Meeting the Empress

After a chaotic night, Selena spent the remaining time in Jason's tent to nurse him back to health. She heard the talk outside and slowly got numb to it.

"Is this what Jason has to deal with all the time?" She mutters to herself.

As she strokes Jason's sleeping face on his bed, she hears a noise outside.

She heads outside and sees Lance.

"Greetings, Your Highness," Selena said politely.

Lance gave a complicated smile, the distance between them seemed rigid but his performance today gave him hope.

"Selena-" Lance starts to say but he is interrupted.

"'Ms. Selena', your Highness, please show some respect," Selena says again while maintaining a very polite tone.

Lance paused for a bit and gave a big sigh. "Ms. Selena, I wanted to see if you were hurt and ask how you were doing?" 

"I wasn't the one that was hurt," Selena said.

An awkward silence penetrates the air.

Selena knew Lance was deliberately avoiding the topic of Jason but given everything Jason has done for him behind his back, Selena felt frustrated. She knew Jason never helped Lance out of good intentions but it is a fact that Jason helped Lance get to where he was.

"You already know the grudge between us. His mother even sent assassins to kill me. How could you want me to care about him? Do you want me to fall under his blade?" Lance said almost out of frustration.

Selena stayed quiet, she knew nothing she would say would change his perception. She just needs to keep doing her own thing in the shadows without worrying about what others think or believe. But she couldn't help but still hold on to a little bit of hope.

"Did you ever think you might be misunderstanding him?" Selena said.

Lance froze. His eyes went through of cycle of different emotions. Shock, confusion, anger, betrayal. He couldn't believe the woman he told his deepest secrets to would tell him that he might've misunderstood. What about his pain? What about his mother? What about the assassins and the sabotage? Is he just imagining it?

His eyes turned cold. "What do you mean? Do you think I am just pretending to be a victim? 

Selena was quiet. She knew what Lance was feeling was probably not simple. She sighs and gives up her naive ideas.

"I mistook your highness, please forgive me", Selena says calmly.

Lance knew she probably meant what she said but he didn't want to blame her. 

"It's okay, Ms. Selena, I came to tell you that I beat Jason on both events and won back my honor," He said with a bit of a shy smirk.

I always remembered you rooting for me back in the southern campaign and it helps me power through in important events like these. So I want to dedicate this win to you. Lance says while looking at her with softer eyes.

Selena wasn't sure what to say after a while. She then said "Good job" in an almost indifferent tone and then told him that Jason still needed some rest before she shut the door. 

Lance stood in front of the door in a daze. His worst fear seems to have come true. "Is she siding with him... over me?" he thought to himself. 

Jason, Jason, Jason, everything I want, you take away. But this time, it will be me doing the taking. That throne and Selena, I will win them for myself!

Lance says as his eyes shine with a cold glint. He believes that Jason probably whispered some lies into her ears and got her on his side. If he just shows just how superior he is, Selena should be impressed just like she was back in the southern campaign.

Lance collects his emotions and heads back. He has already chosen this path to walk, he won't stop here.

Lance heads back to his team and Selena heads back to take care of Jason. The night then turns to day as time slowly passes.

Jason woke up in a daze, he tried to recollect what happened yesterday. He walks out of the tent and sees Selena taking a nap in a self-made bed right outside.

 He shakes his head, he wishes he could have offered her his bed instead.

He is about to head back to his tent to give her some more time to sleep but she wakes up and notices him.

She smiles, "Good morning, are you feeling well?"

"Yes, thank you for staying here" Jason responds. 

The atmosphere heats up slowly until Jason breaks the silence.

"At first I wanted to do it by myself but I've realized just how great it is to have you by my side. I have a mission to do soon which is important for our future, would you like to come with me?" Asked Jason carefully.

"Yes! I'll love to" Selena answered so fast that she quickly refrained herself out of shyness.

"That's great, then we have to meet my mother," He says.

Selena froze, "T-the empress?"

"The one and only" Jason says with a tease in his voice.

Selena took a deep breath, she had to mentally prepare herself. The empress has the strongest power in the empire, she is a mysterious figure and won the praise of countless people.

The couple prepares to eat before they head out. The area was cleared out the night before leaving only Selena and Jason in the area. Jason then guides Selena to the empress' palace. 

The maids of the empress's palace saw Jason and greeted him respectfully. They looked at Selena and bowed,

"Good Morning Princess Jobaine, her majesty the empress is in her office". 

Selena was a little shocked at how she was addressed and felt a little warm in her heart.

She nodded to the maid and headed to the empress' office along with Jason.

When they arrived, they heard a majestic but charming voice, "Let me see her first Jason".

Jason sighed and looked at Selena with a guilty expression. She shouldn't hurt you but please be careful" he whispered before letting Selena go in.

Selena walked in and the empress guided her to take some tea.

