"Take p-pity on him?" Kel questioned, bile rising in her throat as the pearls glinted sinisterly.
"I've often wondered," the emperor mused, still focused on the vanity, "why the princess stopped wearing those odd necklaces."
Kel didn't have the energy to be surprised. She'd assumed the necklaces were inconspicuous enough to avoid scrutiny, so she'd gotten careless in how she stored them. Though, from the emperor's words, it seemed he'd had them figured out from the beginning.
"Perhaps, she has grown comfortable here? Is she no longer afraid of me?" the man continued, slowly spinning back to face Kel.Â
"Does she foolishly trust me when I can't even keep a simple promise made to a shivering war hostage in the woods?"
A promise? Kel struggled to recall ever having had the Dragon Emperor make her such a thing.
"Are you talking about the threat you made against Barclay's life to make me behave?" she blurted.
The emperor clicked his tongue. "A threat.. maybe. Either way, however, I didn't keep my word."
"In a country full of enemies, I should have never counted on our safety," Kel murmured to herself. "How foolish of me."
ραпdα nᴏνɐ| сom "I suppose now that you know, you won't make the same mistake twice," the emperor retorted coldly.Â
"... won't," Kel muttered.
The emperor scoffed, running a hand through his disheveled hair. "That's right. Don't trust people so easil-"
"I won't do it!" Kel exclaimed. "I won't give one of those wretched things to Barclay!"
The emperor sighed, sliding his hand down his face wearily. "Now you really are being unreasonable."
"Unreasonable?" Kel spat. "You admitted this was all your fault, yet you still ask me to finish off my own comrade!!"
"He's going to die anyway!!" the emperor shouted back.Â
He stood breathing heavily, eyes narrowed at Kel for a few moments before looking away. Softly, he repeated, "He's going to die."
Saying it twice was too much.
Kel's hand flew to her mouth as she began gagging. If there had been anything inside her stomach, it would have been spewn all over the floor.
"It shouldn't be like this," the emperor whispered, reaching out to Kel and again retracting his hand just before he touched her. "I told you I'd keep him safe."
Dropping his face into his hands, he raised his voice again. "Gah! Really! How did this happen to me?"
"No, that's not it," he corrected himself, slowly lifting his head to peer at Kel. "Why did you do this to me?"
"I didn't do anything," Kel replied hoarsely, wiping saliva from her lips.
"You.." the emperor began, slamming his palm against the bedpost behind Kel. His eyes flashed with anger as he leaned in close.
"Princess!" A soft knock at the door, followed by Jenny's worried voice cut in.
"A-are you alright?" the maid called out again.
Giving Kel a fiery glower, the emperor tilted his head toward the door. It was a clear warning.
"I'm fine," Kel responded, her shaking voice betraying her words.
"... May I come in for a moment?"Â
Kel panicked at the faint squeak of the doorknob.
"No!" she shouted. "I.. I'd like to be alone, please."
"Oh, ok then," the maid conceded, releasing the knob. "But, um, miss?"
Kel squirmed under the emperor's eyes, feeling she'd burst into flames any minute.Â
"Yes?" she asked, a bead of sweat trickling down her neck.
"..."
"What is it?" Kel demanded, siddling farther away from the emperor's hot breaths.
"I-it's nothing. Please rest well, Princess," the young maid replied dejectedly.
Kel held her breath until she was sure Jenny was gone before timidly turning her gaze back to the emperor.
At first, she thought his eyes resembled a predator locked onto its prey, but after looking closer, she realized that wasn't exactly right. He was more like a large wounded animal, baring its fangs at anyone that came too close.
Kel was the one hurting, so why did he look so pained?
"You already know what you need to do," the emperor said quietly, dropping his arm and stepping back.
Kel watched in silence as he strode to the vanity. He fiddled delicately with both pearls before deciding on the blue one. Sliding his fingers carefully under the chain, he lifted it from the jewelry stand.
"It's strange," he remarked, watching the pearl dance in the moonlight as it swung from his fingers. "How can the most dangerous things be the most beautiful?"
Holding his other hand out to Kel, he commanded, "Come."
Bewitched-by fear, shock, or plain exhaustion-Kel obediently followed the emperor out of the west building and to the servants' wing of the main palace. Inside, he brought her to an oddly familiar-looking mirror. With Kel still dazed, he pressed against one of the stones in the wall next to the mirror, triggering a hidden opening.
"This'¦" Kel trailed off, suddenly remembering discovering the tunnel herself some time ago.
"This is the easiest way to get around without being seen," the emperor finished for her, ducking into the dark passage.
As they trudged in death-like quiet, Kel noticed that every single torch along the walls was lit. Based on the amount of blackened wick on them, she guessed that they'd been burning for nearly an hour--as if someone had prepared in advance to use this tunnel.
Before they'd even made it halfway through the passage, the emperor came to a halt.
"It's right here." He motioned to a particularly indistinctive portion of the wall. "You'll find your friend on the other side."
"Here?" Kel questioned, running her hand along the stones.
Stepping closer, the emperor grabbed her hand and guided it slowly along the wall, stopping on a stone that was ever-so-slightly larger than the rest.
"Here."
Kel hesitated, her finger tips barely resting against the rock's cold surface. The knot in her throat had finally grown to the point of making it impossible to swallow.
What am I doing here? She wondered.
As if in response, a thin chain grazed the skin covering her collarbones and shoulders as the emperor fastened the necklace around her neck.
"Blue," he murmured. "The color of loyalty."
With a sigh, he let the necklace fall into place.Â
"How fitting."
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