Part 1.
The warm humid air of the capital was perfect for working up a sweat. A feat that proved easy to accomplish in the back garden of a villa located in the central part of the capital. Though it was in the central area of the sprawling metropolis, it was at the edge of the district. The Maurutine district was the district that was reserved for nobles and the upper class of society, the district where this particular villa was located. While the owner wasn’t considered to be noble, he had obtained an incredibly prestigious position, allowing him the affluence to purchase a villa in the district.
The general, being a stout military man, had made less than subtle changes to the villa. First and foremost, he renovated one of the largest rooms, into a military office. There, staff members would come and go during the day, doing their best to keep their general as up-to-date as possible on all things related to the military. In addition, in the back garden, he had large stones brought in. They had been chiseled into tall cubes and placed tightly together, dirt had been lifted and packed tightly around them. This helped to keep them together, provided a ramp on and off the small arena, as well as providing a surface that would allow anyone knocked off it to simply roll down to the ground instead of landing on the hard ground below.
Currently using the training ground was a young woman. She had auburn hair, and dark eyes, maybe it was due to her constant training, but she had a washboard physique, arguably more muscle than not. She was currently practicing her dual sword technique, alone in the center of the stage. Had anyone been present, other than the one person currently watching her, they would have been mesmerized and awestruck by her performance. She moved with grace and speed, as she moved the motions that she had practiced so many times before. Unfortunately for her, the only person in attendance today had been the one to teach her the way of the blade, and all he saw was excessive movement and wasted momentum as she swung her blade to and fro.
Though, in reality, she wasn’t bad, in fact, she was very good. Her blade work in the past had shown her to be one of the better swordsmen in the empire. She had fought and learned from most of the better warriors in the army, and by the age of 14 could best nearly all of them, save one man in particular. Now that she was 17, she was certified as the second-strongest sword fighter in the empire and a peerless martial artist. There was talk of her making an appearance in the arena, an exhibition match that would result in no fatalities, but any discussion of that had been immediately squashed.
The powers that be had decided that a woman fighting in the arena would be wrong and immoral and had made their dissatisfaction with it known by offering up their sons to her for marriage instead. Her only response to those men for their close-mindedness was, “If he can beat me, he can have me.” There had yet to be a single challenger to respond to her challenge.
She was Aurora, the daughter of the greatest general in imperial history. She had trained for years honing her craft in the hope to make her father proud, much to the distress of her mother Ana, who had tried to push her daughter to be more ladylike and hopefully find a suitor that would cement their family to the realm of nobility. Their differences in opinion of her future had led them to argue often enough that they no longer spoke to each other in passing or at the dinner table, instead choosing to go through Rufus when wanting to communicate.
It was now past midday, she had been practicing since early morning, and had worked up plenty of sweat. Rufus was standing in the shadow of the main house watching over her as he normally did when he felt she didn’t need the hands-on advice of a master swordsman. Today, however, he was standoffish for a different reason. Today his gut was whirling around, and anxiety was tightening all of his muscles. For the first time in his memory, he was terrified of what he had to do. He stepped out from the shadows and into the light of the sun, making his way up the dirt ramp and onto the flat stone surface of the arena.
“Your form is great today.” He said to her, attempting to hide the anxiety in his voice.
“No, father. It is worse than yesterday.” She responded in a breathy voice, in between swings.
“Ah. Yes, that is true, but it is still good.”
“Father.” She stopped her routine, turning to face the large man. “What is wrong father, you are not normally like this. You do not normally award mediocrity with praise. I was expecting a punishment for my poor form, but instead, you congratulate me. I am confused.”
He stopped himself. He hadn’t realized he had been such a soldier to his daughter, but it was who he was on the inside, being a soldier was all he knew, so it was how he ran his household. Had his daughter taken more after her mother, then maybe, things would be different. Then he thought about what he needed to say, and his stomach turned over again. He was a soldier, through and through, and this was simply his newest order, he hadn’t even bothered to question it till now.
“Aurora, there is something important that we need to discuss. Please come inside the house.”
“Yes sir.” She said with a proper salute.
The proud tone in her voice, accompanied by the salute she gave him, made what he was about to do all the more painful. As he took the few steps that led him back into his home, his heart grew heavier and heavier. Memories of her life came flooding back to him, thoughts of a small child fitting into the palm of his giant hands, her taking her first steps, her running through the halls of their villa when she refused to put on clothes for the maid staff, crashing in on important military meetings, swinging her sword for the first time. She had not turned into a proper lady by any standards, but he was proud of the woman she had come regardless. He held back any emotions, swallowing them down, determined to deal with them later and in private.
