The Emperor's Concubine

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Upon the roof of the palace, Cethin lounges with his arms behind his head, he grins to himself amused. Gazing at the stars that shine brightly, he softly hums to himself as he thinks about the moment from earlier that night.

Recalling the fearless composure she had that intrigued him, he focuses on the sight of her eyes. Her eyes glowing ever so slightly under the moonlight, for a brief second, beneath the amber shade glistened the tiniest specks of gold—noticeable enough for Cethin to catch it.

"Those eyes... That soul of hers... No wonder she knew where they were." Cethin snickers to himself as realization dawns upon him.

Raising a hand up to the night sky, he reaches out as if trying to catch a star. The stars glimmering above, resembling the twinkle in her eyes—a content smile grows on his lips.



"Stretch properly! Don't dilly dally, you'll be sore if you neglect this. Do it every morning and night, and in the middle of the day when you can." Eli scolds Luna as she sits on the ground.

Cethin sits to the side, idly watching as Eli trains Luna.

Tying his dark blonde hair back, Eli attentively analyzes Luna's posture. Using the grassy field in the royal palace's garden, the sun shines brightly onto them. A gentle spring breeze making it cool to train in, Cethin basks in the sun as he waits.

"Hey, I haven't done this before, I'm trying my best!" Luna snaps with a subtle pout, struggling to reach her toes.

Wearing a woman's training uniform—beige pants, a tucked in white tunic, and laced brown boots—Eli uses a rod to point to where she needs to adjust her posture.

"We're never going to get to train, if you can't even do simple stretches." Eli sighs, exasperated.
"I-I've never done this before, can't you be a bit patient?"
"If you struggle this much with stretching, how can you expect to learn how to protect yourself?"

Continuing to bicker as Luna finishes her stretching, Cethin smiles at the funny sight of the two.

"Now, now. Take it easy on her. She seems properly stretched, just go over the basics with her." Cethin interjects.
"This is a part of the basics." Eli scowls, "Just cause you don't stretch doesn't mean she shouldn't."
"Yeah, yeah, but you're the most anal-retentive about it."
"Am not." Eli hisses, holding his hand out to help Luna stand.
"Yeah you are."

Just as the two glare sharply at each other, Luna jumps to stand before Eli—blocking his sight to Cethin as she feigns a smile.

"H-Hey, I'd really like to know more proper techniques." Luna meekly speaks, hoping to distract Eli from fighting further with Cethin.
"Fine, I'll go over it slow." Jumping into a fighting stance, Eli watches as Luna jumps into the same pose as him, "We don't generally use hand to hand combat because... Well, in our line of work we kill them without being noticed, but you can't do that. We'll focus on what to do if you're attacked. First you should learn to punch."
"This pose feels odd." Luna pouts, tilting her head as she awkwardly tries to make it comfortable.
"It feels off cause you've never done it before." Stepping in front of her, he gently begins to adjust her arms, "Make sure you never tuck your thumb into your fist."

Fixing her clumsy posture, he takes a step back once he's pleased with it. Holding his open hands out to her, he nods.

"Now, focus on where you want to hit. Keep your eyes locked on my palms and throw a punch."
"W-Won't it hurt you?" Luna stammers, hesitant about moving.
"Oh? Feeling confident you can hurt me when you've never punched before?"
"Well, shouldn't you have gloves?"
"Nope, there's no need. Just throw one." Eli snickers, readying his stance.

Beginning to punch his palms, Eli corrects her form through every motion. Time passes as they continue training, Cethin commenting every now and then as he watches.

Lying in the grass out of breath once the lesson is finished, Luna rests her forearm over her eyes.

