[The Emperor"s View]"Your majesty, her majesty is in the garden with Sir Chojiro." Akiko reported. I suddenly felt angry.
"Summon her here. At once!" Akiko called for Yukina"s maid and ordered her to take Yukina here. A few moments go by and I heard a knock on the door. Akiko opened it but I was surprised to see Chojiro. He was holding Yukina"s hands. What does he think he"s doing?
"Your majesty, I have brought Empress Yukina." He let her go and Yukina ma.s.saged her wrists. Did Chojiro hurt her?
"Why is it you that brought her here? Didn"t I tell you to stick to your duties?" I looked at Yukina but she was looking at Chojiro.
"Forgive me, your majesty. I brought the Empress because she refused to come on her own." I see
"You may leave." He bowed again and left the room. Akiko also left the room. I continued with my work when she walked up to me.
"Why do you need me here?" I didn"t look at her.
"I need to keep my eyes on you." I heard her sigh. She sat down on the chair. She was silent. She doesn"t want to talk to me now? The day went on without a single word coming out of her mouth. It was well-past lunch time when I decided to stop. Yukina! She must be hungry. I looked over at her and she was fast asleep. She is truly beautiful. Her rosy cheeks, her long eyelashes, her plump lips. I just want her for myself. But… I went out to the dining hall. I ordered Akiko to bring lunch to Yukina in the study.
[The Empress" View]
I woke up feeling sore. I forgot I fell asleep in the chair. My body hurts. I stretched my arms and legs. I glanced over the entire room. Sora"s gone. Now"s my chance to escape. I went out of the study and jumped to the roof of it. I jumped roof to roof until I arrived at my room. I quickly went inside and hid myself. He"s going to look for me once he finds out I"m not there anymore. It seemed stupid but I hid under the bed. No one"s going to think that I"m stupid enough to hide under the bed, so I"ll do just that.
A few moments go by and I heard footsteps. Sounds like guards are running around the palace. They must be looking for me. The door to my room opened and I could hear Aino"s voice.
"Yukina, are you here?" Sorry Aino, I know you"re just doing your job but I"m not going back there.
"She"s not here." Aino shouted to the guards. Hha suckers! Once I heard the door closed, I climbed out from under the bed.
I need to change clothes. I"ll be easily found if I wear this. I looked around and found one of Aino"s outfits. I changed into it and then I tied my hair back. Where should I go? I can"t leave the palace or else my father will be in hot water. Aha! I can hide by the wisteria bush. I checked if the coast was clear before I went out. Seems clear. I swiftly jumped on the rooftop and scanned the area. It was clear so I jumped from rooftop to rooftop until I reached the gazebo.
I jumped down and ran as fast as I could. I saw the small clearing through the trees and I dashed toward it. I made it. I was on my way to the top when I heard voices. Sounds like Tori. I hid behind some of the trees and waited for her to pa.s.s by. As expected, it was her. She had wisteria flowers in her hand.
"Brew this and give it to the Empress. I can"t believe she"s still alive after drinking this. I think we need a stronger mix. I picked a lot of petals this time so make sure to brew it all." She ordered her maid. She was trying to poison me. But why? I don"t see why she would want to kill me. She and her servant left and I went out of my hiding spot. I went up to the wisteria bush and looked over the lake.
Let me try figuring this out. Tori said she was at Shijo Bridge when I had the accident. She said her maid alarmed her when I drowned. But Karin said she was serving both Tsuya and Tori on that day because Tori"s maid was sick. This doesn"t make sense. She was acting weird too when I visited her in her room. Could it be her? Could she be the culprit? But what is her motive? I stayed there until it was dark. I looked down at the lake and something caught my eye. Something was glimmering by the edge of the lake. It wasn"t the moonlight"s reflection. It was something different. Maybe I should go take a look at that.
I waited until the garden was calm. I think the guards have stopped looking for me. I walked down the path and exited the hideout. I went over to the edge where I saw the glimmering object. I looked down and saw something. Is it a pendant? It must be from a necklace or a bracelet perhaps. There"s only one way to find out. I dove down to grab it.
When I held it in my hand, I immediately swam up to the surface. I climbed out of the water and lied down on the gra.s.s.
I dangled it over my face and observed it.
It looks like a jade necklace. Who would throw this in the water? Suddenly, my head started to hurt. Memories flashed in and out of my head.
[Flashback]
"I give this to you my Empress. As a gift for your birthday." Sora said while placing the necklace around my neck.
"I am much honored to receive a gift from you, your majesty." I bowed down at him. He gave me a gift on my birthday. I must be special to him.
