Oris exited the hall behind seventeen other bride candidates and their entourage of maids. Keziah and Mayree clutched her hands like she was their lifeline. Andrea and Seline skulked behind the two maids, whispering to each other as they glanced at the women in front of and behind them.

She could only hear snippets of their conversation, but that was only because her attention wasn't really on them. She wasn't expecting to be stabbed from behind, she was anticipating the snide comments that would come from right before her eyes.

Keeping her strides short had gotten her placed in the middle of every conversation. Her fellow candidates seemed to forget that they were still under the scrutiny of the Empress Dowager, the guards and the eunuchs; the high priestess and her scribes.

She had no doubt that everything said now would somehow be reported back to Hermes. What mattered was what type of light was shed on such conversations when they were eventually relayed.

For instance, if she suddenly started talking about the weather, who knew what sort of traitorous acts she would be accused of come the next morning. Messengers still curried favor by relaying what their masters wanted to hear. As long as the information wasn't too distorted, they could get away with anything.

Enough people here were aware of this fact, resulting in the atmosphere hanging over the procession being calm at best, frizzled at worst. Still, she could hear quiet outbursts from some of the heavily perfumed women who seemed to think that the ears in the palace walls had gone deaf.

"How can we be competing with commoners?"

"Aren't the results already obvious?"

"What did that white-haired witch mean when she said some of us might be maids?"

"My father paid a hefty some to have me here, I cannot be a servant!"

When Oris had first entered, she hadn't really noticed any maids among the throng of women and now she knew why. The maids were more elaborately dressed than she was with layered gowns, rouge on their lips and cheeks and glitter framing their eyes. Though they were not included in the selection, they were still dressed in their finest and made up enough to look like the daughters of low-class aristocrats.

At first Oris thought that they had been candidates themselves. It was only the fact that they stood a few steps behind a more elegantly dressed woman that she knew that their place was to serve.

Maybe they wanted to catch the eye of the Emperor and rise from the muddy road of day-to-day life to golden streets and luxury. Maybe their mistresses pushed them to do it, thinking that they would look magnanimous by doing so.

Whatever the motive, Oris slowly came to the realization that any female that happened to be in the same proximity as her was a competitor. It didn't matter what they wore, as long as they had the intention to enter the harem they would naturally see her as an enemy.

Still on this train of thought, her gaze shifted from Mayree's worried expression to Andrea's look of unrestrained wonder, then back. Somehow she found herself wondering if Hermes preferred younger girls.

She would be two and twenty by the end of this Earth Cycle. That was considered old in some places and absolutely shameful in some others.

She couldn't blame anyone but herself regarding this aspect of her life. She didn't get involved in romantic relationships or give anyone the opportunity to fancy her. Almost all the men around her saw her as a tool and in turn she saw them as nothing but sycophantic weeds.

She always wore mourning clothes during her time as a royal, not just because it was required of her. No one wanted to associate with a woman so firmly rooted in the things of death even though at the time it had been customary. Her sister's reputation for being stern and unyielding had also pushed any possible suitors away.

The ones who thought themselves brave and made attempts to win her heart were shot down by her own cold relentlessness. She did not need a needy man who wanted nothing more than to leach off her already inexistent power.

That was how in the cusp of her youth she had secluded herself. All the possible love in her heart had vanished because of an era of self-imposed loneliness.

I'm quite the virgin if that's the case. Oris crossed over the doorway with a wry smile on her lips. The highlight of her romantic interactions consisted of only one or two-dozen sloppy kisses, and that had all been before she had turned sixteen.

Looking back, she realized that her younger self would have considered the current her a terrible prude. If she could see into the future, that is.

Maybe I should have been a little more capricious in my youth.

With a soft smile on her lips, Oris closed her eyes and let her maids lead her back to their room. At this point she didn't expect any more incidents. No one should be interested in her today.

Today, she was nothing, a blank expression among many beautiful smiles, but it wouldn't always be that way. One day she would rise and prove herself to be different from the others.

Maybe she would acquire that power by stabbing through Hermes' heart and landing a devastating blow on the New World. Maybe she would win his heart and become the strings attached to his limbs; he would be her puppet.

Maybe she would do neither.

Rodholf might find her before she got in too deep. He might be able to save her and rescue her out of the palace. Then her future would not be trapped behind these gold-painted walls.

She would return to her castle and personally free her people; start a rebellion to overthrow Hermes.

Maybe she would become the first female Emperor, with all of his lands under her control.

Empress Oris. Emperor Oris?

She felt giddy just thinking about it. Who would ignore her reforms then? She would be able to change the world with a simple snap of her fingers. Her empire would be the best example of good leadership, the people would love her.

She would end slavery and send every child to an academy. She would end every war behind the Great Sea and abolish guilds like The Devil's Preach.

As her thoughts roamed farther and farther away from the palace, Oris suddenly felt like dancing.

She allowed herself imagine which one of the women would end up being Hermes' favorites.

