Crimson and Gold

After Saria darted from her room, Lysandra hastily collected herself and went to see her father, per his request.

“Is everything alright?” he asked, seeing his daughter slightly disheveled and slightly out of breath.

“I’m fine. I was… occupied with something,” Lysandra said, clearing her throat and giving her best attempt at acting as usual.

The Emperor studied her from behind his desk for a moment, then seemed to relax. “You took the guards somewhere today. Did something happen?”

“Nothing important. I just had to deal with an unruly pest.”

“Do you need my help?”

Lysandra shook her head. “He’s been dealt with. He won’t be a problem anymore.”

Octavius nodded and leaned back in his chair.

“Loukios is returning from Helle. I received a message today.”

“I thought he wouldn’t be back until next month?”

Not long before Lysandra and Saria met, her brother left Aervelis to spend some time with his wife. At least that was the official version.

The Princess had suspected that his sudden desire to travel had more to do with the plans he had for her, and his absence was supposed to clear him of suspicion if something were to happen.

Lysandra didn’t anticipate that he would suddenly decide to come back, and a full month earlier.

“Melite is pregnant,” the Emperor explained. “They decided to shorten their stay so she could travel more comfortably.”

“I see.”

The unexpected change in her brother’s plans created complications.

They weren’t anywhere close to getting back Drusus, and Lysandra worried that Loukios’ return meant that they were running out of time.

They had to act fast.

Octavius watched the expression on Lysandra’s face darken.

“I know you and Loukios don’t exactly see eye to eye,” he started, “But he’s still your brother and the future emperor. He will be the one to take care of you once I’m gone.”

As the eldest son, Loukios was the Crowned Prince of Aelius. From a very young age, Octavius had been preparing his son to take over the rule of the Empire from him.

In his eyes, it was natural that once he took over, one of the responsibilities would be to provide for his family. Especially his younger sister.

“I hope you two can try getting along. It would let your father sleep peacefully knowing his children care for one another,” the Emperor said.

Lysandra put a great effort into trying to believe his words.

Nevertheless, the fruits of this effort crumbled whenever she remembered that all of her father’s love and affection were for display.

Truth was, Octavius cared only about publicity and keeping up the pretenses. In his eyes, it was their responsibility as the royal family to uphold a certain image.

He was the perfect loving father in public, while in the privacy of their home, he was distant and never present.

It wasn’t as bad when her mother was still around. Part of her wondered if her father’s disinterest in his children was the result of the grief he felt after losing his wife.

At least, that was something she wanted to believe.

Lysandra was still a child when her mother passed away unexpectedly.

Most of her memories from early childhood are filled with loneliness, a distant father, and Loukios taking out his grief and hurt on her.

At first, she tried mending their relationship. She tried being understanding and patient, but her brother never reciprocated the gesture. It felt like the more she tried, the stronger his anger grew.

Eventually, she gave up and tried distancing herself to live her own life.

Perhaps, she would ultimately forgive him for all the times he mistreated her, but then she found out just how deep his hatred reached.

The day she learned that Loukios was conspiring to kill her, the last ounce of sympathy she had for him disappeared.

Despite the strong front she put up, she was devastated. She couldn’t understand what she could have possibly done to deserve this much vitriol from him.

It hurt her more than she let anyone know. It almost broke her.

The only reason she was able to collect herself and fight back was having people who supported her.

Drusus and her mysterious friend. Both of whom were now taken from her by Loukios.

“I understand,” she answered with a schooled expression. “I will do my best not to worry you, Father.”

The Emperor sighed. “I hope you know that you are both my children and I love you both equally.”

“I know,” Lysandra smiled, but the feelings never reached her eyes. “If that’s all, I’ll take my leave. I had a long day.”

“Before you go. I wanted to discuss one more thing,” the Emperor called after her.

“What is it?”

“It’s about that slave you bought…”

Lysandra’s heart skipped a beat. Talking about Loukios made her temporarily forget everything that had just happened, or almost happened, between them.

“Saria.”

“Hm?”

“Her name is Saria,” she corrected him, hoping that her father wouldn’t notice her burning cheeks.

“Yes. Saria,” he repeated, his voice becoming colder than before. “I noticed you’ve been spending a lot of time with her as of late.”

Lysandra forced a stiff smile. “Wasn’t that the purpose of buying her in the first place?”

“She’s a daethri. Her purpose is to fight.”

“She is fighting. She had just won a fight a week ago.”

“One fight in a week is not enough.”

“She needs time to rest and recover.”

“She is a slave. A tool. Not some pet to be kept among the pillows,” the Emperor forced through his teeth. The anger was clear in his raised voice.

Lysandra clenched her fists, but didn’t say anything.

It was always like this. Every time her father raised his voice, she would get paralyzed, shrinking into herself. Becoming the same scared little girl, hiding behind her mother.

She could face anyone and anything. She could bring her wrath upon anyone who dared to threaten her or the people close to her.

Anyone, except for her father.

“I’ll look for more opportunities for her to fight,” Lysandra answered after some time.

She didn’t want Saria to fight more than necessary. She didn’t want her to face anyone who could pose a real threat to her. She was already risking her life helping her.

The least Lysandra could do was to make sure the fights in the arena were as easy as possible without raising suspicion.

“There’s no need. Loukios will take over as her dheris once he’s back.”

Lysandra’s eyes widened. “But father—”

“End of discussion. You may leave now.” Octavius didn’t even look at her, turning his attention to the documents before him.

Left with no other option, the Princess turned around and left without a word.

Later that night, Lysandra finally lay down in bed. Both her body and mind felt the weight of the day.

The fatigue made her yearn for rest, but the hazy feeling in her heart was making it difficult to relax.

So much had happened, and it was just one day.

Adrian and his unwanted advances. The fear of Saria going missing. Confrontation with Sulla, then her father.

The kiss.

Heat rushed to her head the moment the memories flashed in her mind. Saria’s touch still lingered on her skin, the taste of her lips still vivid in her mind.

Lysandra’s fingers subconsciously rose to her face and followed the trail of kisses left by the other.

Her disputatious heart raced against the reason, as if it was calling her out, forcing her to admit something she had been stubbornly avoiding.

Groaning in frustration, Lysandra turned to the side and hugged the pillow like a drowner clinging to a piece of driftwood.

Mixing private life with business, especially one of that importance, wasn’t something she did. She did play her part in reinforcing the image everyone had of her, that was true, but it was always a game of pretenses.

It benefited her more than not, even if she had to meet being looked down upon with a smile. Public appearances became her scene, and she was the actor, obediently playing her role. In private, she could be herself.

And that troubled her, because her true self and the role she assumed both started sharing the same feelings and the same yearnings.

All focused around that crimson-eyed woman who suddenly appeared in her life.

The only person she could count on right now.

Ridiculous.

Harboring such desires would only destroy their relationship. If she were to make a move and Saria rejected her, it would leave a scar on their friendship and forever sully it. Even worse, it would make it impossible to continue their cooperation.

Was Lysandra willing to give it up just to satisfy the selfish yearning in her heart?

Of course not.

But what if Saria didn’t say ‘no’?

No matter how much she tried to reason, Lysandra couldn’t simply pretend not to notice the stolen glances, the admiration, and care.

And the teasing felt like more than a simple mischief.

Was it really fine to give in to the temptation and make their relationship even more complicated than it already was?

“Why did you have to go somewhere when I need your advice, Zahra?” she sighed and forced herself to sleep.