"Lady Fuyomui, the emperor wishes to have tea with you." Octavi states whilst fixing his collar with his pale and slender fingers. He closes his eyes for a moment, as if praying to the gods that you wouldn't mess up your second meeting with the emperor.

  You sat at your desk, already beginning to plan future outfits for many different occasions. You liked to plan ahead, as it gave you free time but most of all allowed you to work in a more relaxed environment. Today, you were wearing a white blouse and a long, beige skirt that stopped mid-calf. On your feet were white ankle socks and fluffy pink indoor slippers. As Octavi had distracted you from your buzz of creative energy, you looked over at his figure from over your shoulder.

"Why is that?" You ask suspiciously, barely having any sense of trust in the emperor at all. You turn your body around completely to face Octavi in order to be in a more comfortable position.

"He wishes to discuss your next assignment and to interrogate you today. He is expecting you in.." Octavi digs into the pocket of his uniform and pulls out an expensive and shiny, golden pocket watch that emits a quiet and subtle ticking sound. "Nine minutes, fifteen seconds and counting." Octavi reads from his watch before his cold, heartless purple orbs glared over at you, urging you to hurry up and prepare yourself.

  You gulp slightly and scratch your head with anxiety, fearing your soon-to-come encounter with the emperor. "Alright then.. just give me a moment then." You responded timidly, obviously frightened to the core due to the last encounter that you had with him. You took a silver hand mirror from out of the bottom right drawer of your desk, where you kept some of your toiletries that had to do with beauty in.

  You were about to hold the mirror to your face in order to make sure you hopefully looked presentable enough for the emperor. However, you paused before you could see your reflection, your grip on the mirror handle turning sweaty as you looked over your shoulder at Octavi who continued to stand motionlessly by the door, his gaze piercing cruelly into you.

  Such a sight made it difficult for you to believe that the man glaring at you right now from behind, was the same man who was laughing and frolicking around so childishly at the beach just a week ago. Not only that but he had somehow refrained his porcelain pale skin from getting a tan without you ever seeing him put on or bother to reapply sun protectant to his skin during the sunny day at the seaside.

  However, you focused on the fact that he was staring at you as if he had no basic human decency. You felt uncomfortable touching yourself up in public, or in front of anybody for that matter. Seeming to get the message, Octavi turned around and crossed his arms, obviously finding your small quirks and dislikes slightly bothersome to his daily routine of babysitting you.

  As soon as he had turned the other way, you proceeded to fix your silky smooth strands of [H/C] hair that had been washed thoroughly with expensive and the intoxicating sweet smell of cherry blossom ginseng. You ran your fingers through your strands of hair, making sure it was well kept for your meeting with the emperor. You purse your lips, glaring at your facial features and wondering if they looked attractive to the emperor. Of course, only because you wanted to please him and keep your job.

  You then placed the hand mirror down onto the wooden working desk before you stand up and dust off your long skirt, making sure you looked as close to perfect as you could. Then, you hurried over to Octavi who surprisingly already began to walk outside and towards the staircase as soon as you began to near him. Sometimes it seemed as though Octavi had eyes on the back of his head. You tagged along in silence, your mind troubling you with so many different ways the situation could play out or even fail terribly. As you worried in your mind helplessly, Octavi continued to lead you up the staircase and through the hallway with the beautifully decorated red carpet and high-class decor.

  Finally, you approached the same door as you had done beforehand. You listened to the frightening knock of Octavi's knuckles against the slide door. He spoke out the same routined words, as if he had been practising all his life.

  "Permission to enter, your majesty. I am Sir Kirayo, accompanying Lady Fuyomui for the scheduled meeting over tea." Octavi states monotonely and not as confident as you would have expected him to. "Permission granted by the emperor." The guard responds, just like last time. The memory of your first meeting with the emperor seemed to replay itself in your head like a broken record, making you feel as though your mind was trying to make you more stressed than you already were.

  Octavi slides open the door, and steps inside after you. He closes the door behind himself, examining the inside of the new room. As always, it was the same set up. Your small table was decorated with more summer themed pastries and sweets suitable for tea time and cold beverages due to the warmer weather starting to settle into the kingdom. Octavi could barely make out the silhouette of the emperor through the red, translucent curtain despite the sunshine of the all powerful plaguing the inside of the room in hopes of brightening the emperor's spirits in some way.

  "Lady Fuyomui, sit at the small table. Sir Kirayo, you may leave." The guard states with fake confidence and pride in his job. As he says so, he does not even flinch or bother to look around the room. The guard continues to stare straight ahead like he had been commanded to do.

  You hastily sit down at the seat and table, still feeling just as uncomfortable as you did last time. You gaze over at Octavi, finding comfort in his presence, only to have that comfort shattered to pieces as he slides the door shut behind him. You gulp silently before looking over at the plethora of snacks and delicious food that tempted you. However, you found that your appetite was nearly overthrown with the anxiety that riddled your body, causing your skin to have goosebumps and for you tremble slightly with every move that your limb made.

