I felt there were several persons in the room as soon as I woke up, but even after noticing that I had a power suppressor on me, I didn’t feel scared or threatened, in part because the strong headache helped me remember what had happened and the reason for all my hurt. The last thing I remembered was Kimball checking my injuries, and I was sure he would have never let anything bad happen to me.
“How are you feeling?” Kimball asked, as always he could tell the moment I became aware, even if my eyes were still closed.
“You gave us quite the scare this time,” Ethan said, as I felt him sitting on the bed, next to me.
“There was no reason to worry, none of the injuries were really bad, even without your father’s help I would have recovered after getting some sleep.”
“From what Kimball said, I think your injuries were worst than you are letting on,” Malkia said, and I could tell by her tone of voice that she was angry. “Was that show really necessary? You were at a disadvantage for most of that fight, no one would have said anything if you had asked for help, and if what they say is true, even one of them would have significantly changed the flow of the battle.”
“You, better than anyone, should know how important is to keep appearances in this place. If I had let anyone help me, most of the clan would still see me as a target. I know that I have gained a lot of enemies with my actions, and that new generations don’t have the same fear or respect and the older ones, that’s why I needed a show of strength.”
“It was a big risk to take,” Greca said.
“No, it really wasn’t. Even if the attack from the Death’s Clan was highly unlikely, it was possible, so I knew I would win that fight. I saw myself walking away from the battle.”
“And you did walk away, but only because you were using your powers to keep your body working, you can’t deny you were falling apart, and the only reason you even reached the door was the use of your powers.”
“You are exaggerating.”
“No, I’m not,” Kimball said, “I saw the damage first hand, and I know that without medical attention, your life would have been at risk.”
“I had you with me, so that was never a risk.”
“I would really like for you to stop taking that kind of risks,” Kimball said, moving closer to me and giving me a sweet kiss to the forehead, it was such a tender gesture that I felt a little guilty, even as I felt angry for letting something as simple as that affect me, especially in front of my daughters. “You haven’t answered my question yet, how are you feeling?”
“Like I was hit by a train,” I admitted. “My body hurts a lot, and that is not taking into account the psychic headache, which is not as bad as it could be, thanks for activating the suppressor.”
“I know you don’t like to take strong medications while using the suppressor, so I only gave you mild sedatives, but if you want, I can give you something stronger.”
“No, that’s fine, I prefer to have a clear mind.”
“There is no need for that, it’s only us. Nothing will happen to you, even if you are not in full control of your mind,” Kimball insisted.
“I’ll be fine, this is nothing, you just worry too much.”
“Someone has to,” he said, not insisting, but clearly not happy with my decision.
“Do you think that Pompeyo will change his tune after what happened?” Malkia asked. “Or do you think he will keep trying to get rid of me?”
“His worst fear is to be replaced by someone else, and after my little demonstration, I became the biggest threat. I hope that by the time he realizes he can’t get rid of us, he will also realize we are not the threat he fears we are.”
“Unless you want to be that threat,” Ethan told Malkia, “after all, this is also your legacy and you could take the throne easily, if you want. There is no one in this clan that could represent all the Families better than you.”
“I have no interest in taking over the Imperial Clan, all I need is to be by Atrax’s side.”
“If that’s what you want, that’s your choice, just think about it.”
“Ethan, stop trying to cause trouble,” I told him, even if I knew that my words wouldn’t matter, once he got a new idea into his head, there was nothing that could stop him.
We were still talking, mostly it was them scolding me for my actions, when we heard someone knocking on the door of the suite. I knew, even if I had never given the order, that a couple of my guards had to be outside the room, but still we could hear the knocking, that showed just how insistent the person on the other side was.
“I’ll go see who is there,” Ethan offered, getting out of the room before anyone could protest.
“I would like to know what’s going on,” Greca said, “maybe I should join him.”
“That’s not necessary,” Kimball said, activating one of his gadgets, after that we could hear Ethan’s voice, as if he was still standing there in the room.
“What’s going on here?” we heard Ethan ask.
“These individuals want to get in,” another voice, one I recognized as Franz’s, explained.
“Those two are my aunt and uncle, so I guess they’re ok, the others, I’m not so sure,” Ethan said.
“We just want to make sure that Kaiserin is ok,” Maddan said.
“It’s just us four, believe me, many more people wanted to come, but we didn’t want your mother to feel overwhelmed, especially not after the fight she just had, but we would like to see her,” Inionri said, once again acting as the voice of reason, something that would take some time to get used to.
“I will have to ask mom and make sure she doesn’t mind some visitors.”
“We won’t leave here until we speak to her, or at least until we are able to check by ourselves that she is in fact fine, especially after what your father did to her in their way here.”
“Do they really think that Kaiserin needs their protection?” Agata asked, I could almost see the incredulity painted in her face.
“They know my mother, but they don’t know my father,” Ethan said.
“If they know the boss lady, then they should know that no one messes with her and survives to tell the tale.”
