chapter 23-Western Empire's and Leiden Empire's imperial family secrets

The backyard of the old Franz's inn was majestic, especially at night, a clear view of the starry skies, the full moon shining brightly on the lotus lake, the koi fishes swimming about the lake, the crickets singing, various types of flowers but one was the queen of the night, indeed the night blooming jasmine it is, the scent is mesmerizing, the petals so soft to the touch, fireflies flying about and the mountain village air so fresh to breathe. Sophia, in her long white nightgown, with a pink hand knitted shawl wrapped around her was strolling the gardens of the inn late at night, enjoying and slowly taking in not only the views ans scents but also the freshness of the early spring air.

"Hello fireflies, oh hello night blooming jasmine, my how soft and fluffy you are... Hello crickets singing at night... mmm this hits like Qing Qiu..." murmured Sophia when suddenly someone tapped her shoulder and it was Prince Rhydian. "Thought you were asleep, what are you doing out here at this hour?" he asked. "Well I couldn't really sleep after what I heard today, it scared me a little, I mean it sounded very derranged, so I came here for a night stroll, besides I ate too much for supper, I'm still so full, and what about yourself?" replied Princess Sophia.

Rhydian lifted his head up and stared at the starry sky for a few minutes then finally said "I could not sleep either, came looking for you. In fact I have something to ask." Sophia nodded her approval to mean that he could ask away. "Qing Qiu Kingdom, the one your mother is from, heard it's a secretive Kingdom that no one dares to offend. A Kingdom who keeps all matters to themselves and only allows insiders in and out. I was once curious about Qing Qiu when I was still a teenager back at the Imperial palace and did some research and found out a legend. I heard Qing Qiu is a nine tailed fox clan, and all inhabitants are nine tailed foxes that's why they are so secluded and keep to themselves, if this legend is real, then that means your mother is a nine tailed fox, and so are you?" he asked.

Sophia stared at his face in shock and kept silent for a moment then sighed and said " We tried keeping this secret for a long time, how did you find out? That's right My mother is a white nine tailed fox, so am I. The fox clan was believed to be extinct so we kept it secret that we still exist. Besides, I also heard that Emperor Heinrey is from the Bird Brain clan, so that means you can transform into a bird as well... wait then, then it was you wasn't it, the beautiful raven and crow like bird but more beautiful that often came to visit me back when I was depressed about Matilda's betrayal?" Sophia was now really flustered at the realisation and her face went redder than a red bell pepper.

Rhydian chuckled and admitted to it while blushing a little. "my little lass, what do I do with you? Shall I visit your bedchamber as a bird again? Too bad you found out it was me so soon."

A while back when they had just found out about Matilda's betrayal...

That night Sophia was weeping silently in her bedchambers, the windows were wide opened and it was cold. Sophia couldn't believe it, never in her lifetime did she think Mathilda to be this spiteful. The pain was weighing heavy on her chest, it was hard to swallow saliva, she started to sweat heavily and feeling nauseous so she removed her finery as quickly as possible while struggling and threw a simple thin cotton long nightgown over herself. She lay motionless in bed, staring at the ceiling, while more tears wanted to come out, she tried to hold them back.

As she tossed and turned on the bed, trying to sleep but couldn't and sprang back up, she was now drenched in sweat, she quickly poured some water in her glass from her nightstand and swallowed the whole glass in one sip. And fortunately there was a box of sweets she always keep hidden under her bed so she ate some osmanthus cake. Sweets can give one who is feeling weak some strength indeed. While munching on the cake a big black bird flew inside, taking seat in her lap, staring at her with it's violet-black eyes. It looked like a raven, also looked like a crow but much more beautiful than any of them, with a majestic aura. Sophia fed the bird some sweets too and was talking to it, taking out her sorrows as if the bird understood what she was saying. The bird flew to her right shoulder and patted her head with it's wings and touched, Sophia held the bird tightly against her soft and luscious yet firm and full bosom. "Thank you for trying to comfort me little birdie." she said. The bird was flustered and restlessly fluttered its wings to try to break free and noticing this, Sophia let it go, and it sat on the bed beside her.

Sophia sighed and said "Aah well I am drenched in sweat, is that why you felt uncomfortable? Then I'll fix it soon." She took off her night gown and dried herself with a towel and sprayed some rose water on herself to refresh then put her nightgown on a chair to dry and went back to her bed. She had an hourglass figure, slender but curvy. The bird's cheeks flushed bright red at the sight and covered its sparkly eyes with its wings. "What a cute little birdie you are, so shy... no need to be shy little one, oh I know" Sophia said and suddenly clapped her hands together then said " I'll give you a name, how about Majetto, do you like it?" The bird nodded quickly and vigorously as if to say it liked the name and happily Sophia stood back up and untied her thigh length straight black hair and went back under her covers in the bed, holding Majetto the bird tightly to her voluptuous bosom and slept till morning.

Back at the present....

"You... You tricked me!" cried Sophia, still as red as a red bell pepper. "No I came to comfort you, but It was a fun night and quite a sight for me, very comfortable as well. You have quite a voluptuous figure I admit. A-anyway... it's getting late so let's head back, we have long hours of ride back to Prague tomorrow morning after breakfast, better get some sleep." Said Rhydian who's face was now flushed.

Sophia quickly grabbed his shoulder and smirked. " Not so fast, I want revenge, an eye for an eye, a toot for a tooth, let me see now..." she said. Rhydian all flustered pulled away and ran up to his room while saying "maybe next time, not now!" But Sophia wouldn't give up and ran after him, and suddenly when she was finally catching up to him, Rhydian turned to face her and grabbed hold of her wrists, pulled her waist close to him and bent down close to her ears and whispered "will you be able to handle it?" he asked, her face flushed as she said "you're not being fair!"

Rhydian smirked and bit the top of her ears, then said "My sweet little petal, the world is an unfair place, but I'll always be fair to you." He then fondly french kissed her and was about to give her a hickey on her neck but she pulled away and said "n-no, not where it can be seen so easily... ah" Rhydian the opened up the buttons of her nightgown and gave her a hickey on her voluptuous bosom, and Sophia did the same to him. It was a heavenly hour for them before they went back to their own rooms to get some sleep. The line hadn't been crossed yet but it was still heavenly.

"Noooo, no no no, what in the world just happened? This is unfair, Rhydian Faik Alles Lazlo... You will recieve retribution soon, I can't sleep now..." murmured Sophia to herself while tossing and turning around on the bed and eventually rolled off and fell on the floor.