The Emperor's Shadow

Chapter Five

As you can imagine, a former slave who had never had a day off in his life and a king who rose to power in the wake of an untimely death was not the best pair to form leisure plans. After I'd read his book and we'd laid in bed silently for a bit, we realized we were properly bored and ravenous.

He called the Eunuch in to fetch breakfast and rose from the bed as the servant left in a mad dash.

"Come, Little One. I should at least be clothed before we break our fast."

With skittering feet and cheeks ablaze I hopped out of bed and scurried to his side. He led us over to his wardrobe and looked at me expectantly. I stared back dumbly for a moment while he waited patiently for me to understand what he was asking of me. When it did click I took a deep breath in and looked away.

"Your Majesty, I am not fit to dress you in the imperial robes. That is specially designated for the Head Eunuch-"

"If I wanted the Head Eunuch dressing me, I would have him here and you fetching our meal."

"I have never dressed a man before-"

"That I am glad for."

"Your Majesty-"

He gently cupped my chin as my words came out faster and jumbled, "It's alright Little One. I'm asking you to dress me. Can you do that for me?"

I looked up at the warmth in his eyes, "Of course, Your Majesty."

As I caught myself instantly complying I briefly wondered if this man had magic eyes that could mesmerize a man's mind. Why else would looking at him make me powerless to refuse his every wish and whim? What made this man's words so compelling beyond his royal title? Was this how a deer felt as it caught the eye of a tiger in the brush? If it was, no wonder the prey would allow itself to be taken if it meant a closer look at those eyes.

For the briefest second, I studied his eyes brazenly as I could manage. They were dark as raven's feathers and if I hadn't taken the time to truly look at them I might have called them cold. But as I looked at them, I saw nothing but warmth and kindness. Perhaps they were enchanted to be so. Eyes that glowed like embers in the noon sun neither frightened me nor angered me. Looking into them I'd never felt calmer.

It must have been his eyes that made me forget his title and his position and compelled me to want nothing more than to serve this man. Or perhaps it was the praise I hoped to receive if I did well.

After a brief second had become a brief moment, I turned to the carefully folded garments on the dresser. First, I picked up his undershirt. He lifted his arm so that I may slide one sleeve on at a time before coming around in front of him to tie it closed. He felt warmer this close. The ribbon of his shirt was even with my eyes making it easy to neatly tie. It also made our quarters close and seemingly more intimate than when we were lying in bed together just moments before. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that his smoldering eyes weren't tracking my every movement increasing the heat in my belly and my cheeks.

"Well done, Little Shadow. Now the robe."

With all the care of swaddling a newborn, I wrapped him in the silks worth more than ten of me.

The close quarters and quiet room made it easy to feel his warmth against my cold hands as I gently straightened his collar. The over awareness of my every action made the hitch in his breath as I smoothed his robe down all too real.

It was strange, to say the least. I was sure the act of removing clothes was intimate, the women of the palace had told me as much. It made sense, of course. Removing each layer of security until you were met with the bare nudity of your partner seemed like the definition of intimacy in my mind. And yet, as I meticulously fixed the garment of the Emperor, I wondered how it was possible that the opposite action seemed to contain such tenderness at the same time.

I shakily adjusted and readjusted his robe feeling that any slight bump or wrinkle in the fabric would dishonor the perfect man before me and prove I was useless to him in such matters. I had never given much thought to dressing my former masters nor shown any special inclination for it, but the possibility of never being able to do this for him--never experience this closeness again worsened my tremors exponentially.

A rough palm caught my wrist and held it with no shortage of tenderness and value, "Such gentle hands, Little One. Thank you."

I glanced up at him with wide eyes. His words had given my belly a flock of butterflies for whatever reason. I had never seen such kind eyes. So warm...

"Only one more piece," he moved to reach for his crown and held it out to me.

I had assumed this at the very least would be saved for when the Eunuch came back but in his eyes, I only saw every intention of me placing it on his head. This crown, something no foreigner--especially no foreigner of my standing--had ever touched was something he wanted me to place on his head.

I took a deep breath. My hands would not be shaking as I held the crown of that I would be sure.

I had once held the newborn baby of a princess at the feeble age of fifteen. I remember holding it like a droplet of the sun the goddesses had gifted to man, nestling it close to my chest and closer in my heart. It paled in comparison to the way I cradled the crown of the Emporer. It was lighter than I thought it would be, but still far too heavy to rest on someone's head all day.

I looked back at the Emporer, realizing now that there was no way I would be able to reach the top of his head. He seemed to be thinking ahead of me, and to my horror, he kneeled down in front of me. His eyes were suddenly level with mine, and I had no idea how to cope with this vulnerability. I blanched. One would think that perhaps after the extensive sanctities the Emporer had ignored for me I should be used to it. I wasn't.

Before I could think about it too much, I concerned myself with getting the priceless adornment out of my hands, and with all the care of a blacksmith sharpening a steel sword, I placed it on his head.

There. Both problems are fixed. I'm no longer holding the most precious item in the known world and he will get up rather than demean himself by-

The familiar rough palm was suddenly on top of my head. Startled I looked back at him. A soft, full smile and his warm eyes.

"Thank you, Little One. You did wonderfully. I do believe I may have you do this every day."

I barely processed what he said before there was a knock on the door. Everyday? I would have to get up much earlier to help him prepare.

"Your Majesty, your meal has been prepared."

Again, our meal was mostly silent. He fed me every other bite until I could barely breathe and finished the rest himself.

"The day is still young, Little Shadow. What would you like to do today?" he asked as the table was cleared.

"Pardon, Your Majesty?"

"We haven't done much more than rest for more than half the day and most days I waste away on a glorified chair anyway. Perhaps something on the active side?"

"Of course, My Lord, whatever you wish."

"No, I want your opinion. I'm terrible with these kinds of decisions and by the time they're made I've wasted half my time. What do you think? What do you do for leisure?"

My mouth opened and closed soundlessly until I finally found words for my thoughts.

"What do people typically do for leisure?"

He looked at me curiously, "You've never had a free day have you?"

"No, Your Majesty," I said it almost proudly. Leisure was a foreign word for me and I was not ashamed to say it. I had struggled tirelessly to get to my position in the Emporer's entourage, not that I did much work at all to become the Emporer's Shadow. I had seen noblewomen and princesses go on walks, take long spa days, work on dresses, read, write poetry, and all that was prim and proper, but I couldn't imagine the man before me enjoying those things for an entire afternoon. Except perhaps...

"Have you been to the palace spa, Your Majesty?"