“You are still alive,” Ethan pointed out, and I knew that his words could be misinterpreted in may ways, it was true that she had tried to kill me, but could they read the truth behind those words? Would it be problems if they did?
For a moment, no one said anything, and I could imagine Ethan having a telepathic conversation with Agata, maybe even Franz. When the silence went by for too long, I started to get nervous and was about to ask Kimball to go see what was going on, when Inionri broke the silence.
“I understand if you don’t want them to get inside, but at least let me go and talk to her, at least to confirm she is ok, they can wait here.”
The others started protesting, but with everyone talking at the same time it was hard to understand who and what they were saying.
“Ok!” Ethan’s voice raised over the others. “You can come in, but just for a moment, my mom needs to rest to get her strength back.”
Ethan knew I would like to see him, so he had taken the right decision. I tried to get out of bed, I didn’t want them to see me there, I wanted to meet them outside in the living room, where I could try to not look so bad.
“What do you think you are doing?” Kimball asked.
“I don’t want them to see me here, like this.”
“I’m pretty sure this won’t be the first time they see you injured, not if what you have told me is true.”
“Still…”
“Not waiting any longer, Kimball took me into his arms, I tried to protest, but I knew it would be useless, so I let him carry me. As soon as we crossed the door, I saw that Ethan had already taken everyone inside and had them take a seat, by his position he was about to go looking for me. As soon as he saw me in Kimball’s arms, he smiled, he tried to hide it, but I had seen him, and I glared right back at him, I didn’t find the situation any funny, and didn’t appreciate that he was laughing at me.
“How are you feeling cousin?” Kozlak asked, he had gotten out of his seat and was ready to help me if I asked.
“I’m tired, I’m hurting, but that’s what you should expect after a fight like the one I just had,” even if I didn’t have my powers, I could tell what they were thinking just by looking at them, so I interrupted them before they could scold me. “You don’t have to tell me that what I did was insane, they already told me that. We can avoid the lecture.”
“What you did was impressive, and a good idea, that will show the youngsters what we mean when we talk about you,” Maddan said. “You must know that Pompeyo has been very nervous since you made your first appearance, your brother always referred to you in good terms, the few times he talked about you, but I’m afraid that Pompeyo never shared the same good feelings. Even if most of the youngsters will think twice before attacking after your display, I’m afraid Pompeyo may have not learned his lesson, and you will need to be careful with him.”
“I know, and I know he is planning something, but he has some of the Palace’s seers involved, and because of that, I’m not sure what he will do, still, I’m sure I can handle anything he throws my way.”
“Not if you’re hurt,” Geb said. “If you are going to face the kids again, you will need to have all of your strength back.”
“Or use the trick you stole from my daughter and borrow some energy, but no mater what happens, you can’t face them if you are not truly prepared for them,” Kozlak said.
“You don’t need to worrry about me, I know what the young Emperor is capable of, and I also know what I am capable of, and believe me, I will be fine.”
“It’s good to have you back,” Kozlka said, “we just want this to last, and we don’t want you to get in troble here. Not that we don’t trust your abilities, it’s just we worry about you, you have to admit you have a tendency of getting into trouble.”
Kimball and Ethan laughed at that, and I knew that it was because they agreed with him.
“Are you really ok?” Geb insisted, and by the way he was looking at Kimball I knew he was really asking if I was ok with him.
“Everything is perfect. I just need to rest a little bit, which won’t be an issue, Pomepeyo also need to rest and recover.”
“It’s been so long since we had a chance to talk, and there is still a lot you haven’t explained.”
“You are right, but there are some things I can’t share, I hope you understand.”
For the next few hours I told them a short and censured version of what I had been doing for the last few years, while I had been away, they already knew part of the story, but they wanted to know more, to get a bigger picture, to understand why I had been gone, leaving them for so many years. No matter what I said, I knew it wouldn’t be enough, even after meeting them and showing and explaining my visions, I was sure that most of them still thought they would have find a way for things to work, a way for us to be able to stay together.
My daughter already knew most of the story, I had already talked to them, still they were listening carefully, trying to caught new fragments of information. Explaining, or more accurately, justifying why I had left my daughters with Dendro instead of with them had been easier, because after a moment, they had accepted that they would have been at risk in the Empire, and would have ended up dead after a while, even under my brother’s protection, it was only a matter of time, Pompeyo and the others had already shown the youngsters’ attitude towards them.
Being back at the Empire was felt different from what I had expected originally, but once I started talking to my cousins and old allies, I felt as if time and distance were banishing until I felt like no time had gone by, as if I was back at home.
I knew that the next day I would have to face Pompeyo and his people again, and that eventually I would have to face the rest of the clans, I needed to be prepared, and I had to make sure they didn’t take me by surprise. Even having back that sensation of danger and fear was a familiar feeling, that was what my life had been back then, a constant battle, something I didn’t realize I missed until I was back there.
Kaiserin Novel 