Chapter Text
Mei has never put much stock into gossip of any kind. It seems like a waste of time to talk endlessly about things that may not even be true, time that could be put to way better use. She prefers to believe only in the things she can verify herself and ignores the idle chatter around her as well as she can. On some days, that is much easier than on others.
In the couple of months Mei has been working in the Royal Palace, she has learned quickly that gossip is absolutely everywhere and that the majority of servants seem to like nothing more than to spread the most outrageous rumors far and wide. To a degree, it's not surprising. Quite a few of them spend a good bit of their time around royalty, and who isn't at least a little bit interested in what opinions the Empress holds about the newest trends in fashion or what her thoughts about the current ongoing campaigns in the Far East might be?
The brunt of all rumors going around is focused on her, and that, too, comes as no surprise. She is far more talkative than her husband, and unlike the Emperor, she is a friendly, kind, and approachable woman. The Empress truly is the heart of the palace, a warm and open counterpoint to her stoic husband, who spends more time on the frontlines than he ever does in his capital anyway.
Mei has only met her briefly once. She doesn't work close to the royal family, her tasks include taking care of the living quarters of esteemed guests instead, and in her free time, Mei often manages to slip away into the part of the gardens that are primarily used for growing fresh produce. The gardener there knows her well by now, always setting aside a little bit of busy work for her if she wants to relax after a long day. And her days get extraordinarily long sometimes when she has to make sure a prickly ambassador from yet another country who tries to avoid being annexed by Garlemald's neverending expansion of territories is content.
The one time Mei met the Empress was by pure chance. She wouldn't have been surprised if the woman had completely ignored her, but the moment her eyes had fallen on Mei, she had smiled and waved her closer, asking for her name. That day Mei realized that the Empress actually seemed to know every servant in the entire palace. Not on a more personal level, of course, but enough to remember their name and where they work. It had been a brief interaction, only a few moments of the Empress asking her if she liked her new job so far and telling her to talk to the maid in charge of assigning her tasks if she ever needed anything.
Ever since that day, Mei has felt a particular fondness for the woman, even if she doesn't know her any closer beyond this. It's another reason why she tends to ignore the rumor mill of the palace. While most of them are about perfectly mundane things of no import, there is always the occasional whisper about something else.
Mei has to admit that even when trying to stay away from all this and not participating in any of the little break time gossip parties that happen every day like clockwork, she hears enough. Like the ones that claim that the Empress treats everyone around her with kindness because she has no one who will do the same for her. Rumors about the fact that the relationship of the royal couple is utterly cold to the point where it barely exists have always made the rounds, but ever since Mei met the Empress in person, hearing about this makes her feel genuinely bad for the woman. Not to mention that it does make her question the tastes of her husband if he is truly that uninterested in someone that seems genuinely wonderful. It's none of Mei's business, of course, but it does color her view regardless.
Right now, it is hard to escape the gossip even a little bit. Mei sits by herself, having a quick lunch in her short break time, mentally trying to go over her tasks for the afternoon, but the amount of chatter around her makes it difficult. Several of the other maids sit with their heads close together, not too far from her, and if she wants to or not, Mei can hear every word.
"I swear, I saw it with my own eyes," one of the younger women says with an insistent voice. "He barely looked at her, even when she welcomed him home, the Emperor is truly as cold as one of the northern glaciers when it comes to his wife."
"He always has been," one of the older maids remarks. "You are too young to remember their wedding. Behind all the splendor, it was a dreadfully somber festivity."
"But they have children. Surely they must have had some spark between them," a third maid weighs in, but her older colleague only scoffs.
"Oh, to be young and see everything through a lens of romance," she mutters before shaking her head. "The children are as much born from convenience as their marriage is, you don't need passion or even sympathy to make an heir."
"When did the His Radiance return?" Mei asks, quietly injecting herself into the conversation, a frown on her forehead. "Aren't we usually informed when certain parts of the palace need to be made ready?"
Whenever he formally returns from the front, there is usually a lot of preparation going on, and the whole palace is abuzz, but this time Mei hadn't heard a single thing about this until right now.
One of the other maids simply shrugs.
"You'd think so, but this seems to be an unplanned return. I hear no one even knew he planned to come home until the airship was already docking at the landing."
It causes the other maids to add various levels of their own surprise to the conversation, some talking over each other, but Mei is no longer listening, finishing her plate quickly before putting it away and getting back to work. If the return of the Emperor is indeed a surprise for the entire palace, she knows it will only be a matter of time until there will be extra duties to perform for everyone to quickly get things done they usually have weeks to prepare for, and she plans to get as much of her regular work done before that happens.
Mei is very diligent about her work. It may not seem like all that much, but she knows the head maid appreciates her efforts and her attention to detail. There are never any complaints about the rooms she is responsible for, and Mei always makes sure that every guest of the royal house has everything they might need, most of the time before it even gets brought up. She has learned the ropes of dealing with all sorts of people quickly, mostly by watching closely and paying attention to what the more experienced maids were doing. She has discovered early that one of her strengths definitely lies in anticipating other people's needs. It is a good way of making herself invaluable around here, assuring herself a stable place of decently-paid work for a long time to come.
She is not about to let some unplanned changes in that palace's schedule throw her off and let any aspect of her work suffer, even if she works a little bit faster today, all in anticipation of the extra tasks that might be thrown in her lap at any moment now. Within the next three hours, she manages to get the work done she usually does in five, even if it's a lot more stressful than usual.
