Mother

The next day came and Kleila happily dress herself to go see the Emperor, no more does she needs to hide or trembles whenever she reaches his doormat for he told her just yesterday that she can come to him anytime time and this makes her happy.

As she walks by, heads turns looking at her in bewilderment for she's smiling while jumping happily and this is the first time they're seeing her with whatsoever emotions.

"Good day Gyu, Seo-rin, Park Woong and Yan, I got this for you." Kleila said happily while handing the cookies she personally made to the Emperor personal guards.

When the guards kept on looking at her in shock instead of eating the cookies she handed to them, she urged them to eat up.

"Does it taste good?" She asked excitedly while waiting for their reply after they all finished their cookies.

The guards told her that it tastes so good and plead for her to give them the one she wrapped inside a paper beg but she shakes her head no before quickly heading inside the main door that leads to the Emperor study room.

She knock just in case but the voice she so love tells her to come in and this she did. Without him telling her, she sits down beside him and placed the paper bag on his table.

When the Emperor kept looking at it instead of eating it, she picked it up, unwrapped it and begin feeding them to him. At first the Emperor hesitated but later on he gave in while looking at her as if he's trying to figure her out.

When the cookies were finished, mostly by Kleila because the Emperor stopped eating after the second round, Irra got up and pull out a handmade bracelet she personally made, she handed it to the Emperor but he rejected it saying..

"Kleila, I don't wear bracelet and even if I do, this is so childish."

His comment and rejection saddened Irra but she wiped it out and pretend that it didn't as she puts it back inside her handmaid wool bag.

I know you're upset Kleila but I can't accept it because I won't wear it if I do, the bracelet is more your style, why don't you were it since you have a fancy for such type of jewelry and besides it fits your necklace, come to think of it, you never remove this." The Emperor said referring to the necklace her mother gave her while still reading one of the piles of scrolls on his desk.

"That's because mother told me never to pull it off." Kleila said still saddened by his rejection.

The Emperor scroll the last parchment after reading it's content and tied it together with the others before placing it back on his desk, he turned to Kleila, giving her his full attention.

"Tell me about your mother, why did she leave you at the palace doorstep."

Kleila sign and from looking at her you'd know that she's hesitating but later on, she starts letting the Emperor in.

"Mother told father to take me back when he returned me to mother but father didn't, he'd said he will come back to get me after but he didn't return. Mother was angry and she carried me to the ship which brought us here but father wasn't around and aunt Jang Beo-jin who is father's maid told mother that father had died during the war and mother brought me here. I told mother I don't want to stay here but she said I have to."

"Did she tell you why? The Emperor asked and Kleila nodded her head yes before continuing.

"They're fighting at mother's country, the black and white skinned people over there, they're killing each other and mother feared they would kill me because my skin is white so she brought me to father's country."

The Emperor asked her why didn't she tell the Empress this when she was questioning her and she told him that it was because she was scared and also because her mother had told her not to tell anyone about her country ..for she feared that they might trace her and send me back to her.