Oris half-expected the woman to make things hard for her but thankfully, she didn't.

The Empress Dowager simply adjusted her boisterous sleeves and walked in majestically. "At ease," she said casually as though her presence wasn't an unforeseen development but a required element in all court meetings.

Oris obeyed the general command and rose fully to simply kneel. There was no point in bowing anymore. Since the most powerful woman in the world had decided to get rid of her, pity would no longer move any heart.

Things had just gotten a lot harder for her to turn around.

"Son, am I disturbing anything?" the woman said but her voice did not portray any remorse, only authority. "If I am, I could come by later. The matter I wish to discuss is not so important."

Finally, for the first time since she had stepped into the palace, Oris was allowed see Hermes, worshipper of Sūn and the man that had murdered her only remaining family.

She kept her gaze on the golden throne, slowing collecting her thoughts as she was hit full-force with majesty.

Hermes was beautiful.

Even through her veil, she could tell. Just as she could tell that his mother was a beauty that could, and had destroyed nations.

"No, how could anything mother wishes to discuss be unimportant?" the Emperor said, his voice cool and silky. "Dai, get mother a seat."

Faeradaigh's reply was unheard by Oris for she was still gripped, captivated by what she saw.

Hermes was strong. His arms were thick with muscle and his chest was a wall that couldn't be pushed down.

His jaw was sharp, his features exquisite like he was a piece of marble the god of art and sculpture, Shéhehā, had wanted to cherish.

His visage was godly. Power rippled in him from head to toe. The rumors did not lie, he was indeed one who could rip apart a lion with his bare hands and behead an enemy general from miles away with the force of a common spear.

He wore no crown on his head but he was the ruler of everything as far as the eye could see.

He wore nothing but a simple, unadorned white robe yet he was the richest man alive.

Oris could see no pride in him, no hate, no vengeance, yet what he had done was undisputable.

He had killed thousands to sit on his throne and yet he was no what she had expected. He was more than what she anticipated.

She had known that he was a warrior, in fact she could recited his origins while asleep. She had studied him for years in preparation for defeating him one day, so why did she feel as though she hadn't even scratched the surface of who he truly was?

The feeling was that of learning a myth then the next day finding out it ought to be a more fact than legend.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," the Empress Dowager said when she was seated, up on the dais, above the rest of the officials at the right-hand of her son.

"You spoke of rebellion?" Hermes asked, and Oris couldn't help but watch him.

She watched the long curly braids of black hair that fell off his shoulders. She watched the morning light reflect off his dark chocolate skin, and wondered how he felt to be so unique in a sea of pale-skinned people.

His skin contrasted with his robe; his robe contrasted with that of the officials.

They all wore black robes with gold thread embroidered into the Innoish word for 'life' and artistic designs of the sun along their sleeves. And while the Emperor and his advisor wore their hair freely, all the officials had theirs up into a top knot secured by a red ribbon that fell to their hips.

"Yes," his mother said. "Rebellion. And it involves the woman kneeling at the doors."

She then proceeded to give her own interpretation of event. How 'the woman' had enticed the common folk and lured them to the palace gates in order to gain attention and how she threatened the soldiers with her own life when they tried to drive the people away.

"How preposterous!"

This time, Oris saw what had been thrown. A scroll from the table in front of the Emperor that Faeradaigh scrambled to retrieve as it rolled down the hall.

Oris found it all funny, the mother-son dynamic playing out in front of her. It seemed as though delaying the selection was something Hermes wanted as well, and she happened to be the perfect scapegoat.

Empress Dowager Wei Wei, might have been an impressive woman but she not Hermes actual birth mother. It was surprising that they had such a close connection despite their obvious lack of blood relation.

But Oris could understand. Birthing a child didn't make you a parent, raising the child up to adulthood did.

While Hermes' mother, a dark skinned beauty herself, had abandoned him to be raised by a lesser concubine in the Inae royal palace because his royal father did not favor him, Empress Dowager Wei Wei, previously Honorable Lady Wei, had been the one to raise him. And even when they were both evicted from the palace due to conspiracies, she had still stood by him and supported his ambitions.

