Whispers of a Dead Empire

Yayyyy! Chapter 100!  It's my birthday, so to celebrate here is the chapter 100 special!!!

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"Come on, Nyx, you have to wake up for school!." I prodded my sleeping daughter and glanced at my clock. It was going on at seven in the morning, and I wanted her to get up so she could go learn with Kharon today. I felt a little bad for waking her up so early, but I wanted her become a well-adjusted member of society, and by society, I mean Asteria.

"But mother, five more minutes." She murmured as she nestled further into the blankets.

"No, I want you to wake up now. Kharon will be preparing for the class, and I don't want you to make him wait. Get up now." I stood over her and crossed my arms. I was trying to decide how far I should go to wake her up. If anything, I would yank the blanket off of her if she refused to listen, or I could be like my dad and flip the bed. But that seems kind of mean, so I would wait and use that as a last resort.

She groaned as she sat up and wiped away her bleary eyes. "I don't want to go."

"Well, you need to. He can teach you things that I can't. Besides, it will do you well to learn how to use magic and protect yourself." I leaned against the door frame, crossed my arms, and regarded my daughter, who was still trying to wake up. She was such a heavy sleeper at times. It was like she was dead to the world.

"But mom, I wanna stay home." She set her arms down on the fluffy black blanket I made for her and gazed up at me with a pair of puppy dog eyes.

"No, not allowed. Get up." I snapped my fingers as I tried to hurry her along, and I walked across her room towards one of the small wardrobes on the corner. I quickly rummaged through it, bringing out some clothes I had made for her. The dress she wore first was pretty, but I wanted her to wear something else for once.

I found some clothing to work out for her: a pair of black leggings and a tank top, matched with a thin black jacket. I quickly folded them and put them into her backpack and then sorted through the clothes once more and found her a short black dress that I knew she would like. The fabric was soft under my fingertips and felt much like silk.

I envied the girl for having such nice clothing, but it didn't bother me. I wasn't a fan of wearing overly extravagant clothing. But I wasn't about to berate her about it. She seemed to enjoy it, which was all that mattered to me. I gathered all her underwear that she would need and the rest of the dress.

I heard the soft sound of feet hitting stone, and I spun around with her clothing in hand. "Here you go. Get dressed." I pushed the clothing into her hands before she could even reply. I was excited for her. Yet, it felt like she was growing up so fast.

With that done, I decided I would give her some privacy and left. I glided down the hall, humming to myself as I left her room and walked to my office. Today was going to be a good day. I was going to see her off to her classes, and then I would spend the day relaxing. Though I had no idea what I wanted to do yet. I had a bottle of wine I could crack into. So maybe while I had time, I could get a buzz going. I just didn't want to do it with Nyx here. Something about being drinking around her really bothered me, and I didn't want to be that sort of parent.

I waltzed into my office, sat down in my chair, and closed a few of the notebooks I had laid open, though I made sure that the pages were marked. I was only going to be gone for a day or two, but I didn't want to risk losing anything that I was working on. Without a second thought, I fell back into my chair and stared at the ceiling as I tried to clear my mind until I heard Nyx walk in.

"Mother, how do I look?" She walked into my office wearing the dress I picked out for her. It was a silken black outfit that went down to her knees. I made entirely the hem of her lace dress that rose three centimeters before it meshed back with the rest of the fabric. A few buttons covered by a thin patch of fabric were down the center of the dress. The sleeves extended to her wrists and flared outwards like freshly bloomed rose petals. She wore her hair in loose waves that stretched down and brushed against the textured collar of her dress.

"Beautiful." A grin crept across my face once more as I stared at her.

Which elicited a giggle as she spun around. Her dress caught the air and seemed to hover as it tried to catch up to her. "Well, of course. I am a princess, after all."

"Don't let that go to your head." I forced my grin to become a slight smirk as I stood up and walked over to her. "Do you have your bag? Your notebooks and pens? Work out clothing?" The words poured out of my mouth as I tried to think of everything she would need for school, as my motherly instinct kicked into overdrive.

