What the Emperor Loves

Daisy was tearing into the innocent rose beds of the imperial garden with a shovel.

She simply could not fathom what Franz was thinking. How was she supposed to find Maia's heart somewhere in this vast imperial palace? And what on earth did he mean by making a trade to restore her feelings once she found it? And since when had this political marriage ever "never changed"? Had the baby been delivered by a stork straight from the heavens, then?

No matter how she turned it over, not a single thing made sense.

Hadn't he simply let slide the fact that she'd defied his orders and run off to the Forest of Illusions?

Daisy concluded that Franz was punishing her on purpose—sending her off on this fool's errand to find his heart. If he thought she'd done wrong, he could have just said he was going to punish her for it. Instead, he'd postponed her knightly duties and ordered her to hunt down the Magician's Heart across an entire palace. It was, truly, an incomprehensible command.

Was she supposed to tear up the palace floors? Rip apart the walls? She couldn't even bring herself to imagine it. And the more she thought, the angrier she became, until Daisy was venting her revenge on the rose garden Franz so loved, wrecking it petal by petal.

"And I have to report to him every single day. Every day! Isn't that just his way of keeping tabs on whether I'm actually doing what he told me?"

She brought the shovel down on the blameless roses, thwack, thwack.

"I'm sure His Majesty has his reasons."

Matheus leaned on his own shovel and said it airily. Condemned for the crime of being Daisy's friend, he'd swapped in for Humbert and was now enthusiastically contributing to the garden's destruction—while doing his best to ignore the gardener's scorching glare from across the grounds.

"Isn't this enough? You think the heart's buried here?"

"Why not? It's the perfect spot. Bury your beloved's heart, then fill the grave with flowers."

"Somehow I don't think that's it..."

"Oh? Then where do you think it is?"

"How would I know?"

At Daisy's curt question, Matheus retreated a step. He couldn't make sense of Franz either. The man claimed his marriage to the Empress was purely political, had a child with her, and now, of all things, wanted to bring Daisy's feelings back to life. Why? Everything was a tangled mess—just like this ruined garden.

"I just! Want! To live! In peace!"

Like a woman possessed, Daisy hacked at the earth. Dirt flew everywhere, spattering Matheus.

"Ah, come on!"

He swatted irritably at himself, hands flailing.

"Sir Knight?"

That was when the angelic voice reached them. Arisa came gliding toward them, the hem of her dress fluttering, a gentle smile on her lips.

"Your Imperial Majesty."

Daisy and Matheus dropped to one knee in salute.

"Please, rise."

At her word, the two straightened up.

"You never even had the chance for a proper welcome after returning from the forest. You've been through so much. Truly, you're remarkable. Thank you for protecting the Empire."

Arisa bowed her head with formal grace, and Daisy and Matheus bowed deeper still.

"We only did what needed to be done."

Daisy offered the Empress the same words she'd been repeating since her return from the forest.

"Who would call such a thing merely a duty? I'm grateful for your sacrifice on the Empire's behalf."

"You honor us too much."

"I hear you're searching for the Magician's Heart."

When Daisy gave an awkward nod, Arisa smiled brightly and went on.

"Yes. I received His Majesty's orders, but I confess I have no idea where or how to begin."

"I only wish I could help in some way."

"Please don't trouble yourself, Your Majesty. This is my task to carry out."

Daisy answered as she brushed the dirt bit by bit from her hands.

"Would you care to take a short walk with me?"

One could hardly refuse an invitation from the Empress, and so Daisy found herself strolling the palace grounds at Arisa's side. Before leaving the garden, she shot Matheus a look that plainly said: no slacking off—keep digging. He pretended not to see it. He would almost certainly be gone by the time she returned.

"The palace gardens are simply beautiful. I never knew flowers like these could bloom in Sayron. My hometown of Dafke has such a mild climate—we have the most wonderful variety of flowers."

Arisa launched into a bright, proud litany about her home. Once upon a time, this woman had hurt Daisy so badly she had thought of dying. And now it meant nothing at all. How, then, could those feelings ever be revived? Daisy swore to herself, silently and absolutely, that she would never find Maia's heart.

"There's something I'd like to ask you."

Only after they had walked a long while and come to a stop before the Red Spring did Arisa finally arrive at her point.

"Ask away."

