THE NOBLE ENCOUNTER
KRRIIINNGGG!!!!!!
AHHH!!!!!! BAM!!
The sound of someone fall from bed was
heard from upstairs..
“Ouch..” Annabelle, who was sleeping,
fall down her bed after hearing the bell
Footsteps soon been heard walking
towards her room.
A few minutes later, her door opened wide revealing a black
hair girl with papers on her left hand and a brown hair girl wearing an apron,
both with a worried expression.
“What the hell happen?” The black hair
girl asked. She puts down the paper in her hand on the coffee table and sat
beside the confused blond hair girl who was still sleepy to realise what
happen.
“Wha--? Hey, Jasmine,Hanakimi.. when did
you come in.?.” She looked beside her and grinned.
Jasmine’s eyes narrowed at Annabelle who
seems woozy at the time. Hanakimi went in and pick up the pillows and bolster
that lying on the floor. She shook her head when she saw pieces of paper with
drawings on it scattered on the floor.
“Like five years ago. Are you okay? You
looked wasted.. Did you drink last night?” Jasmine said as she looked at
Annabelle who was trying to get up.
“Me? Drink? No.. I stayed all night
coming up with new designs for the company. “ She said as she landed herself on
the bed, still feeling sleepy.
“Still, you had to sleep or you’ll get
sick.” Hanakimi puts all the papers on her desk and sat beside her.
“Yeah… you know what happen when you
have lack of sleep.. You’ll get crazy all day and talk to yourself.. Geez..”
Jasmine said while walking towards the window and open up the curtain,
revealing the beautiful sight of Amethyst in the morning.
“Yeah..yeah.. stop yelling at me,
grandma.. I know what I am doing.. I am a big girl now..” Annabelle felt
annoyed and grab the towel.
BAM!!
She closed the door harshly.. leaving
Jasmine and Hanakimi stunned by the loud bang from the door.
“Man, she is damn angry..I better heat
up some pancakes to cool her off..”Hanakimi said while scurried down to the
kitchen.
“Whatever.. I need to finish arranging
these account or I will not be able to sent it tomorrow..Man! it would be
better if I have my own business, so I wont have to face that scumbag
everyday!..grrr…”
Jasmine closed the door and went back to
her room.When she heard they both are out from her room, she started singing in
the shower..
That is exactly happen every morning in
this apartment when these three have their day off. Riot as ever.
Annabelle with the usual waking up late
routine,
Jasmine with her habit to sleep early
and wake up early to finish her bundle office
works.
Hanakimi..well, she actually never taken
a day off. If she did, she might be busy finishing order of pastries that her
clients order from her for some special occasion.
How do these totally different people
met you asked? Well, they were best friends since high school. Sure there will
be some fights here and there, big and small but they eventually find a way to
solve it.
Annabelle, she is a 25 years old girl
who works as an apprentice designer at Polish company. She is a very cheerful
girl with a mind of her own. She have the talent to come up with new designs
every day but some of her works were never seen as a work of art because she
was a newbie in the industry.
Hanakimi, she is a cheerful and
outspoken 23 years old, girl who works as a part time baker on the weekdays and
attending orders for her clients on the weekends. She has her way with food.
She is a fast learner on that area. She used to wake up in the morning and
watched cooking show with her mom on the weekends when she was growing up.
Jasmine, she currently works as an
accountant at Prima CO where she was a junior accountant, who is being pushed
around by the senior accountants doing their works for them. She was feel
depressed, luckily she have her best friends every time she come home so that
she can let it out even though she was always open to talk about feelings
unlike Annabelle.
Yup, three different person with
completely different personalities become friends, why.. its not impossible you
know?
Hanakimi
POV
“Ahh!!!! So glad to be on vacation, away
from the babbling mouth of Maria..” I heard Annabelle who was already pulling
her luggage from and yelling her so called freedom..
“Would you knock it off? There is a lot
of people here,” I said, while fetching my own luggage. Annabelle was being surprisingly
thrilled of this trip. Not that Jasmine and I aren’t excited as she is but she
was exceptionally crazy today.
Maybe Maria did pissed her off that
much..
“ Her? Knock it off? Seriously, its
Annabelle we were talking about here. Throw her over a cliff and her voice
still be heard from miles away..” Jasmine said, while walking beside me.
She seems a bit messy with her hair all
over the place. Her bun was not a bun anymore, more like a ponytail now.
She seems to be struggling with a big
bag consisted with files. I told her many times to not do other people jobs but
she still did. Oh well..
“Yeah! Vacation!!woohoo!!”
Oh no.. she never stop isn’t she?
“Don’t get too excited, dimwit. We are
here for vacation and work. Remember?” I said to her as we arrived at a hotel
called Charleston Hotel where we will be staying. Well, working with big
companies have its advantages thanks to Annabelle.
A
week before
“Girls,
I have a big happy news for all of us!” She said as she walks in, yelling from
the front door into the living room.
“Let
me guess, you hit a jackpot with a rich guy and about to take us on a
vacation.?” Jasmine said, her eyes still focused on the television. I was just
walking out from the bathroom after a day of work.
