As morning light filtered through the heavy curtains, Emperor Axel stirred awake, the weight of his words and actions from the night before pressing on him. His mind swirled with fragments of memories—Lila in his arms, his confessions, his desperate pleas. He cursed himself for his lack of control, knowing he had bared too much, shown too much vulnerability. Lila's distant behavior only reinforced his belief: she had forgotten him.
Summoning all the composure he could muster, Emperor Axel sent a request for a private conversation with Empress Lila. His mind was racing, filled with the need to apologize, to somehow make things right. He paced back and forth, wondering how to bridge the gap between them, how to rekindle what was once theirs.
Meanwhile, Lila received his message and smirked to herself. She knew Axel was likely agonizing over the things he said while drunk, and she found herself amused by his guilt. In her mind, this was a rare opportunity to tease him, to play with the power dynamic that had shifted ever so subtly.
When they met in her private chambers, Axel bowed his head slightly, his tone careful, laced with regret. "Empress Lila," he began softly, "I wanted to apologize... for everything last night. I— I never meant to burden you with those words. I must have seemed foolish."
Lila, feigning innocence, tilted her head and smiled sweetly, her ruby eyes gleaming with hidden amusement. "Whatever do you mean, Your Majesty? Last night was... uneventful, wasn't it?" She waved her hand dismissively, as though the memory of him cradling her in the moonlight, confessing his undying love, was nothing more than a figment of his imagination.
Axel stiffened at her response, his heart sinking. She really didn't remember. The way she spoke, so lighthearted and unaffected, made it clear to him that the woman he loved had lost those memories, the essence of what they once shared. He was apologizing to someone who no longer held the past they once had.
"I..." Axel struggled for words, his throat tight. "I'm sorry for anything that might have made you uncomfortable. I won't speak of it again."
Lila bit the inside of her cheek to stifle a laugh, playing the part of the indifferent Empress, while inside she found the whole situation deliciously amusing. "Oh, Emperor Axel, no need for such formality. There's nothing to apologize for," she said airily, her voice laced with mischief only she understood.
As Axel's mind raced, trying to figure out how to navigate this strange new reality where Lila no longer remembered their history, Lila was secretly reveling in her little game, enjoying the way she could toy with him without him ever knowing the truth. To her, this was fun—seeing the once confident and composed emperor so unsure, so vulnerable.
But even as Lila teased him in her own mind, there was a flicker of something deeper, something she wouldn't dare admit. The way Axel had looked at her, the way he had held her the night before—it stirred memories in her heart too, memories she was keeping carefully tucked away, waiting for the right moment to fully reveal herself. For now, she was content to let Axel believe what he needed to, even as she silently held the power over him, enjoying every moment.
As Emperor Axel sat across from Empress Lila, his eyes landed on the teacups in front of them. His cup was filled with cold tea, while hers was steaming hot. He narrowed his eyes, the discrepancy too glaring to ignore. Memories of the past came flooding back—the times they'd sat together in the same quiet moments, when the tea had been served purposefully cold, he loves cold tea. Axel wasn't a fool, and this small detail confirmed what he had been suspecting all along.
"Who prepared the tea?" he asked casually, his voice soft but sharp enough to cut through the still air.
Lila, who had been enjoying the game she was playing, noticed the subtle shift in Axel's demeanor. "Me, why? Is there something wrong with it, Your Majesty?" she replied, taking a delicate sip from her own cup of hot tea.
Axel didn't answer immediately. Instead, he picked up his cup, examining the cool liquid with a calm exterior, though inside his suspicions flared. He wasn't one to be easily deceived, and this confirmed his suspicion—she hadn't forgotten him, not at all.
With a smooth, deliberate gesture, he set the cup back down, leaning back in his chair as his intense gaze met hers. "It seems I'm being served cold tea while the Empress is treated to something much warmer," he mused, his voice carrying the weight of an unspoken truth. "It reminds me of something... something you would never forget."
Lila, realizing her subtle game had been exposed, decided to take a different approach. Her lips curled into a teasing smile as she tilted her head. "What's with your obsession with me, Emperor Axel? Confessing your love, I'm a married woman." She emphasized the word married, knowing it would strike a nerve.
Axel's eyes glimmered with amusement at her attempt to provoke him. Composing himself, he leaned forward, his smirk growing, matching hers with a calm but playful intensity.
"Oh, I do have a thing for married women," he replied smoothly, his voice low and dripping with sarcasm. "Especially ones who sit across from me, pretending they've forgotten everything... yet play these little games." His gaze lingered on her face, daring her to deny it.
Lila chuckled softly, her eyes not leaving his. "You're bold, Emperor," she teased.
Axel raised an eyebrow, leaning in closer. "Bold? Or perhaps simply someone who knows exactly what he wants." His words hung in the air, and there was no mistaking the flirtatious challenge beneath them.
They were both masters of this game, each testing the limits of the other's resolve, teasing, pushing, and pulling, all while knowing the depth of their connection ran far deeper than they were letting on. The conversation danced between playful banter and unspoken desires, neither willing to show all their cards just yet.
Empress Lila stood by the ornate door, her posture rigid as she prepared to leave. "I have important matters to attend to," she reiterated, her voice firm but slightly trembling. She felt the weight of Axel's gaze on her, a burning intensity that made her heart race. As her fingers brushed the door handle, she steeled herself for the conversation she knew they had to have.
But just as she grasped the handle, Axel moved swiftly, turning her to face him. His presence was overwhelming, a storm of emotions swirling in his dark eyes. "Lila," he murmured, his voice low and urgent, as if every word was a desperate plea.
Her breath caught in her throat, and she forced herself to maintain an air of innocence. "What is it, Your Majesty? I really must—"
Before she could finish, he stepped closer, closing the distance between them with a fervent intensity. "You can't just walk away like this," he insisted, a hint of frustration lacing his words. She felt her resolve waver under the heat of his stare, but she masked it with hesitation, tilting her head slightly as if to deflect his emotions.
But Axel wouldn't be deterred. In one swift movement, he cupped her face with his hand, and Lila's heart raced at the warmth of his touch. "I need you to understand," he said, his voice dropping to a whisper. "I can't let you go."
And before she could respond, he leaned in, capturing her lips with his. The kiss was both urgent and passionate, a collision of two worlds that had been kept apart for too long. Axel's lips pressed against hers with a fervor that sent sparks coursing through her veins. It was a kiss that demanded surrender, a promise of everything unspoken and unrealized.
Lila felt herself melting against him, her hesitation crumbling like fragile glass. She kissed him back, her lips moving in tandem with his, matching the fire that ignited between them. Every sensation heightened; the warmth of his body, the taste of his lips, the intoxicating scent of him enveloped her. She felt the world around them disappear, leaving only the two of them lost in the moment.
"We," she breathed against his mouth, a feeble attempt to reclaim her composure. "We shouldn't—"
"Don't," he interrupted softly, pulling her closer. His forehead rested against hers, their breaths mingling. "Just for a moment… let's forget everything else."
The intensity of his gaze held her captive, and despite the chaos of her thoughts, Lila found herself unable to resist. She pressed her lips back against his, deeper this time, as if trying to merge their souls. His hands moved to her waist, grounding her as their kiss deepened.
The kiss became a dance of emotions—passion, longing, and the bittersweet ache of memories intertwined. Lila's hands found their way to his hair, fingers tangling in the dark strands as she pulled him closer still. She could feel the desperation in his kiss, a silent confession of the feelings they had both kept buried for so long.