The dinner was quiet, save for the soft chattering of the children. The silence between Samaya and Fu Caiyi was comfortable, companionable. When they spoke, it was mostly about the children or what was going on in the harem.

For the first time in a long time, Samaya felt at ease. There was no one hurting her son, no enemy trying to actively bring her down, and little possibility of another assassination attempt. She could finally just sit and relax like she used to. Dinner with Fu Caiyi made her realize that the woman had become a fixture in her life, one she had missed far more than she'd realized. She made a resolution to spend more time with her.

The children could barely keep their eyes open by the time they were done with dinner. Samaya took a moment to embrace Fu Caiyi, waiting patiently for the surprised woman to hesitantly wrap her arms around her. Once she did, she squeezed her gently and let go.

She then picked Manu up. He immediately wrapped his arms and legs around her, his head plopping down rather ungracefully on her shoulder. She smiled fondly and rubbed his back. With Manu comfortably settled in her arms, she bade the woman farewell and made her way back to her residence, Ah-Liu and her maids falling in step behind her.

The walk back to her own courtyard was quiet. The path was lit by both lanterns and fireflies, creating an ethereal mesh of colors and illumination. She kept half a mind on her surroundings while letting the other drift away, knowing that between the Shadows and Ah-Liu, they were perfectly safe. It was strangely peaceful.

However, the peace seemed to be disturbed as soon as she stepped inside her residence. The servants - most of whom were supposed to retire for the night after concluding their tasks - stood in two separate rows on either side of the doorway, their hands clasped and heads bowed.

Samaya's chest tightened for a moment. Had she relaxed too early?

She quickened her steps. "What's wrong?" She asked the moment she reached them. She could not feel anything and that worried her more.

They bowed to her with an immediate answer. "The Emperor is here."

She blinked for a moment, surprised. And then relaxed, her worst fears fading.

"How long has he been here?" She asked, her eyebrows raised.

The maids glanced at each other, hesitating.

"Well?" Her voice must have come across sharper than she intended. They flinched and bowed their head.

And older servant - Muna, she believed - spoke softly. "About half a shi. Perhaps more."

She blinked again. The Emperor had been waiting for her for more than an hour?!

"Why did no one send for me?" She asked, her voice rising slightly in irritation. While she cared little about etiquette, even she knew not to keep the Emperor waiting for so long. In the Imperial Harem, where the smallest step out of line could bring one's downfall, things like these were quite sensitive.

"Because We ordered them." The familiar voice of the Emperor reached her ears, and she turned to find the man standing at the doorway.

She exhaled softly and turned to the servants. "All of you, leave."

The servants bowed and filed out as quickly as they could. The maids stayed, however. They could not really leave until she retired for the night. Ah-Liu stayed a respectful distance away. Samaya knew he would be keeping watch.

Without speaking to the Emperor, she walked inside with Manu in her arms, making her way to the bed. The boy must have been tired, because he did not stir as she put him down on the bed and tucked him in. Usually, he would move around until he found a comfortable spot against her. Today, though, he seemed to just burrow in the blankets and fall deeper into sleep.

"You'll forgive my lack of manners, Your Majesty." She said as she straightened, her voice taut with subtle displeasure. "It is hard to bow with a child in my arms."

The fact that said child was in bed and her arms were free now escaped no one's notice.

"You are displeased," he said, raising an eyebrow, a hint of amusement glinting in his eyes.

"Perhaps if you thought about the consequences of your actions," she started as she made her way to the parlor so that they would not awaken Manu, expecting the man to follow her, "I would not be."

The slow shuffling of the Imperial robes that the man was donning behind her told her that the man was following her at a leisurely pace. For some reason, her annoyance rose, and she quickened her gait.

"We apologise, Ya'er," the man spoke, in a voice that was once again more amused than apologetic. "We did not know that taking a new concubine would upset you so. If it helps, this was decided long be-"

"I do not care about any concubine!" She spun around the moment they reached the parlor, interrupting the man. "Why would you wait for over half a shi?! Gods, I can already hear those insufferable women talking. Lady Qing made the Emperor wait? Who does she think she is? Does she think that just because she has the Emperor's favor, she can do anything she wants?"

She imitated the annoying, shrill tone of Han Wanyi whenever she yelled or talked down on someone. The man chuckled, the glint in his golden eyes deepening.

"Do not laugh!" She hissed at the man, before exhaling softly to remind herself not to overreact. "Why are you here, Your Majesty?"

"Do We need a reason to visit Our concubine?"

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She rolled her eyes with no attempt to hide her irritation. "If you don't have one, then I trust you can find your own way out. I need sleep."

Turning away from him with a deliberate flick of her sleeve, Samaya took a single step, only for a sharp prickle to race down her spine. Her instincts flared a second before she felt it - a firm hand closing around her wrist.

She barely had time to gasp in surprise before she was tugged back with startling force. Her body collided with the hard line of his chest, and his scent - warm, clean, faintly spiced - engulfed her senses. A strong arm wrapped around her waist, anchoring her there as if to say you're not going anywhere.

"Wait-" she began, startled.

But he didn't. With a subtle shift of his weight, he guided her down with him, their bodies tilting together as they sank onto the nearby couch. Her legs folded awkwardly beneath her, trapped in the tangled folds of her robe and his garments. The motion was too smooth, too practiced, like he had known exactly how to catch her off balance.

She braced a hand against his chest, breathing fast, her heart pounding in her ears. His grip on her waist didn't loosen. His eyes, sharp as ever, were fixed on her, unreadable, but with something simmering just beneath the surface.

It wasn't aggression. It wasn't even desire. But it was a claim all the same.

And it left her breathless.

"What are you doing?" She whispered softly.

