AStepFoward

All eyes in the room shifted toward the western wall. A sakuradite glow emanated from the elevator. Britannian nobles preparing to take to their seats stumbled to their knees so eagerly their kneecaps cracked against the hard floor with the percussive sound of a twisting sheet of bubble wrap. “Uncle,” Charles hissed. Hui Ying chanced another look at Charles’ face and found a twisted expression of disbelief so profound as to make him appear almost unrecognizable. Charles was the last Britannian in the room to fall upon his knees before his Emperor, a man whose presence stripped Charles of his special designation as Malcolm