Chapter 1

"Your majesty in here. Quickly!" I whispered as I ushered the Emperor into the small back room filled with useless trinkets. The room was hidden behind the guise of a wall and was hard to detect with the naked eye. It had been made by one of the emperors of old who wished to spy on his wife due to his suspicions of an affair taking place right in his own chambers. Presently though, it was now being used to conceal the current Emperor from a Brotherhood assassin.

I quickly scrambled to make sure every window was covered and every door was locked in the gilded chambers adorned with the Empire's insignia on every wall tapestry. Halfway through my haste to secure the chambers, I caught sight of the Emperor running a wavering hand through his usually kempt hair, hair that was now unruly and less befitting his normal appearance. Bending down on one knee near the Emperor, I slipped my hand around the emperor's shaky one and gripped it tightly as he spoke, "Your majesty everything will be alright. You have me here to make sure of it-"

"That is what worries me the most. What if you get hurt trying to protect me?"

"Your majesty-"

"Drop the formalities please Alfred. You know I don't like them between us." He pleaded.

At his insistence, I paused before complying. "Okay then. Mattie everything will be just fine. You don't have to worry about me-"

"But I do! You're willing to die for me yet you don't even bat an eye at the thought of your own death-"

"Mattie you know that I was born to die for you. Your father gave me, a pauper, to you to ensure your safety. We got lucky we happen to look identical enough to pass as the other." I laughed shakily for a moment, struggling to hold back tears before regarding Matthew again. "Besides, you're my best friend and you feel like a brother to me. I'd do anything for you, you know?"

"It hasn't been much of a life for you has it? Guarding me day and night from the time we were children? Having to act as king in my stead when appearances had to be carried out?" Matthew chuckled darkly. "Wouldn't it have been better if you hadn't had my face? You'd have a normal life then." He then paused, eyes leveling with mine before saying, "...You'd have a chance at life-"

"-Being your watchdog was tedious, I admit, but although I may not have had the chance to have a normal life, I did live. And if I had the chance to change the past, to stop your father from finding me that day, I wouldn't. You know why? Because without these good looks I would have never met you, you the stern king, you the scolding friend and you, the kind-hearted man I have the honor of calling my dear friend."

As I finished, my eyes met Matt's for a moment, it actually almost felt like years staring into those deep, wise purple eyes which were currently filled to the brim with unspeakable sorrow and dread. I knew Matt didn't want me to die for him but it was inevitable. From the very moment his father, the old king, laid eyes on me as a child in Riften's local orphanage on one of his monthly rounds around the city, my fate was sealed. Yes, I felt incredibly bitter at first, who wouldn't at the thought of having to die for someone? But over the years and through a strict upbringing, I have come to accept this fate.

And all too soon that fate was delivered to me with a simple knock on the door to the Emperor's chambers. Immediately I motioned for Matt to stay quiet while I shut the door to the secret room, his solemn gaze lingering on me before he was enclosed within the secret space. I quickly primped myself in front of a nearby mirror on the other side of the room, making sure my purple robes were in order, the fur around my neck aligned and one long slightly curled strand of hair sticking out from my head, just as Mattie has his. Taking a deep shaky breath, I walked over towards the ornate King-sized bed in the center of the room. I plopped myself down onto the edge of the bed, grabbing a nearby vial of poison and sliding it into my sleeves, just in time to witness the door to the chambers beginning to open, a quiet creaking sound bounced off the walls as the cold air from the outside began to fill the room.

At the door stood a figure of a man cloaked in black from head to toe. Squinting, I struggled to gain a glimpse of his face, yet I couldn't seem to see anything except those misty emerald eyes peering out from underneath his hood. He seemed to don black and red robes embellished with the Dark Brotherhood insignia on his chest. Ah, I thought, This is what death looks like.

Death, I'll call him, kept his eyes on mine, gaze unwavering as he neared ever closer towards me from his previous stance near the wooden chamber door. My hands harshly gripped the silk sheets beneath me, knuckles paling, as I tried desperately to quell the rising terror from within. All I could focus my attention on was his tall, lanky figure steadfastly advancing towards me, seemingly to the beat of my own heart. The faster my heartbeat the closer he became until he was so close I could smell the blood of innocents on him, could hear the screams of countless souls he'd claimed since the beginning of time. And now, it seems, he's come to claim mine.

To my surprise, Death didn't take me right away. No no, he paused, bloodied dagger in hand, head slightly tilted as he stood towering above me, with a slight gleam in his eyes.

Ba thump! Ba thump!

My pulse quickened and my heartfelt as though it was about to leap out of my chest at once. I felt like crying, screaming to Talos to have mercy on me and I almost did, yet I was raised from boyhood as a king would have been. With grace, poise and the belief that no matter the severity of the situation, a king keeps his head held high and his brow uncreased. And though I may be just a fake king, for the time being, I am still technically Tamriel's Emperor and I can't show weakness in the face of one such as death. I represent my people after all and the strength of all citizens of the Empire.

"Come now, don't be shy." I beckoned. "You haven't come this far just to stand there gawking." Death's eyes widened slightly before receding back into the slight amusement death held before. I silently pulled my quivering hands into my lap so he wouldn't see how much I truly feared him.

"You and I have a pre-destined date, it would seem. And as usual, you're never late. Punctual, I like that in a man-"

"Silence." Death commanded, his quiet authoritative voice echoing throughout the room, striking my very core like thunder and lightning in the sky. I looked upon him as he towered menacingly over me.

"I've no need to hear senseless prattle from one such as yourself."

"That is… unfortunate. I had hoped we'd have a little chat before the deed is done. But you're right, why delay the inevitable?" I chuckled darkly. Taking my words as an invitation to continue, death raised his crooked dagger once more right above my heart. My breath shook violently with each movement he made and in that moment as I sat staring up into the eyes of death himself, his hood fell down with his sudden movement to reveal a man in his twenties with short blonde hair and dark thick eyebrows.

"Before you do the deed, may you honor my dying wish?" I whispered, my eyes never leaving his as I awaited his answer. In the short moment after I'd asked this of him, death had lowered his blade as he seemed to genuinely ponder my request.

"I will….consider your request" he finally spoke.

"...Can you kiss me?"

"Out of all the requests in the world, you choose this? Most dying men plead to live."

"I'm not most dying men, now am I?"