The enormous Imperial palace often had visitors from all parts of the empire. Counts, dukes, viscounts, barons, marquises, however most common are noble ladies who are yet to make a debut into the social world. Today was the day they all gathered here for the annual hearing of the High court. All the nobles came and they brought along their children, mostly daughters but also sons who were to succeed them. However, young ladies were at the lead by a drastic number.
When events like this happen, on rare occasions the Imperial palace is visited by quite rude individuals who have no respect for the Imperial family's personal space. Such as the Queen's palace, residence of Her Majesty The Holy Empress. Located on the east part of the property and almost completely separated from the main palace, connected only by an open hallway. Which was a home of Katherine de Romanet, her court ladies and her children.
This highly secured place surrounded by a beautiful garden made by the Holy Empress, was the most prohibited area on the whole estate. Guards on every entrance and every corner was enough of a sign that this place was highly secured from uninvited outsiders.
The staff and regular visitors of the Imperial palace know this rule so well that they often forget to mention it to newcomers. To them it is the same as not touching fire because it's hot.
Men and outside visitors are prohibited from stepping foot on the Queen's palace grounds without an invitation from the Holy Empress or a letter of approval for their visit.
Punishment for breaking this rule was not the harshest but rather simple.
If you break this rule, even by accident, from that moment on you are stripped of the privilege to visit the Imperial palace again. This punishment can only be avoided if the Holy Empress herself gives her pardon.
No one has ever received this punishment because, even if it sounds weak, it is an unavoidable downfall not just of the individual receiving it, but their whole family, so all visitors have been careful not to break this rule. It can cause business to fail, important partnerships to be lost, even a collapse of an entire individual's family.
The best assumption is that Lady Gabrielle von Favre wasn't made aware of this very important rule. If she was, she certainly wouldn't be stupid enough to break it. Lady Gabrielle's father was Marquis Favre, his influence was low in today's court but the Favre family has a long history in defending Arthein and their family name is still strong enough to have stable connections amongst the lower titles families.
Lady Gabrielle is the youngest amongst her five sisters and despite her age she is yet to marry. She rejects every marriage offer placed before by using love as an excuse. They say Lady Gabrielle is searching for her true love. How wonderful of a story it would be if it were true.
"Should I get close to his daughter Maria?" Lady Gabrielle asked the lady that she brought with her to the imperial palace. This was their first time visiting this wonder of architecture. Unfortunately, what interested these young ladies wasn't the spectacular architecture of three palaces or beautiful gardens. No, the peak of Lady Gabrielle interest was a man. Now with her age it is obvious to think that that man would be the prince or one of many knights and sons of noble man or even one of the scholars gathered here today, but no it was the Emperor himself that interested her.
Three years ago, at her coming of age ceremony that she shared with other noble ladies of her age, she had laid her eyes on the Emperor for the first time. The coming of age ceremony was shared by all the ladies from noble families of the age of eighteen and it was a very important event which even the Emperor and the Empress attended every year. This event was usually held in the Imperial palace. The Emperor would only usually come for a short time to show his respect for ladies fathers who work with him and then leave to continue with his duties.
He wasn't much of a looker, his hair is long, his eyes are always tired and his face is slim. He is tall and still young and strong, but he moves as the old age has already gotten to him. In reality his body is only a shell who hides the young man he is.
But how he looks isn't important, Lady Gabrielle didn't fall in love with his looks. What peaked her interest was an idea of becoming his concubine, one day even his wife.
There were many rumours following the Empress name at the time. She is sick, she is insane, she is banished, she is dead. No one outside the palace knew where the Empress was, which led to many rumours spread around, especially among younger ladies that only heard stories of the Empress's beauty and blindly followed the trends she apparently started. They wanted to meet her, celebrating the coming of age ceremony at the palace as their opportunity to see her for the first time.
It was obvious she would come with the Emperor to show respect to young ladies' families like her husband did, but when the time came she wasn't there. But in the year Lady Gabriella had her coming of age ceremony the Empress suddenly stopped coming to social events. That only helped the rumours to spread quicker and become more insane.
Those rumours lead Lady Gabrielle to two conclusions: Her Majesty is dead or Her Majesty is divorced.
Everyone knew that the Emperor was cheating on his wife and visiting brothels when visiting foreign countries. So even if she was alive and still married to the emperor, it was obvious he didn't like her or love her.
