An Empress in Leone - A Short Story

[MunaZaldrizoti 8037]

Art by: Yachuri

 

(A Short Story by: TheMostGinger | Written for: Numirya)

 

Ari Rothesay-Horen rubbed her eyes as she awoke, pushing locks of brown hair from her face. She heard shuffling in her room, the clack of heels on the stone floor, and propped herself up on a smooth elbow to survey her chambers. A maid, one of her father's household, was walking back and forth across the room, scooping water with a bucket from a large basin, pouring it into her marble bathing tub at the other side of the room. Noticing that a pair of doe-like eyes were on her, the maid turned her gaze. "Ah, your awake," She smiled, "Your father asked I ready you a bath. He wishes to break his fast with you, your Imperial Majesty." Indeed, my ever busy father. What ideas does he have for me today? Pushing away her thoughts, she simply nodded to the maid as she scurried out, most likely to tell Lord Adrian that she had woken. Beside her bed, on a small table, was a tray set with warm tea, crisped bacon, and creamy eggs. Her sleepy mind went straight to the tray, her mouth almost watering. I am the Empress, and Empress's mouth does not water. Threw her coverlet and sheet aside, pulling her robe down from the bedpost and wrapping it around her pale skin. Seating herself, she poured the tea into a cup of fine china and began eating her prepared meal. The bacon crunched in her mouth, just as she liked, but the eggs needed at least needed another pinch of salt and pepper. I will need to inform the cook later. Sipping the tea, a range of flavors varying from cinnamon to vanilla filled her mouth. She smiled, the warm drink drifting down her throat and warming her sense. Scooping up the last of her eggs and sipping down the last of her tea, she slid the tray aside and rose to attend to her wardrobe. The large oaken thing had been a wedding gift, and a pain to get home and up the steps of her father's keep. Opening it, she looked about at her new silks and satin, presented to her by various nobles to adorn her as their new Empress. Of course, to please her father, she chose a green gown with gold-laced sleeves, fine laces of braided spun silk tying up the front. This should please him, if nothing else. Tugging the dress along, she approached her vanity and seated herself, placing her smooth hands and long fingers upon a ornate brush made of jade, combing through her long tresses with care. "Finally, someone has called on me," She whispers, "I am not completely forgotten."

 

Ascending the many steps down into the dining hall, Ari finds her father, yet again, in his patents and letters. His glass is half empty with what seems to be red wine, and his food is untouched. Ari approaches the seat next to his own, nodding to him. He waves to her, "Yes, Yes, my dear. Just take your seat. Father is busy." Ari sighs quietly, pulling out the chair and sitting before the breakfast that was laid out for them both. She had already decided she would not eat, two breakfasts were a bit much for a woman to bear. My husband wants me thin, else he might turn again to that Housekeeper of his. Maude was often spoken about by noble visiting court, a woman her husband, John Sigismund, had hired to attend his household and help raise the children at court. She had sent her own children to her, and had regretted such a choice greatly. "What is a mother, without her children," She had told her Father, "What am I now?" Just as today, he had waved her off, "You're wife to the Emperor, and daughter to the Duke of Leone." A servant boy approached the table, pouring her a glass of plain milk, which Ari brought to her lips and drank with pleasure. She had been quite thirsty as of late, it was so hot in Leone during the summer months. Placing the glass back down, she pursed her lips and opened her mouth to speak, "You summoned me, Father. Shall I be spoken to?" He looked up from his letters, pulling off his spectacles and setting them on his napkin. "Yes, I wished to speak about you doing...something. Donating to a charity, taking on a ward. It will be good for your image as Empress, show the people you care." Ari eyed her father, curious at his idea. "Father, I have wanted to do such for a while, but I am here all the time. A ward would be nice, I would ask to hold off on the charity thought until these wars with House Ruric are done." Duke Adrian snorted at that, a smile on his face. "We will win, my darling, don't you worry." Adrian turned back to his papers, placing his spectacles back on the bridge of his nose. Something rose in Ari then, and her mouth opened again, without her control, "Why must we always speak only of politics and intrigue? I am your Empress, yet you wave me off and don't rise when I enter the room! Why am I a ghost to everyone, why am I so forgotten?!" Ari's face reddens, and she pushes her chair out with great force. Rising quickly, she storms out, the clamor of her heels echoing on the floor as her father is left open-mouthed and in shock.

 

I am the Empress. I am the Empress. He treats me like a puppy, to be called upon. Storming out into the gardens, her thoughts returned to her husband and his housekeeper. He is intimate with her, I have heard, but why? Am I that terrible of a wife and consort? Ari frowns, sitting on one of the benches underneath a canopy of freshly-bloomed jasmine. She reaches up to the circlet on her brow, adjusting it's position. It must have gone askew, in my rage. How can an Empress be so clumsy? Plucking a stem of jasmine from the vines, Ari twirls the flower between her fingers, thinking. A ward? May that help me? Teaching a girl to be a lady doesn't seem so hard, but could she survive in such a world, or end up like me, locked away from her children and country? Ari smiled down at the flower, nodding her head to no person in particular. The same maid from earlier strode up, her hands clasped in front of her. "Your Imperial Majesty, do you need anything?" Ari smiled, almost wickedly, "Fetch me a small writing desk, with ink, quill, and paper. I need all the peasant girls of the realm to know that their Empress needs to see them."

 

(OOC:)

I hope you all enjoyed this short story, I would love to do more for anyone seeking such for their persona! Please give me feedback below! This was great fun, and got my creative writing-juices flowing. A special thanks to Numirya, for giving me permission to write this! ^__^

[Angmarzku 1251]

Lovely story, you're really good at writing, mate. 

[idiot 502]

As Ang said, a lovely read~