~A Tale Of Fate[2]~

"The gods began to govern the lands according to the threads Fate dictated, guiding Mother Earth's creatures on the path designed for them or leading them astray when it was necessary. Because of this, there is eternal conflict between Fate and Death regarding the flow of life in the world."

"Then you worship Fate," Hermes noted, immediately picking up on the differences between the story he knew and the one she told.

"I do." Oris nodded slightly. "And Mother Earth and Death... I also acknowledge Destiny."

He set his teacup on the table. The porcelain clashed sharply with the wood. "That is strange. To not believe in the gods despite them being acknowledged as Fate's children in many stories."

"I acknowledge their existence, even the fact that somehow the gods would not have been created without Fate. I was simply not raised in a household that worshipped them." The answer was close enough to the full truth. Close enough to make this conversation feel like one between acquaintances wishing to become friends and not future enemies wary of one another.

"Yet you joined a convent still."

"A debt of life can only be exchange with life," she told him seriously, referring to the agreement they now shared. She did not save him, she saved Bren... But he had saved her in turn. In the eyes of the world, she had risked her life to protect the emperor and the debt had been paid with his time.

But in her heart, she knew that she still owed him according to the rules of fate. How could she save a man who she needed dead? It was ridiculous to think that she would pass up an opportunity to end his life. Would she have to try to kill him twice and purposely fail the first time around?

She didn't want to think about it, especially now that she had to work with him to free his mother... just because she had been thrown into that particular cell.

Sometimes, she wondered what Fate was doing with her destiny. Had she been born simply to be used by whoever deemed her fit enough?

From Orse to Inae, she found herself stumbling into unbelievable coincidences. She just happened to be royalty. She just happened to resemble Eve. She just happened to be the last woman to enter the palace. She just happened to meet Nian Fey...

Sometimes she felt as though the gods were toying with her, tugging her life between Fate and Death whenever they pleased. How many times had she almost died now? How many times had her life been in danger when she had been queen? How many assassinations had she faced in her own castle?

As annoyed as she was by their pettiness, she still could not bring herself to regret her choice.

How long ago would Eve's body have been buried if she had been the one to enter the palace? How long would her unjust death have gone unchallenged?

The way Oris saw it, it was destined that the last woman to enter the palace would become the Empress Dowager's victim. Mikeal had said it himself, she was more important than the other women simply because she was the last.

Whatever Wei Wei planned requires the death of the bride coming from Inqa. What I'm not certain of is whether Hermes had supported that plan...

"You still haven't answered my question," he said, as though she had forgotten, "but I will not say that I have found your story uninteresting."

Oris took that as a compliment.

"It is said that Fate formed the connection between all men and animals using a lock of his hair, and it didn't take long until there were temples built and dedicated to him. When two people found love they would go to such temples for their union to be blessed. The priests, in turn, would tie their hair together and say that from that moment on their fates were connected and could only be separated by Death."

"When a person's fate cannot be changed or directly affects the fate of those around them, whether good or bad, that is Destiny." She smiled when she thought about it. Between her and Hermes, how strong was the thread connecting them? If she had never become queen, would he have still found a way to interrupt her life? "Those who worship Fate sacralize their hair and believe that cutting it will adversely affect their lives."

"I have never cut my hair," Hermes admitted, "though I do not worship the Old Ones."

"I have." Oris curled a lock around her finger, already lost in the memory. "Once."

"Why?"

"I felt that my life was unfair and I needed the gods' attention."

Risa had always kept her hair short, so she had to cut hers to a matching length. She had let it grow out in the three years she spent mourning but it never felt the same.

As children, she and Bren had braided their hair together once. They had left the knot for months and were inseparable until they were forced to take it down.

Cutting her hair for the sake of a throne she could never really claim had felt like the last straw. It meant that from then on her love would no longer hold meaning in the eyes of Fate, and she had broken the thread herself.

"Did you get their attention?"

Oris looked at Hermes, wistfully. Maybe only people like him would ask that question. Everyone else knew that the gods were simply silent onlookers on the road of life.

"Sometimes life is just unfair and the gods do not care."

"Not unfair now that you have the opportunity to become Empress," Hermes pointed out.

She laughed into her hand, truly amused by his obvious attempt to suss out her motives. "Meeting sire has made me understand how tiring the throne is. Simply surviving will be enough for me."

Hermes eased into his chair, apparently satisfied with her reply. "Are the reasons behind every answer you wrote as peculiar as this?"

"You praise me too much, sire." Oris bowed her head and smiled. "I just took note of sire's impeccable grooming habits. To take care for your hair so carefully without caring for superstition only shows how meticulous your mind is, sire."

"Careful now." He laughed. "You are beginning to sound like my ministers."

Before the silence between them could return, Oris continued the conversation. "Sire, is it my turn to ask a question?"

"It is."

"Your rings have runes on them... It seems they are not ordinary."

"You have a good eye."