They sat down in a side parlor room, which was equipped with couches and chairs that were comfortable, it was designed for meeting with local nobility or senators that came and requested meetings with the general. Mother and daughter had taken up positions across from each other on separate couches, with the general positioned between them in a chair at the end of a small decorative table. The air was heavy, not so much because of what the general was about to talk about, but more so because of the tension that had built up between mother and daughter. The fact that they were sharing such a small space caused their disdain for each other to flare back up.
“There is some news that I need to share with the two of you.” He said trying to ignore their childish play.
“Oh dear, what great news do you have for us!?” Ana said in a forced way.
“Well… The news is regarding Aurora.” He said looking in her direction. She returned his statement with a surprised expression.
“Yes, father?”
“You are going…” he hesitated to say the words aloud. The very syllables were trapped within his throat, as his parental instincts fought with his sense of duty and loyalty.
“You are going… to marry the emperor.” He forced them out.
“Huh?” she said. The proper response of any soldier would have been “Yes, Sir!”, and the response of any loyal servant of the emperor would have been one of joy, being grateful to be graced with his time, affection, and in the case of a wife, his imperial seed. For anyone less loyal and equipped with two brain cells to rub together, understood that it was less enjoyable than being sent into the mines. Being told to marry the tyrannical man would be a sentence to a lifetime of torture, giving into any and every whim of that man. Aurora understood it clearly, and while internally she wanted to yell and scream and beg her father why she had to do such a thing, she understood from the pained expression on his face, this hadn’t been his wish, that it had been an order put upon him, one that he had no choice but to follow.
The only person in the room who didn’t seem to be upset by this development was her mother. She wore a large smile across her face, not a genuine smile of happiness, more like a greedy one of relief. It was a smile that said she was happy to have her position as a noble firmly in place, her daughter would be married to the most powerful man in the Empire, arguably, as far as she knew, the world. That would make her the emperor’s mother-in-law, giving her a leg up on a majority of their stuck-up neighbors who had considered their family upstarts. So, she put on her selfish smile and clapped her hands, bringing them up in front of her face like a prayer.
“Exciting news, my dear husband! When will the wedding be, we must prepare!?”
“7 days.”
“What!?” said mother and daughter in unison.
“He had no desire to stand on formalities. You will be married at the end of the week, 7 days from now.” He closed his eyes and bowed his head when he finished. It was all becoming too real for him.
“That isn’t a lot of time. We must order a dress! There are the party favors…” she began to trail off into a frenzy of all the things that came with a noble wedding.
“Nothing needs to be prepared,” Rufus said plainly. “The emperor had already begun all that. He plans to throw a great wedding ceremony. The dress will be tailored by him, she will need to show up at the palace in two days for it. The food, the guest list… all of it is being handled. We just have to… accept it.”
Aurora was looking at her father, she wasn’t sure who wanted to cry more, him or her. She moved toward her father, wrapping her hands around his thick muscly neck.
“I will do my duty, fath-- no, sir.” She whispered in his ear.
Ever the good soldier, just like him, just like he had raised her to be. It made his heart ache. If she was supposed to get married, it was supposed to be on her terms. She should have found someone she loved or at least someone who could best her as she had wanted. It wasn’t supposed to be someone whose orders could trump over all one’s desires. Just like her, he was a good soldier, a soldier who had failed to protect his family.
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Part 2.
Seven days had passed by in a flash. Aurora had been allowed to continue to live with her parents for the last week of her unmarried life, lest people suspect that the bride had been spoiled before her wedding night like some kind of low-class whore.
The morning of the seventh day, she had been escorted via carriage, to the palace. She had been fitted for the dress beforehand, but many other things needed to be done to turn the functional empress-to-be, into a proper lady fit for her title. It hadn’t been the first time she had put on make-up, her mother had seen to that, but it was the first time she had so much caked on like this. While she didn’t have a bad complexion, all those hours spent training during the day had caused her to have a tan anywhere that hadn’t been covered by her armor. This, of course, was a no-go for any empress, so there was a lot of foundation applied to “brighten her up”.
Her naturally pink lips were hit with a heavy dose of deep rouge lip gloss, and her chest was padded, as was her rear, an attachment that had been sewn onto the back end of the corset she was put in. All these had been done in an effort to turn her into a more feminine lady, for her future-husbands sake. “What would the nobility and senators at court say?”, was all that she heard all morning.
