Chapter 167 FORTY EIGHT: Last Night…

"Your Majesty?"

Kel squeaked as Calix pulled her toward his tent's door flap.

The black and red dragons covering the canvas seemed to bare their teeth menacingly as they grew closer.

When they finally reached the terrifying illustrations, the emperor used one arm to hold the flap open and thrust Kel inside.

Nearly tumbling to the ground, Kel braced herself against the closest solid object, which happened to be a wooden chair set in front of a desk. She drew in a sharp breath, her fingers closing more tightly around the chair as the door fell closed, surrounding her in darkness.

"... Your Majesty" she whimpered again.

Suddenly, an orange light exploded, bathing the entire tent in its warm glow. At the source of the light stood Calix, holding an oil lamp.

With his dancing, scarlet eyes focused intently on Kel, he began taking brisk steps across the tent.

Kel clung to the wooden chair as if it were a lifeline, raising her shoulders defensively as the intimidating man approached. The orange light made his eyes even more fiery than usual, and her face began to burn under their gaze.

With a thud, Calix slammed one hand next to hers on the chair as he reached past with the other to place the lamp on the desk.

For what seemed like an eternity, Kel found herself trapped between the Dragon Emperor's firm arms, his chest only an inch away from hers. She feared if she took too deep of a breath, their bodies would collide.

"It makes me angry..." a deep growl came from the emperor's throat as he stared into the lamp's flames.

Kel, still holding her breath, tried to shrink away, only to freeze as the burning stare instantly turned back to her.

"To think you would dare take orders from another man," Calix continued, his fingers slowly crawling closer to Kel's, "while your master is right in front of you."

"Sorry.." the last of the breath Kel had trapped in her lungs came out as a tiny whisper.

The emperor's unyielding gaze held her captive, unable to move or speak any further.

"... What's your name?"

Finally, Calix spoke again.

"I-it's Kel, Sir," Kel gulped.

It was a question that didn't need to be asked. Of course Calix knew her name. He'd known it from the moment he first saw her brilliant eyes, blazing in the setting sun.

But he'd never heard it from her lips.

"Haaa." Gently, the emperor lowered his head onto Kel's thin shoulder. "I get jealous, Kel."

"I'm.. sorry," Kel said quietly again, unsure how to respond.

The situation now was entirely different from that of a master-servant or commander-subordinate relationship. It was more like a man, possessed by a woman he couldn't quite hold on to.

"By the end of the night," Calix raised his head again, his eyebrows lowered into a glare, "you will have no doubts who your master is."

True to his word, until the wee hours of the morning, the emperor's tent was filled with nothing but Kel's heavy breaths and muffled groans.

"Attendant!"

"Yes.. Yes, Sir?" Kel shot up out of the chair for the hundredth time. This time, the emperor had allowed her to sit long enough to just start drifting off to sleep before he called again.

"Drinking water," the emperor commanded in a feigned sleepy tone.

"Again?" Kel sighed. "I brought so much already-"

"I said get more drinking water!" the emperor barked from where he was curled up happily in his bed, watching Kel run in and out of the tent on useless errands.

When the skyline began to turn gray from the rising sun, the emperor rose to find his little attendant curled up on the small wood chair, the object of her latest errand still dangling from her fingers.

"What would I even need this for?" Calix snorted softly, tossing the spare tent lashing to the ground and scooping the attendant in his arms.

"It's almost amusing how diligent you are at a time like this, Kel."

Two hours later, when the sky was pink with dawn and the usual morning bustle of the Dragon's Heart had begun, Kel woke to find herself in a strange place.

"Mmmm," she mumbled, squinting into the darkness.

The lamp she had kept faithfully lit to guide her as she ran all about camp last night had finally gone out, and everything around her was gray.

"What time is it.." Kel yawned, propping herself up on her elbows.

Squish.

"Eh?" Kel pressed harder against her forearms.

Squiiiiiiiiish.

That couldn't be right. The only soft thing in the emperor's tent was...

"Eek!" Kel yelped, throwing the thick blanket off her. "Why.. How....?"

Glancing around wildly, she wondered when she had fallen asleep and, more importantly, why it was the Dragon Emperor's bed she had awoken in.

Speaking of which, where was the emperor?

Judging by the low hum outside, it seemed nobody was disassembling tents yet, which meant it was still fairly early in the morning.

Had the emperor felt guilty for forcing her to run around all night and let her use his bed?

"Hmmph, serves the both of us right then," Kel huffed, sinking back down into the soft bedding.

After a few seconds, her eyebrows knit together and then her eyes flew open again.

"Nope. I should get out."

After pulling her boots on and adjusting her headband, Kel ducked out of the emperor's tent.

The sun was higher in the sky than she had guessed. By this time, the cavalry should already be preparing to set out and at least half of camp should have been taken down.

"Hey attendant!"

Kel turned to see an officer she didn't recognize running toward her.

He wore black armor, decorated with the markings of a colonel. When he reached her, he extended a large steaming bowl.

"Breakfast?" the man asked.

"Uh.. thanks," Kel hesitantly took the offered bowl. "Wait, why is there so much?"

Was this man giving her his personal meal? The bowl full of rice, meat and fruits certainly wasn't the breakfast of an infantryman or lowly attendant.

"Oh, that.." The man paused, his cheeks reddening as his eyes dropped to the ground.

"The emperor.. said you needed to replenish all the energy you used last night."