“Stop being such a baby! You can’t let them go in there alone, are you crazy?”
“You’re the one who said you were fine with us laying low!” he protested, rubbing his painful shoulder.
“That was before I knew there was someone in this crazy Imperial Palace capable of helping the old man! Stop being a coward, or are you going to let your father die? And your brother’s woman, too? What do you think the War God will do to your skinny ass once he finds out?!”
Once again, Opheus let out a long groan of exasperation. Behind Cassandra, Missandra had a hard time not laughing. However, Mariana was not done with him.
“I’m so fed up with you! Do you want Vrehan to get on the throne, perhaps? Because I know I don’t! He’s going to have us all line up and fucking slaughter us!”
“Fine, fine! Stop hitting me, you crazy woman, I get it!”
If the situation hadn’t been so dramatic in itself, it would have been quite funny to witness the Prince being bossed around by his wife... Mariana stopped, though she did threaten him with another slap, making Opheus take one step away from her. She then turned to Cassandra, taking back a serious and gentle expression scaringly fast.
“Sorry about that. Anyway, of course, we will help you, especially if there’s a chance you can help the Emperor. We don’t know much, though, except for the fact that he’s in Vrehan’s apartments. No one opposed it when they moved him, so I guess he already had most of the people in the Palace working for him. There are guards, too. Don’t worry, though, we can find a way.”
“Are you serious?” whispered Opheus, though everyone there could hear him.
Mariana nodded and smiled at him.
“They just need to be able to get in, right? All we need is a distraction. Looks like your crazy mother is going to be useful for once.”
The six men guarding the door to the Second Prince’s apartments were bored.
They didn’t quite understand why a simple entrance door within the Palace was so heavily guarded, as absolutely nothing was going on in that area of the Imperial Palace. Of course, the death of the First Prince had caused quite a stir, but since the funeral had been held in a hurry, and the Second Prince had left, it had been rather quiet. The men actually had no idea what was going on behind those doors, or who they were truly guarding. They were aware of some rumors that the Emperor had been placed in the Second Prince’s apartments, but they had no confirmation of it. The servants always talked a lot between themselves, while the soldiers were supposed to keep their tongues tied, unless they wanted to lose their position.
Becoming an Imperial Guard was such a prestigious position, with a heavy salary, yet not much actual work to do, that many envied their position. It took either a lot of work, a lot of money, or good connections to get there. Sometimes a bit of all three, but in any case, they had done the hardest part. Unless they were aiming for a higher position, those men could spend their days guarding doors and simply wait for their paychecks to come. They didn’t need to guard the inside of the Princes’ or Princesses’ apartments, either. Most of them had their own militia, and the others hated any intrusion on their privacy. Plus, there was a long history of Concubines getting into some bad fights over rumors of one another sleeping with the personnel. Since the latest scandal that had the Emperor see red, all of the Imperial Guards had been strictly banned from entering the private chambers of the Imperial Family, unless explicitly being told otherwise.
Those men didn’t have much to entertain themselves with. They would lurk at the pretty young servant girls going by, but that was pretty much their only entertainment all day long.
Hence, when the two women appeared at one end of the corridor, they turned heads as soon as they heard the first screaming. Those among the soldiers who recognized them frowned or chuckled nervously, already aware of what was going on.
“You useless little bitch!” the middle-aged woman yelled. “You can’t even give me one heir, one! What did you marry my son for if it’s for just standing here like a decorative vase?! You’re useless! Useless!”
“Take it down a notch, you old harpy! Fucking get a grip! Because Ophe agreed to marry me doesn’t mean I’m gonna pop out a child within the year!”
“Don’t call him so familiarly before you even get pregnant! I don’t know why my son was so adamant about marrying you, but you better give me a grandson quickly, or I’ll have your head!”
“My head? And what are you going to do with it? Did you forget that I am his wife? He can’t get another woman, now. I’m never allowing it, so you better be happy with who you got and suck it up!”
The soldiers were trying hard not to laugh at the scene. Aside from the Imperial Concubine, no one was blind as to why the Fourth Prince had agreed to marry Lady Mariana. Certainly not to produce any heirs, for one. It was even quite surprising that his mother was still holding on to the pitiful illusion that Prince Opheus could ever produce any children, given his tastes. Lady Mariana was actually doing a good job of acting as his fence against his delusional mother, but even the Emperor had completely given up on his Fourth Son...and his hysterical mother.
“I should have never agreed to that! You’re just a useless, little, scheming swine! You did it all for the money! And to kill me! You’re going to kill me!”
“Yes, yes... Aren’t we getting a little big on the drama, mother-in-law?” said Mariana, ignoring her to keep going towards the soldiers.
“You’re useless! Useless!” Kept screaming the woman behind her.
“Old hag,” sighed Mariana, approaching the men with a smile. “Sorry about the ruckus, soldiers. Can I go in? I was supposed to have tea with Concubine Gloriata, but I can’t find her.”
The men felt a bit flustered at one of the Princesses addressing them so politely and gently. They were more used to the rude and mighty attitude of the concubines. Moreover, Mariana was a very pretty woman, and she was standing a bit closer than normal in her flattering purple dress.
“S-Sorry, Princess Mariana, we are not supposed to let anyone in.”
“What? Really?” she said, looking surprised. “Is everything alright in there? I...”
“You swine! I’m not done talking!” yelled the woman behind her.
“Oh, shut up!” roared Mariana, turning to her. “Can’t you see that I’m talking to these gentlemen? Do you have to make a fuss all the time? I don’t know how Ophe’s put up with you all these years!”
