"Ah, Mistress, you mustn't try to kill yourself again," Mayree sobbed dramatically and took Oris' hand into both of hers. "The Emperor already said that he will try your case."

"Yes, Mistress," Andrea chimed in with equally drastic emotion, "not being part of the selection is not the end of life."

"The two of you don't understand, I—" Oris pretended swoon and lost balance while doing so. Mayree and Keziah caught her before she fell.

"Mistress, don't push yourself," Seline was immediately by her side, fanning Oris with her hands to bring back her 'consciousness'. "You have barely recovered. If you aren't careful, the effects may be irreparable. What will we do then?"

Oris didn't respond, giving her maids the opportunity to lose themselves in act as they offered more discouraging words under the guise of boosting her morale.

"If you aren't selected, I am sure that your fief wouldn't suffer," Mayree said.

"Yes, Mistress. The Emperor can't possibly kill you simply because you weren't chosen to be his bride." Seline added.

Meanwhile, in the background Andrea's cries increased.

Their play continued unchecked for some minutes more before it finally attracted attention.

"What is going on here?!"

Oris opened her eyes on hearing the familiar voice, shocked to see Faeradaigh swaggering towards them from the closed off hallway.

"Milord," she called out weakly then moaned in pain, pressing a hand to her temple.

She was surprised to see the eunuch so in his element, moving across the carpeted floor like he owned the hallway and the very stones that laid it. The guards inclined their heads to him with respect and hindered him in no way as he made his way towards her.

It seems like his position is not so simple after all. There is not one bit of disdain on these men's faces. They are glad to serve him.

Oris allowed Mayree and Keziah support her once again to full height then curtsied in the usual manner, but this time with an handkerchief in hand adding to her grace.

"Lady. . ."

"You couldn't have possibly forgotten me already, milord." Oris batted her lashes, taking mild pleasure in how distracted the eunuch seemed now that a part of her face was unobstructed by a veil.

She didn't understand him. He had escorted several women over the years to the palace, how could he lose his head over someone as simple as her?

"No. . . Never, my Lady," he fumbled over his words then patted his face with that always-soaked piece of cloth he always carried. "What are you doing here?"

"To attend the selection, milord." Oris answered him, a smile reaching her eyes as she did. In a way she had missed him and all of his gallantry and flamboyance.

As of yet no one could entertain her like he, so when he said nothing, she continued, her smile growing, "I woke up this afternoon surprised to be alive. I figured, seeing that I wasn't in the dungeons, that either the Emperor had forgiven me or discovered my innocence, or he wanted me to prove myself—my loyalty."

Once again, she could sense a wave of unease spreading through the rows of guards. It was densest where she stood and seemed to affect Faeradaigh as well as he patted dry his dripping face and cleared his throat, his mouth opening to offer a reply.

Before he could speak, Oris began to talk again, besting him while the words where stuck in his throat.

"If I have misunderstood, then I shall take my leave," she curtsied again, this time bowing her head slightly, and turned around. "I will complete what I failed at in the Great Hall."

She had only taken three dainty steps, not even up to one average stride before Faeradaigh called her back. She didn't have to hide the smirk that had crawled to her lips because the veil hid it for her.

It is quite fun to toy with men. A part of her considered making it her new hobby.

"Is there a problem, milord?" she asked quietly but didn't turn around. "I know that I am quite the eyesore in this majestic palace. I am as far from royalty as one could get and the title of rebel has been placed on my head. I would rather die than be humiliated as such, and I know that the gods will accept their long lost daughter with open arms."

Then she continued to walk, but it took everything in her to do so. She knew that if Faeradaigh didn't call her back again then truly everything was over.

But she needed to take the risk, she needed to use this opportunity to reinforce her position and make her stand known to all present. She needed the guards to talk about what happened today when they were away from prying eyes.

They needed to see that the Emperor's last bride cared not for status or power, that she would prefer death to having to beg for the love of a man who held the world in his hand.

Why? Because she hadn't forgotten the peasants she had used just days ago, she hadn't forgotten her first plan. Things at the gate might have backfired in the end but her actions then had not been useless, just like her actions now were not useless.

If in the end she became the consort of Hermes, she would just be one out of hundreds of women. Only, she would be among the few who had absolutely no support outside the palace or within it—no parents, no family, no friends.

She needed the people to become that support. If Hermes was truly investigating what occurred at the gates that meant other officials were also conducting their own private investigations.

The people already knew her. She had stepped up to defend them. She had given them medicine and food. She had threatened her own safety to help them escape.

The officials also knew her. She had greeted every one of them on their way to the palace. They knew that she had been abandoned outside the gates for no just reason while their Emperor pretended to be oblivious. They knew that the Empress Dowager had accused her of treason and had nearly gotten her killed.

And now the guards would know her. They would see a sick woman accused of treason willing to die to preserve her reputation and work against Fate.

And because she was known, Oris would be protected. Protected, because a known person couldn't simply disappear. Even if she was targeted, there would be at least one person that would be suspicious, there would be at least one person that would take her side.

If that person wasn't amongst the guards, they would be amongst the officials. If they weren't amongst the officials, they would be amongst the people.

And that was all she needed, because for now that was all she could hope for.

"My Lady, wait," Faeradaigh called her again, his tone a little more desperate. "The Emperor has explicitly said that the selection must proceed today. Each fiefdom needs to be represented and there is not enough time to get another candidate from Inqa."

"What does that mean, milord?"

Turning around was quite the fanfare, with five people—Oris included—having to adjust positions simultaneously just to make every motion pleasing to the eye, but eventually she faced Faeradaigh and the guards once again.

"Milord, please explain," Oris stressed, feeling the grip on her hands tighten. Her maids were more nervous about his answer than she was, she could tell. The fact that all this delay was simply meant to bring her down must have been obvious to them by now, she was sure.

If her presence was necessary for the selection to begin, why then had she been barred from entering in the first place?

"Please follow me, my Lady," Faeradaigh said at last, his words following a drawn out sigh, and she eyed the guards skeptically.

"Will they let me pass?" she asked, some coolness to her tone. No one, especially a former queen, enjoyed being toyed with. As much fun as it is to toy with others...

"They are under orders to not allow unauthorized personnel in," he said, sounding somewhat irritated. "Of course they will let you in."

On hearing his declaration, Oris' eyes lit up so brightly that for a moment it seemed like the hallway itself had brightened. Faced with her teasing stare, red was infused into Faeradaigh's complexion. He cleared his throat again and extended his hand towards the rest of the hallway.

"This way, my Lady."

"My pleasure, milord." Oris said softly then offered an amicable nod to the two guards that had initially blocked her path before walking past them with her head held high.

Queen: Two. Empress Dowager: Zero. she thought, a soft smile playing on her lips as she followed closely behind Faeradaigh to avoid anymore incidents.

"Mistress, you are amazing." Keziah said quietly, so that only Oris could hear, and that only made her smile grow wider.

~