TWENTY-EIGHT – Her
19 Days Until The Wedding
Shirayuki woke up at the very brink of morning to work herself away with repairing the scarf.
She had muttered the silly excuse to Ryu, who didn't mind her delaying her work to repair the scarf. Ryu knew she felt bad, seeing as right after she passed out, all she did was cuddle the two-piece object. And the apple-haired girl seemed all too preoccupied with it to discuss what had happened last night. If the window hadn't been open and Ryu hadn't been there, Shirayuki could potentially be long gone by now. It frightened her, really, how defenseless she was.
But now here she was, a sharp needle between her petite fingers with a thread tailing it by the dull end of it. She couldn't be bothered to ask over last night with all the things she had to do piling her. The basil thread was looping through the two pieces, getting them gradually weaved together with each stitch she made. But she chose to take her time, knowing that she didn't want to rush it. She wanted it to be perfect before Obi arrived tonight.
Obi.
Oh, how she longed for that boys return. In just a few hours, the raven-haired, cat-like eyed boy will return to her. He will have his arms open, his smile soft with pure elation to see her just as much. And she will gladly rush into them, to indulge in his warmth and smell her favorite scent of trees and nature. And then he'll call her 'Miss' and tell her all about his trip and the things he might've seen. Shirayuki was so exciting that she shocked herself with being able to sit still in her stool.
"Shirayuki," the young boy called out to her quietly. "Lunch is done. We should go eat."
"I uh, I think I'll skip lunch," Shirayuki muttered, immensely focused in getting the needle through the wool. She listened to Ryu take his quiet, audible footsteps towards her and barely hovered her. He was far too short for that, but his aqua eyes managed to catch her emerald ones in an intense gaze.
"You're always telling me to eat," Ryu began, the boys voice as monotonous as ever. "Also, those puffy eyes will go away completely if you eat suffice."
"Ah, that reminds me!" Shirayuki safely put down the needle and thread right on top of the scarf, cautious not to have the needle slip out and potentially fall. "Did you put the remedy on my eyes last night? Because I noticed how much better they look this morning!"
"I did," Ryu admitted, feeling his cheeks sear with the tone of her content voice. Shirayuki smiled happily, placing a hand on his head to slowly weave her fingers through the locks. He had always been such a good, kind boy to her, and she will definitely do whatever it took to make sure he was safe and growing well.
"Thank you so much," Shirayuki thanked quietly. "I'm sorry if it was a bother since I passed out and all that. I'm very grateful for your assistance last night as well, Ryu. You saved me, and I don't think I'll ever be able to make it up to you."
"As long as you weren't taken away, you are debt-free," Ryu muttered, his cheeks flushing a deeper shade of pink. Shirayuki couldn't help but allow a wide smile play at her lips. She held her bottom lip between her teeth to try and contain it, but she couldn't help herself. She quickly placed both her hands on the boy's shoulders to pull him suddenly against her body. Ryu no longer flinched at these gestures, but his breath did hitch momentarily.
"Let's go eat, yeah?" Shirayuki whispered quietly. She knew he wanted her to eat, and she will. After all, it's what Ryu wants and her stomach was growling like a wolf. Ryu nodded against her stomach, having her pull away and walk with Ryu as they went over to Garak's office. The chefs have made it habit to bring the lunch to the medicine wing, knowing that the pharmacists have habit in studying while they ate.
"Hey, you two!" Garak hummed from her desk, taking a bite of her well-done beef into her mouth. Her other hand housed a fairly fat book, completely open at the halfway point. But Garak chose to put it down to watch as Shirayuki and Ryu took their seat at the long table. The two greeted the other (still struggling) apprentice and Yatsufusa, the two already eating their plates of food. "Dig in, please."
Ornate on the long table aside from the usual stacks of papers and books were platters of food with stacked, clean plates and utensils. One platter with several cheeses, some young with others ages for several years. Likely from when Ryu was a toddler. Another platter held several types of bread, the carbs so enjoyed that there was fairly little of it on the platter. Another platter held the meats: pork, beef, and chicken. It was evident they enjoyed the beef very much, as it was also lacking a lot of it. And then there were the small bowls of whipped cream and butter, options for the carbs or however you'd like to eat them. And then the containers of water, milk, and wines (though knowing Garak, she would remain with her Roka).
"How's the patient from yesterday?" Shirayuki asked as she grabbed a clean plate to fill it. She also snagged a metal spoon and fork. "Has his wound been treated?"
