Descendants

Chapter III - Disruption

Thank you very much to LeeannMor4 and acodellwriter for adding this to their reading lists, and to everyone who decided to read/vote for my story so far! Leeann's comments were also very motivating :)
______

To the North of the massive library was a building of even more magnitude, in which Emperors and Empresses lived throughout all their days since the fall of the Past Life. Great stoneworks of marble and ivory pillars laced in gold towered around many steps.

The perimeter of this immense gradation was surrounded with Imperial guardsmen, and never empty of such. The ascent alone required a great deal of endurance for the common man, as they stretched two furlongs uphill before meeting with heavy oak doors.

Deep into the east wing, the Emperor and his family had only recently begun their noon meal amidst a hoard of maidservants and cooks, all effortlessly succeeding in not spilling any contents onto the royals or their opulent surroundings.

The young prince stirred his lunch slowly, his nose scrunched up in annoyance.

"Why is the soup pink, Mommy?"

"Because of the paprika Bairon," the Empress sighed as she knew more was to come.

Her son had recently reached the inexplicable age where questions quite literally had no limits. Especially for his mother, who had lost count by the time they'd finished breakfast earlier that day.

"Why is there paprika though?"

"To make the soup pretty, sweetie. Now eat up, the chefs prepared it special since your stomach issues of late."

"Why?"

She gave him a pursed smile, although the young boy had no idea what its inclinations were. Even if he did know, that surely would not have been enough to stop him. The Emperor watched on in amusement.

"Because you're the prince, sweetie."

The boy scrunched up his nose more and pouted, making his younger sister giggle.

"Pink is a girl's color. Like what the pretty lady coming from Daddy's room had on this morning!"

The Emperor nearly choked on his own meal from such abounding laughter, causing half a dozen servants to nearly panic until he hastily chugged the veal down with wine. His wife's face became extremely flushed, though she kept her composure.

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" he said to them, "You'll smother me if you don't give me some damn space! Now, boy. What did the lass look like, eh? Curvier than those legless critters yo--"

"Dearest husband, while your nightly adventures are your right as his Highness I do believe the poor boy is too young to hear of such things."

The Emperor huffed, "He won't be a boy for long, Audrine. And you're damn right I've earned it, after all the fighting and warri--"

He was cut off once more, much to his annoyance. However, unlike his wife, the boy still was learning manners.

"Mommy I still don't want the pink soup. It's too girly. Give it to Lynn."

"I don't want it!" his younger sister whined, "It's got potatoes! And Mommy said it was made a-special for you!"

"Special, darling," her mother corrected. The girl huffed, much like her father.

"Will you at least try it without a potato for me? I don't want to taste it if it's bad. I'll let you have a candy later if you do."