CHAPTER II

Maylea has always been a city of wealth, beauty, and romance. People visit, for them to feast on the various offerings of the city; fine wine, delicious food, and furthermore, entertainment. It didn't matter whether they were talented or mediocre, all of them sought a place by the East Lake to reside; the rich building vacation homes while the poor people built cottages. They believed that by living in the thriving city of wealth, they would be blessed by the divinity of the East Lake for them to attain their dreams of fame and fortune.

Situated amongst the big and small residences, are the various shops built by the people, thus, not only living up to its name, but Maylea has also become a center of trade, therefore only inviting more people to come and visit.

Celestine walked out of the house, along with her sister Corvina. She wore a blue-colored robe, further enhancing her light skin, her right cheek, however, was noticeably swollen, yet she did not try to hide, for she knows that it may serve as a piece of evidence to further support her claims.

They were going to the Maylea Judicial Prison to deal with the man that has caused such madness and commotion the night before.

As they were entering the temple, Corvina looked like she had something to say, which Celestine noticed.

"What is it, big sister?" Celestine asked, stopping, just by the entrance of the prison.

Corvina opened her mouth and closed it again. She was hesitating, as she did not know how to say what she has known.

"Sister?" Celestine called out once again, intrigued.

Corvina bit her bottom lips, before sighing.

"You see, about the man last night, it seems like he was actually the-" Corvina was cut short, by a gentleman from inside the temple.

"What can I do for you, ladies?" The man asked, with a slight grin on his face.

Celestine looked at her sister, and then the man.

"We're here to press for complains about a man that has committed assault and commotion last night on our premises." She said, seriously.

The man, getting her point, nodded and signaled them to follow him, which they did.

"Do you know what his name is?" He asked as they arrived at their desk. There was another man, who was quietly sitting, seemingly busy with their paperwork. "There has been a lot of incidents last night." He continued, grabbing a book; peeking through its pages.

Corvina, once again, looked quite torn.

"Unfortunately, we don't. He was brought last night by our guards, he was drunk and most probably was thrashing around like he was on our establishment." Celestine answered, seeing that her sister not having the capacity to speak.

The guard looked like he has finally realized who she has been talking about, however, his face became quite contorted too, just like Corvina's.

Celestine noticed the odd behavior of the two.

Rising a brow, Celestine calmly asked her sister. "What is it?"

But her sister only looked down.

She then turned to the guard, expecting an answer.

Clearing his throat, the guard said, "The man that you are talking about, well... let's just say that he's not here."

Confusion spread throughout Celestine's mind.

"What do you mean?" She asked, clearly confused.

The man rubbed his head. "We did not have the right to detain him." He answered, averting his gaze.

The young lady did not fail to detect the small wavering in the guard's countenance. A surge of anger surfaced between her brows as she uttered coldly, "What do you mean?" Emphasizing each word from her question.

Seeing the change in the young lady's expression, an involuntary shudder traveled down the guard's spine. Though he was clearly in a higher position, he cannot help but feel intimidated by the lady's presence.

"Apologies, apologies. I-We really did not have the rights to do so, because that man, that man is..." The guard trailed off. He was lost for words.

Seeing through the meaning behind his stuttering, the young lady gave a carefree smile, immediately changing the aura that she has been excluding.

"Do not be alarmed, Mister. I have no power to harm you. We are here, just to ask for help, really." Celestine ensured, trying her best to exclude a lighter aura.

The guard calmed down a little after hearing her speak thus, resulting in him being able to give a proper answer to her question.

"That man is the son of the current Governor of Maylea. He was assisted by the power from his father, thus, even us, as the fighters of crime, cannot do anything for even we, are under his father's governance." The guard said, hanging his head low in shame.

Corvina nodded her head repeatedly, getting Celestine's attention.

"That's what I have been trying to say, Celestine. I'm sorry for not being able to tell." She said. "You see, that man has been vising our establishment for a while now, it started for a few months before your appointment. It seems like he has taken a liking towards you." She explained, looking at her apologetically.

Celestine nodded her head understandably, yet, her mind was in chaos.

So that man was actually the son of the Governor. Coming from a family of scholars and learned men, that man really was lacking in the aspect of courtesy and respect.

Celestine simply cannot accept that just because that man was the son of the Governor, a man with a title, his actions which needed punishment was to be easily forgiven. That man needs to be convicted.

However, considering her current circumstance. It really is going to hard to be able to press charges against the man. Since even the people at the judicial prison possesses no such power to do so.

"What's his name?" Celestine asked the guard.

"Roux. Roux Maynard." The guard answered.

Celestine bowed her head towards the man and smiled.

"Thank you." She said, giving the guard a slight smile, and with that, left the temple with her sister.

