The Emperor's Rose

Chapter 41// Kimonos and Hair Ornaments

The Emperor glanced at himself in the mirror his servant was holding. He nodded firmly, deciding he was ready. He trudged outside, impatiently waiting for Aiko in the hallway. Alone with his thoughts, the Emperor couldn't prevent the thoughts of self-hatred from washing over him. His eyes turned dark, as he repeatedly blamed himself in the silence. He cursed under his breath, waving his arm angrily in the air. "How dare she make the Emperor mad," he grumbled to himself, unsuccessfully trying to shift his anger towards her. The soldiers stationed around his door were shooting questioning glances at each other.  

The Emperor was dressed in a dark blue kimono, his sleeves were decorated with waves. A few silver threads glimmered in the sunlight. He looked powerful; his presence strong. Water was supposed to represent calm, but the Emperor was anything but that. His anger still simmered in his stomach, now directed at Goro. He knew he was going to be at the meeting as well, and the Emperor was already planning to murder him the moment Aiko's family looked away for a brief second. The Emperor didn't think that strangling someone in front of his bride's family was going to make a particularly good first impression, but he wasn't sure he would be able to hold back. 

He felt slightly worried that Fumi was coming, but he was more furious that Goro was coming. How dare he? The Emperor didn't think that strangling someone in front of his bride's family wasn't going to make a very good first impression.

Giggles and laughter suddenly coming from behind the doors pulled him out of his thoughts. He rushed to the doors and slowly creaked them open. The Emperor hissed into the crack, "Aiko, come out this second or I will personally murder you." 

The silence that came from the other side was heavy.

The doors burst open.

The Emperor turned around to check that his bride was presentable. His jaw almost dropped to the floor.

Aiko was wearing a red kimono. Her kimono represented roses, the royal symbol. It had beautiful flowers sewn from the bottom of the sleeves slowly rising to the top. The kimono had two black stripes, one at the bottom of the right sleeve and one on the hem of the skirt. The obi was black, covered in flowers as well. The obi also had emerald decorations running alongside the rim of the kimono. 

Underneath the last layer, she wore a linen vest with a gold collar.  

Her hair had been styled exquisitely. It was divided into two portions. One was pulled up to create a little rose on her head. The other portion had been pulled into a loose ponytail that dangled on her shoulders. To keep the delicate rose in place, many beautiful hair ornaments had been placed in her hair.

A hairpin was placed on the side of her head. It was a beautifully crafted Sakura blossom with two golden chains falling in a loop against her ear.

On the other side, pairing with the light pink of the Sakura blossom, there was a white flower hairpin. The flowers were light purple in the center, slowly fading into white as the petals continued.

The last hair ornament was the most delicate and beautiful. It was a lily pad. The petals were almost transparent. It added a touch of pink to the dark color of her hair. The petals were made of thin glass. This hairclip was positioned in the center of the rose in her hair, making it clear that it was the most important ornament.  

TThe Emperor was discreetly delighted, a small smile dancing on his lips. Aiko noticed, covering her mouth with her sleeve, not wanting to show him his smile made a smile of her own bubble on her red lips.

As the two started to walk towards the meeting room, the Emperor hesitatingly took her hand. "I'm going to be there," the Emperor said, glancing away, before letting go of her hand.

This promise didn't disgust her; it made her feel safe.