☀️Little Ray of Sunshine ☀️ (Ryuu x OC)

Chapter 7 🤗☀️

Today I was finally going to take the herbalist exam. I had been studying with all the time I had. Obi had to make sure I was sleeping correctly. Whenever Zen and the others checked on me they had to remind me not to push myself too hard. Honestly, there were days when I didn't sleep 5 hours in a row. I only ate a few bites of food when I was studying. I got a good night's sleep for the past two days. So I am well rested and well prepared for anything the exam throws at me.

I was waiting toward at the front of the building where we are supposed to meet up. I see Shirayuki here and smile. I didn't know she was taking the exam to. I bet she is going to be surprised to see me here. One of the examiners said that we should wait until the rest of the examinees get here. I was about to talk to Shirayuki but I saw her talking to Ryuu. I quickly jumped into the tree, I was planning on trying to surprise Ryuu once I became a court herbalist. Wait don't get cocky! It's if I become a court herbalist.They were talking about a remedy for coughs. I have pretty good eyesight so I saw he was missing rainbow leaf and cocoa grass. They are best picked at dawn when their properties are strongest. I would get some for him but I think Shirayuki is going to get it when the exam starts.

I already knew that the main part of the exam was in one of the many gardens. Once Ryuu left I jumped down and didn't notice that Zen, Kiki, and Mitsuhide were there. They looked at me questioningly. I stood up straight and said, " Um Prince Zen! I can explain! I was- uh- Shirayuki- Ryuu- I hid-" Prince Zen and Mitsuhide chuckled and Kiki raised her eyebrow amused at me. " Calm down Ari, it's okay. We aren't accusing you of anything, you probably had a good reason." They put so much faith in me and they barely know me. They deserve all the happiness they can get, especially Zen, he has so many responsibilities as a royal. I smile and thank them.

Zen goes down the steps to Shirayuki. He calls out to her and she sees him and calls him back. She smiles at all of us. She seems a bit nervous for the test. Shirayuki grabs Zen's hand and a look of determination grows into her face. "Wish me luck!"she says. I smile I don't think she will need luck, her determination and her hard work will pay off. The examiner calls us all in and Shirayuki and I start heading in. She looks at me confused and says, " Ummm...Ari, Zen and the others are that way." I laugh, " Shirayuki, I know that." " Then why are you following me?" " I am taking the exam to be a court herbalist as well." " You want to be an herbalist at this age?!" I nodded, "Are you sure that you want to be an herbalist? You should go out and try different things you might change your mind." " Don't worry Shirayuki. I won't even think of changing my mind unless I fail. Honestly, I think that I- no WE can do this. Besides that boy you were talking to earlier was around my age so my age shouldn't be a problem. " I smile at Shirayuki, she's so sweet to worry. However, I know that this is what I really want to do. " You're right Ari, our hard work will pay off. And I can't wait to see how good of an herbalist you are. Good luck to us both!!"

Shirayuki and I get into what I think is an archives of medical records. The chief herbalist, Garack, introduces herself and welcomes us. She says, " This exam will measure your ability to manage both herb gardens and medicine storage, as that is the prime work of a court herbalist apprentice. You will be responsible for a small medicinal herb garden in the castle. Protecting and tending to the environment and plants inside the garden. After 2 days there will be an inspection and you will submit a report. That is all. Please read the document for further details."

I had just finished the medicine storage section of the exam and passed along with Shirayuki. We were walking alongside the wall that was overlooked by me and Obi's room. I looked to see Obi in the window looking at Shirayuki. I stopped walking and smiled as I looked up at him. I thought that Shirayuki was a great match for Brobi, but she was an even better match with Zen. I SHIP IT! Yes I ship, don't judge me. (Ari-Yes I know I broke the 4th wall author. Author- Ari I know how you feel about shipping but you don't break the fourth wall. Ari- I know I'm sorry!! Author- Sigh* its fine. Try not to do it again, okay? Ari- Hai hai) Anywho moving on. Zenyuki is my OTP next in line is MitsuKi (Mitsuhide and Kiki if you couldn't tell). My brother finally saw me and I waved at him, he smiled and waved back. Now off to the last part of the exam.

I reached the garden I was assigned to. It was a greenhouse, one of the main ones, the stars were really pretty under the glass. As I was looking at the stars, I heard a noise. There was some mud that got into the water. I noticed that some of the flowers were pointing down. This particular flower was supposed to be blooming towards the sky during this time. I tasted the water, it was sweet! Okay let's see one of the flowers made some toxins, but which one. Wait a second, the akegi shigure. It might be ura shigure. If ura is in the wrong environment it could produce a honey like toxin that tastes like honey. If I try the roots I should be able to determine if my guess is correct. I tasted the roots and they were in fact sweet. I need to fix this right now, if not all the plants could be affected!! It's only midnight, I can get this done by the time Chief Garack gets here for the inspection. Once I close the aqueducts, I dig out all the Ura carefully and replant the akegi shigure. I had to lift a bag of soil, I almost dropped it. It was a lot of hard work, but I was able to replant the akegi. Now all I had to do was plant the ura in the correct spot. It was about to be dawn, almost time for the end of the exam. I planted the ura where it should be just as Chief Garack entered the greenhouse. I turned to them as they opened the door and I smiled. "Good Morning, Chief Garack and...?" I looked at the man behind the chief. He was surprised that I asked for his name. "Yatsufusa." he smiled at me. " Nice to meet you both! As you probably know, my name is Ari!" Chief Garack smiled at me. " Yes, I am well aware. Now, Ari tell me what happened here."

I explained to her about the ura and akegi mix up and how I replanted it all. She looked at me shocked but laughed. " The people who have passed this year have gone to the extreme. First, Shirayuki makes the prince help her replant everything, and now Ari replants it all by herself-" the chief says before I cut her off. " Shirayuki made Prince Zen do that!? Pft. Of course she did, it's something she would do." " Oh you know Shirayuki?" "Yes we have met before." "Hm. Well you are very impressive, Ari. You have passed the test and are one of the youngest examinees we have ever had." I smiled, " Let me guess. The other one is Ryuu?" " Yes, how did you know?" I chuckled and responded, " I ran into him in the hallway. We talked and I told him we would meet again." I bowed and begged, " Please don't ruin my surprise!!" She laughed at me and said, "Don't worry, you know what? I will make Ryuu both you and Shirayuki's supervisor." I got super excited and asked, " Really?! You would do that?" She smiled, "Ryuu needs to make some friends his age." I couldn't help it, I ran up to Chief Garack and hugged her. She kind of reminds me of how mommy might've been. She ruffled my hair and said that we should all get some rest, she would bring the people who passed to the medical wing at 2. I thanked both her and Yatsufusa and left to the room. I smiled at Obi who was still in there. When he saw me, I knew he knew I passed so he smiled back and patted the bed he was on. I told him to wake me at 1 and drifted off to sleep. I hadn't slept at all for a day. Yesterday I ran on adrenaline and didn't take my eyes off the garden. At least I took a 2 hour nap after the storage test.

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Hey guys Author Chan here!! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in a while but I've been busy. I tried to make it a longer chapter to make up for it. However, good news! Mixed Feelings will make its debut very soon. I am just waiting for the person I asked to draw the cover to send it to me. I hope your guys' lives are going well and please add my story to your library if you haven't already and vote please! Lots of love to you all!!💖💖💖