Chapter 8 Titiana

Rin arrived at a village in the far east but what he saw was horrific, the village has been burned down and there is no sign of life in it and only animals and insects were seen in the village

He walked into the village to try and find anyone that might be hiding but no matter how much he looked no one was seen

He remembered his master's orders and knew that the results he is bringing back is quite disappointing

Through the way to the village Rin kept remembering how kind his master is to the child, he held her in his arms like she was a precious treasure

At first he was confused with his master's actions, he was never this kind even to his own children, he was cold blooded and cruel on the battle field and never once did he smile unless he is about kill someone

And the only exception was when his second wife and the late duchess was alive but that was so long ago and they had no children at all

When she died his smile that could be seen sometimes when he was with here was gone, he returned to being cruel and cold just like a predator with no feelings

He never visited her grave because once she died that was when he stopped loving her and for people that was cruel but Rin knew differently

His master wasn't like that before, when he was a prince his mother was the emperor's favorite consort and that angered the empress because his mother "Titiana" was the Grand Princess and the heir to her family all that beside her well known beauty, she was the most beautiful woman in the empire then and she was strong warrior and commander

All her strategies always succeed and that made her attractive even to some women

When she met the emperor he fell for her immediately and although he had an empress and three children, he still fell like a fool in his teens for her

She refused him but he also refused to give her up and so when she was engaged to her lover the emperor couldn't accept that and so at banquets he would always say things that could cause misunderstandings but that always failed as well but his pathetic self still refused to give up

He decided to do something that he is gonna regret tremendously later

One day her fiance got the news that his father committed treason and that their whole family is to be excuted

In fear for her lover's life she went to the emperor and begged for him to let her fiance and his family go but what he asked for in exchange for that was unfortunate but expected

He told her that they committed treason and have to be excuted in front of the people to appease their anger and if she wants to save them she will have to marry him

Unable to refuse she unwillingly accepted

The family wasn't excuted but their territory and title was confiscated and they were exiled out of the country

Unable to bear the shame and depression the father of her fiance took his own life in a shabby hut in a barren land

After the exilement Titiana didn't see her fiance again and soon after she married the emperor and a month later the news of her pregnancy traveled the empire faster than the wind

The emperor was happy with the news and being his usual foolish self he decided that if the child who is born is a boy he will make him into the crown prince and that didn't set well with the empress

The day Titiana was to give birth was a rainy day and her birth was quite hard and doctors said that both Titiana and her child might not make it through the night

The emperor was worried and decided to bring doctors from all over the country to cure her and miraculously she made it safely and so did the child

The news of Titiana giving birth to a healthy prince traveled the country and everyone was happy including the emperor

He threw a lavish party to celebrate and everyone in the empire was invited both commoners and aristocrats

The empress and other concubines were jealous and so the life of peace of Titiana and her child didn't last

The child grew up to the age of eight and anyone who saw him said he was an angel but at that exact year there was a hunting competition and the royal princes were all to take part in it and the young prince "luke" was no exception

By the end of the hunting event and while waiting for the hunters and princes return, everyone returned with their preys, all except for the young prince

Titiana panicked and got up from her chair to go and look for her child but the emperor stopped her and dispatched a large search party and a large sum of money for who finds and brings him back safely

Titiana refused to leave the hunting grounds and go for safety without her child but no matter how many hours passed no one appeared with her child so she left the safety zone and took a horse and ran through the hunting grounds

The emperor tried to follow her but was stopped for safety reasons and instead sent his guards to protect her

Titiana knew something happened to her child and was worried for his life and after hours and hours of search he was finally found by the Riverside injured and on the brink of death

She realized immediately that it was no longer safe for her child at the palace and decided to hide him for now and keep the matter of his founding a secret untill she knows who exactly her enemy is

She knew she had many enemies the empress and her children and the other concubines

The empress dowager

Families of the empress and the other concubines

Almost everyone is her enemy and her child was an eyesore and an easy target for them

The concubine went back to the palace at dawn and decided to go meet the emperor but he wasn't in his champers

She went to his study but stopped before entering, strangely there was no guards and that never happened before

They exist to protect his life but for the first time ever since she came here there was no guard at the door

Titiana walked closer to the door and although there was sound proof magic that was easy for her to break

Some where in her heart she knew she had to listen

In the study there was the voice of the emperor and his aide and right hand man "Arnold"

"Did they get the order done" said the voice of the emperor

"Yes your majesty and our men were on stand by and killed all the assassins" answered Arnold

The emperor remained silent for a long time so Arnold decided to break the silence first

"Excuse me your majesty, I know it's not my place to ask but what are you going to do with her highness Titiana, in the end he was her kid"

The emperor eyes darkened and looked at Arnold fiercely which scared Arnold and he bowed his head while asking for forgiveness

"I I...I'm sorry your majesty it was a mistake that will never happen again, please have mercy on me" Arnold closed his eyes and bowed his head in fear waiting for the emperor to vent his anger or order his death

He knew how evil and vile the emperor is and he knew he was one to hold grudge against people for the smallest mistakes but no matter how long he waited nothing came, no pain at all was felt and after a long and heavy silence the emperor finally opened his mouth.

End of chapter eight.

who do you think is the enemy who hurt the prince and what is the emperor hiding, can you guess?