The nobleman walked swiftly and with intention; I made a concerted effort to keep up behind him. The interior of the palace was gorgeous. All the walls were painted with bright shades and green, red, and blue. There were windows opening out into walled gardens, yards, and orchards. Everything was so lovely and felt deliberately decided upon and planned out.
Yet despite its beauty, there was a coldness about the place; no warmth, no sounds of joy inside. Actually, it was eerily quiet. I didn't see anyone else. If I didn't know any better, I could have sworn we were the only two people there. The nobleman led me down the long, straight corridor without a word, only breaking the silence once we reached a room at the end. The interior was wide and expansive, with a desk, many chairs, a roaring fireplace, a sofa, hand-woven carpet, and a very fancy, expensive-looking tea set. He opened the door, standing aside to let me in first again, quickly slamming it shut once I was in. I stood there unmoving as he then went toward the desk.
"Do you know why you're here?" "To be the apothecary for the Emperor's harem, sire," I felt the need to tack on at the end; I was never taught how to address nobility in the Abbey. He sat down at the desk while giving his head a single nod. "And do you know why the Emperor sent for you in particular?" "Um… I-I couldn't hazard a guess, sire, other than the fact that I'm a woman," I lied; I knew why he sent for me, but it didn't seem wise to show any signs of self-confidence or approval here. He sat back in his chair, rubbing his chin with his forefinger and thumb.
"You belong to the Emperor now; you are his personal property. While you may not be concubine, lady-in-waiting, or maidservant, you still belong to the royal Harem, and all that entails." "Yes, sire… I… understand," I lowered my head a little. "The Harem resides in the Inner Court- that's here. It's surrounded by the Outer Court, where the Eunuchs and other attendants live." Eunuchs? Well I guess it makes sense that they would work here, guarding the Harem…. I blinked but tried to maintain my composure. "Yes, sire." "You will speak to no man outside the Outer Court without the Emperor's expressed permission. In the event that his acquiescence cannot be obtained, you must defer to the overseer of the Inner Court, the Outer Court official. But even with his consent, it would be unwise to do anything which might upset the Emperor." "Yes, sire. I understand," I nodded obediently. Man, even the Abbey didn't have THESE many rules. There was a brief pause before he continued.
"You must submit yourself entirely to the Emperor's will- that is you're only duty now. Do you understand?" "Yes, my lord. I understand completely." Satisfied, the nobleman then proceeded to give me a once over, frowning as he did so. "Is that the best dress you have?" "It's the only dress I have," now, anyway. His scowl deepened. "You're an eyesore in that thing. I'll sent for a new gown." "Oh no, please!" My hand reached out suddenly, only to receive a monstrous glare from him in return, and my fingers instinctively curled inward.
"W-What I mean is, sire, is that this dress is a holy dress. It is approved by the Abbey for the Sisters to wear. Since I plan to take holy orders one day…. W-With the Emperor's knowledge and blessing, of course…. It would be immodest of me to wear anything else," I explained and he snorted after a minute, turning his head to the side. "You're not taking holy orders. You may be religious, but that sort of thing isn't taken seriously here." "B-But….. But the Emperor is one of the heads of all the abbeys in Ostania," I unwisely thought out loud and he shook his head again, standing up now while keeping the tips of his fingers of one hand resting on his desk. "You really think an all-powerful ruler who has an ever-expanding harem has any real concern over any of that drivel? But I get it; you are new and have only seen the world through the eyes of the Abbey. Don't worry; that'll change soon enough," he chuckled and I lowered my head, slightly disturbed.
"I'll send for a new dress, which you WILL wear." "Yes… my lord," I sighed in defeat. He eyed me for a minute before asking me something surprising. "I've been doing all the talking. Do you have any questions for me?" My eyes widened a bit and my head shot up. I knew this was also some sort of test, but I still decided to use it to my advantage while I had the chance- he may not ask me this again. My balled hand rose up to my chest anxiously.
"Yes, sire. If, by chance…. Is there a holy place here? Somewhere I can go read and pray?" He looked at me like I had three heads briefly, but soon enough let out an exasperated sigh. "You religious type…. Well, I suppose the Emperor would encourage your devotion, so long as it doesn't impede with your other duties," I knew what he meant by that; he means that my beliefs keep me pure and chaste, just like the Emperor wants me…. The creep. Still, I stayed silent, waiting for his reply which he gave a second later, after clearly thinking it over.
