The Hidden Empress

Prologue

The man silently watched her as she gathered all the things she needed.

No one wants to break the cold silence that suffocate the two of them inside the room.

"Is this really going to work?" he asked, breaking the silence that lingering inside the room. He doesn't know what dangers it may bring to his wife. He watched her again as she buried herself inside of her own thoughts.

He sighed. He slowly walks towards her wife and softly holds her shoulder. She flinched by his touch and look at him.

"What? We need to hurry if we want things to work on our way!" she said as she pulled away from his husband's touch.

From that moment, as if his patience snap, she pulled her wife close to her. Gently, as he cupped her face while looking at her worried eyes,

"I know that this is important to you, for this is also important to me! I will do anything just to save our child, but I would never agree to a plan that can risk your life!"

He looked at his wife's eyes as it turned from shock to guilt. That's the moment that he knew, all this time, this is his wife's plan all along. He does whatever she demands, as he promise to give her everything that she will ask, but not this time.

"I agreed to the emperor to make my daughter the future empress of this empire, but he... how could he do this to me? To us? He's going to use our child for his greed!" he immediately pulled her wife into his arms as he couldn't bare to watch her tears falling from her blue eyes.

He gritted his teeth, as he also remembers what the emperor told them from their last meeting. He couldn't agree more to her wife, but this method isn't the answer to their problem. He even has a thought of sacrificing his daughter just to make sure his wife will be alright, but in a blink of an eye, he disgusted by his own thoughts. It's his daughter! How could he!

Suddenly, a loud cry interrupted the two of them. He looked to his daughter crying in the bed, as if consoling her parents. They immediately come closer to see what's wrong. The moment their eyes meets her, she quickly stops crying and starts giggling. She also starts to roll her back and crawl closer to them.

"Dada... nana...wabwab!" she said while gesturing a little heart using her own tiny little hands.

This scene, as his daughter acts as if knowing what's happening and what is bound to happen, his tears slowly fall from his eyes. He couldn't bare to witness the two of the most important people in his life, crying and laughing in innocence, while he can't do anything at all. He come closer to hug them, making his daughter giggle some more.

The sudden knock on the door, interrupts them. He pulled away from the hug. As he stands, he looked with a worried eye to his wife. By mother's instinct, his wife covers their daughter and tightly holds her. He slowly walks towards the door. He would be lying if he said he's not nervous at all. As he twists the doorknob, a noise sounds as he twists it. It doesn't help him at all as his anxiety just rises even more. He opens a small portion enough to see who is knocking at the door. He saw a person, taller than him and wears a dark robe.

The mysterious man slowly removes his robe, revealing an innocent face. He observes his face, thinking where he saw this face. A green hair that is long enough to compare to a woman hair. Brown eyes and piercing in his left ears. He suddenly realizes that he's taking more time.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" he asked, still observing the man.

"As part of the most respected Duke House, let me give my greetings first." A calm voice suiting for such an innocent face. He opens the door wider, giving him more access to observe the man.

"A pleasant evening to you Duke and to the Duchess. I'm just nothing but a humble citizen of this empire. I visited here to give this letter from my master. He also requests to give your answer as soon as you read the letter." He starts to search from his leather bag the letter that he mentions.

He heard the footstep of his wife as she come closer to see what's happening at the door. He looked at his wife, while positioning them to his back.

"Do you expect any letter for today, wife?" he asked.

"No, I'm not expecting any letter for today" his wife who's also confused with the sudden letter.

The man reached out the letter for the two. As he looks at it, it doesn't have any stamp or seal to know who's the letter from. Inside the letter says,

"
Greetings Duke and Duchess of Draeldchy,

I am writing this letter to let you know that we are on your side.
Knowing how the greed of the emperor, the people of Terra Victoris also known what they did to the Ancient Duchy, Draeldchy.

As a hundred of millennia has passed, with the help of the Ancient Duchy the monsters at the northern part of Terra Victoris have been taken care of. A lot of people have been indebted to your ruling.

But now that the emperor doesn't know the limits of his greed, the people have been affected. Without the power of the duchess, the Elysian Empire and the other land are under the thick snow for many months. A lot of people suffered as a result. We cannot blame the duchess as we know what she feels. It is the emperor to blame.

So, through this letter, I'm humbly asking your cooperation with our plan. This plan can help both sides. We can help you to save your daughter, and still making her the empress of the Elysian Empire. This is a lot of risk, but this is also the best solution that we can come up with. We will wait for your response. Let's meet at the dock at twelve midnight.
"

As he folds the letter, he looks at his wife and at his daughter. They keep at silence for as long as he remembers. While in a deep thought, he flinched at the sudden touch of his wife. He looks at her as she nods her head. Grabbing his wife's shoulder, he then again gives his attention to the man at the door.

"We accept it."