The Imperial Palace

The moment my feet touched the big and grand entrance of the Imperial Palace reception hall, my eyes closed tightly. Yoshie is guiding while entering the place. When I opened my eyes, I saw the people lined up properly in front of us. If we based the clothes of the people in the first line, you can tell that they are Imperial officials.

“Welcome to the Imperial Palace, Princess Yuki,” an old man near us welcomed me and bowed. The others followed at the same time.

“Thank you,” I replied in a fair voice, slightly bowing my head as a sign of respect to the old man and the other officials. Shuji and Yoshie followed respectively.

“I am the chief secretary of the Imperial Palace, Princess, and I am assigned by the Emperor to welcome you, Your Highness,” the old man introduced himself and explained.

“We are honored to be welcomed by, Sir. Our apologies if we are a bother ---,” the chief secretary cut me off.

“That’s not true, Your Highness,” the chief secretary denied, “I am the one that is honored to welcome you and to bring to the Emperor and Empress. Your grandfather, the King of Daichi, is a close friend.

“I am glad to meet one of my grandfather’s close friends. He never mentioned that he has a friend here,” I said.

The chief secretary slightly laughed, “It’s not in the King’s character to tell about his friends if he is not asked, especially if that friend is an Imperial official. I’m sure you are aware of that, Your Highness.”

“You are right, Sir,” I replied with a smile. Though he can’t see it since my face was covered I know he’s aware of it.

“Let’s go, Princess, I will bring you to the Imperial throne room to meet the Imperial Family,” he invited.

“Thank you, Chief Secretary,” I slightly bowed again to him before following him to the place where the Imperial family was waiting.

When we came to the front door of the throne room, the Chief Secretary informed them of our arrival. One of the staff announced it immediately. I can’t help but silently gasp when the door opens. I am in awe of the grand room, much more gander than the throne room of our kingdom. On both sides, the ministers lined up, and at the center, on the end straight from where I am standing, sitting on the seat decorated with gold, there’s no mistake about it, it’s the Emperor. On his left, slightly lowered from his throne, is a very beautiful dignified woman, the Empress. On the Emperor's right, there’s an empty seat, I’m sure it’s for the Crown Prince but he’s not around.

I feel someone slightly nudge me at the back that wakes me up from the wonder of what I saw. I saw Yoshie in the corner of my eyes, secretly telling me to look in the front. I roamed my eyes around, checking if girls like me, part of the selection process, are also here. No one is here right now. Either they arrive before me or not yet. My eyes fixated on the empty seat beside the Emperor and smirked, the Crown Prince did not bother to welcome his future bride.

I walk down the aisle towards the front of the Emperor and Empress. Shuji and Yoshie that are following me kneel down on one knee and bow. I also bowed, showing respect, and greeted the most powerful people in the Empire. Unlike my two companions, I don’t need to kneel as I am a Princess and from a royal family from the far kingdom of Daichi.

“Welcome to the Imperial Palace, Princess Yuki of Daichi,” the Emperor greeted me with a smile when I reached the throne.

“I am honored to be here, Your Imperial Majesty,” I answered.

“You did not encounter any difficulty during your trip going here, did you Princess Yuki?” the Empress consort formally inquired but with a smile on her lips

“Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty, our trip here has no difficulty at all.” I looked at Shuji and reached out the thing he was holding, wrapped in expensive clothing. “This is a simple gift for both of you, Your Imperial Majesties, if you may accept this.”

The Emperor motioned his chief attendant to accept the gift from me. “I know that you are tired from the trip, Princess, we will have someone to guide you to the house that you will be using,” the Emperor said.

“We will introduce you to the other girls participating in the selection process tomorrow,” the Empress called one of her lady’s in waiting and ordered her to bring us to the house where we live during our stay here.

I said my thanks and curtsied to both of them before following the lady’s in waiting. I was relieved when they never asked to remove the cover on my face.

The house where we were staying is big enough for us, much bigger than the one I’m using in the Daichi Palace. Like the other houses I’ve seen when we were walking, the house is also adorned with luxury. The maids, servants, and guards that will serve for me during the entire selection process are already there, waiting for me. The Empress’s lady’s in waiting introduced the heads of the maids, servants, and guards to me before she left for us to rest.

I face the people that will be staying and serving for me to make everything clear and set their expectations. I also introduced Shuji and Yoshie to them and what their roles will be.

