**************************************************
Once Upon a time: Chapter 4
by white seraph
**************************************************
Sanosuke left, and now she was all alone, not knowing what to do, she decided to head to the shabbiest building ahead, which she assumed, was the servant's head quarters. Infact, that was the common choice, for behind the building was a tall, magnificent castle, surrounded by a woods and a beautiful garden.
'Wow the palace is much larger and much prettier than I expected, this king must be pretty powerful' Kaoru thought 'even the servant's quarters is as large as my own house"
Suddenly something hard hit her hard, Kaoru quickly turned back to see who her attacker was, afraid he would be some soldiers who found out her identity.
"Hey you! Who are you?" It was a boy, much to Kaoru's relief, looking at his attires she knew he was also a servant.
"I'm Ka..-ctually I'm new here, my name is…uhh, yeah! My name is..Kaoru"
The boy raised a brow doubtfully 'What do you want here? have you met Kamio-Sama yet? Did he assign you a job?"
"wh..what? who's Kamio? I have to be assigned a job?!"
"So I assume you've not seen him yet, let me take you to him, he's the head of servants, and his job is to assign all servants a specific job." The boy gestured her to follow
"Hey little boy, what's your name anyway?"
"Don't call me a little boy, you busu! My name is Yahiko"
"Okay I won't call you little boy then, yahiko-CHAN" This boy had no manners nor respect at all!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"So you're new? But I don't recall having recruiting any recently" the Kamio looked at the girl before he sipped his tea "I think I might have to send you back"
"no please, I can-" Kaoru started, no she couldn't be sent back so quickly, not after all this trouble
Suddenly, the door slid open, and another man walked in, whispering a bit too loud that the king had killed his personal servant while in a foul mood, resulting in a shortage of servants in the king's department.
"Oh dear, nonono, please don't assign me to serve the king" she prayed silently as the two men conversed. That was worse than she had imagined.
The more authoritive man looked at kaoru, "Okay, there is a sudden change, you are hired, please follow this man here to your assigned dorm, you will start to work tomorrow" pointing at the man who just came in.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The man lead Kaoru into the building, it was very big, with alot of rooms, but were all small and shabby.
"This is your new room, you start to work tomorrow, so i advise you have a good sleep tonight" With that the man turned and left, leaving Kaoru standing at the door of her new room.
"Ouch, the futon is so thin" Kaoru grumbled as she felt her back bump into the hard, cold floor, obviously not used to her new lifestyle
"Are you alright there?" a voice came from the other side of the room
'Damn I knew the Kamio person wouldn't be nice enough to give me such a big room all to myself' Kaoru thought, but out loud she replied "Yeah I am, thanks"
the voice was persistent "My name is Tae, and I'm one of the palace cooks, are you new ?"
The voice sounded friendly enough "Yes, I'm new, I'll be serving the king" Kaoru said honestly
"Ahh I see, that's bad then, anyway you and I both need to wake up early tomorrow, so good night"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Someone shook her shoulder vigorously, in attempt to wake her up.
"Sano? Is breakfast ready? Okay 5 more minutes then" Kaoru fell back onto her futon, only to realize it's not her normal thick, comfy one, but a thin rough one.
"Kaoru! It's already half past 4, you don't want to be late on your first day do you?!" Kaoru looked up, it was Tae...and then it all came back to her.
"You also need to get a new uniform, the clothes you're wearing now won't do"
"huh? Where do I get it?"
"That's why I'm here, I'm taking you to get one, I'll also be showing you around before you go work"
"oh that's very nice of you, Tae-san!"
"It's always the dorm mate's job to take the newbies around" Tae helped her up. She liked this girl very much.
Kaoru went to the water basin and started to rinse her face, but the water soon darkened, and then she realized, she just removed the dirt that concealed her pretty face. But before she could do anything, her dorm mate came over.
"Wow, I didn't know your skin was that white, you don't work a lot do you?"
"Uh…Kaoru hesitated, no, I don't work a lot, because I'm too lazy" Kaoru grinned sheepishly, trying to evade further questions upon the current topic. The one most likely to betray her secret.
Tae took Kaoru to another room and gave her a blue kimono and a white apron
"This kimono is so thin! And the fabric is so rough, oh gosh and it barely touched my knees" Kaoru exclaimed.