"Ensuring Our beloved concubine cannot escape Us." The man's breath ghosted over the shell of her ear, sending a trace of shiver down her spine.

"This is not the time to be playing around, Your Majesty." She sounded steadier and more unaffected than she truly was. She was certain that it did not fool the man, with how her heart was thudding so loudly against her ribcage that even she could hear it.

"Oh, but We are not."

His hand lazily traced patterns over her clothed stomach, making even the skin beneath flutter.

"Is there a point to this, Your Majesty?" She asked softly, finding irritation and the urge to just melt against the hard chest of the man fighting inside of her.

"Why, of course, there is. We need to woo Our beloved concubine, who is clearly upset with Us."

She sighed softly. "I'm not upset."

She could not figure out who she was trying to convince, him or herself.

The Emperor merely hummed before she felt him bury his nose against her neck. He did not go further, did not even allow his lips to graze against her skin, despite being mere centimetres away. He stayed still, seeming content in only breathing in her scent.

Goddamnit. The man knew exactly how to make her weak.

She clenched her teeth, trying her best not to allow her weakness to show. She had no qualms about showing affection to the man, now that she'd decided to open. But… it was too soon after the sudden news that threw her off the loop. She could barely even figure out how to act around the man right now.

"If you have nothing to say, I'll leave. It is time for me to sleep, and these lights are irritating me."

She made up an excuse, but made no move to … well, move. Partly because she knew she could not without breaking into a full on wrestling match, and partly because … she did not want to.

A faint whistle reached her ears as a gust of wind brushed past her, fluttering her robes on the way. The candles flickered once, twice, before collapsing into darkness. The same gust of wind struck the windows open, and the moonlight filtered into the room through the flying curtains, creating a contrast of beautiful silverlight and the shadows dancing across it. The rays of moonlight stopped just short of their tangled feet, leaving them encased in darkness.

"Is that better?" He whispered into her ear.

Having lost her excuse, she sighed and finally settled against him, their positing startlingly reminiscent of their time in the cave, except … far more intimate.

"I suppose."

He went back to nuzzling her neck. There was a comfortable yet charged silence that seemed to stretch endlessly between them, Samaya feeling the steady rise and fall of the man's chest as she lazily counted the number of times the curtains flew in the night air.

It was the twelfth time that the curtains danced upwards when the Emperor finally spoke.

"We did not know that a new concubine would upset you so."

"I am not upset," she denied again.

"You need not lie." His breath tickled her neck.

"I am not," she insisted, a frown marring her face a moment later when she felt the man's hand tighten insistently around her waist. "I am not upset at you, Your Majesty. I am - perhaps - upset at myself."

The man did not speak, only breathed steadily against her neck. She knew he was waiting for her to continue.

She took another moment, her eyes tracing the edges of the rays of moonlight on the floor. And then she spoke.

"I never thought," she started softly, "That I would have to share a man. I did not grow up thinking that … that was an option." She did not mention the fact that the thought of the man in another's bed made her wish to tear everything apart. "But… that is not the worst of it. I was startled, you know, when the news of a new concubine came. And that was because … I … perhaps, I was expecting you to behave like any other lover. Even though I knew, in the back of my mind, that you are the Emperor, and there are certain things you must do, I … forgot that you cannot stop being the Emperor for me. Perhaps, I wanted to forget. It was … foolish of me."

She turned her head slightly and the man finally lifted his head. Their gazes met, and his golden eyes seemed to glow in the dark, boring into her very soul.

"I am upset at myself, Your Majesty, for being upset at the arrival of a new concubine."

The man was quiet for a long time. Then … Samaya saw the faintest trace of a smile curl his lips. "Perhaps, now, you understand how We feel when We hear about your lover."

She blinked at the man, surprised. She had not known that talking about that man had upset the Emperor. A soft groan left and she plopped her head on his shoulder, not unlike Manu had on her shoulder merely an hour ago.

"That is unfair, Your Majesty," she said softly. "My lover is not here anymore. But you have countless women at your disposal, eager to warm your bed. And now one more comes. How many of them must I endure?"

"None," the man whispered and cupped her cheek. "All Our concubines and even the Empress… they are Our duty, Our alliances, Our way of securing the Empire. Nothing more. You, Ya'er," he leaned in closer, "are the only one who has never been an obligation. You have been the only one to conquer Us, body and soul. You have become Our very desire. With them, We fulfill Our duty. With you, We fill the emptiness in Us ."

Anyone else and she would have smacked the bullshit out of them. How could a man claim to love her while laying with countless other woman? But there was something in his voice, a soul deep conviction, that forced her to believe every word. It sent her own heart spiralling.

"You have a way with words, Your Majesty," she whispered, feeling their breaths mingle.

"Does that mean you are not upset anymore?" Their lips were millimeters apart.

"I did not say that." The movement of her lips as she spoke had them grazing against the man's.

The man did not reply, instead pressing his lips to hers. The kiss was tender, soft, lingering, as if wishing to merely sneak a taste of her, in stark contrast to the arm tightening around her waist. Her hands crawled up his body as she deepened the kiss, feeling heat curl in her belly-

"Mama…" The soft, hesitant call from Manu in the next room broke their trance. She pulled back immediately, panting softly.

"Coming!" She called back before looking at the man, lowering his voice into a soft whisper. "Now, I really need to go."

The man's hold on her did not let up, his brows furrowed slightly. It felt almost… petulant. She chuckled softly. The man could be childish sometimes.

"Later, Your Majesty." She said softly and pressed a quick kiss to the corner of his lips. She used the man's surprise at the gesture to twist and slip under and out of the man's grip with a twinkling laugh that echoed in the room, before making her way to Manu with a final "goodnight" thrown over her shoulder.

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