She felt her legs buckle and she sank down knees first to the floor. Time stood still as all she did was stare blankly at the teal carpet floor while remaining motionless. Deep in her thoughts, she could hear something in the distance gradually trying to pull her back. Its sharp sound hit her in full alert and she raised her head up to view the door that shook a little each time there was a series of knocks.
Quickly, she placed her palms against the rough carpet and pulled herself up to scramble to the door. After taking a few deep breaths, she turned the knob, and opened the door, which revealed a petite young maid who gave her a grade A business-like smile and a bow.
"I apologize for the wait," her voice drew out and she forced out a smile mirroring the maid's own.
"That's quite alright, Doctor Shiraishi. Shall we start the tour now or were you able to have breakfast yet?"
She raised her wristwatch to view before answering, "Let us see... How about I grab something quick to eat at the staffroom and then we can commence the tour?"
"Certainly."
"This here is the Sayuri and you've probably noticed by now that the doors of meeting rooms, dining halls, the grand salon, and other important rooms each have a different flower design on their door frames," the young maid pointed at the carved orange lily designs outlining the double-leaf door.
"Orange lilies for Sayuri, the largest staff room; Lotuses for Renge, the praying room; yellow chrysanthemums for Kigiku, the Audience Chamber; daffodils for Suisen, the grand salon, and so on, right?"
The maid's eyes widened a bit and her mouth formed to an o shape before composing herself, "Yes, that is correct. If you've picked up on what the rooms look like from its interior design, then I suspect you know how to navigate your way now?"
"Yes, that is so."
"I must admit that I am astonished you picked it up so quickly. "
"It's nothing that impressive," she shook her head lightly.
"Oh, but it is," the maid assured in a mildly persistent manner. "Many of us, not just the staff, had trouble locating ourselves in the beginning. I remember wishing there would be some sort of map or colour-coded lines on the walls."
She flapped her hand back and forth, "It's not something quite impressive. You just pick up a thing or two after memorizing volumes of books dealing with human anatomy and so on. Mmm, this is a silly question but, is there any reason why different flowers are used for different rooms aside of assisting in differentiating them?"
"Hmm," the maid pondered, "If you're referring to the language of flowers, then I don't believe so. I mean, Sayuri, in the language of flowers means hatred or revenge, from what I know. That meaning wouldn't really suit any kind of room in the palace let alone a staff meeting room."
"I see. I was a tad curious, but it looks like I was mistaken."
"No problem. Then, we'll now move on to our final destination where the medical wing is, more specifically, to where your office will be."
Once they reached the office, she relieved the maid from her duties, saying she could take care of herself from there. She then glanced up at the nameplate upon the door and unconsciously traced across the carvings of her name and nadeshiko flower design on the side.
How cute.
She poked her head through the door of the office soon after. Inside the office was pretty much pure white, from the walls to the minimal furniture, much like a hospital environment, with the exception of the disinfectant smell. She was about to step into the room until she heard a few beeps coming from her phone and glanced at the numbers on the screen. It read half past one. With that, she thought best of it and headed to the meeting room.
There weren't kidding when they said it was the biggest staffroom. It was designed in a style that resembled a lecture hall at university. Though, the staff of the Medical Household filled roughly a third of the seats.
"Before I kick-start the meeting, I'd like to introduce you to Miss Shiraishi. She will be taking over Doctor Tanaka's position as Head Physician of the Household since, as you all know by now, he recently went into retirement," Doctor Fujiwara spoke into the microphone, his voice rang with authority. "Miss Shiraishi..."
He then step aside and motioned her to come to the podium. With perfect poise, she made her way there and adjusted the microphone to a comfortable position.
"Ahem. As Doctor Fujiwara has introduced moments ago, I'm Nadeshiko Shiraishi and I am now a part of the Medical Household. I will be in everyone's care from now on. I hope I will be able to learn from everyone and I look forward to be working together with this group of talented and dedicated medical staff. Thank you very much."
The hall applauded generously and she walked back to her front row seat feeling wobbly with every step. Though, from an outsider's point of view she appeared to have everything together.
