The Empress, my aunt, cleared the room after I spoke to her.
Several of the guards in the room had nearly attacked me for my disrespect and heritage, but refrained when they noticed me referring to their respected and beloved empress as ‘Aunt’.
It doesn’t do to harm a potential imperial, after all.
Once the room was completely clear, with nobody left to listen in on any conversations we would have, Empress Aspasia Silver ran down from her throne, and hugged me. I was taken slightly by surprise with this, but it wasn’t unexpected.
(Aspasia) “It’s been eleven years since I last saw you, little ‘Riah.”
She grabbed my shoulders, and held be back to get a better look at me. She was smiling the entire time, something that would astonish the guards waiting outside the room should they see it. My aunt had gotten the reputation of a cold woman, and showed very little emotion in front of others. They had never seen anyone elicit such a strong response from her.
(Aspasia) “You look so much like your mother now.”
(Kai) “You mean, aside from the horns?”
She looked at me sharply, and spoke in a tone that scolded me gently.
(Aspasia) “Your demon blood is as much a part of you as anything else—And I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s proof that your father loved my sister, and she him.”
(Kai) “If you think that, then why did everything go so wrong after I was born?”
The Empress sighed, and her eyes looked tired all the sudden.
(Aspasia) “You probably got quite a few looks on the way over, right? While I have no real problem with two people who love each other having a child, the rest of the elves see things differently. And while I am the Empress, and could make a decree banning that sort of discrimination, no one would take it seriously. Do you understand?”
I knew this, simply based off of prior experience. Rulers truly have a hard time of it—They only have as much power as the people let them, and thus they must abide by their rules of moral conduct, else a rift appears between the people and the leaders. That was what had caused the rebellion back in the other city, where the nobility began grossly abusing the power they had, and the people had enough.
I sighed, and knew that the Empress could tell that I understood.
(Kai) “Right then. Well, could you tell me how this whole thing started in the first place? Mom’s not exactly around to inform me of the circumstances of my birth, and I wasn’t able to find anything out before I learned of her death.”
The Empress flinched at the mention of my mother, and I could see some guilt in her eyes. I had hoped that her explanation would prove to me that she hadn’t had a hand in my mother’s demise, but it seemed like that wasn’t completely the case. Though, the fact that she showed that guilt in the first place says a whole lot more than anything else could.
(Aspasia) “Well, before telling you about the events directly leading to your mother’s death, let me tell you about what she was like before you were born.”
She took a deep breath, and began telling me about the mother I would never know now.
(Aspasia) “Your mother, Isabella, was the empress before me. She had been married off to a promising young noble in a loveless alliance to secure her position among the family, and had ascended the throne a few centuries later through her own merits. The man that she had married had died before then, so she gained the name ‘The Widow Empress’. Many of the largest families tried to pair her up with their scions, to gain an Emperor in the family through marriage. She denied all of these attempts, even though some thought that a woman wasn’t fully suited to rule alone. She proved them wrong by leading our race during the greatest time of peace in the last few millennia, and through the devastating wars to defend our home forests and cities. In my mind, she was the strongest person I ever knew, but she had a fault.”
The Empress paused a moment, and actually looked a little angry and annoyed for some reason.
(Aspasia) “She was absolutely and completely rotten when it came to romance. Not that she was bad at it—No, the problem was that she was too good. She would have a ‘fling’ every other week, and we would have another annoying little prick knocking on the palace doors, professing true love and total commitment to her. I’ve never been so...Upset, as when I had to tell them that the feeling wasn’t mutual. I would normally do it quite bluntly, and they would always take it the wrong way. Isabella wouldn’t even try to deal with it, stating that she was ‘busy running an empire’, when I knew that most of what she did was intimidate the nobility and play around with magic all day.”
She calmed down a little after that tirade, and continued speaking in a more level voice instead of the whine reminiscent of a teenage temper tantrum.
(Aspasia) “Well, she eventually met her match in your father, and you were conceived after a few decades of super-covert courtship. After you were born, and it became apparent what heritages you took after, the nobles somehow found out. They demanded that Isabella step down from the throne, and you be killed. They were out for blood because of the taboo broken by your mother.”
I saw a single desolate tear go down her cheek, and her voice cracked a bit while speaking of the events that caused my mother to end up in slavery.
(Aspasia) “I was told to seal away her power, the magic that she had cultivated over her lifetime, and put her into a cell. I refused at first, but you mother insisted that it be carried out. By this time, you had already been taken away from elven lands, to save you from those who would have you dead.”
The Empress stopped for an extended moment, somewhat reining in the grief and guilt now etched plainly onto her face for me to see.
(Aspasia) “I did it. I sealed her power, and put her in that cell. No one could have predicted that a vindictive noble would have someone break in, and take her away while she was at her most powerless, and sell her into slavery.”
(Kai) “Why did the noble do it?”
(Aspasia) “Jealousy—He had been one of the ‘flings’, and was deeply disgusted that she had fallen in love with a demon, when he felt that he was the only one right for her. Once he saw that there was a chance to humiliate her, just as he had felt humiliated, he took it. We only found out about what had caused her disappearance a year after the fact, after frantically searching for an answer of some kind. When we found out about it, he didn't even apologize, claiming it had been his duty and honor. I was the one who personally killed him, and removed his family from the noble ranks for their part in the whole thing.”
I felt relieved, glad that one of the few family members I have left hadn’t had the proverbial ‘finger in the pie’. While it was clear that she felt guilt over what had happened, and her part in the events, it was something easily forgivable—If not by her, then by me.
I pulled her back in for a hug, surprising the woman that is my aunt.
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(Kai) “Thank you for telling me all this. I finally get to know what happened.”
