I hesitated a little before slowly walking forward towards the front of the hall where the other women stood when it was their turn. I felt my legs shaking and I kept my head and gaze down towards the floor.
“Umm…My name is Rin Kamiya. I’m…from the Town of Amber Leaves…” I said in a soft and shaky voice before bowing low to keep my face hidden. Please, just let me go home already!
“Speak louder, I couldn’t hear you,” to my surprise, the Crown Prince spoke for the first time since the introductions began.
The atmosphere in the entire hall changed at the sound of his voice as everyone paid attention to the fact that the Crown Prince seemed to be finally showing his interest in what was going on. The Emperor couldn’t contain a slight chuckle as he watched his son asking this young women to repeat herself. Afterall, it was true that she wasn’t loud and clear, but it was enough to be heard at this distance.
Oh, no...will I get executed for making a stupid blunder like this? I can’t even introduce myself properly. I need to do better or else…I might not be able to make it home…
Slowly but firmly, I lifted my face up to look at the two men who held my fate in their hands. I need to be brave; I need to survive this, and I am going to make it home!
“My deepest and sincerest apologies. My name is Rin Kamiya from the Town of Amber Leaves…as for my special talent…” I introduced myself in a firm and clear voice full of resolve before trailing off.
My eyes widened in shock and recognition when I looked up at the Crown Prince’s face. Why was this man here?! Furthermore, this man is the Crown Prince of the Flame Dragon Empire?! The Empire that attacked and destroyed my village in a matter of days.
It can’t be! He used me?! This man tricked and used me to conquer my town! He’s a…monster!
“Dear girl…please start your performance…girl!” I heard a man hissing at me but my mind was too preoccupied with other more important thoughts to pay him any attention.
Oblivious to the countless stares piecing through me, I couldn’t respond or focus on what was going on as my body shook with rage. This man…how dare we use me…
…Two months before…
“Thank you for purchasing my herbs and medicine as always, Auntie and Uncle,” I said while feeling truly thankful.
“No worries. Your herbs and medicine are the best. You should feel proud regardless of what the other town folks say…” Uncle Gobei replied as he smiled warmly at me. Uncle Gobei is like a father figure to me ever since my father passed away.
I bowed a little to them before quietly leaving their shop. It was starting to get dark as the sun had already set, I should hurry home. I only came into town once a week to sell some herbs and medicine to the local clinic and pharmacy. Every time I visited the center of town, I had to come when it was dark so that few people were still out and they had less chance to recognize my face beneath my shawl. Apart from a few kind people like Auntie and Uncle, all other town folks detested me believing that I brought bad luck to the village when I was born.
When I was born my mother passed away from childbirth and on the same day the town was infected by a mysterious disease that killed many people including the only daughter of the Village Head. She was still a young child at that time. Not knowing who to blame for the cause of this tragedy, the Village Head and the town people started to put their blame on me, the child that was born on the same day as the epidemic. Shunned by the whole village, my father raised me alone far away in the outskirt of town far away from the main town. We were poor but we had a happy life. My father taught me about herbs and medicine until he passed away a few years ago.
I really miss my father, I thought to myself as I wrapped my clothes around myself a little tighter. Winter was here and it started to get very cold and windy after sunset. I need to quickly make my way home before it gets any colder than this. Walking through one of the secret passages that I use to get to and from the heart of the village to the outskirts where my house was located, I quickened my pace as I thought about which herbs I could collect during winter time like now.
What is that? Something is piled on the ground. Was this here before when I walked this path on the way to the village earlier? I don’t think so…
Walking closer to the mysterious pile on the ground, I could roughly make out that it was actually a person. Wait…a person! Laying out here in the middle of the snow?!
No way! I need to help this person as soon as possible. It will get freezing cold at night, no one should be sleeping in the middle of the snowy road. I crouched down next to the seemingly unconscious body as I peered into the person’s face. I could make out the pale and exhausted face to be that of a man, a beautiful one at that. How long had he been laying here like this in the middle of the snowy path? I scanned his body quickly with my eyes and my hands as I slowly patted him to check for injuries.
Unfortunately, this man had some injuries on his arm. Although, they didn’t seem serious, it needed to be treated. He must have been in the cold for quite some time judging form how pale and cold his body is. What should I do? It’s getting darker and colder. What choice do I have? The reason why this is one of my secret paths is because no one ever comes here. I have no other choice, saving this man’s life comes first. The medical ethic in me could never leave a sick man here to die from the cold.
--To be continued...
“Mister!Mister! Please wake up!” I started to shake his upper body as I called out to him in a loud voice.No good. He’s completely unconscious. I can’t carry him alone; I need to wake him up somehow. The best I could do with my much smaller body was to support him as he walked.Sorry about this, Mister! I shook his body with more force and slapped his face a little. Soon, to my relief, he started to stir and after blinking confusedly a couple of times, he seemed to have come to his senses.“Thank god! You’re awake…I think you’re injured. Can you get up? I’ll help support you…” I said with clear relief in my voice.
