How To Tame An Empress (BOOK I)

Chapter 10 - Forms of Entertainment

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I followed her around as she tended to her flowers and animals, releasing some of the birds into the sky while the others stayed in their cages, still recovering. A soft smile rested on her features, but I was not blind to the boredom which they hid.

"Ria, my love." I called.

"...Yes?" She hummed, too concentrated on the flowers she was watering to spare me a glance. And here I had thought that my jealousy only went as far as humans but yet I find myself being jealous of these plants.

"Your boredom is doing a terrible job of hiding itself from me." And her eyes finally looked up at mine, hands pausing in watering the plants.

"Is it truly that obvious?" She sighed, running a hand through her hair to which I nodded my head in response, taking a step closer to her as I helped in brushing her hair away.

"Well, I cannot help it. While I was fully aware that I would give up some of my freedom in return for being your wife, I did not think that I would suddenly be cut off from the rest of the world. I am content with the life I have now, but I cannot help but crave the one which I have given up." She whispered, the boredom in her hazel eyes shifting into that of sadness.

"I thought that, even though I would be Empress, I could still, at the very least, visit my friends." Perhaps she could, but she did not need to know that. She did not need them, I was enough for her, and as soon as she sees that then she will no longer care for her freedom.

"But anyway, putting all that aside, why are you asking me that all of a sudden?" She reminded me of why I had brought it up in the first place.

"I was thinking to leave the palace tomorrow," I suggested with a light shrug.

A long, very long, silence followed my statement, and my once calm face morphed into a smile as I laughed at my wife who hasn't looked this bewildered since the first time I proposed to her in this very same garden a few months ago.

"Are you serious? You are not joking with me, are you, Stacius? Because if you are then I will slap you." She stepped forward, hands going to rest on my chest as I continued to laugh at her, shaking my head in answer to her question.

"I was getting quite bored too, with all the council meetings and documents to read through, I thought it would be a good idea to go out and get some fresh air for a day. While the palace is busy preparing for your birthday banquet next week, you and I could visit an amphitheatre tomorrow." I suggested, although I had already planned everything out.

"An amphitheatre?" She echoed as I nodded my head in response, surprised by her sudden crestfallen face. I was confused; I've never heard of a person who didn't enjoy watching gladiators' fight. But then again, my wife wasn't exactly an ordinary woman.

"What is it? Do you not like amphitheatres?" I decided to ask.

"No, it is not that. When you said we would go out, I had just thought it would be something a little more... casual. Like when you and I bumped into each other at the market before we were wed." She smiled at the memory. That day felt like it had happened years ago now that she's mentioned it, but it was a beautiful day, nonetheless.

"Before I wed you, I never properly showed my face to the public, so sneaking out as well as blending in was much easier. But our wedding day changed that; both our faces were revealed for the whole empire to see in the procession from your old home to your new one." I explained, wrapping my arms around her waist as I pulled her against my body, her hands going to rest on my chest as her fingers played with the material of my robes.

"I am aware. And I understand." She said that, but she did not wish to accept it.

"Flower, if you do not wish to go to the amphitheatre then it is not obligatory for us to go." I explained, kissing the top of her head.