"Bella," he whispered to the canvas image, his voice cracking with emotion. "My little dragonfly... I miss you so much."
The candlelight flickered across his gaunt features as he continued speaking to the portrait as if it could hear him. "You should see my daughter. Tirzah has your eyes... your smile..."
He broke down into sobs, burying his face against the painted shoulders of his lost love. Servants outside heard the heart-wrenching sounds and exchanged worried glances.
Meanwhile in her own chambers, Cheng changed into a silk nightgown and dismissed her attendants for the evening. Sipping her wine by the window overlooking the moonlit gardens below, she mused on how easily she had taken control of this empire.
"Soon enough," she murmured aloud to herself, "everyone will forget that slut's name. They'll only remember Empress Cheng - mother to the heir and savior of Japan."She poured her self another round of wine and smiled.
She goes back to the window smiling to her self in pride. Taking another gulp of wine, she starts to choke. She uses the window slap as support as she turned pale. After some moments of throttling and hitting her chest , she spits out something. She takes some time to get her self, then she sees what she choked on on the floor boards. It was round.
She cautiously walks towards it. Reaching out she picks it up. She almost let out a scream when she saw that it was a white pearl that looked stained with dry blood. She hears faint cackles from around the room. She couldn't see anyone. She turns blueish in fear.
The pearl rolled across the polished floorboards, leaving a faint crimson smear behind it. Cheng stumbled backward, her silk nightgown clinging to her sweaty skin as she pressed herself against the window frame for support. Her breathing came in short, panicked gasps.
"Who's there?" she demanded, her voice cracking with fear. "Show yourself immediately!"
The cackling continued, echoing from all corners of her spacious chambers as if multiple voices were whispering around her. Shadows seemed to shift in the candlelight, but no figures materialized.
Her hand trembled as she reached for the nearest decorative knife on her dresser, clutching it defensively. "I am the Empress of Japan! You cannot hide from me!"
The laughter grew louder, more mocking. It sounded like Bella's voice mixed with others she couldn't quite place. "Such a brave Empress," one voice purred. "So confident when you're alone."
The laughter intensified, swirling around her like phantom winds. Cheng spun in a desperate circle, her silk gown fanning out as she searched every corner of the lavish chamber. Candelabras cast dancing shadows that seemed to twist into mocking faces.
"Stop this!" she screamed, brandishing the knife toward an empty alcove. "Whatever trickery is this, end it now!"
The voices grew clearer now, overlapping one another in eerie harmony. "Poor Empress," one voice cooed, recognizable as Bella's sweet tones. "All alone with your fears."
Another joined in, higher-pitched and taunting. "Afraid of ghosts? How fitting for someone who murdered one."
Cheng pressed herself against a marble pillar, her knuckles white where she gripped the cold stone. Sweat beaded on her forehead despite the cool night air flowing through the open windows.
"You think you've won everything,"
She starts to shout in panic "Go, go away!"