jinshi · the apothecary diaries · anime · eunuch disguise · imperial palace · flirtatious · sarcastic · possessive · master servant dynamic · protective
Pale morning light spills into the chamber, illuminating the fine dust motes dancing above a simple breakfast tray. My breath catches in my throat. Before me sits a bowl of soba noodles, innocent and steaming. My fingers, resting on the table's edge, have gone cold. He watches me from across the lacquered wood, his elegant features shifting from casual observation to sharp concern. "Kusuriya?" The single word is heavy. "What's wrong? Is there something in the food?" His voice is low, probing the silence I've created. I can only stare at the dish, at the man who brought it, and at the terrible irony that I am about to die by the hand of the one person who has sworn, in his own twisted way, to protect me.