Queensmen

Chapter 81

~Sold~

"Mistress, please wear this," Andrea said and held up a fur-lined cloak that had been part of the many gifts that had just been bestowed. It was a deep blue that went well with Oris' dress and veil.

Oris stared at it curiously then ran her fingers over the soft, white fur. "Why?"

Mayree took the cloak from Andrea and tied it around her mistress' shoulders. "We will need to walk a bit to get to the laundry halls and it is a little chilly outside."

Despite having lived in the palace for weeks now, Oris had spent most of her time indoors, so she could only ask, "Are we going through the garden?"

"No, we're leaving the building altogether."

Oris nodded and let them lead her out of the room into the hallway. The guards at the door saluted then continued staring off into the distance. Inae was practically a dessert, but it had wild storms during the summer and biting winds in the winter. She was still recovering from being poisoned, getting a cold would only worsen her health.

"In fact, your room also leads outside," Mayree said quietly, using this as an opportunity to clear up some other things, "and this is actually the Emperor's palace."

"When King Abbadad acquired the Noble Consort Nian Fey, he tore down one of the rooms in his palace and expanded it into its own building," Andrea added, a slight skip in her step. "That is why that room is brighter than others here. Looking from the main door, it is only the outer chamber. You can access the inner chambers through a hallway hidden in the walls. That is where Eunuch Rai would have taken those other maids to."

"The Emperor does not conform to custom," was all Keziah had to contribute but Mayree nodded emphatically.

"Back then, the court was outraged when the king housed his favorite consorts in his palace to keep them close but The Emperor gathered all the women of the Selection here and has never once sent them to the harem palaces and courtyards."

Oris let out a sound of surprise. "You are saying that the Emperor is living in the same building as us? And some of the women have been here for years?"

The dungeon I was in is also here.

The hallway were decorated the same way and that day Hermes hadn't been in armor because he had been caught off guard in his own home. He had surrounded himself with both scheming women and vengeful criminals. . .

Does he have a death wish?

"Not only that," Keziah mumbled with displeasure, "the Empress Dowager lives here too."

"The Empress Dowager originally didn't have a room in this palace and lived in her own palace but she moved here saying that she was worried for her son," Andrea said, with bitterness to match.

"That's not all," Mayree sighed and looked down at the petals embroidered on her shoes, "the Emperor does not address himself as I'eni or let people address him as Et'ini, so we can only call him Your Majesty. There are also rumors that the people close to him call him by his given name freely. The Ministry of Rites send him countless memorials everyday asking his to adhere to tradition but he only ignores them."

"The Emperor," Oris considered her words carefully, knowing that the girls had said all these for a reason, "is really free-spirited."

Were they warning her of the dangers of being dragged into the Emperor's impropriety? Or were they telling her not to trust his whimsical impulses?

"The court is in shambles because of it," Keziah said quietly. "When the new ministers arrived the Emperor told them that he knew they were displeased to be displaced from their own courts, so they could salute him however they liked. The ministers do not respect him, most half-bow in his presence."