Book 7, Chapter 3: Stuck
“And a way out?” The new cousins were showing around the harem. A very large space, multiple rooms, including towers, I estimated the harem to be nearly a third of the entirety of the palace itself. Though I didn’t get a tour of the palace itself and could only judge based on what I saw.
“There’s no way out, but through the emperor’s favor,” said Aleah, the older one.
Crossing my arms, I said, “And just how do we get that favor?”
“Oh,” said Sorya, the girl I was rapidly thinking of as the dumb one, “you probably already have his favor. He certainly wants to solidify his ties to the empire.”
“Does he really need to do that at this point? He already controls the army.”
“There are more factions among the noble houses than you realize.” Not just older, but also apparently smarter, she twirled her hair, “Some of them would support you for first wife as it would bolster their holdings.”
“Huh? Back up there. When Serce-”
Sorya shook her head, “Emperor Searcian you mean.”
“We’re on a first name basis.” Blank stares. “Anyways, when he came to my kingdom, at that time to inquire about a marriage between Otholos and I . . .” I couldn’t help but shudder at the image of holding him by the neck while I burned him alive, so utterly hot to the point where his molecules skipped over becoming ash, instead going straight to plasma.
“Emperor Otholos.”
That broke me out of the memory. I shook my head, “He’s dead, no need to be nice to the man.”
“He treated me so wonderfully,” said the younger one. “Always giving me sweets and the best wine. I was to be his fifth wife.”
“Sorry about that, then.”
They both looked at me strangely.
“Never mind. I, uh, didn’t care for him.” Mainly because Otholos punched me a lot while explaining how he was going to kill all my friends. And that was him being nice. “Yeah. Anyways, when Serce came to my kingdom, he suggested I’d be Otholos’ fourth and therefore favorite wife. His words.”
They both laughed and the older one said, “That’s just something they say. ‘Fourth wife is the favorite wife.’ It’s because she’s younger.”
“Ah. Yeah.”
Sorya continued, smile beaming on her face and highlighting her youth, “But the first wife gets the title ‘empress,’ and much of the power. Though they’re also often jealous of the younger wives.”
“Really?” I said as sarcastically as possible, “I can’t imagine why.”
“Really,” she said enthusiastically nodding. “Especially if the emperor doesn’t visit her bedroom very often. And when they have four wives, the upcoming fifth wife is the favorite.”
I did my best not to sigh, and succeeded, but my head tilted on its own accord, and I may have rolled my eyes. “I get it.”
They started rapid fire talking, Aleah first, “So, Cayce, you’ll be content to be the emperor’s third or fourth wife?”
Then Sorya, “After us.”
“Didn’t you just say that would make me the favorite?”
They looked at each other, the young one saying, “Only in the bedroom.”
The older amending that with, “And only until a new wife is chosen.”
“But the first wife gets the title.”
“Right.” Looking around, I took a deep breath. “No way out of here? Have you tried to escape?”
“Why would we?” asked Sorya.
“Well, I don’t know, maybe you don’t want forced marriages and servitude to a single man?”
Sorya smiled warmly, a skip in her walk, “That’s the entire reason we came to the harem. It’s a great honor for our families and strengthens our ties to the throne.”
“Ah. In that light, given that we’re cousins, I imagine that our families would benefit from all three of us marrying the emperor?” I hated to think that, let alone say it. Not in my future! Certainly not if Serce continued ignoring the larger problems all these kingdoms and empires were facing, the existential threat to this world trying to break out of that divine trap. Even saying nothing of the unwanted marriage, an apocalyptic honeymoon wouldn’t be fun. Well, maybe, if that was your thing.
“Not exactly, no. Your family was all killed.”
I looked at the young one with wide eyes. Little shake of my head, staring at her and wonder if she was putting me in my place or something.
“What Sorya is trying to say is that, the remaining loyalists to your family are at odds with Emperor Searcian’s rule.”
The walls here were of a tannish-red color, bricks but much more massive than the kind I was familiar with, perhaps six times larger. They were fitted together almost seamlessly. It made me wonder where the insulation Serce had talked about was. Perhaps in other areas of the palace.
I said, “Probably for good reason. You know, as killing the previous royal family probably disrupted those nobles ties to the throne.”
“Very perceptive, Cayce.”
“Ok, so what I don’t get is why they wouldn’t benefit from me assuming the throne.”
“You wouldn’t be assuming the throne.” Said the older one.
Then, the younger, “Via marriage.”
“Not unless you’re the first wife,” said Aleah, crossing her arms. “And that’s what I’m going to be.”
“Am I not the rightful heir to the throne?” I turned over my palms to emphasize my point, “Last remaining princess. Probably someone wants to restore the original family to power. Tradition and all that.”
The two shared a worried glance, then the older said, “It just doesn’t work that way. Have you ever met these families?”
