Nightingale

Chapter XIV || Part Two

Part Two

The Rise of Empress Nightingale

The carriage careens through the province with slow steps. (Y/N) sat quietly in the coach with Ambrose sitting across from her. The silence between them was palpable, thickeningly so. (Y/N) could feel the lingering gaze of his piercing blue eyes as she tried hard to ignore the emperor. The young woman focuses her attention on the life that goes on outside of the moving prison. Through the small window, she could see the pristine capital, the very heart of Maodria and its people.

"What's going on in that head of yours?" Ambrose finally cut through the uncomfortable quietness.

(Y/N) purses her lips. She didn't want anything to do with him. As her idea was to build the first public school in all of Maodria, (Y/N) was given her first task as empress. She wouldn't be bound to only leading the palace workforce, but also the construction of the very school itself. While she may be a tad grateful for the emperor taking her side during the matters with the Imperial Council, there was still a lingering resentment. Especially as Ambrose had taken it upon himself to contribute himself to (Y/N)'s plans, following his wife to "monitor" her work.

(Y/N) was still bitterly confided, bound to Ambrose as his new wife. "Nothing," (Y/N) lies, still gazing out the window.

Ambrose's lips tilt into a slight frown. "You're thinking awfully hard about absolutely nothing," he remarks.

"Am I not allowed to keep thoughts to myself?" (Y/N) counters.

Before an argument could commence between the pair, the carriage comes to a halt. The footman opens the door to allow Ambrose to step out first. The emperor turns and fetches (Y/N)'s hand, pulling her out of the coach.

With her hand in his, Ambrose guided (Y/N) to a building site. The construction of the public academy would be built upon a large stretch of land. Men had already begun building the foundations of the large castle. They mounted pillars of marble stone either by hand or pulleys in heaps of groups. In the foundations of the building site come visions of the future, a multitude of possibilities for the commoners of Maodria.

Ambrose is immediately met with the foreman of the construction site, who easily ignores (Y/N)'s existence. But (Y/N) didn't bother to take it to heart. She felt better about not being noticed by the man, she rather not deal with the attempts of the foreman's currying favor. (Y/N) would rather leave Ambrose to deal with it, finding it somewhat amusing how the foreman's attempts at jokes were awkwardly brushed aside by the emperor's lack of participation and stoic facade.

From the corner of her eye, (Y/N) noticed several men disappear into several dug-out holes with shovels in hand. Her brows furrow. While Ambrose was distracted by the foreman, (Y/N) gingerly peeks her head down one of the holes. She found man-made steps leading into a dimly lit tunnel.

"Excuse me!" (Y/N) called out to the nearest worker. The empress nods, gesturing to one of the many underground entrances, "What is this?"

The worker bows before he answers, "Emergencies evacuation tunnels. All the major buildings in Maodria are built with a protective underground system."

(Y/N) couldn't help but frown. The idea of frightened children having to escape dangerous situations made her skin crawl. It practically reminded her of how Dimitri was nearly harmed by his own mother during Ronia's attempted invasion of the castle.

"There you are..." Ambrose's voice interrupts, "I almost believed you tried to run off." He smirks, "But I know you know better than that..." He approaches his wife, "The academy should be fully built by the end of the year. Are you ready to depart?"

(Y/N) asks Ambrose, "Where do the evacuation tunnels lead?"

Ambrose explains, "The tunnels run for miles, connecting each major city together. They run miles deep into the ground, enough to avoid serious damage if a bomb is detonated on the surface. As Maodria is entering war, I fear we may eventually have to use them one day."

(Y/N) frowns. "Have you yet to declare war on Ronia?" she asks.

Ambrose scoffs, "I don't need to declare war. Ronia was the first to throw its gauntlets." His eyes become fierce, "They targeted my son, they targeted my home. They will feel not the wraith of Maodria, but my wraith."

Taking (Y/N)'s hand, Ambrose began to lead the young woman back to the carriage. "I believe you met Aethon a few days ago," Ambrose suddenly comments.

(Y/N) recoils as she rakes through her memories. "Who?"

"The bird," Ambrose replies. The emperor helps his wife enter the coach before taking a seat across from her. Soon, the carriage begins its trek back to the palace. "It's yours," he adds, "The bird."

(Y/N) tilts her head slightly as she questions, "What do you mean?"

Ambrose sighs, "Consider it a late wedding gift... Or perhaps an apology gift."

(Y/N) scoffs, "You expect me to forgive you simply because you gave me a pet?"

"No," Ambrose admits, "I know I forced you to be my wife and take the roles as both the stepmother of my son and empress of Maodria. But like it or not, you are stuck with me. I only want to make your life more bearable by my side." The man slicks his hair back, running his fingers through his smooth black tresses as he confesses, "I love you, selfishly so. While I may want your heart, I rather risk not having your love if it only meant having you by my side."

[A/N: When it's been so long that you've not written and nearly forgot everything that's happening and now you have to read all the shit you wrote 🧍🏽‍♀️. But in all honesty, I haven't been able to write anything for months, mainly because 2023 has been shitty and writer's block is a bitch. This isn't the greatest chapter obviously. It's probably the first time I've been back on Quotev and Wattpad. But hopefully, with this first chapter, I'll be able to come back more frequently or just whenever I can. Fair warning, chapters will be cut shorter to around 1000+ words compared to its usual 2000+. I still have other works that need to be done, including fanfictions I've yet to complete fully.]