The Emperor's Concubine

Chapter Thirty-Six

Fixing my dress, I nervously follow Cabel towards the entrance of the royal palace. I swallow my breath as the doors open, still unsure if it's okay to attend the first greeting.

At the base of the grand staircase, dozen knights stand in a line. The captain stands ahead of them with a stranger by his side.

"Your majesty, I've returned with the most trained assassin we've found in Xiao." The captain bows.

I look at the man beside him, surprised by his appearance.

A young man who appears to be around my age, stands before us with soft-curled light brown hair. His upturned narrow-sharp eyes a piercing pale blue colour, with a slender body that's visibly tone even through his clothes—his physical appearance resembling a seasoned assassins body.

He bows.

"Greetings, Emperor Cabel." The stranger speaks, his eyes focused on Cabel as he lowers himself.

"Captain Arron, what did you find?" Cabel questions, ignoring the stranger's greeting.
"We've questioned his identity, but he refused to share any details. Our only information is that he's a skilled assassin, who trained many months to become one of Xiao's warriors." Captain Arron speaks.

I stare at the man who calmly stands, without an ounce of fear or a nervous attitude that most people would have in front of Cabel.

Tilting my head as I look at the assassin who continues watching Cabel, I notice as his gaze shifts to focus on me every now and then.

Chills suddenly rush through my body, feeling as though someone's watching us. I turn my head, glancing at the palace's roof, and to the trees surrounding the palace. No one can be seen, yet the feeling of having someone's eyes on me continues to prey on my thoughts.

Noticing that Cabel's calm and none of the knights around are suspicious, I step close to Cabel, gently holding onto his sleeve as the strange feeling refuses to subside.

"I've told your men, I'll gladly share my identity—as long as I'm told who thought of your plan to search Xiao's slums. It's clear you want to strengthen your army, but to go as far as poaching Xiao's citizens, tsk tsk. How bold." The man chuckles sharply, entertained as he wears an amused smile.
"You stand in front of the emperor, and refuse to introduce yourself?" Cabel raises his brow, amused as he speaks with the man.
"Patience your majesty, that'll come in due time. First, I need figure out if this is worth it." The man moves to set a foot onto the first step of the stairs.

Instantly, the royal knights all grip their swords at the man's movement. Raising his hands up, the man continues to wear a playful smile.

"Oh? Have I made a mistake? Maybe I should return to Xiao, and leave your men weak and untrained." The man snickers, looking up at Cabel with an arrogant gaze.

Cabel raises his hand, signalling to the guards to be at ease.
Moving to stand behind Cabel—the feeling of eyes watching over us still remains strong. Growing wary, I glance back up at the roof.

The man softly chuckles, walking towards us as he languidly steps up the stairs.

"Shouldn't you have left your concubine in your play house? Bringing her here is very intriguing."

In a swift instant, I'm pulled away from Cabel.
Suddenly appearing behind me, I'm held from behind by the man—his hand holding my jaw in an upwards position, his other hand wielding a thin long blade in front of my throat.

"Lady Luna!" Lance shouts, startled by the scene.

I look back at Cabel whose eyes sharpen into a deadly glare yet calmly stands still—the guards unsheathe their swords and rush up the steps.

"Ah-ah-ah. If your men come closer, I'll kill her in a second and disappear. Are you willing to bet the life of your favourite concubine?" The man cheekily speaks.

Cabel quietly watching, raises his hand as he makes the guards sheathe their swords.

The man looks down at me, contemplating.

"Luna was it? Pleasure meeting you, Luna." The man grins slightly.

Feeling the gentle hold of his hand, I remain calm—confident that the man has no intention of hurting me. I stare back at him, giving a gentle smile.

"It's a pleasure meeting you as well. Forgive me, but being so close to a lady with your name unrevealed, is very rude." I calmly speak.

The man looks back into my eyes, his eyes unwavering as he analyzes my expression. His icy blue eyes focus on mine, and chuckling lightly, he takes the blade away from my neck. Pulling me close, he whispers quietly into my ear.

"You're interesting." He snickers, gently pushing me on the back towards Cabel.

The moment I'm freed from the assassin's grip, Cabel protectively wraps his arm around my waist, moving to stand between the man and me.

"The name's Cethin. I'll have to keep my boring life story a secret, but before I decide to work for you—I need to know what's in it for me." Cethin playfully speaks, admiring the thin blade for a moment.

Cabel scoffs, a small grin growing on his lips.

"A paying job, the support from the emperor, any of your family taken care of." He calmly says.
"And what does this job entail, exactly?" Cethin's voice filled with a playfulness.
"You'll be tested on your skills. If you're talented like Captain Arron says, you'll be made a commander to teach recruits."

The man named Cethin pauses, thinking to himself for a moment.

"Hm, no. Not good enough." He passively smiles.
"And why is that?" Cabel raises his brow, cautiously hiding me behind him.
"I doubt I could teach hundreds of recruits alone. I want to bring in some people who I believe are worthy to help, but they need to be given the same respect that your little froo-froo knights are getting."
"If you bring these so-called people of yours, I promise on my throne, they will be honoured the same way all my knights are treated."