Lady Gabrielle saw this as a great opportunity, she was beautiful, she was from a good family, her manners were good and her body was the one man always turned their heads for. She had everything to offer but in the end she received nothing.
As the years went by she tried to approach him many times, every time she was at the same ball as His Majesty she tried to approach him, to dance with him, to talk to him, to just be in his sight. It was hard, especially because she wasn't the only lady with an idea of getting involved with the Emperor and the fact he genuinely ignored every woman that approached him wasn't helping.
She tried sending letters but never got a reply, she told her father to talk about her at any given opportunity but no results were ever shown.
Now after three years of trying she has decided to come to the palace and meet him in person, no matter the lengths she would have to go to in order to receive that opportunity. Today was her first day at the palace and also the day she would start her plan to meet the Emperor.
"Princess Neftali? I heard she has quite a temper." Maria, her maid and most beloved friend, said.
"It doesn't matter, she is right there." Lady Gabrielle pointed at the small garden rotunda where a young lady in a blue dress was walking in circles around a table while talking to someone. There were two guards standing at the bottom of the staircase, armed and always ready to attack. The Imperial guards were the finest of them all, they weren't just guards but well trained knights selected by the Emperor himself, especially the ones guarding the Queen's palace.
If somebody had informed her, Lady Gabrielle would know that the open hallway she was now standing in was the only part of the main palace connected to the Queen's palace and that the garden she was looking at was also part of the Queen's palace, no matter the fact it was the Empress personal garden.
Before Maria could answer, Lady Gabrielle was already heading towards the garden rotunda. She could only stay hidden in the shadows while her friend walked towards them. The young lady she saw before stopped the moment she saw her approaching, the guards stopped Lady Gabrielle the moment she came close to them.
"Your Highness." Lady Gabrielle said while looking at the young woman in a blue dress, she was dressed quite modestly for someone so young and her diamond jewellery and heeled shoes were something an average young woman of her age wouldn't usually wear. Her golden hair, styled highly with butterfly shaped jewellery in the colour of her dress completed her look perfectly. Despite being so young and dressed like that, the most odd thing was a calico cat in her arms that had a blue collar with a bell around its neck.
"Your Highness, I am Gabrielle von Favre." She once again got no response. The guards, the young woman who she taught was a princess, another even younger lady that was sitting at the table and even the calico cat looked at her tensely.
"Your Majesty," spoke one of the guards. "Should we proceed?"
Lady Gabrielle's world froze in a matter of seconds. Your Majesty, the guard called the woman in a blue dress.
"Mother, who is that?" The lady who was sitting at the table stood up.
Mother, it rang in Lady Gabrielle's ears. A cold sweat covered her.
The woman that she just so casually approached was the Empress.
Even if she was supposed to, Lady Gabrielle didn't lower her head or tried to correct her dreadful mistake in any way. No, in fact she couldn't take her gaze of the Empress's unbothered eyes. To Gabrielle this look was cold and unwelcoming, making her feel like a prey, a mouse that the calico cat in Empress's arms was about to catch.
"I do not know Neftali." The Empress finally answered. "Please proceed." She said to the guards and turned around, continuing her circular stroll around the table.
Lady Gabrielle von Favre was taken away by two red sleeved guards, the moment two of them left their positions another two, who looked like they appeared out of nowhere, took their places.
Oh.
Was the last though Lady Gabrielle von Favre had before completely understanding everything that had happened, right before the palace gate was closed in front of her eyes and she was left to stand alone with her luggage that wasn't even unpacked. While the events inside the palace, as well as the very ones in the garden she was just taken from, continued like she was never even there.
*
Princess Neftali de Romanet, youngest child of the Imperial family, currently age of fifteen, was always having tea with her mother in the afternoon. One tea pot and one plate of sweets, they kept it simple since they would spend more time talking then actually eating or drinking anything. Today however, was awfully quiet. The Princess always felt uncomfortable at the times of year when the High court took place, the presence of all the people in the palace overwhelmed her, even though she had an extroverted character. They were far more than just strangers, even the ones she knew, they were outsiders to her. People with whom she had nothing in common.
"Mother?" Neftali asked long after the strange woman that visited them left. "Was that Marquise von Favre's daughter?" The Empress sat down on her chair, today she was acting quite odd, the Princess noticed from the very moment she saw her mother. If this would happen on any other day Neftali believed that her mother would not act like this. The rule is there and her mother followed them strictly, but she was never cold like this, she didn't pay much attention to the woman who disrespected her, not to her name nor to her looks. Neftali understood her, however, if she was someone important that lady certainly wouldn't march on the Empress's property like that.