"Yes, mother. I have everything." She huffed at me as I came over to her and smoothed out some wrinkles in her dress, which quickly caused her to struggle. "Mother, stop!" She tried to pull away from me as I quickly fixed everything I saw.

"Sorry, just making sure you look as pretty as possible." I pulled away from her and looked her over one last time. "Are you ready?"

"Of course." She reached down, picked up her backpack, and threw it onto her shoulders in one graceful movement.

I flicked open my map and quickly found Kharon at the stronghold. Ordinarily, I would never let Nyx go there alone, but considering that the place was packed full with my guard, and not to mention Kharon, I could rest easy. Everyone knows not to touch the stronghold, for now at least. I placed my hand on her shoulder and teleported away.

The stronghold was as busy as usual. The walls were being expanded outwards and upwards, and everyone was busy training at least the new legion was. A part of me was sad seeing how far away this place was from my original dream, but the other part of me didn't mind it. It filled me with a sense of comfort and a sense of familiarity.

I grabbed Nyx's hand as I walked across the courtyard. The various soldiers here saw me, stopped what they were doing, and saluted in my direction, which I returned with a curt nod. Nyx, on the other hand, seemed to bask in the attention.

I walked up the steps that led into the main building. The zombie on the right saw me and quickly pushed the door open for me. I thanked the zombie as I pushed Nyx into the main hall. There were soldiers from both legions all around us that were mingling with one another, though if they were talking, I had no clue. I still couldn't understand most of what they said.

Nyx skipped along happily as we pushed further into the main building, which was being expanded upon. Considering the sheer amount of undead here, construction was getting hammered out at a staggering rate. I just had to monitor resources since they burned through them like paper.

I flicked open the map once more to see where Kharon was and saw that he was in what used to be the war room. We converted it into a classroom so we could start teaching undead magic and other various things that would be important. While the war room would be transferred to a temporary spot, at least until Octavian retook the town.

I reached the double doors that marked the classroom and pushed them open, marching into the room with Nyx in hand. Kharon stood behind a large podium with a large blackboard behind him. Arrayed in front of him were dozens of desks and a few undead. I could already pick out a few of my honor guards and a couple of undead from both legions. I'm glad to see them taking matters into their own hands.

"Ah, Mistress, it's good to see you." Kharon stepped away from the podium and walked over to Nyx and I.

"Greetings Kharon. I'm only here to make sure Nyx got here safely on her first day." I let go of her hand, and she quickly rushed over to one of the desks, sat down, and quickly rifled through her bag.

"I will take good care of her mistress. Worry not." The skeleton had his hood down, revealing his bleached white bones, and his eyes were as vibrant as ever.

"I trust you. Would you mind keeping her for most of the day?" My gaze lingered on my daughter for a moment before I tore it away.

"Of course. Now that I have a fleet of undead who manage the entrance, I have nothing but time. Just let me know when you are ready for her back."

"Thank you so much, Kharon. Just let me know if she acts up." The myriad of thoughts that swirled around my head made me feel sad she was going to go to school now. It felt like she was growing up, yet she has only been mine for such a short time.

"I will do that, mistress. Enjoy your day off." He clacked his teeth together as he walked back towards the podium.

"Thank you, Kharon." I glanced across the room and spared my daughter one last glance before teleported back to my office, eager to start my day off.

It was lonely here without Nyx pestering me. Not to mention that Alessia was busy training the guard. I pulled open one drawer on my desk and went through it to grab the wine bottle I had tucked away. Now that Nyx wasn't here, I could enjoy it. I set the bottle on the desk and looked it over. The light pushed through the blood-red liquid, casting a sanguine light on my desk. I ran my fingers across the cool glass as I tried to decide if I wanted to grab a cup or not. It wouldn't be the first time I've thrown back a bottle of wine without it.

After much deliberation, I decided I would go without one. I grabbed the small knife on my desk and quickly chipped away the hard wax seal. When I first saw this, I was shocked. I've always seen wine bottles with a cork. But rarely with wax. But I quickly adapted and learned how to carefully remove the wax without crumbling it and letting it fall into the bottle.

