The Pearls - RUYI

Chapter 6 - The Palace

It took Ruyi weeks before she was able to grow accustomed to the palace. It was so humongous at times she felt as though she were being swallowed whole, never to emerge again. She was assigned to a small room, next to the medic's shared room. As the only female, the General thought it more appropriate for her to have personal living quarters.

In the first week, she was overwhelmed with tasks, running errands for Bolin to buy more herbs, medicinal alcohol and cloths. She trained under him, and found his eccentricity both amusing and endearing. He taught her countless new skills within the first week, such as diagnosing patients, making salves for different injuries, such as scars, burns and sores. She was a great asset to the team and enjoyed many of her fellow doctors' company.

Quickly, she befriended Yuan, who was close to her age. He was a scruffy, mousy boy, who had been sent to the palace to earn his family some money. Each week, he sent back silver to help support his newest baby sister.

He reminded her of Enlai, who shared his light-hearted spirit, quick humor and happy disposition. They shared their evenings together after dinner when they had time to themselves unless they were called to the hospital for an emergency. They would occupy themselves with card games and reading. Sometimes they would sit under the moonlight at talk about home.

"Do you miss it?" Ruyi asked him. Yuan's easy smile faded slightly. "Being a doctor is hard work. The palace can be a cruel place. But still, I'm happier here than at home. At home, I'm invisible, I'm no one but someone who can help provide for the family. But here, I'm doing something, helping people. I have a purpose here that I didn't have before."

Ruyi grasped his hand and smiled up at his warm brown eyes. "I understand." And he knew that she did, perhaps more than anyone.

After several weeks, Ruyi still had not met or seen the Emperor but had heard whispers of the young royal, who was known to be a fair but tough leader who had taken over his father's reign after he had been killed in battle. But more fascinatingly to Ruyi, she had heard rumors of his dark assassin, who was fiercely loyal and whose identity remained unknown to many of the palace staff. Ruyi was sure General Lang knew who he was, perhaps they had even worked together.

A shiver ran down her spine, knowing that a dark shadow lurked in the palace grounds, doing the Emperor's bidding. Rumours spoke of a man with unparalleled skill and agility, stealthy enough that one would die before realising they were in danger. He had been picked up by the late Emperor at a young age, orphaned, and trained to be less than human until he could kill without flinching.

These darker rumours, however, were successfully overshadowed by the daily gossip between maids. They often spied on the soldiers as they trained and would flirt subtly whenever they marched past. Ruyi admitted that the men were impressive to look at, particularly in their uniforms. She tried to find her brother amongst the battalions but she still had not seen him since her first day.

The auras of the soldiers were shifting, in recent days. She felt tension amongst them, in particular the General, who looked more stern than usual. She felt a battle coming and felt nervous about being in the midst of it. But she couldn't avoid the inevitable.