The Emperor

The blood from her nose had run down to stain her cloak and dress before she'd been able to stop it. Her collar was now dyed red-brown and having dampened the fabric, revived the strong scent of vomit. She almost gagged again. To be so filthy, that your own stench unsettled your stomach-- she had never imagined being in such a state.

But this was likely what Prince Mikhail intended... to humiliate and humble her. To send her before the Emperor filthy and defiled. To show all the world the state of Vezda's rulers compared to those of the Empire. There could be no other reason. She would not beg for her life! She would not renegotiate the treaty or make any further concessions to Unaria. This was all an act, a play for the benefit of Unaria's nobility.

The Emperor would no doubt offer her the ability to keep her life as a prisoner of the state. It would make him appear to be magnanimous in victory to his people. They would see it as a generous concession to the newly conquered Kingdom of Vezda, and afterwards, when she was taken away in chains to some dimly lit prison cell, the people would soon forget she existed at all, but not the Emperor. She had been warned since childhood what happened to the daughters of Eosin in the Empire.

The wealth of the Unarian Empire was fully on display in the palaces of its Emperor. He was called the Sun of Unaria by his people and the sun motif was repeated throughout its rooms and halls. The sun and its fiery rays were carved in marble above doorways, cast in bronze upon doors, and worked into gilt-covered molding around the high ceilings. It was even cast in solid gold above the entryway to the inner palace. All of this she took in from her slumped position upon the chair she was carried on.

Servants and nobles alike stepped quickly out of the path she was carried along, several of them gasping aloud at the mere sight of her. She could hear their whispers and giggles as they followed behind her chair, curious to see what the Emperor would make of this visitor.

At the doors of the Emperor's audience chamber, the chair was lowered for her to stand, and Prince Mikhail and his aide approached as though they would assist her to walk. She scowled at them and walked forward on her own, waiting for the high golden doors to open and to hear her name announced.

When they did, she threw back her hood and entered the chamber with her head high. The Prince and Ilya followed behind her.

The Emperor sat in a high-backed golden throne upon a raised platform, one foot propped up on a low stool as he sipped wine from a heavy golden goblet. He wore no crown to signify his rank, and his long black hair and beard were streaked with grey. As she approached, she could better see the wrinkles on his brow and around his eyes. It was surprising to realize that the Emperor was likely close in age to her own father. She had expected someone younger.

She stopped when she was still several paces from the throne. Two guards in full armor, holding large ceremonial spears, stepped forward on either side of the Emperor. Ilya knelt down and prostrated himself before the throne at once. Prince Mikhail knelt and bowed his head.

"Greeting to our Emperor Grigori, the sun of our Empire, ruler of all Unaria, beloved of our people, great in wisdom, generous in victory, and merciful to his enemies," Ilya intoned. "We bring you Princess Talia of House Eosin, the former ruler of the Kingdom of Vezda and commander of their armies, by your request."

"Your highness," Prince Mikhail greeted his older brother simply.

"Yes, yes. Well done... and this... this... child... is indeed the Princess of Vezda?" The Emperor asked raising an eyebrow.

Talia did not kneel or bow. Neither did she deign to answer him. She crossed her arms over her chest, looked him directly in the eye, and smiled.

"She is, your highness," Ilya reassured him.

There were other nobles in the audience room. At least half a dozen or more lounged in low seats with small tables piled with light snacks nearby. As the three travelers spoke, more and more people were filling the room, slipping through the open doors and silently finding better spots to view the strange interaction from around the edges of the main floor.

The Emperor, mindful of the growing audience, looked Talia up and down, and then pressed a lace-edged handkerchief to his nose and mouth. The implication was obvious. He found her filthy condition to be stomach-churning. Several of the nobles tittered at his action.

"Well brother, we were displeased to learn of your actions on the road to Torobirk. We thought to have words with you privately about your... fraternizing... with our prisoner, but we must confess that we are shocked that such a filthy child would illicit such attentions from you! Our brother has strange tastes indeed," the Emperor shook his head slowly.

Talia glanced quickly between Prince Mikhail and the Emperor. What nonsense did they speak of? What new way was this they had found to insult her? What exactly were they implying?"

"She is nothing much to look at, certainly," Prince Mikhail agreed, his face an unreadable mask, "But like many women of Vezda, she has... other talents."

Princess Talia glared at him and scoffed, but the Prince did not turn to look at her.

"I will not be referred to as 'this child'!" she seethed, whirling to turn her angered expression upon the Emperor. "I am Princess Talia of the House of Eosin. I had 18 years this past summer, and as the commander of the Vezdan armies, and former ruler of Vezda, I demand that you pay me the respect of addressing me by name!"

"Kneel down, child," the Emperor ordered, narrowing his eyes as he glanced at her.

When she did not comply, the two guards at his side advanced toward her, grabbed her by her arms and forced her to her knees.

"Better," the Emperor nodded approvingly. "Now then, we asked for a stay of the Treaty of Fronov in order to renegotiate certain terms that we found to be excessive. Our Empire has no need to sacrifice this child's life, even given your crimes against us. Your sister was, after all, one of our favored wives, and our heart is stirred to mercy by the memory of her."