Once everything she thought possible, and then some had been applied to her, they started working on her hair. She had long beautiful red hair, a memento from her father, but since she was a warrior rather than a lady, it had fallen into a distasteful state, with knots and split ends throughout it. Functionality had dictated washing it every few days, putting it up in a bun or ponytail to keep it out of the way while she fought. Because it was similar to her father’s hair though, it meant a lot to her, which is why when the ladies began snipping at it, trimming it down, taking harsh brushes to it, applying hot curlers to it, she wanted to cry. To her, more than anything beforehand, it had been a visual demonstration of her being taken away from what she had loved, all she had known, and being thrown into a world, not of her choosing. She wanted to cry, but like a good soldier, she kept her emotions behind a firm wall and stared on as the women snipped and clipped away. Turning her bird’s nest into a respectable hairstyle, lifted, with wavy strands coming down in a half-messy, half-clean style. Importantly it was up and out of her face, revealing her appealing looks that would have surprised any man had they been told beforehand the kind of tomboy she was.
Once the women had finished, they left the room to her. It was a rare moment, allowing her time to be alone and collect her thoughts, which made it dangerous. This moment alone proved the perfect opportunity for her to feel her emotions, but that would no doubt have caused her to mess up all the work the women had done previously, something they may have even suspected. She was a soldier though, in her head at least, and she refused to give in. Instead, she stood up and walked outside on the balcony. She was three stories off the garden grounds below, which were far more expansive than her little backyard, which had practically been her whole world, had been. Just because it was bigger, grander, simply meant that instead of her little world full of memories, both struggles and triumphs, now simply felt all the emptier.
She looked on into the distance. The Imperial city was sprawling, and you could see a good bit of it when looking beyond the palace walls. The first thing anyone would notice of course had to be the tower. The monolithic building that nearly touched the sky, was built in the age of wonder, before the first coalition. Somehow it had survived the siege of the capital during the time of the first demon lord, and to this day had reigned as the tallest building in the world. Currently, it served as the headquarters of the Imperial Magic Academy, well the first ten floors anyway. Floors 11 through 20 were used for special research, anything higher than that had been sealed off, and there was only a whisper of there even being an underground portion. Regardless, it, along with the Temple of Finora, the Imperial Palace, the Arena, and the Senate building, served as the very image of Imperial power and authority.
She stared at the structure, the idea of escaping and climbing up to the forbidden floors of the towers entering her mind. If she managed to reach them, would anyone be able to find her? Probably, knowing her father, the entire Imperial Army would be mobilized to search every book in the tower, twice over if necessary. That thought was just a fleeting wish though, she couldn’t possibly run from this. If she did, what would that mean for her family? What would be the emperor’s response to a disloyal vassal? The thought of the Arena Champion flashed into her mind, and a jolt of fear came over her. She would rather die; she would rather just marry the emperor.
After some time, she hadn’t been paying any attention to how long exactly, a group of women came into the room. In a coordinated effort, they had carried the white gown into the room. It was a pristine white fabric, easily one of the most beautiful dresses she had ever seen. There was embroidery of purple flowers with golden pistils, golden meanders decorated the edges, and a purple sash was added as an accessory. They were evidence of her imperial accession from a simple general’s daughter to becoming the empress.
Behind the dress was another woman. She was a dazzling, stunning beauty. She was curvaceous and voluptuous in all the right areas. She wore rogue lipstick that popped, and her blush and eyeliner were perfect to accent her perfectly proportioned face. There would not be a man alive that wouldn’t take their afternoon to just watch her strut through the palace hallways. While Aurora had never seen her before, she knew by reputation that she could be only one person, it was the current Empress Dowager, Iocaste.
Iocaste had been the daughter of the previous Minister to the Senate, essentially a representative position for the emperor to the Senate. He would go when the emperor was incapable of attending himself. Before that, he had been a magus, not The Magus, he had served at the Magic Academy and contributed to many of its earlier successes. When the previous emperor, who was still only an heir apparent had met the man, it had only taken a single glimpse for him to fall in love with the man’s daughter. At the behest of his son’s pleas, the emperor promoted him from a commoner to a special position which would allow him more time in the palace, as well as allowing for him to purchase a luxurious home in the prestigious Mauruntine District. This allowed for the son and daughter to grow closer, and when the young man had been officially recognized as the heir, he announced their betrothal. Since that time, Iocaste has been in and out of the political spectrum, sadly her husbands’ reign hadn’t been long, and died shortly after the birth of their son. Some said the newborn and her strenuous work keeping the empire together were the only things that kept her going because shortly after her husband’s death, her father had also passed away, leaving her to run the empire single-handedly.
