Afterward, all the food served to Oris was tested with a silver needle beforehand. All the earthenware that tested positive for toxins were also left aside. Andrea's tea remained in the poisoned teacup, swirling lazy and darkening in color as Mayree glared at it

"We have to find out who lived here before we did," Oris said after swallowing a mouthful of dumpling. "When are Seline and Keziah returning?"

"By moonrise, they should be able to get here," Mayree said, her gaze flicking from the tea to her mistress and back.

"So long," Oris mumbled and reached for another cake.

Andrea stared helplessly as the tall stack of pastries was steadily depleted by her mistress' ravenous hunger.

"They should bring me more food as punishment for staying so late."

Mayree nodded at that, a soft smile on her lips. "I will relay your message if I see them."

"You are going somewhere?" Oris asked, half a dumpling stuck in her mouth.

"I have to get medicine for your wound and fever."

"You have money?"

"Some."

"You shouldn't waste it on such trivial things then. My wound will heal and my fever will break." Oris patted the spot next to her. "Have a cake and sit down. You too, Andrea."

"You treat yourself so poorly," Mayree said but did as she was told.

Andrea followed suit, clutching a dumpling close to her chest as though someone was about to steal it.

"Someone wants me dead. Well, someone new wants me dead. If an assassin sneaks in will Andrea be enough to fend him off?"

"Assassin?" Andrea squeaked and grabbed her mistress' arm. "What assassin?"

Oris grinned and winked at Mayree. "See, I do care for my health."

Mayree pulled the plate of dumplings and cakes away from Oris' reach, her expression stern. "Don't eat too many sweets."

A thoughtful expression crossed Oris' features. She placed her hand on top of her belly. "I want noodles then."

"I'll see what I can do, Mist—"

Oris slapped the maid lightly on the shoulder. "I've told you to call me Big Sister."

"I might get used to it."

"Is that a bad thing?"

Andrea pursed her lips and held her dumpling with both hands. "I'm the youngest and all my sisters are much older than me. They never played with me, so—"

"Andrea!" Mayree shot the girl a scathing look. "Hold your tongue."

Oris pulled Andrea to her chest. "Quit being an anchor in a pond, Mayree. You don't want to call me Sis, that's fine. Just don't force your ideals on poor children."

Mayree sighed. "You spoil her too much."

"She brought me food unlike you lot that planned on starving me."

"Mistress."

"Enough, enough." Oris waved her hand and released Andrea. "Let us talk. This might be the only free time we have till tomorrow."

"What do you want to talk about?" Andrea peered up at her through her thick lashes, curiosity shining through her eyes.

"The palace. Etiquette. Whoever might benefit from my death. Normal things."

"It would be more helpful if Keziah were here," Andrea mused and took a bite of the dumpling.

"And why do you think she knows more about the palace than you who was raised here?"

Andrea frowned then shook her head in reply.

"Let us start with the Emperor and his mother, how is their relationship?"

"The Emperor is filial. He is a good son," Mayree answered immediately but there was some hesitation in her tone.

"Go on."

"It is common knowledge that his biological mother abandoned him but not many know that so did the Empress Dowager."

Oris blinked. She definitely didn't know that. She inched her body towards the maid, ready to listen.

"In fact, the truth of what actually went on in the royal family is a closely guarded secret. I only know some because mother had worked here for half her life," Mayree said with a conspirational smile. "Back then there were rumors that a princess had captured the king's eye. She was the eldest daughter of the King of Narita, a dark-skinned beauty with a smile sweeter than chocolate and a laugh more soothing than honey."

"Imperial concubine Nian Fey," Oris said. She was Hermes' birth mother.

"She was the gem King Abbadad treasured but she had been forcefully taken. Rumors say the king forced himself on her," Mayree's voice went lower by a pitch, "and the Emperor was conceived in such moments of... passion."

Oris had never once imagined that there was so much that happened behind the scenes of a story she thought she knew so well but after thinking about it, it made sense. If she read her own story, she was sure she wouldn't be able to make heads or tails of it. First off, she didn't exist, only Risa did.

Everything she did while in power would be documented under her sister's exploits. If she somehow managed to once again claim her throne, it would seem as though she had popped out of nowhere, sort of like an illegitimate child.

Even if historians managed to track down her whereabouts, they would only know that she had been adopted into a commoner family, they would never know about her little adventure into Hermes' harem. As it stood, only Bren knew her true story. It was small-minded of her to think that the same couldn't apply to Hermes.

It seemed that no royal family had a clear account of their history—it was written by the winners after all.

"So Nian Fey hated her son," Oris said at last, to dispel the silence. It was general knowledge that Hermes' biological mother had abandoned him to win more of his father's favor..

"The contrary. Rumors said she sent him away to protect him from King Abbadad's controlling ways, and the person she sent him to wasn't the current Empress Dowager but her best friend."

"Who?"

"Mii Ai, the Emperor's wet nurse at the time."

Oris nearly broke her neck swiveling to face Andrea. Was it merely a coincidence that both maids had mentioned this woman today, or did Fate have another test in place for her already?

"Mistress, I didn't mention anything," Andrea immediately defended herself.

"Mention what?" Mayree asked, confused.

"Mii Ai is a really popular woman," was all Oris said, her thoughts hundreds of miles away.

"She raised the king's favorite child, so she was the source of envy of all the women in the palace."

"Her—" Oris caught herself before she broke protocol. "The Emperor was the king's favorite?"

"Yes, they were quite close."

