The Empress's Revenge

Chapter 12

I was woken.

But by what?

Oh.

I reached up and touched my wet cheeks, that were possessed by my sadness.

I wiped the liquid away and listened to a rumble of thunder close by. It reminded me of my childhood.

Dark clouds gather in a distance. Tasheyo stares at them, wide eyed, beside me. His long shaggy gold hair blows around his face getting messy.

"Your hair is a mess!" I laugh.

Tasheyo turns to me and sticks his tongue out.

He races away and I giggle and sprint after him, racing through the gardens.

The leaves and greenery dissolve as I sprint by them, trying to find one of my only friends.

"Tashy!" I call.

As bushes part I see him standing in an empty area. He turns to me as I stumble into the openness and gestures to the exposed grass.

"Why is this area so clear?"

I shrug. "I dunno. Maybe Mother wanted it like that for sunshine."

Tashy's face brightens.

"We could plant something!"

I tip my head to the side. "Plant something?"

My friend plunks himself onto the grass, dirtying his black pants and white shirt.

"Yeah. Like a flower."

I sit beside him.

"Or a tree!"

His face brightens as I agree with his idea.

"You're so smart, Renny." He sighs. "I wish I could be more like you."

I make a face. "But I have so much studying to do."

Tashy nods and looks up at the sky, which has started to grow darker from the clouds. "But it all pays off."

I cross my arms. "I want to be more like you."

He laughs. A comfortable sound. "Why?"

I scoot closer and lean my chin on his shoulder.

"Because you're always happy. Even when your dad went to the war."

Instantly, Tashy stands.

"We should head back. It's getting dark."

He wheels around without another word and marches through the brush, leaving me scrambling after him, baffled.

I sniff. Our time together as children had brought us close together. And now with our age, it had ripped us apart.

Lightning flashes through the glass door and I heave a sigh and sit up.

I slip on a nightdress and an overcoat and my slippers and head over. The sky is black with clouds, and the rumbling continues.

I slip open the door and step outside, lost in my thoughts.

I wish I could be a commoner for a day.

The sky thunders again and gives a flash, illuminating the garden below. The trees are almost bent over from the force of the wind that whips my hair around my face and pulls my clothes from my body.

It's not raining yet, so I walk farther down the balcony and sit down on a bench, that my mother used to love when she was empress.

I feel silly, but I have something I want to do.