When she walked into the room, she was eyeing the dress in front of her and the maiden, who had been bidden to wear such a magnificent piece of clothing, standing in front of her. The atmosphere in the room changed entirely. The temperature of the empire was warm and humid, and without windows to help insulate, the flowing breeze was the only thing to cool someone down. Yet at this moment, the room was frigid and hostile. The older woman was staring down her future daughter-in-law as a predator looks at their prey. Aurora could feel the sweat on her back grow cold, she did her best to avoid shivering or shaking in front of her new mother.
“Do understand, no mother ever finds a woman good enough for her son. Especially when that son is an emperor, even more so when that son is the only living family she has. You girl, daughter of a common rat who crawled his way up with nothing but brute strength. You will never be good enough for my son. This is his idea, and I do not approve, so do not believe yourself to be special.” She said hatefully, with an icy, sinister voice.
“Yes ma’am. I understand, completely. I will strive to simply serve my lord to the best of my abilities.” Aurora said with a bow.
Iocaste clicked her tongue behind her teeth before saying, “Just like a good soldier. Get yourself presentable.” Then she turned and walked away.
Aurora was a little surprised to find that she hadn’t been the only person to let out a sigh of relief when the empress left the room. Though admittedly, Aurora did her best to stay on her feet when doing so, her legs felt like fresh sprouts, hardly strong enough to support themselves, let alone the weight of the body above them. The collective sigh had seemed to be enough to relax everyone though, and the ladies went about their craft getting the young woman ready for her big day.
When the ladies had gone about their crafts, they touched up on any areas that seemed less than perfect. The dress was finally and carefully lifted over her. It was slowly brought down, with special consideration to her hair and makeup. Once certain things had been repositioned, to make it look natural, a bronze mirror was brought forward, in it was the reflection of a beautiful young girl she had never met before. She looked like a stranger, her skin felt foreign. Again, she proved herself the soldier and held back any sign of emotion, other than a weak smile.
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Part 3.
The first part of the ceremony was to be held at the Temple of Finora, the goddess of Fire. She was the symbol of love and passion as well as war. She was the patron deity of the empire, and the people loved her the most. While all the gods had their individual temples, hers was the grandest. That meant that once Aurora had been made presentable, she was carted away in a blacked-out carriage from the palace to the temple.
When the covering was removed, the sudden change in light burned her eyes, causing her to blink many times as she transitioned. She had been to the temple many times before, she was a member of a soldier family, so praying for her father whenever he went out on an expedition was common practice. This time, however, it was unlike any other time she had been there. As she blinked her mind began to piece together the images as if it was shifting before her eyes, the temple exterior shifted from the undecorated, minimalist look it normally had, to the overly decorated, flowery, and cheerful look it currently had. If that hadn’t been enough to surprise her, the throngs of citizens, people from all levels of society were about, shouting cheerfully and sending praises to the bride from outside the carriage.
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The door was opened for her, and she stepped out before a roaring crowd of people. Some were throwing flowers while others were throwing small nearly weightless pellets that would slowly fall back down to earth. Even with all the pessimistic feelings she had been having over her arranged marriage, she couldn’t help but smile at the cheers of joy from the crowd. Things in the capital had been rather concerning lately, which was partly the fault of the man she was marrying. So, to see the people genuinely cheerful over something other than another round of blood sport was refreshing.
She imagined what a proper empress would do at this time, put on a brave face, smile, and wave, and she did just that. With each step she made, she waved and smiled back and forth to each side of the audience. There was no need for her to feel cautious of the people, even if some did attempt something, there was a whole brigade of Praetorians there, many of which had sparred with her in the past and were like cousins and uncles to her, she felt as safe as she could.
She climbed the final step and stood before the grand doors of the temple. All the safety she had felt suddenly washed away, and reality returned to her. Behind these magnificent doors would be all the guests, ministers, senators, military personnel, influential nobles, her parents, her mother-in-law, and most importantly the man she was to marry, the emperor. She heard a thudding sound, followed by the creaking of the hinges, and she gulped down one last big breath. This was it; this was the moment that she would take the most important steps of her life.
When the doors had opened fully, the outside light penetrated the chapel before here. She looked like a small rose standing in the doorway of the giant doorframe, alone and scared. There was loud music, heavier than would be expected for a wedding, that served as her cue to walk forward. She timed her steps with the sound, and she gracefully as possible, made her way forward toward the altar.
At the alter stood two men, one was her father, who was wearing ceremonial military garb, which consisted mainly of what the senators wore, but with the addition of his cingulum around his waist, golden manica on his arms, and a golden laurel on his head. The latter of which was to signify his status as the father of the bride and was the only time a person other than the emperor may were such headgear unless personally rewarded by the emperor himself.
