Chapter 2: I Wanted It All Back
All she wanted now was for everything she gave up to be returned, but that can never happen, can it? Now that the empire had fallen into Gavryll's hands, what can she do? Her influence faded as soon as she declared Gavryll will hold the throne.
It was a foolish decision, and she wished over and over that she had never made that mistake. To be exact, she wished that he just had never loved Gavryll.
"The Emperor had fallen, Princess Hera. As per his last will, he wanted you to succeed to the throne."
"Empress Hera, how will you even do great without a man who reigns beside you? Shouldn't this be the time you marry your fiancé, Prince Gavryll?"
"My Empress, how will you continue the late Emperor's legacy if you don't bear the Emperor a successor?"
"The Emperor wanted a consort, Empress Hera."
"Maybe she could stand in for you, since you can't bear any child…"
From the very beginning, she was only controlled by the ministers of the palace. Brought to extreme tension, Hera was pressured to pursue greater than what she was capable of. She tried to be limitless, forgetting that she was human, she tried to know no bound for her actions just to satisfy the congregation. She obeyed what ministers told her, she thought it would stop them from trying to govern her. Not only that, but she thought that if she became greater than what they expected of her, they would be satisfied, they'd let her reign the empire without a word of judgment from them.
That was a huge mistake. Hera got it all wrong.
"I apologize if I would ever offend you, my Empress, but Noble Consort Odette seemed to have performed better duty than you do."
"I certainly agree, Your Highness! The Noble Consort earned the people's trust instantly even though she was a commoner from Yolivi. I am sorry, Your Highness, but if the time comes and the consort overthrows you from the Imperial throne, I assure you that my loyalty will not stay at your feet."
The ministers, the congregation, the empire…all of them contributed to Hera's fall. By now she would have been sought to be executed so that Odette would be hailed the new Empress of her land.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen, indeed.
Hera blinked twice, her eyes first laid on the blinding lights of a shabby place. It was bright, and it started to harm her eyes, and her eyes averted to the door.
It had cracks and the handle was rusty. Not from afar, she heard footsteps that seemed to come closer.
'Was I abducted? Did the Imperial palace decree to execute me now? Now that I'm vulnerable and miserable, presently that I'm broken and shattered into pieces, they began to throw me. After I've served my purpose to them, I've now become rubbish…if only I wasn't a fool to offer my heart and everything that I own to that scoundrel Gavryll!'
Closer and closer, the floors creaked, bearing the weight of a human.
'I shouldn't be escaping. There was no point in doing so. The people of this land wouldn't even mind if they, the congregation, executed their Empress. To them, I was only a nobody. The worthless successor of the great Emperor.'
The sound of the door which creaked was boisterous. It revealed a man wearing luxurious apparel, one which the nobles wear. He had a pleasant look yet sharp menacing eyes, skin as fair as snow, and eyes as blue as the ocean.
"Pleasant to see you, my Empress…" he spoke with the nonchalant voice that stuck on the tip of his tongue.
"Amraphel…?"
'So this was it? The Imperial throne sent the man I trusted most to execute me in secret within this shabby place. I could only guess what news they'll tell the people once I die…hah! Who knew that being Empress means living in a hellhole!'
Amraphel, son of Prime Minister Hampshire, was Hera's most trusted friend. He was a companion, a brother and at the same time, he valued her as if they were lovers. Amraphel who had always made the world felt that he was deeply in love with the Empress, the man who stood behind to catch her back whenever she wavered, that Amraphel. The most asset for Hera.
"Are you…going to execute me, Amraphel?"
Her eyes shut dead, no light whatsoever glimmered in her eyes. She wasn't shivering at all, she looked as if she was dying in misery. The Imperial Palace must have planned to make her death memorable to her so that it would follow her in the afterlife. Maybe even haunt her until there. She lost all hope, the empire wants to eliminate her, what can she do about that?
At this point, she's no different from a fugitive. She thought that it's better if she could have been just dead all along.
"What are you talking about, Hera?"
His voice sounded so irked when he heard her words. Even more, than he'd seen her entirety giving up. He clenched his fists and gritted her teeth as he spoke.
"Have you lost all hope because they've turned their backs on you, Hera? Or because he can't love you back? Do you feel betrayed by the world? Do you feel that you were not worth living? Is it that you feel you've made the most foolish decision a human had ever made? Hera, yes! You made the most foolish decision! To love him and give all the authority to him! You're one damned fool!" he yelled with anger, yet misery embedded in his sights.
He sighed, "Even so, I'm still here. Your trusted friend, Amraphel, is still here…" softly and gently, his words immersed as if it's meant to enchant her soul.
"Rest assured, Hera. I do not intend to hurt you nor do I intend to follow orders from the Imperial throne if it's not from you," he vowed.
"Then, where have you taken me?"
Amraphel looked at her, his gazes were stern as his eyes met with hers.
"You're in the outskirts of Olynn, my Empress. I'm well certain that the Emperor is plotting to take you away from the throne only to make Odette an Empress. It was not wrong if I say that they plan to execute you. After I've seen you faint amid the city gates to Lemeus because of your distress, I have just come from a delegation within the Imperial gates that vied to eradicate you from existing." he explained.
Hera was not wrong when she thought they'd plan to kill her just to seize the throne. Her brows drooped with melancholy, this betrayal had been far too worse for her to handle.
"I know this isn't the same as the lavish place such as the Palace, but do endure this shabby dwelling. If I let you stay in my manor, the nobles that visit and my servants who praised your husband's shoes might turn you over. Cabins such as this won't catch the eyes of the nobles who are looking for you, this is the only way, I can keep you safe…"
Hera looked at him, with her gentle voice that brushed his ears and rose from silence, she spoke, "Why are you helping me, a fugitive?"
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