"Thank you, Miss Shiraishi. Now, I'd asked those who are involved with our annual physical examinations to please remain seated while the rest may be dismissed."
With as little noise as possible, they filed out of the hall upon request.
"Now then, for this year, I'll be in charge with organizing the examinations since this year and we'll be following the same procedures that Doctor Tanaka like always. This year, we have approximately 563 staff members in the palace, excluding the Medical Household, 85 royal council members and 117 royal family members. Judging by the average time of each person taking 30 to 45 minutes , they should last for about a week to a week and a half..."
She dumped the four piles of files on her desk, making a small thud each time, and then sunk into her chair with a heavy sigh.
Paperwork.
She eyed it for a few minutes and kept jumping from one thought to another in her head.
How many pens would be in her trash bin by the time she finished this? How many trees were killed to make these papers? Would she be able to finish them all tonight if she motored through? What are Aya-chan and Yu-cha-
Her body stiffened considerably and she mentally removed herself away from such thoughts in the only few ways she knew how to.
Wasting no further time, she slapped her cheeks a few times, set the timer on her phone, put on her glasses, snipped open a new pen pack, and began to plough through.
The alarm sounded her coincidentally after she placed a completed patient file on the side and she glanced over to the unfinished stacks, which was about... one eighth of the way done. Oh well.
She stuck her head into the one of the staff dining rooms and entered after Yu's lack of presence was confirmed. However, it must have either been one of the less occupied rooms or the fact that it was a bit late for supper since there were only about a dozen staff members lounging around. Some of them engaged in idle talk with her as they ate. Through them, she learned that the Prince and Princess were out that day, which explained a lot.
Half an hour later, everyone left to resume their tasks. She too, decided to get back to work and stacked her empty plate and utensils in the bin where they'd be taken into kitchen after. As she was about to leave, the door swung open and in burst an unfamiliar middle aged man. He wore a white coat beneath his olive coloured suit, and as for his appearance, all she could really describe was that he resembled a hawk. It didn't take long for him to notice her presence and approached her with a friendly smile. Nadeshiko, on the other hand, knew that type of smile too well.
"I didn't realize there would be anyone remaining here at this time. You must be Miss Shiraishi, our new recruit! It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Matsuda, the Sergeant Surgeon. You probably don't recognize me since I didn't attend the meeting. I had a surgery to perform earlier," he spoke slowly and extended a hand out. "You're probably more accustomed to Libertian traditions rather than Oriensians, I take?"
She grasped his hand and have a firm shake, "Though, I spent most of my life in Liberty, I am fine either way. Besides, like they always say, "When in Rome, do what Romans do." Thank you for being considerate, though."
"I must say, your last name is eerily familiar," he then stroke his chin and blatantly feigned an epiphany. "Ah! I've got it now. The Shiraishi Enterprise supplies the Royal Family with medical supplies and pharmaceutical drugs for many generations, right? Could it be that you're somehow connected to them?"
Somehow she did not like where this was going as her inner reactions proved to be more correct by the passing seconds, but continued to answer courteously, despite knowing she was playing into his game, "You are quite sharp, Doctor Matsuda. My grandmother is in fact, the CEO of the enterprise."
"My, my, what an fascinating revelation that is! It is no wonder you were chosen out of all the possible candidates. Not to mention you're blessed with beauty and the advantage of your gender," he spoke flippantly while still remaining his friendly smile, but his eyes spoke a different story. "Let us hope that you will somehow live up to your title as Head Physician, otherwise it would be quite troublesome, wouldn't it?"
He may have pulled a straight flush, but she wouldn't be defeated so easily and remained unfazed as ever, "Indeed, that would be quite a predicament. I'll make sure to uphold my title, otherwise the years of hard work in school and residency would go down the drain. Thank you very much for your concern."
Despite her inner protests, she presented him with a deep bow, "I apologize I cannot converse with you any further, since I have much work to take care of with the upcoming examinations. I bid you a good evening."
She left and walked down the hall to find a washroom to wash her hand. A part of her was tempted to hurl out her supper, as well. However, she knew by now that there would always be people like him wherever she went.