The other man at the alter was the Finora head priest, he wore his ceremonial white robe and had a purple sash across his chest running from his left shoulder to his right waist, as was customary of high officials in the empire for special occasions, while underneath it, running the opposite direction, was a red sash, denoting his status as the head priest of the fire goddess. He stood behind a large stone pulpit, elevating him far above everyone in attendance.
When she reached the top of the steps and stood before the altar with her father, the two exchanged glances. The two soldiers held back their real feelings while giving one last embrace, both of them understanding that this could very well be the last time they could be with each other like so. As they finished their embrace, the music in the room made a dramatic turn. It went from the deep harsh tone that had been playing and shifted into a majestic light one, it was the sound of the national anthem, and there could only be one reason that it would start playing now.
Standing in the same place she had just been, bathed in the light from the outside, casting long shadows into the otherwise dimly lit chapel. As though they had choreographed it, they stepped in unison with each other and the music, gliding perfectly down the long aisle.
In most weddings, no one should ever upstage the bride, but this wasn’t most weddings. The empress wore a thin white dress, that conformed to her womanly figure. Her makeup was done perfectly, it was hard to tell if she was blushing or not, her eyes popped from behind their liner and mascara, and her crimson lip gloss aided the feminine charm that Aurora could never hope to exude. She was the most beautiful woman here, and she had no shame when it came to showing it.
Next to her, walking hand in hand, was her son, the emperor. He also wore a thin white gown that conformed to his body, it was sheer though, and it left little to the imagination. He wore his imperial-colored sash, though this one was more violet than purple, which helped with the contrast between it and the golden meanders that line the sides of it. On his head were a pair of intertwined laurels. One was gold the other was silver, their branches twisting around each other while curving around his head. On his face was a haughty smile, that reflected his egotistical nature. Only he, and maybe his mother, knew whether he was truly happy to be here, or was just enjoying the attention.
After a long and slow walk, the pair reached the base of the steps. This was the first time Aurora had been able to see the emperor up close. She had seen him from afar from his royal perch where he made speeches to the public, however, since she was the daughter of a general and not nobility, she and her mother were never permitted to attend any functions at the palace, meaning this was the first time she had truly laid eyes on her soon-to-be husband. Her first impression was, bland, he had no certain features that stuck out, but upon closer inspection, a tingle crawled up her spine. How could such a simple smile scare her so much, she would rather face her father in actual combat rather than go through with this.
The duo gave each other kisses before Iocaste went and sat in the chair closest to the altar. The emperor ascended the steps alone, almost like he was floating up them rather than walking. His smile never ceased, and his eyes never left Aurora’s, it proved to be her hardest challenge yet. When he did reach the top, everyone bowed before him, even Aurora, with a subtle signal from her father. It was only when he raised both hands that everyone was allowed to stand. He reached out an open hand towards Rufus, who understanding the signal, took his daughter’s hand into his own, and with one last gentle squeeze placed it in the emperor’s. After which, Rufus made his way back down the steps, just fast enough to not be considered a bother, and found a seat opposite the Iocaste.
Left alone, she began to panic but put on her best face to avoid it becoming known. The terror of reality continued to stack upon itself. She couldn’t understand how everything which seemed like it was just a dream continued to become worse and worse, the more reality caught up with it. With a light tug, the emperor pulled twisted her forward, and they were now facing the pulpit where the head priest had been waiting to start the ceremony.
After a few short formalities, the ceremony began in earnest. From above the priest gave a grand speech on the beauty of marriage, how that even though Finora and Youtoma were separate, she continued her duty by providing life and light to the world as she traveled across the sky. Finally, being rewarded by being allowed to meet her husband in the west every night. As he droned on, the emperor’s face grew more and more annoyed, until finally, he spoke up.
“Old man. Why don’t you hurry this up, we still have the Senate to stop by, and the party at the palace. I am sure people have better things to do.”
By people, he no doubt meant that “he” had better things to do, and that caused Aurora to have terrifying thoughts about what the night would bring. She would be forced to lay with this cruel man, she would be forced to have his children to carry on his line. The shivering on the inside grew, and she fought back against it as hard as she could. She wanted nothing more than to let this ceremony go on forever.
Reality is often not what we wish it to be, and as such, the initial ceremony ended not long after the emperor spoke, with the priest offering up a few last words of good faith and a final, “Now this man and woman are one before all!”. There was applause coming from the onlookers, but it sounded confused and had to be built up by a single attendant, the empress. With such a cue, the emperor turned on his heel and walked down a single step, then gave a slight turn of his head in the direction of his new wife. She understood clearly what he meant, and joined one step behind him, as they descended the stairs, silently down the aisle to the chapel entrance.