“No,
I don’t get any rich guys as my boyfriends. Yes, we will all be going on a
vacation!” She jumped on the couch where Jasmine was sitting on. Jasmine sits
up, irritated by her shrieking voice.
“What??
Really? Where are we going? Hong Kong Disneyland? Who is the generous people
who will be supporting our holidays?” Jasmine said, being sarcastic.
“Oh
shut up and let me explain..”
Jasmine
and I looked at each other and nodded.
“Okay,
my manager have been signing a contract with a company for this huge event in
Nobel Michel Castle. He is looking for caterer and event planner for that
event. “ She said, eagerly.
“Wait..
Nobel Michel? That huge and legendary castle on a lone island and surrounded by
the six legendary kingdom around it??” Jasmine shot up and startled us with her
deep knowledge on the matter.
“Oh
wait. Do you mean THAT Noble Michel? Where the annual food fiesta were held
every year that displays a variety of food all over the world??”
My
eyes were shining..
“Errr..yeah..uhm..
Anyway, what do you say? Go or not go?” Annabelle said while looking at over
excited Jasmine and I.
“Hell
yeah I am going! There’s no way I am letting this moment go to waste..” Jasmine
said with eager eyes..
Well, that is one week ago. She doesn’t
seems to be that excited now. Talk about mood swings this girl have.
After waking up the next morning, we all
went to have breakfast at the hotel’s Café.
“Girls, I just have to say this. The
rose tea is amazing. I think it is the best tea that I ever tasted before.” I
said to them while having breakfast.
“Usually, I hate tea but I like this
particular tea. It has a bit..what’s the word..ah! uumph.. as you say it..”
Jasmine agreed with me on tea being so delicious.
“Don’t you mean magnifique?” I took another sip of the tea, feeling the aroma of
the tea seeps into air.
“ Whatever.. Its damn delicious..that’s
it..”Jasmine said and got up to get more croissant..
“Hey, when are we meeting the peoples
for the event?” Annabelle was so busy looking at her phone that she didn’t
realised that I am asking her a question.
“Annabelle…? Hey..” I looked at her
again, her eyes were so focused.
“OH MY GOD! I cant believe this.. Oh my!
Oh my! OMG! OH my.. urmm..”
I was startled when she suddenly shouted
like a mad person.
Gees, she need to stop doing that! Long
before I am about to shut her mouth, Jasmine came and stuffed her mouth with
cream croissant, causing her to stop her yapping.
“W-ehat ther?” Annabelle said behind all
the croissant stuffed in her mouth by Jasmine who came back from the buffet.
“ that
is for yelling like a mad man. Next time, I will slap your face..for
sure..” Jasmine snorted, sitting down.
Well, Jasmine is a hardcore girl, I’ll
give her that.
“Really, Annabelle, you startled me .
Thank God I did not choke on anything or I have to be hospitalized on my
vacation.. Geez..”
“I am sorry. It’s just that I was so
excited to see the pictures of these fine men.” She shoved her phone to us.
However, before we can see it, someone
called her phone. The name “Manager” was displayed on the screen.
“Hey, your boss calling you..Answer it..”
I said. Annabelle quickly pulled her phone and take the call.
“Yes, boss?”
Before we know it, we were on a limo
going to the Noble Michel castle to meet the sponsor of the event. With us is
the CEO of Quid Quo, Miss Cynthia.
The sight of a castle came to sight. We
were flabbergasted by how amazing and beautiful the castle.
“Oh my..” I was in awe.
“Oh..!”
“Don’t..shout.. “ Annabelle looked at
Jasmine who was gesturing a slap motion with her hand.
“Beautiful isn’t it? There’s no castle
in the world that could beat that beauty in sight.”
Miss Cynthia said while
looking at the view of the castle that slowly become visible.
“Incredible.. Amazing and beautiful.”
Jasmine responded, also in awe like the rest of us.
“Indeed. U know there is a saying that,
if you get married in Nobel Michel Castle, your love will be eternal?”
“Really?” I looked at Miss Cynthia,
intrigued by the story.
“That’s what I’ve heard from the elders,
but it’s impossible to get married there.’” She sighed.
“Why? It’s too expensive? “Jasmine
asked,guessing that maybe money is the problem.
“Price is not the main problem. Only
royalty could get married there and as far as I know, unless you are a royalty
or one of the six princes from the six countries
surrounding this island fall
in love with you..”
Miss Cynthia took off her glasses and
look at us seriously.
“You can kiss that dream goodbye..” She
sighed.
Annabelle sighed too, maybe she was
dreaming about getting married there too.
“Oh.. I see… That is a pretty impossible
dream to catch.. isn’t it?”
Miss Cynthia nodded.
Sensing the cold air surrounding us,
Miss Cynthia started to divert the attention to the main reason why we are
here.
“So.. Can I brief you girls on which
department you’ll be working on?” Miss Cynthia
reached a file from her bag.