Mei is busy in one of the music rooms predominately used by guests when her efforts catch up with her, and she realizes she needs to go about things at least a little bit slower. Her shoulders hurt a little as she straightens her back, vowing to pace herself more as she makes her way over to the curtains to let the afternoon sun in.
For a brief moment, Mei closes her eyes as she pulls one of the large curtains aside. The sunlight falling through the southern windows is pleasantly warm on her scales. The palace is always heated up well, and so are her sleeping quarters, but there is never truly enough sunlight in Garlemald for her taste. This is her home, but she understands well why most Au ra would not voluntarily live in a climate this cold, where the days grow terribly short during the winters and sunlight can rarely be enjoyed to the fullest. She isn't even outside right now, but still, the sun feels incredibly pleasant while warming her face. Mei knows there is enough work to do, but a few more moments of indulgence can't hurt, can they?
"Do you always stand around daydreaming in the sun?" comes a deep voice from behind her, and Mei flinches, eyes flying open as she hastily puts the curtain up as she is supposed to before swirling around.
"I am not daydreaming, I swear," she starts, when her eyes fall on to the owner of said voice, and her throat turns dry at the sight. "Your Radiance," she gets out with a shocked gasp, hastily lowering her eyes. "I apologize, I didn't mean to-"
"It was a genuine question, my dear," comes his reply, and Mei is startled by how amused he seems to sound. Even more so when he takes a step closer and adds, "I find myself lost in thought when captivated by a pleasant sight quite often, I have to admit."
For a moment, she just stands there and stares. She is nowhere near the royal chambers or the throne room. Never in a million years would Mei have expected to simply run into the Emperor of Garlemald just like that. And he hadn't even walked in on her working but happened to catch the one small moment where she had not been doing anything at all. She doesn't know what to say, doesn't know how to react to his words at all. Perhaps she should apologize again if she could only come up with something to excuse herself right after so she could escape this awkward situation, but her mind is drawing a blank.
"Do me a favor," the Emperor says at that moment, and even though it is not necessary, Mei nods immediately. It's not like he has to ask, he is the Emperor, after all. His requests are to be understood as orders by default. "Take a step to your left."
She doesn't know why he wants her to do this, but Mei moves to her left regardless. Her eyes are no longer fixed on the ground as she dares to catch another glimpse of him. She can't help the thought that he is even more good-looking in person and up close. So far, all she's ever seen of him were portraits. They don't do him justice.
"Now turn around again," he tells her at that moment and swallowing once Mei follows that order as well. He sounds appreciative when he speaks again. "Yes, good, stay like this."
Mei's heart is beating faster as she tries to make sense of any of this, but she doesn't dare to ask what it is he wants her to do this for. The sunlight is once again warm on her face, and she has to close her eyes from how blinding it is. Somehow, she has the feeling that he is watching her closely, even if she can't see him like this. Why the Emperor would do such a thing, she cannot understand, but in the end, it doesn't matter. He is the Emperor, and she nothing but a maid. If he demands her standing in the sun for him, she will do so without hesitation, there is no alternative.
Even if she has to force herself to stand still when she hears him move. One step, and then another, he is coming closer until she can feel his presence behind her. He doesn't touch her, but Mei knows he is close enough to be able to. Next to him, she feels incredibly small. He towers over her like most Garleans do, and then his hand brushes over the outside of one of her horns. He wears gloves, and the fabric is smooth against her dark scales as he trails a line along it from its front all the way back to the sharper tip.
"Your Radiance," Mei gasps, unable to wrap her head around what is happening, when his other hand suddenly slides down her back, finding the base of her tail.
"Shh," he makes as his fingers wrap around it firmly and give it a sharp tug as if to shut her up with the gesture. "Don't you know you should only speak in the presence of your Emperor when asked, my dear?"
He sounds perfectly friendly, but there is something slightly unsettling about his tone, and Mei bites her lips, nodding once as she chides herself for even trying to question him.
"You look quite striking against the sun," he goes on, the gloved fingers trailing to the base of her horn, making it hard for Mei to keep still and not start to give in to the shiver it causes running down her back. "These scales of yours shine especially in the light" His fingers trail lower, along the edges of the scales on her neck, until he reaches the collar of her blouse. "I wonder, do they go all the way down?" he asks, the tip of a single gloved finger slipping underneath the collar.
Both his words and his actions throw her completely off-guard, and Mei has no idea how she should react to this. Does he expect an answer from her now? He had just told her to speak only when asked a question, and with a shaky breath, she clears her throat.
"They do, Your Radiance," Mei admits quietly. "As they do for all of my kind."
She adds that last part in a feeble attempt to make this whole situation feel at least a little bit less intimate than it does right now, but her attempt only gets him to give her an amused chuckle.
"I am not interested in all of your kind, my dear," the Emperor says, letting go of her collar and sliding his fingers back up her throat, running along her jaw and higher. The fabric of his gloves is smooth against her lips, but the touch is fleeting, and a moment later, he lets go of her and takes a step back.
Mei can hear him turn and walk away as if nothing out of the ordinary happened. He is halfway across the room already when he adds, "There are parts of the palace that have a lot more sunlight."
Mei whirls around, her mouth open in shock as she wonders just what exactly he means by that. Her cheeks are glowing with heat as she watches him walk away without turning around even once, wondering what she has done to somehow attract the attention of Solus zos Galvus.