[ON HOLD] The Empress

XXXV. How to create a Powerbase

"Attention! His Imperial Majesty, Maximilian X!"

Maximilian's black stallion galloped into the imperial courtyard, his sentinels formatted around him in a wide circle.

The Emperor's eyes franticly looked around, searching for any sign of the enemy. A terrible storm had prevented him from traveling, muddying the roads and flooding bridges. The normal three-week trip had turned into almost three months.

Every day that Maximilian was away, was a terrible night of dreams. His mind imagined the most horrible things Romulus would do to his family, to his harem, to his people.

'Zilyana...' Maximilian wondered. 'What did he do to you?'

Yet when Maximilian arrived at Newset Palace, the blood drained from his face.

Instead of the heads of his family lining the walls of the palace, it was the heads of men. Their bodies hung below the severed heads, and by the look of the armor, it told Maximilian that they were all Generals and Commanders. Then, at the highest point of the Imperial Gate, was Romulus's head, his eyes open wide in shock, his mouth gaping.

'What...?' Maximilian thought, confused.

The Emperor jumped down from his horse, taking note of the once wooden gates, now being made of stone. Maximilian could see the walls of the palace were cracked, and being recast, which told him that a battle had taken place.

The servants in the Imperial courtyard all dropped to their knees, mute with shock.

"What happened here?!" Maximilian barked.

The servants trembled, not knowing what to say.

"SPEAK!" Maximilian bellowed. "SPEAK OR ELSE I'LL HAVE YOUR HEADS! WHAT HAPPENED HERE?!"

All within Maximilian's party looked as if they had seen better days. Their clothes were dirty, their hair unbrushed or kept, some were half-mad with no food. Commander Kell understood his emperor's frustrations but did not believe it necessary to scare the servants more.

"Your Majesty," Kell said. "Allow me."

The older man walked to one of the servants and tapped their shoulder, motioning for them to rise. "Please, tell us what happened here. Did Romulus's army come? How is his head on the walls?"

"The... The Princess..." the Servant stammered. "She... She..."

At the mention of Zilyana, Maximilian shoved past his men. Storming into the palace, everyone scrambled to get out of his way as Maximilian walked to the harem. He flew up the stairs to his mother's rooms, not waiting for the guards to announce him as he kicked open the doors.

Marleina and Tarla leaped to their feet, the formal dipping into a quick curtsy.

"My son?" Marleina gasped.

"Mother!" Maximilian exclaimed.

He crossed the room in three strides and opened his arms, wrapping both in a crushing hug. His mother buried her face in his shoulder, sobbing softly.

"I was so afraid..." Marleina whispered.

"What happened here?" Maximilian asked, pulling away so he could look into their faces. "Please, is everyone all right?"

Tarla nodded. "Yes, we all. But...it was so scary, Brother."

Marleina held her son's hands and led him to her window couch. "We learned about Romulus's attack just as it began," she explained. "The Grandmatron wanted us to jolt the doors and flee but..."

"But Zilyana saved us!" Tarla blurted out.

Maximilian's eyebrows shot up. "What do you mean?"

"She told us to stay in the tunnels and to not leave," Tarla replied. "After of which, I don't know how much time passed, but she opened the doors a little while later with his head in her hand."