The Emperor

Kaisa timidly walked into the room that Lord Blackwell had with a wave of his hand beckoned her to enter. Her gaze first landed on the armored soldier and noted the hawk like eyes that followed her every movement. His hand rested gently on the hilt of his sword, ready to draw at the slightest hint of danger to the man that stood to his right. Kaisa looked to the only other man in the surprisingly sparse room and her slow steps faltered when the steely eyes met hers. Trying to force moisture into a suddenly dry throat she swallowed and tried to look dignified as she continued her advance. If it got back to her parents that she acted a fool in front of Tidus Mede II, the Emperor…well the consequences would be unpleasant to say the least. Finally coming to a stop a respectable distance from her Emperor, and so his guard wouldn't cut her in half. She kept her eyes lowered respectfully and curtsied deeply, hoping she wasn't messing this up.

"My Emperor, you called for me?" Kaisa asked, half statement and half question.

"Please, rise," the Emperor said kindly.

Kaisa rose to her full height which due to her Nord heritage on her mother's side actually put her slightly taller than the Emperor. Her father, being an Imperial gave her the natural copper skin that many of the other girls were jealous of.

"I understand that you only just arrived, from Bravil," he continued with a smile as he gestured to a table that had snacks and drink arrayed on a silver platter.

"Yes, my Emperor, I was on leave and visiting my parents when I received Lord Blackwell's summons.

"My apologies for interrupting your leave. You were coming off a mission, correct?"

"Yes, my Emperor, I had just tracked down Zyamar the Black and his pirate fleet."

"I heard his entire fleet was wiped out but I have yet to read the full report. How did you manage to accomplish this with virtually no casualties on our end?"

"Well, it turns out that Zyamar has a thing for black haired, blue eyed, copper skinned woman. I made sure he…noticed me."

"You slept with him!" The Emperor said astonished.

"No!" Kaisa blurted out quickly and then blushed at her outburst. "No, just the promise of it was enough," Kaisa finished more collected this time.

"I see…please continue" The Emperor said with amusement dancing in his brown eyes.

"I arranged for Zyamar's actual mistress to…catch us…in a compromising position. I was stalling and if she had walked in any later my stalling would have started to look suspicious instead of playful." Kaisa said smiling.

"I can imagine." The Emperor said with his own smile.

"She walked in with me on his lap and about to kiss me. I made sure that neither of them survived the ensuing fight and evaporated away making it look like a lover spat gone south. Once his captains found out they tore each other apart fighting over the big hat. Once it was over, a detachment from Third Fleet sailed in and wiped out the survivors," Kaisa said with a shrug that was accompanied by the pride filled smirk gracing her beautiful face.

The Emperor let out a heart felt chuckle that filled the room with warmth, even his stoic body guard shook slightly in barely contained laughter.

"Thank the nine you scheme for the Empire," he said still laughing.

"Always, my Emperor."

"Although I am curious, why choose this? With your noble birth, your intelligence, and your stunning beauty you could have a life of ease and luxury.

Kaisa blushed at hearing those words. She was well aware that she was beautiful, there were few women that could even come close to comparing to her. Men and woman complimenting her almost unnatural beauty was nothing new to her but said compliments coming from the Emperor was something entirely different. Clearing her throat, she hurriedly composed herself to answer her Emperor's question.

"My father was in the Legion, he fought by your side when you retook this city from the Thalmor. My mother was part of the reinforcements sent from Skyrim to aid the campaign and my brother is in the Legion as well. My whole family has fought for our Empire, it just felt wrong that I didn't fight as well…that, and if I had to suffer through one more attempt at my mother trying to set me up with some random nobles' daughter, I was going to lose it." Kaisa said crossing her arms with a pout.

The Emperor roared with laughter at her surprisingly honest answer, causing Kaisa to once again blush at her deplorable manners. If her mother were here right now, she would have gotten a good cuff across the back of her head and a terrifying glare from her as well.

"Fair enough," he said still laughing.

Just then her stomach decided to announce to the most powerful man in the world that it was hungry. Kaisa desperately wished she could sink into the stone floor and disappear forever at that moment. She wondered if her face was as red as it felt

"Please, eat while we discuss the mission," he said gesturing to the table of food again.

Kaisa wordlessly began to nibble on random meats, breads, and cheeses as her Emperor did the same.

"You came highly recommended to me you know."

"Oh? And who do I owe for such praise?" Kaisa asked with a smirk.

"Your father," he said simply as he sipped some wine.

"Oh!" Kaisa said momentarily stunned, "I'm sure he exaggerated."

"Based on your service record, not by much."

Wait, he has my service record…oh crap, does he know about the Leget's daughter? Kaisa thought, momentarily panicking as memories of that delicious but ultimately ill-advised night with her Cohort commander's daughter surfaced. Kaisa decided the best action in this precarious situation was to stuff her mouth with cheese and mumble a hesitant thank you. Which the Emperor thankfully took as embarrassment instead of fear of impending doom.

"Last year the king of Daggerfall, Lysindius, died in battle honorably, in theory."

"You suspect foul play my Emperor?"

"I do. Recently his ghost and the men who died with him have begun to haunt Daggerfall at night. Any who are caught by them are slain, the city guard tried destroying them but they only reform the next night. I need someone to go to Daggerfall, investigate what is causing the spirit of Lysindius to lash out from beyond the grave at his former subjects, stop it, and put his spirit to rest. Your father says you excel at independent action with little support which I'm afraid due to the political climate in the Iliac Bay necessitates as little Imperial print as possible."

"Understood my Emperor," Kaisa said nodding.

"You will meet one of my agents in Glenpoint who can give you more detailed information on the mission."

"This agent's name?"

"Lady Magnessen."

"I will find her," Kaisa said nodding.

"One last thing, and this would be a personal favor to me. I sent a letter to the Queen of Daggerfall, it never arrived. It was a personal matter and I would like the letter recovered or at the least discovery of what happened to it. Both these missions are of grave importance to the Empire and highly secretive. Very few in the Empire know of its existence and the danger is great."

"Understood my Emperor, I will not fail you," Kaisa said with conviction and fire in her eyes.

The Emperor smiled warmly at her before gesturing to a seat as he loaded another silver plate with food.

"You honor me, but come, quarters have been prepared for you and a ship will take you to Daggerfall in the morning. Until then, indulge an old man with your story of you and the Leget's daughter," he said with amusement in his eyes.

"Crap," Kaisa mumbled in defeat.