The White King's Favorite
By Jenny Fox
Published by IngramSpark.
Made in United Kingdom
2024 First Edition
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, stored in a database and / or published in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this book are fictitious. No identification with actual persons or dragons (living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred.
First published in 2024.
Copyright © 2021 by Jenny Fox
Cover & Back Cover credit: GermanDesigns
ISBN-13: 978-1-7395289-2-8
Author Jenny Fox
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Intro
The Dragon Empire.
A very old empire that had seen centuries pass by and never flinched. From the Northern barbarians to the pirates of the White Sea, and then the vain attempt of the Eastern Republic, nothing had been able to scratch within an inch of their strong borders. The long line of its rulers, always covered in gold and Imperial purple, only ever feared their own progeny, for it seemed each heir was stronger than their father. Their only notable conflicts were internal wars between the fierce brothers, all hoping to claim the golden throne as theirs.
However, for over two decades now, no man had been seated on the large, golden throne of the emperor. This vast empire was thriving, now more than ever, with an empress at its head.
The man had tried to study as much as he could to prepare himself.
It was no easy task. His country had been at odds with the Dragon Empire for centuries, and their cultures were too different. He had tried to collect scraps of information, here and there, to get ready for this very special day. A day that would be recorded in history, perhaps. He took a deep breath, his eyes on the Imperial Palace as he stood in the long line of people wishing to be granted entry.
The Imperial Palace itself was as vast as a small city. For centuries, it had been the house of the emperor and his large family: his children, the empress when there was one, but most importantly, all of the concubines. The long line of the Dragon Emperors had mostly continued through the many children those emperors had fathered. Those large families needed to be housed in the Imperial Palace; thus, that place had only grown with time. As an emperor thrived, he had his concubines, and his children often had their own concubines and children... Of course, it was also practically cleared out with each new emperor taking over. No smart man kept his rivals close; hence, said siblings were usually all killed in a matter of days before the new emperor sat on the throne, had his own children and concubines take over, and that circle of life and death would start all over again. However, no concubines were currently residing in the Imperial Palace.
The Empress did have male concubines, but none of them were allowed to live there. Within her first year as the new ruler, she declared that she wouldn’t have any children to succeed her, and instead, her nephew would be the new heir apparent.
Strangely, he couldn’t understand why this decision had been welcomed. That nephew was the son of the Empress’ brother, the rumored War God. Yet, why would she allow her brother’s son to inherit her throne, instead of having her own children? There had been no proof of the Empress being sterile, and according to the locals, she had actually taken medicine to prevent pregnancy for years before she even fought to rise to her position. ...Did she feel like she owed this to her brother, who had helped in her ascension? Then, why not let the War God himself become emperor? Surely, this would have been much simpler than establishing a woman on the golden throne... This was a mystery he hadn’t solved yet.
“Next!” yelled the Imperial Guard.
He had to hand over his papers quickly and explain the reason for his visit. The guard raised an eyebrow; not many foreigners made it all the way here. Eventually, the man in silver armor scoffed and gave him his papers back.
“Good luck with that!” he laughed.
His papers shoved back into his hands, he nodded and made his way inside. He knew he had come with no easy request, but it was of the utmost importance that he succeeded. The future of his kingdom depended on the outcome of this audience with the Empress...
Following the long line of people walking in, he was a bit lost inside those high walls and long corridors. He had to ask the Imperial Servants for directions twice. Thankfully, he had studied enough to know the servants in this place traditionally wore green clothing. Although the Empress had abolished the centuries-old Imperial Decree behind a lot of the rules on the different casts’ clothing, the Imperial Servants most likely wore green out of tradition. Some wore little accessories or pieces of clothing of different colors, but green was still prominent. The man internally congratulated himself for having chosen a simple blue attire. This was the color of scholars, officials, and educated people in general. Everyone showed him respect despite his poor appearance.
The journey there had taken a toll on the old man.
He had lived over half a century and seen many things, but this may have been the journey of his life. He had always dreamt of coming to this amazing country. Where he came from, many saw the Dragon Empire as a ruthless land with barbarians preying on the weak and monstrous man-killing beasts were allowed to roam free. No foreigner had been let in for a long time. The only ones who could walk into these lands were people of tribes or merchants who wouldn’t be so foolish to get close to the Capital. Things have changed in recent years. The borders weren’t as tightly closed as before. A lot of the cities were now thriving, whereas before, it seemed everything was solely happening in the Capital. Since the death of the late Emperor, his daughter had been making more and more changes every day...
Now, the man was trying to brush some sand out of his hair and beard, and wipe the dust off his clothes. Compared to the other people waiting to see the Empress, with their perfect attires and gold jewelry, he looked like a beggar...
Strangely though, the line was getting shorter, fast.
People who walked inside the throne room didn’t seem to spend more than a few minutes before leaving. Oddly enough, the people who came back were often in a curious state. He saw people coming out furious, in tears, or with a lot of joy on their faces. Some... didn’t come out at all. He couldn’t come up with any reasons as to why, as the main room seemed totally soundproof. They only heard something when the door would open, either to welcome the next guests or for the Imperial Servants going in and out.
When he was finally the next one in line, the man took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself. He couldn’t be more prepared, but he was still very unsure about all this. His only piece of luggage was his bag, in which he was preciously carrying a little chest he had been protecting with his life throughout this journey.
When the doors opened, the man stepped inside, as nervous as an old man like him could be. An Imperial Servant came to greet him.
“Please follow me, and do not speak a word until the Empress has authorized you to. You shall not look at Their Highnesses until they speak to you, either. No weapons are allowed inside the throne room, and you shall be killed immediately if you’ve brought any without informing us.”
The man nodded, but he couldn’t remember having been searched, which had surprised him. The Imperial Guard had mentioned weapons were forbidden inside the Imperial Palace, but... that was it. The security seemed a little lax, in his opinion. He could have gotten this far with a sword and no one would have stopped him. Still, that wasn’t something he’d do. His query was way too important to be put at risk like that...
He walked slowly, hoping not to make any mistakes that would offend the Empress. He kept his eyes on the impressive, white marble floor, but he could still tell how spectacular this hall was. Each sound resonated throughout, and there had to be large windows for it to be so sunny and warm too. He could almost smell the sunshine coming from left, right, and above. There was a light scent of incense being burned and fruits.
