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𑁍̤ ❛ HAUNTING ―― LINGERS BEHIND . . .
𝘈 𝘚𝘔𝘌𝘓𝘓 𝘖𝘍 𝘚𝘐𝘓𝘒 *
a fanfiction based on a crossover between 'who made me a princess' and 'death is the only ending for the villainess' // tw : just in c...
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ONCE AGAIN ― peace found its way back to the royal palace ; the princess had recovered rather quickly , with the help of the young warlock who had ended being chosen as her playmate , upon felix's insistence ( a decision neither claude or penelope liked much , but athanasia was fine with it , so they didn't interject . ) and now that she had a friend her own age , athanasia kept busy with her lessons and playing around with the warlock , albeit the two of them bickered a lot too ― athanasia looked happy .
of course , the three of them still had their meals together . and athanasia was particularly chatty , then ― talking about the fun story lucas had told her that day , or about the new book she'd finished , or about her progress in academics . penelope too ― now being the one who led the small council meetings mostly ― shared the news of state affairs with her and subtly taught athanasia about politics herself . they still spent time together , but not as much as before ― which was alright , according to penelope .
but claude , however , felt bummed . he did not voice it , of course , but he did . his own daughter ( and perhaps the only person he chatted with not regarding work ) was now too busy to see him as much as she did in past ; felix said it was a part of growing up , that she needed to make her own friends that weren't family .
" it would shape her personality , your highness . " he said , not at all helping claude's irritation . this whole 'growing up' part was ticking him off , for some reason he couldn't explain . and frankly , he didn't bother to either .
as a result , his visits to the crystal palace grew more over the days . and almost every day , he could be found lounging around with his share of work in the empress' office , the two of them sorting through their duties in silence . he could have her called to the emperor's palace ; the empress would often say to him . and it did make sense , after all , the emperor roaming around the palace with his work was quite unbecoming of his position . but the truth was he preferred the crystal palace ; the ambiance , or the empress' quiet presence in general was rather relaxing .
whether it was the faint scratching of pen against paper , or the wispy sound of sighs that so often would leave past her brims , or the ever lingering mild smell of silk and lilac ; claude found the work hours passing easier sitting in the brightly lit , surrounded by books old and new , office of the crystal palace .
their conversations too , had slowly progressed from strictly work to their day-to-day lives . penelope being the one who did most of the talking , telling him the stories of the court ― the messages nobles had for him ― and what not . once in a blue moon , claude too brought stories on the table , about his early years as the emperor . talking to her was easier now , and much less like a chore than it had been before .
one such afternoon , when athanasia was busy in her classes , penelope received an invitation from the emperor ; fixing her hair , she headed towards the palace where he'd asked for her . reaching the rose gardens , she met the sight of the man lounging by the lake ― dressed in the same foreign robes , with the same dreamy look painted over his face .
" blessings and glory upon the sun of the empire , " she greeted , and he stood from his place .
" good afternoon . " he greeted back ― something he had only just started doing ( the reaction he'd earned by felix still made her laugh ) ― and strode over . reading into his wordless instruction , she followed his steps as they led her to the lake .
oh . . . perhaps her surprise lasted a bit too long , for when she looked down at the hand extended towards her , she found that the emperor was watching her with a frown ― as if she'd done something peculiar .
" don't just stand there . " he deadpanned , and in reply she simply took his hand as he helped her on the boat , before climbing in himself .
and once more , silence fell between them . however it never really seemed to bother the either of them , this time penelope couldn't help but think he was thinking of something , because each time she felt a pair of eyes on her ― she turned to find him turning back away . how weird , she inwardly commented , but didn't say anything .
ahem ― once she was back to observing the clear , flowing water ― she heard a call for her attention . turning , eyebrows raised in question , she looked at the emperor who was yet again staring at her face blankly .
" your highness ? " she asked , and instead of an answer , he extended his fist towards her . she tilted her head ― and he opened his fist to reveal a folded origami lily in his hand . a smile bloomed over the empress' features , marine eyes rising to his .
" it isn't that hard " he said , scratching the back of his neck with his free hand as she took the flower from him . " you've done very well , your highness . " she said , fixing the paper-made flower over her brooch and looking at him for approval .
" does it suit me ? " the child-like joy over the usually inscrutable face made him smile ,