One could say that she deserved the honor she had now. It must not have been easy raising a state-conqueror singlehandedly.

The Empress Dowager was a beauty in her own right. She had long silky black hair that had been manoeuvred into a towering loops on her head, her skin looked delicate and soft, her complexion could be compared to the physical appearance of porcelain or a pearl.

Oris felt that her own pasty white skin and overeager freckles were dull in comparison. At least my hair can make up for the total lack of color, she silently laughed at herself.

Being raised by such a woman should have elevated Hermes' standard of beauty from a young age. And if that was the case, who in his future harem could manage to wrangle his attention away from his precious Queen Mother?

Certainly not her, and that suited Oris just fine.

It was the murmurs that had began that pulled her back to the present. It seemed as though Hermes was done with his outburst because his mother now had her hand on top of his.

"It is only natural that the women in the harem compete for your attention," she said, gracefully adding oil to the fire. "I am sure she had no intention of starting an uprising."

Oris found herself searching for a suitable object to commit suicide with. Kill me now, she begged the gods, knowing that they wouldn't answer.

"She is not even in the harem yet and already she has enough courage to start a rebellion." Hermes said. "How can I tolerate such an ambitious woman? I am afraid that this Emperor's palace is too small for her."

Oris blinked, almost feeling the need to point at herself and ask him if he was talking about her. She wondered what his reaction would be if she told him that she actually did plan on starting a rebellion but had been framed this time around.

"Son, these are harem matters and usually I would have handled it as such, but this situation concerns the people, I dare not be too rash."

"You made the right decision, mother. I cannot believe all this was happening right at the palace gates." Hermes said.

"You. You have been silent all this while. What do you have to say to defend yourself?"

It took Oris a while to realize that he was now addressing her. She smiled beneath her veil and bowed again.

"Your Majesty is wise," she rose and placed her hands on her laps. "If Your Majesty wishes to sentence this lowly one to death, this servant has no objection."

Murmurs erupted again but once again, no official dared to speak.

It doesn't matter, Oris thought, soon they will open their mouths.

"You wish to die?!"

Oris had experience with angry men in positions of power. It was best to go along with what they said until they realized how unreasonable they were being. . . Or their subjects realized it for them.

"This servant is poor and uneducated, if the gods have written this one's death in stone, there is no need to change it," Oris said and lowered her head again. "Your Majesty, I wish to die."

"You have angered His Majesty to this point and you are still looking for attention?" the Empress Dowager shook her head, making the dangling ornaments in her hair collide with each other to produce soft and melodious sounds. "Your schemes cannot work here."

We will see.

"I do not know what schemes the Empress refers to," Oris said softly. "I am a nun and have long since dedicated my life to the gods but I was sent here because I am considered the most beautiful woman in my fief and no one dares to disobey the Emperor. If I do not die, then should I live?"

"Nobody was forced into the palace," Magnus said, suddenly speaking up. "It is a choice whether to come or not."

"That is where you are wrong, milord." Oris said. "Inqa is a small fief. Everybody knows each other. Daughters have their fathers and brothers to protect them. I am an orphan and they say I am a beauty from the gods themselves. I was the only option."

"So you wish to die? Do you not fear what would befall your fiefdom if you do?" the advisor asked.

"I wish to die," Oris repeated calmly, "but it is a sin to kill myself. I came to the palace willingly for the sake of my fiefdom but now I have started a rebellion so I deserve to die."

Hermes made a sound of annoyance and Oris heard the sound of a sword being pulled out of it's scabbard. Really too hasty for an emperor.

"I only hope that Your Majesty can spare my fief and the four maids you appointed me, they are innocent," she said when the blade rested on her shoulder.

"Maids?" Hermes held up his hand to halt the guard about to execute Oris. "What maids?"

"Four maids were assigned to her at Asharath," Faeradaigh answered.

"And how are they involved in this?" The question forced Faeradaigh to include the parts of the story he had omitted.

He told the Emperor about the missing maid being the reason Oris had threatened the guards with her life.

"Bring them in," Hermes ordered.

Andrea, Seline, Mayree and Keziah were guided into the great Hall, in that order.

"Mistress," Andrea cried and rushed towards her mistress, not caring for where she was.

