HOW TO LIVE AGAIN (girlxgirlxgirl)

Ten; Just a ceremony

"Those who get picked stay forever and ever"
36

🦚

Fei is definitely not used to the sudden brightness of the silent palace.

If there is anything that she remembers clearly about that night they killed Aryan, it's how dark the throne room was. How dark the entire palace of silence was as a whole. There is very little lighting in form of candles and they don't really have windows in the throne room, because it's near the center of the palace. But it's way different now.

Brought through a backdoor, she can easily approach the throne without being seen by the outside crowd. It's not that she shouldn't be seen, it's just that rumors about her will travel faster if she is more famous at court. Anyone attending such an event would be famous. Fei looks around the throne room as the guards lead her towards Andra. The servants have brought out every candle and source of light there is, and the whole room shines like the inside of a fire. The walls and floors have been scrubbed clean and the golden statues by each stone pole polished to perfection. This is considered a big event.

Fei doesn't consider it a big event. She considers it that thing that makes her nauseous, angry and jealous at the same time. But then again, her opinion doesn't matter much right now.

Andra sits on her throne, looking like the true empress that she really is. Hair tied tied up into a beautiful ceremonial hairdo, filled with diamonds and pearls and jades, most of them hanging from her golden headdress called crown. Her golden traditional gown flows all the way to the floor from her high seat, and it's so expensive and regal the fancy stitching can be seen from a mile away. That dress could feed a country, probably, and it would be problematic if the people weren't so satisfied and happy under her rule anyways.

On her feet she wears a pair of golden and white shoes, and over her face a golden veil is placed. Fei thanks the gods that the scholars have a dress code, otherwise she'd feel very out of place here. While the historians have green gowns and the politicians wear red and blue, the scholars all have the same purple dress with a darker purple band tied around the waist. The senior scholars have even darker purple fabrics, made from actual purple coloring that is very rare and expensive, blue silver stitching and decorative birds lightly drawn on the front of the gown. Very regal and proper.

Fei glances up at Andra, who probably hasn't seen her arrive yet. The throne room is filled with people. By each wall stand maids of higher standing, and so called butlers, also of higher standing. They stand like statues, heads bowed and bodies completely still. Guards also stand among them, also like statues, mostly along the exits and around the empress. While the maids and butlers all have white uniforms, the ones in higher standing have golden bands around their waists. The guards have their usual white and golden uniforms. Only the higher officials look more colorful than that. The leader of the politicians, the prime minister, is dressed in red. The two historians who will be recording everything happening in the room are of course dressed in green and the empresses advisors are in light blue and yellow clothing.

Fei, being the only senior scholar there, is the only one dressed in purple. The historians are on each side of the throne, the advisors are next to the empress, the prime minister is seated on a high chair next to the throne, and finally Fei gets her seat on the opposite side of the prime minister. It's a very high seat, she thinks. A very respected position for someone who joined the court just a few weeks ago. Fei gulps, the other senior scholars will be scandalized and enraged when they find out that she attended this event and not one of them. Andra seems to notice her when she sits down.