Under the Same Sky • Ryeji

10

The sun cast a warm, golden glow over the elegant garden as Ryujin and Yeji sat together for a tea time.

Princess Ryujin turned to Yeji with a bright smile. "Yeji, that was an incredible lesson today," she praised, genuinely impressed by the florist's expertise.

Yeji's cheeks flushed with a mixture of pride and bashfulness. "Thank you, Princess Ryujin. I'm glad you found it helpful," she replied, her voice tinged with a hint of shyness.

Ryujin, eager to continue learning from Yeji, hesitated for a moment before gathering the courage to ask, "Would you be free tomorrow for another lesson? I still have so much to learn about flowers, and you're an amazing teacher."

Yeji's smile was both appreciative and regretful. "Thank you, Princess Ryujin. I'm truly glad you enjoyed it. However, I'm afraid I won't be available tomorrow," she answered with a hint of disappointment.

"That's unfortunate." Ryujin replied.

"I promise we can do it some other day this week, Your Highness." Yeji assured the princess.

"May I ask what plans do you have for tomorrow?"

"I have a scheduled outreach event in a small town here in Queenstown. It's for the youth community, and I've been looking forward to it."

"Oh, I see–" Ryujin's sentence was disrupted by a loud noise.

Unfortunately, a royal maid stumbled and lost her balance, causing the delicate tea she was carrying to shatter on the ground. Madame Olivia, ever vigilant in her duties, swiftly noticed the mishap and unleashed her displeasure upon the unfortunate maid.

"You clumsy woman!" she scolded the maid, her tone dripping with condescension. "How many times must I tell you to be more careful with the tea? Everything that you will give for the princess are so important, there's no place for clumsiness!"

The poor maid's face turned red with embarrassment as she stammered, "I-I'm so sorry, Madame Olivia. I didn't mean to."

"Apologies won't undo the mess you've made!" Madame Olivia retorted, her words laced with disdain. "You're utterly useless. It's a wonder why you were even hired as a royal maid in the first place." Madame Olivia shouted and left the garden.

Yeji couldn't bear to witness the maid being berated like this. She felt her heart ache for the woman who was on the receiving end of Madame Olivia's harsh words. With empathy in her eyes, Yeji rose from her chair and approached the trembling maid.

"It's alright, accidents happen to everyone," Yeji said softly, trying to reassure the maid. "Let's clean this up together, shall we?"

"Yeji, this is none of your concern. Let her clean it and then she will take a rest." Lisa instructed the maid.

Yeji ignored the remark and continued to assist the maid, gently picking up the pieces of the broken teacup. "We all make mistakes, Lisa," she replied calmly. "Madame Olivia should not treat anyone with such disrespect."

As they cleaned up the mess together, Yeji couldn't help but steal a glance back at the princess. Ryujin appeared engrossed in the conversation they had been having earlier, as if the incident with the maid had never occurred. It was a stark contrast to Yeji's own emotions, which had been stirred by the unjust treatment she had witnessed.

Once the mess was cleaned up, Yeji returned to her seat. "I apologize for the interruption," she said softly wanting to acknowledge it in her own way.

Ryujin gave a small nod, "So, you were saying about your youth community engagement, Yeji?" she prompted, continuing the conversation as though the incident hadn't happened.