Lady Katherine Harrington of Johanne

16 November, Year 1 of Sebastian VI, Emperor of the Longbournian Nations' reign

Amöneburg Palace, Amöneburg

The Longbournian Nations

The next morning, on the threshold of the dining hall, Princess Dorothea had her arms wrapped around me in a vice-like grip. She had buried her face in my neck, and had been refusing to release me for the past ten minutes.

Prince Jacob and his brother Prince Paul were kneeling down behind her, close to pulling their hair out of their roots.

"Dorothea, do you not want to see Nanny Rita?" Prince Paul coaxed her, "and your poppets? And the chickens, the pigs and the horses?"

Princess Dorothea shook her head vehemently. "I want to stay with my new friend."

"But Nanny Rita is your best friend, and she misses you," Prince Jacob tried next, "you do not want to make her sad, do you? You know how much she loves you."

That made her hesitate. "But Kat - "

"Do not worry, I will try to visit you in Brauchitsch soon, sweetheart," I assured her softly, "and then we can play with your poppets, and more games like the story game we played yesterday."

She pulled back to look at me, her eyes shining. "Promise?"

"Pinkie-promise."

She hooked her pinkie with mine, beaming. "Bring Tallie and Bash with you when you come."

The Princess, who was standing behind me, laughed as she munched on an apple for breakfast. "Aye, most definitely," she confirmed, "and I will drag Brother-mine with me even if he is busy."

Princess Dorothea released me, and flung her arms around her cousin. "Come soon."

"I will, darling," she promised, "now go with your brothers. Have a safe journey, all of you." She glanced up at the men with a faint smile.

They nodded at her. Princess Dorothea allowed Prince Jacob and Prince Paul to hold each of her hands, and together, they strolled out of the dining hall, and towards the courtyard.

"Well, Mistress Hohenstaufen," I sighed, as I watched them leave, "I believe it is time we returned to the Academy and break our fast. Do you want to ride with me?"

The Princess smiled impishly, tossing the core of her apple aside. "I will be returning to the Academy," she informed me, "you, on the other hand, will be staying right here."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Read this," she held out a piece of parchment towards me.

I accepted the neatly folded parchment from her, wary and suspicious of her suddenly happy mood, and opened it up to read a few sentences written in an unfamiliar, large, bubble-like penmanship.

Katherine,

I am so sorry I was unable to meet you when you came to my study earlier. I was, and still am, very busy with making arrangements for Tante Loraine's upcoming trial, with the help of the Crown Council. It is going to be a terrible week, for certain.

In any case, allow me to make it up to you. Would you like to join me for a cup of tea before your morning theory classes? If you are agreeable, I will meet you in the dining hall at around 09 00 hours.

Yours,
Sebastian

I glanced at my timepiece. 08 45. My guard duty at the Dowager Duchess' chambers only began at 10 30 today.

A cup of tea did not sound too bad an idea.

"There is no need to deliberate. I have already told Brother-mine you agreed to meet him," the Princess interrupted my thoughts, snickering.

I scowled at her. "Mistress Hohenstaufen - "

She pushed me by the shoulders towards the long, empty table in the dining hall. "I do not want to hear any arguments," she all but forced me onto the seat at the head of the table, "now sit here, and wait patiently. Am I understood?"

"But - "

"I know you arrived at the Palace barely a few hours after you had left the night before, just to wish Brother-mine a happy birthday," she remarked softly, "and at the rate everything is happening, it seems like that is going to be the only happy aspect of his birthday this year." Her voice turned grieved.

I remained silent.

She shook her head, and stood upright. "So ensure that you wish him, and make him as happy as you possibly can over that cup of tea," she ordered, "and of course, do tell me all about it when you return to the Academy."

I smiled faintly. "I will."

With a brief wave, she bid me farewell, and hurried off towards the stables. When I was certain she had left, I took the small book in my pocket, and placed it on the table. I checked it thoroughly yet again that morning, making sure that the knots that bound the parchments within together were tight.

