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Its ruler, Emperor Matthew, was not exempt from these events. But thankfully, due to the informal nature of the holiday, he was able to clear up his schedule for a date with his wife, Grand Duchess Emily.
The two were inseparable, having grown up together. As they grew older, his studies in sorcery complemented her mechanical expertise. Despite this contrast, their different fields of knowledge synergized surprisingly well, especially when they built a golem named Reggie together by combining his knowledge of magic and her study of technology.
Matthew looked back on those memories with nostalgic fondness. The golem project was completed last year, thanks to the knowledge some extraterrestrial visitors had given Emily. That entire year was a wild ride, with his female counterpart named Melina appearing in his room one morning, hailing from an alternate reality that had merged with his own. That incident catalyzed an adventure that spanned the entire continent as they collected six magical rainbow rocks (sorry, Infinity Stones) to save the universe from an evil alien conqueror posing as a goddess.
They had made a lot of new friends along the way, met the princess of Hyrule, overthrew tyrants, fought mythical adversaries, and toyed with ancient magic, advanced technology, and powers beyond their mortal comprehension. Matthew and Emily had started being a couple around this time, and the young ruler even met his own ancestor, Selene, the founder and first empress of his very home. She approved of their developing relationship and gave them her blessing.
Eventually, once the threat had passed and the journey was over, his mother, Empress Artemis, had arranged for his coronation near the year's end, and he was wed to his beloved Emily not long after, coinciding with the millennial anniversary of the empire's establishment. All of the friends and allies they had made along the way had come to the event.
Everyone from the mercenaries they hired to the royal family of Hyrule to the otherwise-unaffiliated bevy of allies who had joined all throughout their travels to his cousin Rosalyn's boyfriend Salazar and his adoptive father Stephen (sorry, Doctor Stephen Strange, the man was insistent on his full title), even the goddesses that aided them on their quest were at the festivities, albeit discreetly so as to not alarm the mortals. Their extraterrestrial friends had also visited as well, this time remembering to park their spacecraft safely rather than carelessly leaving it in orbit, which had caused them to crash down to the surface and meet the locals in the first place.
Roughly two months had passed since then, and yet it seemed that he was still the talk of the town. He'd heard some gossip involving his relationship with his wife, which was a particularly hot topic, considering the two year age gap between them.
Some found it sweet and endearing, yet others had exaggerated it into the alluringly older Grand Duchess simply leading on the naive and cute but still youthful Emperor. And yet others had reconstructed the idea, claiming that she was helping him wholeheartedly, guiding him with her cleverness, wisdom, and insight while sweetly supporting him with her kindness and compassion.
Overall, Matthew didn't care for such rumors, but despite it all, his people seemed to genuinely appreciate him and his wife, and the steps they took to improve the nation overall. Thanks to streamlining all the paperwork needed to run the whole empire (that was a nightmare to optimize), he had enough free time to spend with his loved ones, especially Emily.
And here they were, at a local restaurant just outside the palace. He asked his wife where she wanted to go for their date, and she suggested this place. It was a pasta and pizza restaurant with a giant sign in the shape of a chunk of cheese hanging above the entrance.
To his surprise, the interior seemed to be devoid of customers, or even tables save for one. It was a simple round table carved out of marble with two ornate chairs on opposite ends.
"This place is surprisingly empty." He observed, his silver eyes blinking behind his violet glasses to make sure he wasn't seeing things. His wife merely gave him a teasing wink as she held his hand, her sturdy leather glove intertwining with his soft silken one.
"Let's just say I've already made some... reservations, sweetie." She replied, leaving him in confusion.
Right on cue, someone teleported inside the room with a puff of magic. The intruder revealed himself to be none other than a friend they had made during their journey, an ancient hero named Martin, still alive and kicking due to being frozen in ice for over four thousand years. He was dressed for the occasion, in a blue formal suit that complemented his snow-like skin. It was jarring to see him outside of the icy stalhrim armor he wore in battle, and he had a smug smirk on his face as he gave the couple a bow.
"Welcome to our restaurant, Emperor Matthew, Grand Duchess Emily. I shall be your waiter for this fine meal." He greeted them in a clearly practiced manner. "Congrats on your relationship and all, but Emily informed my mother of her plans and she subsequently dragged me into this mess. Take a seat, your meal shall be served shortly."
"Thanks?" Matthew said, not sure of what to make of this. Nevertheless, he heeded Martin's words and politely helped Emily get seated before he sat opposite her. "Emily, you had this all planned out beforehand?"
"Yep! I also ordered our food in advance. You should take your gloves off, there's gonna be pizza!" She took off her gloves as Matthew did the same, the two of them taking in the other's attire for this date.