Selena bowed and then said "Greetings to Her Majesty".

"No need for such formalities, how is your mother doing," she said with a soft voice.

Selena was in a bit of a daze and then remembered their mothers were indeed very close.

"She's doing great Her Majesty, she continues to research as always" Selena answered and then slowly sat down.

The empress smiles at her, "You've grown up quite beautiful, you have the same charm your mother had back then".

After they both took some sips of their drink, The demeanor of the empress changed a bit.

"Jason... Has been through a lot. I failed him as a mother. At his worst, I was also very distressed and I couldn't control my expression. He wouldn't say it out loud but I know that I hurt him, I was never disappointed in him!" the empress says with a complicated emotion in his eyes.

"He pretends to be strong, it's a defense mechanism for a boy who lost everything. I could tell that he was treating me as if he was trying to make up for something. I've reached a point where I can't change his actions but you're different" the empress says as she stares into the eyes of Selena.

"I'm sure you noticed but you and your mother's research had quite the profound impact on my son, especially you. He is already pushed to the brink mentally. I'm sure you realize this but if you were to ever do something to hurt Jason, he wouldn't be able to handle it".

I trust you and your mother so I don't want to say too much but I've seen you get quite close with... that boy. The empress says as her voice drops drastically.

Selena froze, she knew exactly who the empress was talking about.

"Your majesty, it's not what it looks like..." Selena starts to say.

"I want to trust my son's vision so you don't have to panic. I just want to let you know that I've already promised Jason not to take part in these little tricks these nobles are playing but if you or that boy really want to end my son's life, I'll show you just what it feels like to have the most powerful woman in this empire to hunt you down" The empress says while her eyes never avoiding Selena's.

Cold sweat starts to build on the back of Selena. The empress really has a strong presence. And hearing her words, it seems like it's true she hasn't taken action yet just like Jason said. 

Her confidence starts building back up, there's no reason for her to feel guilty, nothing happened!

"I understand Your Majesty and I promise you that if he or anyone else wants to scheme on Jason, I will be the first to stop them. I know my priorities and Jason is very important to me" Selena answers with a strong look in her eyes.

The empress observes Selena's eyes for a while and then nods with satisfaction.

"Good, Good, I hope you take care of that kid for me. You're my only hope right now" The empress said with a sad look on her face.

"Yes your majesty, I won't let you down," Selena says with a confident look.

The empress smiles, this daughter-in-law seems quite good, she thinks to herself.

"Jason, you can come in," the empress says in a loud voice.

Jason comes in and sits next to Selena.

"Hello Mother," He says politely.

"You have a good girl here," The empress says in a teasing manner. 

"But what happened with the hunter competition?" She asked.

"Nothing happened Mother and I got the result that I wanted" Jason replied.

"Well, as long as you are happy," she said with a sigh.

"I got approval for you to head over to the new southern city, you can head out at any time. I'm assuming you're bringing this young lady here with you right?' The empress asked.

"Yes mother, She's very special to me," Jason says seriously.

Selena's body felt a little tingle at Jason's words and she blushed slightly. 

The empress gives a satisfied smirk.

"I've also pushed for the prize of the magic competition to be a reasonable wish of the winner, you should be satisfied with that right?" She says as she looks at Jason.

He smiles brightly, "Yes Mother, that's perfect. That's the most important step", he says with a bit of relief in his voice.

The three continued to chat about the details of the journey to the new southern city.

After the conversation, Selena and Jason headed back and began their journey to the new southern city.

"So what exactly is the new southern city?" Selena asked.

It's in the heart of the previous southern territory. It wasn't officially the land of the Kadence empire but we had many of our citizens living there due to its convenience. That was also why the war was very important or else all those citizens would have perished if we lost.

Unfortunately, there are people who would rather prioritize their own benefits over the empire, Jason said in a disappointing tone.

Selena couldn't help but admire his vision.

"What about the southern tribe warriors" She asked.

"Naturally, they are now part of our kadence empire. We need to establish some sort of interdependence with them or kill them off. I'd rather not do the second one because no one knows the southern territory better than they do. It'll be less work if we could work together. That's also another reason for us coming here"

"After stabilizing this southern region, it'll be our safe haven from imperial power," Jason says.

Selena couldn't quite get what he was planning but she knew it was probably very important. The two continued to chat as time slowly passed. 

They stop by an inn right before the new southern city. Excitement rose in Selena's heart because she had never been on a vacation before. She had only been to the capital and the Jobaine territory but in both those cases, she mainly stayed indoors. 

The sun was slowly setting as the two prepared to enter the inn for a break. The inn had a lot of people and discussions about all sorts of topics were flying around. Jason went out to survey the area while Selena ordered some food. Tomorrow will be a big day for both of them and she vowed not to hold Jason back.

"I hope everything goes according to plan and I hope Jason can stay safe" She slowly prays as she continues to think about the future.