(Evening before the banquet, Empress's chambers)
Maria took a deep breath and stepped back, her hands went right for the cross around her neck. In front of her, like a work of art, a dress was being displayed by the Empress's maid Emily and Abigail. They were carefully unraveling its skirt, every layer of it must sit perfectly, every fold in the fabric must be in its place. The jewels on the dress should all face the same direction, it is a tedious job and the gown they were working on was too beautiful for them to do a bad job.
The gown was dark blue, a very deep kind of blue that is expensive to make, who knows how many rolls of fabric were used just to make one layer of the skirt. Every single layer had its own individual folds and draping, so even without an underskirt, the dress was extending at least two foot lengths from the silhouette, just like the Empress liked.
The body piece was tight, corset covered in the same kind of fabric as the skirt, the structure of it was so tiny that they couldn't tie it all the way on the doll. The neckline is straight, vulgar almost, off shoulder sleeves made the movement limited. The jewels were heaviest around the waist, sapphires, dropped down the skirt in the form of chains united by gold. The dress came with a neck piece, a tight choker made out of the dark blue material and had seven sapphires hanging from it.
It was a dress that will make you look, it was a call for lust.
Abigail was just about to put the neck piece on the display but Maria stopped her right away, "She won't wear that," Maria tapped herself on the chest, "Abigail please pick out the gloves, she won't wear it without gloves, choose a long pair."
"Do you think she will be able to wear it the whole night?" Abigail touched the fabric with her fingers, it made her smile, of course it did, it is the finest of them all.
Maria took a deep breath and straightened her own dress. "I don't know. Let's hope for the best."
Abigail smiled sadly and nodded her head, then went into the closet to find a pair of gloves suitable for the gown. They will be lucky if the Empress agrees to wear it, with or without gloves. It was cruel, a very cruel thing to do.
Emily approached her with a red box in her hands, "This also arrived, with a note." Maria then noticed the piece of paper stuck on the side.
"Leave that for the Empress, she will decide what to do with it."
"Yes, my lady."
A gift, Maria thought, that is the gift Abigail mentioned.
Abigail peaked out of the closet, "Should I also pick a cape?"
"Gloves are enough for now. We will be lucky if gloves don't cause a scene."
Maria couldn't look at it any more, the chances the three of them will be able to get her in that dress are small, the waist is that size on purpose, every stitch in the fabric is made on purpose. This dress would be suitable for a young woman on the marriage market, or a woman trying to seduce her lover. The maker of the dress knew that, in fact, the seamstress made her with exactly that in mind. Awakening of an old love.
She is foolish for that, but our delusions are a safe space we are not so eager to escape.
Maria took another deep breath and said a prayer in her head. It was bound to happen one day.
"Emily," Maria called the maid to come closer and then whispered to her, "have they left?"
"No, my lady, they are in the Green palace." She spoke even quieter, "He won't let them leave."
"Dear God," she got chills all over her back. No wonder they didn't know about the banquet. Maria glanced at the red box that Emily left on the table by the dress, Abigail was just arranging the glows next to it.
Can it really be what she thinks it is?
"Abigail."
"Yes?"
"Go find our mistress, we should start getting ready."
Abigail looked at the clock on the wall, they still had four hours before the event. She looked at Maria again, wanting to say something but choosing not to. Maria didn't have to say anything to Emily in order for the maid to go with her.
She waited five minutes, until she was sure no one was going to enter. Maria clenched her fists then slowly released them, trying to stop her hands from shaking as she approached the box. Firstly she pulled out the note and sat it aside, there was no need for her to read it, the golden clasp was brand new, it was hard to open at first. Maria peeked inside, then closed it, took a breath and opened it fully.
Of course, it was exactly what she thought it was.
*
(Evening before the banquet, the Emperor's office)
The Emperor was standing by the window and looking outside, Sullivan looked at his reflection in the glass like they were talking eye to eye.
"Mrs Euler has declined your invitation, Your Majesty."
The Emperor didn't even glance at him, he kept looking out the window, down at the gardens where nobles were mingling.
"Mrs Euler has also asked permission to leave the palace before the nightfall, Your Majesty."
The Emperor took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "First she asks to deliver her work to the palace, a gift, for the Empress. And now? She asks to leave before even seeing her creation come to life."
"You have made her come to the palace, Your Majesty, of course she wants to leave."
"That is not the point, she didn't need to come. She chose to, I gave her two choices, either come to the palace and deliver the gift in person or not. Simple as that."
"Are you sure she will wear it ,Your Majesty?"
"Oh she will." The Emperor turned around and this time looked at him, "I know my wife."
In all the years Sullivan has spent by his side, he was most certain that the Emperor didn't know his wife even a little bit. The Empress is easy to predict, at least she makes herself seem easy to predict. The stunt she pulled at the Court assembly was not predictable. In any manner, it amazed the Emperor so much that he had given up on his own proposal. Sullivan still doesn't know which god he should thank more, he should perhaps give offerings to the gods of all religions. He used all his luck that day, definitely.
If he had made the mistake of calling the Emperor to say his proposal first, who knows where they would be now, not in this office that is certain.
''I believe we should let them leave, Your Majesty." Yet, the Emperor giving up on his proposal cost Sullivan a lot, the sanity of his beloved friend was one of them. Evan had gone insane that very same night, and he hadn't calmed down since. And he is enjoying himself so much that even their five year plan got cut into a six month plan.