“Shuji and Yoshie are both my personal companions, they will directly report to me and they don’t have ties with anyone here in the Imperial Palace, which means that they will only follow my command. Thus, I request that all of you will follow whatever they said, are we clear?” I asked. When I heard them say yes, I continued, “Thank you. I am looking forward to being with you all and hoping to earn your trust.”

“You can count on us, Your Highness,” the heads answered, bowing their heads.

“I hope so,” I whispered. “Everyone, you can now go back to your task,” I said, dismissing them. Everyone dispersed until the three of us left. “Follow me to my room,” I said to both Shuji and Yoshie. I immediately take off the cover on my head and slump to sit on the floor. I inhaled and exhaled repeatedly as I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I felt like I was trapped in a small space and I am not free to do what I want.

“Observe the whole place, ensure that there’s no impending danger,” I instructed. I turned to Shuji, “I will entrust to you the guards assigned to me, Shuji. Find out if there’s someone in their range that can possibly take our side. But of course, it would be great if you are able to get the trust of them all.”

“I understand what you transpire, Princess Yuki. Don’t worry I will be prudent, I will get their trust and will,” he replied.

I nodded and turned to Yoshie next, “Like Shuji, I will entrust you the same thing with regard to the servants and maids, Yoshie. Preferably, someone can be trusted and loyal, enough that I can show my face. It’s better if you can get their allegiance, will, loyalty and trust.”

“Understood, Princess,” Yoshie answered. “Rest assured that I will be careful while doing so. I won’t disregard your safety.”

“Thank you, I count on you both,” I look both of them in the eyes. “I know that it will be difficult and we have to start from scratch but we will be able to surpass this.”

After telling them a few reminders, Shuji stood up, “Take a rest, Your Highness. I will survey the surroundings quickly to ensure your safety.” He looks at Yoshie before going out, “Make sure no one enters the rooms that I am not aware of. Take care of the Princess, alright?”

Yoshie nodded and replied, “Understood.” She then turned to me when Shuji was no longer in sight, telling me to take a rest and that she would be outside of the room in case I needed something.

I nodded and laid down in the bed that she prepared. I can now feel the exhaustion during the long trip. Yoshie left when she saw me lying down. After some time, I can feel the sleepiness kicking in and before I knew it I was in a deep sleep.

I woke up in the afternoon the next day. After filling my stomach with late lunch, I decided to look around my new house. I was ecstatic when I realized that there is a garden in the backyard and it’s full of different kinds of flowers and other plants. When I was satisfied, I decided to go back inside and have a light talk with the maids and servants. It’s best to know them better, to get close in order to gain their trust.

They were hesitant to talk with me at first as they said that nobles shouldn’t talk to the likes of them. I learned that though the Imperial family did not look down on them as they are part of the lower class, most nobles and officials did. In the end, I successfully connected with them and we were able to have a light conversation. They even answered my questions concerning the events in the Imperial palace and shared some rumors. Though not proven, I do believe that rumors have a basis thus some of them I deemed worth checking.

I was able to wake up early the next morning and decided to take a look around the Imperial Palace. A whole day might not be enough to check out every corner and place due to its vastness. I was glad when some of the maids and guards presented themselves to accompany me. While the servants willingly prepared food for us too, so that we can eat whenever we feel hungry.

The maids become my guide. They pointed to each house where the girls like, part of the selection process, live. They are not that far from the house that I am staying in. Our next destinations are the offices for the ladies in waiting and maids, office of the Imperial Officials, Office of the Ministers, and other offices. Our last destination before lunchtime was the very extensive library. There are a wide variety of books, especially the history books which garnered my attention. If Yoshie did not remind me to have lunch, I may not think of leaving the library.

It's a good thing that we packed food as we are already quite far from my house. The maids directed us to a shed or cottage in a high area near the place where the Imperial guards are training. From where we are, we can see a large part of the whole Imperial palace. We ate our lunch and took a rest before we continued.

After lunch, we check the training ground as it is near us. The leader or whatever rank he is greets us and asks if we need something. Yoshie simply answered that we just came to take a look and watch. When the leader learned that we came from the Daichi Kingdom, he proposed a duel with Shuji as they heard that there are guards that are quite skilled from our kingdom. When Shuji turned to me for approval, I just nodded. I trust that he will win this duel.