I had stitched the front and back covers of the book myself, although it was not very neat. Embroidery had always been Lisa's forte, not mine.

I then set it aside, crossed my arms over the table and rested my chin on them, as I waited for the Emperor to come. I quietly watched the Palace staff work around me in the meanwhile.

When it neared 09 00 hours, I heard my name being called. "Kat?"

I sat upright, and glanced around for the sound of the voice. At the threshold of the dining hall stood - not the Emperor, as I had been expecting - but a well-dressed Richard, looking as shocked as I felt.

My gaze turned cool. "What are you doing here?"

He sat as far away from me as he could - at the other end of the table. "I need Sebastian's permission to leave the Palace, and return to my employment," he shrugged, "and I was told to meet him here."

Indeed?

I narrowed my eyes. "At what time?"

"Now, actually," he looked at his timepiece, "we were supposed to discuss it over a cup of tea."

Tea for Richard too? I frowned, why would the Emperor ask us to meet him here at the exact same time? Was he so pressed for time?

And where was the Emperor?

A heavy silence fell in the dining hall. I looked away from him at the beautiful, stained glass windows above his head, at the rays that shone through them in a myriad of colours, determined to gaze at anything but him.

Still, from the corner of my eye, I noticed him thread his fingers together and rest his arms on the table. I heard him tapping his feet beneath the table in absent-minded impatience - or nervousness, I could not tell - as he glanced at his timepiece every few minutes.

The tapping of his feet in the silent room began to annoy me. "Cease that!"

He stopped at once, and gazed up at me, startled. "My apologies."

"Of all the things you should be apologising for..." I muttered under my breath, scowling.

But he had heard me. "Would an apology make you feel better, Kat?"

"A fucking good explanation for what you have done along with that fucking apology would be best, under the circumstances," I snarled, "but nay, you will not give it to me."

"I have told you, I do not want to," his voice was quiet, almost defensive, "so please build a bridge, and move past it."

I willed myself to count to ten to calm down. "Mayhap it will be best if we both remained silent."

"If you insist."

A few minutes passed in tensed silence. In the meanwhile, one of the kitchen maids approached Richard with a pot of piping hot tea in that moment. She curtsied, before pouring the tea for him in a cup that was already set on the table.

He nodded at her in thanks. She left, without even sparing me a glance.

Where was my tea? And where the hell was the Emperor?

"Would you like some?" Richard asked me. He had not even touched his cup.

I ignored him.

He sighed, a heavy breath leaving his lips. "I know you are angry with me, but this is ridiculous," he frowned, "there is no good reason why you and I cannot have a normal conversation without resorting to arguments or silence."

I gazed at him coolly. "I have a good reason."

"Which is?"

"I do not like you."

"Fair enough," he shrugged.

I was becoming frustrated. "What is your point?"

"Kat, I am leaving today," he reminded me, "you will never have to see me again after that. Could we not part on at least civil terms? We were good friends once, after all."

I fell silent. The child in me wanted to tell him to fuck off, but the rational side of me knew that I needed to make peace with him, before I could with myself. What was done was done, and there was nothing neither of us could do about it.

But still -

Richard held up the pot of tea - a peace offering. "Tea?"

"Ah, hell," I raised my eyes to the heavens above, giving up, "all right, give me some tea. But help me add - "

A ghost of a smile crossed his face. "Two and a half extra teaspoons of sugar?"

"Aye," I answered after a moment, wary, "aye, thank you." With that, I slid the upturned cup on its saucer on my table all the way across to his end, and he caught it deftly before it could slide off the edge.

He carefully poured some hot tea into the cup. He then reached for the small pot of sugar set in the middle of the table, and added two and a half heaping teaspoons of sugar - just as I liked it - to the cup, and stirred it well.

He slid it back to me, albeit slower than I had, but it reached me, amazingly, without spilling. We both simultaneously picked up our cups and slowly sipped on our tea, leaning back against our chairs.

I felt my mood improve slightly. Good old tea.