"There is a temple in the Outer Court; you may use that." "Thank you, sire! I'm very grateful." "But remember, your place is here in the Inner Court. Don't go getting any ideas now," he warned and I nodded. "Of course not. I shall be mindful and only use it when appropriate," in other words, as much as possible, which I think he caught onto. His eyes narrowed onto me slightly, his frown widening. I bowed to him before spinning toward the door.
"Is there anything in need of my immediate attention, sire?" "Not at the moment. The Emperor has left the Inner Court overseer in charge of you for now, and he in turn has left you to me. You're needed in the Harem forthwith, but I've decided that you should get a good night rest after such a long journey. The last thing we need is our new apothecary getting ill too from exhaustion. Rest for now; your services will be required first thing in the morning," he instructed and I nodded before hopefully glancing back to the door, curling my fingers inward again. My lips parted a modest sliver….
"Then, would it be alright with you if I visited the temple now, sire? I wish to go pray." After glaring at me unimpressed for a quick second, his hand flippantly waved in my direction, as if to banish me from his sight. "Very well. But stay within the Outer Court walls, and don't talk to anyone else. I'm a busy man, and I don't have time to babysit some girl with nonsense ideas in her head. Just remember, while you're here, you're to become invisible, not drawing any attention to yourself." "Of course, sire. I will do my best. Thank you again," my hand reached for the door before his voice stopped me one last time. When he spoke again his tone was low and serious, almost threatening…. Or trying desperately to keep me alive. My head spun over my right shoulder to see him, and our eyes instantly locked.
"I'm warning you, apothecary. Don't do anything to displease the Emperor. If you value your life, you'll save his sick children and concubines…. They're the only reason you've been brought here."
My mouth hung open a tad, and all I could do was wordlessly nod before leaving as fast as I could.
The Outer Court was also luxury, but dead-quiet and devoid of people. I'm sure there was a housekeeper around somewhere, but I didn't see them. The nobleman didn't tell me where the temple was, but it actually wasn't hard to find- I just had to look for the most neglected room in the palace.
Pushing open the heavy, wooden door, this dusty room was revealed. Nothing was cared for; it looked to me like no one had been there in a long time. BUT it had an altar, prayer mats, candles, and bells- I could work with this. Entering, I felt a bit awkward like this with my hair uncovered. I took the sash from around my waist and loosely put it over my head; it wasn't perfect, but it would do. Then I took another look about the place before relaxing my shoulders a little. This worn, small grin crept across my lips. "Well, at least it's quiet and no one's here. Looks like it's just us," I said up toward the sky, inhaling deeply. My eyes shut momentarily as I just let myself rest, soaking everything in- all that happened to me these past few days.
Then I washed myself with water from a well nearby I carried to the temple. Once I was clean, I came to one of the prayer mats and prayed for a good few minutes, sending nothing but love to my family back at the Abbey and giving thanks for this sweet, little temple of mine now. Next, I began to clean the place, starting with dusting. I know the nobleman told me to rest, but I'd just been sitting in a cramp carriage for the last three days; it felt good to stretch my legs. I cleaned as much as possible; for a temple on the smaller side, it needed a fair amount of elbow grease. Once that was done, I lit some incense and candles to pray again. Admittedly, the more time I spent in this room, the more I liked it. I was just glad there was somewhere in this whole prison that I could come be myself- like truly relax and be myself.
But alas, I couldn't stay in here forever, though I wanted to. After another round of prayers and blowing out the candles, I forced myself to go back to the Inner Court. In reality, there was no need for me to do this; I just didn't know it at the time. Unbeknownst to me, the Emperor and his whole entire court, including his Harem, had other worried and such things on their minds. No one bothered checking on me to see where I was; heck, I doubt anyone other than the nobleman knew I had arrived that day. I think the Emperor used my religious devotion to his advantage, trusting that he could trust me not to say, sneak off with other men or do anything I shouldn't be. I had no supervision, no one checking in on me- at least that first day.
I somehow found my room in the Inner Court, alone I should add. But when no one came see if I was there, I admittedly snuck back out to the temple. I lit a candle and covered my hair before sliding my door open and checking to see if anyone was around. Seeing as the coast was clear, I tiptoed out into the hall, trying to be as quiet as possible. Outside was so dark by then, and not a soul was there- or at least, that's what I thought. While I was running across the yard toward the temple door on the other side, someone in the Outer Court caught a glimpse of me. He saw me, but I didn't see him, and he froze in shock at the veiled, unknown lady running from the Inner to the Outer Court all alone….
Looking so determined that she should get to where she's going.