Find the route to the main palace. Storm into the main palace like a raging bull. Ignore the blasphemous looks the workers will give me.
Find my husband's study. Storm into my husband's study like a raging bull. Demand respect.
That's the plan I so carefully concocted. I had steeled my heart for anything destined to come my way. The only downside is that I have no idea which way to take to get to the main palace. The original Chrysanthy has only been there a handful of times. One time consisted of a debut ball in which she had gotten into the main palace by the front entrance because she still lived at home. Another time was when the crown prince had his coronation, again, she entered through the main entrance. The last couple of times she went was either to spend a night with her husband or to celebrate their anniversary with yet another ball.
Each and every time, Chrysanthy failed to pay attention to the path leading to the main palace. So now I'm standing in the middle of a random ass walkway which only seems to lead to a garden and a gazebo that I can see in the far distance.
"Oh well," I mumble to myself as I continue down the path. Drops of sweat bead up on my forehead. The sun isn't even harsh today but with extra weight on this skinny body, a walk is just as taxing as exercising for a nonpregnant human.
Pressing my hand to my lower back for extra support, I continue down the path of stepping stones embedded into dirt. Vibrant green grass seems to go on for miles. Patches of flowers sit scattered and surrounded by brick borders. It makes me wonder if flowers were something Chrysanthy originally liked or if they grew on her because of this place.
When I finally make it to the gazebo, I settle down in a cushioned metal chair with a huff. The seat is uncomfortable and definitely not meant for a heavily pregnant woman. It's only something I'll have to change once I receive proper authority. Once I do, a lot of things will change around here.
Being able to just sit and breathe in the fresh air is nice. The sky is blue and the clouds are white with no signs of rain coming. In this beautiful garden, I see a butterfly here and there, or a bee buzzing around. Settling my hands on my stomach, I relish the peace. In my past life, I don't think I've ever actually had a moment to sit and breathe. I was always working towards something and I can't believe it's taken me this long to realize that.
Not even realizing I've dozed off, clicking against the stones wakes me up. Opening my eyes, I feel a lot drowsier than I would've expected with just a short nap. I look over to see a couple walking along the path. As they head towards me, I tense up, my body reacting naturally.
Standing to my feet, I pace around for a moment. They don't seem to notice me doing so as they stare at each other and talk amongst themselves. High pitched giggles and a deep laugh fills my ears as they close in on the gazebo. My natural reaction is to roll my eyes which I can't hold back. Honestly, it doesn't take me long to piece together who these two are.
The couple finally notices my presence as they stop right outside of the pavilion. The woman in the duo at least has the gall to look surprised and maybe a little worried. With her light brown eyes wide and her mouth in an 'O' shape, she looks over at the man. Unlike her, he stares at me with disdain in his deep blue eyes. If looks could kill, I would have been dead at the wedding probably.
"What are you doing out here?" the man asks, his eyes flickering down to my stomach for a moment. He runs a hand through his short red hair.
Crossing my arms, I jut my hip to one side, steeling my sassy stance. "I'm resting at my gazebo which is placed on my palace grounds. Why can I not be here? I think the better question is why are you here?"
There's no retort for a minute as he blinks. I can see the words rolling around his head as he wonders if I really just spoke back to him. Yes, my king, I did.
"Your Majesty," the woman speaks. She lifts a hand to her white hair, pushing the strands behind her ear as it blows in the cool wind. "Let's not disturb the empress... she's in a very fragile state right now, it's better if we don't stress her out."
Her words and actions take me back to high school. Being a bystander, I had witnessed a lot of situations where girls would jump friend groups. A lot of them contradicted their words by doing actions which could rival a criminal's track record. For every 'sorry' was a girl who had just been brutally bullied by a group. To any adult around, they were angels, but their peers knew the real story.
While this innocent looking girl is begging with the emperor to not stress me out, she's his mistress. These two are the biggest reasons of grief for Chrysanthy.
The emperor, Callum, looks down at his mistress. He stares at her with nothing but love in his eyes
"Even your heart is beautiful," he thinks he whispers to her. Or maybe he said it just loud enough for me to hear. "Let's leave here. This place has been tainted."
"I agree," I say. With a smile, I sniff around for a moment, possibly making a fool of myself. "It smells like a dog has been around here... oh, maybe the word bitch is a little more known for you?"
"Chrysanthy!"
"Callum!"
We have a stare off, neither of us backing down. He stares at me, wide eyed and nostrils flaring like he's ready to snap. The hand that's not connected with someone else's is clenched in a fist. The other woman, who's name I know as Aster, clenches his hand and arm with both her hands.