"So," Richard began just then, "why are you waiting for Sebastian?"

I put down my cup gently on the saucer. "'Tis the Emperor's twenty-fifth birthday today," I cleared my throat, "and I wanted to wish him, and give him his present." I gestured to the book on the table.

His grey eyes went round in surprise. "Oh, I did not know that. What book have you bought him?" His gaze rested on the book in curiosity.

"'Tis nothing interesting," I tried to wave it off, "truth be told, it is more of a stack of parchments bound by yarn - "

It only made him more curious. "I promise, I will not laugh," he assured me, leaning forward, "tell me, what is the book about?"

Truth be told, I was not entirely comfortable talking about the gift I had brought for the Emperor. It was personal, and on hindsight, a little embarrassing. I could have snapped an expletive at Richard at that moment, and rudely told him to keep his silence.

However, there was something about his earnest curiosity that reminded me so much of our childhood, that I felt inclined to keep talking.

"I wrote it," I rubbed the back of my neck, flushing, "it is full of every knock-knock jest that my brother Tristan and I know and have created, along with the ones that the Emperor has told me thus far."

He continued to stare at the book, deep in thought. "It must have required quite a bit of effort," he mused, "why a book of knock-knock jests, though?"

"Well, the Emperor is very fond of them," I shrugged by way of explanation, "just like Tristan, if you remember. And - " I hesitated.

He raised his gaze towards me, and his grey eyes were soft for once. "And?"

"I feel he could use some humour at this point in his life," I admitted quietly, "these few weeks have been so terrible for him. I hope these jests make his pain at least a little bearable, even though I cannot erase it."

"It is very thoughtful of you, Kat," he remarked quietly, "you must care a lot for him."

"I do, very much."

He broke into a small, knowing smile. "I believe you. You have always worn your heart proudly on your sleeve," there was no resentment in his voice, as he reflected, "may I see the book?"

I hesitated for a few moments, deliberating, before I relented. I gently slid the book across the table towards him. He caught it, lifting it up to his eyes, and began to snicker upon seeing the very first page.

"I did not believe it possible, but your penmanship has worsened over the years," his voice was wry, "by the Lord, 'tis almost illegible."

I rolled my eyes and refused to dignify that with a response. He continued to carefully flip through the pages, conscious of the thin parchments and the knots of yarn holding them precariously together. He smiled at a few, and openly laughed at others. When he finished, he looked up at me, confused.

"The last few pages are empty," his forehead creased, "why?"

"They are for the Emperor to fill if he can think of a few more jests," I smiled faintly, "of course, I also hope he shares some of them with me. I can use a good laugh every now and then too."

His grey eyes, lined with exhaustion, held mine. "Me too."

I tilted my head, observing him. In that moment, there were no walls between us. Beneath all that stubbornness, I was able to see the troubled young man that he truly was, instead of the heartless heartbreaker I had once assumed.

For once I was able to understand, to a small extent, that his reasons for breaking our engagement and running away - though utterly inexcusable - had to be truly, truly terrible if he could not even bear to say it out loud.

Clearly, he himself had yet to build a bridge and move past his issues, in his words.

"I know," I whispered.

***

Alas, the Emperor did not show up. He had met neither me nor Richard at the dining hall, and I had to leave for my duty at the Dowager Empress's boudoir at 10 30 without even having given him his present.

Mayhap he was too busy, and lost track of time. I decided that I would go to his study, and pass him his present after my duty ended in the evening.

Unfortunately, guard duty at the Dowager Empress's boudoir, as always, seemed endless.

It felt especially unbearable this time round, because her already depressing chambers were also deadly silent. She had refused all company, including those of her Ladies-in-waiting and her children, wanting nothing more than to be alone. Indeed, her wish for solitude was so specific, that she had requested that only one army officer guard her chambers today.

How fortunate for me.

While I scrutinised each and every detail of the chambers in silence, keeping my mind busy such that it did not wander in undesirable directions, she was ferociously knitting away. From what I could tell, she seemed to be making a scarf, as richly sea-green in hue as her eyes.

