THIRTY SIX: Palace Days pt 2

The exact number of people living on the continent had never been officially counted. With the suspected over one hundred million population, how could it possibly have been numbered?

Surely, among the millions residing in both Mevani and the empire, it was possible, probable even, for two people to have the same name.

Therefore, Lila's Uncle Itzae was definitely a different person than Kel's Uncle Itzae.

Right?

The leather-bound book just like Uncle's that had belonged to the emperor's mentor.

The same name.

The fact that Uncle's family line had never actually been traceable in Mevani.

It was all just a coincidence.

Right?

Lila had left Kel to read the scroll in peace after dropping such shocking information, claiming she had duties outside of the library to attend to. It was like she sensed the incoming storm of questions brewing inside Kel's mouth and ran for cover.

"I'll find you, Lila," Kel muttered, hunched over deep in thought. "You won't get away from me that easily."

"What are you plotting against my innocent librarian for?" The Dragon Emperor interrupted her brooding.

"Your Majesty!" Kel quickly greeted the man. She almost unleashed her flurry of inquiries onto him, but remembered just in time that she could very well lose her head for one wrong word.

"What is it?" the emperor smiled knowingly, cocking his head to one side. "Is there something you want to ask me?"

"Um.. the Pantheon Masquerades," Kel lied. "I was wondering-"

"If you say one word further on that subject, I'm afraid one of us will lose our lives here." The emperor cut her off.

Kel gulped. It looked like the emperor's fickle temper was flaring today.

"Don't misunderstand," the emperor clarified, holding up a hand. "Miss Lucille has threatened me heavily to let you rest."

Kel choked back a laugh at his words. To think a maid caused the Dragon Emperor to fear for his life more than any enemy.

"As I thought.." he added thoughtfully.

"Hmm?" Kel questioned.

"You look better when you smile," the emperor replied. "You don't seem to do so very often."

"With all due respect," Kel responded with the faintest hint of cynicism, "it's not fair for the person who kidnapped me to say that."

Instead of returning her sarcasm ten fold like she was expecting, the emperor stood silently watching her.

"Someday," he finally spoke, "I hope you will smile a lot."

After another awkward pause, he suddenly reached for the scroll in Kel's hands. "I was looking for this."

"Wait!" Kel started at the movement. "I haven't even read it yet!"

The emperor smirked at her, scroll already in hand. "You don't need to."

"What does that mean?" Kel huffed. She was suddenly angry at herself for not devouring the contents before the emperor designated it as off limits.

"You already know more than this measly piece of parchment could teach you."

Did he say that because Kel had already read some of the contents of his mentor's book? If that were the case, why would the emperor study this scroll so often seeing as he already had exclusive access to that book?

As the emperor turned to leave, Kel's desperation took control of her body and she found herself clinging to one of his sleeves.

"At least.." she whispered. "At least tell me what the dragon's gift is."

"Did you think this scroll would have the answer to that question?" the emperor asked in a low tone.

Setting the scroll carefully on a nearby shelf, he turned and stood directly in front of Kel.

"I see," he remarked quietly, turning her chin upward until their eyes met.

"You see what?" Kel grumbled, confused by the man's vague words and continuously flip-flopping mood.

'You won't find the answers you're looking for. Not here," he went on, ignoring Kel's question. "So for now, stop looking."

The words sounded like a warning. Had she gone too far?

"Don't forget," the emperor said to the empty space in front of him as he took long strides out of the library. "Our meeting is in a few days."

***

Kel came to look for Lila many times in the days before her meeting with the emperor. Despite her diligence, however, the librarian was never anywhere to be found. If she didn't know better, Kel would have thought the woman was a ghost.

It seemed the emperor's command to stop looking into the dragon's gift and his old mentor wasn't a warning but a new rule. Kel wasn't able to find anyone or anything willing to share information she wanted.

In between exhausting all available resources in search of the truth, she found several fun things around the palace to occupy her time.

Her first adventure began when she accidentally wandered into the main palace's kitchen while sneaking away from her escort knight.

Kel had seen the cooking areas at various pubs and cooked a bit herself while away on missions, but she'd never witnessed such culinary splendor as lay before her.

Amid the buzzing workers, directed by a burly man in a white uniform, a few took immediate notice of Kel and greeted her with friendly smiles. Before long, Kel was seated on top of a barrel, munching on freshly baked bread and sipping chilled milk as she chatted with a few workers.

After that, dropping by the kitchen became a part of Kel's daily routine. In addition to receiving delicious snacks, she often heard juicy tidbits regarding the empire, the emperor and Bella, a shameless maid from the south who apparently enjoyed seducing the male servants.

She was on her way back from her newfound haven when she happened upon another interesting find.

Using a convenient gold-framed mirror hanging in a small side hallway, she stopped to ensure none of the whipped cream piled on the delectable strawberry cake she'd just eaten was sticking around her mouth.

While inspecting her upper lip, she pressed one hand against the stone wall next to the mirror in order to stabilize herself. To her surprise, the stone moved under her weight. A rumbling noise followed, and the entire wall behind the mirror slid back.

"What is this?" Kel wondered, peering into the gap made by the moving wall.

Inside appeared to be a long hallway, lined with unlit torches.

"... A secret passage?"