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The empire of hell, a formidable fortress. Domains merged together and ruled under one.
The burning flame, the rising sun. The emperor of hell. The devil himself.
Lucien Morningstar I, current Emperor of hell, was used to being the sole ruler...
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"So, how was your nightly escapade with the emperor, my lady?" Eloise asked, as she brushed Eness' hair.
Eness watched her eyes widen from the mirror, and cleared her throat before speaking.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Eloise," she feigned ignorance.
"You don't have to talk about it, my lady. But I saw you in the gardens last night as you hid from that guard. Of course you wouldn't have recognized me in that form," Eloise said, as she brushed stray stands away from Eness' face.
Her eyes quickly shone with realisation.
"You! You were that tar snake!" She turned around to meet Eloise's eyes as she further put the pieces together.
"You're a demon of transformation!"
"And invisibility, my lady," Eloise added.
"But why were you out in the garden?" Questioned Eness.
"I rarely get to use my magic because of my duties. Since you didn't need my assistance last night, and the red moon was out, I decided to take advantage of the free time and spread my wings, or scales in this matter." She said, making Eness smile at the last retort.
"I was curious when I saw you sneaking around in the middle of the night, so I followed you." She paused and quickly finished as Eness narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "To make sure you were okay, my lady. I ended up following you into the woods and saw the emperor walking in shortly after."
Eness let her finish, her face paling in horror over the fact that her handmaiden could have seen her exchange with the emperor.
"Did you see any of our conversation?" Eness asked, as she forced herself to swallow the lump of nerves down throat.
"I assure you, my lady, I didn't. I left immediately when I saw the emperor heading into the woods. I promise I wasn't spying on you." Eloise said defensively.
The sincerity in her eyes was too overwhelming for Eness not to believe her.
"I believe you, Eloise. And thank you. For telling me." Eness said with a smile.
"Of course, my lady. And thank you for your trust." Eloise beamed with joy as she continued to brush Eness' long ginger hair.
Suddenly, a knock is heard from the door.
Both Eness and Eloise turned; then Eloise said, "I'll go get it, my lady."
Eloise opened the door slowly, and was met with a short male servant with rimmed circular glasses, and a sour expression holding a bright bouquet of moon roses.
Eness peeped curiously in her spot at the servant.
"What is your business here, sir?" She asked.
"The emperor had instructed me to deliver these recently grown moon roses to you, my lady."
Eness gasped, and Eloise collected the flowers from the man.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, ladies. I have to attend to urgent matters quickly. Good day."
He said, and left without giving Eness time to utter the question she was about to ask.
Eloise brought the flowers inside, adjusting it near the table, smiling slightly as she did.
She fished out a note from the parcel of flowers and gave it to a still stunned Eness.
She opened the note with uncertain fingers.
"𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚎 𝚋𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚍 𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚗𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚘𝚘𝚗. 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞. 𝙽𝚎𝚠, 𝚟𝚒𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚝, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚏 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎." Eness read aloud, biting her lip as she finished, and found Eloise's eyes glinting with awe as her handmaiden fawned over it.
"That is so sweet. I never knew the emperor could be such a romantic." She said with a slight squeal.
Eness just stared at the words, reading it over and over again, expecting it to be some kind of trick.
She quickly shoved the note back in the bouquet, and bit her lower lip in thought.
"I wonder what prompted this unexpected delivery," said Eloise.
"Yes, me too," Eness said as she adjusted her fixed dress on her waist before walking toward the door. "And I intend to find out." __________________________