"Ryu was actually frightened to death that the Prince might've dug the sword too deep," Garak commented. "But he didn't stab any organs open, luckily, so it wasn't too serious. He's now resting down in the dungeon, with the Court discussing it with Prince Zen as we speak. He's quite mad with the guards allowing this man to slip into the castle."
"Ah." Shirayuki noted, though found herself very uneasy to hear Zen's name. Though her feelings for the man are finding its way out, she still can't help but feel her stomach churn at the thought of him.
"I'd be more concerned over your nasty fall last night," Garak began, having Shirayuki halt from taking a piece of meat from the choices on the platter. She looked over at Garak, an evidently concern expression painting her face. "Were you feeling sick, did this man go a little far before giving you that cut there?"
"Physically, no," Shirayuki began, hesitance evident in her tone as she placed the meat on her egg-white plate. "Mentally, just a bit."
"He must've," Yatsufusa began, taking a sip of his mild cup of wine. "That's quite the traumatizing experience, even though you have experienced it before. You're not built to adapt to getting kidnapped or hurt, you know."
"I know that," Shirayuki muttered, having Yatsufusa quickly back off when he saw her emerald eyes well up some woe. But Shirayuki quickly wiped the brief sadness in her expression to stare at Yatsufusa's covered face. "Yatsufusa, if I may… is the reason you wear that clothe is because you're blind?"
"I can see, Shirayuki, don't worry," Yatsufusa began, knowing Shirayuki would have freaked out if the truth was he was blind at birth or blinded in his past. Yatsufusa took a big bite from his bread and chewed quickly before stomaching it. "I just choose not to most of the time."
"How come?" Shirayuki asked curiously.
"I specialize in distinguishing herbs and knowing the preciseness of all their properties," Yatsufusa began. "That includes their scent and their taste. So I turn off one of my vital senses to enhance the other two."
"That's pretty dedicated of you, Yatsufusa!" Shirayuki praised, having him curtly smile at the girl before resuming his consumption of the strong grape juice. "Which sense is more enhanced than the other?"
"Obviously the scent," Garak interrupted, having everyone but Ryu turn to face the woman. Ryu was too preoccupied with a book he found and began reading it. "Because he's still blind to taste. That wine is incredibly bland and flavorless, Yatsufusa!"
"My tolerance is not as good as yours, Garak," Yatsufusa admitted, shaking his head as he swished the wine in his goblet. "I would drink the Roka if my liver could handle it."
"That's because you aren't drinking enough of it," Garak pointed out, reaching down from under her desk to reveal yet another bottle of fermented Roka alcohol. "This one is working 2 years right now."
"Woah," Shirayuki ogled, amazed at Garak's dedication to her alcohol addiction.
"Shirayuki, do you notice the difference of the 8-month one versus this one?" Ryu asked, his not even daring to divert from the worded pages. Shirayuki squinted her eyes to study strong as Garak revealed the said 8-month Roka bottle.
"The color is much darker transparency of ochre," Shirayuki spewed, having Garak nod, indicating correctness. "It also looks much thicker—might I see their currencies?"
Shirayuki watched as Garak held the two bottles in the air and tilted them horizontally. She saw the 8-month one move a bit quicker than the 2-year one, though they both still move like water.
"And the Roka inside the 2-year one seems to be breaking down a bit," Shirayuki noted. "There are several substances of solid in there floating around with it."
"Good job, Shirayuki," Ryu muttered, a small smile crawling to his lips happily. "Your knowledge has grown at a much faster pace than expected, with your observing skills practically maxed out. Well-deserved Court Herbalist."
Shirayuki was immensely content with this praise over such a small thing, but she couldn't help and think about what Obi would say in this situation. He'd be ruffling Ryu's hair, telling him how much of a teacher he's made himself to be. And then Obi would look over at Shirayuki to give her that incredibly warm smile. His amber eyes would be supple dews of honey, expressing wordlessly how proud he was of her.
Obi had always seen her as such a hard worker and a strong character. She had always done everything like people had asked and were rather unexpected from her. She was the overachiever, the genius who learned from merely cleaning out a supply closet. The girl who saved Fort Lax by willingly carrying searing-hot logs out of the fort, alone, to toss them in the snow. The girl who reassured Obi in his ability to care for her and ensure her safety at all times.
And with all this, she did them happily with her entire heart and mind on them.
He remained in her mind as she finished her lunch to quickly return to the office with Ryu. With the young boy behind her writing scrolls of medicinal facts, Shirayuki went right back to fixing the scarf. Her progress was showing as she managed to finally get the scarf back together as one. But she huffed a little in frustration to notice that the scarf was now one long line worth of wool. She still needed to thread the ends together, and evening was already coming in.
