~HEARTS & FANGS~

48: FRENEMY😈

This chapter is dedicated to
@LisaAllen09

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...48...

FRENEMY😈

The empress candidates from earlier stared frustratedly at the paper afore her. She was beginning to hate with passion the paper's colour, that pale shade of yellow. It was now the fourth message or more appropriately the fourth threat. She had actually been counting. It bore the same message as the first. She went to the candle and lit it herself without employing the services of her aide. She stared at the now soot stained sickening yellow paper one more time. She truly felt tempted to throw up as she held the end to the fire. She held it as the fire consumed it, slowly at first, then burning more quickly as the fire spread. She dropped it on the floor and watched intently as the rest burnt into ashes. When it was done dissipating, she turned away from the gray ashes and went to seat at her writing table. She was fed up. She had had enough this threats. She and her aide had always kept watch, at top alert since the first message had been delivered, but they had never caught the deliverer, and more kept coming after that. It was infuriating.

'Who could this be?' she murmured to herself. 'One of my hidden enemies? One of my opponents? Or is this just some servant blackmailing me for wealth?' she pondered. 'But why -if it is a servant- has such not requested for anything at all? Why? Whatever did the person want regardless of the identity?' She sighed as she buried her face in her palms which were resting on the table. 'Well, there is no way that I can know for sure as I do not know the sender and I cannot send whosoever it is a message.' She hissed as she stood to her feet. 'This is bad. I have to quickly find a way out of this before it swallows me.' A knock came on her door and she turned towards the wooden structure.

'Yes, who is it?' she all but snapped, not needing the disturbance of any of the maids now.

'It is I My Lady,' her aide's voice reached her from the other side.

'If it is you, then come in,' she all but snapped at her.

'Yes My Lady.' Then the door opened and her aide stepped inside the room and shut the door. 'My Lady,' she said with a bow.

'What is it now?' Her voice was obviously not pleased.

'I have been knocking for such a long time My Lady.'

'I heard only one knock.'

'You did not hear the rest?' her aide asked in surprise.

'Are you deaf? I just told you that I heard only one knock. Did I not?!' she snapped irritatedly at her.

'I'm sorry My Lady. Please forgive me My Lady,' her aide apologized with a small voice and a rather deep bow.

'I did not,' she continued in a more calm voice after a while. 'I was probably too lost in my thoughts to hear them,' she explained to her. 'So, what actually brings you?' she proceeded to inquire.

'The Emperor has summoned every of the empress candidates to the investigation grounds.' Her heart skipped a beat at her aide's words. She almost began to panic.

'Is it what I think that it is?' she asked her aide in angst as her face completely went pale.

'I fear that I do not have the answer to that My Lady. But it is a good thing that all seven were called upon and not just a selected few. It may mean nothing, this we see,' she assured her mistress with her words.

'Probably. But I hope that it is true what you say.'

'I hope so too.' There was silence for a while. 'You are to go there alongside me. I shall be questioned too.'