"I'm an Orphan but the Empress took a Liking to me and now I'm going to be her Husband!?"

…

Commissioned by Citino

Wordcount: 3053

…

Sister Frei once told everyone that miracles could happen.

Everyone thought that she meant it was a miracle that our home was being fixed up, but I knew better. When Sister Frei cried happy tears, saying that good things happen to those who have faith, I knew that she was telling us all to be patient and wait for our own miracles!

It was okay that everyone else thought that I was being silly, because they were waiting too.

Beauregard might have called me dumb and silly, but everyday she cleaned the front lobby, so that she could introduce herself first to anyone coming inside. Tom was mean about it, but that was because the younger kids looked up to him, and they liked seeing him being strong. He was keeping them happy until their miracles came along, so I was sure that he was going to get a good one when the time came. Lisa was quiet and always reading, but when she said that I was being illo—illogi—not real, she spent the next day trying to find out how we got our new home!

And, she told me that I might be right when she couldn’t figure it out!

So, I waited with everyone patiently and helped as much as I could, in the new home that we were given through a miracle.

Without a doubt, I had every reason to believe that everyone was going to be happy in the end.

…

Sister Frei shivered, sweated, and could barely smile.

I didn’t understand.

The day was bright, the birds were singing, and the sky was clear and perfect. It was going to be another day where we would clean and maintain our new home. There were new arrivals who needed to be fed, floors to be mopped, and the dorm needed cleaning. I was ready to help cook after doing all of that, but instead we were all dressed in clothes that arrived in neat little packages along with the letter Sister Frei received yesterday.

It was a wonderful day outside, yet everyone was afraid, because Sister Frei was afraid.

“Children, you m-must be on your very best behavior today, because we’re having a wonderful guest visit us today.” Sister Frei spoke kindly and softly, while wearing a smile on her face. The younger kids got happier at her words, but everyone else didn’t. They seemed to get more afraid because she was trying to make us less afraid. Tom was shivering. “You mustn’t do anything wrong today. Understand? You must be the kind, wonderful children that I know you are.”

“Yes, Miss Frei!” We all agreed together, but amongst the little children there was mischief afoot. Miss Frei bit her lip at the sight of it. She would speak alone with little kids who misbehaved, or those who planned to misbehave, but this time she was afraid. Not for herself, but for them. She gripped the hem of her pretty, long skirt very tightly. Her smile was strained. Beauregard noticed and she bit her lip, so she wouldn’t cry. “We understand!”

I wanted to know how I could help.

They were my friends and my family.

If they were feeling bad, if they were afraid, then I needed to help them.

But the door behind Miss Frei opened before I could ask.

We were all gathered and dressed well in the entrance hall. Tom, Beuregard, Lisa, and I were all ahead of the other, younger children. I was the oldest at fourteen and six months, but the other three were fourteen too. Sister Frei and the four of us always had trouble keeping our twelve little siblings calm and quiet.

Yet when our visitor stepped in everyone went quiet.

“Oh my, what a wonderful sight this is. You all wear my gifts well.” It was the Empress. She stood taller than Sister Frei. She was taller than everyone I’d ever met, even those who weren’t human who worked in the city. She wore trousers and a shirt, like a man, but on her shoulders was a long, white mantle that was lined with strands of gold. Her hands and feet were clawed and her skin had the color of pale iron. “This orphanage was a grand idea. I’m glad to have given it to you, especially since you’ve kept it so tidy.”

Though most could only stare in wonder, Lisa began to breathe heavily… and then fell to her knees.
Sister Frei was alarmed, her eyes were wide, but when she tried to move… she couldn’t.

And, I couldn’t either.

Tom and Beauregard were the same.

None of us could move to help Lisa… because we weren’t allowed.

“Oh dear, we have quite the intelligent one here. She might have an aptitude for magic, too. How strange that she’s managed to slip through my net. Butler, help her up and send her where she needs to be sent.” The Empress spoke and her words were acted upon. The man who served her did as he was told, moving with grace in clothes like my own, but shined and shimmered in the dim light of the entrance hall. “Have the one who inspected this orphanage inspected. Her presence here was a waste.”

They… they were going to take Lisa away!?

Everyone looked at me, as I said those words, but only one gaze mattered. They were golden, slit pupils set in blazing blue.

“Of course, she is a mage so she must be trained, so she does not harm herself or others. Do you think this is wrong, boy?” Each step the empress took thudded through the whole of the house. When she stood facing me, I could barely meet her gaze, so that I could speak to her properly. I had to stand on the tips of my toes. “Do you believe that she’s better off here? Where she cannot learn how to control her power? Where she cannot work to not be cowed by my mere presence?”