[End of Flashback]
This necklace is mine. It must"ve fallen here when I drowned. It"s a good thing I found it. It was getting cold and I was drenched so I decided to head back to my room. When I arrived, Aino was pacing the room. When she saw me, she immediately ran to me.
"Yukina, where have you been? Everyone"s been looking for you. The Emperor is worried." He"s worried? I doubt it.
"And why are you drenched? Did something happen to you? Are you wearing my clothes? Is that how you managed to slip through the guards?" I shook my head.
"It"s nothing for you to worry about. Can I take a bath now?" She nodded and prepared the bath. I hid the necklace before I stripped my clothes off and climbed in the bath. This feels so nice. Aino grabbed the wet clothes and delivered them to the laundry room. I bet she told the Emperor that I"m here in my room. Let"s see, he"s going to bust in the door in 3…2…1…
As if by cue, the door flew open and an angry Emperor rushed inside the room.
"Where is she?" Do you have to talk so loud? I"m trying to enjoy a relaxing bath over here.
"She"s taking a bath your majesty." Aino was standing behind him. How could you do this to me Aino? You betrayed my trust. Nah just kidding. It"s her job. Sora smashed the paper divider and then walked up to me.
"Where have you been?" I ignored him. I closed my eyes and just focused on the hot water.
"Yukina! I"m talking to you." I opened my eyes and looked at him.
"Can"t you just wait until I"ve finished bathing?" He looked even angrier than before. He ordered all the servants to leave and close the door. He went to sit by the bed. I really don"t want to face him. But I guess I have no choice. I stood up from the bath and changed my clothes. I went to sit on the chair the farthest from the bed and I grabbed a towel to dry my hair.
"Are you done?" he asked. I didn"t answer. I continued to dry my hair. Suddenly, I felt a pair of arms around me; I looked up and saw that Sora was carrying me.
"What are you doing? Let me go!" He put me down on the bed. He looked at me, eye to eye. This look. He"s genuinely worried about me.
"What?" I tried to push him away from me. He backed off and I sat up.
"You"re a troublesome woman. Have you any idea what happened this afternoon?" How dare he be angry at me?
"Why were you looking for me? What? Did you think I was just gonna run off and not come back? I"m not an idiot!" He grabbed my wrist and examined it. When he found nothing, he let me go. He turned around and was about to walk away, but before he did, he said
"Tomorrow, you shall report to me in the study. I don"t want to hear your complaints. So you better just do as I say." He said it so coldly; I could feel ice forming around those words. Without another word, he left the room. I stood up and grabbed the necklace. I put it on before I went to bed.
I woke up the next day feeling bad. Like really bad. Regardless, I followed Sora"s demand and reported to him after breakfast. I felt really hot and light-headed. I sat by the chair in his study and felt bored again.
"Yukina, take these scrolls and put them in the shelf behind me." I rolled my eyes but did what I was told. But when I grabbed the scrolls, I felt really hot, as if my head was going to explode. My knees felt weak and then suddenly, everything faded to black.
[The Emperor"s View]
"Yukina, take these scrolls and put them in the shelf behind me." She looked bored so I gave her something to do. She stood up and grabbed the scrolls from my desk. I went back to my work when suddenly I heard a crash. Yukina fainted.
"Yukina?" She felt hot and her face was all red. I carried her to my room and called for the doctor. After checking on her, I found out she has a fever. I thanked the doctor and asked Akiko to call Aino. She arrived momentarily.
"Aino, what did the Empress do last night?"
"She refused to tell me where she went last night but when she returned to the room, she was drenched." After our conversation, Aino left. I sat down on the bed next to her. I was about to pull the blanket over her when I noticed something on her neck.
A jade necklace? Isn"t this the one I gave to her on her birthday? But I remember throwing it in the lake after we had a fight. I don"t even remember what we were fighting about. I just remember taking this off of her neck and throwing it into the lake. She must"ve remembered and tried to get it. That"s why she was drenched last night. And maybe that"s why she had a fever today. She must"ve stayed outside for too long last night while her clothes were wet. What a troublesome woman.
I went back to my study to finish my work. I went back to my room after dinner. Yukina hasn"t woken up yet. I changed into my evening wear.
Yukio bust through the door and ran to the bed.
"Is mama okay?" He asked. I pulled him up and let him sit beside Yukina.
"She"s going to be fine. She has a fever. But she"ll be better in the morning" I patted his head. He caressed his mother"s face before saying goodnight.
"Goodnight mama, I hope you feel better in the morning." He kissed her forehead.
"Goodnight papa, will you be staying with mama tonight?" I nodded. He gave me a kiss on the cheek and went back to his room. I felt Yukina"s forehead. Good. Her fever has gone down. I lay beside her. Why do you always worry me?