“Uh, no.” They were basically telling me that those nobles, the ones who controlled most of the power while this bodies’ birth-family was alive, lost access to the throne and were now locked outside the power structure, probably annoyed. Anyways, I didn’t want these two poisoning my food. “I guess they’re not really much of a concern for me. Looks like it’s third wife for me, ladies.”
“Third or fourth,” corrected the dumb one.
***
“This is the library. Here, you can practice calligraphy, art, and transcribe books.”
“What about just reading books?”
“Oh, if you’re so inclined.”
“Cayce,” said the older one, “you saw the grand hall, right?”
“The entrance?”
“Yes, that, too. That’s where women train in physical endeavors. Exercise, stretching, dance.”
“Any martial activities?”
“Martial?”
“Yeah, like weapons training.” I wanted a place to exercise.
“Uhm, no. We undertake the arts to be recognized by the emperor. If you are, for example, a skilled calligraphy artist, he may call upon you to write missives. Others to draw paintings. Or dance for him or the palace. Do you understand?”
“You’re unpaid entertainers?”
“Highly skilled servants of the crown. It’s a worthy life.”
“I see.” As we walked, I’d been looking around for any kind of escape – ventilation shafts – but didn’t find any. It was like being trapped in a castle with no exits and the windows were atop long drop-offs. I wondered if I could tie a bunch of sheets together and escape into the town. Assuming I could, my problems wouldn’t end. I’d still need to find the wizard – or give up on him and get my army, then come back with some amount of bargaining power – and I’d be wearing this ridiculous and probably easily identifiable robe. And be without weapons. Not necessarily a problem if my enemies were lone combatants, but certainly a problem for traversing a land full of monsters.
“Come, we’ll show you the greenhouse. After that, it’s lunch time.”
***
They left me in the greenhouse when I lied and told them I wasn’t hungry. I was, but I needed alone time more. Or so I told my protesting stomach.
It was a lush place, perhaps like the Hanging Gardens of old. I suspected it was built on a hillside as it sloped downward in a series of long steps. Each of the steps had different vegetation growing on it. At the very top, the shortest plants, comprised of roses and tiger lilies and other voluminous flowers, dripping with nectar, ants all over them. Several flights of stairs meandered down the large platforms. A variety of bananas on the second platform from short ones to enormous plantains. I plucked a medium-sized yellow one, opened it up and began munching.
The lower I went, the larger the trees, from enormous avocado trees to small cedars that had been clipped at the top, otherwise they’d burst through the glass, and even a baobab. That was crazy, for the climate outside could not support it. This garden was therefore a visual showcase of the wealth possessed by Laemacia. It made me wonder how far and wide their reach was. Or, did they merely send explorers out to collect these marvels?
Growing between the levels were vines of all kinds: grapes, passionfruit, kiwi, others I couldn’t name and many, many more that didn’t bear fruit.
Overhead, heavy glass supported by large wooden frames. I wondered how they produced it. Regardless, this greenhouse was a precarious building, heavily dependent on being maintained, else the wood above would rot, the glass come crashing down.
Yet it was nice, peaceful, to be alone and breathe in the humid air, laden with the scents of flowers and fresh dirt.
It was then I noticed the men tending the garden. Not overly muscled, though they carried large watering pots, they uniformly had young looking faces, baby fat ringing their visages. Eunuchs, clearly.
So, that ruled out seduction as a means of escape. Not that I’d be very good at it.
I felt helpless. More so than at any time on this world. It wasn’t that danger was coming and I had no escape, though I suppose that was true, given what Serce wanted from me. And it wasn’t simply because I had no powers – I could have blasted through the castle, giving myself a ramp out of here if I had, or just melted the stone walls – it was that I was stuck, waiting and waiting. For Serce to show up, tell me his annoying plans. Then and only then would I get an escape.
So, it was a game of time. And I was fresh out of patience. I’d explore, search, hopefully find a way out. Yet the cynic in me knew that was unlikely. These women, even the ones who willingly came for the status, not only needed to be contained, but also safeguarded from those who’d want to sneak in. And this place was built a long time ago. They’d probably learned all the possible exits and entrances and dealt with them.
“Princess Cayce?” a deep woman’s voice said, not far from me, worried tone to it. She was taller than me and very well-muscled, wearing a loose blue blouse over brown pants. Definitely not the kind of clothing I’d seen around the harem. And she carried a curved sword on her hip, shorter blade on the other side.
“Yes?”
“I am here to protect you.”
That gave me pause. “From what?”
“From any and all attacks on your person.”
I stared at her a little longer. “Does that include name calling and bad clothing?”
“Has someone belittled you?”
“The emperor certainly has.”
She paused for a moment as if making sure she heard me correctly, then said, “Mind if I join you?”
Great, I thought to myself, now I had a babysitter.
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