The Truth or A Lie  

They rolled me out of bed too early. Zero Dark Thirty wasn't the same when there was no clock, but I was pretty sure that I had just fallen asleep when the first maid entered my room.

 

I didn't know why. The banquet wasn't until evening. That meant there was no real reason for the maids to be knocking on my door while the moon still lingered in the sky, whispering about morning preparations like I was about to be sacrificed instead of attending a banquet for the Emperor to show off.

 

Qian'er, the steward that I had chosen, hovered by the edge of my mattress, her hair neatly braided and her eyes sparkling with far too much enthusiasm for someone her age… or this time of day.

 

"It's still dark," I groaned, burying my face into the pillow. Hell, if they had come with an energy drink or coffee, I might have at least tried to be pleasant, but there wasn't even a single cup of tea in their hands.