The morning of the ceremony was horrible.

As Jade was a night owl, and she wished to be the exception that proves the rule, but she wasn't.
The night before had been occupied with various debates and questions, so sleep hadn't been the priority for her.

"Sister! Wake up!"

The most efficient alarm clock was in the place, also known as her twin, Ian.

"It's eleven o'clock!"

In the wooshest whoosh, Jade fled from her handsome bed to join the threshold.
"E-eleven?"
She managed to mumble.

When she slammed the door open, the Katt family's members, clan that served the imperial household for centuries, were already aligned at the opposed flank at the corridor.
They synchronized their bow, muttering 'Highnesses' here and there.

"Why didn't you wake me up earlier, Ian?"
She whined as the servants thrusted into the room.

"I tried!"
He retorted, leaving his place to a maid already grasping one of the trunks in the nursery.
"Since nine o'clock, I've tried to wake you!"

"And when all of the Katt clan arrive?"
She escaped another maid, this time carrying their bed sheets in the arms.

"At seven."

The small, flustered girl bowed, "My apologies for keeping you waiting this long," as the servants threw back in chorus, 'YOU SHAN'T APOLOGIZE TO US'.

The Katt clan's people were so dedicated to their duty, and Jade always thought it was always fun to be around them; as long as you were an imperial, of course.

"Sister, we have to go eat! Then we'll help them!"
Ian shouted, determination painting his face.

"NEITHER OF YOU SHOULD DARE TO LIFT A FINGER, YOUR HIGHNESSES!"
Gepard casually yelled, heading out of their parents' neighboring chamber.
"BOTH OF YOU SHALL FLEE OUT OF MY SIGHT AND LET US WORK PROPERLY."

Jade chuckled at the oldish butler, who looked alike an aggressive kitten and felt like a grandfather.
"Surely, Gepard, I'll just inform you of our chamber choice since we decided on it beforehand," she declared, an intended nodding shared between her and her twin.

The butler seemed a little astonished at first before nodding smoothly.

"I'll go for the Jadeite room."
Ian proudly intoned.

"And I, with the Emerald one."
She outbid.

The elder merrily smiled at their pick.
"Very well, your Imperial Highnesses, we shall start moving your personal possessions into those rooms."
Then he added, crouching to get on their levels, in a paternal tone.
"And, right now, dash off my sight to get your meal properly!"

The twins promptly absconded as he had asked.

●●●

"Spirot! Why didn't you wake me?"
Jade grumped as soon as the bunny appeared on her shoulder, thus startling her brother.

"Begoche I waz az ashleep az ye."
It sputtered while nodding to Ian in a saluting manner.

"I should really get an instrument to wake both of you from now on."
Jade's twin announced, quite amused by their interactions.

"Don't you dare, or I'll find something worse."
The rabbit answered at her place, making the twins giggle happily as they arrived at the dining room.

When was the last time she had been in the dining room?
Three days? Five?

Jade always ate at night since she forgot to do it during the day.
And, consequently, she didn't frequently go there to join her family.

But, when she did, chaos was the only adequate descriptive word for that reunion.
Of course, it was the same today.

"Flanagan, stop eating my food!"

"Tchere ishin't your name on it, Halow."

"I finished... Xanderrrrrrrrrrrrr, can I have your plate?"

"It's an order more than a question, right, Ember?"

Too much energy too early for her.

"Hello, sleepers, take your seats."
The emperor welcomed them in the absolute jumble, at the other side of the table.
He signed to Ania who was reading to pass the Rush, hoping for the newspaper to land in his hands, but that didn't happen.
"Have your lunch."
His voice came out as a sigh.

Jade waited a few moments, for her but also for this actually enjoyable havoc, before tackling the problem of magic with a gaudy voice.
"Mother, Sir Dad, can we keep my magic control of yesterday—"

"Secret?"
The empress finished for her in the loud mess surrounding.
"Of course, Jade. We've seen how you support attention on a daily basis."

"What do you mean? I'm a social butterfl—"
She began, but rapidly stopped, every siblings silent around her.
She closed her mouth immediately and unconsciously stiffened.

"You support it well?"
Benjamin terminated, holding back a snicker with a veiled grin.

"Absolutely as long as it's not only on me. And nobody looks at only one person in a ball."
She shot him her deadly look.
"I love you all. And, believe me," she briefly paused in her confession, "it's just a reminder to myself."

"Yesh, we alsho love you."
Spirot interrupted, the mouth full of everything on the table, catching a perfect flinch from the clan as he spoke.

"What is this thing doing here?"
The emperor questioned, considering with a poor regard the bunny on the table.