At that moment, a hiss broke into my thoughts. I focused on the Dowager Empress, to find her staring at her thumb. Blood was slowly oozing out of a rather long cut on its side, but she remained still, deeply lost in her thoughts. It was then I noticed the dagger on her other hand, with which she was no doubt trying to cut a string of yarn.

What was she doing -

I hurried towards her at once, and tugged the dagger out of her hands. She looked up at me, startled, but her eyes were dulled, dead. She did not move, even when I set aside her dagger and her knitting, and knelt before her.

Instead of swatting her hand at me and give me a sermon on the class difference between us, as I had expected her to, she simply watched me in silence, as I took out my handkerchief from my pocket and took her hand in mine. I gently cleaned off the blood, and pressed my handkerchief tightly against the wound.

"You should have more care, Your Majesty," I frowned, "daggers are no trifle."

She did not respond to that. I doubted that she even heard what I said.

Her gaze remained fixed on her hand, empty and unmoving. I followed her gaze, wondering what was so interesting about a dagger cut, when I realised that she had not been looking at her injury.

She was looking at the words inked into her wrist. Ich bin bei dir.

This phrase was not unfamiliar to me. It was also inked onto the wrist of her younger sister, Princess Loraine, who was currently under arrest.

"Ich bin bei dir," I murmured, "I am with you. That is what it means, does it not?"

A tired breath left her lips. "Correct, Mistress Harrington," her voice was hoarse from having remained silent for so long, "I suppose you saw it on Princess Loraine's hand as well."

I could not tell if her tone was accusatory. I raised my gaze to hers.

"Aye, Madame," I admitted quietly, "but I knew of it much earlier. It was also inscribed on the engagement ring of my friend, Crown Princess Consort Juliette of Monrique."

She tilted her head at me.

"That ring once belonged to the Crown Prince's maternal grandmother," I explained, "and it had been made for her by her husband, who had been a Longbournian nobleman before his marriage. You may have heard of him, Your Majesty. Lord Franz - "

A faint ray of light entered her eyes. "Oh, yes. Lord Franz of Württemberg," she reminisced mildly, "he and my father got along rather well when they both lived. A good man, with a proper sense of pride and honour."

She traced the words on her wrist. "He was exceedingly loyal and devoted to his family. This sounds exactly like something he would promise his wife and his children," she reflected, "just as Princess Loraine and I had promised each other, many years ago."

She remained still after that statement, as cold and unfeeling as a statue. However, the tension in the room grew so thick that I could feel it pressing down hard on my shoulders.

"Your Majesty," I felt compelled to speak, softly, gently, "I – "

A smile, broken and splintered in many places, tugged up her lips. "My household was a rather formal one, you understand. We did not enjoy the liberties that you young adults take with your parents these days," she mused, "ours fed us, clothed us, put a roof over our heads, and we were expected to be more than grateful for it. They ordered, and we followed. It was the way of the world."

"For all the riches they afforded us, however, they were simply incapable of showing affection. Protection, comfort, advice, support, a sense of belonging...these, we sought from our siblings."

I drew a chair nearby, and sat next to her. "How many siblings do you have, Your Majesty?"

"Six. Five brothers, and Loraine," she answered quietly, "our brothers were fiercely protective of us, and loved and spoiled us to no end while we grew up. Loraine and my oldest brother are almost sixteen years apart in age, and yet, all of us were extremely close. We were always there for each other."

"When I was sixteen, while our brothers were away at Amöneburg, training in the army, our parents brought home some news," she wrinkled her nose, "the then Emperor Karl, three years my senior, sought my hand in marriage – and they had accepted it on my behalf."

I cracked a smile at her expression. "I assume you were not too happy about it, Madame."

"Nay, I was not. Men at that age are terribly immature, and my future husband was no exception," she explained dryly, "but no one was more enraged than Loraine. She thought it unfair they snatched away my right to marry for love, and yelled our house down trying to defend me. Our parents were most bemused. They could not believe that Loraine was capable of such insolence, and locked her in her rooms as punishment."

