Draconia Offline vol. 2

79.1. Love Undivided - Part 1

"Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?" Erik says all of a sudden, standing on the porch with Gotrid. I was so lost in thoughts that I didn't notice my partners woke up.

"What?" I open my eyes and laugh. "I'm wearing pyjamas."

"Celestial Royal pyjamas," Erik reminds me and I notice he's pointing his phone at me.

"You didn't!" I stand up, horrified, and hurry to him, trying to steal the phone from his hands.

"I did," Erik smirks and stretches his hand up. He's taller than me so I can't reach it.

"I took another one just in case yours came out blurry," Gotrid chuckles so I turn to him, frowning. "Enjoying a peaceful morning without us, love?"

"It was peaceful before you two showed up," I purse my lips.

"What's the commotion?" Liana opens one of the shoji screens that leads to her suite and she's yawning. "This estate isn't soundproof, you know. The walls are paper-thin, literally."

"Hi, Li, sorry about that," I greet her and give up the feeble attempt to steal my partners' phones to delete that bed-hair photo.

"Your Majesty, would you like to have breakfast now?" Cien asks me again because we're all awake.

"Yes, and I'd like to eat with my Viceroy," I say.

"As you wish," Cien bows and runs off to fulfil my request.

"Thanks for inviting me," Liana appreciates and my heart aches a little. She says that as if I'm doing her a favour. As if it's not just a normal breakfast with friends but an honour.

"I'm afraid mornings will be the only tranquil time we will have here so we'd better enjoy it," Erik sighs. "We start at eight and our itinerary is full till the evening."

"What about a short flight before they bring the food?" I suggest hopefully. It feels so easy to just fly up when I'm already outside. I look up and the sky is so tempting.

"Don't you even think about it!" Erik catches my wrist, panicking.

Only now I notice that I spread my wings without intending to do so. It might seem like an insignificant body gesture, but I startled everybody, including Liana and my partners. My new Guard Captain Sareash is gasping for air, realising for the first time that if I really decided to fly, nothing in the world could stop me.

"I wouldn't," I fold my wings again. "It was just a reflex, geez."

"There will be time for that in the afternoon," Liana assures me. "Until then, don't go repeating something like that, please. Japanese Celestials are nervous as it is because they are responsible for your safety."

Gotrid nudges me back inside, Liana joins us and we wait for breakfast to be served. It gives me a few minutes to study the interior décor which I didn't manage yesterday because we were too tired. I have to admire once again how traditional everything is. We're sitting on the tatami flooring, the low table is antique and the wall scrolls as well.

"I don't think my body is made for sitting on the ground all the time," Erik complains.

"Take my cushion so that you can sit higher," I throw my cushion at him and sit on my calves instead of my butt. I straighten my back and let my wings fall on the tatami floor. Oh, it's so comfortable for my Celestial spine!

I get two kinds of reactions. The European and American Celestials don't like the idea of their Emperor sitting on the floor while the Japanese are overjoyed that I'm adopting their culture so well. Their culture... or my culture?

"I'm okay, Cien, really," I say when the maid quickly brings me another cushion, but she won't take 'no' as an answer.

Breakfast is served and while I cheer when I see it, Erik has to try hard not to roll his eyes. This isn't the typical continental breakfast he's used to, we're given traditional Japanese dishes again.

How can anyone eat fish for breakfast? he complains in his thoughts because he doesn't want to offend the Japanese. Uch, and this egg omelette is sweet.

I'll take it if you don't want it! I stretch to him and he delivers the tamagoyaki into my mouth.

"Aefener, we have more than enough food," Liana scolds me for bad table manners. "Also, no telepathy."

I can't stick my tongue at her because the Japanese Celestials are watching us and they are horrified as it is by our lack of formality. I shrug and start to gobble rice. Pure carbohydrates, lovely. Erik tries the fish and he admits that it's delicious, the problem is that it's weird for him to eat something like that for breakfast.

"I might actually gain some weight here," I boast when I see all those plates and tiny bowls I've emptied. Gotrid and Erik look at each other with resigned expressions, but they feel a tiny bit hopeful.

After breakfast, Liana returns to her suite to get changed and so do we. Our luggage is mostly full of clothes which take up a lot of space. Erik goes to take a quick shower because, unlike us, he naturally sweats, but when he returns, I'm still not finished.

"Save me!" I beg dramatically.

"For real?" Erik allows himself to roll his eyes this time when he notices that my newest ceremonial attire has a long train of ornamented cloth I'm going to be dragging behind me probably all day.

"There will be no flying in this dress so we could finally bring it out," Ayala explains proudly. "Isn't it beautiful? A masterpiece!"

"Gotrid's robe is ceremonial, but still okayish," I comment venomously, looking at my second partner who's done changing already.

"Lord Gotrid needs to look representative next to you, but he won't get all the attention," Ayala says. "Nobody will be evaluating his clothes."

"Wait, who's going to evaluate mine?" I freeze, confused.

"The Japanese," Cien explains matter-of-factly, combing my hair, and her emotions flutter. "We expect they will present you with new attires of their own making as gifts. We can't afford to look shabby."

"Cien, we're the same race, what's that competition about?" I don't like it one bit. It's as if the Japanese Celestials want to show off that they are better subjects. But that's just... absurd!

"No competition," Cien hums, continuing to style my hair, but I can tell she's lying.

"I won't allow any rivalry," I click my tongue. "This is not a race in which the winner gets my favour. I love all my subjects equally."

"Your Japanese subjects desperately want to impress you, it's natural," Liana returns, dressed in a beautiful blue-silver dress.

Evaluate? Desperately impress? Competition? Natural? I realise that I don't get it. I mean, I do understand the words separately, but I don't feel like I truly understand the whole concept. My heart aches again with inexplicable sorrow and, for some reason, I suddenly feel deep sadness and irritation.

I try to keep those emotions contained inside me, but they pour out like a telepathic flood. I panic because there's no stopping it. My mana circuit reacts and amplifies it even further. The telepathic shockwave then hits all Celestials in the mansion and vicinity at the same time.

"Love?!"

Both Gotrid and Erik hurry to me, startled. I'm as confused as they are when my eyes get wet.