It was only the guards that stopped her, forcing her to her knees beside Oris.

She was still covered in blood but at least she was no longer crying. On seeing her, it was as though a huge weight was taken off Oris' heart.

Mayree, Seline and Keziah were lined up on their knees beside the youngest maid.

"This servant greets the Emperor, greets the Empress Dowager," they said, forcing Andrea to lower her head and chime along.

"Which one was missing?" Hermes wasted no time and asked the question.

"That one, Your Majesty," Faeradaigh answered quickly, pointing to Andrea.

"What were you doing away from your mistress?" the Empress Dowager snapped, obviously not expecting blame to be shifted off Oris so soon.

"I. . . We were running out of food so I went out to get more," Andrea replied.

Oris was surprised at how calm the girl was but the near imperceptible nod from Mayree told her that in their time apart Andrea had been coached.

"Running out of food," Wei Wei scoffed yet managed to look dignified, covering her mouth with a flourish of her wide sleeve, "such a rich excuse!"

"My mistress did nothing wrong. She gave food to starving people so that no one would get hurt. She never once left the carriage, how could she be a rebel?"

"You dare accuse the Empress Dowager of lying?" an official asked loudly, pitching in at that moment in hopes of currying favor with the royal family.

"N- No. . . I-"

Oris lowered her gaze from the dais and turned to shaking Andrea, forcing her voice to tremble with fear she did not feel.

"Andrea, stop it," she begged, "I have already pleaded for leniency from His Majesty."

"But Mistress," confusion crawled over the girl's pretty features, "they say you are rebelling. Rebels are punished by death. It's the law."

"I have asked that your lives be spared," Oris said honestly. "If I die now, I will go to paradise in peace."

"Mistress?" Andrea only now seemed to notice the sword that rested by Oris' neck. "Mistress," she tried to move towards her but was stopped by a guard, "you can't die. You can't!"

"Andrea," Seline cautioned her quietly. "Stop it."

"No." Andrea argued fiercely. "This is all a misunderstanding. It has to be. Yes, just that. A misunderstanding!"

"Enough!" Hermes slammed his hand on the armrest of his throne, silencing the hall. "This issue has already delayed morning court for too long. Since a conclusion cannot be met and the accused has accepted the verdict, carry on with the execution."

"No, if my mistress dies, I will die with her." Andrea shouted and pulled a hairpin from her sleeve.

What she intended to do was clear to all.

Just as Andrea's strike was about to land, Oris moved before she could control herself. Not willing to see another person die for her, her hand had already connected with Andrea's cheek and the hairpin was now metres away, sliding towards the shocked officials.

"Silly girl," she said, aware of the new pain in her neck and she held the girl's face in her hands. "No one deserves your life."

Andrea only nodded, staring at her mistress in shock. The pain in her cheek seemed to dissipate into nothing. "Blood."

She reached towards it and her fingers left covered in red.

Oris stared at her maid's trembling fingers knowingly. The wound wasn't deep, she hadn't been so lost in the moment not to account for Andrea's rashness. The sword had cut her but the cut wouldn't kill her. It would serve its purpose as the catalyst for dissent among the officials.

Andrea's outburst was unexpected but it added more to the scene. Oris had planned on faking a suicide attempt, cutting herself with the sword as well.

But this changed everything. Now, the officials would not think that she had meant to kill herself, they would see her as an innocent woman who had tried to save her maid.

They would see Andrea as a servant pushed to the brink to prove the innocence of her mistress.

They would see the Emperor as a cruel man who ordered the death of a willing nun.

"This servant was willing to die!" Oris announced, holding her breath even as the guard behind her dropped his sword in panic and her maids flocked around her in distress.

She could feel her blood seep into the lace that lined the neckline of her dress and the hem of her veil. She could feel it's warmth on her skin and the quickening of her heart to compensate for its loss.

It was at peace that she fell, her vision darkening, into Andrea's waiting arms. Finally, it is over.

The Empress Dowager had said that no scheme could get her out of being executed, then she would simply offer them her life.

A gamble of life and death, what greater scheme was there than that?

The mother of an emperor never could beat a willful queen.

~