A 3.8k chapter this time :) Ch.30 is already at 1.5k as well ^-^
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15th January 1999- Friday
"Father, watch this, watch this!"
Harry heard happy squeals of childish laughter as he entered the gardens, and stopped still, shocked at the sight before him: One of the Emperor's youngest daughters, Eleventh Princess Aloisa; who was Attendant Lukas' little girl, was trying to do a handstand as her father watched on. The Emperor was dressed finely in his signature black and gold robes, hair slicked back and one sleek, dark eyebrow raised.
"I'm watching," Thomas reassured the girl as she righted herself to check on him, returning to pressing her head against the floor whilst flailing her legs unsuccessfully as the man and an army of personnel watched on. Strangely enough, no other concubines were present despite the gaggle of Royal Children playing in the grass.
As he swept his eyes across the garden, he observed that it was all those under nine, but none of the youngest, namely the ones born whilst Harry had been in the Harem.
Their eyes locked then, green to red. Thomas' lip quirked.
"Would you like to sit with us, My Concubine?" The man called out, drawing the attention of all to where Harry was standing, clutching his hands over his middle.
Under all the eyes, Harry smiled uncertainly. "I wouldn't like to intrude-"
"Uncle Harry, come and play!" One of the girls cutely tilted her head as she stared up at him with big, blue eyes. Ninth Princess Aurelia, he could spot Penny's features mixed elegantly with the Emperor's anywhere. Harry blinked down at her, and she grinned toothily back.
"What do you want to play, Princess?" He asked as he began to lower himself to the ground, not wanting to be accused of 'looking down on a Royal Princess', even though there wasn't much choice but to do so.
The girl hummed, head spinning as she searched for something, her attention captured by a toddling, black-haired boy, who Harry recognised as the Princess' full-blooded brother, Fourth Prince Rastus. The boy was adorably small and reasonably steady on his feet now, a few shy months off of turning three. He was the youngest of the gathering.
Aurelia bounded up to her brother, startling him into stepping backwards and wobbling. Harry could see the way the maids crowding the young Prince gritted their teeth at that; and bristled at their annoyed glances, aimed unfairly at the girl. The disparity between the treatment of the Princes and Princess' in the Court, even by their parents, excluding the Emperor it seemed, was a sore thought for Harry.
If he had a little Princess, would she be sidetracked by the maids and Eunuchs, seen as lesser for no other reason than they assumed a Prince was more desirable to the Emperor? From the way Thomas interacted with his children, sons and daughters alike, he treated one no differently than the other.
Seeing the way the Emperor acted around his children made Harry imagine how he would interact with theirs. Would he gently hold the hand of their son as he jumped over sticks and stones? Would he hold their daughter close as she pointed out the shapes she could see in the clouds? Or would he smile over at them slyly as he watched them pinch another cookie out of the basket?
"What are you thinking about so intently, my Concubine?" The Emperor's question shook him out of his reverie, and Harry's thoughts sobered.
"The future, I hope."
Thomas sent him a smirk that sent butterflies soaring in his belly, and he turned away with a blush on his cheeks. Harry cleared his throat, trying to focus on the children clamouring for the attention of a 'new' adult whilst the Emperor watched on.
YOU ARE READING
| INTIMACY | - HPxTMR
Fanfiction● Word Count: 175k ● ◇ Ever since he was young, Harry had been fascinated with the Emperor, the founder of the Slytherin Dynasty and ruler of the world. When the chance appeared to become a part of his Harem, Harry jumped at it, eager to figure out...