"It did not stop her. She climbed out the window, and set off in the middle of the night, on her own, to the capital," her smile faded, "determined to enter Amöneburg Palace by force, and talk Emperor Karl out of marrying me, by hook or by crook."

Even as she was telling her story, I felt anxiety twist my heart within me.

"Pure idiocracy," her voice was bitter soft, "by the time I discovered her out of bed, and followed her tracks to the middle of the woods, she had already been ambushed by a group of rogues. A lone, well-off fourteen-year-old, trapped in the midst of seven men more than thrice her age, who wanted her body and the money they could ransom her freedom for."

For the first time that day, her eyes grew glassy. "As you know, we survived that night, and made it home before daybreak, with these scars, and more," she raised her hands to show me, "and more importantly, with my sister's chastity and honour intact."

I was almost afraid to ask. "And yours?"

"Not entirely," her tone was clipped, indicating that she wanted no further discussion on it, "and Loraine was riddled with guilt for a long time. She had no need to be, however. I would have done the same for her if she were in my place, and I in hers – with proper planning, of course. I would not have run off in the middle of the night, where I would have been easy prey to utter monsters."

My heart squeezed tightly.

She shook her head to clear her mind. "Inking this phrase on both our wrists was her idea," she added, clearing her throat, "and with it, she promised she would never let anyone hurt me ever again."

I could not wrap my head around it. The woman we had arrested last night was the complete antithesis of the woman that the Dowager Empress had described in her childhood.

"W-what happened to that promise, Madame?" I whispered, "how did the both of you reach this point?"

"People change, as seasons do, as time always does, Mistress Harrington," she sighed heavily, "and left in its wake, broken promises, discarded values, and family...turned strangers."

"I do not – I cannot – I simply do not understand," I stammered, frowning, "Your Majesty, she is your sister. People do change, but there is a foundation to every relationship - "

"Mistress Harrington."

Her voice was quiet, but firm. I fell silent.

She faced me, her countenance solemn. "The woman in your custody is not my sister," her sea-green eyes held mine, "my sister died the moment she allowed the greed and ill-will that Prince Heinrich developed for my family to come between us."

***

I had returned again in the evening after my guard duty at the Dowager Empress' chambers had ended, but the Emperor had still been too busy to entertain visitors.

I did not believe it possible, but everything went further downhill from that point.

The one good thing was that Princess Loraine was tried and convicted that very week - with Princes Jacob and Paul presenting evidence against her - and she was sent to the dungeons to live out the remaining years of her life. Watching all the proceedings against her younger sister had taken a heavy toll on the Dowager Empress. However, she insisted on being present for it, holding her son's hand through it all.

That was supposed to have been the end. Fräulein was caught, and all her accomplices were rounded up within the week. The Emperor was safe at long last. It was supposed to have been a happy, peaceful time for all of us, and I should have continued teaching my students at the Academy without constantly feeling paranoid about their safety and his.

But nay. I was not happy, and I was not at peace, because the last time the Emperor and I had spoken was on the night Lady Lorraine had been arrested - which was around a fortnight from today.

Every time I stopped by the Palace after training in the evening these days, he was busy with work - which meant that his guards had strict orders not to allow anyone into his study - or he was in a Council meeting, or he was away from the Palace.

I could not understand it, and it constantly plagued my mind. Why was he avoiding me? Had I done something wrong? If I had offended him in any way, I wished he would at least tell me, so that I could apologise and make amends.

The cold shoulder was, well...extremely cold. And rather painful.

On the other hand, the one person whom I did see much too often than I would have liked, was Richard. Just as the Emperor was nowhere, Richard was everywhere.

The Emperor had all but ordered that Richard stay with his family at the Palace while he was in Amöneburg, and Richard, in turn, had insisted that he wanted to earn his stay. The Emperor had, according to him, agreed to that compromise. Thus, Richard was constantly flitting in and out of the Academy, delivering messages or letters from the Palace, helping to transport new weapons from the neighbouring duchies to the Academy, or staying on for meals.

