Chapter Text
Shadows over the throne
Chapter 0- Prologue
In the garden where we once planted trust,
The roses bled red, the soil was just,
Our hands, like earthworms, dug deep to sow,
Roots tangled tight, where only we could grow.
But in the dark, a wandering bee,
With shimmering wings, came to me-
Not for the nectar, but for the sting,
It kissed the petals, then took to wing.
And there you stood, in the garden’s glow,
Unaware of the shadow creeping low,
While I, now a gardener of deceit,
Watered the roses with bitter heat.
The soil we nurtured, once rich and true,
Now bears the weight of a love unglued-
A vine creeps in, with thorns too sharp,
A silent whisper in a broken heart.
And though the leaves still dance in air,
The scent of betrayal hangs everywhere.
The garden withers, but the seeds remain,
Each petal falling, each drop of rain.
What grows from this, who can tell?
Perhaps the thorns of our farewell.
For love, once pure, now bends and frays-
A garden left to rot, in slow decay…
Despite it being the Palace where the Empress resided, the chambers were run-down and robbed of any warmth they once bore, no thanks to the shattered windows. There, the Empress reclined, coughing up blood as red as her once luscious and healthy hair. Her body, now so frail, resembled a skeleton.
Near stood her lady-in-waiting and close friend. "Please, Your Highness," she pleaded, her voice cracking with desperation. "If you were to beg His Majesty, I’m certain he would offer mercy upon you! He might-"
The Empress cut her off with a faint wave of her bony hand. "No," she whispered, her voice hoarse and barely audible. "Begging is beneath me. I’ve given him everything-my youth, my loyalty, my love. If this is the end he wishes for me, then so be it."
Tears welled up in her lady-in-waiting's eyes. "But Your Highness... this isn't fair. You deserve better."
The Empress managed a bitter smile, the ghost of her former self shining through for a fleeting moment. "Fairness has no place in the court, my dear. Only power. And mine has long faded." She turned her gaze towards the broken window, where a cold breeze drifted in, rustling her thinning hair like the last leaves of autumn clinging to a dying tree. "But I will not give him the satisfaction of seeing me beg."
Her lady-in-waiting fell silent, clutching her hands together in a helpless gesture, feeling the icy tendrils of fear and grief constrict her heart. She knew that the Empress, in her pride and dignity, would not survive the night.
A heavy, oppressive silence filled the chamber, saved for the Empress’s ragged breathing. Outside, the wind howled mournfully, as if lamenting the impending loss of its beloved sovereign.
"But what about your son!?" her lady-in-waiting cried, voice breaking with raw emotion. "His Highness is only five, far too young to lose his mother!"
The Empress chuckled dryly, a hollow sound that echoed in the empty, desolate chamber. "Is it ever the right time to lose a parent?" she whispered, her gaze distant, as if seeing something far beyond the crumbling walls.
Her friend gripped the Empress's frail hand tightly, tears streaming down her face. "He needs you, Your Highness. Without you, he'll be lost in this viper's nest of a court. Who will protect him when you're gone?"
The Empress’s eyes softened at the mention of her son, a flicker of warmth piercing the cold mask of resignation. "He has the blood of emperors in his veins," she murmured, her voice trembling slightly. "He will learn, just as I did. Perhaps... Perhaps he will be stronger for it."
"But he is just a child," the lady-in-waiting protested. "He needs his mother, not lessons in strength from this cruel world."
The Empress closed her eyes; a tear slipped down her gaunt cheek. "I have nothing left to give him but my name, and even that is tainted now," she said quietly. "All I can leave him is the memory of a mother who refused to bow, who did not beg for her life at the feet of a man who once claimed to love her."
Silence fell between them, heavy with unsaid words and the shared pain of an uncertain future. The lady-in-waiting could only nod, her voice lost to her sobs.
The Empress took a shuddering breath, opening her eyes once more, a distant resolve settling into their depths. "You must look after him," she said, squeezing her friend's hand with the last of her strength. "Promise me. Protect him from this place, from the lies and the deceit. Keep him safe, until he is old enough to take his fate into his own hands."
"I promise," her friend whispered, clutching the Empress's hand as though she could anchor her to the world for just a moment longer.
The Empress gave a weak, approving nod. "Then I can leave in peace," she breathed, her gaze drifting again to the shattered window, where the sky was beginning to darken with the onset of night. "Tell him... tell him I loved him, more than life itself."
With those words, she sank back onto the pillows, her frail body finally succumbing to the weight of her suffering. The chamber fell silent, save for the distant howl of the wind, mourning the passing of its fallen Empress.