From the emperor's words, Cethin whistles.
Within a blink of an eye, five people with hooded cloaks stand before Cabel and I.

One man lets out a low whistle as he looks up at the palace, pushing back his hood to reveal a face framed by deep-red hair, swept messily away from his brow and glinting in the sunlight. His hooded grey eyes linger on the building in open admiration, a pale scar running down from his forehead, over his left eye, and fading just above his cheek.


"I think that's the longest I've stayed unnoticed. Well, almost." Meeting my eyes, he flashes a smile before giving a playful wink.

I watch in surprise as they pull back their hoods. Four men and one woman stand before us.

The first man has medium-long ash-grey hair, messy and uneven—straight near the roots but bending into slight crooks at the ends—and light hazel eyes that study us carefully. Beside him stands another with honey-brown eyes and pale blonde hair, half of his hair tied up into a ponytail with the rest falling down to his shoulders.

The last man stretches lazily where he stands, yawning as he glances around. His eyes an almond-dark shade, his hair is dark brown along the lower half of his head, seeming closely shaved, while the longer dark-blonde strands on top curl softly at the ends.

They all appear to be young, ranging from the early to mid twenties—the girl seeming to appear younger than me by only a few years.

The girl seems quiet, her expression a calm inscrutable expression as she cocks her head to stare at me. Her large upturned eyes in a clear blue shade, with long brown hair braided into pigtails with her bangs pinned back. She appears to look like an innocent child yet has an air to her that's more intimidating than the others.

"Who are they?" Cabel questions.

Cethin grins and shrugs as he carelessly takes a few steps towards us.

"I said I would choose who I wanted. You also said I could bring my family. I'm only surprised your knights never noticed they were being followed." Cethin admits, his grin larger as he looks at the knights' shocked expressions.
"Amazing." I quietly whisper.
"Well, thank you kindly, Chicky." Cethin smiles.

"This is your family?" Scrutinizing the group, he dubiously questions as they hold no resemblance to one another.
"I guess family by choice. We worked solo, but along the way we became a small family that occasionally does jobs together. During one of our jobs your knights spotted me, but they never thought about if I was accompanied by others. So, I told them to follow along incase this was a trap."
"A trap?" Cabel raises his eyebrow.
"Let's just say, we're not too favoured. Technically our heads are wanted and blah blah blah. It seemed like a trap, but based on how your secret knights wore newly hemmed clothing to the slums, like a bunch of sore thumbs, they obviously came from a wealthy kingdom. Hoo-wee to think they're from the great Cypheler Empire, what a quaint surprise." Cethin looks at the palace in astonishment.
"How interesting." Cabel smiles ear to ear like a little child receiving a new toy, "I'll hire all of you. I'll provide the protection you need, as long as you all swear your eternal loyalty to me."

"Your majesty, this is too sudden! We should find out more about them before hiring -" Captain Arron exclaims.

Cabel cuts him off, his eyes analyzing the strangers in an amused fashion.
"They followed knights from my army without even being detected. I want them."

"Now, now. Your little captain's right. We could just be here to plunder or steal -"
"And? My trust in all of you was high, the moment you finally showed yourselves." Cabel coldly cuts off Cethin.

"Aw man, you knew then?" The man with red hair questions with a subtle pout.
"Did you really believe that, I wouldn't notice your presence?" Cabel scoffs.

"Well now, just because they showed themselves, it could still be a trap to steal from you, your majesty." Cethin chuckles, seeming comfortable with the emperor.
"I doubt that. You followed my knights, even though I could have been someone who wanted you dead. You had a motive for wanting this deal to be true, it's why you all came here together regardless of if it was a trap, and I have a goal to strengthen my army. We'll continue this talk inside. Your little friends can come, unless they prefer to run and play."
"Fine, let's get the formality out of the way." Cethin snickers, shrugging as he turns to the palace doors.
"Lance, prepare some refreshments, we'll take this in my office." Cabel begins to walk inside, his hand resting on my back as he escorts me in.

I glance behind to see the assassins following us, Cethin playfully smiles as he makes eye contact with me. Wary of them, but not feeling any ill-motives, I give a small smile before turning to look forward.



In his office, Cethin's acquaintances sip their tea as they look around the office. Cabel sits close beside me, carefully watching their movements.

The situation a bit awkward, I take a sip of my drink trying to calm my nerves.

"Gross. What's with kingdoms and tea? Tea, tea, tea, it's all just boiled grass. Have you never heard of wine or even coffee?" Cethin sniffs the tea, gagging dramatically with a scowl.
"Tea is a popular beverage here... There's many kinds with different benefits and flavours, but if you'd prefer coffee I can bring some right away." Lance calmly speaks.
"Don't bother, I've lost interest. Although, I am interested in the little birdie here. She's definitely just a concubine, yet you bring her everywhere." Cethin points at me with his blade, "What's the reason for her being here? She's definitely not your consort."
"She's here as an advisor. But let's focus on our deal, shall we?" Cabel calmly speaks, his arm pulling me in closer by the waist.