  "Greetings once again, Lady Fuyomui. I have several matters that I wish to discuss." The emperor began, pausing to see if you had forgotten the rule of you not being allowed to answer unless he directly asks you a question or even gives you an order. However, he is only met with the sound of your uneasy and uneven panting of stress from the other side of the curtain, causing him to feel slightly amused. He indeed liked to see just how much control and power he had over people.

  "First of all, very well done on the beach outfit. It certainly impressed all my suitresses and especially my grandmother. I am pleased to see that the very fact you got the position hasn't gotten to your head and has made you less hard working in any way. In fact, it seems to me as though you worked even harder. Despite this, I would like to request my next outfit. In three weeks time, there will be a royal ball for all the high status people who have been personally invited by either me or my grandmother," He mumbles something under his breath while he pauses at the end of his sentence, causing you to grow curious as you raise your eyebrow.

  "I need you to make me something grand that shows off my status and will stand out. So please, do your very best to not disappoint me. I know that you are a perfectly capable tailor." The emperor finishes, having given you the briefing on what he would like you to make for him this time. You continue to stay silent, remembering specifically the rules that Octavi had taken out of his day to teach you.

  "Now, onto the second subject I'd like to converse to you about. What is your history?" The emperor interrogates you, now curious as to where you had come from and what you had done for your whole life.

  You pause for a moment, feeling slight rage pull your strings as you partially blamed him for what happened to most of your family. "Well, I am a foreigner who left my other family to help my brother in his job as a tailor. That is all, your majesty." You state, being short and incredibly vague.

  "More detail." The emperor commands, his suspicions on you beginning to rise. If you were in fact a spy or some sort of hidden and foreign enemy, it would be a disgrace to his entire security system and he would need to execute you immediately.

  Your lips nervously form a straight line as you shake your head with resistance, not wanting to risk the fact you could breakdown in the emperor's presence if you talked too much about the past. You had managed to gain enough confidence to shakily let out a small and quiet answer.

  "No." You reply anxiously, scared to what his reaction would be. As soon as you had let out your answer, you felt like throwing yourself off of a cliff. Had the pressure messed with your head? Who in their right mind would dare to go against the emperor of the world? You bite your lip, about to beg for forgiveness only to be cut off by a hollow and emotionless chuckle from the other side of the curtain.

  "Oh? Would you rather be thrown in a prison cell?" The emperor threatens after letting out the intimidating chuckles, causing shivers to run down your spine and shocks of fear to vibrate through your body. "In detail, I said." He orders bluntly, his voice now much more pressing and strict than it was before.

  You finally give in, taking a deep breath in an attempt to hold back at least some of the tears from falling down your soft cheeks. "Your allied forces overthrew my country when I was only a young girl. They murdered my entire family except for my older brother. So, I fled to my older brother. He was my only hope for survival. Ever since, he has taken care of me." You bite back, now using a harsher tone than before. Instead, you found that your melancholy emotions were quickly replaced with sparks of rage breaking out, threatening to cause a dramatic complaint to the emperor.

  "I see." The emperor responds, taking a sip from his teacup. He sounded much more light hearted and pleased now, seeming to understand slightly. However, you knew that these emotions were only false. You bite your lip, restraining the rage and letting your sadness wash over and burn out the anger once again.

  "I knew something wrong when the official files confirmed you to be deceased. That is why I was suspicious. Now I see, there truly is nothing to worry about. I can tell in your voice. You're like a ghost. I can see straight through you." The emperor mentions, taking yet another sip of tea from his teacup.

  "I never got to venture to your homeland for a visit. Tell me, what did it look like?" The emperor questions, investing himself into the conversation much more than you had asked for or expected form somebody like him.

  "There were the oldest and most breath-taking cherry blossoms in sight on every street. The buildings reflected the entire past and tradition of our country. The people were even more beautiful and charming than the country though. We were all like family, so happy and carefree. It was truly a sight to behold. It was my favourite place in the world. Tell me, what is yours, your majesty?" You fall into a dream like state as you chatter to the Emperor about your country. However, those dreams of the good old days came crashing down as your remembered all the pain you felt back then. Pursing your lips, you decide to question the emperor instead in an attempt to make him speak instead, feeling your voice begin to crack with pity for yourself.

  "I do not have one as I do not often leave the palace grounds. The world is simply mine for the taking. There is not beauty in it." The emperor responds strictly, finding dislike in the way you had broken a rule. To not question him. He was the one to question you. Just as he was about to open his mouth in order to complain about your rude behaviour and threaten you mercilessly in order to put you back into your place, he was cut off by your voice.

