Reborn: The New Empress

"Hi there!" I suddenly heard a young girl"s voice behind me. I immediately turned around and became defensive. It was a young girl with white hair, the same as the Empress" but her eyes look so much like the Emperor"s.

"Who are you?" I asked. She looked at me with a beaming smile on her face.

"You must be Sayori… I mean, Princess Sayori." She said. She suddenly became prim and proper. Just a second ago, she was acting childish just as a child her age should be but now she"s just like a proper princess. I suddenly realized who I was facing.

"Oh you must be Princess Sumire. I"m sorry for being rude." I apologized and bowed my head. She put her hand on my shoulder and I raised my head.

"It"s quite alright. I was the one who surprised you first. I"m sorry for that." She said. Everytime I look at her, she reminds me so much of the Empress. Her hair and demeanor are just like Empress Yukina"s.

"Are you out here for a stroll?" She asked. I nodded. She walked beside me and we strolled around the garden together.

"Mother told me about you. I hope you don"t mind me asking but what is the oracle that they"ve been discussing? It"s something I"m a little confused about." She said. You and me both. I don"t quite get it myself so how can I even explain it to her.

"To be honest Princess, I don"t quite understand it myself. I only know that when I was born, the G.o.ds sent a message that I would be a Princess. I went to the temple to see for myself but all I got out of it was vague clues and a headache." I said while giggling. Sumire looked at me and she had a soft smile on her face.

"If you"re feeling confused or you need help, just talk to my mom. She"s great at comforting people. That"s why my dad loves her so much that he removed the harem because she"s the only woman for him." Sumire said. I felt all warm inside when she mentioned that. It"s not something you see often. When I was back in the present, I used to read about stories from ancient times. Having a harem meant that the Emperor would have a lot of chances to have children. Hearing that this Empire"s Emperor swore himself to only one woman, it makes me think about the possibilities of true love.

"What"s your mom and dad like?" I asked. Sumire looked up at the sky and smiled.

"They are something out of a fairytale." She said.

"How so?" I asked.

"They"ve been through so much. I wasn"t around yet to see it but dad always told me stories about how mom was the strongest person he knew. Coming from the Emperor himself, that"s something I always looked up to. And I can see it too; how my mom always has my dad"s back and how they handle problems together." Sumire was talking like she was describing someone from a movie but it"s real life. I was happy to hear it but deep down, I was kind of, envious.

"That"s so inspirational. I can"t believe the Emperor and Empress are like that. They must be great parents." I said. There was a hint of bitterness in my voice which Sumire was keen on picking up.

"They are. Aren"t your parents like that?" She asked. I felt an ache in my chest. I"ve never had parents in my past life and the parents I was born to here in this era was one short of a complete family.

"My mother died when I was young and my father is a general. I"m not really sure if I know him. We don"t talk, we don"t even see each other everyday. It"d be a miracle to see him more than twice in a week. And after what happened to me, I forgot any memory I have of my mother." I said. My voice got quieter and quieter the more I tried to talk to the Princess. I can"t even relate to Sayori since I was an orphan but I am able to feel her pain.

"Oh I"m sorry to hear about that. I didn"t mean to make you feel upset." Sumire apologized. I shook my head and laughed at her expression.

"It"s okay, it doesn"t hurt as much as you think. My mother died so long ago and I don"t even remember that much." I said. I seemed to get my point across but what I just said wasn"t something anyone who lost a loved one could say. I held unto Sumire"s hand and I pulled her to the other side of the garden.

"C"mon Princess, I"ll show you something I learned when I was little." I said. She raised her eyebrow at me but she followed me anyway. I just realized that Sumire and I are just few years apart. She"s 14 and I"m 16 now. She"s younger than me but she seems more mature than I am. Maybe because she had someone like the Empress to guide her while growing up.

"Where are we going, Princess?" She asked. I saw a patch of plants nearby that we can use to have fun.

"We"re going to be blowing bubbles. And stop calling me Princess. You"re the only Princess in this Palace." I said. I didn"t give her time to respond. I snapped a few plant stems from the bunch and gave it to her. She looked at me like I was stupid.

"All you have to do is snap it like this and blow." I said while showing her. When I blew on the plant stem, bubbles came out and Sumire"s eyes widened. Her jaw dropped as I continued to blow bubbles in front of her.

"Now you try." I told her. She looked at the plant stem in her hand. Slowly, she tried to do what I did and when she got it, she was happier than a kid.

"Look Sayori, I"m blowing bubbles." She said while admiring the floating bubbles. She looked like she was having fun. I redirected the glum mood from a while back to something more light.

"What are you guys doing?" Empress Yukina appeared before us and smiled as she placed her hand on Princess Sumire"s back. Sumire looked at her mom with happy eyes.

"Look Mom! Sayori taught me how to blow bubbles using these plants." She explained. Empress Yukina looked at me and smiled.

"Did she? I"m glad to see you"re having fun. Sayori, where did you learn how to do this?" She asked. I looked down as she questioned me. I felt intimidated under her gaze.

"I learnt it when I was a child, your majesty." I answered. I waited for her to answer but I was surprised when I felt her hands n my shoulder, trying to raising my head.

"Raise your head, Sayori. You don"t need to act formally towards me." She said. The Empress had the sweetest smile on her face and I couldn"t help but feel relieved. I"ve only met these people today and I feel like I know them more than I know my own father. I bet my father"s only concerned about my whereabouts because he still needs me but if he doesn"t, I doubt he"ll even lift a finger to help me.

"Yes, Empress." I said with a smile on my face. Empress Yukina looked back at Princess Sumire and took the plant stem from her hand. She snapped it perfectly and blew a bubble like she"s done it before.