"They glimmer so prettily yet you threw them to the floor," she replied lazily, "I couldn't help but notice. Can sire tell me what they are?"

"Talismans."

"They grant you powers?"

"Is that your second question?"

She shook her head. She was curious but she didn't care that much. Why Hermes had worn ten rings on one hand could forever remain a mystery and it wouldn't affect her. She had asked just for the sake of asking.

If there was no finality to the conversation and neither of them spoke, she would be forced to drink tea until Hermes ran out of water and even if she had a proper question to ask by then the atmosphere would be too awkward for her to say it.

"I just didn't imagine sire as someone who wore jewelry so I was surprised."

He reached down and picked up a ring then another and another until they were all on the table. "And how did you imagine me?"

"I..."

Could she say that she hadn't imagined him to he anything? No, because she clearly remembered that he had asked this question more than an hour ago and she had evaded it by talking of rumors and calling him merciful.

The fact that he was asking again meant that he knew that she had been fawning over him.

Now that he had wait almost two hours to demand for the the truth, she couldn't help but admire his patience.

Unfortunately, what came out of her mouth was the most generic answer in all of existence, "I find sire wise and-"

"Yes, you wrote that in the test."

Oh Oris of the past, at least leave me a way out! What else did you write on that test?

"Does sire have everything I wrote memorized?" she asked, hiding her frustration behind a jest. "I feel ashamed, knowing what I know now, I am aware that I did not deserve first place."

"And now, you are stalling."

Yes, I am. How clever of you. She forced her expression to darken. The last question on the test had asked why she wanted to enter the palace and her answer had been...

"I wouldn't want sire to think poorly of me... but since you have asked, I must answer. Sire must know already that I am an orphan. My family was killed in the war. I have no parents, no brothers, no sisters. No one."

"Then you must hate me."

Oris nodded. "I did... I did hate the man who caused the war. Because of him I was homeless. Alone. I could barely survive. At one point, I had to dress as a boy to protect myself but who knew that because of the Selection almost every boy looking for work was secretly a girl? It didn't take long until my employer found out and sold me to bandits. I didn't know how long I was with them, traveling on a horse with a sack over my head. One day, there was a storm. The horse panicked and bolted. I fell. When I woke up, I was in the convent. I am not sure what happened in that time but somehow I escaped the bandits. I joined the convent not only to repay my debt, but because I had nowhere to go.

"I knew that it was only a matter of time before someone came after me so I needed to leave. I didn't care for the Selection but I was tired of being a defenseless orphan and," she raised her head so that their eyes met, "for me this palace is the safest place."

With their gazes connect, she saw it, a change. For the first time since the conversation started, he finally believed her.

How could he not, when she had already began to believe herself?

She cleared her throat and looked away. "Sire still hasn't told me about these rings..."

She reached out to grab one that had rolled over to her tea cup while she had been talking, only to draw her hand back when a sharp pain lanced through her arm.

"Wait," Hermes grabbed her by the wrist before she could even begin to process what had happened, "you are bleeding."

She looked and saw that it was true. There was blood trickling down her finger. The longer she watched it, the more pain she felt. "I didn't think the ring would be sharp."

Even the words sounded ridiculous to say. It was just her luck, to be wounded by an object without an edge.

"It isn't." Hermes seemed as perplexed as she was. "That isn't supposed to happen."

"Sire?" When she tried to shift away, his grip only tightened. She had no idea what was running through his mind.

"These rings are blessed to give their wearers the appearance of good health. They also reduce pain and ease suffering."

"You do not want your ministers knowing that you are injured," she noted but he said nothing to confirm the statement. Instead, he picked up the ring that had cut her. Disregarding the drops of blood that had fallen on it, he examined its smooth surface then ran his thumb over it.

"Maybe it is defective," Oris found herself saying, but that only served to worsen the Emperor's expression.

When he was done with the ring, he set it back beside her cup and got to his feet. Finally, he let go of her hand, but she had little time to feel relieved.

"I will dress your wound."

"Your Majesty, that is improper and-"

He didn't even pay attention to her and just continued to walk until he disappeared into the depths of the room.

Oris slumped in her chair and glared at her throbbing index finger. "You... You... You."

In the end, she found she had nothing to say.

With an aggrieved sigh, she let her hand fall and turned to the incense for the last time.

Two hours have passed... I wonder if his ministers are regretting their decisions right about now.

~

Oris gets cut by a ring. Hermes grabs her hand, sort of! First physical contact between them. Yay!

And look at Oris, telling the truth all of a sudden... It's true though, the palace is the safest place for her and she somehow escaped the bandits, didn't she?

And someone *cough* Hermes *cough* will be after her, soon enough so she needed to hide. And she would be defenseless until she regains her authority as queen by reclaiming her kingdom.

Ah, how far can you stretch the truth before it becomes a lie? I think that's one of the themes of this book.

Ah, in the test, Oris wrote that she was in the palace because she had no home :(

The palace can be her home now :)
Until she destroys it, lmao.