~Till It Happens~

When Hermes stepped out of his mother's chambers, a troubled look crossed his features but he didn't let a frown touch his lips. He knew that he was being watched. If anyone reported to his mother that he was looking too displeased, she might take actions rashly and that was the last thing he wanted.

His plan needed to be infallible and to ensure that, he had a part to play. For now, he needed to trust his mother like he always had.

Several thoughts had crossed his mind in the short space of time he had spent talking to her. And even now, he was still thinking.

If his mother was innocent, then all would be well, but if she wasn't. . .

Just as he was processing how he would feel if it turned out that his mother had lied to him from the very beginning, he was grabbed by the arm and slammed against the nearest wall.

He had not seen it coming.

It was only when pain spread through his back, along his spine, that he reacted. A small knife slipped out of his sleeve.

"What did you do?" Magnus hissed into Hermes' ear, not a bit of care in his actions. He did not mind the blade the emperor already had to his neck or the wide-eyed gazes of the servants and maids around them.

He pulled back slightly to pass his eyes over them and they all fell to their knees and pressed their foreheads to the ground.

"Forgive us, Your Majesty," they cried while trembling, awaiting judgement.

Gazing unabashedly at the Emperor's  visage was a crime that no servant would ever want to bear but not only had this group done so, they had also forgotten to bow on seeing Hermes. Experienced servants knew better. Even if the world was falling in front of them, they would never think to raise their gazes.

"They have been replaced," Magnus said, his voice quiet and mellow. "I am sure you know what that means?"

The answer to the question was an easy one. Hermes narrowed his eyes at his advisor but didn't lower the knife. Any wrong movements from either of them and he would have the man's blood on his hands. "My mother's people are no longer around her. . . This is your doing."

"You and I have worked hard to limit her authority," Magnus whispered harshly, his previous anger resurrected. "Do not let your emotions ruin all of our hard work. If she thinks you are against her, she will be more cautious. She will make less mistakes and it will be much harder to control her. So whatever it is that made you storm in here, forget it."

"Mikeal sent you here."

"He had a good reason to."

"He didn't tell you what happened," Hermes carefully pulled the knife away from Magnus' neck then let his arm fall to his side. He stared at the angry red line that had appeared on the man's pale skin. "I could have killed you."

"Have more faith in yourself, Your Majesty," Magnus let go of Hermes' arm and trailed a finger along his neck. There was only pain, no blood. "You have more control than you give yourself credit for."

"My mother, she—"

"Whatever it is, this is not the place. You have threatened her directly so she will make a move." Magnus eyed the prostrating help. It was best they stayed that way for as long as possible. "We shouldn't be here when that happens."

"Alright," Hermes let his advisor drag him away. "Where is Eugene?"

"Getting reenforcements," Mikeal answered, pushing the emperor behind a pillar when a group of maids made their way down the hall. The two men turned right and started along the path to Hermes' bedroom. "Something big is happening tonight, I asked Meéarine to read the closest future. She said that the gods obscured her vision during the reading. All she knows is that tonight there will be a bloodbath."

"My mother will attempt to wipe out the dungeons before first light," Hermes said, guilt dragging him to a stop.

The emperor and his advisor turned to face each other.

"What in the gods' names did you say to her?" Magnus' eyes grew wide. He touched a finger to the silver star in his ear. "If this is about the nun, it is not worth it."

"It is about much more than the nun," Hermes shook his head. "What do you know about my mother?"

"She is the Empress Dowa—"

"I am referring to my real mother, my birth mother. The one I always assumed abandoned me because I was a disgrace."

"Why are you asking about this now? What does this have to do with the nun?"

"It has everything to do with her," Hermes placed both his hands on Magnus' shoulder but resisted the urge to shake the man. "Mikeal and I went down to the dungeons to interrogate her but we didn't get a chance to. When we got there, she was telling a story. She claimed that the prisoner in the cell with her was my birth mother and that she was put there by the Empress Dowager years ago."

Magnus furrowed his brows as he imagined the situation for himself. It sounded staged but if Hermes had visited the dungeons he would have done his best to keep the fact from his mother. If even his mother didn't know then no one could have informed the nun beforehand.

A suitable informant would have been Mikeal, but the knight had gone along with Hermes so there would have been no chance for him to.

The situation was beyond perplexing. If Hermes had never heard those words, the current course of events would have been much different. Was this the reason why the future hadn't been clear in Meéarine's reading?

"How can there be such a coincidence?" Magnus asked, hoping to get a clue from the emperor. "You made an unexpected visit and in return discovered this shocking secret. It seems too favourable to be genuine, doesn't it?"

"It is not a coincidence, it is Fate's work at hand. Sūn, he wanted me to see this," Hermes said with a determined gaze. He had thought long and hard before deciding to visit his mother. Even if the information was fake, he needed to confirm it with his own eyes. "I confronted my mother to see her reaction. I told her that I was yet to personally interrogate the nun and that I would do so before first light. If she is guilty, she will try to kill the nun before then."

Magnus frowned. "Then I have to save her."

Hermes grabbed Magnus by the arm before he could walk away. "Why are you so concerned about the nun?"