When they emerged into the basking sunlight of the day, there was a roar that came all around them. The people celebrating the new couple. They were the masses and were ignorant of the truth, but Aurora couldn’t fault them for being innocently happy for the new couple. The emperor walked forward to his gilded carriage, but when Aurora tried to follow, she was stopped by his guard.
The emperor’s guard was of a different breed compared to the praetorians that her father had trained. If one would compare the soldiers to adventurers, the Praetorian Guard would be equivalent to Opal Pearls, which was the 4th rank in their oddly named ranking system. The Imperial Guard on the other hand was comprised of warriors that would be ranked no less than an Emerald Cut, the third highest rank, with most of the seniors being considered as strong as Ruby Heart ranked. The difference between those two ranks was like that of a new blackbelt and a blackbelt with their first stripe ready for their second.
There was nothing that she could do but bow and wait for her carriage to pick her up and take her to the Senate building, a truth that was made even more clear when her new mother walked by here in a victorious strut. To avoid an insult, she kept her head bowed and her eyes focused on the floor below her. Only when she felt enough time had passed, that being when she could hardly hear the clacking sound of the horses’ hooves on the stone roadway, did she dare to lift her head. By that time, even the ignorant masses could understand that the atmosphere was odd.
She was relieved when she felt the gentle touch of strong hands from behind her. They were hands she had known all her life, hands that had sheltered her, healed her, and protected her. She knew, even at that moment, that these hands wouldn’t be able to do all those things anymore, so she indulged in the moment, doing her best to remember every detail of them.
“He left you here and went to the Senate already?” Rufus asked, his voice was the sweetest music she could hear at the moment.
“Yes, father. It is okay, it gives me more time to prepare for the inevitable.” She responded while grasping his hand that was resting on her shoulder.
He called one of his guardsmen to bring her carriage around.
“I understand your feelings but leaving him waiting is a bad idea.”
He assisted her inside the carriage when it arrived. He was about to let her go, but a yank and a pitiful look caused him to reconsider, and he joined her after signaling his men to escort them on horseback. The procession then made its way through the city along the grand avenue which formed the spine of the city.
To get from the Temple of Finora to the Senate building, they would have to make their way back towards the palace and take a right just before entering the grounds. They would then have to travel towards the largest hill in the city, Platanna Hill. According to legends, it was the location where the Imperial Founder first made ground, which was a simple wooden hut he and his two wives lived in. Now it housed the most important building in the Empire, the Senate. It was far weaker these days than it had ever been, but it still served as the only power in the empire that could challenge the emperor. By placing it on the hill, it stood out clearly from anywhere in the city, even overshadowing the grand palace, and only bested by the Magic Academy’s Tower.
When the second couple arrived at the front of the building, they found the mother and son duo just stepping outside of their own carriage. Eyeing the new arrivals with dismissive glances, they began their trek up the steps of the building. Eventually, the father and daughter were permitted to make their way up the grand staircase. When they came to the top, before the “Doors of Law and Peace”, Rufus gave his daughter one last word of caution.
“These will be your last moments as a single woman. Take a deep breath and prepare yourself. For most citizens of Agerdoria, marriage is a testament between them and the gods, a simple priest can ordain a couple married. For the Emperor and Empress, your marriage is set in stone. There is no going back, now. There is no divorce. Divorce is a death sentence. Whatever he says, follow them, if things get bad, you still have your life.”
“You’re right, these are my last moments. But you’re also wrong father, there was never a choice. You and I are just soldiers, following orders. You knew from the moment he told you, that you would not be able to refuse him, and that you would follow any order he gave you perfectly. I love you, but you sentenced me to this just as much as he did.”
With those last words the door opened before them, and Aurora took the lead entering with a determined glare, the object of which was the emperor, who standing before the Consul Magnus’ seat. His eyes stared back, betraying his conniving personality.
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Part 4.
The Senate was the true heart of the empire. For centuries, as emperors came and went, all dishing out their laws and commands, the Senate proved itself the shield of the people. When a ruling was deemed to be too harsh or unjust, it was stuck down by the 49 elected officials. 7 different officials per each district of the city. A single official, usually from the Maurutine district, served as a Consul Magnus, or Great Consul, and was the leading official during Senatorial hearings.
The current Consul Magnus was Menaius Brutus. He was from an old family that had served on the Senate for generations, a line that had married into the old Imperial family several times, but not the Yamamoto line. As the current head, many had wondered if he had any ambitions of trying to find a way into the current family, but with only one son, those whispers had died off. Now in this room, the two most powerful men in the Empire stood next to one another, exchanging glances at the young lady walking toward them.
“A pleasure my Empress,” Menaius said with a graceful bow. It hadn’t been needed, he wielded far more power than she could ever imagine herself holding, but the gesture was genuinely polite and relaxed her nerves.
