Jeely looked at with eyes so wide that for a second she lost her composure. I didn’t expect that my question would co across as this shocking to her.
“Of course not. I may co from a small town, but I am still the princess of that small town. It is my responsibility to represent my town and my people. If I leave, then the relationship between our cities would fall to ruin. I would never leave this place...” Jeely said with determination.
“I see...” I whispered.
“What about you? Do you want to go ho?” Jeely asked.
“I...I guess I do...” I replied hesitantly; however, I wanted to be honest to my new friend.
Jeely seed to consider my honest response for a while before smiling brightly at .
“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. Let’s just both do our best for now...” Jeely said as we smiled at each other.
We spent so ti learning more about each other. I told Jeely about my hotown and how I ended up at the palace. I left out the part about how I first t Ren when he was disguised as a trader, though. For so reason, I felt like Ren wouldn’t want anyone to know about that. I felt closer to Jeely now that we shared so parts of our private life with each other.
It was towards the end of our lesson that a maid ca to deliver another large wooden box to . Again? I stared at the box that was obviously a gift from Prince Kin. I had sent him a letter earlier today through a maid, but I hadn’t expected for him to reply, let alone send another gift.
I quickly thanked the maid and sent her back to Prince Kin’s palace. Jeely and I looked at each other before looking at the box. I think I could tell why Jeely was worried.
“Two gifts, two days in a row...” Jeely muttered.
“Yea...” I said with a sigh.
It was later that night when I was alone that I opened the wooden box from Prince Kin. The content inside was different from last ti. There was a water painting scroll inside depicting a scene of water birds in a pond of lotuses. I pushed the painting aside and turned my attention to the small envelop that undoubtedly contained a letter.
The contents of the letter were exactly the sa as before but with more emphasis on wanting to enjoy a dinner with at his palace. Sighing softly to myself, I refolded the letter and placed it back inside the wooden box. I had no intentions of eting with Prince Kin, and it wasn’t like I had permission to leave the inner court either.
...
Morning ca and it was the start of another day once more. One more day had passed, and I have not heard a word from Ren or anything about his whereabouts. I didn’t know for sure, but I was starting to get the feeling that he was no longer in the palace...
“Ready for your first assignnt?” Jeely asked excitedly.
Another day of water painting it is. I must say that I have made so progress and have started to find the lessons interesting. However, I was not in love or as passionate about water painting as dical training. It was a good way to kill ti though.
So far, I was skilled enough to paint basic brush strokes and repeated patterns. Nothing very advanced, of course. I knew I still had a long way to go but I was personally quite pleased with the progress that I have made.
“Ok...what are we doing today?” I asked.
“Since you’ve learnt so of the basic strokes, I was thinking of giving you your first painting assignnt. What about finding a flower you like in the garden? You can paint it...perhaps a lotus in the pond in the garden would do...” Jeely said.
“Isn’t that too difficult?” I asked, not feeling too sure about myself.
“No one gets it right and perfect the first ti anyways. It’s just for practice so don’t stress out about it,” Jeely said encouragingly.
“Ok...I’ll do that then,” I agreed.
“Great. I’ll et you back here when you’re done?” Jeely said with a smile.
“Sure,” I said with a nod.
“Let help you pack up the painting equipnt that you’ll need...” Jeely said as she turned to collect the equipnt together.
“Thank you very much, Jeely,” I thanked her with relief. She’s such a big help.
“No worries,” Jeely said with a warm smile.
With my painting tools in my arms, I started heading out to the garden of the White Lotus palace to find the perfect lotus to paint. The weather was perfect for spending so ti outside in the sun. It was a good change of pace since I haven’t spent ti outside for many days now because all the lessons were held indoors.
There was an area of shade next to the pond and I chose that place to look out for the perfect lotus to paint. I laughed a little to myself at the thought of finding the perfect lotus. My painting skills wouldn’t produce a perfect painting even if it was based on a perfect lotus, but I guess it’s the effort that counts for now.
I crouched down to take a closer look at the lotuses floating in the pond as I tried to picture the painting in my mind. Creativity clearly wasn’t my fort, so this painting is going to take a while. I was so focused on the task at hand that I did not hear footsteps approaching .
“Fancy eting you here, Lady White Lotus,”
I whipped my head around at the unfamiliar voice behind .
“Prince Kin?” I said in surprise.
Why is Prince Kin here?
I turned around to see a smiling Prince Kin standing behind , dressed in his golden royal robe.
“It’s a pleasure to et you, Lady White Lotus,” Prince Kin greeted with a smile.
I suddenly felt like sothing was off. Was it usual for Prince Kin to be in Ren’s inner court? I wasn’t used to palace customs, but I presud that that was not the case which begs the question of why was he here?
--To be continued...
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