windows, and it irritated the hell out of him just how affected he was by her absence when he had so many other concubines he could call on.
"Good morning, Your Majesty," Rocco greeted Alessandro as he sat down for breakfast.
Alessandro hardly acknowledged it with a perfunctory nod. "Remind the ministers to get their documents ready for the meeting," he ordered his butler, getting straight to work-related topics. "If there's anything unsatisfactory with the files they submit, I'll hold them accountable."
Rocco inwardly sighed. The emperor had been waking up early as usual, but it was clear that his mood had been so foul the past few days. He had also been working late nights, and was taking on more load than he normally did. He had always been detail oriented, but it seemed that recently the slightest mistake incurred his wrath, and the butler had heard rumors of ministers and administrators getting thrown out of the meeting room. "I'll tell them, Sire." He cleared this throat. "Pardon the question, Your Majesty, but may I inquire what seems to be the matter?"
"Why do you think I have a problem?" Alessandro answered defiantly, stabbing a slice of ham.
"Because you're obviously upset for some reason, Your Majesty," Rocco replied, compelled to point out the truth.
"I just have very little patience for idiots," Alessandro said.
"You usually have a bit more tolerance, Sire," Rocco stated resolutely. He knew that only his long years of service were giving him the courage to say such daring things to the emperor, and that's exactly why he was being insistent. He knew Alessandro very well, and he could sense that there was definitely something bothering him. He finally decided to make a speculated guess. "It can't be because of the ball… can it, Sire?" He had heard that the emperor didn't even dance with a single concubine that evening, which was unprecedented.
"No," Alessandro answered, throwing his cloth napkin on the table and standing up. That was all the confirmation Rocco needed. 'What exactly happened?' he thought.
*****
Alessandro proceeded to the meeting room, irked that Rocco was being particularly nosy that morning. He had tried to keep his cool, but he guessed it must not have been working as well as he had hoped if even his butler noticed that he was upset. "She will pay back for this," he said, smiling mischievously. "Once she's feeling better, it's her turn to pay me back."
He sat at the head of the table and reviewed the documents before anyone else arrived. When he saw that his first appointment of the day was with the ministers of external affairs, he took on a sober expression. That meant it included Caio, since he was the head of trade and economics ministry. More than two hours after the meeting started, the men filed out of the room holding stacks of scrolls, most of them looking positively depleted and in desperate need of coffee.
"Can I have a private word with you, Archduke?" Alessandro said, catching Caio before he left.
Caio turned back and looked at Alessandro curiously. "Of course, Your Majesty." He had been meaning to talk with Alessandro about inviting 20 to the ball. Now seemed to be as good time as any to do that.
"I didn't know you were acquainted with Concubine Number 20, Caio," Alessandro began as soon as they were alone. They had been close friends since childhood, bonded by the heavy responsibilities they both had to carry from such a young age, and they dropped the formalities when it was just the two of them.
"And I didn't expect you to invite all your concubines to the ball," Caio countered, taking the seat closest to Alessandro.
"Is that why you came?" Alessandro asked, narrowing his eyes. "Because I invited 20?"
It was Caio's turn to look at Alessandro with a penetrating gaze. Since when he did get around to calling 20 so casually? "I only came because of her," he confirmed, leaving no room for doubt. He had a lot of things in common with Alessandro, not the least of which is their military skills and business acumen, which was why they both had the goal of prospering Luxentfort and expanding the empire's territories.
The one thing they didn't share, however, was their view of women. Caio had refrained from commenting on Alessandro's promiscuous relationships with his concubines before, but he would never let 20 be among the emperor's long line of women.
"I didn't know you care about her so much," Alessandro said, and even to his ears it sounded like he had just issued a challenge.
"I don't want to see her get hurt," Caio answered, returning the challenge in spades. He met 20 on the day she lost her home and family, and he'd be damned if he allowed the same thing to happen again, especially now that she had gotten her footing in the palace.
"I won't hurt her," Alessandro growled. His track record with women may not be so pristine – all right, they were downright debauched if he was honest with himself – but he wasn't a monster who devoured innocent little girls, either. And it snagged on his ego that his friend – his closest friend – thought that he would.
"I won't let you." Standing up, Caio flashed a confident smile before seeing himself out.
*****
"Hey, hey," one of the servants said in a stage whisper. "Have you heard?"
I had just arrived at the pantry with 19, and as usual, it looked like we were going to be served hot gossip alongside our lunch. I was only half minding the noisy chatter as I poured soup on my bowl and 19 helped herself to chicken and potatoes. I had finally finished stowing away all the plates used at the ball, and my arms were just about killing me. Maybe I could eat fast and use half of my break to get a short nap in my room.
"Heard what?" a palace maid piped up.
"The emperor seems to be in a very bad mood these days." At the mention of the emperor, I paused briefly, and then resumed stirring my bowl and blowing into it, so I could start eating. Whether 1 was in a bad mood or not had nothing to do with me – I hadn't even talked to him in three days.
"What could he be upset about?" a stable boy loudly wondered. "He has money, he has looks, he has women." The other stable boys cheered, egging him on.
"That's the point," the servant said, pausing dramatically for effect. "I heard he didn't dance with any woman at the ball. And he hasn't even called a concubine to his room since then."
I joined the rows of servants looking incredulously at the bearer of the gossip. I didn't know what happened at the rest of the ball because Caio had escorted me back to my room after we had gotten dessert. The emperor's peculiar behavior – I wasn't somehow the cause of it… was I?