"Don't forget what happened to the man who suddenly got everything he always wanted. He lived happily ever after."
- Gene Wilder
"You're putting me on."
- Marty Feldman
Nothing made Mia happier than the feeling of melting into her Master's arms. She was curled on her side in the royal suite with a single orange candle lantern as her only light and Emperor Sou as her only company. Her head sank against his chest, a warm supportive thing with a heart that beat just for her.
"Tough day in the field, dear?" the emperor asked with a caring smile.
"Tougher than I'm used to," Mia said. Her voice had an odd quality that was halfway between a purr and a groan. "But still completely worth it."
Kishuku gently cupped his palm over his Otome's forehead and brushed back and forth.
"It wasn't easy after you landed. You had me so worried. I've never seen you so drained."
"There's even less left of the other lady." Mia sighed.
"I thought diamonds were indestructible," the emperor said quietly, tickling the creases on his wife's brow with his fingertips.
"You just need to apply the right kind of heat to them," Mia replied with a weak giggle. Her voice lowered into an irritated grumble when the back of her neck started to ache.
Kishuku's fingers searched for the spot above her shoulders to apply a massage, but couldn't get the angle just right. She helped him by curling her right leg straight up behind her shoulders and tapping the exact muscle with the back of her bare heel. The emperor adjusted his massage accordingly, getting a content purr out of his Otome as she lowered her leg back under the covers. He chuckled under his breath, but he wasn't too surprised.
"I keep forgetting they assigned me to a High-Mobility type. Maybe we'll have to change your title to Mia Mafaldine."
"Fumi probably figured you were one of those reckless guys. Somebody needs to stretch around this kingdom and keep it together so you don't mess it up, rooster head." Mia smiled jokingly.
"You ladies think you're so clever. Don't forget I'm the one who gets the final say around here, swan neck." Kishu smiled back.
"Boss me around too much and I might peck your eyes out," Mia teased. They softly laughed together, and she tucked the top of her head under his chin.
This was paradise for Mia. Some of the other Otomes enjoyed relaxing together in hot springs. Some just liked to be left alone with a soft couch and a good book. But all Mia wanted was some peaceful time alone with her Master in a way that didn't pose any immediate risk to her powers. The most revered man in the entire kingdom, and every night he became her personal relaxation pillow.
Her life had been on a completely different trajectory not too long ago. She'd been the typical model student when she started at the Academy: Daughter to a lower noble household, sponsored by a mid-ranking minister who was a friend of the family. As long as she kept her grades decent and didn't pull any nasty pranks on the school administration, she had a respectable future lined up as one of Konala's regional Otomes once she graduated and moved back to the country.
She hadn't made any specific plans, but everyone else around her assumed her life would run par for the course. She'd enter the household of some high-ranking advisor after graduation, cleaning dust bunnies and maybe occasionally offering support to the Otome royal guards. She'd retire after a few years of service, and likely be arranged to wed another wealthy noble if she couldn't find a decent enough husband on her own. She'd spend the rest of her days relaxing in the court with a hundred other advisors' wives. A comfy life for any young lady in her position. Her service as a Meister Otome would be typical—Nothing extraordinary, nothing awful, just another name in a long list of names that made up history. And Mia would have been happy with that.
A couple unexpected changes came in the middle of Mia's Pearl year. First, poor Taki got sick and had go on sabbatical. She'd been the head of the class, so everyone else had to move up a rank to fill in for her absence. Mia was suddenly dropped into a student-teacher role over the younger girls, but she didn't mind helping out.
Her promotion to Trias #3 had no effect on her future. It didn't hurt. It didn't help. The Trias for that year were from different countries anyway, so it didn't matter where she ranked. But even if Mia had been keen enough to take her sudden promotion as a sign that something bigger was coming, she never would have guessed how big it was going to get.
One of her younger Coral room attendants was losing her mind one day. This Coral was normally an aloof girl who talked to tea leaves more often than she talked to people, yet she always had something interesting to say about each person she observed. Mia remembered the girl telling her the news with her cheerful distinct accent.
"Haven't ya heard? They're thinking about making you an empress, hun."
Then all of Mia's future plans were changed. Her home country's emperor—still a bachelor at 22—was expected to be engaged. And there was a catch: He told all his retainers he'd only be satisfied if he shared the battlefield and the diplomacy table with an Otome. Being one of the only girls at Garderobe hailing from Konala, and the closest to graduation, Mia suddenly found herself on a very small list of candidates.
