“Good night, Empress,” her lady-in-waiting had wished her before the door closed behind her, leaving Vassenia alone with her thoughts. Night had befallen the kingdom and the day had been trying, filled with more meetings with advisors that spent more time worrying about whether or not she could “follow their words” than getting anything done. Time and time again, she’d remind them that she was more than capable of following, and time and time again, they insisted on breaking things down to the point that any member of her kingdom could have understood them. But, where she was a woman, they thought this necessary and prudent. By the end of the day, she was stressed, irritated, with a headache that wouldn’t leave her be no matter how many medicines she was given.
Heading out onto her balcony for a final look down at her kingdom, bathed in the moon’s cold light, she lingered, leaning atop her rail with a look of wary. How could they have let things get so bad? Indartir may have had its issues, but it was one of the gems of Atlygaea, Others, however, weren’t so lucky…specifically Ursius. They had fallen so far, barely able to sustain a living while being repeatedly taken advantage of by the people who claimed to be their betters. The entirety of Atlygaea had been built on their backs and they could hardly afford to keep food on the table for their families. What sort of a person would allow that to continue?
Her advisors, though, tried to tell her that it wasn’t as bad as she believed, that she was exaggerating due to her emotions. By the time the talk was done, she had been read for being a woman for the majority of the time rather than anything productive being done. The one person who’d been there to help and could see she was actively doing what was needed was gone. It left her alone once more, surrounded by a group of men who couldn’t see past the tips of their limbs to acknowledge that she wasn’t in the wrong and could do the job set before her by birthright.
With a sigh, she pushed away from the railing, a final look spared to the few people who still milled below. Silently, the woman padded to her bed, feet leaving her slippers as the covers engulfed her, body sinking into the silken fabrics and soft pillows as she drifted off to sleep.
That sleep, however, didn’t remain.
A sound woke her up and had her startling awake. A vase. Her vase next to her bed had broken, and she was no longer alone in the room. Rolling to the other side of her bed and grabbing her Unguis from beneath her pillow, strapping it on as she moved before she was ready to fight. But the commotion wasn’t done there, as others came running into the room. Her guard came crashing through her door, weapons drawn, bearing down on the man as the lights came on, light pouring into her room and providing enough for her to catch a glimpse of the man’s face.
He was dishonored.
Sharing a look with her guard, she cautioned them with a hand as she approached a few steps, keeping enough distance between she and them so that her guard didn’t freak and this man didn’t get an edge if he chose the wrong option. “You don’t have to do this,” Vassenia cautioned him, eyes bearing on him. “You’ve not done anything you could regret yet…Go with my guards willingly and we can get this all sorted.”
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