When The Mad Emperor Suddenly Becomes Sweet

“Oh no. This is bad. This is bad.” Freya unconsciously murmured to herself as she paced back and forth.

King Lucius was nothing but bad news.

“What is it? Oh no. What did you do now, Freya?”

For a split second Freya almost forgot that she was not alone. In front of her stood Archer, her nervousness must have rubbed off on him as his usually playful face was replaced with a grim expression.

“Hey! What do you mean now?” Freya glared at him. “And for your kind information, what I did was save the life of His Majesty King Lucius-”

Before Freya could finish her sentence Archer jumped up in excitement.

“Save His Majesty, King Lucius?! Freya, there is nothing nobler! I’m so proud of you!”

She wished she could share Archer’s excitement, but truth be told, the more she thought about it the more she wondered if she should’ve just turned the other away.

“Yeah, well now he has summoned me and I, well I look worse than I do at the orphanage.” she sighed as she looked down at her tattered clothes smeared with traces of mud and blood.

“Summoned you? Ooo.” Archer began, “He is probably going to reward you! Maybe he will give you gold!” He continued excitedly.

None of what Archer said helped loosen the knots that began forming in the pit of her stomach. In fact, his overly optimistic view on the whole situation was getting too much for Freya.

“Alright, I’ll be on my way then.” She muttered.

“Huh? You’re going already?” He looked her up and down. “Shouldn’t you tidy up first?”

“No, I’ll just go like this.”

“Oh okay. Yeah, that’s fine. It’s not like you are going to meet the Emperor, right?” He narrowed his eyes at her.  He was right of course, but in her current state of nerves, she was worried that if she didn’t go right away, she would chicken out later.

“Wouldn’t it be the right thing to do to go immediately when His Majesty calls?” she retorted.

“True. Don’t want to keep the King waiting now do we?” he laughed as if he said the most hilarious thing in the world.  “Should I come with?”

“No, I think it’s best if I go alone. It’s not too far so don’t worry.” Freya gave what she hoped was a reassuring smile before leaving.

King Lucius’ tent could be spotted from miles away. It was huge, the sides adorned with flags bearing the eagle crest; it indeed looked like a tent fit for a king.

She was filled with dread as Freya gets closer. Her legs felt like lead as she forced herself to trudge on. She really did not want to go.

While passing a puddle, she caught a glimpse of her reflection. A streak of mud was smeared against her cheek and her hair was stuck flat against the side of her head. The girl who was looking back at her looked dirty, tired, and a little scared. She hardly recognized herself.

If Roti saw me now, would he recognize me? She wondered sadly.

With some water from the puddle, she attempted to fix her hair the best she could but somehow ended up making it worse. After a couple more attempts, she gave up. “Ugh, who cares if I look good. It’s better to get this over with.” She grumbled as she stood up to leave.

When Freya arrived at the tent, she was greeted by two soldiers pointing their spears at her.

“State your business.” One of them spoke.

“I’m Freya, answering a call from His Majesty King Lucius.” She said with as much confidence as she could muster.

The two soldiers exchanged a glance and lowered their spears.

“Go in.”

As Freya hesitantly walked in, she was taken aback by just how grand the tent was. King Lucius’ tent was much bigger than any Freya had seen and was sectioned into different rooms using curtains.  King Lucius even has a bedroom, she thought rather begrudgingly.  Directly in front of her, placed in the center of the room, was a huge mahogany table with a huge map and various other parchments on it. The floor was carpeted with a luxurious-looking orange-colored rug. It was hard to believe that Freya was inside a tent.

As Freya tried to peek into the different rooms, a deep voice came from behind her, “Who are you?”

“My goodness!” Freya jumped in fright.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you.” He said with an apologetic smile.

Freya couldn’t quite process what was happening, as in front of her stood one of the most attractive men she had ever laid her eyes on. This stranger had long dark hair that reached his shoulders and eyes so red it contrasted starkly against his gentle face.

“I’m Herro. I serve King Lucius.”

The mention of King Lucius snapped her back to reality.

“I’m Freya.”

“And what business do you have with the King, Freya?” Herro asked, his gaze boring into her. “He’s away currently, I’m afraid.”

Freya unconsciously tugged at the bottom of her shirt as she began explaining what happened yesterday.

“My goodness! So, it was you. The brave person who saved His Majesty was you.” He smiled as they locked eyes.

Freya felt her nerves slowly melting away. Herro was being unexpectedly kind to her and made her feel comfortable. “It wasn’t me being brave.” She looked away as Herro’s gaze was too intense for her to match.

Herro’s gaze shifted from her face to her clothes. Freya became hyperaware of herself and briskly began rubbing the bloodstain on her clothes in a lame attempt to remove it.

“Sorry.” He looked away, “Being by King Lucius’ side- it’s become an unintentional habit to study people.” He scratched his head as he flashed an apologetic grin.

“It’s okay, really.” She returned a nervous smile.

“Freya, if you don’t mind me asking, how old are you?”

Freya was taken aback by the question. Why did Herro want to know her age?

“I’m of an age now.” She said under her breath, slightly embarrassed and caught off guard by the question.

“Oh, then I’m your big brother?” He grinned.

Herro, her big brother? The idea was ridiculous. It wasn’t like she was against having someone as kind as Herro be a bigger brother to him, but it was just that Herro and her were worlds apart. Herro belonged amongst the kings, the noblemen, and her? Well, she was just an orphan.

“But such honorifics are embarrassing so can you just call me Herro?” He smiled as if he sensed her uncertainty.

Freya nodded, “That sounds good.”