The Empress's Revenge

Chapter 2

Jade and I were often together. I had taken a great liking to him, and yes, it's him.
He sat beside me in my office or curled on my pillow in my room. He nudged books he wanted me to read to him, and he knocked things down when he was annoyed.
Sometimes he would disappear for days on end. It worried me, but I knew he could handle himself.
One afternoon I was sitting in the library reading to myself, and Jade was away again.
My green dress covered my feet and had light silky peasant sleeves. I had taken to liking emeralds, so the dress had emeralds and jades seamed to it.
I flipped a page in my book and listened to a soft thud from further away.
I was seated in the reading section, with soft chairs for reading, but the view of the library was blocked by bookshelves.
I stopped reading and looked up. Nothing seemed amiss, but I was sure I heard the sound of a book falling on the carpeted floor.
I arose and tiptoed over to a side of a bookshelf and peeked around it.
Nothing.
But if there was nothing, why were all my nerves standing on edge?
I started moving towards the door quietly, eager to leave. My footsteps made little noise.
Was it an assassin? A murderer? I shivered at the thought of someone wanting to do away with me.
Suddenly a large dark shape leaped at me, hissing. I yelped and jumped back, causing myself to fall flat on the floor.
The small shape was Jade.
He gazed at me on the floor as he sat at my toes. A breath escaped my lips that I didn't know I was holding.
I smiled and held out a hand. Jade strode over and rubbed against it, and I giggled.
"You gave me quite a fright, darling." I said.
The cat looked at me with its eyes, as if to say sorry.
I scratched his ears. "Apology accepted."
As I got up and brushed myself off, Jade stared at me as I started towards the door.
"Let's go outside." I called to him. He twitched his ears then trotted after me.
I had failed to see the body of a murderer on the floor behind the bookshelves.
We walked around outside, exploring all the nooks and crannies of the gardens.
I giggled as Jade chased butterflies and birds, and watched in awe as he made dexterous moves, leaping and twisting through the air.
I found a grassy spot, beside a tree, so I leaned on the trunk and patted the spot beside me for Jade.
He strode over and plopped himself down with a yawn.
I giggled. He was such a characterized cat, with his expressions and his silly moves he made.
Lost deep in thought, I jumped when I heard a branch break behind me. Jade got up and peeked around the tree trunk. He backed away and hissed at whatever he saw.
Curiosity caught me in its snare, so I leaned over and felt my blood run cold at what I saw.
Tasheyo.
He was face down on the ground, shifting his weight around. I almost called to him, but when I saw the strands of brown long hair below him, I stopped.
He was kissing another woman.
I kept watching as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, with such compassion. He returned the action by sliding his hands up her leg and hiking her up towards him.
My stomach felt queasy, and Jade kept pawing me, but I continued to watch.
Tasheyo had a new mistress.
The two broke apart and gazed at each other. Somewhere behind me, the clock tower tolled 2. Tasheyo must've been listening because he sat up.
"My love, I must leave you."
The woman put on a pouty face. She was decorated in jewels and a fine pink dress that hugged her figure.
"Must you go back to...her?"
The emperor sighed and placed a hand on her cheek.
"I must talk to her, or she'll start to suspect my attitude. She's not a stupid as one would think."
The woman giggled and pulled Tasheyo in for another kiss. He embraced her as their lips met. Then he rose and looked around. My husband flattened his messy hair and buttoned his dress vest back up. His mistress sat there watching him.
Tasheyo turned and started to make his way back to the castle. Shortly after he disappeared from sight, the woman stood and walked away in the opposite direction. She seemed familiar...
"Mrow?"
I looked down. Jade was standing on my lap, leaning into my chest, concern flashing in his eyes.
I took a shaky breath and pet him.
"It's okay, I'm okay." I whispered.
But who was I comforting?
Him, or myself? 
As me and Jade made our way back to the palace, Jade kept shooting me concerned looks with his emerald eyes, but I ignored the glances, lost deep in thought.
Emperors were allowed to have mistresses as long as they disowned them and stayed firm to their duties...so why should I be concerned?
I stopped. Why was I concerned? Maybe it was because I had given Tasheyo my heart for so long, and now he was ripping it to shreds. It hurt.
The feeling of paws pressing against my skirt jolted me to reality. Jade was staring at me again because of my sudden stop.
I sighed and bent over to scoop him up.
His soft fur rubbed against my bare arms, and he purred as we continued our way back to the palace.
As I strode, uneasily, into the foyer, Willcress appeared.
"Excuse me, your majesty." He stopped me.
I halted my procession and turned to look at him.