The Emperor's Rose

Chapter 38//The Wrong Song

"What song do you desire, Your Majesty?" She asked, her words burning with anger. Singing for him felt like poison was coursing through her veins. 

"Hmm...I would like a simple one. A lullaby perhaps." He trailed off, his hand creeping up her thigh.  

Aiko pushed his hand off.

Her eyes brightened as she thought of a song. Her eyes twinkled darkly. Aiko closed her eyes. She opened her mouth and started singing the lullaby that had made the Emperor leave his party in anger the first time they met: his mother's lullaby. 

Aiko felt the Emperor stiffen next to her. For a brief second, she regretted picking this song, knowing it reminded him of his dead mother. Quickly, her guilt was drowned by anger: he never cared about her feelings, trampling on them whenever he could. But her anger swiftly simmered down as well. She knew how much it hurt to lose a mother. Hoping to fix her mistake and relax his slightly trembling body, she grabbed his hand and placed it over her heart. Aiko's heart drummed faster against her rib cage. The Emperor felt her heartbeat thrumming underneath his fingers, alive and strong. It slowly dragged him out of the labyrinth of tear-stained memories. 

His frown dissolved and dwindled into a very small smile. Aiko saw a few tears swimming in his eyes. 

The last notes wafted in the morning air. Aiko closed her eyes, trying not to think of her own mother. The Emperor looked away, his chest quaking as if on the verge of tears. It took him a few seconds to calm down. Aiko slowly pulled his hand off her chest and slipped out of bed.  

"Where are you going?" The Emperor asked, turning to glance at her.  

 "Back to my room."

"First, you will have breakfast with me." 

"But then I won't be able to go to the other side again." Aiko thought aloud, frowning.

The Emperor raised his brow. "I'll let your maids come in and dress you here."

Aiko turned to him. Her gaze hardened. "And the guards?"

"I can make them go away. For a short while of course." The Emperor said, simply. Rolling over, leaning on his elbow. His night vest opened. Aiko blushed and looked away.

"If that was such a simple solution, why didn't we do it the time you were in my room?" Aiko said, crossing her arms.

"It's day today. It was night that time; I'm not leaving you alone at night for even a second without supervision. Assassins are the most active at night, and right now I'm in a conflict with the Kingdom of Qing. They could have tried something." The Emperor said, his voice serious.

Aiko wanted to snarl back that she could protect herself, but angrily swallowed her scathing words. It hurt to admit it, but he was right. The Emperor slipped out of bed. He walked to the door, clumsily closing his night vest before he went out. He talked for a few minutes with the guards, his words nothing more than a commanding murmur.  

Aiko slowly walked to the bed, flopping down on it. When she had been alone in her room, sleep had been difficult: she thought every little sound was Goro keeping his promise and coming back to finish what he had started. But when she tried to sleep next to the Emperor, no noise made her jump in fear. She had felt safe in his arms. 

The Emperor slinked back in. He locked the doors. "I'm going to take a quick bath." Aiko pulled her face away from the sheets. The Emperor's perfume still lingering underneath her nose.

"Then can I call my maids to make me presentable?" She said, her tone defiant.

He grabbed her chin, squeezing her poor cheeks. He pulled her closer. His eyes glittered darkly. "No. I want you to stay in this ripped kimono. I will stay in my night vest as well. You will stay like that? Understood?" Aiko pulled back. Angry red marks scarred her cheeks.

Aiko glared at him, ready to punch him if he came any closer. The Emperor sensed her anger, and simply winked before he turned around. He slowly walked to the bathroom doors and slammed them shut. After a second of silence, he opened them again, bare chested. "Would you like to take a bath with me?" The Emperor asked. .

Aiko, in response, grabbed a vase next to her and glowered at him.

"Alright."  The Emperor said, his voice lilting. He closed the doors.

As soon as she heard him get in the water, Aiko ran into the garden. She made sure the Emperor was busy and started to run, wanting to climb to the other side, but something stopped her. The Emperor could come back out. Aiko sprinted back inside, walking inside his wardrobe and scanning past the male kimonos, searching for a female one. She quickly found one, lonely and solitary, pressed against the back, covered in a thick layer of dust. She grabbed it, shaking the dust off.  

Aiko walked back into the room. She slipped off her ruined kimono. She took the night vest and slipped it on. As soon as she put it on, her eyes widened. Her heart swooned. She ran to the closest mirror. Her jaw dropped as she looked at what she was wearing. 

Aiko's hair was loose and spilled around her shoulders. Her eyes resembled the dwindling and dying ashes of a great fire. Her lips looked blood red.
The night vest she was wearing was pure, red silk. Sunflowers were sewn on the neckline as well as the hem of the long, regal sleeves. The vest exuded power and respect. It glided over her skin like water. 

She was about to touch one of the sunflowers on the sleeve when the Emperor stepped in the room. His eyes blazed in anger when he noticed the discarded kimono on the floor. "Aiko, what did I say?!" He roared, turning to face her. Aiko covered her face, ready for the pain. A gush of wind swirled into the room, before escaping from the open doors. Aiko opened her eyes.  

Aiko glanced outside. She thought she heard the wind cackle. The Emperor stood frozen in front of her. "Where did you find that?" He whispered hoarsely.  

"I just grabbed it from your wardrobe." Aiko yelped, feeling scared: the Emperor wasn't angry, simply if staring at her, almost broken.

"It was my mother's."