Shadow Emperor Chapter 2: Chapter I: You Call This A Party?

Read chapter 2 of Shadow Emperor by StarPrince on NovelPedia.

>// ONE YEAR EARLIER My idea of a party was a bunch of people cutting loose, having fun, and generally leaving restraint at the door for the duration of the event. This party, though, was the furthest thing from my idea of a fun time that I was pretty sure I needed to come up with an entirely separate term for the scene I had found myself in. The room was opulent to the point of being overdone, the food was three times as expensive as my usual preferences while tasting only half as good, and the guests; prefects, senators, and other important and usually busy people from all across the Empire, all looked lifeless. Fake smiles and bored, soulless eyes filled the room along with superficial, random conversation which I had already blocked from my mind. This was a pretentious gathering, for pretentious boring people, and it sucked. The worst part? The party was supposed to be held in my honor, despite the fact that my distaste for this kind of event was rather common knowledge. Obviously, I wasn’t here to have fun, but at least I could try and make something of this mess before I got to work. My eyes raked over the pretentious display, taking the scenery in to try and occupy my mind. High vaulted ceiling, gold trim accents on the walls and heavy bulkhead doors. Holographic plants and art pieces decorated the room, occasionally shifting to other displays. Paintings of serene landscapes contrasted with chaotic battle scenes and runic poetry. Clustered around the room were the partygoers with their myriad styles of hair, and hair and eye colors and patterns all across the visible spectrum, Every guest present had pointed ears and horns protruding from their foreheads, including myself. The only consolation was that most of the people here wore clothes which, quite honestly, looked pretty cool. Various colors of kimonos with intricate patterns of various types, long leather coats with fur, and some of the women wore dresses which ranged from simple to excessively elaborate. However, as I took in my surroundings, I was soon snapped out of my observation. I heard a voice from my left as someone nudged me with their elbow, and I looked over at the familiar figure, who was around a foot shorter than me. Kane Shiran, my chief advisor and oldest friend, had been almost entirely silent since we showed up, just sitting next to me and drinking his favorite brand of Ironmooran Blood Mead in relative peace. “You alright?”, I ask with concern as I frown slightly. Kane had always been reserved and borderline cold, and I’d always had trouble figuring out the man’s mood at any given time. Kane ran his hand through his straight, shoulder length black hair and shook his head. “You’re really standing for this, Xylan? You’re the freaking emperor, just… say something about it right now.” I sighed and leaned back into the booth, locking my hands together behind my head and blowing one of my long bangs out of the way of my eye. “You know, would I really be here if I weren’t planning something?” Kane cringed ever so slightly, narrowing his cobalt blue eyes. “And thanks for reminding me, blondie.” I leaned in, lowering my voice so as to not draw attention. “Listen, Kane. The senate and most of the sector prefects know I can’t stand these events.” “And that’s important… why?” Kane cocked his head, replying with a hushed tone. I rested my arm over the back of the seat and narrowed my eyes. “A party like this for me specifically? Sticks out like a compound fracture. It’s not a party, it’s a show, which means the guy behind this is up to something.” My advisor leaned back, deadpanning. “You could have said that in a much less disturbing way, blondie. Got any ideas?” A knowing smile slowly formed on my face as I stood from the booth and looked over my shoulder down at Kane. “I’m going to try something a little… different.” “Please no,” he deadpanned dryly, still staring with that perpetually reserved look. “What?” I turn around and gesture openly with my hands.