" 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐠𝐨. 𝐈'𝐦 𝐰𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐤, 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞. 𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐰, 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 "

-

enchanted, taylor swift

Please play the song above before reading the chapter ;)

𝗢𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲 || 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘅𝘅𝘅𝘅
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘐𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘍𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭

❱ 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗡𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗦𝗞𝗬 was aglow with a canopy of glittering stars. the bright lights surrounding the Imperial banquet cast a bright glimmer, the evening breeze was cool and brisk - the savory aroma of food from the stalls was enough to make your stomach rumble, the distant noises of the townspeople of Obelia chatting and laughing could be heard in the background.

"How bothersome" a man with eyes that shone like jewels in a beautiful shade of cerulean blue muttered under his breath with a hint of annoyance, the constant chatter of the bustling town was irritating the emperor, to say the least.

"Your Majesty, are you enjoying the festival?" a certain crimson-haired knight appeared beside the golden-haired royal, he looked at Claude with careful eyes━knowing that the man did not enjoy being in the company of so many people.

Claude crossed his arms "How much longer do I have to stay here?" he asked in a tired voice━ truthfully, he had been standing in the same place for at least an hour now and he was bored out of his mind.

The knight just chuckled lightly "Your majesty, shall we go over there and see what everyone is fussing about? I heard that a famous dance troupe is performing right now" Felix smiled ━ wanting to take Claude's mind off of work for at least a moment.

He had been drowning himself in paperwork ever since he was crowned emperor and had not done anything to relax ever since. Of course, apart from the times when he would busy himself with nightly activities with his concubines.

Claude let out a deep sigh, his eyes fluttering close for a moment with a frustrated expression as he gently tousled his hair—it would be best for him to entertain himself with something rather than stand there looking like a fool.

As he made his way toward the crowd—the townspeople surrounding the dance troupe suddenly parted like the Red Sea to make way for the emperor.

Claude approached the group of dancers; he found a spot he was comfortable with and stood and watched the women dance.

After watching for quite some time Claude concluded that the dancers were indeed talented—but a particular woman seemed to catch his eye.

She moved ever so gracefully━as if her body was one with the rhythm of the song━keeping everyone's full attention on her, completely enthralled with the woman in front of them.

Thump Thump

The silks that she held while dancing made it look like she had wings as she spun around—her siodonnian outfit was adorned with jewels that clinked as they jingled against each other. 

Thump Thump

She was full of energy, her feet appeared like it was barely touching the floor as she twirled around. Her steps were precise and as light as a feather, her dancing was effortless and full of grace. 

Thump Thump

Claude felt his heart beating loudly as if it were threatening to come out of his chest, the more the emperor watched her the more alluring she became in his eyes.

As they danced, the glittering light from the lanterns bathed them in a soft glow. The women moved to the rhythm of the song, each step, each twist and turn, and each movement in perfect harmony.

Everyone was left completely in awe by the time the dance was over. The loud sounds of applause echoed throughout the village, and cheers and praises were heard among the crowd.

Truly an enchanting performance.

The women from the dance troupe then noticed the presence of the emperor—and they immediately bowed their heads down to pay their respects.

Most were too afraid to approach him—of course, they had heard the infamous rumors about the so-called tyrannical emperor, and they were too frightened to even meet his gaze.

All except for a certain dancer.

The emperor was frozen in his place—His jeweled eyes widened ever so slightly as the woman started approaching him.

She lifted the veil covering her face—and Claude held his breath at the sight of her.

Wavy hair that cascaded down her back like threads of gold—shimmering pink eyes that seemed to resemble rose quartz—a smile that was so dazzling, it felt like time stopped with that one simple curve of her lips.

She was radiant and bright. Truly, the most beautiful woman you would ever lay your eyes upon.

She lowered her head and greeted him "Blessings and Glory upon the Sun of the Obelian Empire. Your majesty, it is an honor to have you watch our performance."

The emperor was at a loss for words as he continued to stare at the woman in front of him, a small tint of red on his cheeks, his mouth slightly agape. 

He looked completely enamored by her.

Felix who was standing closely behind him, noticed his lack of response and decided to speak on his behalf to save his friend from embarrassment.

"Yes, it was indeed a wondrous performance my lady" Felix complimented with a smile.

The woman chuckled and expressed her gratitude once more, her eyes then turned to look at the emperor with a curious gaze, slightly confused at the man's lack of response. She was about to speak again before getting cut off as she heard her name getting called by the other dancers.

Once she was out of sight, Felix looked at Claude with a playful smile, "Your majesty, I take it that you enjoyed the performance?" he asked in a teasing manner.

Claude who looked as if he were in a daze suddenly snapped out of his reverie and cleared his throat, "Shut your mouth, Felix" he retorted "Let us return to the palace, I am feeling quite tired from all the festivities today."

The blonde-haired Emperor turned around and quickly made his way to the carriage while a chuckling Felix followed closely behind him.

'It seems the palace will have a guest soon' the red-headed knight thought to himself, a small smile on his face.

The luminous glow of the moon cut through the darkness of the surroundings, the twinkling stars glowed brightly as Claude looked out the carriage window with a dazed expression

Little did the emperor know that this one 'ordinary' night, this one simple 'encounter', would change his life forever.

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˚ ༘♡ Author's Note ¡¡

Hey guys, it's me again. I don't know if you guys will notice but I made a few edits for the first chapter, just fixing up some grammatical errors and adding some new paragraphs. I hope you guys like this chapter, don't forget to comment and vote!! (unless you want me to come out of your bed tonight :D)