CHAPTER FIVE

The palace of the imperials was filled to the brim with nobles of the highest status, stepping out of fancy carriages and trooping in through the massive entrance to the palace. They prepared to attend the main anniversary celebration hosted by Emperor Grisha himself. Each had their own reasons for attending, most wanted to make connections with equally powerful nobles, others only came because of the imperial order demanding their presence, some were there to simply enjoy the celebration but every one of them was curious to catch a glimpse of the mysterious figure that disappeared after the war. 

The white witch only appeared during the anniversary celebration and was no where to be seen on any other occasion. The Emperor kept all information about her tightly guarded. Not a soul knew a single thing about her other than what was common knowledge. Her real identity was rumoured to be the best kept secret in the Empire, not even what she looked like underneath her mask was known by anyone except the emperor and his direct subordinates. 

The intelligent ones were quick to catch on to the real reason for the secrecy. Only a fool would dare to rebel against a man who had someone as powerful as the white witch by his side. Her presence alone was enough to keep all the nobles in check, any ideas of rebellion were destroyed before getting the chance to be accomplished. Keeping her identity a secret was also a means to reduce the chances of the white witch colluding with other nobles to threaten the imperial rule to near impossibility. The Emperor was directly using her image to solidify his position with these scarce appearances. The unconventional way of his ascension to power was still very fresh in the minds of many as it had only been fifteen years since he bathed the entire continent in blood, the protests against his rule had yet to disappear. Emperor Grisha had built the New Empire on fear and blood, the fear had buried the protests before they could ever be said and he was determined to keep it that way.

The carriage was brought to an inconspicuous part of the palace and Kharis was led into the building through a side entrance packed with knights as guards. She could tell that they weren't ordinary knights just by looking at them. The Emperor was determined to keep all prying eyes away.

Kharis barely held in the laughter that threatened to spill from her lips. She found the situation nothing short of comical no matter what perspective she decided to view it from. So many guards for a supposedly powerless witch was funny to her.

She crossed the entrance unhindered with Aria and Alistair a step behind her. She headed straight for the throne room without any hesitation. It was like going through the same thing all over again, she knew the procedure because she had repeated it countless times before so she required no orders or directions.

The guards beside the huge doors quietly opened them, they knew to do their jobs without asking questions. Kharis walked in alone like she usually did,  Aria and Alistair were made to wait for her outside which was nothing new to either of them.

Kharis heard the doors close behind her as she walked towards the man comfortably sitting on his throne with unhurried steps. She was less than pleased to see his face after a year, she would have much preferred not to see his face at all but tolerance was the option she had chosen. 

"As always, it's a pleasure"

The golden-haired man was the first to speak. 

"I wish I could say the same"

Kharis sighed before stopping a few metres away from him.

"You haven't changed at all since the last time we spoke"

He only smiled, her words having no effect on him.

"It's not like you were expecting any different and it has only been a year Lord Andrius"

"You have refused to stop addressing me by my old title"

The edge of his lips twitched a bit but his smile still remained.

"I think that one suits you more, don't you agree?"

"That tongue of yours still hasn't lost its sharpness"

Kharis simply shrugged her shoulders without giving him a reply.

"Well then let's not waste any more time since you already know what to do"

Grisha stared at her as his cold eyes observed every one of her movements. 

"Is that really necessary?"

"Yes"

Kharis reached towards her mask and took it off, revealing her face.

Just as Grisha had suspected, she still hadn't aged, she looked no older than twenty but he knew that she was almost twice that age.He thought that since she could no longer utilize the magic power in her body, it would also affect the way she aged but after many years of checking for any changes, he had found none. Lupo explained that the curse hidden within the poison they had used may have only blocked her control over her magic power instead of severing her connection with magic energy in its entirety. He already knew how special she was but he was still shocked whenever he took the time to really think about it. He was glad that he had taken measures early enough or she would have grown even more powerful than she was back then.

"I wasn't expecting any changes but I can't help my surprise over how young you still look"

"I could say the exact same thing about you"

Kharis retorted without even a second of thought.

"You must be really taking care of yourself or is Lupo using some spells to help you with that"

Sarcasm dripped off her words but he payed it no mind.

"You still haven't learned respect"

Grisha didn't bother replying her last statement, simply deciding to ignore it.

"There is no need for such things between us"

Kharis put on her mask before speaking again.

"As you can clearly see, I have turned up for your little puppet play so there is no need to pointlessly prolong this conversation when neither of us wants to talk to the other"

"The journey here was tiring, a little rest would do me some good since you can't exactly provide an explanation if the all powerful white witch passes out from exhaustion right?"

"You should really control your tongue"

Grisha had finally dropped the smile on his face. 

"It's the only thing I have left and it's not like you can kill your powerless puppet any time soon so why not use it while I still have the chance"

"I couldn't agree more"

His voice had another layer of coldness laced within it but she pretended not to notice it.

"I'll see you during the celebration Lord Andrius"

Kharis turned around and walked towards the huge doors. She had noticed that there was another person in the room, the person had listened in on their conversation but it made no difference to her since she already knew who it was.

After a gentle knock, the guards on the other side immediately opened the doors. She proceeded to walk out of the room without a single glance at the man on the throne or the hooded figure that had just appeared beside him. 

"She still hasn't lost her pride"

Lupo spoke as they both watched Kharis disappear behind the closed doors.

"What use is her pride when she is nothing but a broken tool that still has it's uses"...

Kharis stared at the ceiling, her thoughts wandering. The twisted energy in the palace made her feel suffocated. It wasn't only the natural energy but even the magical energy seemed contaminated by something ominous. Whatever it was, it felt dangerous and her conversation with Grisha had only served to confirm her suspicions. She had guessed that the dangerous aura she felt near the palace had something to do with Grisha and now she was sure it did.

The moment she entered that throne room, the feeling of suffocation grew so intense that she had a hard time keeping her expression neutral. The energy around Grisha was chaotic and even more twisted than anything she felt around the palace. She was certain that either Grisha or an item in his possession was the source of the contamination.

"If it's an item, then it's a really powerful one"

She sighed as she leaned into the luxurious couch. She had to admit that it was actually comfortable.

"The sorceress has finally convinced him to dabble in things beyond his control"

She wondered what kind of Emperor was so hungry for power that he would stupidly involve himself with dark magic. Dark magic always demanded a price, the uncertainties were much too great when it came to that price. Anyone with a little regard for their own safety would know that but sadly, the emperor of the New Empire wasn't one of those people. 

"Can an item really cause something like this"

Kharis directed her question to no one in particular despite not being the only one in the room at the time.

Her words earned and odd glance from Aria who stood not far from her but Aria chose to remain silent and not interrupt her lady as she rambled on about things that the knight could only hope to understand.

After the meeting with the Emperor, they were led to one of the many rooms in the palace to wait for the celebration to begin. Alistair waited outside the door, leaving Aria and Kharis alone in the room.

Kharis already felt her head throb from whatever the Emperor was messing with along side the suffocating feeling the contaminated energy caused. She sighed again and closed her eyes, making the choice to rest as much as she could before the celebration began.