The Emperor's Concubine

Chapter Forty-Nine

(Trigger warning: Read at your own discretion.)
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Luna sobs, her trembling hands tightly gripped onto the emperor's jacket. The wedding dress she wears, now stained to the point of having little white—the pool of blood soaking into the skirt.
Hugging Emperor Cabel's lifeless body, taking a deep quivering inhale, she pauses to gaze at the emperor's face.
His lips pale—falling into a shade of blue—his skin a lifeless white. His expression seeming serene as if he had just been sleeping, Luna begins to shed more tears as she looks upon his eyes. His long black lashes that frame his gently closed eyelids—making it evident he's gone.

Suddenly, her cries silence down.
Gently moving the emperor's head from her lap, she lays him down—her eyes emotionless as she looks around in a daze.
Glancing behind, her eyes rest of the mess of her brother's corpse.
Her eyes scanning to the throne and her father's staff, her past memories run through her mind. The silence unbearable, she turns back to the emperor's resting body.

Through her trembling breaths—almost as if she's struggling to breathe—she slowly takes the emperor's hand. Raising it to her cheek, she stares at his peaceful expression as she tries to feel any warmth through his fingertips. Closing her eyes, lost in her thoughts, her eyelashes soon become wet from the tears that trickle down.
Her closed eyes flinch slightly.
Slowly opening them to notice a light's reflection shining off the broken glass pieces that surround her. Looking out the window, rising in the horizon, the sunrise tints the once blackened sky with a beautiful shade of orange.
Her dazed eyes focus on the beautiful scene outside until a small chuckle leaves her lips.

"How mocking." Luna whispers with a small smile, but a look of despair in her expression.

Looking back at Emperor Cabel, she bites her lip.
Her trembling hand moves to pick up a shard of glass beside her—pressing it against her wrist. She stares at her wrist, her gaze almost numbed as she stares at the light glimmering off the glass shard.

"You gave your life for me... So, I'll do the same. If we can find happiness in our next lives, I'll gladly follow you there."
The shard digs into her wrist—puncturing her skin as it draws blood. She winces, pressing the shard deeper into her wrist.

"I'd die again for you if it means I can protect your smile."
Emperor Cabel's voice replays in her mind.

Pausing at the memory of his words, Luna bites her lip. Looking at her wrist that slowly drips blood, she averts her eyes to stare at Emperor Cabel.
Her expression twists into a look of pain as she realizes her actions, soon throwing the shard to her side.
Holding her cut, she presses her hands against her chest—the unbearable ache returning as she leans towards the emperor.

"I-I can't end my life when you gave yours to save me... But, I can't live because the pain is unbearable without you. I didn't even have a chance to love you freely... We couldn't experience it yet, so why were you taken so soon? I-It's not fair... You left without giving me a chance to protect you the same, you left without letting me confess my feelings, you... You just left too soon!" Luna sobs, leaning onto Emperor Cabel's chest.
"It's not fair!" She shouts.
She screams loudly, her fists tightening their grip to hold him close.

Suddenly—as if triggered by her scream—the broken shards of glass around the room begin to move. A gust of wind blowing them back as her body emits a bright golden light.
The warm light fills the room—outshining the rising sun—the wind blowing stronger as all the glass and dust is thrown to the corners of the walls.

Taking a deep inhale, Luna sits up as she holds her chest.
Her heart beating quickly, she looks around the room in a daze. The gust of wind begins to settle down as the she watches the glass shards come to a halt.
Confused, she looks down at her body. The bruises and cuts on her wrists and arms have disappeared without even leaving a scar.
Her body left with no pain, she quickly looks back at Emperor Cabel. His clothes still soaked in blood, his eyes still closed.