"She was no wife of yours!" Talia seethed. "She would never marry you, not willingly! You lured her out of Vezda with talks of peace, and once over our border, you seized her and murdered every member in her personal guard even while they stood under a white flag, unarmed. You are a treaty breaker, a coward, and... and... a murderer!"

The Emperor waved his handkerchief dismissively at her.

"We understand that in Vezda, a different story had to be told about our love. You must have felt as though your sister was a traitor to come so easily to our side. We further confess that there are times when we do feel as though we murdered her. Our beloved wife died in childbirth, after all," the Emperor sighed and closed his eyes as though the very memory pained him.

"Lies!" Talia spat. "You have 17 wives about ground and not one child between them and you! Do you really think that Vezda is so distant from the Empire that we haven't heard the stories of the Emperor's curse? Do you think we don't know why you invaded Vezda in the first--"

"Shut that filthy mouth of hers now!" the Emperor snarled.

The guard on her left struck her hard with his gauntled fist, and Talia's head snapped to the side as blood filled her mouth. Stars danced before her eyes and her cheek throbbed painfully, but she again raised her head and spat blood on the ground before the Emperor.

"Just kill me," she hissed.

"We had thought to renegotiate the terms of the Treaty..." the Emperor repeated, glancing around the room to make sure his words were carefully attended to, "but we no longer have that need. The Princess cannot be executed. By the very words of the Treaty, she has agreed to do no harm to us or to those of our blood while she lives. She may, even now, carry our blood in her womb, and so, we must ensure she survives until we can determine this."

"W-what?" Talia stuttered, genuinely confused. She glanced again at Prince Mikhail, whose dark eyes were upon her, but he quickly looked away, refusing to meet her glare.

"I-I don't understand," she admitted slowly.

"Our brother saw fit to take you into his bed. You owe him a debt of gratitude, for it is the reason that we shall condescend to allow you to live. At least, to live long enough to determine whether you shall bear his off-spring. Hear this: We the Emperor Grigori of Unaria grant to the Princess of Vezda a stay of execution for a period of three months, as provided for by the terms of the Treaty of Fronov, until such time as we can determine that she does not bear a child of our own blood. She will become our prisoner and be granted a-"

"N-no, that's not... lies! I'd never--" Talia's words were abruptly stopped by another blow from the guard beside her.

"My Emperor... brother," Prince Mikhail interrupted.

The Emperor shifted his glance to his brother and nodded his permission to speak.

"I have spent a decade leading your armies against Vezda. Now that the war is over, and we have won, I know that it is custom for your highness to grant a victorious commander a boon, and I have one I would ask," Prince Mikhail bowed his head again.

"Proceed," the Emperor said in an even tone, but his eyes blazed dangerously.

"I want the woman," Prince Mikhail announced.

"This woman?" the Emperor ascertained, stabbing his finger toward the filthy and bleeding princess as though he could not believe it true. "We can understand how, starved for the pleasure of a woman on the battlefield as you were, you could find such a one to be desirable. Under such circumstances, many men would similarly make a regretful decision. But you have no need of this thing now. Our brother can have any woman in the Empire he desires."

"I want that one," Mikhail repeated simply. He would not meet Talia's disdainful glare as he spoke.

"We cannot understand why," the Emperor scoffed.

"Her spirit. I enjoy women when they fight back. I'd like to break one such as her," the Prince said, his face as cold as his tone.

The Emperor chuckled lightly.

"Our brother is a dark one," the Emperor grinned at Talia, "His reputation is fearsome, and he has many names. In our Empire, he is called the shadow of the Emperor. While we are the sun of the world, he is known as the 'Moon of the Empire'. It is a fitting name, indeed."

"You would have to prolong her stay of execution for longer than a few months," Prince Mikhail continued.

The Emperor and his brother stared at one another for a long moment. Some form of silent communication seemed to pass between them. The Emperor nodded slowly.

"We are indeed, indebted to the valiant service of our brother in his efforts against Vezda. He has done much for the Empire, even before our war, and he has asked us for very little. We grant him this boon. You may keep the Princess in your own household, though she will remain, in name at least, a prisoner of our Empire. You understand, of course, that if she escapes or harms herself you will bear the responsibility."

"I will bear any responsibility," Prince Mikhail agreed.

"Very well. Take the Princess to a cell. She is to remain under guard until our brother comes to collect her. Brother, you will speak with us in private," the Emperor commanded.

"The Emperor's words are my will, as always," Mikhail agreed.

As Talia was lifted up and dragged away, she opened her mouth to scream that she would not comply, or perhaps she meant to beg for her own death, but before she could, found that her mouth was stuffed with a cloth gag by one of the guards.

As she struggled against the stronger hands of the Emperor's soldiers, she cast Prince Mikhail her most withering glare of hatred. Her eyes said every word her voice could not. He did not react, only stared back, his eyes unreadable, his face cold, as always.