The advisor sighed and used a finger to smooth out his brows before turning to Hermes. "Since this selection began, I have asked Meéarine to read the closest fates of all the bride candidates. Those who are threats will not be allowed close to you, those whose destinies hinder yours will be whittled away. Those who would bolster your future have a higher chance of being the Empress and those who have no effect on your destiny are left alone."

"And which category does the nun fall into?" Hermes asked, ignoring the fact that Magnus had done all this behind his back. This was not the time for that argument. Every minute they wasted was a minute lost to first light.

"Meéarine doesn't know. The nun's destiny is as vague as yours," Magnus said. "Since it is not clear how her destiny affects yours, I can only play it by the ear. If she is innocent, I will save her. If she is a threat to you, I will end her."

"She is lucky to have you."

"Does she also not have you? It seems as though Fate has connected you both." Magnus held his hands out and Hermes let go of him. "If what she says is true, we will finally achieve what we have been seeking. We will get the Empress Dowager to move back into her own palace. We will be able to restrict how often ministers can visit her. We might even be able to get her deposed."

Hermes winced at the last statement. "Is that necessary?"

"Mikeal does not mind it, why do you?"

"I am more family to him than she is. You know that he doesn't truly consider her his mother."

"She spent his childhood raising you. What else would you expect? I am surprised that he cares for you as much as he does," Magnus said.

"We are blood, that means something."

"It has meant less to men less wronged."

~

Oris did her best to control her breathing as pain rippled through her side. It had the strength to bring her knees but she remained standing. She rose off the balls of her feet till only her toes touched the rough ground.

The uneven stones forming the floor hurt her but the pain in her legs only served as a distraction from the pain in her side. How long had she been dancing now? She couldn't remember.

She arched her back and curved the fingers of both hands towards the spot above her. She twirled, once, twice, then repeated the motion on one leg.

She dipped down with her left leg straight in the air, then brought her right arm towards the floor in a delicate curve that left anyone watching with the impression that she was attempting to scoop something up.

It spilled through her fingers in the end though and only now did she let the pain she felt take over the smile on her face.

She held both hands to her chest then sunk to one knee with her head bowed solemnly. She spread her arms slowly and imitated the flap of a bird's wings once before standing straight again and bowing to an audience that did not exist.

The music in her mind had come to an end. Without dancing to distract her, the pain was able to throw Oris to the ground.

She emptied her half-digested meal of gruel into the chamber pot kept beside her. How many times had she done this today? It was getting full.

"You might not believe me," Hermes' mother began from her usual corner, "but your dancing is getting better. Your body is getting worse though."

Her vision swimming, Oris groaned and pushed herself against the wall behind her. She still didn't know the name of her royal cellmate. It hadn't been recorded in any of the books she read and the woman had not said a word of it. "I feel like I have died."

"You should stop dancing. It drains the water and energy from your body. It makes you weaker against the poison."

"The focus I have while dancing keeps the pain at bay," Oris managed a smile. When she danced, her body produced sweat, and when she started sweating, her fever began to cool. Everything she did was in an attempt to prolong her life. . . and keep the queen in front of her entertained. "The worse I look, the better it is for me in the end."

"You eat the gruel, it poisons you. You can't keep it down so you throw it up in a few hours," the chains hit to floor to punctuate each point. "You are starving yourself."

"I am not starving," Oris would have laughed at her own lie but her chest hurt too much to attempt it. When she wasn't dancing, it was best to keep still and let the pain take its course. "My body is using me to feed itself. There is a difference."

"It has only been four days and a night, and you are already like this. You are not going to last long."

"I don't need to last long, I just need to last till it happens."

"Your plan is not going to work. If any of the Empress Dowager's men heard you, tonight will be the last we will ever see one another."

"Will she kill you?"

"Worry about yourself, girl. Not me."

Oris parted her lips to reply but made a detour to the chamber pot instead and coughed out a mouthful of stomach acid, gruel and bile.

She grimaced at the taste on her tongue and wiped off the corner of lips.

In the next moments, she found herself staring at her fingers. She had to really squint to see them, the torches nearby were out and the illumination of the others barely reached the cell, but it only took one flicker of light in her direction to tell that her fingers were speckled with flecks of red. . . Blood.

Hermes' mother had been right, she really didn't have long till the poison killed her. And yet, if a guard came by with another bowl of gruel, she would drink it without hesitation.

She only had one chance to leave this place, and she was more than ready to stake her life on it.

Oris wiped her stained hand on the inner fabric of her torn dress. The pain was gone, it was time to dance again.

~

So guys. Here's the chapter for Monday! After this I'll owe you 3 chapters, I know that! After the writing spree I was on last time, I was totally burnt out. You see, if I write 3 or 4 chapters in a day, most times I'll need to take a break that's the amount of time it would have take me to normally write those chapters.

I sort of lose motivation and inspiration for the story even if I know what to write.

But I've been writing everyday guys, I've not really been taking a break. When I lost motivation for Queensmen, I was writing chapters for Pink Walls on Tapas.

And guess what happened! I lost inspiration for that story and I'm brimming with excitement to write Oris' adventure again.

So, this is the first chapter. The next one will be out tomorrow! Sorry for the long wait and hope you enjoy the chapter!