"What's this?"
One the royals had received the mysterious flower letter, And it was none other than the royal prince Takeru Saganu, who was in his room looking through the window at the starless night sky hided by the clouds.
He had received the floating purple orchid right when he was about to close the window. And was one of his best decisions.
***
Another day arrived, the crying clouds weren't crying in the melancholic kingdom, this time.
In the morning and afternoon, the prince and advisors, receiving the exact command of the emperor they needed, made sure to take down the baby porridge and warn the citizens about the certain components that were deadly for the babies. Said and done.
With the emperor's mandate, the baby porridge stopped being sold, and the sellers of the same were arrested, discovering that they were from the other kingdom and were bringing all that food from there.
***
The next day arrives, The infant's death rate has dropped significantly, with the cemeteries stopping receiving a new baby corpse to bury. The crying clouds, now more calmed and soothed, slowly were dispersing, with the sun willing to shine again and let it rays of light and brightness bath the once melancholic kingdom.
***
Amethyst arrives to the kitchen, thinking about how she would feed her magical companion in secret, everybody was doing their duties, until she spot... A chocolate cake on the main table, it was already in the middle, with many of the workers and chefs approaching to take one more piece of the delicious treat.
----
I get confuse at the sudden treat on the table, but I get a piece of it anyway.
"Natsumi!" I called the sharkboy, approaching him as he were stirring the pot of soup. "Do you know who made this delicious chocolate cake?" I take a small bite of it. "Is it, surprisingly, the head chef, perhaps?"
He looks at me before shaking his head in denial. "Actually, no. Who did it is not a person from the kitchen." He says. "It was Nurse Rose."
Penny arrives with a cutting board full of veggies and some chicken meat, putting it carefully on the pot before adding. "She wanted to make a cake for all of us as a way to create bonds and friendship with the others."
My face contorts and cringe out in disdain and disgust at the mention of that woman, and the fact that I ate a food SHE made with HER own hands?? Disgusting.
"Oh. The cake is with a different taste now... I don't want it anymore." I say bluntly. "Who wants this?"
Natsumi takes the piece of cake by directly eating from my hands.
"Natsumi, always thinking with the stomach." Opaka joked out, making us let out soft chuckles.
----
But the laughter is cut by two guards entering in the kitchen, being in the front one of the royal advisors and personal butler (or assistant) of the royal prince, Lun Re, with his insignia of the kingdom and of the prince shining brightly. The head chef approaches them with a confusing yet welcoming expression, but beneath his facade, Amethyst was able to feel the rage, the same boiling feeling of having his kitchen invaded and disturbed by them.
"Good morning pals, what brings you here to my kitchen?" Greets the head chef, with false deference.
Lun Re, ignores the head chef, clears his throat and opens a letter, starting to read.
"By order of his highness, prince Takeru Saganu, we are here for an quick inspection towards the workers, the one who have specific evidences that cannot be said openly, will be taken to his highness' presence for a discussion, not mattering if the same is doing a duty of a big or extreme importance." Announced the butler, his voice firm and steady. "Now if you excuse me, sir head chef."
He starts walking glaring at the head chef with a bit of disdain, their shoulders bumping roughly against each other, starting the inspection along the two guards. They were inspecting the hands, the scent, and the skirts (of the female workers), looking carefully and sharply.
And then, it's Amethyst turn, being the one inspecting her the butler.
The butler nose twitches once he feels a mild unusual scent in Amethyst uniform, who was with her arms crossed when the sudden group entered, raising his suspicions.
Amethyst glares Lun Re sharply, one eyebrow raised before simply surrendering her hands to him, letting him do his thing. Lun Re was surprised, his eyes widening ever so slightly before he nods and grabs her hands to look closer. It was there, in the folds of her hands, another evidence, it was remnants but it was enough for him.
Without warning, Lun R crouch and grabs her skirt edge and stretches it, seeing what he needed to see.
He stand up. "It's her." He says to the guards, who look at him with surprise once they hear the butler's voice and impressed that he found the person in short time. "Take her."
The guards nod curtly before quickly approaching Amethyst, tying her wrist with chains and pushing her forward to start walking, leaving the kitchen.
Her friends were shocked, thinking that she might commit something serious by the way she was tied. But once she turned her head in their direction and gave a wink, they understood what TRULY happened.
***
----
Once we left the kitchen and gave some steps, the butler snapped his finger and the guards untied me, but signaled to keep walking. I look at my wrists, marked lightly by the chains, and I couldn't help but giggle at the feeling of the pain. Huh, the butler must had used the social strategy called 'Exit and Sacrificing Social Image', which consists in the 'savior' use an image tarnishing excuse to get the 'saved' out of a place or situation, without the need of give many explanations of the 'saved' exit.