"I am not sure, but if you say so I believe it was." Calico cat purred in her lap, his name was Blueberry but they all called him Berry. He was fat, well fed with everything by everyone.
"I might be wrong mother." Neftali lowered her head to look at the tea cup in her hands. Mother always did that to her, always insisting that she is right, it made her shy. For a young girl in her early teenage years like Neftali, her mother's opinion was the most important thing. Whether she approves her looks or praises her knowledge, every little word mattered. Especially to Neftali de Romanet. The Princess was a spitting image of her mother, same golden hair, same rose heart shaped lips, same porcelain skin, her nose, her ears, her hands, her waist - everything is the same. Until you see two of them together you would not be able to tell they are a different person. But they were really different from each other, their interests clashed so much that this tea time they held every afternoon was the only activity they could do together.
Princess liked books, especially the ones about history but she wasn't weak in other subjects too, like geography, biology and politics. She also took a great interest in affairs of the Imperial family, all their relatives and ancestors as well as their relationship with nobles and commoners. Neftali knew family members of every family even slightly involved with her own. It is only natural she recognises Marquise's daughter only by name.
Her other interests include archery, horse riding and chess. Now, it is not that her mother dislikes those things, she was particularly good at all of them and she enjoys spending time with her daughter regardless of what they are doing. It is Neftali who doesn't like doing those things with mother. A mother that knows everything and refuses to teach her anything. If she asks the Empress a question related to history she would close her eyes for a second and turn her head around saying she doesn't remember the answer or when they would play chess the Empress would purposely let her daughter win every single time. With her she wasn't the Holy Maiden who taught the text of Holy books to anyone willing to listen and answer every question placed upon her. Neftali however was never much interested in religion.
One thing, the Empress wasn't that skilled with, was a bow and arrow or enjoyed horseback riding, she knew how to ride a horse, just didn't enjoy it. Anything that had to do with travel, even riding in the carriage, her mother did not particularly like. It didn't really matter since they never had enough time to do those things together.
In reality Neftali didn't truly know what her mother liked or disliked. She often sees her studying the Holy books or spreading time at the temple. Sometimes she does embroidery or walks around the garden with her most trusted gardener while discussing changes they could make or what kind of soil a certain plant needs in order to grow.
"No you are not, it is the Marquise daughter. Looks like he brought her along with him." Neftali assumed that much.
"Will everything be alright? He must be very angry with you mother."
"He knows the rule, as for the reaction we shall wait and see."
"What if he attacks you? Or speak against you in court today?"
"Neftali, my dear, no one can attack me or you out of nowhere. Even if they did, there wouldn't be a scratch on our bodies. As for the court, I expect more than one person to speak against me today." Berry decided it is time for his, who knows which lunch of today, and started meowing and pointing his paws on the tray with cookies on the table. Even though he was cute, neither one of them was fouled by his tricks anymore. So when he realised he was being ignored, he jumped out of her mothers lap and left.
"Are you saying what I think you are? There will be two proposals this year?" She jumped from her chair in excitement before her mother even answered.
Even Berry, who didn't truly leave but was hiding in a nearby bush still hoping to get sweets, was surprised when the Empress nodded her head. "Please don't ask further my dear, as I can not answer your questions. But do know this, this year's court summit will be bloody."
"Bloody? As in bad? Is something terrible going to happen?" The Empress nodded again.
"It will be the start of seven bad year's." Her mother believes that everything happened in the cycle of sevens. It was a pattern, seven good years and seven bad years. She and the High priest seemed to be the only ones that believed in such things. People weren't very keen on that idea, but because the two mortals closest to gods said it is true, they didn't have the courage to say anything against it.
Some probably believed, but many didn't, princess Neftali finds herself in the middle.
Maybe because she was young when the seven bad years stopped and the good one's started she couldn't build a solid opinion even with historical records that confirmed their theory to perhaps be true.
"Mother, what makes you think that? Is everything alright?" Neftali asked choosing her words carefully.
There was a certain glow in her mother's eyes whenever she lies. The same glow they had today. "The God told me."
You could hear how Berry ran away from the bush.
Truly, the words of a Holy maiden were ominous.