She'd already mastered everything there was to know about fighting and dancing, but she took a sudden interest in civics during her senior year. Some days one of her Pearl peers, Ahn Lu or one of the other girls, would innocently stroll into Mia's room while she was reading a political essay by an ancient philosopher and standing upside-down on one hand, or lying cross-legged with her ankles behind her head. The other girl would stand there baffled with her hands on her apron. Mia would glance up at her with a slightly distracted look (holding her pose the entire time) and just say "What?" The other girl would politely go back to her work while Mia went back to hers.
What she learned from hundreds of published historians and satirists was always the same: A good leader could create a great country, but someone had to make sure that leader didn't turn into a dimwit. Furthermore, she was going to be representing a country whose main exports were silk and exotic spices. To keep her nation prosperous and her emperor proud, she was going to become the embodiment of cute clothes and lots of good food. She'd always been known for being graceful, resourceful, and witty during her time at Garderobe, but now she found herself taking on a completely new quality: Ambition.
A few weeks later, the headmistresses of the Academy met with the Konalan emperor and his retinue. They had to verify this was a good Master who would provide a caring home for one of their graduates, and not just some arrogant upstart looking for a publicity stunt by seducing a hapless girl into his bed and besmirching centuries of Otome legacy.
Mia met her emperor in person that day. Meaning they made eye contact on opposite ends of a council table, and didn't say much to each other besides some basic discussion on fighting styles and governmental contingency plans. They saw each other as an objective to achieving a common goal (a peaceful kingdom) and not much beyond that. But he said he liked her after the first review, and he'd be honored to sign the contract with her. In this particular contract between Master and Otome, it meant betrothing her.
Garderobe's administration found the offer to be sincere. And besides, it made the school look more influential: They could claim some partial credit for setting up this wonderful retirement package for one of their graduates. It was a careful arrangement that benefitted all parties involved, just as long as Mia didn't do anything impulsive that would undermine all their hard work. The benefits for her were: Serve as the emperor's loyal retainer for a few years, and he'll vow to share his kingdom and do everything he can to make her happy for the rest of her life.
The final decision was left up to Mia. She accepted by kneeling to the emperor in fealty. When her head was down, a hopeful smile started to grow on her face. Dreams she never knew she had before were starting to come true.
They were wedded in February so Konala's personal state affairs wouldn't overshadow Garderobe's graduation activities for the rest of the students later in the year. Mia said her goodbyes to all her dormmates and underclassmen with her certificate in hand, and then training life just continued the same without her.
After moving back to her home kingdom, Mia spent every hour of the day working at her emperor's side. She spent her nights sleeping in the maids' quarters for the first year she was in Konala's service—something both all the old ladies in the palace and all the armory generals insisted on. The female servant perspective was "She's such a brave Otome, but she's still a 16-year-old girl in a dangerous place. We must protect her dignity above all else." The male advisor perspective was "Sir, would you please mind not disabling our tactical nuke by sticking your royal sceptre in it?" If the bold young emperor had any sleazy ulterior motives in mind, Mia had the entire royal court watching out for her.
Her relationship with Kishuku was very formal (that is, entirely business-driven) to start out. When she was guarding his throne, there were countless court subjects also present. When she was walking beside him on some diplomatic errand, they were always followed by military elite. The only times they were together without a hundred sets of eyes watching were when she was cooking for him. Those moments were when they learned they were both children at heart, and they started playfully slogging ingredients at each other.
And somewhere within all the politics and formalities, they had fallen in love. It was common to see the emperor openly kissing his guardian in public, but all of those first kisses were just to keep up official appearances. To keep Konala's morale high. To show the close union between emperor and empress (more specifically, the union between Otome and country). But after a time, those kisses stopped being just artificial symbols. They become more tender and authentic. They lingered a little longer than officially necessary. They became proof of a real romance between two souls who belonged together.
Mia graduated and was crowned empress a few months before she turned 17. She first heard rumblings of a succession crisis in Windbloom when she was 18. It was now a year later. She'd been married to the emperor of Konala for three years, but their real relationship had only started in half that time.
Her first days as personal guardian by contract, married spouse in-legal-terms-only felt like they were part of a different life. She wondered if it was all just luck things worked out this way, or if this was one of those "Lady Fumi's greater plans" Sister Maria was always talking about. It would be a great accomplishment for the Academy if one of their own helped grow a friendly commerce nation by working hand-in-hand with its ruler. But at least it was nice Mia got to find true love.
"The trade contract with Florince passed today." Kishuku's positive words brought Mia back to the present.
"Did you have to give up all of your provisions to get them to agree?" she asked with a relaxed sigh, keeping her head in the same spot on his chest.
"Not many, no." His index finger gently drew a counter-clockwise circle over her scalp. "My request for a quarter-annual inspection was just reduced to a bi-annual inspection. They didn't haggle with me on prices."
"Do you think my showing today had something to do with that?" Mia faintly teased. "Maybe their coin counters got a little nervous when they saw how much I'm worth in gold."