The ones with countless hairpins in their hair? The ones with countless rings? The ones who wore silk like their second skin, or the ones with beguiling eyes?

She wondered which talented young woman would win his love.

The ones who could sing? The ones who could draw and paint? The ones who could dance? The ones who could seduce men with their words alone, or the ones who could win a game of chess against his tactician?

She danced in a sea of these thoughts and was about to drown in them and lose herself when someone tugged on her dress from behind.

"Mistress," Seline said softly, "we have arrived."

Oris opened her eyes, a little stunned by how dark it had gotten. It hadn't at all felt as though she had spent two hours writing a test.

"There were no disturbances?" she asked even though she already knew.

If anybody has tried to start something, how would she be comfortable enough to think about killing the Emperor on the way here? Wouldn't she have heard the screeches of enraged women?

"No," Mayree answered, but her voice was too dull to be believed. "Those women were too busy talking amongst themselves to notice us."

"Wearing something so plain really saved us this time," Andrea said, cheerful as ever. "If not, the moment they realized who we were they would have surrounded us."

"Rumors of what happened in the morning court have already spread?" Oris asked, surprised this time. If that was true, there should have been a lot of disturbances today. Even if it wasn't to look for trouble, some curious women would have come over to ask her about Hermes' appearance.

Now she found the silence during her walk here strange. Was someone secretly protecting here? Which sort of rumor had the ability to make her a target and at the same time leave her untouched?

"It was only a matter of time," Seline muttered. "Forget about these things Mistress, you must be hungry."

She rushed to pull apart the rooms sliding doors and bowed her head slightly.

The remaining three maids gave their mistress expecting glances. It seemed as though they all wanted her to drop the topic and move on.

If it had been for something else, Oris would have conceded but this instance was too peculiar. How could she be at ease if she didn't know the full story?

She didn't move. "Tell me. What do the rumors say?"

"Mistress, you don't need to stain your ears with such nasty things," Mayree said.

If Oris had believed that the rumors were nothing before, she couldn't now. Mayree was too nervous; Andrea was too cheerful; Seline was too stiff and Keziah was just as blank as always.

They hadn't been like this when she woken up but they didn't just put on these facades just now.

Somewhere between the time that they had greeted her and the time they had escorted her to the hall, they had heard the rumors and resolved not to tell her.

Oris could only think of the moment she had fallen asleep in her bath and had heard their whispers around her. She had thought that they were still upset that their properties had been confiscated but now it seemed that they had wanted her to be in the best state of mind before the test and decided to keep quiet.

She felt some warmth in her chest but didn't act on it. Who asked her to be lucky enough to have such considerate girls as her maids?

"Tell me," she said softly, "I won't get upset."

"Mistress..." Mayree bowed her head. "People are saying a lot of things."

"Tell me the good things first."

"Angel of Mercy," Andrea said and walked to Seline's side. "The people we gave food that day call you the Angel of Mercy."

"They call me an angel?" Oris struggled not to smile. "I hardly deserve that."

"Some people call you 'Our Guardian Lady'," Andrea continued, "because you defended them with a sword and protected them from the guards."

"What about here in the palace?"

"They..."

"Whore. Slut. Opportunistic," Keziah said with a voice unusually loud for her. "Attention seeker. They say that you tried to kill yourself when the Emperor rejected you. They say that you are dangerous, anyone willing to hurt themselves will have no problem hurting others."

Oris blinked, more surprised by her maid's sudden boldness than offended by what she had said. "Are you upset?"

"I..." Keziah tightened her grip. "Mistress, you don't deserve to be in the palace."

Oris took in the expression that had crawled on the faces of all four maids. She hadn't expected a clear answer from Keziah, the girl simply wasn't that sort of person. "Things will be better, and things will get worse. As long as we know the truth, nothing else matters. Next time, no matter how upsetting a matter is, don't hide it from me. Let us face it together. This affects all of us, doesn't it?"

"Yes, it does, Mistress," Mayree was the first to speak up. "We won't do it again."

"I am glad that you all wanted to protect me, so I won't punish you this time," Oris said with a breezy tone and nodded in the direction of the room. "I'm a little tired of standing, why don't we—"

"Yes Mistress," Andrea dashed into the room. "I'll make you a cup of tea!"

"This servant will go and procure breakfast," Seline curtsied and headed back down the hall.

"Why do I feel like you all are running away from me?" Oris asked, a little helpless. Had she been too harsh?

"I will go draw another bath," Keziah murmured and let go of her hand.

"You aren't going too, are you?" Oris turned to Mayree.

"I can't sit still and neither can they," the maid said, slowly backing away with each word she spoke. "If I don't start doing something to keep busy, I might start crying again."

In the end, Oris could only watch her sprint in the same direction Keziah and Seline had. With no one left in the hallway besides her, she was forced to shut the doors herself and stumble into bed unaided, leaving her to wonder why she had ever thought that her maids were considerate girls.

~