At first, I thought she was a spoiled princess who only wanted to be spoiled more. Now, I know that Lady Kourin must have had some horrible tragedy in her life, she passionately loves the emperor, and she has insane strength. It has been six months since I met her. I'm no longer on her bad side, and she now favors my company.

"Lady Houki, Lady Houki! The weather is so nice! Won't you drink some tea outside with me today?" she grabbed my hands excitedly, not leaving me with much of a choice.

While she was still popular with the other harem members, they noticed what a liking she had taken to me and didn't bother trying to intrude when I was around. None of them dared try to force their way in on Lady Kourin's time, because her opinion among the harem was almost as respected as that of the emperor's. Eventually, the rumors about me subsided, and they treated me as politely as they would treat each other.

"So when had you seen the emperor, Lady Kourin? I still haven't seen the slightest glimpse of him," I asked as I poured our tea.

"It was one or two occasions when my family and I would come to the capital and he'd make public appearances. I've never talked to him personally. I thought joining the harem might give me more of a chance to do that, but he doesn't seem to have any interest in us."

"It does seem that way," I sighed. "It's a little disheartening that he hasn't bothered meeting his harem."

"Maybe His Majesty prefers men," Lady Kourin grew an impish smile.

"That's very rude," I nudged her jokingly. "Never the less, even if he doesn't want a wife, he still needs an heir."

"That's right," her expression sank. Her emotions were so dynamic it made it chuckle.

"You seem very disappointed by that idea, Lady Kourin! I'll bet you just don't want to get fat and ruin your perfect figure."

"Exactly!" she laughed with me. By this time, my tea had several pale pink blossoms floating in it. Spring at the imperial palace meant flowering trees everywhere, and petals inevitably blanketing anyone who wanted to stay outside and enjoy the weather.

Back in my former home, spring was pleasant, but the trees only shed cotton before getting their leaves. Tendou never liked that, and right now he was probably getting hay fever. I did miss him, but had already said goodbye forever.

"Lady Hooouki," she waved a hand in front of my face. "You're spacing out. Picturing the emperor, aren't you?"

"I have nothing to base a picture on," I shrugged. "We're not allowed to leave the harem quarters, so I can never even catch a glimpse of him."

"Well," she smiled. "He has an elegant face shape, and very silky hair- for all I could tell, anyway. And his voice is… hmm. How do I try and describe it?"

"He must be a very handsome man for you to be able to fall in love with him so quickly!"

"Yes," grinned she. "I believe in true love at first sight. Something in my bones made me feel more for him right away than just his appearance, though. Like our destinies were crossed by the heavens or something."

"Wow," I replied. "I can't imagine what that must feel like."

"It's pretty strange," Lady Kourin laughed. "In any case, they probably won't notice if we happen to wonder off and lose our way, and accidentally catch a glimpse of His Majesty."

"Lady Kourin, we shouldn't!"

"It's an accident!" she sang-songed and lead me off by the hand. "If we get caught, we'll just say we were chasing after our tea cup that fell down the hill."

"A teacup?"

Lady Kourin delicately tossed her cup down the hill, but upon impact, it shattered. As if not noticing the pieces, she happily walked us past it. She seemed to know exactly where she going... perhaps she was used to spying on the emperor. She stopped shortly and hid behind a tree, and silently pointed to a gazebo on the lake. Inside lounged a young man who had dozed off in the pleasant weather. Fallen petals had lodged in his hair, and the sunshine graced his face. Even if he were to wear common clothes instead of imperial robes, it would be apparent that he was a beautiful man.

What struck me more than any of his beauty, though, was his resemblance to Tendou. For the first time since I came to the harem, I felt a hole in my soul and longed to see him. I looked over to Lady Kourin, who had a very pleased smile on her face as she watched Emperor Saihitei sleep. With how much she loved him, I was certain that she would win his favor faster than the other women in the harem. The twinge in my stomach got tighter. Lady Kourin and his Majesty resemble the kind of couple we would have been, had I not have left.

"He's such a work of art," she said to me without taking her gaze off of him. "I bet you've never seen anything like him."

Tendou Shu.

I sank to my knees and covered my mouth to choke back my tears. It felt like he was so close, yet I knew he was so far away and I would never see him again. Not only had I lost the man who may have been the love of my life, but I lost my best friend. My new friend, Lady Kourin, noticed my actions and grew concerned. "Lady Houki? Hey, are you alright?"

If I opened my mouth to speak, I would have started sobbing, so I only shook my head weakly. How embarrassing, after I thought I had strong character, I was reduced to this state in ear shot of the emperor. She wasn't sure what my problem was, but Lady Kourin decided to quietly take me back. She had no trouble carrying me back up the hill and back to my bedroom. By the time we made it back to the harem halls, I was crying choked sobs into her shoulder.

Author Fangirling: Sob! Poor Houki! They shall continue this conversation in the next chapter...