Chapter Text
"I accept this divorce."
It only took those four words from the soon-to-be deposed empress for the attendees for this divorce trial to riot. The 21st Trovi empress, the pinnacle of perfection, and the lady I served for only one year had just accepted being deposed as empress without a fight. I can't say I wasn't surprised if I'm being honest, being the empress was Navier's life's purpose, but I suppose actively fighting and losing would do worse to her reputation rather than leaving with grace as many divorced empresses of the past were expected to do.
It was hard to see and hear beyond the sea of men and women pleading with Navier not to go down like this, for only a few seconds I could catch a glance at the emperor, Sovieshu, he was both relieved and guilty for what he had to do, I suppose he isn't completely without a heart but that says little about his positive qualities.
In his arms was my best friend and his mistress, Rashta Ishka, who shared the same relieved expression while her lips trembled and bit at her nails, I'm sure that Sovieshu would make her his next empress and I'm sure she knew of both the safety it would grant her with the downside being the utter lack of respect she'd receive for being the replacement for an already beloved woman.
I had only 5 seconds to glance at the trial itself before Marquis Farang shoved me and a few others aside to run towards Navier
"Your Majesty! This can't be!"
He didn't get very far and was barred off by Sovieshu's guards, Navier first looked at him with gratefulness in her eyes for the people like him willing to defend her even if it went against the emperor, then her attention turned to her ladies in waiting, me included. Some such as Laura were struggling not to weep for their empress and lunge at Rashta for Navier's honor, some such as Countess Eliza had managed to remain poised and graceful as they courtseyed to her one last time.
I followed along with Eliza's example, it was the least I could do for the woman I once served.
"Empress Navier, do you truly agree to accept this divorce without objection?" The court minister asked, he was hoping that Navier would change her mind and fight back but the response was the same as the first
"Yes, I accept this divorce."
Only one more word added to that original sentence and the air around already reeked of a funeral, but I wasn't sad, I wasn't happy either, just.. neutral you could say. Even when she walked out of the courtroom solemnly as ever despite the unrest among her supporters, even when the other ladies in waiting scowled when Sovieshu comforted Rashta in his arms and whispered to her that the hard part was over, I remained utterly neutral to everything around me, even if it was only partial.
Rashta is my friend, perhaps one of the closest I ever had, but my reputation has already been put at stake before by willingly speaking with her on a regular basis. I can't risk that even more just to look happy for her at a divorce trial.
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3 months earlier
I was preparing for her majesties morning routine as always when Laura burst in so red faced that I almost thought she was blowing smoke out of her ears, Countess Eliza followed suit with a nervous expression. We exchanged greetings like usual but something was still amiss, Laura was passionate but never this passionate unless there was something troubling her and Eliza almost never wore anything other than a simple smile during the day. Both of the ladies' fingers were pruned like raisins, had they just finished bathing the empress?
"Lady Tarital..." I began "Is everything alright?"
Laura didn't waste a second before replying in a sharper manner then she usually did
"No! Everything is not alright! his majesty brought back a trophy from his hunting trip.. a tramp!"
Eliza was quick to shush her
"Lady Tarital, hush now.."
My interest, however, was already piqued. "A tramp you say? I don't see the problem in allowing his majesty to bring in a pet dog"
I'll admit it was a joke that was in poor taste but I figured a little humor wouldn't hurt anyone, not like it mattered though since neither Laura or Eliza found it very amusing.
"This unfortunately is no laughing matter Lady Arwen.. his majesty did indeed bring a filthy looking girl from his hunting grounds, she was covered in mud and her hair appeared not to be brushed for weeks." Eliza explained.
"One leg was leaking pus and blood and the other had been snared by his majesty's trap! We were sure it was either a prisoner or a slave but his majesty made us bathe the unkempt thing anyway!"
Well this I wasn't expecting, people like that were never allowed near the palace for the emperor and empresses safety yet his majesty not only brings home a woman he found caught in a trap but he also has noble ladies bathe her? Normally for anyone lower than the empress they'd be bathed by common maids, not the empress' own ladies in waiting. Not even they bathed themselves with their own two hands.
"Goodness! I can't believe his majesty!' Laura fumed while she threw open the curtains in a huff.
"It was likely just a momentary loss in his majesties judgment, I'm sure it won't-"
"You can't be so sure Beatrice! this is just the beginning of an affair! they always start with a lapse in a mans judgement."
Laura only ever called anyone by their first name when she was at her most furious, it was her way of knocking it into anyone that the situation was dire when she was so upset she forgot basic etiquette. However, she didn't get too far before all three of us heard the doors gently swing open and the empress was ready for the usual routine of hair brushing and tea sipping.
