The Emperor's Rose

Chapter 60//Lady Tachikaba

The Emperor had been sitting underneath the flowers, taking a brief moment to relax. He had laid his head against the trunk, inhaling the pure air.
"My my, what a surprise, finding His Majesty alone," a voice said. A slight mocking tone.

The Emperor turned his head. Akihfumi was slinking towards him. "It's been a long time since you called me." She said. A childish sadness lingering on her face.

"What are you doing here?" He asked. Avoiding the question.

A moment of silence enveloped them, before Akihfumi threw herself on him. He gasped, instantly molding his lips to hers out of habit.

But, something was off. Her perfume was too strong. Her lips were too heavy with lipstick. The kiss was sloppy and messy. Her manicured nails dug like claws in his shoulders. She used too much force to kiss him. The Emperor groaned, trying to push her off.

Akihfumi mistook it for a groan of pleasure.

"She's not Aiko," a little voice in his head said. He tried forgetting it, but it kept cutting through his mind. Unfortunately, the images that were splashing in his mind were cut outs of the moments spent with Aiko. Not moments spent with Akihfumi. Aiko was standing in his mind. Her soft lips against his. His hands on her waist. Her eyes when they were angry. Her smile. Her soft voice. The way she snuggled closer to him when she was sleeping. The I love you that shook him to the core. The Emperor was about to push her off.

But that's when he heard the voice he hadn't heard in so long. Having moved to the mountains for some peace after hard work lasted many years.

"Hisato..."his father had said. The Emperor looked up. Glaring at the man he detested. Right before the fire of his anger was quenched by a sob. Oh, a sob he knew too well. The rest, as they say, is history.

The Emperor pushed Akihfumi away, disgusted. The Emperor In Retirement stood frozen in his spot. His eyes glued to the flower. The Emperor walked past him. A hand on his arm stopped him.
He turned around. His eyes as cold as his heart. His father was staring at him.

"Leave her be, she needs to be alone." He said. His tone gentle.

"Why would I listen to you?" He spat. The Emperor In Retirement's eyes blazed.

"Because that's exactly what happened between me and your mother," he snapped back. His calm demeanor long gone.

The Emperor stiffened.
His mother.

She had chosen to end her life as her husband didn't pay attention to her anymore. He had killed her.
"I see my mistakes in you." The Emperor In Retirement said. His eyes begging him to understand. "You are going to end up like me," he whispered hoarsely.

The Emperor gritted his teeth. His veins burning with venom. He yanked his hand away from his father's grip. The feel of his fingers still lingering.
"Never compare me to you again!" He roared. Akihfumi flinched. The Emperor In Retirement didn't budge.He shot daggers at both of them before turning around and storming off.

Aiko stumbled around. Her mind hazy. "I thought he had stopped hurting me, but he's the same. Always the same." She mumbled dazed. Her heart aching at the emptiness that had suddenly settled in the place where her fire roared. Now barely ashes.

She plopped down on the grass. Her glossy eyes staring at the blades of grass.

Everyone stepped on it continuously, but it always stood up straight. Never bowing down to anyone. "I would love to be like you.."Aiko mumbled. Her voice monotone.

"What a strange thing to say," a female voice said gently. Aiko's head snapped up.

A lady was standing in front of her. Her long brown hair was styled in a lazy ponytail, tied at the very end. Her eyes were a piercing black, her nose was small and perfect. Her lips plump. She held herself elegantly. Her back straight. Clearly comfortable and at ease in the rich and embroidered kimono she wore.

Aiko immediately stood up.

"Lady Tachikaba, cousin of the Emperor," she said. Her voice smooth like velvet, a charismatic ring to it.
Aiko gulped. Feeling immediately not up to the lady's standers. She tried to lighten her fire. Trying to forget her numbness.

"Aiko. Empress in two days." She said. Trying to seem proud and elegant like her.

A flash of recognition seem to light Lady Tachikaba's eyes, while Aiko didn't have the slightest idea to whom this lady might be.

Lady Tachikaba seemed to notice her lost air.
"I'm meant to dress you in your kimono before the wedding," she explained. Aiko widened her eyes. This was the family member the Emperor had been writing the letter to.

"O-oh...I...it's a pleasure to meet you." She exclaimed, instantly blushing at her non-lady like speech.

Today she had met two people which were both crucial for her new life. Although she had lost faith in the most important one of all. Aiko stayed quite, her mind blank.

"Aiko!" A voice roared in the distance.
Both ladies turned around.

The running figure of the Emperor was approaching them.

Aiko felt the cold wave of numbness wash over her. Her eyes paling. The red flecks becoming just a memory of their intense color before. She blanched.
She didn't want to see him.