Everyone held their last breath on behalf of Elowyn. Overlooking her skin tone, she was indeed a beauty to behold, paired with her unusual silver hair. It was truly unfortunate that this little damsel's beauty had to be wasted now.
Mr. Gael's thoughts were quite different from theirs. He still kept his poker face with his head bowed. It's just that he thought…nothing, or more precisely to say he couldn't afford to have a headache, thinking about an unnecessary outcome.
While everyone had their heads filled up. Elowyn had no idea her death was knocking around the corner, since she had asked for it a while ago from Mr. Gael.
However…
The Emperor had a different idea.
Not bothering to answer her questions, he stroked his stubby chin and asked in a low voice,
"Are you scared?"
"No, I'm not", Elowyn drew her brows together. She felt this man was too confusing. What brought about an unrelated question?
While Elowyn's thoughts were drowning in a sea of complex thoughts, the Emperor thought she was frightened internally and only appeared to be tough on the surface.
But it seems she was really a tough one, and an interesting one at that. Seeing her confused, the Emperor, notorious for never clarifying or repeating his words, felt the need to explain to this little girl.
"It's normal for a young girl like you to think twice about a stranger inviting you into his house. Your Uncle Gael just said you were wanderers, and I thought I would be hospitable enough to give you both a place to stay in my Imperial palace."
Huh? Personally?!
The elite guards and the people who attended the fair, felt that their brains ceased absorbing information in an instant. Their heads were about to blow off!
Elowyn thought he made sense and replied,
"I appreciate your kindness, sir." She tilted her head. "But I still don't know your name."
Smiling, he said, "I am Emperor Eddard and you are currently standing on my land."
He guessed this little girl didn't know who he was and thought to explain it in simpler terms.
Oh, he was the landowner of this market. No wonder he was in the market, and people respected him well. Why didn't she think of this possibility before?
Elowyn chided herself internally. It dawned on her that she had not greeted him before, and had jumped into questioning him.
Hoping that he did not notice her mistake, she was embarrassed and greeted,
Good Evening, Mr. Eddard. It is a pleasure to meet you, sir."
She smiled sweetly, which dropped like water as soon as she bowed her head.
Meanwhile…
Gael felt the need to strangle her this time around. Didn't she hear him greet him, 'Your Imperial Majesty?'
Somewhere in the crowd, there was a—
THUD!
It was so loud, it felt like the earth had crashed into another planet!
Well, that wasn't the case because someone had fainted. Probably, due to Elowyn's chosen words.
Later on, the elite guards confirmed that it was the same fat woman that had caused a scene because of a rat.
All of a sudden the Emperor laughed, he laughed heartily for a while. It felt like he wouldn't stop laughing.
With the commotion of a woman fainting and Mr. Eddard laughing, the protagonist in question couldn't understand why this was happening around her.
After laughing for a while, he cleared his throat and said, "Okay, now that you are satisfied, let's be on our way."
He called for his personal knight.
"Ossian",
"My liege", his knight stepped forward immediately. He had a fair, pale skin like the others, but he's tanned. Mostly because he was always on the go—engaging in battles, and always by the Emperor's side. Ossian was currently eighteen and had taken the place of his father, who served as both a special advisor and a personal knight to His Imperial Majesty. He was with the Emperor today because his father was working on a task assigned to him by His Imperial Majesty; this was also an opportunity for Ossian to gain experience in becoming the Emperor's personal knight.Though, at eighteen, he had a lean and tall figure of six feet with not too bulky muscle, sharp black eyes,and had spiky chocolate brown hair. Just a handsome and promising young man with a mischievous appearance.
"Go prepare the carriage. Pair up with someone and give a horse to these two." The Emperor ordered.
From there, the Emperor rode in the carriage, Ossian rode on a horse beside him by his right, Elowyn and Gael rode on the same horse by the left of the carriage with the elite guards stationed in front and rear of the carriage.
Sitting behind Mr. Gael, Elowyn's hair blew about in the cold night breeze. This was her first time riding a horse. There were horses in her little town—it is called a little town for a reason, so small indeed. But this was her first time having a feel of it. They had been riding for some time and she felt a bit sleepy. Torn between sleeping and falling off the horse , or resting on Mr. Gael's back.
