"His Highness Goro?" Aiko had no idea who he was, but she observed the Emperor's reaction. His tense shoulder relaxed, barely, but they still relaxed. His eyes seemed less glazed, sparkles of excitement dancing in them.

He turned to Aiko. "Take a bath. I will send a kimono for you to wear. Make yourself presentable. You will later meet a person who is very important to me." His words seemed mushed together, as if the Emperor couldn't separate them in his mouth completely. Aiko didn't understand why. He was speaking perfectly before.

Aiko decided to forget it, focusing on his facial expression. His eyes were ablaze; his lips pressed in a thin line.

The two stared at each other for a long time, a silent discussion darting between them. The Emperor blinked and rubbed his temples. "Your Majesty? Are you well?" Aiko asked, her tone sickly sweet. "I hope you aren't." She thought, expressing it in her eyes.

The Emperor read her eyes, and grinned, his canines sparkling. "Of course. Now go," He said sternly, waving his hand. Aiko gritted her teeth, bowed quickly, and entered her new rooms.

She was furious, so furious with the Emperor she believed her anger would burn brightly until the next day. But as soon as she entered, all the anger flew out of the window. Aiko wasn't expecting such a stunning sight.

Beautiful drawings of trees and flowers decorated the white walls. A large bed was in the middle of the huge room. It had light, red silk covers draped over it. A white poppy was sewn in the centre of the sheets. Later, Aiko would discover the white poppy was the Empress' symbol.

"A white poppy? I didn't know they existed," Aiko thought, caressing the petals with her long fingers.

Around the bed, light blue linen curtains were tied to the corners of the bed. She smiled, imagining what the bed would be like if they were opened. Aiko imagined the sun streaming through them, giving the room a delicate turquoise tint. A smile played on her lips at the thought.

She quickly shook her head and turned to the side of the bed. There, she found a small room, barely visible, with bookshelves filled to the brim with books. The bookshelves were almost exploding. A table and an unlit candle were in the center of this small study, purple pillows around it. Next to this room, there were two closed screen doors.Curiously, Aiko opened them. 

Her eyes widened: shelves and shelves of beautiful clothes welcomed her sight. It was her wardrobe. Aiko stood still, amazed for a few seconds before hastily closing the door, afraid she would remain there all night.

In an other room there was a wooden bathtub beautifully carved with mythological creatures and flowers; there was a fragile rice paper screen in a corner to change as well.

Aiko then closed the doors to the bathroom and walked to the other side of the room, where the last, unopened doors remained. The sound of soft gurgling water reached her ears. Aiko opened them. "Oh my..." She sighed in delight.

The doors led to the garden. A burst of colors in the corner gave personality to the small wonderland. A little pond and a stream gurgled nearby. A pavilion sleeping quietly in the middle of the garden. Koi fish swam around it. It was perfectly kept, not a single thing out of place. A path of stones led Aiko outside. She loved it; it calmed her. No worries clouded her mind in this bubble of peace. Aiko noticed there were winter roses everywhere. Aiko walked closer to them, realizing all the flowers in bloom were winter flowers. She knelt down, caressing the silk-like rose petals. They trembled underneath her touch. A few sprinkles of frost caressing her hand. "I wonder why the Emperor changed the Royal crest to roses."

Before Hisato came, the Royal Crest had been a sunflower. Yellow had been everywhere, and only royalty had been allowed to wear it. But now, Emperor Hisato, 32nd ruler of the Great Shintokanai Empire, had changed the emblem to a rose. It had shocked all the officials at court: the sunflower had been the royal symbol for almost a hundred years. The Emperor hadn't listened to any of the protests and changed the Royal emblem to what he desired. 

As Aiko passed her hand in the cold stream, soft and timid voices brought her back from her thoughts. Aiko snapped her head up. Four ladies were kneeling in front of her, their heads low. Even so, she recognized Eriko, the head maid. 

 "May peace be with Your Highness. We are Your Highness' personal maids, and we are honored to serve Your Highness. Please refer to us if you have any problems." Eriko said. The maids nodded in unison.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Aiko brought her hands together. They were red from the cold. "I'm glad to meet you."

The maids exchanged glances: no Royal had ever been glad to meet their new maids. They usually gave them orders, without even asking for their names. It was deemed unnecessary since they were only living to work for them. 

Aiko looked at each in turn, feeling compassion and pity churning in her stomach. She knew what it meant to serve others and hated the fact that they were forced to do it every day. She quickly made a choice, telling herself that she would treat them as companions and not maids.

"I am curious to know your names," she said filled with curiosity. The maids glanced at each other again, knowing that this new mistress would be different from the others they ever had.

Eriko stood up first. "I am Eriko, Your Highness." She bowed again and then stood normally.

Aiko nodded. "I am happy to have met you before, Eriko." The maid smiled with grace.

The next maid stood up. She was a young girl, probably sixteen. Her hair was long and beautiful, shaped into a peach at the top of her head. "I am Rin, Your Highness."

Aiko stepped closer to her and observed her hair, blinking in delight. "What wonderful hair you have, Rin." She complimented. Rin giggled, bowing.

The last two maids stood up. They were identical: the same short cropped hair, the same long, cat eyes, the same slightly crooked nose, and the same tall and slender form. The only difference between the two girls was a mole on the right girl's cheek, which the girl on the left didn't have. 

"We are," they both said together.

The one on the right said, "Hishi."

The one on the left said, "Hibi."

Aiko clapped her hands, grinning. Twins were signs of luck and prosperity, since everything pleasant would come twice instead of once. "Twins, I see." 

Meanwhile, in the next corridor, the Emperor was lying on his bed, groaning. He had just managed to change his dirty shirt before he collapsed on his bed and urgently called a Herbalist.

Herbalist Eiichi had run in His Majesty's room, his medicinal bag hitting his leg. He quickly checked his pulse, and had then wet a towel, dabbing the Emperor's forehead with it, hoping to clean the cold sweat sliding down it.

The Emperor felt his heart beat slower, the world slowing down with it. A headache was pounding at his forehead. Just the mere presence of another human was making him feel even more nauseous.

"Herbalist," He hissed. The herbalist winced and turned around. "Tell the Empress and Goro that the meeting will be postponed. Leave my chambers."

Herbalist Eiichi bowed and left, wanting to protest, since his Majesty clearly wasn't well and needed his assistance. 

The Herbalist glanced behind him before stepping out. He didn't even have time to tell the Emperor that he had been poisoned with truth serum. He knew he couldn't talk to other herbalist since the Emperor hadn't summoned anyone, and this was clearly news that couldn't be spread around. Unfortunately, the truth serum had almost taken full control over him. It would take only a few more seconds.

"Please gods," the Herbalist prayed. "Make everything be alright."