Once the wax was removed and the lip of the bottle cleaned off, I brought it to my lips and sipped it. I know that the aroma of the wine was vital to the taste, but honestly, at this moment, I couldn't bring myself to care. It's been so long since I've had something like this.

The liquid rushed into my mouth and quickly met my tongue. The liquid was thick, and at first, it teased me with a soft buttery taste that attacked the center of my tongue. But quickly, the taste shifted into something sweet that melted into a faint smokey taste as I swallowed. I pulled the bottle away from my lips and gazed at the bottle of wine as a ball of warmth traveled down my throat. Oh, this was dangerous.

I gulped down another mouthful of the delicious liquid, and a hiccup left my mouth shortly after. My world swam slightly as I set the bottle down. Warmth coursed through my body with each pulse of my heart, and my entire body buzzed slightly. I giggled for no real reason as I rested my head against the cool wood of my desk. Ah yes, it's been so long since I've been like this.

"Empress, are you alright?" Alessia's voice tore through my drunken stupor, and I sat up.

A lazy grin grew across my face as I stared at her. "Alessia!!" The words tore through my mouth as I hastily stood up, almost knocking my chair back as I rushed over to her. I threw my arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug. Tentatively, a set of hands rested against my back as I nestled into her chest. Usually, I wouldn't do something like this, but I'm a needy when drunk.

"What's going on with you?" Alessia asked as I pushed away from her and grabbed her hand.

"I've had a bit to drink, so I'm just vibing now." I pulled her over to my desk, the alcohol driving my actions, though I'm sure it's just as much as me as it was what I had to drink. Maybe it wasn't. Who knows? I sat down on the chair since standing seemed to be too much of a hassle at the moment. I quickly wrapped my arms around Alessia's waist, rested my head against her stomach, and closed my eyes.

I felt a hand rest against my head for a split second before fingers ran through my hair. The warmth in my chest grew a little more as I hugged her tighter, but the coolness that radiated from her stood in stark contrast to the warmth that pulsed within me. Which only caused me to bury myself further into her. But that only caused the heat to grow in intensity.

"You are as bad as Nyx." In my drunken stupor, her voice seemed to roll teasingly, causing me to chuckle, but I lost my retort just as fast as it came.

"Alessia, you are so pretty." I craned my head upwards to stare at her. Her white and silver hair looked more and more corporeal with each passing day. Her golden eyes were soft now and gazed at me with such adoration it made my stomach jump.

A smile flickered across her face as she rested her hands against my cheeks. A quiet giggle escaped from my lips as I rested my hands against hers. "I'm glad you think so, Empress."

I frowned slightly as I judged her words. "You can call me Calixa, you know. You don't always have to be so formal with me."

She shook her head and shifted her right hand down under my chin, tilting my head up slightly towards her. "I would never. You will always be Empress to me." She gazed at me and looked as if she wanted to say something more, but she stopped.

I felt my heart jump slightly before it settled, and I quickly tore my gaze away from her, slightly frightened by what I was feeling. "Come on pleeeaassee." I drew my words out as I pouted. I could make her if I wanted to, but that wouldn't be right, I wanted it to be of her own choice. But for some reason, I really just wanted her to say my name.

"No. I will only call you Empress." I heard her chuckle for the first time, and it sounded like the most beautiful thing I've ever heard.

"Fineee." I shrugged, wrapped my arms around her waist, and nestled my head into her stomach. A nagging sense of disappointment ate away at the euphoria that flooded my veins, and honestly, I didn't know why.

I guess the energy that radiated from me changed because Alessia shifted and put her hand under my chin, and tilted my face up. "I will only call you Calixa this one time." As my name left her lips, the heat quickly swam to my cheeks.

"I, uh.." I stammered for just a second as my mind short-circuited before I decided to just shut my mouth.

"Oh, what's this? At a loss for words, are we?" She wiggled her eyebrows at me, and I turned my head away. I was thoroughly on the defensive now, and I didn't know what to do.

"Alessia, wanna play some games with me?" I pushed away from her as I tried to force away the feeling in my chest. I stood up and staggered over to another part of my office like a drunken sailor, in an attempt to escape from the situation that I was now in. Really, there was no one to blame here but myself.