"I won't call him anything in front of you if that makes you feel better," Kel offered, feeling the muscles cramping around her forcibly upturned lips.
It was getting more and more difficult to deal with the Dragon Emperor's puzzling personality. His temper flipped at the most random times, and Kel was just guessing how to appease him at this point.
Evidently still unsatisfied, the emperor glowered at the ground in front of him and let out a slow angry breath. "Don't talk about him. Ever."
Kel bit her lip to prevent herself from letting an exasperated sigh escape.
"Your Majesty," she continued with as much politeness as she could muster, "may I ask about what happened to Spencer Regan and the Pantheon Masquerades then?"
The emperor ignored her as he continued trudging.
"It's just that I was involved a little, so it's natural for me to be curious about the end result, right?" Kel babbled awkwardly.
Letting out a sigh, the emperor finally responded. "We've accomplished our goal."
"So it's over for that man, then?" Kel pressed. "Where is he now?"
A shudder ran through her body as the Dragon Emperor shot her a blazing glare. "He's in our custody. It's a matter for the courts now."
"I see," Kel replied. She wanted to say more, but quickly clamped her lips together as the emperor's lethal gaze flickered ever so slightly in her direction again.
As her mind fluctuated between pondering and fuming, her attention was gradually drawn to the scenery sliding by.
pαпᵈα-noνɐ1·сoМ Around this time, the forests of Mevani would be bathed in gold by the yellowing leaves. It was a magnificent sight to behold, as if sunlight were trapped in clusters around the tops of the trees and scattered along the forest floor.
However, the gilded transformation could only be described as pale in comparison to the vividly painted scenery in the Serin Empire.
The vast variety of deciduous trees, late flowering trees and other exotic kinds of shrubs created a fantastic display of reddish hues, interspersed with bursts of pink and green. The few crunching leaves left on the ground, waiting to be extracted by palace gardeners, resembled brilliant red and orange wildflowers dotting the lawns.
As they travelled deeper, the trees began to grow thicker while the lawns became wilder. Even the neatly laid stones became bumpy under Kel's feet.
Just where was the emperor taking her? Were they even still inside the palace grounds?
After several more minutes, the plants began worming their way through the path. It wasn't long before the stonework was entirely buried beneath tall grasses and young saplings.
"Sire," Kel called, nimbly picking her way through the overgrowth. "Where exactly are we going?"
The emperor stopped walking and waited for Kel to catch up.
"Right here," he answered, as she stepped up beside him.
Kel looked around. They were definitely far away from prying eyes. Although it still felt out in the open, she supposed nobody would come by this place.
"I guess this will work just- Ah! Your Majesty!" Kel ran to catch up with the emperor who had traipsed off between two nearby trees. The way he sped ahead made Kel wonder if he wanted her to follow him or was desperately trying to get away from her.
"What on earth is this man thinking? Why can't he just explain in words?!" she ranted, bumbling along after him. For a moment, she felt a pang of sympathy for Ira, having to constantly deal with the emperor's whims.
Many scratches and bumps later, Kel crashed into an oddly perfectly triangularly-shaped clearing. The emperor was already waiting along one of the far sides, fiddling with a petite nearly-barren tree.
"A triangle.." Kel mused as she moved toward the emperor. "I wonder if it grew naturally like this."
"It didn't."
To Kel's surprise, the emperor had been listening to her murmuring to herself.
"Did you clear it out then?" she asked, coming to a stop just behind the man.
"I didn't," he answered flatly.
"Oh."
A brief silence fell between them as Kel wondered what to say and the emperor seemed completely focused on the tree.
"...why did you run off?" the emperor finally spoke up, running his fingers along one of the tree's smooth branches.
"What do you mean?" Kel questioned, watching the man's pale fingers move against the wine-colored twig.
"At the Seven Lions Inn," the emperor explained, squeezing the tip of the branch tightly between his thumb and forefinger. "You ran away."
"I didn't mean to run away," Kel clarified. "I saw someone suspicious so I followed them."
"Mm," the emperor acknowledged.
Entranced by the way the branch bent beneath the Dragon Emperor's fingers but refused to snap, Kel muttered, "It's just instinct I guess."
"Instinct?" The emperor suddenly dropped the branch and turned to face Kel. "For a princess who can't even defend herself?"
Kel winced at his accusation. There was no excuse for the situation with Soren in which Thane had to save her. She should have been able to fight back.
"I didn't mean to cause trouble," she admitted, scuffling one foot against the ground.
The emperor studied her carefully for a few moments before gently resting his hand on her shoulder.
"I'm almost certain," he said softly.
Kel flinched. "Pardon? Y-you're certain?"
Trailing his fingers down Kel's arm toward her wrist, the emperor whispered, "I need you."
Kel gulped. Tiny bumps formed along her arm where the emperor's skin brushed against hers, and her ear tingled from his warm breath. She couldn't tell if she was trembling from fear or some unnamable emotion.
Her heart began thumping loudly as the emperor cupped his other hand around the side of her neck. He leaned even closer, making a growling noise as his lips brushed past her throat.
Kel stopped breathing.
Was she going to be eaten alive by the Dragon Emperor like this out here in the woods?
"Your Majesty!" she squeaked, pushing the beast-like man away.
The emperor dropped his hands and took a step backward, allowing Kel to catch her breath and calm her racing heart.
"That man," he grimaced, eyes glued to Kel's neck, "he doesn't know the first thing about that stone."
That stone? Kel's hand shot up to the spot she'd come in contact with Soren's moonstone. The skin felt rougher and slightly more indented than the rest of her neck, and she realized she'd never looked to see if there was a mark.
Could the emperor have been-?
At the sound of crunching leaves, she glanced up to see the emperor's back as he strode toward the entrance of the clearing.
As usual, he was making a hasty exit after doing something strange.
Turning back over his shoulder, his gaze locked with Kel's.
"I hope you find what you're looking for here."
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