“That… that might be true, but she likes it here! She shouldn’t have to leave if she’s happy!” I did my best, even though everyone’s eyes were telling me to stop speaking. If Lisa couldn’t speak for herself, then I had to speak up for her. What kind of friend would I be, if I didn’t help her? I’m not going to let her be taken away without at least doing that. I might not be very strong, but I had to at least do what I could! “Empress, please let Lisa choose if she wants to stay or go, please!”

“So, you speak against your Empress… just so that your friend can choose, boy?” Sister Frei shivered at the Empress’s words. Beauregard and Tom were frozen. Some of the smaller children were crying. But… but I didn’t feel any of that fear. Looking at my Empress, I didn’t feel anything worth being terrified by. Even when she raised her hand and placed her claws on my head, I didn’t know why everyone was so afraid. “You care quite a bit for your friends. What a nice boy you are. I think I’ll keep you.”

Eh?

“Eh?”

“EH?”

“Ma’am, I apologize for speaking out of place, but… do you mean adopt him?” Sister Frei mustered up the courage to speak, whilst the Empress continued to pat my head with a smile. Everyone peered at me, while I stood still. Though she had claws and scales, her touch was soft and warm. I couldn’t help but feel as though I was remembering something I’d forgotten, while she patted my scalp. “I’m sure that you’ll pass every requirement we have to adapt him—

“I know what I said. I’ll be keeping him. I’ve always wanted to have someone’s who’s kind and compassionate to the point of being foolish. This boy meets the criteria very well, so I’ll be taking him.” Keeping her hand on my head, she craned forward until our heights were the same and we looked directly into one another’s eyes. She was of such height that she nearly bent past her waist. Her gaze was warm and kind, but there was something else in them when she was so close that I noticed for the first time. It was as though she expected something greater from me. The thought made me freeze in place. “I think you’ll make a fine husband, so there’s no point in pretending that you’re my son or anything like that, you know?”

All I wanted to do was help my friend, but apparently the Empress intended to make me her husband!?

…

The Inner Chamber of the Imperial Palace was the center of an Empire that spanned thousands of worlds. Through magic and might, the Empress led her people to conquest and advancement in all things. Gifted with power and intellect beyond that of anyone who has ever lived, and even those who called themselves gods, she uplifted countless peoples from the yokes of aristocracy, granted them the right to rule themselves so long as they paid their tithes, and protected them from threats beyond both time and space.

The Inner Chamber, where the Empress spent her days away from the front, was a small city dedicated to entertaining and feeding the Empress.

Those who served within it had no need to care for anything besides prepare the finest of diversions and foods for the Empress. She sought out the most talented entertainers and greatests chefs, granted them lives that allowed them to reach the pinnacle of their work, and their works were shared throughout all of the Empire without cost. All that was required was that she was the first to relish the masterpieces before their recipes were sent out, or view and experience thrills before they were distributed to the rest.

It was a place where magic and technology created miracles to make others happy daily.

The Empress lived within the tallest spire at its center… and spent her days unclad save for a blanket, in front of a screen, with a table of food a few steps away from her.

She sat me on her lap, whilst she entertained herself with snippets of movies out of context, cat pictures, and other such things.

My Empress sure was strange in private.

Messy, too.

I… I wasn’t very keen on cleaning, but I couldn’t help but look upon the mess and feel the need to clean. There were food packages everywhere. None were moldy or even had vestiges of foodstuffs, but they were in organized mounds. Despite being held by my Empress, swaddled in her arms and against her body whilst enjoying her preferred entertainment, I couldn’t enjoy myself because of the mounds of garbage in the most massive, comfortable room I’ve every been it.

It was too great and grand to ever have a single piece of trash!

So, though it was against my Empress’s wishes, I asked to leave her arms so that I could clean.

Surprisingly, she allowed me to do as I wished!

…

“Oh, you actually cleaned everything. Huh.” The Empress’s praise was subtle, but I heard it all the same. She hadn’t believed that I’d be able to clean it all. I’d proved her wrong, yet still I stood triumphant and unmolested. It was her lack of retribution for proving her wrong that told me she was good person and not the feared tyrant that Sister Frei and the others say. “Well done. I approve. What would you like as payment?”

“Payment? Ah, there’s no need! I did it because I wanted to do it!” Tom would say that I was being an idiot. Lisa and Beauregard, too. Maybe, even Sister Frei, though she’ll be much nicer about it. That was because they were right. It’s a tad foolish to not accept something offered by the Empress. But it didn’t feel right to ask for something in return for what I wanted to do! Besides, she wanted to be entertained with me beside her, and I didn’t do that. “I would feel bad, if you insist on giving me something, and that’s final, Empress!”

