The Tyrant's Last Doll

Suddenly, I wanted to do anything but enter that room. Something about the entire situation had made me uneasy. I just wanted to run. However, as I looked for an avenue of escape, the maid came back out and told me to enter.

Raven stood just inside the door. He looked very tired. He had been dealing with all the chaos that shook the entire empire in the last few weeks. He noticed Lina, who was standing in the doorway just behind me.

“Miss Foid, please bring us some fresh tea. It appears that this will be a long talk,” Raven asked her.

“Yes, sir. Right away.” Lina scampered off to the kitchen. I wasn’t sure why he had given the order to Lina, instead of the servant who was assigned to this meeting. Lina was, however, also a servant completely capable of preparing and serving tea.

“Come in,” Raven said, bowing to me. This seemed to be the expected courtesy now that my name had been restored. It made me uncomfortable, but it was something I would need to get used to.

As I stepped into the room, I noticed there were more people within then I had expected. Ridrian, Ravis, Ivan, along with Raven who had greeted her, stood against the walls. It seemed that it was a gathering of most of the important people in the empire, here in the same room. They all stared at me as I walked in. I acted with proper etiquette and greeted the emperor first, who was of the highest rank.

“I salute you, first light of the Great Ivant.”

Ridrian came to me, pushing Raven out of the way. “Who called you here? Shouldn’t you be resting?”

“I was told that you needed me.”

Ridrian looked flustered at my answer, as a blush rose in his ears. “I have everything under control. You didn’t have to come.”

Ravis spoke up.  “I called her. It didn’t seem right to decide on how to treat her, without her being here.”

Ridrian glared at him and sighed. He took me to the sofa and sat me down. Everyone in the room surrounded me, looking down on my small frame. I felt trapped and slightly claustrophobic. Ravis and Raven had their usual kind faces on, but Minister Ivan scowled as if he didn’t know what to do with me. I had officially become a noble over night and he probably did not know how to act around me. He handed me a sheet of paper he had been holding. Across the top it read: Official Court Document. It had something to do with the trial.

“Lady Lesprey, as you can see, the treason accusations have been resolved. You’ll officially be granted the title of Viscount without any difficulty.” The minister took back the document which expressed the very thing he had just informed me of.

“Have you heard the current, frustrating rumour that is making its rounds through the people?” the minister asked me.

“No. What rumour?”

Raven spoke up with the explanation. “The people are believing that you are the emperor’s lover. They say that he fabricated all of these stories about your family, so that he could raise you to nobility and make you his wife. There are even some of the people claiming that you used witchcraft to seduce him to your will. The most shocking rumour is that there is already a child between you and the emperor. All of these stories are reaching the ears of the nobles and have become the main topic of conversation between them.”

My jaw dropped open in complete shock. “This is ridiculous! Everyone knows the reason why I entered the palace. A child? Really? The emperor and I was never in that kind of relationship. We were just innocent…”

I bit my tongue and stopped myself before uttering the words ‘sleeping mates’. Telling the truth would simply be digging my own grave. No matter how I phrased it, people would misunderstand. The whole situation was absurd. They slept in the same bed. That was all. As if someone could conceive a child, simply by holding hands!

Ravis put a hand on my shoulder to calm me down. “We know. That’s why this situation is such a headache.”

Minister Ivan pressed on his temples, as if his next words were about to cause him pain “This is why we are asking the emperor to send you out of the palace.”

“What?” I knew this was inevitable, I just didn’t think that it would be so soon. But it made sense. Now that the trial was done, there was no reason for me to stay in the palace. A single noble lady, who just regained her status, secretly staying in the emperor’s palace? This is something that would be talked about amongst everyone in the empire, possible even beyond the borders of the empire. The stories they would make up would tower over the current ones by comparison.

“The longer you stay here, the worse it will be for you,” the minister continued.

The emperor wouldn’t be affected by any rumours. He could punish those responsible if he chose to. But I, with no power or authority, didn’t have that luxury. My name had been barely restored. There would be no way for me to live normally, with such rumours hanging over my head. Something really bad could come of them. I was juicy prey. I already felt like I stood in the eye of a storm, but instead of the storm passing on, it just kept becoming bigger.

“Your exit would be better done earlier, rather than later,” Raven explained.

My face darkened and I didn’t say anything. Ridrian quietly held my hand. As I looked up, he looked back at me with nervous eyes. I could tell that he was definitely against sending me away from the palace. That would explain all of the shouting that had been heard.

I was finally able to understand the situation. If I left, it would be beneficial in many ways. My life would be less threatened if I stayed far away from the emperor. I would be able to keep the honour of my new-found family name. Also, if I was out of the picture, he might get together with Eris like he was supposed to. And I would finally have my freedom. Everything would be perfect. However…

Ridrian’s hands were shaking. As my silence became longer, he clenched my hand harder. But he didn’t say anything. He was going to respect my decision. My mind had become clear. I looked up at the faces that surrounded me and opened my mouth to give them my answer.