“Don’t say anything unless he asks, okay?” Mark told me.

“Who?”

“Emperor Sakon.”

“Hmm… fine.”

I followed Dans with Mark walking behind me. Dans stopped in front of a small electronic desk. It was one of many all lined up to the wall. I glimpsed over her shoulder to see her punch in a few numbers and letters. It seemed like the screen had touchscreen tech. The order of the letters didn’t really make sense to me. Maybe a password?

After a few more taps, she walked through a large hallway of what looked like pure, white marble. That looked expensive. As she turned the corner, two massive golden doors the size of a fully grown oak tree stood in front of me. Another sakonian stood next to one of the doors.

She wasn’t wearing the usual sakonian wear. Her suit wasn’t achromatic or fashionable in a traditional sense. She wore what I could only describe as armor. The entire suit was covered with metallic pieces—chestplate, greaves, and even arm guards. I could tell that it was a wetsuit because I noticed the rubber between some of the exterior pieces, but other than that, she was completely covered in metal except for the head. She actually held a bronze trident in one hand; it had that unmistakable brownish orange tint.

Although the entire get-up was impressive, I wondered why they’d use bronze. Iron would be stronger. Is it symbolic? Or maybe they don’t have iron? No, then what’re the sakoars made of then? It was entirely possible that this wasn’t bronze. I wasn’t a metal expert after all.

The trident wielding soldier gave a quick bow to Dans before gesturing with her trident to enter. Dans gave a simple nod and pushed through. Mark gave me a light push, probably telling me to follow Dans. I strolled in without much thought.

It was very bright. I couldn’t easily open my eyes. As I strained to see where Dans was, I noticed a few pillars of white marble leading towards a central figure in the room. A blood red carpet patterned with gold decorated the pathway forward. I could barely see the base of a large chair before I rubbed my eyes to refocus in the light.

I realized why it was so damn bright. The entire ceiling was basically a magnifying glass for the two suns in the sky. It was a circular glass ceiling that seemed to make the suns look larger than they actually were.

Looking around, I knew exactly what this place was—a very traditional looking throne room. Everywhere I looked, there was something gold. The place was trashed with gold decorations—gold-lined pillars of marble, gold walls, a big golden chair at the far end of the room. There was so much gold around me that it made more sense to call this place a golden room decorated with white marble and a red carpet rather than a marble room decorated with gold.

Sitting on the throne was a middle-aged man with skin almost tanned to perfection under the sun. His bald head glinted as if recently waxed, and there were no signs of hair anywhere on his face. Not even eyebrows. One leg rested on top of the throne’s armrest as he twirled some kind of short rod with his boney, thin fingers. He looked around Mark’s age. No, definitely a little older.

He had what I would describe as a crown on his head, but unlike the room, it wasn’t a traditional gold crown embedded with jewels. No, this crown was absolutely mesmerizing. It looked like the epitome of a fiery night sky, an eternal fire shimmering under the morning light. It sparkled with every movement—dark greens, blues, oranges, and reds dotted every inch of the crown. I found the color nostalgic, but I couldn’t pinpoint why.

I got it! A fire opal! I realized. The crown’s color reminded me of black fire opals.

When I was young, I was mesmerized by opals. I couldn’t understand how a stone could have so many different colors. Unlike diamonds or sapphires, the opal had everything. It was like a myriad of rainbows within itself. But the one opal I loved more than the others was the black fire opal. Its dark red iridescence reminded me of a starry night sky in flames. It was a sight I could never forget. And this guy in front of me had an entire crown made of it.

Dans and Mark walked up on the carpeted floor and knelt in front of the man sitting on the throne. He was most likely the Emperor Sakon that Mark had mentioned several times before. I thought it was quite literally a pain in the neck, but I quickly followed their example and knelt beside the rest of them. A few minutes of neck pain from bowing seemed easier to deal with than a potentially irritated emperor.

The man spoke in a deep, booming voice that echoed throughout the bright, golden room. “You’ve returned.”

“Yes, Emperor,” Dans replied. “I have fulfilled your request.”

From the corner of my eyes, I saw that he was still twirling his rod, not really giving much attention to any of us on the ground. I found it somewhat irritating because he was being so disrespectful.

“So late…” the emperor said. “So very late.”

“With all due respect, Emperor Sakon,” Dans argued, “we have traversed the sea with much haste. I do not believe we could have arrived earlier.”

“Haste? Respect?” Emperor Sakon leaned in closer. “Then tell me Captain. Why have the border security guards gone through such lengths to tell me otherwise? Hmm?”

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“Border security, Emperor?”

He leaned back on his golden throne. “I had high hopes for you, Captain. But time is quite a precious thing, is it not?”

“Wait, Emperor Sakon. What do you mean—”

“Captain Dans, what is the meaning of loyalty?”

Dans paused for a moment. “Loyalty is being faithful to you, Emperor.”