"I'm really sorry, Celestine. I did not have the heart to tell you. I really wanted to make that man pay, however, it seems like they do have the upper hand." Corvina said sadly. "As your big sister, I'm sorry for being so useless." She added, looking down as her tears started to threaten to fall.

Seeing her sister feel sad, Celestine felt her heart swell. "Don't say that big sister, you're not useless, and you're most definitely not older than me by a huge margin." Celestine said the latter, jokingly.

"Just the thought is enough and besides, just because his father is somewhat powerful, doesn't mean we won't be able to take the justice that we deserve." Celestine continued, making her sister smile.

"You're right, Celestine. Our family is lucky to have someone like you. You're younger than me, and yet, your mind, as well as your bravery, has already surpassed mine, we're so proud of you." Her sister said, smiling.

As both of them were still feeling quite depressed about the awful news, they decided to have a sisterly bonding, walking hand in hand, traveling around Maylea. They ate, picked new clothes, and as they were going back towards the house, they noticed the light commotion that has been happening between the shop keepers. It seemed like they were lightly panicking, seemingly quite excited.

"What seems to be the problem?" Corvina was the first one to ask another person.

"The Emperor... The Emperor is finally back!" The man said, before hurrying towards the side of the street.

They both gasped at the sudden, yet exciting news.

"Let's go, Celestine! Let's watch the return of our beloved Emperor!" Corvina excitedly yelled. Celestine smiled at her sister's childish behavior.

Both of them followed the people's route, getting situated at the edge of the street, making way for the procession of the Emperor.

The tremendous procession consisted of five hundred glorious flags that stretched towards the end of the city. Numerous rows of front line troops whose faces are beaming with pride and joy marched past, as the people and various officials kneeled before the Emperor near the end of the procession, and his troupes in a welcoming greeting. Loud cheers can be heard, resonating throughout the whole city.

The Emperor was the one who was most apparent in midst of his sea of soldiers as he's the only one who is wearing a full gold plated armor, which was covering his whole body. A majestic aura of pride is excluded and can be felt even from afar.

The current Emperor has been reigning for over five years. Despite being younger than any of the past rulers of the dynasty, the Emperor has proven himself to be the rightful owner of the throne. Despite his youth, His Majesty is not one that would be blinded by unreasonable qualms and instead, possessed a very clear mind to analyze all situations.

Celestine caught sight of the glorious man in gold, which passed by in a blur. Despite his face being covered by his armor, she cannot deny the overwhelming atmosphere that is surrounding him.

'Such a magnificent aura.' She taught in awe.

Hearing the chatters of the people, Celestine was happy to have such a promising ruler. At such a young age, he had to lead an expedition of a large number of troops to conquer the vast lands of various kingdoms, almost most of the time returning victorious.

Though there have been times that the imperial army was forced to retreat, this was because of the Emperor's right decision to avoid casualties and risking the lives of his soldiers for an unknown battle.

As the procession neared the end of the tail, the people have started dispersing and have gone back to care about their businesses, each one, seemingly excited for the possible surge of customers tonight.

Celestine eyed the long procession which is slowly turning smaller as it travels further towards the next city, before finally arriving at the Imperial Palace.

"Come, Celestine. We must hurry back. I'm sure we'll be getting a lot of guests tonight, for there will be such a big celebration because of the Emperor's successful expedition!" Corvina excitedly said.

The both of them hurried back to the house to spread the news.

Her sisters were happy to hear about the return of the Emperor.

"I wonder what he looks like, he must be so handsome!" Lira said, dreamily.

"Lira, stop daydreaming! If he's so handsome, why won't he show his face even once, huh?" Delancey answered back, crushing her sister's dream.

"Well, I expect him to at least be handsome! I mean, he's the Emperor after all!" Lira retorted, pouting like a little child.

"Those romantic books that you have been reading has clearly made an impact on the way of your thinking." Delancey said, shaking her head at her sister's behavior.

Celestine and her other sisters just laughed at the twin's bickering. Despite looking alike, their personalities are the opposite, with Lira being so childish, and Delancey being the one to quickly crush her sister's inhibitions.

"Well, we should just be ready. It's gonna be a long night." Annalise said, clapping her hands. "Let's do this ladies!" She shouted, earning a loud cheer from the other sisters.

Matilda then quickly turned to Celestine, remembering their true purpose for their journey. "Celestine, what about the man last night? Were you able to press charges?" She asked with evident concern.

The sisters all fell silent to hear Celestine's answer, which she only responded to with a sad smile before shaking her head.

A loud chatter emitted from the earlier silent sisters. They were all complaining about what happened, why wasn't the man convicted? He clearly did something wrong, and it was evident as it shows in the swollen cheek of their youngest sister.

"Alright, let's go kill him." Sandra said, she was also one of the oldest of the sisters.

"Let's go!" Lira shouted, getting up from her seat. The other sisters also agreeing.

