Emhyr Var Emreis x Reader

Eleven

It was already dark out as a knock on the door tore you from your studies.

You had taken the task upon yourself to gather information about the nobles that were regulars at the side of the emperor or came and went around the castle as they pleased.

Some names were open secrets, such as the Voorhis family members.

Both son and father held high ranks within the palace. The son, Morvran, had even made it to general, an even higher position than his father has ever had.

The rumours about him being a perfect match for the daughter of the emperor were so loud within these walls that even you had heard them already.

He seemed loyal and experienced within the military but people said he was too inexperienced with politics outside of warfare.

That made him a candidate for the throne, in your eyes, but not a suitable fit.

If he would have been better than you expected him to be, surely the emperor would have asked him to become his adoptive son as soon as Ciri had declined to follow into his footsteps.

You kept him in mind, but as of royal etiquette and legitimacy, it would have been wiser to find a new wife with which the emperor could make new heirs.

And if he would fail to do so she would be young enough to take the throne until a better candidate would come along.

Nilfgaard was an empire after all which meant blood was only secondly important.

As long as the emperor approved of his successor all that had to be done was for him to adopt said person and the succession of the throne was legitimate.

The real issue was to find someone who not only fit the criteria of a good leader but also someone who could live up to the expectations of the emperor himself.

As someone who grew up with someone close to him you were not a stranger to the man and husband that the emperor was.

He truly needed to love someone to turn into a human being. Otherwise he was a human shaped stone with the inability to even tolerate someone.

That made it significantly harder for you.

With a sigh, you had to close your eyes and leaned back in your chair to rub the tiredness out of your eyes.

A headache was about to stab into your brain.

All the noise and the many people were something that irritated not only your sensitive ears but also your metal state of mind.

It felt like all the peace you've had over the last years was about to be ripped from your hands.

But this was a sacrifice you needed to make in order to get just one step closer to the past that shone so brightly.

A sigh escaped your lips.

With a grim expression, you had to rub your forehead to massage back a headache.

Even though you had good memories of your parents there were dark shadows lingering in your memories. You wished to make things right and yet weren't sure of it was worth it.

Maybe it was selfish, but you didn't want to crawl around the dirty anymore.

Your parents had raised you to be a noble, quite high in ranks as well, and you wanted to get back to the place that they had promised you to take one day.

If only there wasn't this stain to your name.

With a gloomy shimmer in your eyes, you started to chew on the bottom of your lip.

Dark thoughts filled your head.

How could you make it with this barricade blocking your way?

Everyone knew.

Chances were slim that the high society had forgotten about it as well.

If you'd rise to become the official right hand of the emperor people would try to get dirt on you. And this was most certainly something to make you fall.

Squeezing your eyes shut, you let out a deep sigh and buried your face in your arms.

Darkness swallowed the upcoming night.

Flames of candles crossed the milky windows and made them draw pictures of strange figures and shadows from the outside.

Your ears picked up the distant howling of the wind.

The sound made goosebumps grow all over your body. Yet it was pleasant. Almost like a cool breeze in a hot summer month.

All of a sudden, someone knocked at the door.

You ignored it for a moment.

Silence spread.

Again, somebody knocked. It was still polite but more persistent.

"Enter.", you called out.

The door opened.

It wasn't possible to see you right away when someone came through the door.

Desk and shelves were hidden in the second half of the room, before the bed.

A wall of wood and fabric shielded the sleeping space entirely.

Somebody cleared their throat.

You looked up.

"Who is this?", you asked, eyes wandering out of the window to see the first stars light up in the sky.

"The chamberlain.", a voice announced.

Taking a deep breath, you sat up straight and pretended that he caught you at work. It would have give a bad impression if you'd just lay on the table like a sleepy child.

You may come to me, you allowed.

Steps echoed from the walls.

Something rustled.

Leaves jiggled.

Aroused by the sound you looked up.

The chamberlain appeared with knitted bundles of old herbs.

Some of them were dry while others already started to rot. Leaves that were supposed to be green were brown.

It smelled of old tea yet it remained more pleasant than the actual scent of this chambers.

"Would this be alright?", he asked and held the knots up.

A few leaves fell to the ground.

He didn't make an effort to clean it.

You knew that he only asked because this was the etiquette and part of his job.

And even though this wasn't the ideal condition you wanted your ingredients to be in, it would serve its purpose for now.

"You can lay them out on the floor.", you said and did a gesture. "Thank you very much. You're dismissed."