"Am I holding them captive?" Evan shook his head, "No, they are not prisoners. Two women should not travel at night, they should rest and depart in the morning."
Perhaps it would be better if they were.
"Empress, Your wife, will find them by the morning, Evan, let them leave, I advise you to do so."
"What can she do? Even if she finds them? What can she do to a woman who came to give her a gift? She does not know a single thing about her. To the Empress, Miss and Mrs Euler are just two seamstresses. It is as simple as that." The Emperor approached Sullivan and placed a hand on his shoulder, holding him tight. "Do not worry so much about me, you will see, next year, at this time, we will be so different."
Before Sullivan could answer, there was a knock on the door.
They could see a tall shadow in the light that shone from the hallway, the Emperor stepped away and sat at his desk. "I knew she would come. Don't let her in."
Sullivan hesitated for a moment, he just stood staring at the shadow on the floor. There was no other knock after the first one. It was a knock that only the Empress did in a certain ritam that Sullivan still hasn't figured out what it was. Three times, she always knocks three times, exactly the same, and it always sounds like a stick or an object tapping the door instead of a hand.
Sullivan opened the door enough to display himself in front of her without revealing the room behind him.
"Good evening Your Majesty." He said to her and bowed. She was standing in front of the door with a tall guard behind her.
She spent a moment looking at him, then closed her eyes and said, "I see. Goodbye Sullivan."
With that she turned around and left. Sullivan closed the door, a little shocked.
The Emperor spoke from his desk. "I told you so."
*
They were walking towards the Queen's garden, since Sir Leo was leading the way they were practically taking the longest route possible. Neftali was dragging her feet on the floor, complaining the whole way.
"Does she think I am just some stupid child? I am a year younger than my brother! A year! And he is the crown prince! How can I then be just a stupid child?"
"Lady Diana does not think you are a stupid child."
Neftali ran in front of him and started walking backwards, "Oh really? It sounded like she thinks I am not only stupid but also dumb."
"You know very well that is not how she thinks of you. For example, I also don't know what is going on."
Neftali sighed and grabbed her head, and she continued walking normally. "You have missed a lot, just like my brother."
Sir Leo was walking with his hands behind his back, like an old man, the sword hanging on his hip moving in the sink with his leg. The blade is being controlled by him even when he is not using it. Neftali was pretty sure he sleeps with it. "It is not easy to keep with the palace business when you do not live in it. I am amazed that you know so much, given that you also haven't lived in a palace for the last few years, even now you are not staying here. Besides, your mother stopped replying to my letter years ago. I have not heard a word from the inside for a while now."
"I don't know anything, didn't you notice? I am just a stupid child." Neftali frowned at her own words. "I also don't hear a lot from the palace when I am at the academy. My mother writes to me, but she never tells me the stuff I want to know. Lady Abigail gives me a fresh round of gossip, but those letters are dangerous to send by mail. So in reality, I know as much as you."
It was true, even the daughter of the Imperial couple didn't know much about events in the palace while she was away in the academy, all the letters sent out of the palace by the rulers are supervised, of course there is a way for them not to be, but Neftali knows her mother, that woman won't break the rules no matter what it costed her. Abigail manages to send her secret letters sometimes, she would sneak them in dresses or new garments that the Empress would pick for her every season. The day Neftali received most news about the palace was when she requested a series of books to be sent to her, it was a series of romance novels, so when Abigail was packing the books she sneaked a lot of letters in between the pages. Many things happen in the palace in a short time, when so many people live at the same place it is only natural their lives get twisted in ways that are only natural for such a community.
That month Neftali found out about every single relationship at the palace, including who was getting married and having children. As well as some very messy breakups.
"No, no, you know what that was about, I still have no clue." No matter how much he tried to hide it, Neftali knew Sir Leo was living for gossip.
Neftali sighs, "I thought father hadn't invited mother to today's banquet. That is why I made a scene."
They had reached the entrance to the Queen's palace, and since the incident from that morning Sir Leo stopped before his shadow could even cross that invisible border.
"Well I am glad that isn't the case. I can't go further with you princess." Sir Leo bowed, "I will see you and your mother tonight."
"Thank you for walking with me." Neftali gave him a small curtsy, even if she wasn't supposed to. Her respect for Sir Leo didn't allow her not to greet him properly. At this point he was a part of the family.
"Of course Your Highness, any time."
He waited until she could no longer see him to go away. Neftali could only wonder where that could be. That man only trains, and when he doesn't train, Neftali's best guess was that he just roams around the palace like a ghost looking for company.
In order to enter the Queen's garden you must first enter the Queen's palace, there was only a small point where you could possibly enter from the Imperial gardens, but it was complicated to get to and also hardly looked like a parth at all. That is probably how Iyan and Sir Leo got into the Queen's garden that morning. That place doesn't look like a border to something forbidden, because the bushes that are meant to separate the two got infested and needed to be cut down in order not to lose the entire garden a few years ago and the new ones haven't grown to their fullest potential yet.
A guard in the front door opened it for her, "There is a messenger waiting for you in the main drawing room, Your Highness." He said.
Neftali looked at him puzzled. "Thank you."
Truly in the main drawing room there was a servant with a massage to pass to her, by the way he was dressed Neftali could tell he was coming from the Green palace. The note was written on a small cheap piece of paper, it read a simple sentence.
"Meet me at the greenhouse."