"This is what we servants wear" Tae sighed "don't think working in the palace means we get to enjoy royal luxuries too"
Kaoru was relieved, thank god her friend didn't take it the other way, "Yeah, I always thought working in the palace means I get nice kimonos and comfy futons, but I guess I was mistaken, anyway, the palace is so big, are you sure you can show me all the places before dawn?"
"No, I only intend to show you around the servant's section today" Tae led her out to the stables, where she first met that rude kid.
Kaoru quickly bent down to smear more dirt onto her face, so she'd keep the same look as she did when she arrived.
"Kaoru-san! What are you doing? You just cleaned your face!"
"Me? oh uh, I like to feel dirty!" But infact, Kaoru didn't want people to think she didn't do chores often and thus have her sent away.
Tae laughed "Kaoru-san you're so strange!"
Tae took Kaoru around the stables and archery before bringing her back to the servant's head quarters, so Kamio can let her meet servants who also served the king. Afterall, she was only a cook, and hardly ever went into the palace.
"You're Kaoru right?" The Kamio turned his head and called "Seta! Come in!" A young man appeared from the door, "Seta, this girl here is to replace Miko, you take her around, tell you what to do etc okay?"
"Yes sir" Seta replied, smiling, warmly, trying to make the new girl feel better.
Kamio turned his head back to kaoru, "now you, dear, are to follow Seta, he also works for the king, there is much to learn from him, and i am sure you both will quickly be aquainted."
"Yes sir" With that Kaoru followed Soujirou and left.
"So, Kaoru-san right? I'm Soujirou Seta, nice no meet you!" He extended his hand, which kaoru took. This young boy was rather mysterious, constantly smiling at her, as if he had developed an instant crush on her. Whoa wait where did that come from?
"I'm Kaoru, i'm very clumsey if you must know and if I cause you any trouble, I'm sorry" Kaoru introduced herself humbly. Not one bit nervous.
"don't worry kaoru-san you'll do fine!" Soujirou assured her, by tightening the grip before letting go.
The continued walking across the palace garden in silence, but there wasn't tension. Kaory felt comfortable around this boy.
"So, seta-san-"
"Call me Soujirou." He told her. This new girl looked rather innocent and naïve compared to the other girls who worked here. He could feel her air of elegance, though he knew not where it was from, nor did he care. She was by far the first female friend he felt comfortable around with.
"oh, okay, Soujirou, um, "Kaoru paused, not knowing if the subject she was about to continue on would be a threat her new job "I want to know what the king is like…is he cruel? I heard he killed a servant the other day, that's the only reason why I'm allowed to work here…"
"Kaoru-san you don't have to worry, i'll guide you through it. I've been working around since I was a child." Soujiro told her, though silently adding on the sad tale about his past. He sighed, and wondered when he could lift that burden off himself. His past, his memories. He could still recall the day His parents died. He could still dear their screams ringing in his mind. And it pained him; every time he relived that day; no matter in dreams or in thoughts.
"You-" Kaoru tried, but was cut off by her new friend
"I remember I did the morning shifts once, it's easy, as long as you do your work properly and don't talk to the king then you'll be fine" Soujiro smiled.
"What do i have to do?" Kaoru asked
"It's easy, you have to pull the curtains up, wake the king up,, prepare a washing basin for him and take his royal garments out. I'll wait outside the door, when you have all your things done, you just bow and leave okay?"
"um..okay, I pull the curtains up, I say good morning to the king…but what if he doesn't wake up?"
"don't worry we've been doing the same for years, he will wakeup"
"okay, so I wake him up, and prepare a washing basin for him, do I need to help him wash?"
"no, he does it himself, see I told you it's really easy, if you don't do anything wrong, you'll be fine, you won't even converse with the king"
"okay, so I prepare a washing basin for him, and….oh I don't know what he likes to wear"
"don't worry, there's not many to choose from, and they're all his favourites…no I mean, he doesn't care what he wears, so any will do"
Kaoru gulped, this wasn't as easy as she thought.
