His Favored Empress

Splitting Headache

Shaugn rolled over and groaned. Throbbing pain pounded against his skull. His eyes felt like they were pulsing with pain as well. His stomach churned and his skin broke out in a sweat. A metallic taste filled his mouth. That could only mean one thing.

I'm gonna puke.

Someone grabbed Shaugn's shoulder and turned him roughly on his side just in time for him to hurl into a brass basin. The force was so violent, Shaugn reached out for something to stabilize himself so he wouldn't fall. A large hand gripped his own and another held him up as his stomach expelled whatever was inside. When he finally stopped, his mouth was wiped with a damp cloth and he was laid back down, slow and gentle. His face and neck were wiped as he took deep breaths to settle himself.

His throat burned and there was still a nasty taste in his mouth. "Thank you." He leaned forward as a cup was pressed to his lips. There was a slight mint smell to it. He swished the fluid inside his mouth to remove anything remaining and spit it out before taking several gulps of the refreshing fluid. It soothed his throat and settled his stomach.

"Are you alright now, Shau?"

He frowned and opened his eyes. First, no one called him Shau but his mother. Second, who was this man with the sonorous voice behaving so intimately with him?

As his blurry vision cleared,   Shaugn was stunned when he saw a tanned face with matcha green eyes watching him with concern. "Who...? Where am I?"

Those green eyes widened before the dark brows drew down in a frown. A hand reached out and touched the side of his face. "I'll call the physician. Just wait, zinzin." The scent of cloves invaded his nostrils as the strange man leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on Shaugn's forehead. "Be good and stay in bed."

Shocked, Shaugn could only agree with a slight nod. His hand was kissed and then the mysterious man stood and walked out.

Shaugn's eyes looked up at the ceiling as his mind reeled. I was just kissed by a super hottie in ancient clothing. Is this a dream? Heart pounding out of his chest, he looked to his right. His frown returned and he tried to swallow his rising fear.

Where – no - when the fuck am i?

Surveying what he could of his surroundings, he was lying in a large four-poster bed, ironically, covered in ginger-ochre fur pelts. He cursed that stupid cougar. This was all its fault.

Silky, golden curtains were tied to the posts. There was a large mural depicting a mountain meeting the ocean on one wall. A wooden desk sat beneath it. He turned his head to the side. On the other side was a bookshelf that spanned the entirety of the length and width of the room. The room reminded him of something from a historical Chinese drama.

As his eyes panned the room, Shaugn sat up and nearly screamed in horror.

A middle-aged woman and man dressed in light green, embroidered robes stood near the foot of the bed. A guard wearing leather armor with a sword on his waist, stood near the door. The man and woman looked at him with worry. The guard stared stone-faced at the wall.

Shaugn put a hand over his rampaging heart. Where the hell did they come from? Were they standing there the whole time? Another thought entered his mind and he covered his face. Did they see the hottie kissing me?

The older man twisted a handkerchief in his hand. Worry made his wrinkled face seem even more so. "Your majesty?"

Majesty? Shaugn groaned and scrubbed his hands down his face. "Someone tell me what's going on." With a wince, he tried to sit up against the headboard. The man and woman ran to assist him.

The man held him up while the woman positioned the pillows comfortably behind him. "Your majesty, it's good to see you awake." The man eased him back. "You gave us quite the scare."

Sean was confused. He just woke up. How? "I did?"

The woman answered while adjusting the blanket around his waist. "Yes, majesty. This servant was distressed. I couldn't eat or sleep for days."

The man nodded and wiped his forehead with a scarf from his pocket. "It's true, your majesty. Many of the servants were worried to death. We've been praying non-stop for your speedy recovery."

What loyal servants. Shaugn rubbed his scratchy throat. "Can you tell me what happened?"

The man handed him a glass of water and mixed in some honey from a tray. "Your majesty fell into the pond near Sparrow house and hit his head on a rock before nearly drowning."

What kind of coincidence was this? Curious, Shaugn touched the back of his head and hissed. Yep. Same spot as when he'd fallen off the cliff.

"His majesty hasn't left your side for more than an hour and insisted he'd tend to you personally."

Shaugn frowned. Weren't they strangers? Did he not have a wife or girlfriend somewhere? "Is that normal?"

The woman puffed out her chest even more and spoke with a tone of pride. "His majesty always dotes on his wifey."

Shaugn's eyes widened. Wifey? He felt like he'd swallowed cotton. That meant that he was... "My...husband is the k-king er...emperor?"

The man and woman looked at each other in surprise. Even the guard's thick eyebrows drew down in a frown. The older man had paled and he looked like he'd lost half his soul. "Majesty, have you forgotten?"

Shaugn rubbed his head. It's not like he could do anything about it. He didn't understand a thing. He was attacked by a cougar, fell down a cliff and hit his head, and now he was here...wherever this was.  "Seems I've forgotten a lot."

The man looked panicked. He gripped the woman's arm. "We must inform his majesty at once."

"The royal physician will be here." The woman patted his hand in an attempt to seem calm. "We can tell him then."

"Kazim-bo, Akechi-nan, please calm yourselves," the guard commanded. "You're scaring his majesty."

They both turned. Shaugn was ashen and had broken into a coldsweat. Fractured memories that weren'this own filled his brain. The speed atwhich the memories were assimilating was dizzying, like an old vhs being played while rewinding. The throbbing pain in his temples intensified. He screwed his eyes shut and pressedthe heels of his hands to his temples to stop the crushing pain as a trickle of blood came from his nose.