"Let's go, Aster." With a final glare, Callum takes his little puppy and leaves me behind. "Soon enough, this will be your garden and your palace."
Ah, now I know what bullshit he's really on.
But why am I so angry and why are these names so familiar? Even without Chrysanthy's memories, the names Callum and Aster tug at something in my brain. In my lifetime, I've never met a Callum or Aster, so that couldn't be the answer.
Well, it'll come to me, Shaking the irritating thoughts away, I settle back down into the uncomfortable chair. Now the experience is tainted though. Unable to shed that experience from my mind, I get back up and go back down the path. At least I know which way to go after seeing them walk away.
It just sucks that making demands will probably be harder since we had that little miscommunication. It's just a good thing that I have years of talking under my belt, so hopefully it won't be too hard to convince that ass to give me some respect.
As I walk, I allow the scenery to calm me down once again. Veering off path and into the grass, I struggle down to my knees to have a scent of the beautiful flowers. In this bed, yellow, purple, and pink mix together wonderfully. The smell of them is almost sweet and the fragrance tingles my nostrils.
Smiling, I hype myself up to do what I came out to do. "Okay, I'm one step closer to achieving a worthy life for you and this child."
At this moment, the only thing I have to worry about is getting back on my feet.
***
It took me much longer than expected to actually get up. Pregnant women really have it hard, especially with no help.
I've made it to the main palace it seems. It's much more lively than mine as loads of people walk around keeping busy. Rather than just maids and butlers, I also see people who look like scholars. They carry papers as they converse among each other. Almost all of them are older, old enough to be my grandfather.
The real question is how to get to Callum. From here, I have no clue how to make my way to his office, kitchen, room, anywhere. I'm not even sure he's here since he was just with his mistress harassing me. Lord only knows where they would have wandered off to.
"Your Majesty the empress?" someone calls behind me. Turning slowly, I come face to face with one of the countless old men I've seen as I've been loitering. He has a scowl on his face which I can't tell is natural or not. Bushy gray eyebrows are furrowed as he stares at me through tiny square glasses. "Why have you come here?"
The scowl is definitely not natural as I take in his tone. Matching his impression, I look him up and down. He adorns a gold and white vestment with a gold and cream colored chasuble. It's a very fancy looking cope with metallic gold threads decorating it as a fringe and a golden chain clasp. Around his neck is a noticeable pectoral cross necklace. He holds three books in his arms and without even knowing this man, I know that he's an integral part of whatever church is here.
Crossing my arms, I regard him with a tinge of hostility. "Am I not allowed to be here? My husband's palace?"
The man quickly changes his expression and shakes his head. "Your Majesty, I only meant that you should be resting in your fragile state. I'm sure the heir is ready for his mother to have some good food and a nap."
"Hmm." I try to remember anything about him from my memories, but I can't. So why can I only feel bad feelings from him towards me? "Yes, I'm sure this child also wants to hear his father's voice."
"Then allow me to lead the way."
I really don't want him to do that... but it's like everyone has disappeared from around here. He's the only person around who can tell me where to find that deadbeat of a husband and father. Now that I recall, he didn't even ask how his baby is doing. Unable to hold back, I scoff and shake my head. The priest looks at me, but doesn't ask and I wave him away.
"I was very surprised to see you , Your Majesty," the man laughs, obviously fake. It eerily reminds me of someone I recently saw. "This is the first time I've ever seen you wandering around here. In fact, I never see you around much, not even at the church."
"Yes, well, my mobility is lagging these days. Carrying the next emperor is no easy feat," I mutter, looking around at my surroundings as we step into the actual building. I need to memorize this all for the next time. "I'm stuck in my room all day and the servants of my palace act like I'm not an important person."
My words cause this man to pause. Staring at his back, I can just make out his shaking shoulders. Is this asshole laughing? He's taking the piss out of the fact that I'm treated like shit. My mind tingles. Something about this situation is odd, just like this being who I don't even want to call human. Sorry, God, I know he's your warrior, but I can't respect him.
"We're almost there, Empress." He clears his throat. "Though I'm not sure he'll be free as he's having a meeting with our Aster."
Our Aster? What a crock of shit. What is he, her father?
"Naturally, it's important for the royal family to convene with the church every so often. I'm so happy to have witnessed the birth of the saintess in my lifetime," he says.
Saintess?
*So far, longest chapter yet. It's getting good, so enjoy~*