They both agreed on wearing their casual clothes, the very same ones they wore throughout their adventure. Matthew thought Emily looked exceedingly beautiful in just her plain white short-sleeved shirt and the bright blue skirt that went down to her mid-thighs, complemented by the blue scarf she wore around her neck and the blue hairband tipped with ribbons nestled in her chocolate brown hair, which was tied in a neat, long ponytail. He had a weakness for that particular hairstyle. The younger man looked up at her face and she gave him a warm smile. Her brilliant blue eyes met his silver ones, and his pale skin blushed as her delicate, light brown hand rose to ruffle his soft silver hair.
Emily thought Matthew looked incomparably cute in his violet outfit. His jacket, shirt, pants, scarf, and hat were all various shades of violet with silver linings. The cute little hat nestled on his head was dislodged when she petted his head, the very same hat that was passed down to the empire's heir from his ancestor all those centuries ago. It had survived throughout the years by a combination of delicate repairs and ancient enchantments for durability.
She remembered when Matthew had gifted her the blue scarf she continued to cherish to this day. He had it made from the finest thrumbo fur the empire could find and dyed a brilliant blue to match her eyes. Afterwards, he personally enchanted it with defensive spells, ensuring that the garment would protect her from both harsh temperatures and even attacks from both weapons and magic.
"Enjoy your meal." Martin announced, placing a pizza and a plate of pasta on the table. One half of the pizza was covered in many different ingredients, while the other half simply only had cheese on it. The pasta had bits of meat in it and was covered in a creamy white sauce.
The couple began eating the food placed before them, with Emily taking the plain half of the pizza as Matthew took the other half. Their forks nearly clashed as they attacked the pasta together, but they managed to navigate the situation with deft handiwork on both ends. Emily gazed lovingly at her husband as he placed his portion in his mouth.
The young man observed her as she did the same, only for the two of them to find themselves on opposite ends of the same noodle. Matthew gave his wife a sheepish smile as she held back a laugh and closed the gap between them. Emily leaned in for a kiss, one which Matthew readily gave as his lips met with hers. In that brief moment, he bit down on the noodle, severing their connection as they parted.
"That was cute." Emily remarked, causing Matthew to blush as the two continued their meal in relative silence as they focused on eating the food. They finished all of it within five minutes.
"Mmmmm, that was delicious..." Matthew admitted, licking his lips after consuming the final slice of pizza that was left on the table. "What do you think, Emily?"
"It was amazing, sweetie." She replied, "I'm glad you enjoyed it too."
Martin had returned after that brief exchange, replacing their empty plates with two servings of ice cream. Matthew was given three scoops of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry while Emily had three scoops that were uniformly mint chocolate.
"I hope you enjoy my own ice cream recipes. My mother may have cooked you some classic Cyrodilic pasta and pizza, but I made these desserts all on my own."
The young emperor tasted the creamy confection and was immediately overwhelmed by its quality. "This is great! It's just to my liking, my friend."
"Glad to hear. I'll have you know, the last time I cooked for an emperor, it was an assassination job and he bit the dust. Turns out he wasn't even the real deal..." The ancient hero turned waiter informed him, to which the boy held back a look of surprise.
Martin simply laughed at his reaction. "Nah, just kidding! That never really happened. Although I kinda remember hearing that the assassins known as the Dark Brotherhood managed to pull off such a stunt. Not sure if I was personally involved in those events, my memory's a bit hazy. It all happened thousands of years ago, after all."
"Very funny." The youthful ruler muttered dryly.
"Now if you'll excuse me, I have some dishes to wash." And with that, he left the scene once again.
"That was unexpected." Emily commented.
"Yeah, but hang around him long enough and you'll get used to it. He's seen his share of crazy stuff back in his day." Matthew explained, "After all, there are several conflicting accounts of the Last Dragonborn's adventures."
"Yeah, just like the three drastically different accounts of what happened in the war between Hoshido and Nohr." She added as she savored her mint chocolate dessert, "I don't get it. Why does one need to pay extra for the third story where it's revealed an invisible kingdom was manipulating everything behind the scenes?"
"I have no idea." The young man conceded, returning to his neapolitan ice cream. "Speaking of things that come in threes, I've got a new appreciation for this particular combination of flavors. It's almost like the three of us; you, me, and Melina."
"When you put it that way, it sounds really sweet." The older woman giggled, ruffling the boy's hair once again with a soft, gentle hand. "I love you so much, my sweet Matthew."
"I love you too, my dear Emily." Matthew returned her statement. The couple shared a sweet smile between them as they finished their ice cream. "Can we just head back to the palace after this? We could both use some rest."
"Sure thing, sweetie. That sounds wonderful."
