A Kingdom of Tales

Chapter 23

"Edessa is currently ruled by an Imperial family. Emperor Wariu has two daughters and no empress." Melody started.

"Why doesn't he have an empress?"

"She'd died a few years ago, but before that, she'd demanded a divorce from the emperor. She'd fallen in love with another man."

"Were they not in love—the emperor and she?" I'd asked.

"They were, but the emperor had turned cruel the last years; she'd endured it for a long time. That is, until she met with a different ruler who stole her heart."

"Who was the ruler?"

"The king of Avenlea, of course," Melody laughed, but I hadn't found the story funny at all.

"Why was the emperor cruel to her?"

"She wasn't able to bear him any boys. Her two daughters had many great qualities, but they were not boys and therefore weren't fit to rule in the emperor's eyes. He'd pestered her on it, and when he realised she couldn't bear any boys, he'd turned cruel."

"Was the emperor happy that she wanted a divorce now that he could marry a different woman?"

"He was not. He loved her, and when he realised she fell in love with another man, he'd vowed he'd win her back." She continued. "He never did, and so he turned all the cruelness inside him onto his eldest daughter, Yuri."

"How old was Yuri when his empress left him?" Yuri had always peaked my interest, even before I knew of her skill.

"Only three years old. Their younger daughter was only a year old. His empress had wanted to keep in contact with her children, but he'd refused, hoping it would convince her to go back to him. It didn't work, and she never saw her children again."

"That's cruel."

"It was. Yuri, their eldest, had grown up watching the strongest men in the empire fight and learned to replicate their movements. She's the strongest fighter in Edessa at only fifteen."

I calculated how much older she was than me. "So she's four years older than I am?"

"Yes, darling. And her sister, Kyoshi, is two years your senior." She paused to take a breath and continued. "Kyoshi has already stolen the court's heart. She beguiles anyone who meets her; no one knows if it's because of her kind heart or her sweet dresses."

"Will you tell me more about Yuri?" I couldn't care less about Kyoshi. Yuri was the one that I wanted to know all about.

"She's rising up the ranks quickly; it's expected that she will be a three starred general by the time she's eighteen, making her the highest ranking military officer in Edessa. She is said to take her workouts very seriously-"

"Unlike a certain girl I know." Bash appeared out of nowhere and started tickling me relentlessly. I squirmed and laughed.

"I'll train as hard as Yuri." I promised him, in between laughs so that he'd stop tickling me.

"I doubt it." He pretended to think with a finger underneath his chin.

"No, I will! Tell me more, Melody, so I'll become more like Yuri."

Bash pressed a kiss on Melly's cheek and sat on the chair next to her to listen to the rest of her story.

"Her father doesn't want her to rule his empire, so he didn't give her the title of heir in Edessa. He didn't name her crown princess. People thought he would create the title for her after her mother left, but he remained adamant."

"But who will rule Edessa after he dies?" I asked.

"A distant cousin of the crown. They'll have a greater claim to Yuri's throne after her father's death."

"I hope he'll name her his heir." I whispered sadly.

"I'm sure he'll come to his senses one day. He must know that Yuri will be stronger than any other family member with a claim to the throne." Melody pressed a kiss on my forehead and bid me goodnight before leaving. I'd asked her for stories of Yuri for the next week until I knew her like the back of my hand.

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I'm brought back from my thoughts by the emperor, who takes my hand and walks me to the head of the table. There are no other empty seats, so obviously this one is his. He seats me in it. To my right sits Yuri, and to my left is an old man who looks at me with distrust.

"Council, I'm proud to inform you that Jasmine Curre is finally sitting among us. You will treat her with the same respect you treat Princess Kyoshi."

It's curious that he doesn't say Princess Yuri instead. My gaze slips from his and involuntarily lands on her. It suddenly dawns on me that Miles is her brother. Half brother, I suppose, but still.

If the previous empress is the queen of Avenlea, then Yuri and Miles share a mother. They share their coal black hair too, although Yuri has deep brown eyes instead of Miles' blue.

She looks at me, and I look away, embarrassed that she caught me staring. I focus instead on the emperor, who seems to be saying something about how he will kill anyone who looks at me the wrong way.

That can't possibly be true. There's literally a bounty on my head, placed by this man. Why would he want to keep me alive?

A few hours ago, I was preparing for my death, and now he says that I'm a guest here. I specifically remember what was written on the flyers for my bounty.

Wanted, dead or alive.

There's definitely something wrong here, and I plan to find out what it is. But first, I want to know why Yuri is looking at me like that—like she knows exactly who I am deep inside.

I can feel her eyes on me. I itch to ask her all the questions Melody couldn't answer about her.

What she eats for breakfast.

How she trained.

Her fighting style.

I bite my lip before my curiosity can get the best of me.