Episode 1

Black is the Color of Lust

The sinister darkness envelops her being as the overwhelming smell hangs in the air; it is the mixture of her own blood and sweat, intermingling with the musky scent that is both familiar and unfamiliar.

She feels warm drips on her cheek, and in the darkness, she is unable to see whether the warm drips are her tears, blood or sweat. She attempts to wipe them away, but feels the cold and heavy iron cuffs attached to chains that bind her to the bed. In an instant, panic begins to flare within and she sobs, as the horrifying voices of men begin to surround her.

"No…" she attempts to plead with them, yet in her nightmares, they have no eyes or ears or noses. Their eyes never see the wounds both on her and in her. Their ears never hear her anguished pleas. And their noses never detect the scent of her despair.

"Yes," their mouths utter, making guttural moans. In her nightmares, they are creatures only with mouths and hands and organs that continue to plunder her mercilessly, night after night, as soon as she closes her eyes. In the world of dreams and nightmares, she is not the Iron Empress. She loses the clarity, calm and sense of self that had been preciously gifted to her by her most important person. She becomes nothing but dirt and defilement.

"No!" she shouts again, full of desperation. Her consciousness seemingly hears her torment, and she begins to feel a warmth on her chest this time as her eyes are forced open, stabbed by a bright light.

-0-0-0-

"Meow," a sound is heard, seemingly right on top of her. Daylight surrounded her as she opened her eyes and her maidservant opened the curtains of her bedchambers. The sound came from a little black cat, sitting right on her chest. The cat seemed to be any regular cat at first glance, but upon closer inspection, a golden necklace-like pattern could be seen around its neck. As she looked at the cat, it stared right back at her, almost as if to say, "About time. What kind of ruler stays in bed until the sun is high up, ah?"

Qu Ling Yue immediately tried to get up the bed at the same time that the black cat nimbly jumped off of her chest onto the floor and leisurely walked out of site. "Has your highness arrived?", she asked the maidservant, her voice barely able to hide the tinge of happiness and excitement.

"Yes, Your Highness. His Highness the Emperor arrived late in the night and you were already within your bedchambers. He had ordered us not to go to you as there was no need for us to wake you up," reported the maidservant as her head was bowed respectfully.

The maids in the Imperial Palace of the Fire Country had long observed that their Emperor had a cold and aloof personality, even to his wife, their Empress. However, they did notice that whenever he arrived from whichever place he had been off to, he would always see the Empress first and would stay shut in the imperial study with her to talk to her before busying himself with other affairs. Despite his cold demeanor however, his subjects knew that their Emperor will always protect their country and the people, especially the people close to his side. It was also very much certain that, despite his seeming nonchalance, his Empress had a deep care for him.

Her impress, the maidservant sighed. Whenever His Highness was around, her Empress often seemed to be floating with her mind somewhere, with a smile that precious few were able to see. As she thought herself lucky to be able to see that smile, she quickly gave a reminder to Her Highness regarding the bath she prepared and the clothes that have been set out for her. Appearing to snap out of her reverie, the Empress quickly got off the bed, her fair yet scarred skin slipping away from under the covers as the maidservant shyly averted her eyes.

Having served under her for close to a year, the maidservant was slightly aware of the origins behind their quiet Empress. The maidservant knew that she hailed from the Thousand Beasts Clans and that she was the accomplished daughter of the clan chief. Before she came to the Fire Country, the Empress was already quite a bit known as a talented youngster from the War Banner Academy and she had decent skills in combat due to her above spirit powers. Beyond that, she had never found out about anything else about the Empress' background. Well, there were those rumors, but… The maidservant shook her head. She must not disrespect her Highness with inappropriate musings such as this. She began to straighten the bed and whistled a soft tune as she worked.