"Not bad. Not good, but not bad." Eli shrugs, fixing the cuffs of his uniform, "You have zero strength in your arms so we gotta work on building your muscles."
"Why did you teach me how to punch if I'm too weak to do it right now?" Luna groans as she sits up, exhausted as she massages her shoulders.
"Because it'll grow strength over time. It's better to learn the basics now so you can be prepared. You'll have other resources like weapons to protect you too, but in order to use it you need to strengthen your arms to have all advantages to protect yourself."
"I suppose... Is it always this tiring?"
"Yeah, but it'll get better. Didn't like it?" Eli questions, crossing his arms as he watches Luna stand.
"Surprisingly... I enjoyed it. It was fun learning about it, I'm not a fan of the pain right now though." Pouting as she stretches her arms, Eli flashes a content smile.


"Lady Luna, how's training been?" Lance calls out, approaching the three with a tray of drinks.
"Not bad." Luna shrugs, "I learned a lot, my arms are sore, and Eli's an... Okay instructor." She playfully teases.

"Hey, I'm a great instructor. You just have problems listening to me." Eli pettily remarks.
"I do listen, I'm trying my best but I told you it's hard since it's new to me! It's probably easy for you, because you've been doing it for so long." Luna scoffs, turning away from him in a huff.
"Yeah, yeah, jeez you can be loud. Thought nobles were supposed to be reserved." Eli scoffs, grabbing a glass of lemonade from Lance's tray.

"Her? Reserved? Ha! She's more like a ball. She'll calmly stay in one place, and then bounce from the walls to-and-fro the next moment." Cethin snickers as he takes a sip of his drink.
"I-I am not! I simply state what's on my mind. Excuse me for explaining my concerns, while you two quietly sit by and laugh as I struggle." Rolling her eyes, Luna glares momentarily to Cethin as she takes a glass from Lance's hand.

Watching the three of them bicker in a friendly manner, Lance lightly chuckles.

"Well, from the looks of it, I'm sure his majesty will be happy to know it's progressing well." Lance speaks, giving a small smile to Luna.
"It might go better if she just did as she was told." Eli scoffs.
"I would do it more properly, if you gave better instructions." Slightly scowling, Luna sticks her tongue out at Eli who does the same.

"I tried to warn you Chicky. He's anal-retentive." Cethin chimes in to stir the tension.
"It's better than being a slacker." Eli scoffs, retaliating pettily.

Before Cethin can make a remark, Lance interjects.

"Oh, that reminds me. May I have a word with you Captain Cethin? -" Lance asks.
"Ugh, don't call me captain again." Cethin groans, cutting him off.

Jumping to his feet, Cethin follows Lance as they walk away from Luna and Eli. Standing out of ear shot from the two, Lance thinks for a moment.

"What's wrong?" Cethin asks, curious about his expression.
"Nothing is wrong. However, I feel compelled to share that Lady Luna has had a troubled life... She's easy to get along with, and from the looks of it, I'm glad she opened up to you all."
"Opened up?"
"Yes, she appears friendly with you two, which is wonderful."
"Okay... Is that all?" Cethin cocks his head, trying to figure out where the conversation's going.
"Well... I'm sure if she becomes closer to you, she might tell you herself. I'm just asking you, please be careful with her. There's many things that frighten her." Lance informs, glancing back at Luna who seems to bicker with Eli.
"What do you mean? She handles herself well, even threatening her with my lucky blade was pointless."
"I don't mean that kind of fear..."

Looking back at Lance whose expression falls stern and serious, Cethin tilts his head.

"I'm not going to disclose details, but I just worry about her safety and well-being." Lance speaks up, furrowing his brows.
"Did the emperor send you? Listen we'll go easy on her and protect her, just as he's asked."
"His majesty has not sent me. I'm merely worried as she has trouble sleeping at night and will often go on a walk. But the garden's rarely get patrolled at night so I hope you can keep an eye on her when she goes out." Lance's eyes pierce into Cethin's with an honest gaze, "I truly hope she doesn't get harmed."

Raising a brow, Cethin nods giving a small chuckle. Turning his back to Lance, he begins walking away and waves.

"Understood, I'll tell the others. Don't worry yourself too much." Cethin calls out.

Unable to hide his curiosity, a curious grin grows on his lips as he heads back to the two.