Chapter 2

• *12 hours earlier* 
• “They say that people are connected. What is keeping them like this is an unseen red string, tied to each one of us. If you follow it, it will lead you to the person you are tied to. You might not know the person, have nothing to do with him, but your fates are entangled together. Your actions will determine not only your fate, but his. I always knew my string of fate, I know where it lands. What I don’t know is you, the person that is tied to. I’m connected to you, but I don’t know you. I wonder, how are you gonna change my fate, when it’s already sealed?”.
• Today is the final day that Arianna will be a princess. From now one she will be an Empress. But it's just a title with no power at all. It is only a jewelry that a wife can wear and brag about it.
• But, does it have any meaning? Arianna knows that it doesn't. She knows that being a princess gave her nothing but hardship and this new promotion it isn't a blessing, but a curse. Unfortunately, she has no control over her life. She is something that people can own and can sell whenever they like. Today she is her father's property, but in a few hours, she will belong to the Emperor.  
• Emperor Lon has already other three spouses. The first is Katzin, having two daughters with her, the second is Milen, having three daughters, and the third is Ti, having none children as she is barren.
• It seems that the Emperor is cursed. No matter how many times he tried, he was not blessed with a son. The oracle interpret this as a message from the Gods; that he hasn’t found the right wife. So, after a long search and at his 50th birthday, he found his fourth wife, Arianna.
• She has been living in the city of Zhen for three months since the deal was sealed. There, she learned how to behave and act as the wife of the Emperor and now she is considered ready. The whole city is on alert and getting ready for the wedding, presents from all over the kingdoms arrive, the servants decorate the city and palace, and the people are sewing new clothes for the upcoming event.  
• On Arianna’s champers, the maids prepare her bath using colorful soaps that smell like strawberries and vanilla. After that, they start fixing her hair and dressing her into layers of silk. Most of her hair are pinned up to her head with white and purple flowers. Her dress is long and white with wide sleeves that start from the middle of the shoulders and end up down to her knees and a broad red velvet waistband is decorating the dress.  
• Thousands of people gather on the palace, royals and citizens, ready to watch the wedding. King Eris (Arianna’s father) with his son Kron, are sitting on the front along with the kings and queens of other kingdoms. The ceremony begins. The priest mumbles some word written on a book, the servants brew a kind of smoke that smells like orange and vanilla, giving blessing, and the three spouses gossip with jealousy about Arianna.
• The rite ends and the soldiers start throwing fireworks. People congratulate the couple and all move to the feast. Arianna is pale, thinking that she will spend all of her life with a man than only likes drinking, war and women. They sit on the table and hundreds of meals are being served. Emperor Lon and King Eris drink wine and talk about the past. Dancers fill the stage doing acrobatics and spitting fire from the mouths.  
• For Arianna, all happened so fast she can’t comprehend what has occurred till now. She doesn’t even remember her husband’s face. ‘So weak’ she thinks of herself.
• In all this, a thin and tall woman with a long nose approaches her and says, "My young Empress, I'm queen Ellie, wife of King Wun from the kingdom of the Fox. I came here to congratulate you to your marriage with our Emperor". Arianna nods putting on a fake smile to show her gratitude. 
• The woman continues, “Well, you see I've noticed how pale you look and how forced that smile was. Forgive me but, I don't think you enjoy this, even though every woman here is jealous of you, wanting to have your beauty and your place next to the Emperor. So, if I may ask, having all this riches within your grasp, why are unhappy?”.
• Arianna stops smiling and raises her cup of wine, drinking it all in one go. She looks back at Ellie and answers, “Yes my lady, I'm rich, I'm pretty, I'm married to the most powerful man in the world. But, I don’t remember having a saying in all these. Everything is decided for me, to marry a man that I will never love or love me, to be in a city of strangers that wear masks to hide who their are. But please, don't think for a second that I'm not happy!”. 
• Arianna immediately regrets her decision of saying all these. She could hanged for treason.
• Ellie tilts her head a little bit and grabs her chin thinking. After a while she smiles and says, “Well, some people are born into power, and some don't. Some have to fight to survive and others die for having too much. Food for thought, my young Empress”. With a delicate bow she leaves. 
• After some hours, nightfall comes and the Emperor stands up, raises his glass and says, “Thank you my friends for travelling and celebrating with me! But it's time for us to leave. Please, keep on drinking till the morning comes, in my name!”, and everyone says together, “Emperor Lon!”. 
• The maids take Arianna to the Emperor's champers. There, they undress her and they give her to wear something light and revealing while they comb her hair down. 
• All of the servants start leaving, having prepared the bed. The last, opens the big window and whispers to her, "Everything is gonna be fine", and she leaves fast. 
• ‘What was that?’. 
• Emperor Lon enters the room. Candles are burning with a scent of roses. She is standing, being stiff, her heart is beating like a thousand horses. He reaches for her cold cheek and a tear is about to roll on her skin. He says, “Oh no no. You won’t cry here. No one's gonna help you. I own you dear so now, be a good girl”.
• She closes her eyes wishing that this will be over. She holds her dress tight and takes a big breath. 
• A ringing is set in her ear. “Ugh” she mumbles as it hurts. She grabs it, only to make it worse. It feels cold and like a piece of it is missing. She opens her eyes and looks at her hand. 
• ‘Blood?’. 
• She watches the blood as it drips off her fingers. She looks up but she can't see the Emperor. It is dark, the candles are burning low. Her eyes open wider, her breath stops. 
• “He--” she stutters. “He is dead” she mumbles as she looks down in horror gazing at his dead body covered full of blood with an arrow on his chest. She grabs her mouth with both hands trying not to scream, while taking some steps back. She is hyperventilating as she feels the cold blood of her ear reaching down her neck. Her legs are shaking and she is unable to move. She reaches for the Emperor but pulls back immediately. Slowly, she decides to turn her head to see where it came from. She notices the open window and a roof, but no on there.  She gasps and with her remaining strength runs out of the room.