“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 piece of paper and some ink before I started writing a short farewell note to her. I hope she sees and reads this when she wakes up. My personal guards and vessels should be arriving here very soon as per the instructions I had secretly sent to them via the pigeons. I wrote the farewell note quickly but carefully before placing the gold hair ornament on top of it. The ornament was my late mother’s favorite and I treasure it so much; however, I don’t feel an ounce of regret giving it to Lin.
I turned to leave but soon stopped in my tracks. Just one last look at her wouldn’t hurt…
Looking down at Lin’s beautiful and innocent sleeping face warms my heart and soul. It’s amazing that in this world full of war, hatred, trickery, and other various sins that there is still someone so good and pure. I held a small lock of her soft hair and brought it to my lips as I kissed it gently. I guess I am a little more than smitten with her.
Please stay safe and wait for me, Lin. I’ll be back for you very soon…
…
“Crown Prince, we’ve come to pick you up and escort you back to the Imperial Palace as you have requested in your message,” a loyal vessel disguised as a trader said with a bow.
Four other men were also present, all of them experienced war generals who serve the Imperial army. The reason these generals were all gathered in the same place was due to the Crown Prince’s request.
“Thank you everyone for making it here based on my selfish request. Before we leave, I must show you all a couple of secret paths that will help us form our strategy to take over the Town of Amber Leaves…” Ren said with narrowed eyes.
The men nodded seriously as they followed the Crown Prince, memorizing their tracks as they went.
…
I couldn’t sleep at first but some time during the night, I must have fallen into a deep sleep. I woke up with a start as I bolted up in bed, realizing that today’s the day that Ren would be setting out on his journey. I rushed out of bed and into the living room, however, there was no sign of Ren.
“Ren! Ren!” I shouted his name a couple of times as I rushed through the house looking for him. Deep down, I guess I already knew that I had missed him the moment that I woke up. The house was small, there’s no way he wouldn’t hear me with all this shouting.
“Ren!” I called his name as I pushed open the front door. Nothing but silence and the empty landscape in front of my house greeted me. Ren was gone.
Somehow, I felt a little hollow inside now that Ren was really gone. I didn’t even have a chance to send him off this morning. Although, I had mentally prepared myself for this moment, I felt my legs go weak as reality set in. What am I doing? I should go back inside and proceed with my life as normal.
I busied myself with cooking to kill the time to keep my mind off Ren, not that I was successful. Every time my mind lost focus and had time to wander, my thoughts would return to think of Ren. I wonder how he’s doing. Is he safe? Does his arm still hurt?
I shook my head to clear my thoughts. Of course, he’s safe. I finished cooking and headed to the dining table when something gold and shiny caught my eye. It couldn’t be…Ren left this hair ornament for me? I gingerly picked up the beautiful hair ornament watching as it sparkled in the light as I twirled it around in my hand.
Oh…there’s a note.
‘Thank you for taking care of me and for saving my life. Please keep this ornament, I believe it would look very beautiful on you. Stay safe and be happy. If fate is on our side, we’ll meet each other again,”
The note was signed Ren. If fate is on our side, huh? Who knows, maybe I’ll meet Ren again…someday.
…
Two weeks after Ren’s departure, I had begun to return to my normal life. Things were starting to revert to how they were. I spent my days picking herbs, making medicine, and visiting the local pharmacy in the village. Days passed by peacefully and I began to think of my time with Ren as a fairytale fantasy that was far away from reality.
One cold night, I was chatting cheerfully with Uncle Gobei and his wife about some new medicine that foreign traders had brought into town while visiting their pharmacy. Suddenly, the front door of the pharmacy burst open loudly and a soldier barged in. The three of us were shocked as we stared wide-eyed at the dishevel appearance of the soldier.
“All three healers must come at once!” the soldier barked loudly at us.
--To be continued...