And all these tasks always, always involved me in one way or another.

"Mistress Harrington. Mistress Harrington."

Startled out of my thoughts, I glanced up now.

The Princess was striding into the weaponry chamber towards me, munching on an apple. She leaned against the table beside me, where I was arranging a new set of bows that had arrived yesterday by size and material.

"Oh, thank goodness, I am hungry," I sighed in relief, grabbing the apple from her, "the break between breakfast and luncheon is always the longest." I took a bite out of it.

She was stunned for a moment, before she sighed. "You have bigger problems, my friend."

I paused. "I am afraid to ask."

"Prince Richard just rode past the front gates with another trunk full of bows," she informed me, taking the apple out of my hands, "your workload is going to double in the next few minutes, and I doubt you will be even seeing your luncheon today. I am sorry."

I closed my eyes, gripping the table hard. Not again.

She touched my shoulder. "Mistress Harrington - "

"Allow me to predict the future, Mistress Hohenstaufen," my voice was laced with frustration, "Richard will bring the trunk straight here - even though there are fifty other weaponry chambers in this building. He will tell me that the Emperor has ordered him to help me arrange the bows. I will work in this corner, and he will work in that corner, as if I were carrying the plague. The both of us will be trapped here, forced to make conversation every now and then to avoid silence, until luncheon - "

" - and when it is time for luncheon, you still would not have finished the task. He will then offer to eat with you here, so that you can return to work quickly later. He will have brought with him either your favourite bundle of white roses, or your favourite Apfelstrudels," the Princess finished for me dryly, "like he has been doing every other day these past two weeks."

I stared her straight in the eye. "What the hell is your brother trying to do?"

"What he always does. Being a blockhead," she rolled her eyes, and her eyes softened, "has he spoken to you yet?"

I shook my head, and to my surprise, my eyes stung with tears. "He is refusing to even see me, Mistress Hohenstaufen."

"His intellect is severely lacking, for all his years of education. I keep scolding him, but - ugh," she huffed, before her lips thinned, "in any case, I can promise you this, Mistress Harrington: tomorrow will be the last day that the both of us have to put up with this nonsense."

I was curious. "What have you done?"

"You will see," she refused to say no more, "tomorrow will be the end of this."

It was then that I remembered this had to be difficult for her as well, having been in love with Richard once too. He at least talked to me these days whenever we were in the same room - on the other hand, he pretended not to even see the Princess whenever she passed him.

By God, men were such pieces of -

At that moment, there was a polite knock on the door.

Startled, I glanced past the Princess' shoulder, to find Richard waiting on the threshold. Speak of the devil, and he shall come.

He held up a trunk towards by way of explanation, his expression apologetic and helpless as usual.

My mind was made up in that moment. "I cannot wait until tomorrow, Natalya. I have had enough," my voice was hard, "this ends today, and this ends now." With that, I stormed towards the doors.

Richard's eyes widened when I neared him, alarmed. "Kat - "

He sighed under his breath in relief when he realised I was not walking towards him, but past him. However, I paused just as I was about to cross him.

"Why do you come here every day, Richard?" I tilted my head at him, "I thought you wanted nothing more than to leave our lives."

"I still do," he answered wryly.

I raised an eyebrow. "Then?"

"You know I only come here on Sebastian's orders," he reminded me, "I wish to return to working for the merchant, but he will not allow me to leave. Neither did he write to my parents about finding me here in Amöneburg, as I had expected him to."

I was surprised. "He did not?"

"I am extremely grateful to him for it, Kat. The very last thing I want is for Mama to find out that I am here," there was an edge of desperation in his voice, "I cannot afford to offend Sebastian by disregarding his orders, I hope you understand."

I nodded, as I rubbed my temples, feeling a migraine coming on. It was no use being angry with Richard. How would he know? He is only doing as ordered. The Emperor, on the other hand -

"One thing is blatantly clear, however."