“Wrong, Captain. So very wrong.” He stood from his throne and walked back and forth in front of us. “Tell me, Captain. Did you manage to follow my request?”

“Yes, I have. I have done what you asked of me.”

“What was the request? Please, Captain, tell me.”

“It was to transport the soldiers to Dagaea Castle.”

“Yes, I suppose that was a part of it… and what of that wretched Merlovak?”

“We… we confirmed that he had made contact with the soldiers.”

“And?”

“The soldiers were killed, so we retrieved their bodies and returned.”

“That’s it?” The emperor walked up to Dans. “You didn’t stay to confirm his death?”

Death? So it really was self-defense. My face heated up a little. Damn, I should’ve just trusted Merlovak.

Dans had her head down much lower than me. She couldn’t possibly see the emperor except for his golden sandals. She tried to reply slowly and calmly, but I could hear her voice faltering a little. “I apologize, sir, but my crew does not have the ability to fight a dragon like the soldiers do. We’re just a trading company—”

“Did I… allow you to make excuses?” he asked. He looked at one of the guards standing next to us. “Did I?”

The soldier straightened up before answering. “N-no, sir!”

“Well.” Emperor Sakon returned his gaze back to us. “Would you look at that?” He slowly paced back to his throne. “And you were late! One entire hour!” he yelled. “I was sitting here for an hour! You were late and you also couldn’t kill Merlovak? Is that what you call loyalty, Dans?”

“I apologize Em—”

“Too late!” he cried. “Too very late.” He sat down on his golden throne. “And that calls for punishment. Fortunately, executioners are never late.”

Dans started to quicken her speech. “I apologize sir. I have no excuses for failing you.”

Punishment? But I did nothing! I readied myself. I wasn’t going to die just yet. And this guy was even trying to kill Merlovak! If somebody deserved punishment, it should be him!

The emperor walked over to Dans and raised her face up to his eyes. “Ah, finally! I can see it. The loyalty in your eyes. Well, not to worry. I won’t kill you. Nor your little crew.” He sat back down and crossed his legs, lazily looking at his nails to pass the time.

Oh, thank god. I wasn’t going to die today.

Dans moved her head up and let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Emperor Sakon—”

“Your brother, Darrell, was it? Such a gifted child… If only he showed the loyalty you do.”

“No…” Dans tried to stand up, her legs wobbled dangerously. “No… you don’t mean… H-he’s just a child, please…” Before she lost her balance, I quickly got up to support her.

Darrell? That her brother? I glimpsed over at Dans’s face. She seemed very shocked. I looked over at Mark. He was still on the ground, head stuck to the floor. I looked back at the emperor. Was it a mistake to stand up?

The emperor thankfully seemed to ignore the fact that we stood up. He continued, “ones who aren’t loyal should be executed, yes? I believe I was clear about that.”

I realized what was going on. The emperor was going to kill Dans’s brother. What a power-hungry prick. He was basically ruling with fear, not loyalty.

Dans suddenly broke free from my arms. She rushed towards him.

Oh, god. Is she really? I stood still, absolutely stunned by what was happening.

She pulled her fist back as if readying a punch, but before she could let the fist fly, two guards rushed out to grab her. They pulled her away as the emperor sat laughing in her face.

I honestly didn’t really care about Dans’s brother. He was still a stranger to me. But the way the emperor kept laughing at Dans made me grit my teeth.

I got you Dans. I’ll finish the job. I cracked my knuckles and took a step towards the emperor. He wasn’t looking. This could work. I could cause a commotion, get the attention of the guards, and possibly free Dans from their grasps.

Mark suddenly pulled me back. I fell flat on my butt next to him. He glared into my eyes. “Don’t.”

I was about to argue, but the emperor started speaking again. “You there. In the red.”

Red? I faced the emperor. He was looking straight at me. “Uh, me?” I pointed at myself.

“Lovely attire,” he scoffed. “What is your name?”

Did he just scoff at me? “Um, Mel.”

“Mel? Well, Mel. You’ve had the audacity to stand up in my presence?”

“Oh, I didn’t—”

“I commend you for your bravery.”

“Huh?”

“You stood up to support your captain. Loyal. Very loyal.” He lowered his gaze at Mark before turning back to me. “Mel, you’re now Captain of… what was the name of that sakoar? Ah, doesn’t matter. Captain Mel, I will meet you for my next request in two days. Don’t be late. And goodbye.” He waved us away. He turned to Dans, held tightly by two guards. “Take her to Sector 4-F. She’ll get a punishment fit for her crime.” The two guards gave a quick nod as they took her away towards a door that was behind the throne.

Mark quickly pulled me out of the room.

I turned to Mark. “Why did you stop me? You coward! We can’t just leave her there! You’re—”

Mark signaled to quiet down. “Shush. We’ll talk at the sakoar.”

“But—”

“No ‘but’s. Not now.”

We walked back to the docks in silence. None of us spoke a word. There were a lot of colorful attractions around me, but none seemed to pique my interest.