Rise of the Unfavored Princess

Ch. 8: ...and you are NOT the Father!

I watched the heavy doors slowly creep open as if by magic. After all, as far as I can tell, no one is touching the handles.

A long runway carpet extends from the entrance to the stairs leading to the throne. The room shines with a mysterious glow, as the opal-like wall reflects light in a fascinating way. But the splendor of the Empire’s throne room dulls in place of the man seated on the throne. My father, Emperor Helio. The most powerful man in the entire land. I gulp nervously even though he is just a small figure in the distance within this massive throne room.

None of my maids enter with me except for two, shaking girls. I’m pleased to see the kind brunette among them. Three figures are waiting for me at the end of the gold-embroidered runway. Wolfgang, his red hair obvious even from the entrance, my father, and a man wearing a large, black cloak with a sun adorned on the back. The logo of the Holy Church of the Empire. My shiny, black shoes I was given, the first pair of shoes I’ve ever worn in my life, don’t make a sound and I clutch the hand of the brunette maid so I don’t trip.

This feels like the longest walk I’ve ever taken in my life, yet in a blink, I am in front of the emperor. I haven’t dared to look up yet, so all I see are his shiny black boots, much like my new shoes. The two maids beside me drop into low curtseys and stay there, making me the odd one out as I fret on how to greet the most powerful man in the Empire.

I settle for the bow I gave the maids, folding myself as far over as my body will allow. Strands of silvery-white fall onto my face, the longest strands touching the floor in front of me.

“You may rise.”

It felt like a breeze of artic wind had gone by when I first heard my father speak in such an unyielding voice. No wonder the Winter of the web was deathly afraid of this predator of man. My instincts are screaming at me to run the other way and never look back, but instead, I stand up straight and look around the room curiously as if my childish inquisitiveness has gotten the best of me at the moment.

Someone in the room snickers and I know it’s Wolfgang. Although he has only ever shown me his imposing side, in the web he was one of the many potential love interests/friends of Clara and frequently reveals his goofball side to those closest to him.

.....

But despite his intimidating aura, the most intriguing man in the room was my father. He was appraising me at the same time I was appraising him. To say he was handsome was a severe understatement. His black brows were folded in a constant scowl, a fierce gold gaze just underneath. Sharp contours on his cheekbones and jaw created a shapely face and the half-smirk on his face took my breath away. Everything about him screamed danger, but even though danger repels the weak, the peril his presence promises still attracts attention. If only I was still the adult Maria and not his youngest daughter.

The man shrouded in the dark-colored cloak clears his throat loudly, clearly begging for my attention. I slowly extricated myself from my father’s beguiling gaze, a little bit dazed, and finally deign to give it to the holy mage some face. Although I can’t see his actual face, the man has very nervous energy perhaps from being in my father’s presence. I don’t like it at all and frown a little at him.

“So... now the prospective princess must step in front of me and I shall place my hand on her eyes.” the priest said in a nasally voice, trying to sound as official as possible. He looked at me expectantly and I stared back with a deliberately blank expression. If he is so determined to test my identity, he can walk over here and perform the test himself.

Thus began our game of chicken. The holy mage stood at the step, his nervous energy increasing with every passing second as I deliberately looked at him like I didn’t comprehend what he had asked of me. I had no intention of moving until the stuffy mage walked down from the steps beside the throne where he was pretending to be of equal standing with the emperor.

“Come stand before me, child,” the holy mage repeated after 30 seconds had passed. I didn’t move.

The kind brunette maid squatted down beside me to relay the message, even though she was quivering like a mouse about to be eaten by a cat. She spoke in slow, simple terms, like she was talking to a child. Well, actually she was. I always forget that on the outside I just appear to be 5 years old.

“Miss, the mage is asking you to stand in front of him so he can look at your pretty eyes. Can you do that?” she asked sweetly. This maid was too nice, I can no longer keep up my pretense. I nod obediently and she flashes a wan smile at me. But I don’t move. I just keep looking at the mage expectantly. The rude green-haired maid has had enough of the situation though. She releases one of the hands clasped behind her back and subtly nudges me on the back, making me stumble forward. But just as soon as I’ve stepped away, I step back into the line.

After another minute of pinning the holy mage with a stare where I imagined his eyes to be under the cloak, he finally turns to the emperor.

“Your majesty, the prospective princess is not moving,” he said sullenly. I would have burst out loud laughing if I could. To think that a grown man could speak so petulantly!

“Indeed,” my father mused, looking similarly amused with the situation. He said nothing more, prompting the mage to bow down once more and repeat what he said.

This time, my father said nothing.

The holy mage straightened and heaved a small sigh before walking down the steps. I watched him go down the short staircase one by one, irritation hastening his steps. It wasn’t every day a holy mage was embarrassed by a child after all. I decided to cut him some slack and meet him halfway, finally walking towards him as he descended down the stairs. This way, he would be certain that I had understood what he had asked of me from the start but had simply decided not to act on it. I could practically hear the sound of his teeth grinding against each other as I finally walked toward him after he had to leave his previous position.

Was I being a bit difficult? Yes. But something told me that acting like a frightened little street urchin would not serve me well inside these great halls. The holy mage had begun to recite different words in a lyrical language I’ve never heard before as he stood before me with his hands raised. They began to faintly glow gold and symbols danced around his hands. Now, this was magic!

A wonderful melody filled the air and it felt familiar, like a song that I had heard a thousand times but couldn’t remember the name too. Soon enough his words ceased, but his hands still glowed with magic, he brought those hands down to either side of my head beside my ears. I could hear a faint buzzing of the pretty song but now that it was up close to my ears, one of the chords suddenly sounded... off? The harmony was still lovely, a tune akin to church songs I’d heard at Sunday mass in my last life, but the song all of a sudden didn’t feel right.

I should’ve studied a musical composition class in my last life, then I would know what the song was missing. Instead of calming me down, the song just made me feel more uneasy and nervous. After many long seconds of standing still and grating my teeth to the beat of the music, the holy mage finally withdrew his hands.

I let out a soft breath, finally, I was free. He turned to bow to the emperor, but the words he said next shocked my socks off. Wolfgang, who had been watching the entire situation with an amused smirk, transformed into the scary Mad Dog who had taken me from my house. And my father, well he still looked the same. He seemed to be exceptionally good at rolling with the punches.

“This girl is not your daughter!” the mage proclaimed loudly, the sound of a smile evident in his voice.

My jaw dropped before I could get ahold of my emotions and I slammed it shut with a clack. The kind brunette maid burst into tears beside me as a thousand thoughts rushed through my head at once. The first of the being that this had most definitely NOT happened in the web.