I glanced up to find Richard leaning against the door, viewing me with a strange mixture of sadness and amusement. "The flowers, the food, and all that time we have been forced to spend together these days," he raised an eyebrow, "you do realise what Sebastian is trying to do, yes?"

My eyes widened in horror, when I took his meaning. Oh, God.

"You are not the only one who wears your heart on your sleeve," he sighed, "more than you, I wish Sebastian good luck."

"I will let him know, Richard," I muttered, feeling a familiar rage return to my body, "he is going to need it badly." With that, I strode past him and towards the stables.

A storm was brewing.

***

The guards stationed outside the Emperor's study viewed me sympathetically yet again that fortnight, when they noticed me approach.

"Mistress Harrington, we are afraid - "

"There are five of you, and one of me," I cut them off, dangerously quiet, "but believe me when I tell you that I am so furious at the moment, that should you choose to fight me, I will be the only one standing in the end. What will it be, Corporals?"

They glanced at each other, and broke into amused smiles.

"Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, nor hell a fury like a woman scorned," one of them murmured, "either way, I am too young to get burned." He stepped away from the door, chuckling.

On the other hand, I was in no mood to appreciate their humour. I swiftly pushed open the doors and stepped inside, slamming them shut behind me none too gently.

My eyes found the Emperor within the study almost immediately. He was seated at his desk in the corner of the room, writing, and he paused mid-way when I opened the doors. To his credit, he seemed hardly fazed by my entrance. The amount of anger coursing through me could have scorched him to ashes in that moment, but he merely glanced at me, sighing.

"Well, I have survived fourteen days longer than I had expected," he remarked wryly now, standing up to face me, "go ahead, Mistress Harrington."

He waited, presumably for me to yell at him.

He had no idea.

I did not hesitate, even for a moment. Storming over to his desk, I pulled him to his feet by his cravat, and single-handedly slammed him up against the wall behind his desk even before he could blink.

"Whoa," he breathed.

I refused to be distracted. "What is wrong with your mind, Sebastian?"

"Well - "

"Finding all sorts of excuses to send Richard on errands to the Academy these days?" I raised my voice, "ordering him to work with me? Forcing him to give me white roses and Apfelstrudels during luncheon? That idiot even tried to tell me a knock-knock jest yesterday. It was horrible."

"Horrible?" he was affronted, "I came up with that jest!"

"Well, it was horrible!"

"Katherine - "

"Why would you do this, Sebastian?" I shook him hard, "what possessed you to resort to this deception? Are my emotions nothing but a game for you to play with and manipulate at your whim - "

Quite suddenly, I found myself slammed against the wall, with my wrists pinned down on either side of my head. His sea-green eyes bore into mine, and in that moment, I swore I forgot what I was thinking about.

I was not accustomed to being on this side of the wall.

"Emotions are not a game," his voice was hard, "and no one knows that better than me."

"For someone who is aware of that, you have played with mine very well indeed," I snapped, "when the hell did you decide to become my matchmaker?"

"When I realised Richard still cares for you. Deeply," he shot back, "he does not show it, but he does care, Katherine."

"It does not matter! That chapter of my life ended for good when he left," my eyes were welling with tears, "have I not explained to you that some people leave your life for no reason at all? Likewise, I have long learned to accept that Richard no longer wishes to be a part of my life!"

"But - "

I leaned forward, pushing against his hold. "You cannot force two people together if neither of them wants to maintain a relationship," I was trembling, "that man decided he did not want me the moment he walked out on our engagement, and I decided the same when I realised he was incapable of commitment!"

His eyes widened, almost in horror. "You are not in love with Richard anymore?"

He was so clueless, that I wanted to -

Frustration choked me. "Nay, I am not! What gave you the idea - "

"You were so furious with him the night we found him," he shook his head, "and I assumed that you have yet to move on from him. 'Twas why I tried so hard this week to create opportunities for you to speak to each other, in the hopes that the air will be cleared between the both of you one day, and you would come to forgive him."

