The end was near and the white gate was opened widely for her. There were orchids lined at the side of her path and seemed to be waving at her directing her to go forward and each step she took was getting heavier and heavier but she had to do everything in her power to reach her goal. A lone golden bed with luxurious bedsheets and blanket could be seen from afar and she was getting closer all she needed to do was to cross the white gate to finally get to her destination.
"Come... my sweet child." A loving voice carressed her ears and cheeks, she could tell it was the bed. It doesn't make sense but she doesn't care. One step, two step, three.. almost.
"...Kamigani! Kamigani!"
"Yes Yes..." Kamigani dragged and flung her eyes open to see Winter shaking her shoulders looking so concern at her. Kamigani blinked slowly trying to make sense of her surrounding. She was in the courtyard at the resident Mamey brought her. She had discarded the table and chair and was now sitting on the floor, her legs crossed.
The ink at the end of her bush was dripping on the paper, the letters she wrote already smeared. It was the fourth paper she had taken to correct her mistake but each time she took a plain sheet she would drift off to sleep and at the end her paper would get smeared with ink.
Kamigani's eyes were swollen and red, dark circles under her eyes and she tried to steady her gaze at Winter ignoring the paper on the table, her eyes were itching which made her blink back the tears that was threatening to fall. She felt weak all over and she had no energy left to lift her hand to take a new paper from the piles at her feet to start over her writing or even hold a proper conversation and Winter's image that was splitting into two and three wasn't helping and only increased the headache she had been ignoring for some time.
"This Aunty... why would she do this to you...." Winter mumbled some complain shaking her head in disapproval.
They had been at it for three days and it was true about the drilling Mamey told her. She taught her everything she had to know, made sure the way she pours tea and serves wine were now perfect and Mamey even pretended to be the King. She laid on the bed pretending to be sleeping while Kamigani draw her bath, wait on her and helped her dress in a male's robe, served her on the dinning. Each time Kamigani made a mistake Mamey would turn around dramatically, being dramatic was enough to make Kamigani wanting to be perfect.
Mamey didn't allow Kamigani to sleep, when ever she leaves she would give her tons of assignment to do and must be completed since she would check it when she got back. She was even thought her how to brew different kinds of tea, the purpose of each tea and how to spot the best tea leaves.
It was so tough Kamigani couldn't sleep without completing the assignment, she had not been able to return to her room and could only eat and learn the etiquette but she couldn't complain since Mamey was also in it with her and Kamigani suspected each time Mamey leaves it was to sleep since she always looked refresh when she came to check her but she had seen Mamey drifting off to sleep once on the bed when she pretended to be the King. Kamigani had to wake her up since she doesn't know what to do when the water in the pot Mamey placed on the fire starts boiling.
It was exhausting. Expecially the reading and writing aspect, it was harder than Kamigani thought, her writting was so bad and she had no idea of many words. She had been taking naps but it wasn't enough she started to hallucinate and it was all about seeing a bed calling her.
"I will finish soon." Her speech was so slow and she could feel herself drifting apart from her consciousness, her mouth had gotten heavy even though she was well fed but she still needed to sleep. Her hand was paused over the note she was writting.
"I am sorry I wasn't able to come earlier, Aunty made me do some odd works in other not to disturb you but see I didn't know you were in this state I would have come earlier to rescue to, this is just too much." Winter complained and appologized grabbing one of Kamigani hand to pull her up. Kamigani complied only for her to wobble and fall on her butt.
"Sorry.. Let me finish." Kamigani tried to disguised the reason she fell as wanting to complete her assignment when she only fell because of she was so tired she was trying so hard to stay awake and her head was getting worse.
Winter sighed. "No you will break down. I will do it for you." She protested extending her hand to help her stand to her feet.
Kamigani felt a presence, raising her head to see a figure sitting on the cope. Her vision was getting blurry but she could tell it was Emi. Since the figure was dressed in black holding a sheathed sword and he even masked his presense but all Kamigani needed was her instinct to spot him. Winter turn to check what Kamigani was staring at.
"Emi." Winter nodded confirming Kamigani's uncertainty.
"Winter, Kamigani." Emi jumped down from the fence securing the sword to his waist band. He walked up to them with a complicated look seeing Kamigani's state. Kamigani only blinked slowly knowing she doesn't look good and neither was she feeling in her right mind.
"Where is your little mistress?" Winter crossed her arms.
"Learning embroidery with the women as you well known I don't stay with her." Emi shrugged his shoulder his gaze not leaving Kamigani.
"Good you are here, help me carry her." Winter motioned for him to get to work.
"No no no...." Kamigani was using her last energy to shake her head in protest. She doesn't know what would happen if she didn't complete her assignment.
Perhaps Mamey would report her and she would lose being the King's maid which means losing a rare opportunity.
Emi reached out and Kamigani had no strength to fight back. He lifted her up carrying her in bridal style and all Kamigani could see was a knight in shining armour, she blinked meeting his gaze but it was so blurry she could not even make out his features.
"Do not worry Aunty is sleeping." Winter told her patting her head.
The bed, it was calling her and they were finally taking her to it. She could see Winter's mouth moving but she wasn't able to make sense of her words anymore. Winter seemed to be talking in a foreign language and Emi was replying in a foreign language too.
Kamigani lay her head on Emi's chest, his beating heart rhyming with her hammering head and she wanted to laugh, she was finally going to cross over the gate.
They stopped walking and she turned her head slowly to see a figure in red approaching them and was yelling something. It was so dull she couldn't make out their face. They started talking in foreign language when they got closer and they placed a hand on her forehead.
Before she knows she discovered Emi increased his speed and it seemed like he was running but she was too weak to know.
".....We are almost there."
She heard the urgency in his voice knowing she was finally going to sleep on the golden bed. She couldn't take it anymore and she finally closed her eyes drifting off to sleep as her hands went limp.