But this is Obi's scarf. I must finish it because he comes.
"Shirayuki." Her concentration bubble was popped by the wise prodigy before her. She placed the scarf down gently, turning to her left to see the young boy holding a vial. "Can you hold onto this for me? My racks are already filled with this sap but there are different flower extracts in them. This one has jasmine in it."
"What're you doing with..." Shirayuki took a whiff of the vial, "maple sap and jasmine extract?"
"I received a note this morning along with my tasks for the day," Ryu informed as he trotted back to his stool. Shirayuki still granted him attention as she placed the vial in one of her racks by the second row, to the far left end. "It was a note from Miss Elizabeth requesting a batch of soothing wax she can use for hair removal."
"I didn't know you also produced waxes, Ryu."
"Anything to do with flowers, herbs, and nature is in my skill set."
As Shirayuki nodded in comprehension, she couldn't help but wonder. Shirayuki dipped the very tip of her index finger into the vial and allowed the sticky sap to stick on her. As she pulled it out, it stretched out and kept her finger connected with the sap and the vial. What would she need soothing wax for? She'll likely be wearing a long skirt in her wedding dress, she wouldn't need to remove her leg hair. Normal wax would do just fine anyways and—oh. Shirayuki was quick to smear her finger upon the rim of the vial, shuddering as she grabbed a towel, moistened it with her saliva, and began removing the stickiness of her finger.
"She's using it for the wedding," Ryu inform, having Shirayuki merely shudder.
"Of course she is," Shirayuki said quietly, pushing the rack as far as it can get before picking up the scarf and needle to continue her work.
It was all really happening, huh?
Zen is actually engaged and will be married to Elizabeth Knight. A Princess. A real, breathing, walking, talking, beautiful Princess. Straight-out-a-fairytale dream for Princes who desire Princesses. Frilly dresses, proper manners and speech, gold crowns ornate with expensive stones. Lavish bedrooms, silky bed sheets, people doing everything you say when you say it.
Jealousy would not be the word to use, because it wasn't her status that Shirayuki was jealous of. She was jealous that the future she had dreamed of with Zen was ripped apart and burned because of Elizabeth. Though, it was on his own free will that he chose this woman and hadn't said a peep about it or the reasoning behind it. But he doesn't love her or feel anything towards her, so why was he doing this to not only her, but to Shirayuki and himself?
But she can no longer obsess herself over the wonders of Zen and how he's conducting his life. Shirayuki's mind was quick to grab Obi back, making her smile warmly as she continued fixing the scarf. She felt so bubbly inside, anticipation only rise to think that Obi would be back with her in just short hours. 3 days, 2 nights seems so little in her head but they felt forever as the hours went by.
It frightened Shirayuki a bit on how much she thought about the attendant. So much so that everything she saw reminded her of him. She'd see the trees and imagine Obi hopping through them, leaving a trace of wind shown by the way the leaves danced. She'd look at the grass and see how he lays down, limbs spread out, eyes closed, and a deep slumber taking over him for however long he'd be granted for. She could see Garak drinking and see Obi rush over to take several cups without even a hint of intoxication in his being.
Sometimes, on quite rare occasion, Shirayuki would think about the side of Obi she always wonders about.
Shirayuki was very taken aback when she finally heard Obi utter her name. But her name emitted his mouth with fire, aggression flaring all over when he glared at the pirates that took her. She saw the way his hands were clenched, those ninja knives in them, prepared to be thrown in the air and bring pain to the wrong doers. Although his back was to her, Shirayuki had taken a guess about how ugly his eyes become. The slim slivers worth of pupils, the amber eyes darkening to a dijon mustard, the rasp in his deep voice. It played at her curiosity over how different he presented himself versus a side of him caused by some sort of ire. But it doesn't seem like Obi has any real anger issues or problems.
Night finally fell, and Shirayuki was astonished at how much she yearned to learn more about Obi. His words replay in her mind: be careful what you wish for; you could get burned. But it wasn't a careless wish or a wish that hadn't been thought out. She had seen (or what she assumes to have seen) a part of Obi that she guessed reflected as part of his previous version. After meeting the Prince and getting an update, Shirayuki noticed how discontent Obi was in discussing who he was before such a lucky day for him.
She had now been in war in whether to ask to have more of him or refrain from doing so for his own heart.
"Shirayuki." Once again, an interruption. Shirayuki was nearly done with the scarf, but still as distant as ever. She did, though, glance back to see Ryu. "I'll be off to the lab tonight. I'm going to attempt breeding a few herbs there and do some studying. I'll be back by my bed time."