Something happened to her right here—and she can come back to this place without batting an eye?

Daisy thought this to herself as she answered.

"I hear you and His Majesty trained together since childhood. That even on the battlefield, you trusted each other with your lives."

Did Franz say that?

Daisy searched Arisa's mysterious eyes. But there was nothing in them—nothing but pure, innocent curiosity.

"I would say that's true."

Even if Franz had said such a thing, it was never safe to assume she knew his heart, so that was all Daisy would offer. And even if he truly had seen her that way once, her defiance in running to the Forest of Illusions might well have cost her that trust.

"Then you must know him better than anyone."

"I wouldn't go that far. His Majesty rarely lets anyone see inside him. If anyone knows him best, wouldn't it be Your Majesty?"

She had no idea where the questions were leading, but Daisy did her best to answer honestly.

"I'll be honest with you, then."

Perhaps because Daisy hadn't given the answer she'd hoped for, Arisa pressed on.

"When I was first told to marry the Emperor—truthfully, I didn't want to. You may or may not know this, Sir Knight, but this marriage came about because of what my father needed, and what His Majesty needed."

Daisy had known. But saying I knew felt like the wrong move, so she simply kept quiet.

"But then we had a child, and I thought we were finding our way. Making it work."

Arisa's voice carried on.

"And then I lost the baby—because of what happened here. For a woman, going through something like that... it's as if the sky has fallen. Perhaps you can't understand, Sir Knight."

She spoke with a sorrowful voice, and Daisy could understand. Marriage and motherhood had always been distant from her own life, but as a woman, she could not fail to grasp the weight of such a loss.

"I understand."

"Thank you. In any case, I've had a great deal of time to think while lying in bed. Why did this happen to me? All I ever wanted was to serve His Majesty well. And he was so willing to let me stay by his side."

What in the world is this woman trying to say?

Irritation was beginning to creep up on Daisy. The distance between herself and the Empress was far too vast for listening to someone wallow in misfortune. And after a lifetime lived as a knight, she had no patience for talk that circled the point. She liked everything fast and efficient.

"I've been rambling dreadfully, haven't I."

Arisa wiped a tear and smiled again.

"Not at all."

Daisy answered quickly, caught off guard. Franz was always telling her that her thoughts showed on her face. Had her true feelings shown just now?

"Which is why I've decided to open my heart to His Majesty a little more. Until now, I always kept it closed, telling myself the marriage had been forced on me."

Meaning: even with her heart shut, the Emperor had cherished her—and that was how she'd come to be with child. And now, moved by his devotion, she intended to open up and truly become his wife.

Daisy remembered what the Emperor had said—that the political marriage had never changed. The word political, in his mouth, apparently meant something rather different.

"Since you know His Majesty better than anyone, Sir Knight, that's what I wanted to ask. What does he love? Food, possessions—or perhaps something else entirely. Anything at all."

Daisy turned it over in her mind. Things Franz loved. What had he loved?

But no matter how she searched, nothing came to mind. Franz ate everything set before him, and he ate it fast. He had lived his whole life on battlefields—there had been no time for picky eating or leisurely meals. Yet he'd never loved any particular food, while the list of things he hated was long.

Evading responsibility. Whining. And sleeping on cold, damp ground.

He never fussed about food, but he was terribly particular about where he slept. The memory of her and Matheus scrambling to scrounge up something—anything—to lay down for him came flooding back.

"I'm sorry I can't be of more help. His Majesty doesn't seem to have anything he particularly loves."

That was all Daisy could say.

"How can a person love nothing?"

Arisa asked, sounding genuinely baffled.

"I don't know. I've never seen him take a liking to anything. If I had to name one thing, it would be reading. Whatever it happened to be, he always carried something to read with him."

"You're not just keeping it from me, are you?"

At the insinuating remark, Daisy looked up at her. She was certainly different from before. The angelic voice and manner were the same, and so was the graciousness of an Empress who spoke politely even to those beneath her—but something about her had changed.

"I'm only teasing. You'd never do that, Sir Knight. If anything comes to mind, do let me know—whenever it is."

With a bright smile, Arisa signaled to the Head Maid standing at a distance, and the two of them turned back together.

What was that about?

Daisy stood there for a long while, unable to shake a nameless, unpleasant feeling.