'No, that wouldn't be a good idea.' So she decided to hold it in.
Eventually, she fell asleep after being an owl for a while.
She heard a cheerful voice.
"Winnie, you have to take me along. I would make the journey less lonely for you. Tell me what you could do without me? Hmm?"
"Okay, don't forget you promised me!"
Then, the voice became quieter.
"My Winnie is in a safe place"
With a gasp, she woke up from the nightmare.
She gasped breathlessly to an unfamiliar room. Her chest tightened as if an invincible hand squeezed her heart. The air was fresh and cool, scented faintly of incense in a woody atmosphere, but to her it felt like the sun shone directly on her.
The gold patterns on the ceiling swarmed in her vision. The carved arches and the curved headboard, bending and shifting as though it were her poor squeezed heart.
Her brain, still sodden in sleep, couldn't process any details of the room. She didn't know why she was here, why he woke up to a soft silk object—bed, the walls perched in intricate pale white and gold designs, or that the ceiling was too high. This was all wrong.
She could still hear sister's voice echoing through the walls, enveloping her in a sense of despair, refusing to let go. She thought she was a coward to let her younger sister sacrifice her life for her. If only…If only she was weak.
She wondered if there would have been a difference if she had allowed her to escort her to the forest. Would there? Yes, there would!
B-But she had called her a chatterbox and how she would be happy if Olive didn't tag along with her.
Oh. The stupid broken promise she had made to her!
She lay there, motionless on the bed, as her thoughts overpowered her already inactive senses. Gazing up to the canopy of gold blankly. Slowly, the voices in her head faded to a low hum, leaving Winnie in a silence that felt heavier than the nightmare. Her hands lay still on the blanket. Her gaze fixed on nothing.
A tear slipped down before she noticed, followed by another until they came down like a waterfall. She did not sob and didn't bother to wipe them away. Just calm.
The room was beautiful, worth admiring over and over again, so foreign, untouched—yet she could feel the weight of the world, weighing on her shoulders.
She took a deep breath, slow and steady, and focused her senses to her surroundings. Afraid of slipping back to the same dream.
At that moment, she heard a knock at the door. Sitting up calmly, she wiped her tears and noticed the huge white curtains covering the windows, the bedside lantern, the soft white couch by the window, and the polished wooden dressing table a few meters from another door.
Where was she?
Knock knock!
Ah. She had forgotten about the door.
She got up from the bed and padded towards the door. Opening it, she found two girls about her age at the door.
She blinked. As she was about to say, 'Sorry, you've got the wrong room.'
They bowed.
"Good morning, My Lady."
"Huh?"
Confused, Winnie couldn't understand what was happening, and why on earth would they bow to her?
Unaware of her thoughts, they continued, " Can we come in, My Lady? We have come to prepare your baths."
"What?"
Dumbfoundedly, she led them inside her room.
She would discuss with them and clear things up.
"Good morning to you too. Please, would you be kind enough to tell me where I am? Also why do you call me My Lady? My name is Elowyn." She smiled sweetly, hoping to appear friendly so that they would spill the beans right away.
The girls looked at each other:"..."
"Um…My Lady, you are at the Imperial Palace and we address guests with respect." The pale looking, ginger head maid spoke.
"Imperial Palace?" Elowyn was confused. What was that?
The second maid with straight black hair and dark eyes with freckles, she had a baby face, replied this time around.
"Yes, My Lady. The Emperor brought you back."
Now she remembered. They were riding a horse to the Old man's palace when she fell asleep. Mr. Gael must have brought her here. But why didn't he wake her?
That Old man said he was taking them to his house. Do they call houses here, Imperial Palace? Or just his house? And what was even an Imperial Palace?
Deciding to keep aside her curiosity for later, she asked, "What are your names?"
The baby faced girl replied, "I am Eula and this is Oleta. We are your personal maids. We will assist you with your daily activities. Starting from now we will assist you with taking your bath."
" What?! You will bathe me?!" Winnie asked incredulously.