Outside the walls

"Darling, I heard you coughing. Are you alright my dear?" He ran to me pushing my other two ladies aside as he rubbed my back himself even though I stopped coughing already. I had an appearance to keep though, and I had to make him comfortable and happy because I do not feel like I can trust him, it would only worsen if he grew suspicious.

"Yes, I am okay," I said softly and gave a small smile to him. I saw him smile back at me a little bit shocked at my smile for him. My goodness, what ever did I do to this man in my past for him to be so shocked by a mere forced smile? I looked over at my ladies who kept their heads bowed. His Majesty redirected his attention to them and sent them off. They curtsied and left us alone again already.

He leaned in to kiss my head again. I closed my eyes and braced myself. I swallowed the feeling of disgust in my stomach again as I knew I had to pretend I knew nothing of a previous love of mine my heart ached for. When he pulled back he looked quite satisfied he is able to get away with these things.

"Do you enjoy my kisses?" He asked my sweetly but his eyes appeared almost sinister. As if he could read my true feelings. A nod wouldn't be enough for this one.

"Yes, your maj-"

"Kache!" He said loudly at me. I was taken aback by his raised voice and jolted back into my seat. He saw he startled me and I saw the regret on his face almost immediately as he cupped his hands around my face again. I tried to look away but it wasn't easy when he was controlling my head.

"I am sorry darling, it's just, I hear 'your majesty' all day and would like the only person I love to call me by my name. I never hear my name anymore," I shook my head 'yes' as much as I could in his grip, afraid to offend him again as he pulled back seeing he had made a mistake in yelling at me. "Let me apologize correctly, where do you want to go tonight?"

I sat back for a moment to think. I had a chance to see more of the world than I could outside of my window. I remembered his mention of the ocean, perhaps, it would trigger my memories again. Maybe something valuable would arise and I could understand why I feel so drawn to water.

"I want to see the ocean," He looked at me in surprise as he pondered my request. I have to convince him. "I want to see where our love started, Kache," I smiled again as best as I could. He seemed please with this response as he took my hand.

"Alright then, let us go. It is a short carriage ride, but are you feeling well enough for the ride?" He asked me. I nodded as he helped me walk to our palace garden. We sat down on the same bench in front of the foundation as we waited for the carriage to be prepared. After a few minutes, a servant came back and directed us to the carriage. I saw the road was just on the opposite side of the garden right out of sight.

As I made my way to the carriage I could see in the distance a large grand building, much larger than my small building no matter how elegant it was. I heard His Majesty laugh a little as he pointed to the building and said to me,

"That is the central, also called imperial, palace. All of the palaces are connected on a large grid surrounding the imperial central. The smaller palaces are for small events, distinguished guests and mistresses like the Northwestern palace, and two are for large events like weddings," he explained with enthusiasm. His excitement was genuine but all I could focus on was making a map in my head of where things were and which was likely the best to escape from what I could gather.

We arrived at the carriage which was much larger than I expected, but fit for an Emperor. It was white with golden accessories pulled by four horses. As I stepped inside with the help of His Majesty I saw it was filled with a black and white interior that screamed wealth. I sat on the right side as he got in on my side and pulled me onto his touch for our journey. I kept my eyes on the window to observe all the world around me.

He seemed to enjoy my presence and curiosity with the world outside the carriage. He would explain things occasionally but mostly twirl my hair in his fingers and place endless amounts of kisses on my head. I think he is trying to be romantic or sweet but I find it unnerving but swallow my true feelings anyway.

The world outside of the palace was bumpy and surrounded by thick forest. We went out of the west end. The trees were extremely tall and dark with many leaves, making it difficult to hide at the base of them but a sight to see for sure. The road was short and changed quickly to sand as I could hear the faint sound of the ocean waves. I smiled at the sound as His Majesty let out a small laugh at my brief happiness. He had to spoil the moment again.

Still weak, he helped me out of the carriage much more gently than I thought he was capable of. He is quite tall, definitely around 6'4 or so. He towers above me with a muscular build but thin build. I can see why the Empress would be so obsessed with him by that sense, his face only isn't quite as handsome as Leonard's was in the moonlight. I blushed at my thoughts and redirected my attention to the ocean.

We went together to a spot already prepared for us and sat together, watching the waves as he pulled me close to him. He really enjoys physical affection much more than I can handle it feels like. I kept silent as I relaxed, watching the mesmerizing waves. There was an odd sound behind me as I looked around and found two teenagers, holding hands as they whispered sweet nothings to each other behind the short trees of the beach. I smiled before seeing black spots again as I fell backward into His Majesty.