Empress Llomera

lovers

"The situation in the north has been handled with great care your majesty , though they remain restless, we guarantee peace for dozens of moons in the least."

"En, Zhen will have have the Duke pay a visit upon his arrival to the capital"

the minister remained in a full bow.partly out of respect and partly trying to build courage to speak his mind.

This was a man who could address hundreds without blinking an eye .but that single man seated on the dragon throne radiated unfathomable power, anyone talking to him had to think twice before altering a word.

Emperor Xurong noticed his hesitation but pretended not to.

the corners of his lips lifted slightly , he knew what was going on in that greedy old man's mind . and he was in no mood to entertain his thoughts so with a wave of his hand , he dismissed the court.

When the last court official was out of the room. the Emperor leaned on his dragon throne , eunuch mo got the signal to inform his majesty on pending matters ," Her highness had this one deliver a message to his majesty" .

The man on the throne paused in his movements. 'Her Majesty the empress?' he silently marvelled , fingers lightly taping on the arm rest as he opened the scroll being handed to him ,it was deep red. the sign of the phoenix .

that piqued his interest . why use such a formal way of communication.?

the scroll held nothing special though, only an invitation .

the use of the Empress's seal did get her message across even when her words didn't . She was seeking an audience with him, not as husband and wife ,no, but as the emperor and his ruling empress . The Emperor couldn't help but massage his forehead in a rare sign of wryness .

interesting.

standing from his throne, he addressed one of his most trusted aids , "the meeting with the court of residential affairs will have to wait , zhen will be in the west wing and wont tolerate any disruptions untill the audience with the Empress has concluded."

"As his Majesty commands", eunuch Mo expertly led the attendants to get the tasks done while the Emperor headed to the west wing with his guards following closely behind.

***

"Announcing the arrival of his Majesty the Emperor!"

The Empress greeted him with a graceful half curtsy which he returned with a half bow.

she didn't speak so he remained silent. studying her.

when the servants where done serving tea and snacks, she dismissed them with a look.

it was the famous 'phoenix glance'

he continued to watch her yet her expression gave away nothing. It rubbed him the wrong way , that she didn't bother to smile even if it was for formalities sake. Emperor Xurong couldn't possibly understand how they got to this point, yet he knew he had a big hand in it, so he kept his silence, she was the only one who cold treat him so unjustly without having him demand to be given her head on a plater .

just as he was lost in thought, his piercing green eyes met her seductive amber ones across the table. he hadn't noticed she was studying him too. she held his gaze for moment before calmly dropping it as she gently placed the cup of tea on the serving plate.

having had enough of her silence , he tilted his head to the side with the slight raise at the corner of his lips " is her Majesty having a pleasant day?" finally she brought her gaze back to his , " yes , a pleasant day indeed "

The Emperor seemed to pause for a moment, it was her voice. It was the same voice but why did it sound ....different?.

it took a few seconds for him to get back to the current conversation ,"oh?" was his only response

he wouldn't know what the lady found pleasing in that one word of his because a sweet smile suddenly adorned her beautiful features . but the words that came after were definitely not pleasant to the Emperor's ears.

"yes," she paused as her eyes held amusement with her usual determination before she altered softly , like she was talking about the weather " because i have decided to get my own lovers"

not pleasant at all. To the Emperor at least.

And to Llomera ? it mattered not what the man thought . it was time to remind Xurong and his Empire that she was the shadow general before being the mother of the nation. she was far from being a push over.

********

FIVE YEARS EARLIER

The night was cold. Llomera didn't mind though ,this whether provided peace to her ever chaotic mind. it was her ladies in waiting who had the conscious to be worried of the current predicament .

to understand this , however, we might have to go back to a few nights prior.

the household of the minster of rights, having both power and wealth , was considered to be one of the most prestigious in the empire . its members carried themselves with unmistakable pride. No one considered undeserving could earn an once of their attention.

so it came as a huge surprise when an unknown orphan was suddenly adapted into the family.

The girl , with luscious white hair in gentle curls and empty amber eyes took turns to settle her steady gaze on each of the family members present. her gaze did not carry any nervousness nor curiosity .

from the two middle aged men who were undoubtedly the masters of the place, to the official wives and good number of concubines , then lastly the young masters and young mistresses .

"came my dear"

the old master of the residence stretched out his hand to the girl . His face did not hold a gentle or comforting smile one would use to calm a girl in her situation.

but as Llomera got up from her offered seat and placed her hand on the bigger yet callused palm , she knew the warmth he gave her was genuine .

" this child's name is Llomera, from now on she'll be a young miss of this family and i expect that she'll be treated as such" on that ,the older man gave a pointed look to his audience . he knew his family had the tendency of thinking they were better than others simply because they were born with a silver spoon to there mouth .

" we understand and respect what father is saying , but , father has yet to tell us which branch Llomera is being adapted into" it was the second master who spoke what was probably running through everyone's mind. it wouldnt be wrong to say they valued nothing more than blood line.

the old master was silent for a moment , he had been expecting that question and had an answer prepared. what made him hesitate , however was the gaze of the little girl beside him. because the moment his eyes met her amber ones in inquiry , the words stuck in his throat and he froze.

her gaze, it was .....empty

that made the old master's chest tighten, like someone was squeezing his heart.

a deliberate cough brought the old patriarch back to reality, he gave the culprit, his oldest son , a look of disapproval before bringing his gaze back to the young girl having made up his mind. Yet before he could alter a word, a soothing voice beat him to it.

"Old master Xiao need not bear such a burden on his own ."