“Your grace.” She returned with a curtsy of her own.
“I imagine… Ah! Yes, here he comes now. Father of the bride!” the consul exclaimed at the appearance of Rufus.
Rarely would there be a meeting like this, the Emperor, The Consul Magnus, and The General Commander, all in one room like this? The fact that they were, marked the significance of what was taking place today. The Emperor held his royal authority, and the Senate wielded the peoples’ authority, all the while Rufus, the General Commander held control over the military, meaning he held practical authority. Yet he was beholden to follow the commands of the emperor, to ensure the protection of the people. It was a loose peace, but a peace that had stood for over millennia.
Now the fact that the General Commander’s daughter was being married to the emperor, signified a transition in the power balance, meaning that this meeting between the three powers was a silent battlefield of body language and hidden meanings. Arguably one more dangerous than the conventional ones Rufus was used to, especially considering that he and his daughter were more muscle heads than intellectual, they were coming in completely unequipped for this.
“This is a joyous day isn’t it, my liege,” Menaius said with a smile.
“Indeed, it is, Consul. I truly have a stunning new wife don’t I?” The emperor responded.
“Truly the Empress is gorgeous.” He replied why looking up at Iocaste. Her smile was like a still pond.
“Thank you for your compliment. Now shall we begin with legal proceedings to make this official?”
“Indeed, let us not waste any more time.”
Menaius walked over behind his seat and pulled from it a large roll of parchment. It was easily as wide as two men the size of Rufus, and taller than him when it was stretched out completely on the floor. Yet, it was only filled out toward the very top. The heading read, “Line of Yamamoto”, and it had only four generations on it. It began with Taishi, then came his children, but the only line it focused on was his eldest son, Sasuke, then Sasuke’s third son, the previous emperor who was Matsuri, and finally ending with the current childless emperor, Caligia. The sudden shift came because of Iocaste, who knew nothing of the
“World of Japan” and chose a more traditional name from the Empire. He would technically be Caligia the second, but the first Caligia was only on the throne for two months before he was assassinated by his brother and was practically wiped from history.
One of the lesser-known tasks of the Senate was the maintaining of all records regarding the Imperial Line. Meaning that their library housed every decree that had ever been issued by an emperor, ever, and thanks to preservation magic, they were still just as pristine as the day they were issued. That obviously included all documentation regarding the three separate Imperial families that had ruled at some point.
The Consul Magus’ other job, was to update any documentation regarding changes in the Imperial line, meaning birth, marriage, and death. Now that the two had been ordained before Finora, they were now before the law and their marriage would become part of the official record, there could be no changing a first wife in official documentation, while any other wives would be recognized, only the main wife would hold authority and legal power. Her role would essentially be set in stone here and now. For better or worse Aurora was the Empress.
Once the document was updated, the emperor applied his seal to it, there was also a special seal that had been made for Aurora, and she certified her position. The document was then rolled back up and sealed back below the stone chair of Consul Magnus.
It took a good minute before anyone dared to speak.
“How ‘bout the party,” Rufus said, doing his best to break the awkward silence.
“That sounds magnificent!” said the consul.
“Indeed,” Iocasta said, grabbing the arm of the emperor to escort him out.
“Mother, that is improper, I am a married man now.” He responded by walking over to his official Empress and offering her his arm. “It is only right that I escort my new wife to our wedding party. Come, my dear.” The two of them then walked out the doors of the Senate building, arm in arm, entering the Imperial gilded carriage alone on their way to the Palace.
“My lady,” Menaius said, holding open the door for Iocaste. “May I have the privilege?”
Begrudgingly, but quietly and with grace, Iocaste stepped in the carriage and joined the Consul Magnus on his journey to the party. Rufus, with an escort of a few of his soldiers, followed behind.
The atmosphere of the party was light and jovial. When the guests of honor arrived, there was a great uproar of applause and congratulations. They were showered with confetti and streams of thin silk as they made their way up the palace steps. Open entering the wide doorway, before them in the gardens were all of the most elite members of society. Senatorial families, noble and merchant families of great clout, his aides and advisors, and the grand scholars of the Magic Academy, who were some of the best mages the empire had ever seen. Among them were stalls where beverages and sustenance were offered to the attendees. On one end of the garden, a stage had been prepared, and there were acrobats and other preforms plied their trades entertaining the guests.
Caligia escorted his wife down into the throngs of people, introducing her to everyone he deemed important enough for her to know, before finally taking a seat at a large table in the center of the garden. When they finally had a moment to themselves, the emperor spoke up.
“Do you remember the faces of the people you met tonight?”