Both participants of the duel positioned themselves in front of each other. After acknowledging the opponents, the duel started. Shuji’s opponent is good and skilled but I believe in him and his skills. The watchers started to increase, it seems that the other guards, assigned to a different area in the palace, heard about the duel and decided to watch. In the end, Shuji wins and proves that he is the best among the Daichi’s Royal guards. It was a fair duel, the opponent accepted the defeat and congratulated Shuji, as did the others. They even invited him to train with them which he politely declined as he can’t entrust my safety to anyone else. He was able to acquire the admiration of the guards, especially the ones assigned to me. We said our goodbyes to them with a smile and continued our sightseeing.

We’ve reached the house where the Emperor lives. It was surrounded by guards and couldn't be easily entered. It was also the biggest house in the entire palace. Not so far from the house of the Emperor is the house where the Empress lives. It is the second biggest house in the palace and it is also surrounded by guards with very tight security.

“Does the Emperor have another wife?” I couldn't help but ask.

“Since he was a child, the Emperor never liked or loved anyone but the Empress,” my chief maid responded. “Thus, when they got married, His Majesty did not seek another wife, not even a concubine. The Empress proved to be worthy and was able to perform her duty. Her Majesty gave birth to two Princes and a Princess for the Empire.”

“The love and faithfulness of the Emperor and Empress to each other brings peace to the Imperial family as well as the Imperial Palace,” one of the maids added.

“You’re right,” I turned to them smiling though they were unable to see it as I had covers on my face. “It’s the same with our family. The King also loves one woman and my mother entrusted her heart to my father only.”

“We felt your kindness, Princess Yuki,” the chief maid murmured. “We are looking forward to you being chosen to be the Crown Prince bride as we see that you will be faithful to His Highness.”

“And we will be loyal to you, Your Highness,” the chief of the guard assigned to me added.

“I’m sure I should respond to both of you,” I said to them, touched with what they said. “You haven’t known me fully yet you are already saying that to me. I am honestly touched and honored to hear it. Thank you,” I said, emotions can be heard in my voice.

“Starting from today, we swear allegiance to you Princess Yuki,” the heads declared.

After accepting their allegiance to me, we continued. The Princess and the Princes' place and also the palace garden are the places that we are yet to see. We proceed to the Princess house first, a typical princess house. We are welcomed with silence because the Princess is not around and no one is living in the place as of now. The Princess is currently in another country to study.

Next is the second Prince house. It happens that there is a commotion when we arrive. They mentioned that the second Prince loves trouble and can’t stay in one place. We decided not to look so that we will not be caught up in the commotion. We then proceed to the Crown Prince house. The place was organized and quiet, contrary to the Crown Prince's image. Based on the story that I heard, he is known to be a wandering prince as he loves to travel from one place to another. He just stayed in the palace recently upon the request of the Emperor and Empress. I haven’t had a chance to meet him thus I can’t say anything about him yet.

Our last destination is the palace garden located at the center of the Imperial Palace. They said to save the best for last and I am impressed. The garden is wide and is full of different kinds of plants. The flowers are beautiful and their kinds cannot be seen anywhere else but here. On the side of the garden are full of butterflies freely flying. Seeing the butterflies made my heartache. It made me remember him and his sanctuary where we often stay. I touched the butterflies absentmindedly and scattered, flying away from me. I heave a deep sigh and compose myself, I don’t want Shuji and Yoshie to worry about me again.

I watched the butterflies flying away until my attention was caught by a blue butterfly. It’s a rare kind of butterfly and it was the same as the one that I saw in Chase sanctuary. It flew away and I followed. I stretched my hand until the butterfly landed on my finger. “I missed you so much, Chased,” I whispered silently while watching the butterfly in my finger.

“Step aside,” someone shouted from my right.

“Dodge, Your Highness,” Shuji also shouted.

I turned to Shuji wondering what was happening and diverted my eyes to the owner of another voice that I don’t know who. But before I could see who shouted first I collided with someone. I fell down to the ground and the hat, where the cover of my face was attached, flew away.

“Ouch!,” I grunted. “What the hell,” I can help but cuss. I look up while trying to cover my face with both hands while I am looking from the slit of my fingers.

“Profanity is prohibited inside the Imperial Palace, my lady,” the guy looking down on me said.

I gasped when I saw the smiling face of the guy that ran into me. I silently cuss while looking up at him. Shit! Did one of the anime characters emerge from the anime world and land in front of me as a human being? I said to myself totally forgetting that just a while ago I was thinking of Chase.