"Mom, I didn"t know you also knew how to do it." Sumire said. I thought about that as well. Is it possible that the people of this time already knew how to do it? Maybe there are some activities that have been discovered in this era that have been pa.s.sed down from generation to generation.

"I just did what Sayori taught you. It"s not that hard." She said. Maybe that"s what it is. I"m thinking way too ahead of myself. For I second, I was even considering that the Empress came from my world too but that would be impossible. As we were having fun, The Emperor and Crown Prince arrived at the garden.

"What are you doing, dear?" The Emperor asked the Empress. She put down the plant stem and immediately went to his majesty"s side. Sumire followed after her mother.

"Dad, Sayori taught me how to blow bubbles using a plant." She told her father. The Emperor looked at me and smiled. I didn"t think the Emperor could smile like that.

"Dear, Sumire, I need you to come with me for a while. Sayori, is it alright if my son would accompany you for a while?" The Emperor asked. I dare not decline his request.

"Of course, your majesty." I said with a bow. He smiled at me once more before he and the Empress turned on their heels and left. Sumire followed after them, holding her mom"s hand while walking. I smiled unconsciously and Yukio took notice.

"You look pretty when you smile." He said. That completely caught me off-guard. I promptly took a few steps away from him. He looked embarra.s.sed, kind of like he regretted what he said.

"I"m sorry, I didn"t mean to scare you or anything…" He started. He tried to come closer to me but I also felt embarra.s.sed from his sudden compliment that I took a few steps back every time he took a step closer. I didn"t notice that I was close to the edge of the pond. I took a wrong step back and I fell in. Yukio was trying to save me but I ended up grabbing him and we both fell in the pond.

"Are you okay?" Yukio asked. It was a good thing that we were by the shallow end of the pond. I"m ashamed to admit that I don"t know how to swim. I don"t know why but something about the situation p.i.s.sed me off. I stood up without talking to Yukio.

"Hey, where are you going?" He asked. I didn"t answer him. I"m afraid that if I did, I would say something I"d regret. They"ve been awfully nice to me and I don"t want them to think that I"m ungrateful.

"Sayori!" Yukio shouted. He quickly followed after me and grabbed my arm. I turned to him and the look on his face was something I"ve never seen from Eiji. He was worried about me. Eiji said that a lot, that he"s worried about me but everytime I look him in the eye, it meant otherwise. But now as I"m looking at Yukio, I could tell that he"s genuinely worried. It somehow makes me feel… uncomfortable.

"I"m fine." I mumbled under my breath, hoping he could hear me so I don"t have to repeat myself. He noticed that his grip on my arm was tight, he immediately let me go.

"I"m sorry if I startled you or anything. I was just worried. I mean, you just got better, I don"t want to be the reason you get sick again. C"mon, let me take you back to your room. I"ll tell the maids to help you change." He said as he grabbed my hand and pulled me back towards the Palace.

"What about you?" I asked. I wasn"t the only one who was drenched. He could get sick too.

"Don"t worry about me. I"ll be fine. The Empress concocted a medicine for Sumire and I so that we don"t get sick easily. What did she call it again? Vite… Vito… Vita…" Yukio tried sounding off the name of the medicine. It seemed all too familiar with me.

"Did you mean vitamin?" I said. Yukio looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, that"s it. Do you know what it is? I thought my mom was the only one who knew about that." He said. I"m not sure if the word vitamins was already coined in this era but my suspicions on the Empress is getting some solid ground. We arrived back at my room. Yukio ordered the maids to get me a change of clothes and to prepare a bath for me.

"Just let them do their jobs, Sayori. I"ll go back to my room to change." He said. I didn"t answer him. I was still a bit upset over what he did back at the garden. If he hadn"t tried to come closer, we wouldn"t have fallen in the pond in the first place. Although, I guess it"s my fault too. I didn"t even know why I was avoiding him but he was making me uncomfortable and I didn"t like it.

After the bath, the maids brought me a kimono that matched my eyes. They helped me wear it and afterwards, a servant arrived to announce that I will be having lunch with the Imperial family.

"Yes, I will go there right now." I answered. I walked out of my room and went straight to the dining room where the Emperor and Empress were already waiting.

"Sayori, you"re here. Come and sit with us." Empress Yukina said. I opted for the spot next to her. Sumire and Yukio came in afterwards and they took their place. Sumire sat next to her father and Yukio sat next to her. The food was served. I thought that the Imperial family was like any other n.o.ble family that would eat dinner quietly. But what happened before me, truly surprised me.

"Eat up, Dear. You"ve been very busy today and I"m afraid you aren"t eating right." Empress Yukina stacked the Emperor"s bowl up high with meat and vegetables. The Emperor didn"t even flinch. He just accepted what the Empress gave him.

"Mom, did you make my favorite?" Sumire asked across the table. I looked over at the Empress who was handing her a bowl of what seemed to be chicken cooked in an egg broth. That kinda looks likes Oyakodon. But that"s impossible. It might just be similar, nothing more.

"Sayori, eat up." The Empress said as she placed a piece of meat on my bowl. I"ve never felt as touched as I am now. This must be what it feels like to have a family of your own. When you have people who care about you regardless of what you do or what you"ve done. I didn"t even noticed that my tears were streaming down my face.

"Sayori, are you okay?" The Empress asked. I looked up and noticed that my vision became blurry from the tears. I quickly wiped them away and apologized.

"I"m sorry. I"m fine, I just had something in my eyes." I said. They all looked at each other and then back at me. Sumire handed me her bowl of chicken.

"Try this, Sayori. It"s great, mom cooks it for me whenever I"m sad too." She said. I graciously accepted her offer. I never thought that I could feel loved. Maybe I was brought to this time period for a reason. I just have to find out what it is.