Empress Navier, the ice cold empress of Fahlgren. We got to experience first hand why she got that nickname, her face was always frozen into one expression and that expression was a blend of lips that were always on the brink of a frown and downturned eyes that made her appear tired. When she spoke, it was always with the monotone grace expected of a noble woman and on the rare occasion she was upset. She projected as loud as a military commander. What made her truly intimidating was that her frozen face made It hard to tell if she was upset or simply neutral and all three of us waited for one to decide to risk it to figure out if Navier was displeased with us for gossiping about her husband or if she was just waiting for someone to say something.
I decided to be the one to take that risk and play dumb.
"Good morning your majesty."
We all exhaled a small breath of relief when Navier replied with another good morning, thank goodness, she didn't hear us.
Eliza took charge of brushing the empress's golden locks while I prepared the tea. Laura's face returned to its usual hue as she prepared which dress her majesty will wear today. None of us dared to speak out of fear that someone would crack and tell the empress everything we know about her husband and the mysterious girl he found, leaving only the chirping of the birds outside to lighten the mood. However, as smart as we think Navier is, she's smarter.
"Did something happen while I was away?"
The first one to crack was unsurprisingly Laura, this time though with less yelling then when she told me.
"Indeed! His majesty brought some filthy girl from his last hunting trip. He must've taken a liking to it since he had us wash it."
"We believe she may have been either a prisoner or a slave judging by her conditions... her right leg was caught in the emperors trap and the left leg was gravely injured, so his majesty had her carried inside like a fairytale princess." Eliza added
Both of them abruptly ceased their talking, afraid of making Navier feel self conscious
I returned with the tea and poured a cup for the empress as I've done every morning before, but she doesn't drink it right away, Laura and Eliza have gotten her too curious.
"And?"
This time, Eliza cracked first
"...Even when it was covered in squalor it was quite pretty, and when we finished cleaning the filthy thing, her beauty was only second to the Duchess of Tuania."
I couldn't contain myself after hearing that, this stranger from the town below, a stranger who might be a slave being so beautiful that she could be a rival for the most beautiful woman in Fahlgren? It all sounded like a commoners storybook.
"She really is that beautiful?" I impulsively asked "I suppose even wild flowers growing in the rose gardens can best all other flowers."
Laura shot me a nasty look, the kind of look where everyone but me knows I said something inconsiderate.
"Of course, her beauty couldn't come close to compare to yours, your majesty!" Laura quickly added to make up for my lack of decorum.
I didn't want to listen anymore about these rumors of a slave girl waltzing into the palace, I had a feeling that if I did then I'd get that impulse to add my commentary on the matter which always seemed to be wrong in some way, Either I would notice it and or someone else would and it was always worse when someone else noticed. It was wrong to not immediately defend the empress but you also don't want to be such a suck up that it breached etiquette, you should want to emulate Navier but you also shouldn't actually do it so you wouldn't gain the reputation of a copycat. These aren't exactly official rules but they are unwritten ones for a lady in waiting, you have to look different but not act different. Yet every time I would end up switching from leaning too far on one side to leaning too far on the other, I just couldn't find that middle ground and I'd find myself sucking up too much on one week and being too blunt on the second week.
And right now, my big mouth has possibly left Navier insecure that a wild flower could stand taller then any rose she's ever grown.
Navier wasn't upset though, she was all too used to my inconsistencies and simply started drinking the tea I made for her while she insisted Eliza tell her more.
"His majesty kept asking her things like, "How did you get hurt?" "Why are you so thin?" "You look so pale."
Navier still wasn't so bothered. "That doesn't sound bad at all."
"He even brought her gifts. They weren't much, only a few new outfits for her to wear and some treats to snack on while she recovered.. but there was an atmosphere around them that felt too much to be just friendship."
I expected Navier to brush it off like she had done before, after all if what Laura and Eliza were claiming was the truth it's not like it wasn't common for noble men, especially emperors, to fall for other women. She didn't though, instead she sat there quietly for a moment, tightly gripping the teacup in her hands before releasing slowly.
"I see." The bird's chirping took over as the only audible sound again and 15 seconds of waiting for a response felt like an eternity.
"I'm sure he only brought her because he is a compassionate person."
I guess even empress' like Navier can cling onto hope like that. Maybe that's why she still tolerates me after one year under her wing when I've been less then adequate as a lady in waiting, but then again, she hardly speaks to me, even to order me to do anything that it isn't basic. Its gotten to the point where any extra work I have is only to convince the other ladies I'm not slacking off.
Maybe I'm just overthinking it, I am one of the youngest of the empress' ladies in waiting after all so perhaps Navier is just giving me more leeway until I get it together. ...Or maybe she's aware of how impudent I sound and this is just her equivalent of that nasty stare.