"Doubt it. The ministers were certain all the final negotiations were settled days ago. This was just the signing." He stopped to glance down at the top of his wife's resting head. "Why? Are you disappointed we didn't get to settle it your way?"
Mia tiredly shook her head and grumbled. "I'm a shield, not a laser cannon. I get dented up if you keep throwing rocks into me. And that's one less fight I have to worry about."
"Good thing you've got a great blacksmith to keep you tempered," the emperor said as he brushed the soft brown hair on her temple and traced the shape of her ear.
"Best in the world." Mia uttered a small playful yawn.
"I couldn't keep us out of signing an alliance with Florince, though." Kishuku's eyes shifted away from his wife with regret. "If they ever go to war with Cardair again…"
Mia sighed apprehensively as she completed his thought.
"I know, I know. All the nice manners go off the table. It'd be an Otome free-for-all, and Akane and I both end up as gravestones in the basement no matter if I turn her into a feather cushion first or she turns me into a scratching post first. Maria drilled that into my head for years."
Nice girl, that Malachite. And in an arrangement not very different from her own. They'd crossed paths a few times at the occasional diplomatic ball and always had supportive words for each other. It'd be heartbreaking if Mia had to end her life when she was only two years Mia's junior, but the Otomes were expected to fight to their highest absolute loyalty to their Masters. It was a loyalty forged with honor, duty, and love.
"Have you put any more thought on when you're going to retire?" Kishuku asked his guardian. No formal time table had ever been set.
"Mm. I'd say in two more years," Mia answered in a quiet voice. "I want to make sure I can teach a half-decent girl to be my replacement. But I won't make you wait until I'm a Christmas cake."
"Mia, you have a sweetness I doubt will ever go stale." The emperor whispered lovingly.
"But I'll have to soften your spiciness sooner or later, Kishu." The Otome smirked.
The emperor lowered his head and sighed.
"I just hope nothing happens to us in the meantime."
Mia remained silent. Kishuku glimpsed down and saw she was already sound asleep. He carefully drew the covers up over her shoulders so she wouldn't get cold.
It was only in quiet moments like this that the emperor realized the kind of power he truly wielded. The most powerful weapon in the nation was curled up in his lap. This 100-pound tin ballerina who'd committed herself to his complete servitude.
He wanted her to know she was respected and highly cared for. She'd remain a fully armed weapon until she decided it was safe to be disarmed. A less caring man would have shown her what being her Master really meant by trying to have his way with her regardless of anything she said. This same less caring man would also find himself violently flipped over and strangled to death between her thighs. Without their lifeforces linked together, she still possessed the athletic strength to end his in a matter of seconds.
The people wouldn't think any less of her if it actually happened, either. They'd see it as even more proof she was their greatest defensive warrior, and he was a brainless fool for getting himself killed trying to destroy her power. She'd just need a new contract to a new Master to make her GEM work again.
Kishuku vowed to always be her faithful one true Master. As long as she was an Otome, he'd always be the one who staked his life for the country, and for her. Even at this very moment, if an assassin or a spy or the like happened to creep into the room, all he would have to do is give his beloved a little kiss on the ear. Her nanotech would instantly bring her metabolism back to full awareness and activate her Robe, and then the problem would simply resolve itself. She was so much more desirable this way.
The emperor blew out the lantern sitting next to the bed. He tucked his wrist behind his head, stretched his other arm around Mia's shoulders protectively, and closed his eyes.
"Farewell for now, dear. I'll see you again when the sun's rays greet us together."
"Mhh," Mia murmured subconsciously to this customary "Good night" expression shared between married Konalan couples. Had her mind been completely awake, her response would have been "May plenty more await us."
Author's note: Ok. So my basic options were either: Do I start her off as some normal palace maid / serving wench / harem girl, and then she's arranged into a marriage with the emperor, and then the emperor sponsors her to become an Otome? Or do I start her off as an Otome and fate just kinda steers her around until she becomes betrothed? I decided to go with emphasizing she was an Otome first.
Author's note 2: I guess she's Ty Lee now too? I dunno. I'm all over the place with this one. (Upon further research: wait. You're telling me Rufio is Zuko? Oh shiiiiit. I wasn't even going for any kind of connection there.)
Author's note 3: I envision Mia's unmorphed formal uniform as a fusion of Akane's and Nao's done in red and white, with a kimono-style bow on the back. Akane's is v. cute. That's not what Mia is wearing when she goes to sleep, though, because that would be weird. She's probably got a nightgown on or whatever. Something that's fancy but it insulates her from too much direct contact with the manliness.
Author's note 4: No, Mr. Bond. The pleasure will be all mine.