By nine, she called it a day and returned to the sanctuary of her room. Her mind was yet again, wide awake and she found herself staring out the window while on her bed, hugging her knees close to her chest with wrapped around her body. Her sense of time was lost as she continued to think of many things. The past, the bad, the unwanted.
Until her phone vibrated on the nightstand, causing her to involuntarily flinch. She still remained in her position until it kept vibrating and vibrating and-
"I can see you are a persistent caller like always," she answered flatly.
"Only when it comes to you," the other end of the line replied back and she can almost imagine them sticking their tongue out at her. "Becca's on the line, too, since she finally has some time to herself after flying all over the place. So, we're doing three-way."
"You just like using that term on purpose," the person under the name of "Becca" chimed in and rolled her eyes.
"Guilty, as charged. Anyways, we're calling today to see how the Head Physician of the Oriens' Royal Household is doing. God, that's a mouthful," Nicky sighed.
She became silent for a moment. "I'm more or less alive."
There was a long deafening pause between the three of them.
"Okay, okay. Well, here's what happened..."
And so she spilled. About Aya, about Yu, and what she saw.
"I told you so! You were all like, "Blah, blah, blah, I've already given up long ago, blah, blah, blah, I can't compare to Aya-chan," and look what we have here, you still really like him."
"Nicky, you're not helping," Becca reprimanded.
"Okay fine, but you sure you weren't just overreacting?" Nicky spoke raising an eyebrow.
"I might be, but my intuition hasn't really failed for these things. Remember both of your exes, and those guys who confessed?" she replied as she threw her back against the bed.
"But the only way to really find out is to be direct," Becca pointed out as she twirled her brown looks with a finger. "So, I think you should ask. You're childhood friends, there's no harm in asking. It also saves you from the eternal curiosity."
She sighed. "It's because we're childhood friends that I can't ask. Do you understand how awkward that would be and what if he says he still loves her?"
"Isn't it more awkward to walk around on eggshells? Besides, she's happily married," the blonde argued between bites of cheese and crackers. "Maybe, this might be a chance for you to take advantage of the situation and you know, get him to see you as a woman."
"I don't think it would stop someone like Yu from feeling what he feels because of that. I think the important thing here is to get him to move on and be happy, not so much about my desires or what's left of it. Prolonging such things will be miserable for both of them, that is if Aya-chan already knows about it."
"And it would be miserable for you, too," Becca replied firmly. "Look, you know very well that the only way to help him is ask and be there for him. If you really care for him, you wouldn't be holding back like this and I know Nicky means the same thing. She just has trouble wording things as you know."
"Hey!"
Her reflex was to deny, but she was unable to find any words of such nature. "Well-I—you're right. I just need to find the right opportunity to ask. Thank you, guys."
"No problem. We're here for you and tell us how it goes."
Unfortunately, there was no such opportunity the next few days as she was buried in work. The only chance she had any sort of human interaction was when she was scheduling check-up appointments and during mealtimes with the chefs as she discovered the kitchen provided a more recluse atmosphere, despite the clanging of pots and pans.
Yu was also quite busy as he spent most of his time outside accompanying the Prince and Princess for public events. When he was present in the palace, he would be migrating from one place to another or asleep. She even had to text him for his appointment.
As for the surgeon, she had the misfortune of bumping into him a few times in the corridors. Luckily, there was always a few third party members around within earshot, so he maintained his facade of friendliness, which she must admit he did an excellent job of. Perhaps he could have been an actor instead.
"Look at me, the pot calling the kettle black," she smiled bitterly to herself.
The first day of the examination came, with the very earliest patient being Prince Glenn, followed by Aya, who Nadeshiko hadn't seen in a while. They chatted while she worked her way through the list of what needed to be checked-up, though, Aya frequently squirmed or giggled throughout the whole session claiming it was weird now that she was her doctor.
"But we use to play hospital all the time, back then," she responded a bit confused as she strapped the pneumatic armlet around the brunette's arm.
"Then and now are different," Aya insisted as she waiting for the constriction to be over. "We were kids who pretended to wrap eachother in imaginary bandages and give check-ups for our supposedly flu-riden stuffed toys. Now, you're an actual doctor. Everything oozes professional and seriousness when you work, even though your demeanour is lax and friendly with me."
