Five past ten. That was the time that Eilidh had set off on his late-night walk through the gardens. One would think there was only so much time someone could spend in a garden before growing bored, but Eilidh didn't think that. It was now midnight, and he was still in the garden, wandering and observing all the plants. Some of them were quite rare, things you wouldn't typically see every day unless you visited the royal garden. Though he wasn't surprised. It was the royals; they could practically get anything they wanted. Eilidh had come to visit this specific plant many times this week, and he wasn't sure why. Something about it was unique. Different from the others.

The last week had been... interesting, to say the least. All the men in the harem had seemingly established relationships with each other, and Eilidh was no different at all. To say he was would be rather hypocritical. One thing he could say, though, was the fact he wasn't competing for the emperor's affections, making grand gestures like the others. No, Eilidh was waiting for fate to lead him to the emperor. Eilidh had always been a big believer in fate; it must have been fate that let him be chosen, so fate must allow him to become the royal consort, allow the emperor to love him and only him.

Eilidh let out a slow sigh as he turned toward where the harem was staying, looking up at the stars in the night sky. It was best he head back, lest he be accused of doing something he shouldn't. Honestly, security at the palace seemed to be so tight as of late, and Eilidh wasn't particularly sure why. Had something happened? Maybe. He'd have to ask the emperor when fate brought him to Eilidh.

Fate. A funny thing. Something Eilidh never fully understood but something he relied on so heavily in his life, something that had intertwined itself into his life. From the moment he was born, it was fate that his father had found him, fate that his father was a merchant and Eilidh was good at business. It was fate that he was chosen to become a consort, and it would be fate that he would become the royal consort. He trusted fate, even if he didn't know much about it. Even if it was a funny thing he didn't quite understand. It had saved him enough times for him to allow himself to just trust it.

As Eilidh continued his walk back, a chill ran down his spine, causing him to hesitate and look down from the sky. That's when he spotted someone else walking around the palace gardens. Eilidh squinted, trying to make out the figure, but they darted away quickly, prompting Eilidh to chase after them.

Once he was close enough, he grabbed the stranger's cloak, pulling it off them, only to pause when it came off.

It was...

The Emperor?

"Your Majesty?"