Seeing the Panae storm out from her inner chamber with a gloomy and angry expression on her face, the maids waiting in the outer trembled in fear.
Scared to the bone.
The empress was beauty and perfection personified.
But not completely, almost everything except her temperament.
There was a saying in the glorious Sun empire, " Just as you don't stare at the sun in the eye, you don't do anything to stroke the empress's temper! "
The empress's astral spirit was a divine human sun avatar, fiery and dominating in nature.
You wouldn't want sun's fury cascading on you, right?
And as those within the empress's direct thumb, i.e the palace, they all behaved themselves, but the empress was angry, who had misbehaved?!
Who ?!!
Who was it ?!!
Two young beautiful maids, twins, they had come to the palace at young and Panae had taking a liking to them, with them serving her close.
But even they knew.
Ran and Rin, the name of the two maids, both short and cute, with petite figures and ponytails.
Panae stood solemnly in her outer chamber as she ordered, " Get me head Eunuch Payo "
Hearing the order, the two maids turned to the entrance both wanting to scurry away.
" Where're you both going, Ran stay "
Hearing this Ran, turned back lowering her head and returning, a bit pained.
Actually one person was enough for the summon but the twin girls both wanted to flee with the excuse.
At least leaving the empress cool a bit, alas Ran sighed.
Panae walked to the throne chair of the outer chamber and sat, her eyes closed but Ran could see her chest bosoms rising and falling rapidly.
Ran shook she understood what this meant, the empress wasn't sleeping.
If the empress was sleeping, her bosom would rise and fall but it would be gently!
This strong waves of rising and falling, it was anger!
Immediately Ran went to get a basin in which there was cool fragrant rose spirit water, this always cooled the empress, right?
Ran looked up as she massaged Panae feet in the basin.
" The bosoms were still rising up and down ! "
" The empress wasn't cooling down ! "
Ran lowered her head as she massaged with gusto, hoping that the magical properties of the rose spirit water could do it's wonders.
" But why was the empress angry ? "
" Wasn't she in her inner chamber, nobody could follow the empress there, so how could she have been angered from within ? "
Ran was still into these thoughts when she heard the empress speak, her voice cool, but it felt scary to Ran it seemed like the stillness before an explosion.
" Do you hear strange sounds, of goats, chicken, cows and what not... animals"
" Ehn, animals? ", Ran thought.
She couldn't hear anything, everywhere was quite.
This was the imperial palace, how could there be such noise, under the thumb of the empress.
Who did know that the empress liked a serene environment, and disliked unpleasant noises, amongst other dislikes.
Who didn't know?
And weren't all the animals of the Palace kept in special sound containment enclosures.
It didn't take long for Rin to return with a funny looking eunuch with a strange figure, this was head Eunuch Payo.
Head Eunuch Payo was also a fatty, and he was different from the usual one, he wasn't very fat, just a bit chubby at the upper and lower ends of his body, but in the middle area his body extended outwards, looking like an egg shaped figure, his signature long goatee, and eye brows that were long and fell at the sides of his face like hair.
It didn't end there that head Eunuch Payo fancied... not even a fancy he always wore tight fitting robes! , and he had a childish face.
Together it made unique exotic funny sight.
Ran sometimes wondered, that although Head Eunuch Payo's figure and face were innate, not his fault, right?
But the strange eyebrow, and tight fitting robes that seemed to accentuate his egg like figure, those were his fault, right?
Maybe if he did something about it, altogether he wouldn't look so strange!.
Seeing Payo, Panae immediately asked, the same she did as Ran.
" Do you hear animal sounds "
.....
Head Eunuch Payo was making arrangements for the annual dual empress feasts.
This feast was very important, the empress took it very important.
And this year the glorious sun empire was hosting the enemy nation!
Very very important, it concerned the face of the empire and the empress's on face.
No mistakes could be made, at all!
Maids, guards and eunuch moved around all doing some things.
Payo ordered some guard, " you all carry that slab of earth and put it under that towering magnificent sun shaped edifice.
This was the main attraction and point of the feast, one that had a connotation and sent a message, Payo was sure the empress would be pleased.
And the food!, " Payo shouted some maids at his right, have the arrangements for the food began, remember it has to be impeccable !, it has to be impeccable!
Payo shouted, issuing various commands across the Palace moving around.
Whilst shouting to another and issuing a command Rin ran inside, approached him.
Hot in the moment of commands, Payo wanted to shout out the intruder for slacking off when everyone was busy, but seeing that it was empress's maid he refrained, cooling himself.
Rin panted lightly, catching her breadth before speaking, " the empress summons you "
Payo nodded his head, this was why he refrained from instructing this maid earlier.
Although he ranked higher in position and power but the other served the empress, as the saying " before one hits a dog, one had to think of it's Master "
Truly true, although they were all "dogs", subjects of the empress, this was one of the closest "dogs", subjects of the empress.
Payo wanted to leave a few instructions before leaving with Rin.
Rin seeing this, knowing that the Head Eunuch didn't know the urgency of the matter.
" Head Eunuch, the empress is furious ! "
Payo outstretched arm rescinded, cold sweat flowed from his face as he rushed away, with Rin following after.
.....
" Do you hear animal sounds? "
This was the first thing Payo heard when he entered.
And really he didn't hear anything, moreover this was the palace, how could there be animal sounds.
But Payo kept quiet first.
He didn't think the empress didn't know what she was doing.
If the empress said there was animal noise, then there was animal noise.
Even if there wasn't!
Who was he to say there wasn't.
But just to be sure if there was or not.
Payo willed his astral spirit, an egg figured slender bear stood behind Payo.
This bear astral spirit behind Payo also had a childish face, but it's aura was threatening.
His bear spirit was wood elemental, and it's cultivation impressive.
Using the connection between his summoned astral spirit and his concertration at it's peak, Payo finally heard.
Sounds of animals, cow, goat, chicken reached him now.
But how could this be?!
Discerning that the noise, it came from the boundary section area
Was there an issue there?