II
When Y/N woke up, she was met with complete silence.
Not understanding what had woken her up, she sat up in bed and stared outside her window.
Pitch black. Squinting her eyes to look at the clock on the wall she realized it was 2:24 AM.
She had around 4.5 hours left until she had to wake up for her first day of training under Healer Ellis and the two other apprentices she had chosen to take under her wing.
Maybe it was the nerves of being in a new environment and having to meet new people that didn't allow her to sleep properly, but after tossing and turning for half an hour, she decided it would be best for her to get some fresh air and clear her head a little bit.
Slipping on a pair of slippers that were provided for her, she exited her room and started looking for the door that connected the workers' quarters to the Royal Garden.
Stepping out into the cool night, she inhaled a deep breath of air.
She could feel her muscles slowly relax and decided to take a short walk deeper into the garden just to ease her curiosity about the place.
When she was younger, she loved to explore the forest behind her home.
Being in nature just made her feel at ease.
The quiet chirping of the birds, the crisp air, and the feeling of being completely free and alone all made her feel at ease.
And although this space was mostly man-made, she couldn't deny its beauty and that it gave her a similar feeling to home.
As all her senses began to relax, Y/N began to pick up on a sound.
From where she was standing, it was incredibly quiet but definitely there, and it didn't sound like it was a part of nature.
Curiosity getting the best of her, she followed the sound and slowly began to realize it was a person's voice.
What they were saying she wasn't able to make out, but her curiosity had been piqued, and she wasn't going to leave without getting an answer.
Turning a corner, she realized she was in the centre of the garden's maze and saw a magnificent marble fountain flowing with water.
And just behind it she could make out a man sitting on a bench with a book in hand.
His face was obscured by his black hair that covered his eyes as he was looking down.
Reading. The man was reading out loud.
Y/N looked around him to see who he was reading to, but when it became evident that the man was all alone, she found herself intrigued and took a step forward.
Beneath her foot, a tree branch snapped, and the man shot his head up to look at her.
How he was able to hear that over the sound of the fountain was beyond her.
He quickly stood up and put his hands on something strapped to his waist before demanding whoever was out there to show themselves. Startled, Y/N stepped forward.
"I'm sorry I didn't mean to startle you. I just thought I heard a sound and followed it here," she explained, putting her hands up to show she wasn't a threat.
The man relaxed once he got a good look at her and removed his hands from his waist.
In the moonlight, she was able to see he had his hands on a sword sheathe.
A guard? He stepped out from behind the fountain, and for the first time, Y/N was able to get a good look at him.
His pale white skin glowed under the moonlight.
But what really caught her attention was his piercing green eyes.
She had never seen eyes such a vibrant green colour that reminded her of the finest leaves on a tree in the summer, of the green tea leaves that were native to her home.
"Who are you?" the man demanded.
"I'm Y/N L/N, a new healer apprentice. I just came out here for some fresh air because I couldn't sleep. I'm sorry if I interrupted your reading," she replied sincerely.
"I was able to guess as much, considering what you're wearing," he motions towards her.
It was only in that moment that it hit her that she was wearing a pink striped pyjama set with a small shirt and shorts.
Suddenly, the fresh air began to feel cold as she realized how exposed she was in front of this man.
Her face flushed pink, and the man chuckled before sitting back down and holding his book in his hand.
Y/N, being quite the reader herself, couldn't help but ask what he was reading.
"Oh, just a book about war, swords, fighting, stuff like that," he explained, seeming slightly flustered at her questioning.
Y/N took a step forward and realized she actually recognized the cover. And while everything he said was true, he neglected to mention the tragic love story that was at the centre of it all between two warriors from opposing nations. A smile crept on her face as she continued to walk closer to him.
"Sounds boring," she stated. She went on to explain that the last book she read was a book about exactly what was in his hand, but neglected to say the title, and she laughed at the realization that split across his face when he realized she had read the book he was holding.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be messing around with someone I just met. I just couldn't help it. I've never really had anyone to talk to about the books I've read, so seeing you with one I just had to say something." she said as she took a seat on the bench a little way away from him.
"You are a cruel woman Miss Y/N L/N." he jokingly stated before putting the book down between them.
From this angle she was able to see different coloured tabs sticking out of the book, indicating he had annotated certain sections.
Although she was curious to see the things he had marked with the pink tabs, she decided to let the poor man be.
An awkward silence descended between the two before Y/N decided to break it.
"I never caught your name." she mentioned.
"Kent. Kent Yoshida." he replied.
"Well, Mr. Yoshida, what are you doing up reading this late at night?" she asked the question that had been plaguing her mind. Was he unable to sleep? That would make two of them.
"It's the only personal time I have to indulge in the things I like. During the day, I rarely have any breaks outside of meals, so I try to make up the time by reading at night. And I don't sleep much anyways so it works out."
he hesitantly confessed, looking down at the ground with a small melancholic smile on his face.
Y/N could understand the feeling. During her time at the academy, she was constantly swamped with so much work, and instead of sleeping right as she got home, she found herself staying up to take part in her hobbies even if it meant being sleep deprived the next day.
She wanted to make up for lost time.
"Being a guard must be quite difficult, huh?" she voiced, looking down at the ground too.
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him turn to look at her with a confused look, wondering how she knew. She gestured towards his sword, and he nodded in understanding.
"It's not that bad. The pay is good, and I love the people I work with. It's just a little hard trying to balance my work and personal time. I like partaking in my hobbies late at night, so I don't forget who I am and the things that I like. I don't want part of me to be erased."
he whispers the last part so that if Y/N hadn't been focusing her full attention on him, she would have missed what he said.