"You better," Shirayuki threatened playfully, having Ryu reveal a curt smile before gathering his items. In his arms, he collected a notebook, a pencil, several containers worth of herbs, and a large book that probably contained information about his selected herbs. "Be sure to let me know if you discover anything interesting. I'll be here until you come back."
With that, Ryu quietly trotted out of the room, hearing his footsteps grow distant until sound was no more. Shirayuki found herself rushing a bit now. She realized how dark it was, and she knew that Obi would return any second now. She wanted the scarf to be done, to make sure that if Obi ever questioned it, the scarf would at least be whole.
She began getting giddy on what expression he'll be making when he finally sees her. Will he be happy? Will he have a bigger, warmer smile? With his eyes be as dewy as honey? Will he holder her so tightly that she feels he'll never let go? Oh, how she wanted him to hurry already! All she wanted was for him to be here with her. That's all.
"Phew," Shirayuki sighed, tossing the needle and thread aside as she finished the final stitch. She had completely ignored all the cuts and gashes she caused herself while fixing the scarf up, but she knew that it was going to be worth it, and it was. She slipped on the scarf, wrapping it twice to not only cover her neck well, but also the bandage with the wound. "Ah…"
She stood from her stool, very much sated by her work. Though slow and painful, she fixed up the lovely basil scarf to allow it back home around her neck. She led her hands up to it, taking it in her hands as she clenched it loosely. Shirayuki's hands brought it up over her chin to reach her nose, taking a strong whiff of the familiar scent of Obi. It made her lightheaded, truly, but she always found her heartwarming when she smelled this particular scent of trees and fresh soil after the storm has come. Obi had suddenly become so much to her, and this scarf was just an extension of it.
Satisfied, Shirayuki turned and headed for the door, only to find the one and only stood at the doorway, leaning on it with his signature look printed on his lips.
"I'm back," Obi whispered, his amber eyes quickly stealing hers into a gaze as Shirayuki's heart raced. She didn't bother wasting any time to observe him, though. She didn't want to. Not just yet.
Her feet found a mind of its own as she dashed over and pounced on the man. Obi's breath hitched as Shirayuki wrapped her arms around Obi's neck. He was evidently taken aback, almost stunned by this quick and desperate gesture, but it was obvious that she couldn't help herself. He felt it, the way her fingers began curling around the back of his black jacket. She was on her toes, her face safely buried in his neck as she indulged in holding him.
Then, to give Obi another kick, Shirayuki quickly jumped and wrapped her legs around his waist.
Frantic and quick to think, Obi held her by the under of her thighs. Shirayuki could feel his heart beat pulsing through his neck, feeling how it races against her chubby cheeks. She was breathing so unsteadily, immense excitement taking her over as she couldn't control her lungs. She was just so happy to see him that she couldn't be bothered to recall how to breathe or how to hug properly. She just wanted to be with him. And she sensed Obi completely taken off-guard, only slightly entertained by this.
Shirayuki then pulled back, her hands folded right at the nape of his neck as she finally got to study Obi's face. She could see those amber eyes bubble like champagne, the sweetness of honey dew evident between the dollops of white. His mouth got rid of the smirk and was now replaced with a shocked expression, the chapped lips slightly parted to her amusement. And right there, on his cheeks, was a rouge blush that spread as quick as infection.
"H-hi, Miss," Obi finally spoke, Shirayuki smiling widely to hear him say her nickname again. She closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against his, her cheeks hurting from such a wide grin.
"Hello there, Obi," Shirayuki whispered, elation dancing in her tone as she felt Obi's smooth forehead upon hers. She listened to him snicker a bit, opening her eyes to finally notice an irregularity of his face. "Hey, what happened here?" She freed one hand to thumb over a small cut on his bottom lip.
"Oh this?" Obi hummed. "I fell running up the stairs. I was so eager to get to you that I stepped on my own feet." Shirayuki giggled from this and pulled her hand away, seeing the small cut gush with little blood.
"You're lucky," Shirayuki commented, looking right into Obi's yellow eyes as she held his neck once more with both arms. "I have medicine for that."
"Oh, do you, Miss?" Obi asked teasingly, having Shirayuki nod against his forehead. She downed a harsh gulp, hearing the muffled sound of it play at her ears. Her smile fell into a small sort of pout, having Obi curiously stare at her as well without a smile. She began tilting her head a bit, meeting the level of his eyes as their noses tickled each other on contact. She let out a warm sigh upon his lips, causing his pupils to dilate when he caught on.
With one tug forward and her eyes fluttering shut, Shirayuki's lips were planted upon Obi's.
