The Emperor's Concubine

Chapter Thirty-Two

"His majesty sent these?" I ask, dumbfounded.
I sit in my bed confused, staring at a large quantity of vases filled with flowers in my room.
Rows of bright coloured flowers in vases stand against the wall, windows, and tables, taking up a majority of my room.
"Yes, my lady. He sent them in hopes of your quick recovery." Lance speaks eloquently.
"He's visited me every night so far, there was no need for him to go through all the effort." I stare at the massive bouquet Lance hands me.
"Yes... To be honest, I tried to stop him from sending so many once I heard from the florist how much he purchased, but I wouldn't be able to stop him if I tried."
"It's very sweet of him to send this many though..." I smell the bouquet, admiring the gentle scent they have.
I fondly gaze at the light pink flowers, accented with the snow white baby's breath.

"Cabel?" I call out, knocking.
I stand and wait in front of his office.
Soon the door creaks open, Cabel looks out at me.
"What are you doing? You shouldn't be walking around." He speaks, holding his hand out to me.
I place my hand on his as he escorts me inside.
"It's okay, I haven't been moving around much so I feel better today."
Cabel shuts the door behind me.
"Where's the knights i had posted to you?" He asks.
"Er... I left them behind." I honestly admit.
"Why's that? If another incident happened-"
"I-I know... I just didn't feel comfortable with them." I smile, walking by his side.
"Did they do anything to you?" His voice growls.
I jump, surprised by the anger bubbling in his expression.
"What?-"
"I'll make sure they can't lay a hand on anyone else if they dared to touch you." His eyes glow vibrantly, looking back at me with eyes of concern and rage.
"N-No! They didn't do anything... It's just..." I trail off, catching the words in my throat.
His expression calms down as he looks at me with eyes of concern.

'I can be honest with him...'
I tell myself, taking a deep breath.
"They didn't do anything... Rather, I'm afraid they will..." I mutter.
The memories of Avris knights hurting me, and trying to carelessly touch me as I grew closer to adulthood come back to me.
Another secret of my past I hoped would go away, yet stayed to causes anxiousness as I faced any other knight.
"I see..." Cabel mutters.
"I-I'm sorry... Please don't punish them. I promise they didn't do anything, it's just my own fears..."
"You have nothing to apologize for." Cabel's long fingers slowly move to tuck my hair behind my ear, "Fear is something people don't have control over. If you're uncomfortable I'll have it arranged so they don't crowd you."
"Thank you for understanding..." I whisper, touched by his consideration.
"Your friend is a guard too, why didn't you fear him?"
"Hayden?"
He nods, escorting me to the sofa.
"Well... I was afraid of him from the authority he gave, but I wasn't afraid he would hurt me... I was never afraid of him in that sense..."
"Hm... We could have him be your guard?"
"No, I couldn't do that to him! That would be a fairly large demotion if he went from a high position to suddenly guarding a concubine." I shake my head, taken aback by his suggestion.
"Then I could be your guard, how's that?" He gives a small playful grin.
I freeze, looking back at his amused expression.
"Well... I-I wouldn't mind if it was you..." I mutter, embarrassed as I truthfully speak.
"Oh? What a brazen concubine I have. Who would have thought you'd want the emperor to be your guard." He raises his brow, flashing a small pleased grin.
My cheeks heat up as I look up at him.
He chuckles, turning away as he walks over to the wall, pulling on a tassel.
"I have some work left to do, but have some tea until I'm done." Cabel gently speaks.
I nod, looking back at him.
He walks back to me, suddenly kneeling on the ground in front of me.
"Y-Your highness! W-What are you doing?" I exclaim, surprised.
"It's Cabel I said. Don't focus on what I'm doing, I'm just checking your injuries."
Cabel's fingers reach out to gently hold my chin, tilting my head upwards.
His other hand lightly pushing the hair away from my neck.
"May I?" He asks, looking up at me as his fingers rest on the neck of the dress.
I nod feeling my cheeks go warm.
His fingers gently push the fabric down, revealing my neck. He analyzes the bruising closely.
I flinch, surprised as I feel his warm breath tickling my neck.
"Did I hurt you?" He rips his hands back quickly, looking back worried.
"N-No, not at all!" I grasp my neck from where it tickled, feeling my body grow warm.
"Was it uncomfortable?"
"N-No, I just..." I trail off, embarrassed.
Cabel stares at me confused, making my cheeks flush even more with his innocent gaze.
"Hm? You're getting red, do you have a cold?" He worriedly asks, moving up slightly.
He moves closer towards me, pressing his hand against my forehead.
I jump back as his eyes carefully examine me.
"Ah!" I jump back, hiding my flushed cheeks, "I-I promise I'm okay!"
"Then, what's the matter?"
"I-It was just because you were so close... Your breath, tickled my neck..." I quietly state, looking away.
I glance back at Cabel, his ears and cheeks turning red.
"Oh I see."
Cabel stands up, looking away.
I look up at him dumbstruck, as I stare at the 'demon' emperor wearing such a vulnerable expression.
His cheeks slightly shaded of rose, with his ears growing tomato red. My cheeks begin to heat up more, my heartbeat quickening as I look back at his expression.
We stay in place flustered, too embarrassed to move or speak.

"Your highness?"
Lance calls out, knocking on the office doors.
We both flinch at the sound of his voice.
"Enter, bring the tea here for Luna." Cabel speaks, embarrassed.
Lance enters, looking at the both of us, confused.
Cabel walks to his desk, sitting down. He turns the chair around as he reads a document.
Lance places the tea set in front of me.
"My lady? Are you ill? Your cheeks appear red." Lance asks, staring at my face.
"N-No, I'm okay! Thank you so much for the tea!" I eagerly speak, attempting to hide my embarrassment.
"Of course... Shall I bring a book for you to read?" Lance replies, confused by my actions.
"Yes! That'll be perfect, thank you."
"Of course, my lady."
Lance glances again at me as he walks away. He bows, shutting the door behind him.