All for You

A wonderful palace

"From now on, you will only address me as Chief Hans," the head eunuch started in a haughty tone. "When we get to the palace, all eight of you will be examined to make sure you guys are still virgins. We can't have a sullied girl in the harem, after all."

Chief Hans looked at all the girls in front of him. He doubted any of them would survive more than a year or two in the harem.

"We only keep a maximum of 20 girls in the harem, and all of you will join it. If you're good and follow all the rules, perhaps you'll get to be in close quarters with the Queen Mother or the princesses, the sisters of His Majesty," Hans stopped dramatically for effect. He loved the next part.

"However, if you're exceptional and the Queen Mother notices you, you can be sent to spend one night with His Majesty. If you get lucky and have a prince, you will be taken care of for the rest of your life while you raise the prince. If your prince becomes the next Emperor, the world can be yours."

Hans knew he was cruel for this, but he loved the way the girls' eyes lit up. They would think they stood a chance of boring a prince for the emperor, but little did they know it was easier to fit a rock through a needle.

"What will we do in the harem?" One of the girls asked. Hans thinks her name is Amelia, a beautiful girl with delicate features and one who stood a great chance of being noticed by the Empress Mother.

"You will be taught by Madam Lucille, our Head of Harem, and me, about how to behave in the palace and how to be a servant to the dynasty," he replied. "Don't get your hopes high about spending the night with His Majesty. New girls join the harem every two months and replace the ones who are dull and not good enough to have the chance of being a prince's mother. Today your arrival ended the hopes and dreams of eight young ladies. If you don't listen to us and do as you please, you'll be sacked."

Kate stared out the window from her seat as she listened intently. The scenery was beautiful as the horses took the carriage through the streets of Arvenstone, a place she never dreamed about reaching. Being from a village far from the city, she always thought it was only possible to reach there if she married into a good family. Now, she stood a chance to reach higher than the sky.

She had a chance to give birth to the next emperor. Of course, she never fancied herself to be tied down to be a mother this young, but she also never thought she could ever have this opportunity.

"What do we have to do to get the Empress Mother's attention?" Kate asked thoughtfully. She turned her head towards Chief Hans who had a momentary look of shock across his face.

"Excuse me?" he incredulously asked.

"How do we gain the Empress Mother's attention?" She repeated. "So we can have a night with the emperor."

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Hans snottily replied.

"Yes, that's why I asked," she monotonously replied. "I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to know."

"Make an example of this, girls. This kind of attitude is not what gets you noticed," he said. He looked right at the girl who asked such a question. "And as for your answer, the Empress Mother notices whoever she wishes to."

Kate smiled at him and looked out the window again, immediately wiping her smile off. Next to her, she could hear Amelia and Mira quietly snickering into their hands.

"How could you ever believe a hideous cow like you could spend a night with His Majesty?" Amelia mocked quietly. "You probably couldn't even gain a decent suitor back in your dirty village. How disappointed your stepmom must've been. But maybe not since she was desperate enough to get married to a widower."

"Watch your words, Amelia," Kate seethed. She wished she never told her life story to the girls at the worn-down carriage. At the time, it was a way to cope with the horrific situation she was going through. Her wonderful mom didn't deserve to be degraded like this. She was the best person, and never let Kate know what it was like to not have a mother.

"Or what? Are you going to rough me up like the animal you are?" Mira guffawed like a horse at the joke.

"If you say one more thing about my mother, I will make sure you pay for it dearly," Kate threatened.

"That's enough, girls," Chief Hans interrupted, annoyed. "This kind of behavior is not tolerated in the presence of Madam Lucille or any of the dynasty members. So if you can't handle a little ruffle to your feathers then don't ruffle another person's." He stared at Amelia pointedly.

Chief Hans knew what the dynamic would be like between the two, he has seen it too often. Two beautiful girls with ambitions to become the next lover of the emperor. He was sure at least one of them would succeed in gaining the Empress Mother's attention but wasn't sure if the emperor would even meet them once. It hardly happened, and when it did, it never resulted in a pregnancy.

After a long period of tense silence, the first hint of the palace appeared. As they approached closer, Kate stared at it in awe. The gates could fit an entire army and were structured in an elegant way.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Priya said in amazement. "Look at all those flowers at the front. Have you ever seen such an astonishing place?"

"Yeah, it's amazing," Kate whispered.

"Ladies, when we enter the palace, you must keep your scarf on and your head down," Hans told them strictly. "I don't want to see the whites of your eyes until we enter the harem."

The carriage came to a stop in front of a huge door. The door was as white as pure snow and was carved with amazing artistry. There were carvings of gold patterns and gold lions on the door. One could tell that no expense was wasted on building the Eastmire Palace. After all, the emperor of the west lived here. Aichedia covered all the way from England to Germany, and all of it was ruled by one emperor.

The girls and the entourage of palace staff stepped out of the carriage into the blinding sun. The sun made the door, even more, shinier and smoother than normal. It reflected like it was all pure gold and not just paint.

"Welcome to Eastmire Palace, ladies," Hans smiled at them. "The home of our emperor and the House of Bridgerton. As I've told you, this can be a golden opportunity or your worst nightmare. Let's go in."

Kate felt her mind whirl as they walked up the stairs. She could already see the kind of life she would have here, and it didn't include serving any of the royal family members, not even the emperor. She could herself in beautiful gowns and jewelry, hundreds of servants at her beck and call, and a certain little prince next to her.

Maybe the bandits didn't ruin her life, after all, perhaps they were merely a stepping stone to becoming who she is destined to be. The empress of the world with the emperor of the world by her side.