"Well, if you're going to neglect your sleep for a book, may I please request that you spend it on a book that is actually worth reading. That book was incredibly predictable, and the ending didn't even make any sense." she tried to brighten up the mood and noticed how a spark appeared in his eyes.
"Woah spoilers? What are you talking about? This is the most beautiful story I've ever read. I'm sure this perfectly respectable author wrote a wonderful ending for the two main characters where they live happily ever after," he defended while looking at her with a fake offended look on his face.
"Oho, so now you're acknowledging the romance plotline in the story. I must say Mr. Yoshida, women do find it attractive when men are open about their interests in romance and love," she teased him and put her head in one of her hands.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," he pretended to be oblivious, turning the other way, the tips of his ears tinted pink.
Y/N covered her mouth with her hand before yawning. After conversing with Kent, she didn't feel the drowsiness that was beginning to set in until now. Standing up from the bench and dusting her pants off she turned to face him.
"Thank you for talking to me for a bit. Being in a huge castle surrounded by people I don't know has been a little hard, I will admit. But it's nice to finally be acquainted with someone. If it isn't too much of a bother, do you think I could come back here from time to time?" she asked hopefully.
Kent smiled at her, "Only if you promise to keep your terrible opinions to yourself next time."
Y/N scoffed before smiling back at him. "I'll have to think about that. Goodnight Mr. Yoshida." she bid him farewell before walking back in the direction of her room. What she wasn't aware of was the way his gaze followed her, fascinated, until she was out of sight.
——— ??ˋ ? ?ˊ? ———
Y/N groaned at the sound of her alarm in the morning.
After her time spent conversing with Kent in the garden she only managed to squeeze in an extra 3 hours of sleep before having to wake up for her first day of training.
Shuffling out of bed she headed to her washroom to get ready for the day.
After taking a hot shower and running a brush through her hair, she decided she wanted to put in a little extra effort today and swiped some mascara and blush on her face in an attempt to also make her look more awake and not like she hadn't slept in 3 weeks.
With a touch of lipstick, she exited the bathroom and made her way to the workers' dining room.
Grabbing some toast, eggs, bacon, an apple, and milk, she looked around the tables for an empty seat.
Most of the tables were already filled with a bunch of staff talking to each other enthusiastically.
Finding herself intimidated by that she opted for the table in the corner with two identical men sitting next to each other.
They were both laughing and didn't seem to notice when Y/N took a seat across from them.
Quietly eating her meal, she took the time to examine everyone in the room to get a general understanding of the people she would be interacting with for the next year.
She began scouting potential friends she could make and the people she should stay away from.
She didn't notice when one of the men got up from their seat to sit down right next to her.
She jumped when hearing a voice right next to her, "Can I have a piece?" the man asked looking at her expectantly with a smile on his face.
The question caught her off guard and she found herself just staring at him still trying to process what he said. Noticing her confusion, the red-headed boy smiled a little wider and gestured toward the sliced apple on her plate, "It looks really good."
With her brain finally catching up to what was going on, she noncommittally nodded. The boy continued to stare at her, and she found herself growing slightly uncomfortable. The identical boy from across the table noticed this and explained, "He wants you to feed it to him."
Surprised by this she turned back to the boy in front of her who was vigorously nodding his head, and she blushed.
She stabbed the apple with her fork before hesitantly bringing it to the boy's lips, and he happily ate the whole thing in one mouthful before returning to his seat, gleaming.
Y/N didn't know if she should say something to them or just act like nothing had happened, but she didn't have to worry about making that choice as the one who had stayed in his seat spoke up.
"Sorry if that surprised you. Dante likes messing with everyone, especially people he doesn't know. I swear to you this kid is something special." he pats Dante on the back as he continues chewing.
"Oh please, you're the one who dared me to do it, don't act like you weren't part of this Leon." Dante replied, mouth still full of apple bits.
Y/N laughed under her breath at his lack of manners.
Taking a bite of her eggs, she enjoyed watching the fight that ensued between the two, which mostly consisted of "You told me to do it!"
"No, I didn't!" "Ya huh!" "Nuh uh!" She didn't expect to get such good entertainment with her meal, but she wasn't against it by any means.
Dante quickly turned towards her "I swear on everything I have he told me to do it."
Leon gasped offended, "Don't trust him he's a dirty liar. He swears up and down to everyone that I was also the one who told him to throw a muffin at this rude guy Kevin we used to go to school with for 2 gold. Kevin ended up giving him a black eye."
"You absolutely did! And you never even ended up giving me the reward money I had to steal that from you when you weren't looking."
"YOU STOLE FROM ME??"
"Oops."
By the time they finished their bickering, Y/N had completed her meal and stood up to hand her tray back.
But before she could even take a step, Dante had swiped her tray from her along with his and quickly speed-walked away from Leon who was demanding him to give him his money back.
Leon sighed and laid his face flat on the table dejectedly.
Y/N laughed at the boy's silly antics and tried to offer him some encouragement, "You know you could always just steal the money back."
Leon looked at her in shock, "What a horrible thing to suggest Miss..." he trailed off realizing he never caught her name.
"Y/N." she finished for him.
"Sounds like a plan." he admits, winking at her before walking to return his tray as well, planning his robbery heist against Dante in his head.
Y/N sighed walking out of the dining room, already exhausted from everything she had just witnessed. That was the strangest meal she had ever had in her life. She could only hope the rest of her day would be normal.
?────??────?