"By God, I have moved on from him!" my vision blurred, "I am angry, because for the life of me, I cannot seem to move past the pain he has caused me, and give love a second chance - and I want to, so badly, with you!"

His lips parted in surprise at that, and he fell silent.

I gripped his cravat tighter, blinking away my tears. "However, you did not know that, and thought you were trying to help me. Fair enough," I glared at him, "would you then care to explain why you have been avoiding me all this time?"

The tension in the air rose by several notches.

The Emperor's sea-green eyes smouldered with emotion, as they held my gaze, solemn and intense, in silence. As always, he did not try to hide it, but instead let it brim within his eyes, as clear and certain as day.

I saw it. I felt it. Still, I asked. "Well?"

"I had to. Your happiness is more important to me than my own," he answered quietly, "I feared I would have done something incredibly dim-witted that would have cost you that happiness with Richard, had I not stayed away."

I stared straight into his eyes, fierce and fearless. "Like?"

He did not look away, not even for a moment. "Like this."

Before I could even blink, his mouth, hot and hungry, was moving over mine.

By God.

My grip on his cravat slackened. All the anger from earlier instantly melted away from my body, only to be replaced by a different kind of fire, as our lips moved back and forth. He was all I could feel, all I could think about in that moment, and I slid my arms around his neck to pull him closer to me.

I wanted, nay, needed more.

I gently bit down on his lower lip, and deepened the kiss. He tasted of the sweetest of apples, of a fresh day in spring, of the happiness I had not felt in a very long time.

A low groan rumbled within his chest, as we kissed with an intensity that burned through my body. My knees almost buckled beneath me at the sheer force of my own desire, and he caught me by the waist in time. He held me tighter against him, such that my curves were moulded against every one of the hard planes of his body.

Both our hearts were pounding against each other, each trying to outpace the other -

He pulled away, still gripping my waist. Like waking up after a long, blissful slumber, I was disoriented, as I slowly opened my eyes to look up at him. His lips were red and swollen, and his sea-green eyes were almost pitch dark at the moment.

"It is not dim-witted at all," I whispered, dazed, "I think you should have done it a long time ago."

His mouth curved up in a faint smile. "I think so too."

I swallowed. "Sebastian?"

"Hmm?"

"Again," I murmured.

Without another word, he lifted me by the waist up on to his desk, and moved between my legs closer to me, before leaning forward to capture my lips once more. I threaded my hands through his hair, savouring every moment, as he took his time to kiss me gently, sweetly this time round.

Before I could fully drown in bliss, however, he pulled away again.

I was about to protest at the loss of his warmth, when I felt him place soft, open-mouthed kisses along the underside of my jaw. I shuddered, feeling anticipation build in the bottom of my stomach, as his lips brushed against my earlobe, and continued down the column of my neck.

He left a trail of fire wherever he touched, and I subconsciously angled my neck to give him better access. When he reached the base of my throat, his teeth gently grazed the skin before he began to suck on it.

"Sebastian," I gasped softly.

I could not bear it any longer. I lifted his face towards me again, and crashed my lips to his, quivering with need.

At that moment, a few, loud knocks sounded on the door. "Your Imperial Majesty."

The both of us froze at once.

Oh. There was a world outside, after all.

The Emperor leaned his forehead against mine, closing his eyes, and muttered something under his breath that sounded close to verdammt.

Keeping his arms around me, he raised himself to his full height and craned his neck towards the door. His orbs were still slightly unfocused and dark with desire, his hair in a mess and his cheeks high in colour.

"What is it?" he called out to his guards, sounding rather cross.

I had to suppress a smile at his annoyance.

"I apologise for the interruption, Your Imperial Majesty, but Her Majesty the Dowager Empress requests your presence in her receiving chambers at once," one of the guards replied from outside.

"Well, can it wait?"

"Nay, I am afraid not, Sire," came the answer, "Her Majesty Queen Consort Eleanor of Monrique and her entourage have arrived at Amöneburg Palace, demanding to see His Highness Prince Richard."