"I'm sure it's the same for you when you're taking body measurements, though," she raised an eyebrow, giving Aya the "Am I right?" look before allowing the pressure to subside. "And done, looks like your blood pressure is normal. Also, your husband was here earlier, as you know. From the interaction we had, he spoke of you very fondly and he's very mature. I'm glad you've found happiness. Oriens is blessed to have you two as its future King and Queen."
Aya's face turned red as a raspberry and stuttered modest words of gratitude.
Her heart thumped faster then normal as she sat behind her desk waiting for the next two patients to come in. She got caught up in smoothing the surface of her navy wrap skirt and fidgeting with the safety pin decorate with charms. Then, a few light knocks were heard and she startled herself into a upright sitting position with one hand placed neatly on the top of the other on the cool surface of the table.
"Ahem, please, come in," she spoke in the best doctor-like tone she could make, whatever that was.
The door creaked slowly and in poked a timid little boy's head. He stared at her hesitantly and she stared at him back with her mouth gaping, but then fixed it to a normal smile. From the other side of the door she could hear a familiar voice soothingly coaxing the boy to get inside. The boy still stood rigid in his place.
Witnessing the scene before her, she gathered up her resolve, walked towards the boy, who cowered behind the door slightly, and bowed to him.
"It is my honour to meet you, Your Highness. My name is Nadeshiko. I'll be your doctor from now on," she beamed at him with a twinkle in her eyes. "Now, won't you come inside? I'm sure both you and Master Yu must want to sit down, right?"
Prince Alan bore his large chocolate brown eyes into hers, as if searching for something. His cheeks then puffed a little and he stared at the floor.
"You... you won't give me a needle shot today, right?"
"No," she replied earnestly, "Not today, but you know... needle shots aren't that bad. Do you know what they do?"
He shook his head.
"They're like... heroes, in a way. They fight bad guys that try to get inside your body to make you sick. They work very hard to make sure you're healthy. It might hurt a little, but that is the only way they can get into your body to help you and the pain won't last very long. Most importantly, I believe that you are very strong and brave, so when the time comes to get a needle shot, won't you help them fight the bad guys, too?"
She could feel her palms sweat a little as she waited for a reply. It was a gamble with slightly high stakes, but hopefully it would pay off. The small brown haired boy then gave her a bright smile and nodded.
"Of course!"
"Then, please, have a seat over there," she hand motioned to one of the two seats in front of the table on the right which the Prince walked towards. Yu finally fully opened the door to reveal himself. As he entered, he came closer to her and whispered, "Sorry about that, and thank you."
She could feel the part of her ear he whispered in heating up, but she managed to she managed to compose herself with a passive face, "No problem. I worked with kids often."
The check-up proceeded smoothly with Prince Alan, who was now eager to comply to the procedures. Yu's went fairly the same way, until...
"Okay and now for the last thing for this check-up," she said while scribbling down some notes, before looking up to meet Yu's eyes, "we need to get some samples for a blood test."
Yu could feel his body breaking out in cold sweat as he heard Nadeshiko's words. It completely slipped his mind that her work would cover such issues after the previous head retired.
"Bl—blood work, huh?" he searched his mind for something, anything, as long as it was reasonable and glanced at his watch. "Oh, would you look at the time. It seems I need to get some work done soon. I'll just escort Prince Alan-"
The young boy tugged the hem of his shirt and enquired innocently, "But, Yu, didn't you say before coming here that you were glad you're finally getting free time to yourself after this?"
Yu's sapphire eyes shook as he stared at Prince Alan, then to Nadeshiko, who gave him the same smile she wore this whole time. "E—err, then how about I accompany you to play today?"
"I can play by myself," he pouted before resuming his usual bright smile. "Besides, I want you to be healthy."
"His Highness is absolutely right," the violet eyed lady interjected, headed to a cabinet, and pulled out some three tubes, a rubber strap, and the needle, sealed in plastic."Now then, Master Yu, shall we?"
"I really don't think it is necessary," he shook head. "I mean, my health is excellent."