"The thing," Spirot counter-struck, the animosity glimmering in its tone, "is on your table because it cannot go further away from your daughter and needs to eat. So, dear Emperor, I'm just conducting myself as the situation obliges."

The rabbit and the emperor seemed in a cold war for years with those two sentences.

"Spirot, get here. Now."
Jade ordered, frozen in front of the spirit's stupidity.

"Meh, I'm not the wrongdoer—"

"I do not care. Come here and stop using your mouth uselessly." When it finally sat next to her with the maximum imaginable food placed into its mouth, she continued. "I think it would also be better to call this fur ball, Round, to make it less obvious; it's a spirit in front of guests for example, in the case it couldn't or wouldn't use invisibility."

"Brainless would be more correct for a name."
The emperor retorted as the empress suddenly proceeded to down her glass in one gulp.

"HOW DARE HE—"

"Ahem," she placed her palm on Spirot's maw. "Round will be nice enough, Sir Dad."

The classical taciturnity of their paternal had taken over the family for a few seconds before he added.
"It sticks to it well. Hope you'll hold yourself, Round."

"I found it cute!"
The empress finally said, looking absolutely unaffected by the whole tension.
"Are you still going to talk like a human when we'll introduce you to other persons?"

"I won't," it murmured, "but—"

"Great," she smiled sharply, making the bunny jolt in shock, "will avoid us some inconveniences, I think."

Spirot would certainly be traumatized for the rest of its existence with all those glares.

Harlow had never read a room correctly, but for now, it was a blessing.
"So, apart from the cute bunny, which room did you choose, Jade? Is it close to mine?"
She asked, her eyes expecting a positive response.

"The emerald one," replied Jade, thanking anything that crossed Harlow's mind for this miracle of getting out of the problem without more problems. "I think it is close, just three minutes maximum with your legs."

"And you, Ian?" The naive girl, who didn't catch the pique about her small height (smaller than Jade), continued.

"I'm in the north hallway, Jadeite room."

At the formulation, his nearest brother, Benjamin, instantly wrapped his arm around Ian's neck while tousling his victim's hair.
"One neighbor more!"
He claimed joyfully before tossing, 'better than one I already have,' to Xander, who made his you'll-have-to-stop-this-joke face.

He, perhaps to escape the conversation, and Sir Dad rose from their seats simultaneously.
(Yes, This Narrator is adopting the 'Sir Dad' surname. You're welcome.)

"You'll excuse our departure, but we need to discuss, your brother and I."
The emperor said, walking towards the doors with Xander behind him.

"See you later!"
His wife waved her hand, followed by the rest of the family.

Quickly after their exit, siblings retired one by one; even Ian, who had been called upon first since his room had been completed before, left with tremendous laments.

Stayed the empress and Jade.
She chose a chair closer, so they didn't have to yell to communicate.

"Mother..." our writer mumbled as she sat in the next chair, "Thank you for accepting to keep everything secret."

Her discussion partner contended to beam.
"Honey, it's natural. My job is to keep you safe, mentally and physically, no matter what. So there isn't the requirement of thanking!"

Jade's eyes opened wide.

Keeping safe.
That expression had been her mother's favorite.
Her past mother.

Every time she said that, a half, sweet scold was given out before they laughed aloud like two children.
And then, she did the very same with her own children, Julia and Henry.
And grandchildren, Mila and Kon.
And—

And she had to move on, to finish the grief of her past life.

It ended, she wasn't Dahlia anymore.
And she had to admit that empress, her main character, was her mother.
So for the emperor.
Not just 'Ania' or 'Alexander'.
Her mom and her dad.

"Jade?"

"Ah, yes."
She blurted out, looking at her mother once again.
"I'm still thankful."

She brushed off the droplets that sparkled in her eyes after this long-lost memory came back.
She really had to get rid of that bad habit of crying.
"I love you, Mother."
She mouthed.

"So do I, Jade."
Her mom chuckled.
"So do I."

The doors, which had seen the family and the servants in charge of the morning service escape right before, now creaked as someone got in.

"Your Majesty."
A maid arched like customs forced.
"Your Imperial Highness," she turned to her, "the procedure has ended for the Ninth Star of Menless. If you have the will to follow me, I'll escort you to yours."

Jade gave a small regretting look to her mom, who swiftly whispered 'good luck', and she strolled to the maid.

"Please escort me."
She traced her way out of the room under a second.

●●●

A straight line was drawn by the tidied Katts in the second garden.

The maid who escorted her curtseyed again.
"Your imperial Highness has to choose her personal servants."

First of all, Jade had forgotten about that.

Yes, another tradition.
When you turned ten, right before the ceremony, you'd have to choose servants, the closest and most trustworthy one you could. And that, for life.
Or in theory cause she had saw Calista exchange servants two weeks ago with Harlow.

