Because She Is The Emperor's Special Queen...

~Ariadne~

"Wake up my queen".

A voice woke me from my sleep. I looked at the tall building in front of me. It was the largest palace I have ever seen. It was made of gold. A lot of people were going in and out from different directions.

"Excuse me, my queen".

I turned around and saw a young girl beside me. She was dressed in a light gown. Her clothes were neat.

"Let me help you with that", she took my luggage in.

I was surprised at how neat a maid could look in this kingdom. In Camelot, a maid would work from morning till night with no time to look after herself.

A man came out of the palace door, he was walking towards me. "I think that's the emperor," I said to myself. He didn't look scary the way people say. In front of me was a nice and charming man smiling at me.

"You are welcome to Akkad, my princess," he said with a bow. Moving forward, I brought forth my left hand for him to kiss. A thing Queen Celesta taught me.

"I am very pleased to meet you, my emperor," I said with a fake smile.

"I am not the emperor, I'm the Empire's prime minister. You shall be meeting with the king soon".

I felt so embarrassed. I looked around the palace to see if people were watching. Everyone was staring at me like they had seen a ghost. I stood there, wishing mother earth would open the ground and put me to rest...

I walked into the palace, the interior design was breathtaking. The walls were beautifully painted with a lot of artwork on them. It seems the Emperor was a lover of art.

There was a giant door on my left. I wondered why it was locked. All the doors in the palace were wide open except for that one. I turned and asked the servant beside me.

"Why is that door locked?"

"The door is not locked my lady, that's the women's quarters. It is called the Harem. All the wives, sisters, and mothers of the Emperor live there. It's like a small kingdom in the palace", she explained.

"Oh, I see…"

The door opened. A woman in her late forties came out accompanied by two maids. She looked beautiful despite her age. Her face smiled with each step she took. She was in a hurry and her eyes darted about as if she was searching for someone. Halfway to where I stood. She stopped. Her face changed from anxious to relieved as soon as she saw me.

"Princess Ariadne, right?" She asked.

My face brightened as she called my name. Queen Celesta told me that my name was given to the Emperor instead of Eva. At least I get to keep my identity.

"I am Queen Aslaug, the Emperor's mother", she introduced herself.

"Oh", I bowed a little to show my respect.

"Forgive me your majesty, I didn't know you were the one".

"I'm not offended, how was your journey to Akkad?" she came forward and hugged me.

"It was interesting but tiring". I answered.

"I understand, the distance from Camelot to Akkad is much. I welcome you to the women's quarters".

"Anne" she called one of her maids.

"Yes, your highness," one of the girls that stood behind her stepped forward with her head low.

"You shall accompany the princess to her room and make sure she doesn't lack anything," She told her.

She turned to me and said "My princess, Anne, will be your maid. More servants will be assigned to you later by the women leader"

"I appreciate your kindness, your majesty", I thanked her.

"This is nothing. That's the little thing I can do for my future daughter-in-law" she smiled. Who said all mothers-in-law were wicked? Mine seemed different.

The queen's mother raised her hands above and offered prayers to the gods. She took a coconut from the tray and broke it.

"You can now come in, my princess".

I marched into the room with confidence. What I saw was a large hall full of women. I took a head count, there were hundreds and thousands of them. They were clamoring, chatting, screaming, and shoving each other.

The Harem was like a market square full of women to me. Some were admiring their jewelry, and another group of women was playing cards... I looked to the right side of the hall and saw some people staring into the mirror. No one seemed to notice my presence. The queen mother tapped me from behind. She knew I was lost.

 "Princess Ariadne, you must be tired after the long journey. I want you to take a rest, the night is going to be long".

"Yes, queen mother."

She smiled and left. Everything was strange to me at that moment, all these women were so beautiful. Why wasn't the king contented? I turned around to take a good look at the woman again.

"Are you blind or is something wrong with your brain?"

I heard a voice, it was so loud and rude. I looked down and found out that I had mistakenly stepped on her dress. Quickly I withdrew my leg. I cursed myself for being so foolish.

"Do you know how precious this dress is to me? The Emperor gave it to me himself".

Who asked you? Nobody cares.

She didn't even allow me to explain myself, she went ahead and continued shouting "You are lucky that I am in a good mood today or else I would have punished you immediately".

"I'm sorry" I said with my head low.

"Sorry for yourself" she hissed and made her way to one of the rooms. But Anne stopped her.

"Forgive us, Empress, she is the new queen. She just arrived".

The lady stopped and turned back to take a second look at me. "I see... The princess has just arrived, and she is already causing problems for me. You better watch where you go, young woman".

I wished I could withdraw my words, she didn't even value my apology. Why will the Almighty allow me to meet with cruel, wicked, and annoying souls?

I got to my room. I was so tired that I couldn't see a thing. It was exceptionally huge with everything a woman would need.

"In case you need anything, please let me know so that I can inform the Empress" Anne said.

"Empress? You mean the Queen Aslaug?" I was still confused as to who she was referring to.

"No my lady, the woman you just bumped into, she is the Empress and the head of the women's quarters".

"W-what…She?"

"She is the Emperor's special queen".

"Oh, is that so?" I lacked words at the moment.

"Only she is acknowledged as the Empress, the rest of the Emperor's wives are known as the queens" Anne explained further.

"Why?"

"Because she is the Emperor's first wife".

"I see…she is not friendly at all".

"If you want to enjoy your stay in this palace you have to respect and obey her, that's all my lady" she warned.

Ewwww. Respect my foot!

"Okay, you must leave me to rest. I'm exhausted". I tried to be authoritative towards her. I wanted her to feel that she was talking to a queen. A thing that Princess Eva would do if she were there.