The Grand Hall pulsed with the joyous energy of a celebration that stretched into the night. The air thrummed with laughter and conversation, a stark contrast to the tense formality of the earlier ceremony.
The Empress, divested of her formal gown, sat amidst a circle of young girls, their faces alight with a playful camaraderie. Her own smile held a genuine warmth, a stark contrast to the stoicism she usually presented.
Captain Amelia, having shed her borrowed kimono and returned to her familiar black uniform, hesitated at the edge of the circle.
Uncertainty flickered across her face, a rare sight on the usually unflappable leader.
Noticing her approach, the Empress eyes lit up. "𝑨𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒂," she called out, her voice infused with affection, "𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆, 𝒋𝒐𝒊𝒏 𝒖𝒔! 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆'𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔."
Amelia faltered for a moment, then a tentative smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "𝑾𝒆𝒍𝒍, 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑴𝒂𝒋-," she began, only to be cut short by the Empress' playful laugh.
"𝑵𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆," the Empress interjected, waving a hand dismissively. "𝑱𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝑺𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒂, 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒇 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓. 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝑰 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒕, 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒅."
Amelia seemed to relax at that, a flicker of relief chasing away the nervousness. She took a tentative step forward, then another, until she stood at the edge of the circle.
One of the young girls, her eyes wide with hero worship, piped up. "𝑪𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝑨𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒂! 𝑰𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑬𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒆?"
Amelia blinked, surprised by the question. It wasn't something she'd ever considered, but the adoration in the young girl's gaze tugged at her heart.
"𝑾𝒆𝒍𝒍..." she began, unsure how to respond. Just then, another girl chimed in, her voice brimming with curiosity.
"𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒕 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕?"
The question sent a jolt through Amelia. Fear? Had they truly seen her that way? The thought sparked a flicker of self-doubt, a crack in the carefully constructed persona of the stoic leader.
The Empress, ever perceptive, observed the shift in Amelia's expression. A mischievous glint sparked in her eyes.
"𝑶𝒉, 𝑨𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒂'𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒕 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍," she declared, her voice dripping with amusement. "𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒓, 𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒍𝒔," she beckoned, her smile widening. "𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒂 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒆. 𝑻𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒎𝒆."
Amelia, caught off guard by the Empress' enthusiasm, found herself swept into the circle. Adjusting her kimono slightly, she sat down, a hint of a smile playing on her lips.
YOU ARE READING
Rise Of Royal Phantoms And Qixi Festival
FantasyThis story unfolds a tale of a young boy who trainees much as he can to become the best vision of himself no limitations