"You guys, are you even serious?" Delancey exclaimed, shaking her head. She can't believe what her sisters are uttering.

"Oh yes, we are!" Lira once again retorted, putting her hands on her waist, seemingly ready to fight her sister.

Celestine was the one to break the two apart.

"Sisters, let's just stop, okay? There's a reason why the man was able to go, and honestly, it's not a very nice reason." Celestine said, calming down her sisters.

"Well? Then why the hell was that man able to go? Heck, I can't even fathom the reason. Even normal customers don't attempt something like that!" Sandra shouted, making the other sisters agree.

"He's the Governor's son." Corvina quietly said.

"What?!" They all yelled in unison. They simply cannot believe it.

"Then, that means that he's a hotshot. No wonder." Delancey said, shaking her head.

"You should've let him do what he wanted, we would have been able to earn more." Nesryn, one of her sisters, who was only listening to the conversation earlier suddenly said.

Celestine's brow twitched in annoyance. Despite them being the same age, with Nesryn only being a few weeks older, their ideologies are obviously on the opposite side of the spectrum.

"Besides, Mama clearly did not want you to enter the job, and yet, you still pursued. You should have expected something like this to happen. Do not blame the customer for not understanding your so-called goal." She added, rolling her eyes.

Despite not agreeing with what her sister is saying, Celestine understood where she's coming from. She indeed wanted to pursue the job despite all of the possible circumstances that it may arise, however, it certainly is wrong to defend someone who tried to assault a woman, just because her job is what people deem as a prostitute, one who sells her body-though that's not what she was doing anyway. Despite the job, she still has a say about her security, and any attempts violating it is unacceptable.

"You know, Celestine. If you don't like men flocking over you, then stop being a courtesan. It's disgraceful for those in the lower rank who aspires to rise towards the top. You who always have qualms about your ideology, not wanting to be touched by men, immediately got promoted as a Celestial Rose, and yet, most of us sisters have to work hard in order to attain the same status and security as the one that you're getting. Stop being so selfish." Nesryn said, clearly stating all of her hidden resentment towards Celestine before leaving the room.

All of the sisters fell quiet at once. They really are concerned about Celestine however, what Nesryn said was true. Their mother did not want Celestine nor all of them to be courtesans, however, they all chose to do the job, not just because they want to pay back their adoptive mother who took care of them as a child, but they have also accepted their fates to live as a courtesan, charming men and perhaps, be gifted to find true love, just like the past generations.

The House of Amora has been established for a few generations, with Tanith being the last to inherit it. It has taken in female children of young ages who are left alone by their mothers. Because of the growing demand for courtesans, Tanith's predecessors figured that it would be best to offer several services such as entertainment and sleeping with men as it is more profitable.

Of course, the House has given each woman the right to choose, whether they would serve and if they do, giving them the right to freely leave the premises.

Annalise was the first one to cut through the awkward silence. "So, what do we do now?" She asked.

"For now, we'll just have to prepare for the night." Celestine was the one to answer.

The others nodded in agreement, each one getting up from their seats to prep themselves for the night.

Noticing that their mother is missing, Celestine asked, "Where's Mama?"

Looking back at her, Lira answered, "Mama was summoned earlier to the... oh no!" She exclaimed, eyes widening at the sudden realization.

"Why? Where is she?" Celestine asked in obvious concern.

"She was summoned in the Governor's Office!" Lira continued, looking panicked, she continued uttering little words of "Oh no!"

"What?!" All of the other sisters exclaimed in unison.

Once again, a light commotion happened in between them They were all worried about their mother, most especially after hearing Celestine's words.

"First of all, let's stay calm." Odette, the oldest said, the sisters nodding in return, once again sitting down.

"I shall follow her." Celestine said, determined.

Odette, however, turned her down. "No. You stay here, Celestine. Not just you, all of us will stay here and wait for Mama." She firmly announced.

"But why?!" Celestine exclaimed, her voice getting high.

Odette raised her an eyebrow. Realizing her bad behavior, Celestine was quick to apologize.

"The son of the Governor clearly expressed that he wanted you, Celestine. He even went far as to state that you are his. Who knows what might happen if you storm right inside his property?" Odette emphasized, clearly annoyed at the unfortunate situation.

Agreeing with her sister, Celestine remained silent.

"We will wait for Mama. In the meantime, we shall prepare for our nightly duties." Odette said with no room for any other suggestion.

As all of them have come to this agreement, they all started to get ready for the night.

With a heavy heart, and a mind full of evident anxiety and worry for her mother, Celestine abided by her oldest sister's command, knowing that it was most probably for the best.

As they shuffled through the room, each of them moved to follow their oldest sister.

With heavy hearts, they closed their eyes, "Oh great heavens, please do take care of our mother." All of them prayed quietly in unison.