"Kaoru-san, you'll be fine! I'll make sure you walk out of that door safe and sound okay?" Soujirou took Kaoru's hand, and squeezed it. "it's nearly time now, lets go"
Once Upon a time: Chapter 4
by white seraph
**************************************************
Sanosuke left, and now she was all alone, not knowing what to do, she decided to head to the shabbiest building ahead, which she assumed, was the servant's head quarters. Infact, that was the common choice, for behind the building was a tall, magnificent castle, surrounded by a woods and a beautiful garden.
'Wow the palace is much larger and much prettier than I expected, this king must be pretty powerful' Kaoru thought 'even the servant's quarters is as large as my own house"
Suddenly something hard hit her hard, Kaoru quickly turned back to see who her attacker was, afraid he would be some soldiers who found out her identity.
"Hey you! Who are you?" It was a boy, much to Kaoru's relief, looking at his attires she knew he was also a servant.
"I'm Ka..-ctually I'm new here, my name is…uhh, yeah! My name is..Kaoru"
The boy raised a brow doubtfully 'What do you want here? have you met Kamio-Sama yet? Did he assign you a job?"
"wh..what? who's Kamio? I have to be assigned a job?!"
"So I assume you've not seen him yet, let me take you to him, he's the head of servants, and his job is to assign all servants a specific job." The boy gestured her to follow
"Hey little boy, what's your name anyway?"
"Don't call me a little boy, you busu! My name is Yahiko"
"Okay I won't call you little boy then, yahiko-CHAN" This boy had no manners nor respect at all!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"So you're new? But I don't recall having recruiting any recently" the Kamio looked at the girl before he sipped his tea "I think I might have to send you back"
"no please, I can-" Kaoru started, no she couldn't be sent back so quickly, not after all this trouble
Suddenly, the door slid open, and another man walked in, whispering a bit too loud that the king had killed his personal servant while in a foul mood, resulting in a shortage of servants in the king's department.
"Oh dear, nonono, please don't assign me to serve the king" she prayed silently as the two men conversed. That was worse than she had imagined.
The more authoritive man looked at kaoru, "Okay, there is a sudden change, you are hired, please follow this man here to your assigned dorm, you will start to work tomorrow" pointing at the man who just came in.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The man lead Kaoru into the building, it was very big, with alot of rooms, but were all small and shabby.
"This is your new room, you start to work tomorrow, so i advise you have a good sleep tonight" With that the man turned and left, leaving Kaoru standing at the door of her new room.
"Ouch, the futon is so thin" Kaoru grumbled as she felt her back bump into the hard, cold floor, obviously not used to her new lifestyle
"Are you alright there?" a voice came from the other side of the room
'Damn I knew the Kamio person wouldn't be nice enough to give me such a big room all to myself' Kaoru thought, but out loud she replied "Yeah I am, thanks"
the voice was persistent "My name is Tae, and I'm one of the palace cooks, are you new ?"
The voice sounded friendly enough "Yes, I'm new, I'll be serving the king" Kaoru said honestly
"Ahh I see, that's bad then, anyway you and I both need to wake up early tomorrow, so good night"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Someone shook her shoulder vigorously, in attempt to wake her up.
"Sano? Is breakfast ready? Okay 5 more minutes then" Kaoru fell back onto her futon, only to realize it's not her normal thick, comfy one, but a thin rough one.
"Kaoru! It's already half past 4, you don't want to be late on your first day do you?!" Kaoru looked up, it was Tae...and then it all came back to her.
"You also need to get a new uniform, the clothes you're wearing now won't do"
"huh? Where do I get it?"
"That's why I'm here, I'm taking you to get one, I'll also be showing you around before you go work"
"oh that's very nice of you, Tae-san!"
"It's always the dorm mate's job to take the newbies around" Tae helped her up. She liked this girl very much.
Kaoru went to the water basin and started to rinse her face, but the water soon darkened, and then she realized, she just removed the dirt that concealed her pretty face. But before she could do anything, her dorm mate came over.
"Wow, I didn't know your skin was that white, you don't work a lot do you?"
"Uh…Kaoru hesitated, no, I don't work a lot, because I'm too lazy" Kaoru grinned sheepishly, trying to evade further questions upon the current topic. The one most likely to betray her secret.
Tae took Kaoru to another room and gave her a blue kimono and a white apron
"This kimono is so thin! And the fabric is so rough, oh gosh and it barely touched my knees" Kaoru exclaimed.