The whisper of soft melodies reached Qu Ling Yue as she lay immersed in the warm water of the tub. She sighed as she laid back, feeling like she was melting from the warmth and comfort. She was now Empress Ling Yue of the Fire Country, waited upon by countless servants. She was called the Iron Empress by her people, who at first were hesitant to accept her as Fire Country's own, being a complete outsider. If people told her she would be like this during the dark times in that dreaded dungeon, she would have received it as some sort of torment that would only drive her to harbor wishful thinking.

And yet, her "husband" had made it possible, and she now ruled the Fire Country by "his" side. She sighed again, a much deeper sigh this time that had nothing to do with the water. Knowing the tremendous secret behind "His" Highness had failed to stop her miserable little heart from beating a rhythm that she knew was sadly never going to me matched. That was because…

Knock! Knock! Qu Ling Yue jerked up from the water, almost immersing her whole body in it as her elbows slipped. "Your Highness, His Highness the Emperor has heard that you were awake and requests your presence in the Imperial Study," her maidservant announced.

Qu Ling Yue quickly yet carefully got up from the tub and answered, "Alright, I will be right out." It was hopeless, she chuckled wryly as she dried herself, catching herself in another flight of fancy. Her maidservant helped her dress up in resplendent red robes, a golden phoenix pattern embroidered gracefully around the robe. Its wings were embroidered on both sleeves and Qu Ling Yue had the distinct illusion that she was a flaming bird about to take flight as she walked. Oblivious to the admiring gazes of her servants, the Iron Empress walked slowly on the hallway unimpeded until she reached the door to "his" study.

Qu Ling Yue heard a soft "Come in," even as she was about to knock. That voice, although muffled by the door, caused her already trembling heart to beat double time and she struggled to compose herself anew, and looked around her before she opened the door. She quickly shut and locked it after stepping inside, keeping her head bowed as she turned to face "him".

"The Empress greets His Highness," she said respectfully, keeping her gaze on the floor and only able to see the front side of the Emperor's writing desk.

"Raise your head," he ordered almost callously and without preamble, as per usual. Those who never talked to the Emperor would think that he did not care in the slightest about "his wife". However, it was just that he detested rules of formality such as royal greetings and preferred to directly go straight to the conversation. Qu Ling Yue smiled as she raised her chin to look at her "husband" for the first time in over a year.

The first thing she noticed were "his" unchanging eyes, silvery grey with unfathomable depths. They could be as cool and bottomless as a deep lake under the dark grey clouds in one instance or overwhelmingly vicious and merciless the next. Today, "he" simply looked at her expressionlessly, with a tinge of appraisement in those eyes.

"It seems that you have grown once again, Your Highness," Qu Ling Yue commented as she sat down on the seat in front of "him", almost akin to a student presenting herself before her revered master. She could feel a different kind of strength around "him". It was not the same aura that "His Highness" had before "he" abruptly left right before "his" proclamation to the throne.

"Hmm", he replied carelessly, and within that sound, Qu Ling Yue could almost hear "him" say, "You're not that bad yourself, either." It was true that Qu Ling Yue was also able to cultivate herself from the yellow spirit to the orange spirit. Right before His Highness made that trip, she had been close to a breakthrough to the orange spirit and she would have been able to do that earlier, if not for what had happened to her. Her eyes darkened as unwanted images began to swim in her vision.

The Emperor noticed her eyes dim and he raised his eyebrows slightly. "Something?" he asked, choosing to stick to monosyllable questions, as per usual.

Qu Ling Yue shook her head, a little annoyed that she was unable to hold her emotions in check. It always seemed to be like this, almost as if she and her entire being remained open to "his" perusal whenever she was in front of "him". "Your highness has succeeded in your travels?" she asked instead, keen to change the subject and get away from "his" slight interrogation.

"Hmm," he repeated as he nodded in agreement, while keeping his gaze trained on Qu Ling Yue's bashful countenance. "How is the current situation regarding the Condor country's dissolution?" asked the Emperor instead. And just like that, Qu Ling Yue was able to relax as she focused on delivering a full report regarding the goings on in the Fir Country and its neighboring regions during the Emperor's last absence.

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