Runaway Empress

Silver eyes flashed inside the dark tent. There was a hint of a teardrop in the corner of her eyes, but she blinked it back trying to fight off the feeling inside her chest. She went closer to the makeshift bed and looked over the lump within the blanket. She could tell that someone was shivering inside.

"Holy One…you have to be saved," her soft voice lingered in the air like soft music notes. Two sleepy eyes stared at the speaker.

"And now someone calls me Holy One again. Quite the opposite of the fate they are pinning on me as the Accursed One," her voice was hoarse. She was coughing incessantly when she finished speaking. Her head was the only part of her that was outside the blanket that can be seen.

The woman in black robes smiled at Yllana. There was a faint sense of gentleness in her gaze, like a mother looking at her child. She patted Yllana's head and then walked to the tent's opening. When she lifted the opening, the cool wind blew and took off her hood. Inky black hair glistened under the moon's glow.

When the wind stopped blowing, two tall shadows blocked her sight. "You must be her companions," her smile faded. The gentleness in her voice and eyes were gone. Only a stony expression was left.

Midel sighed when he saw who the intruder was. "Empress, it is not proper to spy on the people that your husband takes an interest to. Does His Highness know where you are?"

The tent's flap opened one again and a shivering hand appeared. Lucien's eyes narrowed when he saw how pale the color of the skin was. "Tch, idiot."

Yllana heard their whispers from inside so she went to look. When she opened her tent's flap, she met three people outside. Midel's worried eyes scanned her face while Lucien's were…angry? Yllana was puzzled at Lucien's expression. He was looking at her like she had done something bad and he caught her.

He walked briskly towards her side and he lifted her chin to face him. He moved her face side to side as if searching for something. When he did not see what he was looking for, he sighed then he took her wrist and lifted her arm. He shoved down her sleeves to reveal her cuts and bruises from her last fights. The cuts are turning black and were slightly inflamed.

When he placed his hand on her forehead, he felt the sting from the heat of her body. but Yllana's eyes told him differently. She hummed as his palm met her skin. The warmth comforted her and made her purr. 'Just like a kitten,' he thought.

But as Yllana closed her eyes, Lucien felt her head was getting heavy under his hold.

"She fell asleep," the empress said.

Yllana's steady breathing verified the empress words. Lucien carried her back to her tent.

When he went back outside, the empress was talking with Midel. "Larika Nymphiel, call me Larika."

"Empress, what business do you have with us?" Midel asked.

"The book of spells will not recognize others as long as its current master is still alive." Lucien's eyes squinted. He summoned a dagger on his hand.

When Midel saw the look on Lucien's eyes, he quickly blocked Lucien's view of the empress. "Remember what Yllana said. She does not want to fight again due to her current state."

Lucien smirked. He hid the dagger back and faced Midel. "Yllana is poisoned,"

Midel's eyes widened. He rushed inside Yllana's tent and checked her wounds. He summoned out his crystal ball to see clearer.

When Midel got out of Yllana's tent, his calm demeanor was replaced with anxiety. "Why didn't I see it ahead?"

"You can not see everything that happens in the future. Fate decides what you can or cannot see." Larika stated as she gazed into the moon.

"You knew she was poisoned. And you know that she possessed the book of spells. What do you want?" Lucien's voice carried a dangerous tone.

Midel's eyes also narrowed as he approached the empress. Earlier, he was still carrying a respectful tone with her. But now, his cold behavior shows he had raised his guard around her.

"Freedom," the empress lowered her head. When she did not hear a reply from them, she slowly bent her knees and knelt to the ground. With a swift bow, she banged her forehead to the ground. "My husband was interested in your friend so much that he even forced me to give him one of the books of spells. He will definitely come for her and when that time comes, he will have me executed in an accident." Midel noticed how calm her voice still was even when she was already begging to them.

"But if she succeeds, as the foresight has been telling the oracles, she could destroy a city in just one glance. She could easily defeat the emperor and free me. All I want is for her to accept me as a disciple." From the start until the end of her words, she did not lift her head to look at them Lucien was observing her. He saw her fingers pulling harshly on the grass while trying her best to steady her voice.

"It is not up to us." Midel coldly looked on at the girl in front of them. He did not pity her nor did he urged her to stand up.

"She has to say yes," the empress lifted her face and looked at Lucien's cold face.

"Only I can open the book of spells and can pass it down to her when I die. It cannot be inherited easily. The Grand Mage locked it up with a special seal."

"Get up," Lucien turned his back on her. "And the cure?" He added as he saw the empress stand up.

"I do not have it. The emperor obtains these from an unknown source. But there could be an antidote in the nearby villages, the South Kingdom has good doctors." She looked calmly at both of them. "I will not ask for you to trust me. I just have to make sure that she gets saved and that will save me too."

"For all we know, you could be a spy from the emperor. How do we know that you are not trying to kill us?" Midel's suspicions did not let up. The empress's sudden appearance in their camp may be planned.

"Then I could have just killed her when you two were still in your tents," Larika crossed her arms and sighed.

"We need to move soon before the poison starts to spread all throughout her body." Lucien walked away from both of them and went inside their tent.

"We only have two tents. And you are not allowed to stay with her even if you are the empress of the South Kingdom." Midel's words were like cold water to the empress. She expected that they would be shoving her out of their way or they could have her sent back to the palace. They did not. But the treatment was colder since they let her stay but she should fend for herself.

Larika closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them, Lucien was standing in front of her with two blankets on his hands. He was giving her some blankets to warm herself for the night. She smiled a little before saying thank you.

~~~~~~

Yllana felt her head spinning and her arms were heavy as metals dangling beside her. She could not even lift her eyelids fully. There was an itch forming in her throat that she just wanted to scratch it, but she couldn't. She could peek for a little while then her eyes would shut again.

She only had a glimpse of falling snow and two figures in front of her while someone was carrying her on their back. She dozed off again after a few minutes.

Her consciousness drifts on and off on her throughout their journey. Larika kept her hands full by taking care of her cuts and bruises. But as the day goes by, Larika noticed that there was no improvement at all. "Her flesh will start rotting if we fail to find a cure!" Her voice went a little louder than her normal tone. Midel could feel the sense of panic within her even when she tried to calm herself down.

They were still inside the forest after two days of walking. Snow still fell on them. And the harsh winds did not even help them a bit. Yllana's breathing became ragged and she could not speak anymore. They never saw her opened her eyes for more than a minute before closing them again.

Lucien cursed the emperor in his mind. None of his potions worked on her and there was no sign of her improving at all. He clenched his fist as he looked at her. He was leaning on a tree bark while Yllana's head was lying on his lap. She was covered like a cocoon with several blankets and yet she was still shivering. Three worried eyes constantly peek at her and check her temperature.

"We will arrive at a village tomorrow," Larika patted Yllana's head while informing Lucien of the direction of the village. It was dusk. They set their camp near a dirt road.

"These herbs might help alleviate the pain in her wounds." She handed Lucien some leaves.

Lucien looked intently at the leaves. There were sparkling dewdrops on the leaves. He squished the leaves together and crushed them.

When the leaves turned into paste, he took a bag of water and placed the smashed leaves in it. After shaking for a while, he let a few sips enter Yllana's mouth. When he saw her swallowed the liquid, he let out a long breath.

"Your husband also planned this," he said without even looking at the empress.

"He held that tournament to entice the people in when he sees talented soldiers in the arena, he pulls them towards his side. But if he sees them as a threat, he kills them in accidents. That is as far as I know." She explained to him.