“What do you mean you can’t find the Crown Prince?” the Emperor scolded his advisor.“Your Majesty, despite looking all over the palace, no one is able to locate the Crown Prince,” the old advisor stated apologetically as he bowed low.“He went out again, didn’t he?” the Emperor said as he heaved a big sigh as rubbed his brows.“With the upcoming plan to attack the Town of Amber Leaves, the Crown Prince must have slipped out to scout out the town…” the old advisor replied in a weak voice full of dread and anxiety.“Why does he always do this?! Entering enemy’s land all alone. Always doing thin
Nowthat I was out of the bedroom, I headed for the bathroom to wash my face. My reflection in the mirror told me that I was quite dirty, and my face was a mess from the rough travelling. I must have looked quite unladylike in Ren’s eyes. Oh well, it’s not like we’ll ever meet again after he recovers and leaves this place. Then my life will return to how it was before.Since Ren was sleeping in my bed, I had to find someplace to sleep in the living room. My house was small so there was only one bedroom, a living room, a small kitchen, and a tiny bathroom. It was comfortably enough considering that I was living all alone. I wrapped a blanket around my body as I sat down on the chair. I’ll just sleep with my head resting on the dining table. I feel so exhausted from travelling to the village and from helping Ren on my way back.
By thetime I was back, Ren’s eyes were closed as he continued to battle his fever. Sorry Ren but I need to remove some of your clothes to wipe you with cool water, I apologized silently to Ren inside my head. I slowly reached out my hand and began disrobing him. This is for medical purposes, but this is my first time undressing a man, I couldn’t stop my hands from trembling slightly as I tugged and pulled at his top. Finally, I managed to completely remove his clothes from his upper body.I sucked in a breath as my eyes took in the sight before me. Thankfully, Ren still had his eyes closed otherwise he would have seen my shocked reaction. I knew that Ren was tall and much bigger than me, but I didn’t expect that beneath his clothing hid such a well sculptured and muscular body. I’ve never seen a man without a shirt on before, but I knew enough that a stand
“You’reawake?” I heard a man’s voice as I lazily woke up from my slumber. Where am I? When did I fall asleep?The display of muscles close to my face when I opened my eyes brought me quickly back to reality. I am suddenly reminded that I am still lying on top of Ren. I bolted up into a sitting position, as I pushed against his firm chest with the palms of my hand.“Ren! Are you feeling better?” I managed to ask in a panicked voice. That didn’t sound right at all.“Is that the first thing you think of after waking up in this position?” Ren teased me as he laughed merrily. Well, at least someone is feeling much better.Wait. My position? I looked down and realized that now I was straddling his hips. I felt blood rush to my face as it dawned on me how embarrassing this po
“Actually, on the same day that I was born my mother died giving birth to me and a mysterious disease infected many villagers. The Village Head and the villagers decided to place the blame on me for the cause of the epidemic that happened…” I told him in an emotionless voice.“That’s completely crazy! Blaming an epidemic on a newborn baby. I bet those people are really simple-minded, so they looked for whatever and whoever was the most convenient to blame,” Ren said in a dark tone.“I guess…” I replied vaguely with a sad smile. Perhaps they really were crazy but that is just how things are. Reality isn’t always so pretty after all. Ren’s reaction surely surprised me; usually people would take the side of the mass in order to avoid causing trouble for themselves. At least that was what I’ve experienced so it was a pleasa
Afterdinner, I tended to Ren’s wound. His fever was cured completely, and he seemed to be as fit as ever. The wound on his arm was healing faster than I expected thanks to the medicine and probably Ren’s natural speed of recovery. Ren seems to have a very healthy body.“Ren, I think you’ve pretty much recovered…so…” I started to say hesitantly. How do I say this, so it doesn’t seem like I’m chasing him away? All I wanted to do is tell him that his body is pretty much healed and there’s not much I can do for him as a doctor except helping to dress his wound. Dressing the wound wasn’t a hard thing and he could probably do it himself with ease soon as the bandages may not be required anymore because his wound had closed quite nicely.“Umm…what I’m saying is…if you want to continue on your travel t
“Wait, Lin!” Ren called after me as he got up from his seat.“Hmm?” I replied questioningly as I turned my head over my shoulder to look back at him.“Umm…try not to go out so much…if something happens in town, you should just stay here. Ok?” Ren said hesitantly without meeting my eyes. I didn’t quite understand what he meant but I won’t be going into town very often anymore after Ren leaves.“Ok…Goodnight,” I agreed despite my confusion. I offered him a small smile as I went to prepare for bed.…When Lin wakes up, I’ll be long gone. The night here is always so still and quiet, apart from the sound of the wind the night was dead silent. I won’t get to see Lin in the morning so the least I can do is to leave her a note. I wonder if she understood my warning properly. I wanted to warn here more clearly but that was not possible.I took out a pi