Probably the butler used this strategy to get me out of the kitchen without the head chef being in the way asking a lot of questions, reason why he didn't say openly the main reason of the inspection. Using the word "discussion" in the announcement, would imply in the other's heads that will not properly be a discussion, with the way the guards the way they tied making their speculations more wrong and leading in a big misunderstanding of all of this. Truly smart this butler, hehe--
I accidentally bump my head on the guards once they stopped walking, finally arriving at the destination.
The butler opens the door, revealing a medium room with many books, weird but beautiful trinkets, and chic furnitures. Huh, not bad. Inside, was none other than the royal prince Takeru Mamoru, waiting for my arrival on his table. For a man, For a man, he looks more like his beautiful mother, the empress, his father's genes didn't even made the efforts. Well, at least he's pretty.
The butler gestures for me to enter. Of course, I enter, bowing deeply before the prince and only lifting when he commands to.
The butler Junzhi, goes next to the prince, whispering something in his ear. The prince looks at me while the butler speaks, or rather whispers, nodding in contemplation before turning his head to my direction once the butler finishes.
"So you're Amethyst, the kitchen worker who doesn't have a clan. It's what the contractors and advisors said about you, and in your files from the Big White House." The prince said to Amethyst. "But let's start this matter."
"How did you discover it? The infants deaths? The baby death of the eighth concubine? And why didn't you tell me directly?" The prince questions, his tone direct and authoritative.
I clean my throat before starting.
"I heard that in the baby porridge had two principal ingredients: cow milk and honey, two components that for a baby less than 12 months, it's the same as poison." I started my voice steady but neutral. "I notice that every time Rose nurse comes to the kitchen to grab the fourth princess food, she always asked for honey and milk. Is possible that she used them to feed the eighth concubine's baby."
"I couldn't, sadly, tell directly to your highness because the head chef would consider my actions as snooping in a matter that doesn't concern me, and I would be punished." I finish, with a final nod.
The prince put his hand on his chin,
Thoughtful, looking at the cloth letter. "So you all of this was to avoid being punished... Smart." He looks at me. "Thank you for sharing this information, without it, the kingdom would have lost more innocent lives. And I'll make sure to send guards to the nursery for an interrogation." He thanks, before adding with a smile. "As a reward, I will promote your work position to one of my royal advisors, physician and my third lady-in-waiting."
I couldn't believe my ears. Me? ME??? Getting promoted for three BIG positions, no less!!! Do you know what this means? I can FINALLY have my own laboratory and have access to the pharmacy!!!
"I... I cannot accept this offer, is too much for a humble young woman like me to—"
"We can't let such an intelligent mind out of my side, I feel that you're gonna be a good addition. Besides, I have a strange feeling that you know more than you let on." The prince exclaims. "You will start tomorrow, very early in the morning. Lun Re, lead the now lady Amethyst to her new room, and help her to move her belongings, if she have some." He demands, receiving a curt nod from Lun Re before going towards Amethyst to lead the way.
I bow deeply in gratitude, just as a way to hide my excited and happy face from the prince and butler Junzhi gaze. "Gratitude by the promotion."
***
----
Being like this, a new beginning of the shenanigans and weird creations of Amethyst, who will have no brakes when it comes to science and medicine. Now that she is a royal advisor, physician and the prince's lady-in-waiting, how will she interact with the new co-workers?
**((Bonus))**
As Amethyst and Lun Re are walking next to each other, going towards her new room carrying her belongings, the butler looks down at Amethyst before saying.
"Congratulations for your new position, lady Amethyst. I hope we can work well together and be great friends." He says with a small smile.
"Just a small question, do you like animals, by any chance?"
"No..." She responds before looking up at him.
"... You're a tiger, are you?" Amethyst says bluntly.
He's surprised by the discovery, before he simply nods in confirmation. "Yes I am. How did you notice?"
"Your hair red shine and orange hair, and your green eye, your teeth and your nails, or rather, claws." She states out, pointing it with her finger. "It's not common for a "person" to have animalistic features, even if very small. It's probably that the eye you're hing with your hair makes it more noticeable about your specie."
*Wait, since his a feline, does he likes little scratches on the belly, on the nape of the ears and tail...?* She ponders for a moment. *I will find out later.*
"Then, shouldn't you be afraid of me since I'm a tiger?"
He asks, curious.
"Yes, but I can feel that you're a calm creature, so I don't have to worry much." She responds.
"And I feel that you're not a creature in a good state of mind." He mutters.