I had many things already thanks to her. I couldn’t be a person that made funny pictures, videos, or other such things, but I can clean up and help her with little things. Little things that someone didn’t need to be rewarded for, but were just nice to do for other people. Sister Frei had always told me to be nice, and she would’ve never given me bad advice, so nice I shall be!

Besides, it felt good to be nice!

W-wait, what is she doing—

No one will ever believe me, but I think that the Empress might be the best at giving hugs. Despite being so frightening and powerful, when she embraces you, she does so without reserve. The hug was a tad tight, but I could tell that she didn’t mean to hurt me at all. From what I could tell, she only wanted to make sure that her feelings were being conveyed. And, though she had scaled arms and claws, the rest of her body was normal, if a bit warmer and harder than anyone else’s whose given me a hug before.

But, even if her hug was really nice, I needed to stand my ground.

Well… I was aloft because she’d seized me and was so much taller, but even Beauregard would let me get away with thinking that to myself!

“E-empress, I told you there’s no need for a reward!”

“This isn’t a reward. This is a thank you. It’s been too long since someone has been kind to me, so I’m thanking you.” Though I knew that I had to be insistent, that I couldn’t let her get away with being clever and smart, when she smiled with her fangs, I knew that I didn’t have stand my ground. She was being completely truthful. She wasn’t rewarding me. Truly, the Empress was thanking me for being kind to her… for being one of the few people that has been kind to her. I couldn’t help but be both flattered and sad as she held me tightly. “And, kid, what do you say when someone thanks you? That orphanage of yours was very proper, so I’m sure that you know how this goes.”

I did.

However, I couldn’t say it.

“Empress can you tell me your name, so that I can say it properly?” Yes. This was the right way to do things. Though she is the Empress, I needed to say what needed to be said with her name at the end. I can’t change that fact that no one has been kind to her for so long, but I can be kind to her instead of being respectful of the Empress! The past is the past, but in the present, I can make the future happier! “If I must say it, then at least—

“Therisa Hunberg Ornstein Terina. You best remember it, because you’re the first in centuries I’ve shared it with!” Though the Empress spoke confidently, as she always did, the blush upon her face told me that she did not lie. For the first time in centuries, she had shared her name with another. And that other was myself. “Now, grant me your own, so that I can do the same.”

It hadn’t occurred to me that I hadn’t shared my name with her, so I felt my cheeks redden as well. That was why my cheeks were red. I most certainly did not have any strange thoughts upon seeing the Empress go scarlet at my question. She was powerful, mighty, and noble. There was no room for any thoughts of her being cute. It was foolish of me to think that I could protect her from anything that might endanger her. Anything that did would be feared by all the denizens of all her realms! Certainly nothing that a mere boy could hope to defeat.

“Cava. My name is Cava, Empress Terina! And… you’re welcome!” I managed to speak, despite my shock and surprise. The Empress managed to recover from her embarrassment sooner than myself. Already, her face was back to its usual tinge. I wished that I was able to control myself as well as her. I must have looked the fool all my friends warned me against seeming to be. “I hope to be worthy of your praise!”

“Silly, boy. Look where you are. You wouldn’t be here if you weren’t worthy.” The Empress laughed. It was an honest laugh. One that sent her whole-body quaking. I couldn’t help but smile too. Even when she was relaxing earlier, I couldn’t help but think that she was still the Empress. It was silly to think that, especially while she laughed and jeered at silly things, but until now that was simply how I’d felt. However, with the same assurance now, I knew that she was being earnest. “Now, tell me, what would you like to do tomorrow? I feel the need to stretch my legs and not spend a whole day lumbering around. Perhaps, you’d like to visit your friends?”

Going back was enticing, but that would be a reward. I had to be very vigilant and careful, so that she wouldn’t give me anything that was undue. Though everyone seemed to be afraid of her, I was sure that she was quite the softy inside. Why else would she continue to hold me in her arms, refusing to let me go, even as she returned to entertain herself? If given the opportunity, I was sure that she’d do everything in her power to make me happy… without being considerate of herself in the slightest!

“Hmmm, I’d like to spend the day with you, Empress Terina! Maybe, we can go out together?” That was the best answer! I was sure of it! The Empress even seemed pleased with it. She patted my head and made a satisfied sound right after I said so! “Where would you like to go? Maybe, we can hike? Or, go swimming?”

“Whichever you want, we’ll do.”

Grr… I really had to be very careful around her!

She’s definitely the hardest person to be nice to!