The Emperor's Rose

Chapter 49// An End For The Sister

Fumi's eyes widened, a tightening grip of fear attacking her stomach. Aiko was on the floor. The mirror was cracked, a particular shard was sticking out. It's jagged point red with blood. Aiko's blood was seeping from her head, staining her black hair.

The Emperor felt his heart be torn out of his chest. It hurt; it hurt so much he couldn't breath. He pushed past Fumi and fell to his knees next to Aiko.
His eyes frantically searched for her red flecked ones, but her heavy lids were covering them.

The Emperor took her in his arms. He cuddled her against his chest. Aiko's limp hand tumbled away from her lap, exposing the candid skin of her wrist.

Fumi was frozen in fear. She tried to speak, but her mind told her she had done it. She had probably killed Aiko. Maybe the only woman The Emperor had truly loved. She knew her brother wouldn't let her go this time.

The Emperor slowly lifted Aiko of the floor. He opened the screen doors and yelled, "A herbalist! We need a physician And a herbalist urgently!" His voice almost cracked towards the end but he regained himself. The words were urgent, and made everyone run around as quickly as they could.

After every servant had left, the Emperor turned to stare at Fumi. His eyes were a terrifying black. Something inhuman and blood-curdling twitched inside of them. The devil which nestled in his heart had awoken, and Fumi was in a horrible danger.

The Emperor's silk kimono reflected the pale winter light. There was a particular ray of light that bounced off the kimono and illuminated the Enperor's left eye. But the pupils were dark as ink. No light illuminating it. "Get. Out. Of. My. Palace. And. Never. Come. Back." He said, cutting every word with a furious breath.

Fumi licked her dry lips. "The wedding." She spat in his face. "You have to invite me, there has to be a female presence from the groom's family to dress her in the kimono before ceremony." She sneered, knowing her proposition was feeble.

The Emperor lifted his furious glare. "I'll invite Tachikaba. I've always preferred her anyways. and she isn't a monster, like you." The Emperor said, his eyes shimmering darkly, and his voice cutting.

Fumi clenched her jaw. "You will regret sending me away brother. Maybe," she said, a dark glimmer in her eyes. "She will end up like your first lover." Fumi said, slowly walking to the open windows.

The Emperor felt pure rage surge through his stressed body. He started walking to her, but the doors were thrown open. Eriko was standing there, Herbalist Eiichi and an other, Physician Kimura.
The Emperor turned to them. "Carry her to her rooms and cure her. I will come as soon as I finish talking here." He hissed. The two men gently lifted Aiko off the floor. They hurriedly left. Eriko shot one last glance at the Emperor. Pure terror shining in her eyes before she closed the screen doors. Soft feet pattered away.

The Emperor wanted to follow Aiko, but he wanted to finally confront his sister. The devil who had lived next to him for so long. Too long.

As the two doors closed, blocking them off from the rest of the world, the Emperor's eye stared at the pool of red blood on the floor. He gritted his teeth and turned to his sister. "You murdered my previous lover as well didn't you?" The Emperor whispered hoarsely. The harsh truth hitting him like a ton of bricks. The dots connecting. He lifted his gaze from his sister's legs to her face.

Fumi turned around. She looked beautiful and cold, and not even a sparkle of guilt lit her eyes. She leaned against the screen door. "Of course. Who else could it have been? That girl you loved, tsk. She was not fit for the royal life."

The Emperor started trembling with fury. "She was extremely intelligent. She would have managed to survive. She would have been a perfect Empress." He hissed, about to punch the wall.