"Really now? Then, I suppose I should stop looking both ways, since I've never been ran over by a car."
"That's-"
"Master Yu, the more you deny, the easier it is to clue in," she spoke, which sliced off their little banter, in a tone that provided no objections to be made. Of course, he could no longer object anyways, now that she was aware.
There was a long silence hanging between them before she offered a different suggestion with a sweet smile, "Then, how about you escort Prince Alan to his room first and then come back here before the next appointment?"
He quietly bobbed his head.
His eyes tensely watched as she firmly tied the rubber strap on his right arm.
"Alright, now, please close your eyes and look the other way," she spoke softly and he complied... with his eyes shut tight. The thin cold metal hadn't been stuck in yet, but he could feel himself begin to become dizzy. At this rate, he'll lose consciousness, just like all the other times. Until he felt something unexpectedly warm on his hand. Surprised, he turned his head around to see that it was the raven haired lady's hand. She stared back at him with a sweet smile.
"Don't worry. I'm right here."
The room no longer felt like it was spinning, and his heart adjusted to a normal rate. The blood test progressed smoothly afterwards.
"You did very well, Master Yu. Would you like a candy as well?" she stuck out a small tin of assorted candy at him with a giggle.
"I think I'll have to pass on that offer, thanks," he waved his hand in rejection, but then scratched his head a little flustered. "Sorry you had to see that. I didn't want you to see that side of me. I'm no longer a kid, I shouldn't be scared of these things, and after what you said to Alan, too."
She shook her head as she popped a caramel chew in her mouth before closing the tin, "There's no need to be sorry. There are plenty of people young and old who faint at the sight of needles. I see it often in my line of work. Fearing them doesn't make yo any less of a butler or a friend. You could have told me sooner, however. Arrangements could have been made."
"I'm sorry. I had completely forgotten," his eyes wavered for a moment before continuing. "I decided to accompany Prince Alan in place of the Prince and Princess, since I thought they should have more time alone together after these past hectic weeks."
Her eyebrows knitted together at his statement, "Umm, Yu-chan... about-"
Knock, knock, knock!
They turned their heads at the direction of where the door was located, startled. With a sigh, Yu got up and straightened his suit, "I suppose I should take my leave then."
But as soon as Yu opened the door, he froze when he saw who was standing there.
"Master Yu, is something the matter?" Nadeshiko approached the scene and tilted her head to the side to get a better look. "Oh my, Lord Kaneda! I apologize to have kept you waiting."
She offered him a bow, to which he acknowledged. He continued his staring contest with Yu for a brief moment before Yu finally apologized and excused himself once more. A small frown grew upon her lips as she stared at Yu's back until Lord Kaneda snapped her out of it.
"Shall we proceed to the check-up?"
"Oh, yes, pardon me for a moment," she bowed. "I must be a little tired."
"It seems that your blood pressure is slightly higher than average," she informed as she pressed the button to allow the armlet to decrease in pressure. "Have you been following the dietary plans Doctor Tanaka suggested?"
"Not so much," Lord Kaneda admitted. "The diet plans pretty much scrape a lot of things I enjoy eating. Plus, I attend parties frequently, which pressures me into drinking."
"Hmm, well, I can try coming up with a new one for you that would suit your needs, but in moderation, and I will include the requirement for exercising daily. Do you think that sounds like a better plan?"
"Well, it is your job afterall," he shrugged.
"Indeed." And she started to jot a few notes down, building a wall of silence between them before he spoke up.
"What is your relationship with Yu?"
The pen halted and she glanced up, "Pardon?"
"Don't play innocent with me. I know something is up between the two of you," he glowered. "Did he ever tell you about his past? To be more specific... why he's working in the palace?"
Her mouth formed a thin line and she gave him a hard stare. "I'm terribly sorry, but I think you are mistaken. Master Yu and I are strictly on a co-worker, as well as a physician and patient level."
"Aren't you curious at all?" he smirked as he began to take his leave. "Maybe you should ask him the next time you see him, hmm?"
And the door clicked shut, leaving her to slump into her chair with a loud, loud sigh.
"Of course I'm curious, but..."