The Emperor's Rose

Chapter 59//Blossoms

The world seemed to stop. Bees stopped buzzing.
The air stilled. The only sound that could be heard, was the audible thumps of the girls' hearts.

Aiko's eyes were fixed on a long thread of grass. A dew drop on the tip.The drop fell. It plinked gently.
"Good morning, my ladies," the Emperor In Retirement said.

His voice was calm. As calm as a spring on the top of a mountain. But deep like the sea, a power hidden in his gentle tone.

Aiko shivered. The Emperor had never talked about his father. Only his mother, who she presumed, had killed herself. The father had always been a missing figure. Forgotten or deliberately hidden?
But now, here he was, standing in full glory in front of her.

"What wonderful concubines," he said softly.

Aiko felt a stab of anger run through her. She wasn't a concubine. She would be the empress in two days. If it were the Emperor, she would have given him a piece of her mind, but she couldn't risk it now.

"Can one of you gentle ladies tell me where my son's bride is?" He asked.

Aiko slowly stood up. Her eyes on his shoes.
"It is me, Your Excellency," she whispered hoarsely. Her hands intertwined at the front of her kimono.

"Oh my! Please, excuse my terrible mistake," the Emperor In Retirement said.

Aiko bowed. "Please, do not worry Your Excellency." She exclaimed hastily.

"Could you please lift your gaze?" The Emperor In Retirement said after a moment of silence. Aiko nodded. Shyly lifting her gaze. Her eyes meeting his face. He was an old man, his grey hair tied in a bun. Aiko could see where Hisato, the Emperor, had taken his sharp jaw and perfect nose.
The Emperor In Retirement's eyes scanned her face. His gaze stopping on her eyes.
He gently took her chin in his hand. "Such peculiar eyes..."he mumbled aloud, shifting her face left to right.

"Your name is...?" He asked.

"Aiko, Your Excellency."

"Aiko, what a wonderful name. What does it mean?"

"There are two meanings Your Excellency. Beloved child and love." She says, her eyes shining. She had never been a beloved child. It seemed like her mother had cursed her fate by naming her like that.

"Love....I hope you'll be able to give it to my son who has so many concubines," he said. A twinge of sadness shining in his eyes as he gestured to her sisters, whom he had mistaken as concubines. Something which they would gladly be.
"I'm sorry, Your Excellency, but these are my sisters. The concubines would wear richer clothing," Aiko said innocently. Turning her body to indicate them with her arm, her face hidden. She quickly caught the opportunity to smirk at them.

The Emperor In Retirement seemed to catch this. A dark smile spreading on his lips. He had heard a brief snatch of their conversation and immediately understood the bad blood in between them.

An idea sparkled in his head.
"Aiko, my dear you are right. Concubines would dress in prettier ways. But, concubines would also be prettier." He remarked casually.

Aiko turned around. The shock evident in her eyes.
The Emperor In Retirement grinned at her.
Her sisters twitched in anger on the floor.

"My dear, let's go," he said, gesturing to the path.
Aiko nodded, following him as he headed forwards.
Silence enveloped them. Only the birds broke the bubble they had created around them.

Aiko was torturing her hands. Squeezing them tightly.She gulped. Her dry throat cracking.

They passed underneath a cherry blossom in full bloom. The flowers gently falling in the wind. The scenery so beautiful it made them both stop.

"A life used to search for a perfect flower would not be wasted," The Emperor In Retirement said. His eyes stuck on the branches.

Aiko gently picked up a flower, that had unfortunately fallen, on the tip of her finger.
Her eyes taking in the delicate petals.
"They are all perfect," Aiko whispered softly.

The Emperor In Retirement smiled gently. His eyes stuck on this fierce girl. Her wonderful eyes stuck on a wonderful gift of nature. She reminded him so much of her wife. Maybe, him and

his son were more similar than what he thought.
He had never been the best father, always taken by his duty as the Emperor, leaving his adored wife and son alone. He had slowly started to forget them when a Chinese concubine had entered his harem. Won Hae. All his attention dedicated to her. His family slipping into oblivion.

In result of his foolish choices, his wife, his beloved wife, had killed her self, making him become a tortured man inside. While his son had grown without him, his love for father turning to hatred.
Hisato had never forgiven him.

The Emperor In Retirement shook his head, clearing his memory. This wasn't a moment for past memories. It was a moment to create new ones.

Before he could open his mouth to ask something, a groan broke the peaceful air. A groan of pleasure.
Aiko had been focused on the flower. Her eyes unfocused. But now, she blinked a few times. Her eyes slowly shifted back to the world.

More groans where coming from behind the cherry tree, which had a large trunk, hiding the source of the sound. The groans where a mix of a man and a woman's.

Aiko stepped closer. Her heart tightening. This voice was familiar.

The Emperor In Retirement frowned. He followed Aiko.

She scrunched her eyes shut as she rounded the tree.

Opening her eyes a crack, the first thing she saw was a branch full of blossoms. So loaded with them it curved to the ground. Underneath, a couple was locked in a powerful embrace. Their lips attached.

Aiko's eyes widened. Her heart shattering.
The Emperor In Retirement had hoped with all his strength that it wasn't what he thought. His prayers hadn't been heard.

"Hisato..."He whispered softly. His voice broken. His heart squeezing. The Emperor looked up from Akihfumi. Who was nestled in his arms. He was panting. His lips swollen.

His eyes hardened when he caught sight of the Emperor In Retirement.

Aiko bit her lip. Drawing a drop of blood. Her view became fuzzy. "No...I am not crying!" She tried ordering herself, but giving up as she felt the tears roll down her cheeks. A sob broke through her lips.
Akihfumi turned around to look at her. First surprise then smug satisfaction glittering in her eyes.

The Emperor's furious eyes shifted to Aiko.
As soon as he saw her, his eyes widened. She was crying. She hadn't cried in so long.
Her beautiful face was distorted by the horrible tears.

"Why is she crying?" He asked himself. About to throw himself to her. Before he heard Akihfumi giggling.He looked down to her, and back to Aiko.

He had hurt her.

Aiko sobbed again. Her shoulder's shaking.
She turned around. Her heart giving up. She was so destroyed she couldn't get mad. She had hoped he had stopped. She had hoped the feeble bandage she had wrapped around her heart would hold. But it didn't. She looked one last time at the Emperor. Locking gaze with him.

He shuddered when he saw her empty eyes. He thought a fire of pure anger would be blazing there. But the brazen emptiness and numbness left him broken. She had given up on him. Like everyone else did. He had destroyed her once and for all.

Aiko turned around. Leaving.
The flower that had been an object of perfection fluttered to the floor. Aiko turned around to face it. Her cheeks stricken with tears.

"They are all flawed," she whispered hoarsely. Her foot squishing it under her weight. Making it wither in pain as her heart.
She walked away briskly. The destroyed flower lying on the ground.