Mielle had opened up to me through the secret passage. Her movements were less stiff and as she entered through a pillar into a room, her jumpy little steps towards a man I had only seen from below balconies and in my dreams.

  “You may enter.” There he was my brother, the one I had given my all to protect. A perfect image of a ruler, dressed to the nines for the event sat in an arm-chair holding papers. A man who I recognized as his advisor, bowed to us and left without saying a word.

  Before him two glass boxes with tiaras rested on a table.

  “Your Majesty Steefan Bellaux. I present before you one of your kin, your younger sister Princess Adelaide Belleaux.” Her bow was flawless, from the tip of her fingers to the way the fabric on her dress fell.

  “I present myself to you as your one and only sister. Daughter of the late emperor and empress. As you know I have lived as Adelaide Tinnatus.” I followed her bow, but certainly not as polished.

  “You both may rise. Firstly I’d take, you have been introduced to my Fiancée, your future queen. Mielle Cartwright.” His gaze was not as affectionate as the one the lady directed towards him, but there was softness there. Then as he turned to look at me, it changed to something else, unknown to me “Dear sister, you are a princess by birth, but our mother arranged to hide you so no harm would befall you. Are you aware that royal life is not quite as carefree as you have lived until now?”

  “I have been educated by the people you and mother have kindly sent. I am well aware… As you know I was born sickly, my life would have been a burden and a weakness.” Confidently each word I had rehearsed came out of my mouth.

  “Sister, are you aware, mother knew when your sickness worsened? She knew you had deadly fevers. Also she was well aware you were fatigued in a way no child should ever be. It is a funny trick, I grew beside her my whole life but she was never worried or warm. She felt far away, perhaps her mind wandered to Tinnatus manor.” My smile fell, this was not at all how I expected this conversation to go.

  “Umm… I deeply sorry for -”

  “So I grew, in a way, stronger and more privileged than any child. And one day I received two pieces of news at once. I was barely thirteen at the time. One was the Mother of this empire, or yours to be precise, had been found deceased in her room. Do you know what the other was?”

  “Everyone at the time heard of the news. I was aware at the time, and mourned her in my own way. But I do not recall any other major event.” His fingers tapped against the velour of his chair, leaving traces of his impatience.

  “You were able to attend the funeral, and from then on you were healthy. In her room strange powdered remains were found and your previous handmaiden ran away. Still I thought to myself, she is family I should not harm her. How could she know mother would reach for such methods?” The Emperor smiled at last.

  “Why would she do that for me? I thought she banished me for your sake… And I tried my best to earn a place beside you.”

  He resumed with no regard for my input “Many told me to get rid of you if I knew where you were or to marry you off to some kingdom far from here. However, I let you be, in honour of the queen’s memory. Oh, and how much she must have loved you. You were hers, and I was the future emperor. A harmless, last family connection, hidden, never to be recovered. That is who you are to me.” His face, stuck in maintaining a placid motion.

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  “I lament the interruption, but are you not being harsh to the lady, Emperor?” Her voice trembled as she spoke.

  “Maybe so. But my sister started this fight when she decided to seduce the Young Lord of the Dukedom. At such an age, I wonder who taught to do so.” He snickered. “How did you know to interfere in my plans in such a way?” The papers he had been holding flew, as the floor pans for the Clementine’s mansion rested on the tiles.

  “I-I was trying to aid you. At the time I only knew they were a powerful family. In the end it worked out, did it not?” I pleaded.

  “It seems you have not been properly educated by that maid of yours. One thing is a political connection, with certainties and conditions. That is not what you brought me. You and the Young Duke speak of love. The darndest thing on the entire planet. Difficult to grow, and painful to harvest.”

  He got up approaching the glass boxes.

  “So as I already presented to my betrothed. I shall never love anyone, in any form, whether it be familial, platonic or romantic. Because in the end what killed our parents is that exact thing. It is very simple really, I will give you a transparent and honest choice.”

  “Brother, this may seems disrespectful yet I can not agree with such remarks-”

  “Then chose not to open this box. Leave the tiara, that is one of the choices you have, go back to your sad life filled with that temporary delusion you call love. Or open it and bear the weight of it, wear it and enjoy the conveniences it provides you. But be aware I shall never love you, show favour or protect you. It will be a life in my mold and ways of thinking.” He hit the floor with his oxfords. Leaving a dent on the shining pattern of the floor. “My ladies, do you understand?”

  “Ummm… I shall ponder Your Majesty” Her features seemed dulled as her, as she strained to maintain a bow, her seemingly transparent hair almost touching the floor.

  “Dear Sister. You have been so outspoken and intelligent all your life, I hope this time is no different”. The Emperor left, a being full of hatred, who would never be the brother I had imagined. This whole time we both held onto the thought that our mother preferred the other, and we both became this twisted version of what could have been a happy family.

  All I have been building, scrapping my heels and bruising my feet, marching ahead with no regard for my safety, was merely a dream. If mother wanted me to be safe was debatable, but he, my only family left, did not want me for certain.

  “The Emperor is often misunderstood, I am sure this is just one of his moments.” Mielle laid her hand on my shoulder, trying to bring me a sense of comfort nonexistent, compared to the pain I felt.

  “Lady Cartwright is very kind to someone who does deserve your care.” She flinched at my response “It is just all these years I built up expectations for this moment. Beliefs deep in my conscience that I was needed. And even if my life was comfortable, clawing back my place in the royal family was necessary. I should persevere for my brother, and later for -” I giggled. Mielle giggled back giving me a knowing look.

  “It seems I was mistaken. My bro- or Your Majesty the Emperor, rather I stayed quietly in the barony, deep into the countryside. My whole life has been a marathon to get to be a Belleaux. So what do I do from now on? How can I make such an impossible choice?”

  “Oh, I am well aware!” I looked at her perplexed. “I was referring to myself, do not be mistaken. The Princess might not know, but our situation is very similar, yet so different. My extended family has not produced an empress for at least fifty years, and we are losing power and influence at a rapid pace. So it is a tradition, when a girl is born, they are brought to the capital away from their parents and they either become an empress, a concubine or they are shipped off to a nunnery. So you have an ACTUAL choice, unlike me.” Her perfect demeanor and appearance now appeared to me in a new light.

  “Princess Belleaux, we have your brother in our possession. Show yourself!” The speakers scattered throughout multiple rooms and the corridors blasted. The thin wall of this room would not hide us for long, if that was true. I looked into Mielle’s direction as she halted her reach for one of the tiara’s.

  We are in trouble.