The Purple Crown

Anna I

Anna rushed into the latrine, and kneeled into the hole. She barely moved her hair out of the way before she started vomiting violently. The putrid smell of the vomit made her even sicker, but she found the strength to get back to her feet, and washed everything down the hole with water. She then pulled out a clean napkin and cleaned her face by the mirror, and then checked her dress to make sure it was clean. She then took a final look at the mirror and corrected her hair one last time.

It will do, she decided. She took a deep breath, and stepped outside the latrine. She then made her way down the granite stairs of the Byzantine Imperial palace. The palace looked empty since Emperor Romanos and his entourage had departed for war. A good portion of the guards and the servants had went with him, as well as the general crowd that visited often. The merchants, provincial officials and bureaucrats, complainers, envoys and visitors from foreign nations had disappeared with the Emperor.

Anna disliked this new deserted palace, with its dark dimly lit corridors and hallow silence it reminded her a tomb at times.

She found the kitchen boy waiting just by the gates of Imperial household quarters. The kitchen boy started complaining as soon as he saw her.

"I have been waiting for too long," said he as Anna took the breakfast tray from him.

"You will wait as long as needed," she snapped back at the boy, and went back. Anna took a nervous look a the breakfast, boiled eggs, cheese, bread olives and a sliced apple, thankfully nothing that would get cold. Her Imperial Majesty, Eudokia Makrembolitissa hated warm porridge, and Anna would rather not suffer her wrath, not over warm porridge, not these days.

She was stopped before the Empress' chambers by her man mountain of a guard. Anna tried to remember his name as the massive man stared down at her while caressing the handle of his war axe. She eventually had to give up on the name, it was a barbarian's name from up north, and nobody referred to him with his name. The Empress simply called him "Guard".

"Her majesty's breakfast," she said to the Guard. The Norseman said nothing, but opened the door and then stepped out of Anna's way.

Augusta, Empress and Autocratess of the Romans Eudokia Makrembolitissa was sitting on her embroidered chair, while a maid combed her hair. The entire chamber smelled so heavily of myrrh that Anna felt for a second that she couldn't breath. Thankfully the door to the balcony was open, and the cool September winds from the Bosphorus balanced the heavy perfumes.

Empress Eudokia was not happy, that much was certain.

"You are late." Anna rushed to leave the breakfast tray by the table.

"Please forgive me your majesty, the cooks-" Anna's excuse was cut off by the Empress.

"Are those eggs?" she said with a frown. Anna licked her lips.

"I can run to the kitchen and grab something else, what does her imperial majesty desire?"

Empress Eudokia did not respond, she just sighed as her handmaiden continued to comb her golden hair. The moment's calm was once again interrupted by the Empress' shriek. She pushed away the handmaiden, and grabbed her hair in pain.

"Imbecile! Are you combing my hair or pulling it off?" The scared girl apologized in panic and backed away.

Empress Eudokia turned back to Anna.

"Where is Helena? This new girl is useless."

"She is still recovering from her wounds your grace."

"The whipping was supposed to be a punishment, not an excuse for her to laze around in her bed."