Shangri La Pt. 1

57: Amend

Scrubbing her face vigorously while feeling like she made the biggest mistake of her life, Izumi sat in her shed washing herself off with the thought of shame for what she'd done. 

'How could this happen? How did I make such a mistake like that and think I would be let off free? I really screwed up this time!'

( Flashback! )

"IZUMI!!!"

The disguised greenette jumped when she heard her name be called and she shook her head to focus back at reality and discover that she made a mistake. 

"I-I– Oh no."

As she looked down to see what she did wrong, her eyes widened to see that she didn't stop herself from continuing to pour the tea into the small glass when she was stuck in deep thought. Right as she thought things couldn't have gotten worse, they were, as she moved her eyes to see that the tea spilled all the way off the table and onto the Princess' robes, quickly staining the Princess' clothes. 

Izumi quickly stopped herself and set the teapot down to inspect her grave mistake as the Princess was already at her feet. 

'Oh my god, I can't believe I've done something like this! I've never been in deep thought to the point of messing up and causing harm to others!' Izumi thought as she wasn't sure what to do to fix this.

"It seems the tea had cooled down before it was ever poured, which means it shouldn't have burned you if it touched you, correct, Momo?" Shoto questioned. 

"Yes, I'm alright, I'm not hurt in any way, but... are you okay, Izumi?" 

"Oh no!"

"Ah–" 

"I've made such a grave mistake in my actions that I cannot be given a light punishment! I had no intention of harming you in any way on purpose, Your Majesty, please know that I've never attempted to do something like this as a means of causing you harm! You may punish me in any way you see fit, Your Majesty, as I cannot forgive myself for the cause of harm I've done to you. Please–" 

"Izumi!" 

"Ah– Y-Yes, M-My Princess?" 

Izumi cautiously lifted her head just for her eyes to widen and see how the Princess was smiling down at her.

"Ah– M-My Princess?" 

"Hmph– You weren't injured were you?" 

"N-No, M-My Princess, I-I am unharmed, b-but are you alright since the tea spilled over your robes?" 

"Yes, I am fine, as I too was unharmed." 

"B-But what about your robes? They were stained by my carelessness!" Izumi pointed out, causing both the Prince and Princess to glance down at the stained robes. 

"Ah– Yes, it would seem that way." 

"Would it be a challenge for the servants to get such a stain out, Momo?" Shoto questioned. 

"Oh– M-My Prince, it is not possible to do what you suggest." Izumi answered. 

"Hm? What do you mean?" 

"The robes of the Royals are usually worn a handful of times, and even so, it is not possible for us to clean such robes, as they are made with the highest quality of fabrics that cannot be cleaned. If we were to clean such robes, it would be possible to damage the fabrics or the designs made on the fabrics. Such intricate designs in these robes are one of a kind that simply washing them would destroy the design and could ruin the artist who made such robes for the Royals. Not only that... b-but if someone were to stain the robes of a Royal, the robes are considered useless and unable to be worn ever again, leading to be thrown out right away. I-I'm sorry, but we would not be able to restore these robes because of my careless actions, please punish me." Izumi explained as she bowed so low to the two Royals that her forehead was touching the floor.