"That means that my answers for the test were completely wrong." Oris' hand paused on its way to the remaining half of Andrea's dumpling.

"Why didn't you guys tell me?" she asked as relief flooded her chest. Her fears of her identity been ousted so soon had been erased. There was no way she could rank high with such a bogus essay. At most, she would score in the the middle tier-the perfect spot for someone like her who didn't want to be noticed.

"The scribes and guards were watching," Andrea mumbled. "Besides, your answers weren't wrong. Mayree was just telling you rumors. Perhaps no one knows the real truth of what happened back then."

"Mii Ai did," Oris said, "and someone needed her dead for a reason."

"The Empress Dowager," Andrea began to say, only to be interrupted by a three sharp knocks on the doors to the room.

She and Mayree shot to their feet.

"Could it be—" Oris started to ask but Mayree shook her head.

"I will handle this, Andrea help our mistress into bed."

The older maid held her hand in front of her bosom with her thumbs curled around each other and the rest of her fingers extended.

Oris stared at her blankly as she curtsied and headed for the sliding doors, just realizing that this was the first time she had seen any of her maids adopt the correct posture for their status.

She looked down at her own hands, remembering how she had done the same to bow to Hermes and his mother. It was quite different from etiquette in Orse where there were different hand positions used to greet persons of differing statuses. Here, those who didn't belong to the royal family bowed to one another with their hands forming the wings of a bird.

So is Inae better than Orse? Less superficial? Oris pondered as Andrea lowered her onto the bed and pulled the covers over her. Royal children bow to royal parents. Officials bow to the royals while servants bow to the official and kneel before royals.

That was the way it worked, wasn't it?

Mayree looked back at them when she reached the door and nodded. Oris smiled at her.

It could very well be her executioner behind those doors that were about to be pulled apart. She closed her eyes and felt Andrea's hand upon her cheek.

Sometimes she found her new life so blissful.

"Is your Mistress around?" she heard the voice of Faeradaigh ask. "I have an imperial degree for her."

Other times she wondered why the gods made her story so complicated.

"How can my mistress not be here?" she heard Mayree reply. "She is here but asleep with fever, she will not wake."

Oris felt Andrea tug the strings of her veil behind her head. She opened her eyes to see the girl's hazy figure hovering over her.

"You may enter," Mayree told the eunuch. "The presence of the Emperor may aid my mistress' recovery."

"Where are the rest of you?"

"This is all," Mayree answered curtly and didn't elaborate.

Faeradaigh hummed in understanding then cleared his throat loudly. "All kneel for the Empress Dowager's decree."

Oris stiffened, already thinking the worst. Her decree?

"The Lady of Inqa has been found suspicious of acts against the throne. Testimonies from those serving at the palace gates on the 22nd day and 6th month of the Yey Dynasty prove that she played a part in instigating the masses to rebel against the Emperor. She shall be detained in the Ministry of Justice while further investigation is carried out."

For a moment, there was silence. Oris bit hard on her lip as she waited to hear her maids to responses.

"Won't you thank the Queen Mother for her grace?" Faeradaigh asked.

It was Mayree who spoke up. "On behalf of my mistress," she said, her voice trembling, "I thank the Empress Dowager and accept the decree."

"But our mistress is sick," Andrea protested immediately after. "She cannot be moved."

"Guards!" Faeradaigh ignored her.

"Milord," Oris called out weakly and pushed her body off the bed. "I accept the decree, there is no need to hurt them."

She placed her hand over her mouth and coughed harshly into it while giving Andrea a stern glare. Do not be reckless, it said.

"How long will the investigation take?" she asked. "The results of the first test will be announced at dawn, will I be back in time for it?"

Faeradaigh clasped his hands in front of him and shook his head slightly. "Milady, please do not make things more difficult for me. I have no way of answering your questions."

Oris nodded, thinking back to the words the eunuch had told her when they had reached the palace gates. There was no helping his disloyalty, she simply wasn't powerful enough. "Mayree, help me to my feet."

The maid rushed to her mistress' side, tears in her eyes. "We won't let them take you."

"There has to be something wrong," Oris assured her, raising her chin so that their gazes met. "I am innocent, you know that. The Emperor already let me go, he cannot break his word."

Mayree blinked back her tears and pulled Oris off the bed. "Keziah and Seline..."

"It seems they made the right choice all along. Find out about how they are doing. Don't forget to clear the shards on the floor, lest someone gets hurt."

"Mistress," Andrea rushed to block Oris' path, "if you go, I may never see you again. Don't leave."

The girl's distress made pain flare up in Oris' chest but there was nothing she could do about it. It was impossible to defy an imperial decree.

She placed her hand on top of Andrea's hair and with a smile passed her fingers through the thick strands. "You are still so young, don't ruin your beauty by crying. I will be back."

She pulled her hand away and held it out to Mayree who led her towards the waiting guards.

When she was about to cross the threshold, she paused and turned back to Andrea. "Can I taste your tea one last time?"

Andrea's eyes widened in surprise but Mayree's glare cut off any protests before she could voice them. The girl ducked her head and swiped the tea cup that was still on the table.

Hurriedly wiping her tears away, she handed it to Oris. "Here, Mistress."

Oris flashed her one last smile, hazy from behind the veil, before throwing all the tea into her mouth and gulping it down.

"Delicious," she said, but no one could see the two tears that had escaped the corner of her eyes.

Wait for me, she thought as the guard put heavy shackles over her trembling wrists. It seems like I can't escape the dungeon after all.

~