“Yes. There was…”
“Their names don’t matter. Their faces don’t matter. They are all people working with foreign forces, and tomorrow morning when they are still sleeping in their beds, my soldiers will enter their homes, and kill them and their families. Their heads will then be hung on display as a warning to all. Don’t ever go against me.”
With those words, he got up and walked back into the throngs of people, greeting and chatting as if he hadn’t just issued a quiet decree for mass execution. But more importantly, she understood his words clearly. It was a warning for everyone, for her, if he even thought that she had betrayed him, she would be killed, or worse.
For the rest of the night, she didn’t move from her chair, she hardly drank or ate, and only when a guest was kind enough to bring her something did, she force something down, not wanting to upset or cause a scene. Eventually, the party did quiet down, and guests began to trickle out the palace gates. It was then he saw her husband walk over to her, he had been discussing things with his mother at the side of the party, and she was looking rather upset.
“Come my bride. It is our first night as man and woman.” He extended a hand that she dared not hesitate to take. And without realizing it, she was swept up onto her feet and into his arms. With a laugh, he steadied her, and arm in arm they walked into the palace interior.
The walk, her last steps as a maiden, felt like an eternity. Not because she didn’t want what was bound to happen, but because she was undecided on whether it was better to get it over with or hold on to every remaining second that she had left. It made this whole ordeal excruciating, but the end came all the same. Before the door to the royal chambers, she caught a glimpse of the emperor out of the corner of her eye. He had a toxic smile across his face, and she could only assume the kinds of images he was imagining. Finally, the two attendants opened the curtains for them, and when they entered.
“You two can leave us. I want my privacy.” He said back to them.
There was an eerie silence that filled the air. Unsure of what to do, while standing in the center of the room, she slowly began to remove the dress she had been wearing the whole day.
“You can leave too. I have no more use for you, for now.” He said to her, not bothering to even look at her as he disrobed himself.
“Umm… husband-“
“Are you defying me already?”
“Never.”
“Then get out. I have no need for a dog’s little bitch.”
Her eyes grew wide. She was unsure if this was good for her or not, but the insult to her father caused a wave of anger inside of her to swell. With a practiced breath, she maintained her composure, curtsied, and left the room. She walked further down the hall, till she found an attendant waiting before an empty room.
“My lad- Excuse me, my empress. This is your room. It has already been prepared for you per my liege’s command.” The female attendant said with a gracious bow.
The room itself was nothing lavish, not by royal standards, but was still better than what she was used to, being a general’s daughter. It was located in the south corner of the palace, and had a large wrapping balcony, allowing her a beautiful view of the Senate building, the Tower, and even the tips of the mountains creeping up over the horizon, their peaks reflecting light off of the snow that blanketed them.
It wasn’t long before she could hear grunts and slapping sounds coming from down the hall. She didn’t exactly know what the sounds were, due to her own lack of experience, but her body had a clear indication. It was also at that moment she understood exactly what she had become. The significance of her marriage. She was a tool, if she was here, her father would be forced to obey any and every order the emperor gave. Once she was of no use anymore, what would become of her?
She sat on the bed, and for the first time today, allowed herself to silently cry at her powerlessness. There was no way that military training could prepare her for something like this, and she lamented never having listened to her mother, at least then she would have some kind of guile and would have a better chance at maneuvering within the palace.
On top of that, the sounds of the two people down the hall going at it like wild beasts was awakening an instinct in her that she had never needed before now. She could feel a moistness building up within her loins and an itch that she couldn’t quite manage to scratch by rubbing her legs together.
“No lady should ever go in need on her wedding night.” Came the voice of the attendant.
“I’ll be fine. I don’t know what is wrong with me, but… it will pass.”
“Allow me to assist you, my lady. I was ordered by my master to assist the lady in all her needs.”
The attendant began to remove her clothes as she stepped towards the bed.
“Oh my… Please, I’ll be okay. I don’t even know your name.”
“Salana. Please allow me to help you, scratch your itch.” She replied as she dropped to her knees before Aurora, gently spreading them.
Aurora couldn’t understand if she wanted her to continue or not, but at the same couldn’t bring herself to stop her. The moaning in the background had grown in volume and the occasional screams of pleasure were making her feel jealous. When the tongue finally touched her, it sent a jolt up her body, and she grabbed onto the older lady’s hair with both hands and watched from above as Salana’s head up and down with the movement of her tongue.
The rest of the night seemed to pass her by in a flash, the only sounds she could hear were her own moans, and Salana applied practiced precision in an effort to please her mistress. It hadn’t been the night that she had expected, but she wasn’t rejecting the new surprise.