Jade wrote a story, but all of those traditions who popped from God knows where were getting on her nerves. 《The Author laughs mischievously of Jade's pain.》

Since now, she hadn't had any contact with other servants than her Hoenir because she didn't call for much, not even tea.
Consequence, she hadn't met any person of the Katt clan till this day.

Let's go for a safe solution.

"I'd like to call upon Hoenir Goguenard."
She announced while the Katt clan appeared already all fired up by that.

A fra Menløs had to pick a Katt.
An imperial for a family of servants.
Well, fuck that.

"And for my future close ones, I'd vow to observe you before."
She added, pointing her finger at them.

A collective 'Huh?' resounded.

"Yes, I'd wish to observe you at work first."
Without you knowing about it, of course.
A princess, even the tenth one, had to have an infallible trust in her close ones.
"So, by this, I shall accommodate myself with one servant until then."
She concluded.
"You may take your leave."

The personnel strode hastily with dirty mutters from some.
Blood never made a human great.
Only temperament did.

And now, waiting.

She sat herself on a random bench under the widest tree there, knowing she did good, but how was she going to observe them?
Oh, found it.
She was going to hide as a maid to see their true nature.
She always had wanted to try cosplay.

Now, she just had to wait before going to her room and refining this plan a bit.
All those new things felt a little disarming, but it was exciting, exalting even—

"YOUR HIGHNESS!"
Hoenir's voice echoed in her ears.

"Yes, Hoenir?"
She addressed the boy, running till his breath's end.

"Is it—" he tried to keep it cool, even with his heavy breathing, "true?"

"What?"

"Did you—" he panted, "choose me?"

"Yes."

"W-why?"

"Easy one, I like you."
Jade shrugged off with a big smile as he blocked on that.

"Your Highness..." his brows furrowed.

Oh, that sounded nothing like what she meant.
"Ugh, not like that... Uhm... As a person, I have taken quite a preference for you."
How to have a crush on a seventeen-year-old when you're ninety-three.
"WHY WOULD YOU THINK I LIKE YOU AS A LOVER WHEN WE ARGUE ALL THE TIME?"
She barked.

Awkward silence hung temporarily.

"I do not know, your Highness."

"Call me Jade."
She ordered louder than beforehand to cover the fact her cheeks were blazing with embarrassment.
"You will be now stuck with me for a long time."

"I-I would prefer to go with Princess Jade."
He answered, letting a real smile leak out, thing he had never done before.

Jade couldn't resist to mumbling 'OK, it's better than 'hiGhnEsS' at least' as the boy already asked for her to repeat because he couldn't hear.
She refused to do it, of course.

"But, why did you really choose me, Princess Jade?"
He asked before tilting his head back to its original position.
"I know you do not appreciate me. There's no need to roam about it."

Perhaps the fact she did some research on him had attained his ears.
Perhaps he sensed that she didn't fully trust him.
Or perhaps he just took the miserable arguments they had as true rage.

Wow, that was so dumb.

"You are the only domestic and friend I had. The choice seemed evident."

His eyes widened in surprise.
"Thank you, princess Jade..."

She grinned.

Jade would never admit it, but with the years she had had him at her service, she hoped to meet the mother of Hoenir. (The one sick you know?)
Gulla Mils Goguenard, the scientist and engineer behind the prototype of the 'magical automatical arc', or 'M.A.A'. Or a gun with magical, rainbow bullets if you preferred.
Why? Because that was damn cool and Jade wanted one.

Greedy? Her? No, never.

"And thank you for having me under your orders."
Hoenir kneeled and placed his left palm on his bust.
"I won't deceive you."

She contended to give an interrogative yet amused expression.
"You sure about that, Hoenir?"

"Sure of the surest."
The boy nodded, lifting his head, who had bowed until now.
"I will give my life for you."

"Even if there's Ember next to me and we both need desperate help?"

It was common knowledge Hoenir had a big crush on Jade's sister.

That's why she was totally laughing of his blazing cheeks and fired up eyes.
"Don't worry, if this would happen, I wish you to help her, or any other person, more than me."

"But—"

"Hoenir, I already saved myself more than once," Jade beamed at the boy, "so I really don't need your help."

He sadly didn't find any valid and un-insulting (This Narrator particularly highlights the second point) counteract for her claim.

The ten-year-old, who sounded eight times older, moved towards a bay.
"I'll let you pack your bags since, as a new imperial servant, you'll change of room, right? I'll go discover mine with this time."
She lightly waved.
"Enjoy, Hoenir."

She just vanished in the building as he stood in the falling yellowish light of summer.

Dang it, that was a new workload that was waiting for him.