She obviously heard no malice in my voice, and simply stared at me, flabbergasted.
(Aspasia) “What? Why aren't you mad at me, or anything else? You should be yelling at me for…”
(Kai) “But you weren't the one who killed Mom. The fault lies among those already dead and gone, so there’s no point in pursuing a grudge, or vengeance any longer.”
She looked at me, shocked.
(Aspasia) “Are you sure you’re only twelve?”
(Kai) “I turned thirteen a few months ago.”
(Aspasia) “What’s the difference? To us elves, you are only a fully-fledged adult after a hundred years.”
After saying this, she bowed to me, and apologized.
(Aspasia) “Though, I have a good idea of what has given you such sage wisdom so young. For my part in forcing you to grow so fast, I am sorry. You may have forgiven me, but I will never be able to. I just hope that you’ll stay around for a while.”
I smiled. That had been a part of Archelaos’s so-called ‘Sale’s pitch’ earlier. I had a fair idea of what my aunt was going to ask of me.
(Aspasia) “One of your mother’s late acts as the empress was to establish a school near the edge of the continent, with easy access to the human and demon continents. I think she had been intending to promote and foster relations between the races, and allow us to grow closer—And the school was her solution. It’s open to everyone on a merit base, and I think she would have liked for you to go there.”
Curious, I asked for more information.
(Kai) “When does it start?”
(Aspasia) “The new semester started a few months ago, so you’ll have to wait until the next one begins. Until then, you can stay here. I have a feeling there’s someone you want to visit.”
(Kai) “Yeah. I was actually wondering whether I could go and see him now? I want to learn all I can about dad, after all.”
My aunt smiled, slightly bemused with my eager attitude.
(Aspasia) “I would advise you wait until tomorrow. That way, you get a night’s sleep, and can freshen up before going to see him.”
Slightly unhappy, I agreed to this reluctantly. I had waited twelve years to meet my father, and I wanted that day to be as soon as possible—After all, I knew all of what he had done for me, even that there were some things that I wouldn't know about until I reached a certain age or level.
The rest of the day was spent with Aspasia, as she showed me around the expansive grounds occupied by the Imperial palace. The gardens in particular were very impressive, as they were among the largest I’ve ever seen, and didn’t have a single decorative plant in them. All of the flowers, bushes, shrubs, trees, grass and such could be, and was used for medicinal and alchemical compounds, wasting not a bit of the space occupied by the also beautiful garden.
As it turns out, the throne room I had been brought to was the ‘secondary’ throne room, with the main one being many times larger and with far more embellishments. It also moonlighted as a dining hall.
We ate in the kitchen, and while the cooks edged away from me with any number of emotions, they enthusiastically greeted their Empress. I think she normally came down here to eat, as evidenced by the lack of surprise on the cook's side. They sat her at a simple little table out of the way, and I sat across from her.
We talked while eating, and then she showed me to where I would be staying while in the palace.
It was a good sized room, but not one that could be called overly-large. It was well within my tastes, and I was glad to sleep somewhere cozy.
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The next morning, I woke up, and sat in the bed thinking about what had happened the day before. Everything had gone much better than I could have ever imaged it, even in my wildest fantasies. When I had found out that my aunt had ascended to the throne after my Mom, I had immediately thought about foul play. I don’t even know how many time’s I’ve heard about or seen family member stab each other in the back for power, and I was afraid that the same thing had happened here. And even if it had, there was no way for me to escape her reach at my level and stats. I’m simply too weak at the moment compared to the soldiers brought up by the empire. I determined what I would be doing with my time while in the elvish empire. While it is true that everything had turned out well in the end, I truly didn’t want to leave my fate on someone else’s hands ever again.
I wanted to become stronger, not just in my forging techniques, but also my body. Thankfully, every capital city—and most major ones—are build on top of strong dungeons and labyrinths. The elven capital is built upon a famed dungeon, one that has been explored to the two hundredth and fifty sixth level, around seventy years ago. I could use that to ‘power level’ while in residence here.
Eventually, Aunt ‘Sia came to get me, not trusting the maids to be impartial and servile after seeing my demonic features. We ate a quick breakfast, and then went to the heart of the palace, where a massive and power consuming runic sealing prison had been built. I approached the swirling energies comprising its border with some trepidation. After all, the man inside the sealing magic was there because of me, due to his protecting and running away with me after I was born. I would meet another member of my family today.
In the middle of the seal, a young-looking man was sprawled out, though it was likely due to boredom, rather than anything worse. He had a few tables set up inside the seal, covered in books and papers written over in a messy, sprawling handwriting. His hands were covered with ink, and his blue hair was all mussed up. He had four horns, and small faint blue scales covering his body. Or at least his arms, as he was fully clothed with a fine shirt and pants. He opened his eyes after hearing us coming, and gazed at Aspasia and I with eyes that had red irises.
When he saw the two horns coming out of my head, my slit-pupil golden eyes, and my silver hair, he made a small gasp of astonishment.
(???) “Is that you, little Katariah?”
(Kai) “Yeah. It’s me.”
(???) “Ha! I knew it! I just knew you were alright!”
(Kai) “Please, Jasper. It’s not that big a deal.”
(Jasper) “Not a big deal? You were left in the wilderness all alone at only one and a half years old. If that’s not a big deal, then I don’t know what is anymore. I figured that you would be able to survive that, but it's still nice to know for sure. I suppose you came here for answers? I mean, I can’t really think of any other reason to come here, to a place that hates our kind, and despises you with a burning passion.”
(Kai) “Yeah. I do have questions. The first one I want to ask is, what happened to our father after I was born? Where did he go?”
(Jasper) “Huh. You like picking the difficult questions, don’t you, sister?”
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