  Harsh and violently cutting through the air as you dropped the teacup that you caressed in your hands for comfort. It smashed onto the floor as you began to yell and scold the emperor, now completely losing control of your rage. "You own the entire world. The entire world is in the palm of your hand and your hand only! You own the entire world but you don't even see the beauty in it. You don't even care about the beauty, the happiness and cultures that you destroy just for what? Your pleasure? There is still beauty in the world, even if you can't see it. You must take the time to look around yourself. Look at the beautiful things that are all at mercy to you, you twisted sadist!" You scream at the top of your lungs, voice resonating throughout the palace as you now stand up from your chair.

  "Do what you wish with me. Somebody needed to say it." You threaten him, standing confidently and strongly alongside the remains of your teacup, completely disregarding the cuts it had brought to your legs. You needed to stand up for yourself. No, you were not standing up for yourself. You were standing up for those he had murdered. You were standing up for the beauties and wonders of the world that he simply did not see as if he was blind, partially because he was cooped up in palace.

  "Guards, accompany Lady Fuyomui to her quarters. Lady Fuyomui. Finish the outfit in two weeks. An extra week is needed for fitting, accessories and preparation." The emperor states, completely disregarding your sudden outburst of anger. You were unsure whether he would make somebody murder you in your sleep or if you'd need to watch your back everywhere you went from now on. However, you knew that from now on nothing would be the same.

  Hastily, you turned around and left the room, not bothering to wait for the guards. You flee from the emperor's floor in the palace, trying your best to get away from it all. If he had not ruined your home in the first place, you wouldn't have suffered for all those years. You wouldn't have seen your mother crying and cradling you in her arms, pleading the knights and vicious murderers form his kingdom for mercy. Not for her, but for her sweet treasure. [Name].

  Octavi speeds after you, having heard every word of the conversation from outside of the door. "[Name]! What have you done!" He scolds you out of concern with what the emperor could do to you in the future. He races after you, only to be met with your bedroom door slammed close in front of his face, locking out all comfort except for the type that could be found in one's self.

  You hurry to the curtains and slide them closed, locking out the bright summer's daylight, entrapping yourself in an artificial night, finding some sort of twisted comfort from the darkness. You lay down on your bed, remembering everything that had happened. The friends and family you had lost. The past behind you that was lost. All for nothing. All just because the emperor wanted to. Because he felt like it. Or at least, that was all that you had assumed so. The flashbacks of fire, screams and bombs flooded out Octavi's concerned cries from the other side of the door, as his fist beat against it, threatening to break it down any second.

  Meanwhile, the emperor stayed sat down in his seat, staring outside at the garden full of nature before him. Putting down the expensive teacup, his slender and pale fingers played with his clothing. "How improper of her." He mumbles under his breath, having been told off for the first time in his life. Naturally, anybody who went against him was automatically given the death penalty. However, he couldn't quite figure out why he didn't want to get rid of you yet.

  He continues to gaze at the bamboo trees and carefully grown flowers in the garden, wondering what everybody could see which he could not. He squinted his eyes slightly, and sighed slightly. It seemed, that the troubles of his life had rid him of even enjoying his life the slightest bit.

  The emperor straightened up and replaced the confused atmosphere with his usual serious one as the maids entered the room in silence to hastily clean up the mess Lady Fuyomui had left carelessly on the floor.

  The emperor continued to contemplate to himself, wondering if there was some way he could be taught what the beauty of life even was. Ever since he was young, it seemed that the every breath that left his body was pure torture.

  As he contemplated carefully to himself, you continued to sulk. You had prayed to yourself to not breakdown, only to do so and much worse than you would have liked. Even if Octavi was great comfort, you hurried to your telephone as soon as Octavi had left, taking notice of the fact you perhaps just wanted to be alone while you processed the situation at hand.

  The ringing of the telephone rung into your eardrums, a sad smile replacing your frown as you hear a blissful voice.

  "[Name]? Why did you call so early today?" Your older brother questions from the other end of the phone, sounding fairly concerned already for you, as if he could easily tell that something was wrong.

  "I messed up, Kai.. my dear brother, I scolded the emperor himself as if I was some thrown away concubine. I am in no place to do such a sin. I may meet the grim reaper sooner than expected." You confide in him, your voice falling apart and interrupted by the pants and sharp breaths in your took due to your frail and uncontrollable state.

  "[Name], I am aware you meant no harm whatsoever. I am sure that whatever happens, you will try your very best. If you ever feel incredibly endangered.. then escape. If you feel as though he may execute you, then you simply must run away. Do you understand? You must come home as soon as any signs of violence show up." Kai responds, his voice crackling due to the far distance.

  "He has not gotten rid of you yet, so that must mean he will not. However, punishment by torture may come. I will not stand for that, do you hear me?" Kai converses with you, taking uptmost care and concern with your safety beyond all else.

  You continue to smile slightly to yourself at his words, thankful you still had family by your side. Thankful there was somebody who could properly understand.