The atmosphere on the set of The Empress's Shadow was brittle, like thin ice over a deep, dark lake. Aria sat atop the ornate mahogany throne, her heavy black-and-gold silks cascading around her. In the monitor's glow, she looked like a sovereign of shadows, her emerald eyes sharpened by Granny Shen's kohl into two cutting blades of light.
She didn't miss the way Director Spielberg wiped a bead of sweat from his temple as he looked at the handwritten addition in the script's margin.
"Miss Vale," the Director began, his voice wavering as he approached the throne. "We've decided to add a bit more 'texture' to this scene. To emphasize the Saintess's internal struggle, we want her to deliver a blow to the Consort. A single, decisive slap to assert her purity over your... decadence."
