The Emperor and The

Chapter 3

The night air was warm, Khadija's dark, curled hair blew against her cheeks as she glanced at the obscured man. He had a white and gold suit, glimmering in the moonlight. Her cheeks had a deep, flushed chestnut color. She gave the man a small smile

"And who might that be?" The man's voice is deep, rattling--if it wasn't for his teasing tone, she'd be a little frightened

'The Emperor--I admire him, quite a bit.'

"You admire the emperor? The blood-thirsty tyrant of the empire--what is it that you admire about him?

The girl frowns.

'Don't call him that. And you, there's a lot. I admire his strength the most. Unlike, me, a woman in a man's country. I'm a girl, one that can't speak at that. I don't have that much power. My mother and sister look after me...but they are women too. We can't do much. You know, His Majesty's mother came from the same country as mine...before it burned to the ground. He provides assistance to those who escaped the c*****e, those of Eshidabian blood. He keeps Eshidabia's memory alive. It's a beautiful thing.'

She pauses, and the man seemed to have been rendered silent as well. After a while, she begins to buff her chest to continue.

'Also, his looks! Everyone admires beauty and I'm not different.' Khadija waves her hands with excitement.

'Ah...imagine waking up to such a capable man every day? A girl like me can only dream of it.'

She sighs with a smile on her face. Even if Cosette and Kieran didn't meet tonight, they will, eventually. And she'll become the empress.

She'd just have to leave before then.

"You seem like a fairly nice young lady. I'm sure you have lots of suitors."

She smiles and chuckles with sounds like a city center mime, her hand over her mouth. Her hands danced in a haughty fashion, shaking her head with childish fancy. Her face was soft and smooth under the moon's luminance.

'Haven't you heard? No one would want someone like me, even my sister who's beautiful is only suited to be a mistress to these nobles.'

He chuckles, his voice

"They are getting a bit ahead of themselves. Perhaps I should do something about that, Miss Taylor."

Khadija frowns.

Things just became more serious.

'Say, Sir, who are you? How do you know my name?'

"I am the Emperor, I at least know the names of the nobles in my empire."

Slowly, the figure emerges from the shadows. It's a man, as Khadija suspected but not who she expected. He's tall, almost towering walks towards her with an amused expression on his face. His skin, a golden-wheat color, something he acquired from his late mother. His hair was smoothened back with some sort of pomade, but Khadija could tell that as the night wore, a bit of his hair fell on his forehead.

He was as handsome and overbearing as she'd always imagined.

Her heart pounded.

She begins to bow, but he stops her mid-curtsy. On the balcony, it was only the two of them. The Emperor holds a gaze that's surprisingly gentle. If she shouldn't read the accounts of his c*****e on the battlefield or familicide, she wouldn't believe it.

"You're quite different from other nobles, aren't you?"

She stares into the blue eyes she'd always read, described but never seen. They were so striking, their gaze held her in her place without a word. That was it, the gaze of a man who's slain thousands of people on the battlefield, and in his throne room. She

Adverting her gaze, Khadija quickly signs her next question.

'And why is that, Your Majesty?'

He's forward, very much so, and grabs her waist, pulling her towards him. She was short in stature and stood at his chest.

Although she didn't hate it, it was a bit sudden.

"Address me as Kieran, Miss Taylor. And to answer your inquiry, you're the only woman who seems genuinely interested in me...moreover, you're not scared of me.

'...should I be?' Her big eyes stared back at him, almost defiantly.

"It's only expected, you're in the presence of a tyrant. Although it's not said to my face, I have eyes and ears everywhere.''

The Emperor--Kieran, chuckles using his large palm to move hair from her dusted cheeks.

"And you defended me. I don't know if I should be gracious or call you a fool."

Khadija struggles a bit to release her arms from Kieran's arms, looking up at him with her hands facing his bemused face.

'Why not both?'

"Truthfully, it is."

There's an extended pause, and that is eventually broken when Kieran bends himself to kiss her cheek. His lips were soft plush, his smooth-shaven felt cool against her cheek.

The Male Lead just kissed her cheek, like that.

Khadija jumps back, wide-eye clutching that very spot.

"Your face is as flushed as a desert rose. Don't tell me that was your first kiss?"

She pouts.

'It's...it's not on the lips, therefore it does not count.'