"This is what we servants wear" Tae sighed "don't think working in the palace means we get to enjoy royal luxuries too"
Kaoru was relieved, thank god her friend didn't take it the other way, "Yeah, I always thought working in the palace means I get nice kimonos and comfy futons, but I guess I was mistaken, anyway, the palace is so big, are you sure you can show me all the places before dawn?"
"No, I only intend to show you around the servant's section today" Tae led her out to the stables, where she first met that rude kid.
Kaoru quickly bent down to smear more dirt onto her face, so she'd keep the same look as she did when she arrived.
"Kaoru-san! What are you doing? You just cleaned your face!"
"Me? oh uh, I like to feel dirty!" But infact, Kaoru didn't want people to think she didn't do chores often and thus have her sent away.
Tae laughed "Kaoru-san you're so strange!"
Tae took Kaoru around the stables and archery before bringing her back to the servant's head quarters, so Kamio can let her meet servants who also served the king. Afterall, she was only a cook, and hardly ever went into the palace.
"You're Kaoru right?" The Kamio turned his head and called "Seta! Come in!" A young man appeared from the door, "Seta, this girl here is to replace Miko, you take her around, tell you what to do etc okay?"
"Yes sir" Seta replied, smiling, warmly, trying to make the new girl feel better.
Kamio turned his head back to kaoru, "now you, dear, are to follow Seta, he also works for the king, there is much to learn from him, and i am sure you both will quickly be aquainted."
"Yes sir" With that Kaoru followed Soujirou and left.
"So, Kaoru-san right? I'm Soujirou Seta, nice no meet you!" He extended his hand, which kaoru took. This young boy was rather mysterious, constantly smiling at her, as if he had developed an instant crush on her. Whoa wait where did that come from?
"I'm Kaoru, i'm very clumsey if you must know and if I cause you any trouble, I'm sorry" Kaoru introduced herself humbly. Not one bit nervous.
"don't worry kaoru-san you'll do fine!" Soujirou assured her, by tightening the grip before letting go.
The continued walking across the palace garden in silence, but there wasn't tension. Kaory felt comfortable around this boy.
"So, seta-san-"
"Call me Soujirou." He told her. This new girl looked rather innocent and naïve compared to the other girls who worked here. He could feel her air of elegance, though he knew not where it was from, nor did he care. She was by far the first female friend he felt comfortable around with.
"oh, okay, Soujirou, um, "Kaoru paused, not knowing if the subject she was about to continue on would be a threat her new job "I want to know what the king is like…is he cruel? I heard he killed a servant the other day, that's the only reason why I'm allowed to work here…"
"Kaoru-san you don't have to worry, i'll guide you through it. I've been working around since I was a child." Soujiro told her, though silently adding on the sad tale about his past. He sighed, and wondered when he could lift that burden off himself. His past, his memories. He could still recall the day His parents died. He could still dear their screams ringing in his mind. And it pained him; every time he relived that day; no matter in dreams or in thoughts.
"You-" Kaoru tried, but was cut off by her new friend
"I remember I did the morning shifts once, it's easy, as long as you do your work properly and don't talk to the king then you'll be fine" Soujiro smiled.
"What do i have to do?" Kaoru asked
"It's easy, you have to pull the curtains up, wake the king up,, prepare a washing basin for him and take his royal garments out. I'll wait outside the door, when you have all your things done, you just bow and leave okay?"
"um..okay, I pull the curtains up, I say good morning to the king…but what if he doesn't wake up?"
"don't worry we've been doing the same for years, he will wakeup"
"okay, so I wake him up, and prepare a washing basin for him, do I need to help him wash?"
"no, he does it himself, see I told you it's really easy, if you don't do anything wrong, you'll be fine, you won't even converse with the king"
"okay, so I prepare a washing basin for him, and….oh I don't know what he likes to wear"
"don't worry, there's not many to choose from, and they're all his favourites…no I mean, he doesn't care what he wears, so any will do"
Kaoru gulped, this wasn't as easy as she thought.
"Kaoru-san, you'll be fine! I'll make sure you walk out of that door safe and sound okay?" Soujirou took Kaoru's hand, and squeezed it. "it's nearly time now, lets go"