“War has started! We’ve been invaded. The soldiers are out fighting now. We need all the healers that we have to take care of the injured. Now follow me at once! Quickly!” the soldier yelled in as he rapidly gestured for us to follow him.We looked at each other before nodding in understanding. I couldn’t bring myself to believe it but if war was really here, then the soldier was right. We must follow him at once to set up the hospital and to tend to the injured.“Wait a moment while we grab our medical supplies!” Auntie cried out as the three of us grabbed all the necessary medicine and tools that we need.“We must hurry!” the soldier continued to bark at us.“Can you please help carry this?” I asked the soldier as I passed him a large backpack full of medical supplies.“Ok. Now, lets go!” the soldier ushered us firmly out the door.The cold wind blew harshly against my
After treating that patient, we had a short meeting with the other healers as the situation headed for the worst-case scenario. We all knew what that meant as he stared wordlessly into each other’s eyes and nodded sadly.“We can’t go on like this anymore…so from now on…it’s code Black…” Uncle Gobei stated what was already on everyone’s mind. It took courage and authority from a senior doctor to say those words because it meant that from now on, we would be forsaking the lives of some patients. That’s right, we’re going to leave some of them to die…Code Black. The situation that no medical practitioner wants to find him or herself in. Ever. In emergency situations where there are more patients than the medical staff could handle, patients will be categorized based on their probability of survival. Only those labelled as having high and medium probability of survival will be given treatment. Tho
“These are the demands from our Emperor. If the Town of Amber Leaves can agree to all of these conditions, we will accept your surrender and stop the battle,” Shin stated officially before reading out all the terms present in the scroll.The terms included very common terms such as taxes to be paid in money or as crops. Ability for the Empire to use and control the land and population as it sees fit. The condition for complete surrender and loyalty as part of the Flame Dragon Empire. All terms were common, and nothing stood out except for one in which Shin read with more emphasis than the rest. After all, this term was just recently added by the emperor himself less than a month prior to this.“As for the final condition, the Town of Amber Leaves agrees to send the most beautiful and talented virgin to represent the town as an ambassador. The ambassador will live in the Imperial palace for the rest of her life and serve the Empire in good faith. That
“Run now! The enemies are here!” a woman screamed wildly as she ran into the tent.What? The enemies are here?! What would they come here for? There’s no one here but the injured and a few medical staff, most of which were women or old. I couldn’t think of anything else as I saw soldiers cladded in unfamiliar red armor uniform entering the tent bearing swords. The enemy is here…The soldiers that came in were aggressive and overbearing. My body froze in fear as they started smashing the medical equipment. Medicine, potions, and glass bottles crashed to the floor making a loud shattering sound. No…we don’t have enough medicine as it is. Another soldier grabbed an old man while another one grabbed Uncle Gobei’s collar yanking him hard.“Stop…please. We’re just doctors and healers…please,” Uncle Gobei pleaded in a shaky voice. It was clear that he was scared as the enemy soldier stare
“Kamiya? She’s standing right there…” Uncle Gobei replied casually as he pointed in my direction. I froze. Why can’t they just leave me alone to tend to the injured and then I will just silently head home.“Kamiya! My dear girl…there you are. Please come with us, we have very good news to share with you!” the village head broke into a smile as he addressed me excitedly.I had to be a fool to not realize that something very suspicious was going on. No one in this village except for Uncle Gobei and Auntie would refer to me as ‘my dear girl’ and even if they did, they wouldn’t mean it. Under the same logic, the good news that they wanted to share with me must really be super bad news. I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply in resignation while I braced myself for what was to come.“Where are you taking her?” Uncle Gobei interrupted as he shielded me behind him
**Back to the Present**There’s no mistake. Although his hair, his clothing, and the air around him is very different from when I met him before. This man…he’s Ren, the trader that I rescued! Why is Ren here? Why is he dressed like that?Ren…is the Crown Prince of the Flame Dragon Empire?!My mind went numb as many thoughts raced frantically through it. I stared with eyes wide opened at the Ren who was dressed in the highest-grade royal ensemble as befitting of the Crown Prince of a large empire. His hair partially tied back and decorate with gold jewelry. His royal robe must be made mixed with gold as well. He wore multiple gold jewelry and had a beautifully decorated sword hanging by his side. The air about him was royal, refined and quite arrogant. However, there is no mistaking it, this man standing before me is Ren.
“You…come this way,” the senior eunuch said suddenly. “You mean…me?” I asked in slight confusion as I pointed to myself. Did he mean me? “Yes, you. Come here with me,” the eunuch replied in a desperate voice as he beckoned me to follow him with his hand. Hesitantly, I started to follow him. I didn’t know where he was leading me, but he was leading me away from the group of women. I looked back over my shoulder as the group of women walked further away in the other direction. Where is he taking me? “The Emperor has graciously decided to let you stay in the White Lotus palace. You should consider yourself extremely lucky to have earned yourself such a reward on your first day at the Grand Palace,” the eunuch explained as if to answer my unasked question. Not that I knew what the White Lotus palace is. As far as I was aware, the fact that Ren seemed to show some interest in me by simply ta
Ok. In other words, this auntie is the manager of the Crown Prince’s harem. What an interesting job to have. If I must live here or find a way out as fast as possible, it will be extremely important to remain on Chen’s good side. “It is an honor to meet you…umm…Miss Chen…” I replied with the warmest smile I could muster. “You can call me Auntie Chen. Everyone, please leave us alone for a moment,” Auntie Chen replied before turning to wave off the others in the room. With swift bows they turned to leave the room, quietly closing the door behind them. Suddenly, I was left alone with Auntie Chen. I breathed in deeply a few times to calm my own heat beat. For some reason, I had a very gad feeling about this and the atmosphere is making me nervous. I looked down to see that my hand were balled together and my palms were sweating slightly. “There is no need to be nervous. I am here to guide and prepare