“Oh..that’s good. We can have a head
start and know what to expect from the client.” I nodded at Jasmine’s words.
So Cynthia brief to us everything that
we need to know. What to expect and what is the event is mainly about.
“This event is mainly a gathering of the
six future rulers from the six kingdoms surrounding the island.” Miss Cynthia
started explaining.
“ So.. does this event happens annually?
Like every year?” Jasmine asked. I was busy jotting down every piece of info
that Miss Cynthia gave us.
“Not necessarily, it could happen once
every 6 months, depending on how things were between the six kingdoms. So far,
the six princes have become acquainted with each other well..” We nodded while
writing the notes down.
“ When the event going to happen?” Annabelle
asked while taking out a calendar from her bag.
“ Its July 7th today right?
So I am guessing…urm..6 weeks from now..”
Six weeks? Is she serious? Talk about
pressured deadline..
“ Six weeks..? that is just around the
corner isn’t it?” I asked, worried expression plastered all over my face.
Miss Cynthia smiled, as if she noticed
how worried I looked.
“Don’t worry, I will be by your side,
guiding you on making this event works. If you need to ask about anything
regarding this event, you can ask me anytime..” She gave a confident and
trustworthy smile.
I relaxed my shoulder upon hearing those
words.. Although, the worries still lingers in side of me whether we can pull
this off or not.
The sight of Nobel Michel castle came
clearly to our side. The limo slide in the courtyard via the front gate. It
stopped in front of a big entrance in to the castle.
If I was flabbergasted by the sight of
the castle from a far, I think I would slapped myself,waking up from a dream
looking at a fairytale like castle in front of me.
I shook my head and continue watching
the castle in awe. I could tell that Jasmine and
Annabelle was shocked as I am
of how huge this castle is.
As we walk inside the castle and arrived
what appeared to be a huge foyer. Again, we were in awe. The mahogany coloured
walls makes it look so exquisite and unique.
“Amazing.. really..” I said
“You like it? It was handpicked by Sir
Michel himself.”
Jasmine, Annabelle and I turned around
when we heard the voice.
A tall, dark haired man with a slight
smile on his face was standing there with a high class posture in a nice suite
and a smile plastered all over his face.
If I haven’t known better, I think he
looks like a royal butler or something.
“Oh? Who might you be?” I asked.
“I am Jean, the Royal High Steward. You
must be Miss Kim, Miss Grace and Miss Lee who are sent here to help Lady
Cynthia to arrange the event?
We nodded. We exchanged look with each
other when Jean called Miss Cynthia, Lady Cynthia.
“How are you Jean? I hope things are
going well around here since I haven’t have the time to visit.” Miss Cynthia
asked Jean.
“All is well taken care of here, like
usual. Everyone is busy with the gathering event..”
Jean smiled at her.
Jean seems to be very close to Miss
Cynthia. Do they know each other that well?
If they do, Miss Cynthia must be related
to the royalty or something..
“Come with me. I will take you to the
lounge room to wait for Sir Michel to come down.”
We followed him into a huge room. There
were couches that cost like a hundred Cruz and the view from the outside overlooking
the beautiful ocean make it a much more
lovely view.
Suddenly my stomach started to feel
cramped. First day of period cramp..Great.. Just what I need.. Oh man..
Oh.. not now.. Not when I am working..
Geez..
I made my way to one of the couches and
sat down to ease the pain. Soon after we all are seated on a red satin couch. We
sat down and Jean pour tea into the cups in front of us.
“He will be down soon. Enjoy the refreshment
while you are it. “ Jean smiled and start walking to the refreshment table.
We all took a sip of the tea.
“Camomile Tea..” Annabelle said when we
sipped the tea.
“Don’t shout okay? You know what is
coming..” Jasmine warned her.
I took another sip of the tea and my
stomach started to grumble. Maybe I should not drink too much tea while in this
condition..
I tried to hold it in but it keeps on
grumbling more and more..
“If you need anything, you can just have
anything on the table. Excuse me while I bring Sir Michel down here..” Jean
bowed and starts walking out.
Jasmine start giving me looks, probably
noticing that I am in deep pain or something.
NORMAL POV
“Your Highness, the crew for the event
have arrived with Lady Cynthia..” Jean said as he entered the chamber of Nobel
Michel
“Very well Jean. We must not let the
people wait.. Lets go..” Nobel Michel stood up to walk out from the room when a
servant came into his room.
“Your Highness, forgive my sudden
intrusion, but did you see His Highness around here? He seems to disappear when
I sent the breakfast for him this morning..” A tall, fair skinned guy in gray
suit and a worried expression on his face.
“Ah.. Alberto. You’re here? Don’t worry,
he will not go far from here. He probably wandering around the castle looking
for something fun to do..” Nobel Michel smiled calmly at him.
“Even so..” The guy muttered under his
breath.
“Why don’t you try looking at the
stable? Maybe he was riding one of the horses?” Nobel Michel suggest to him..
“I will.. Excuse me Your Highness..” The
guy went out from the room, leaving Nobel Michel and Jean..
“Shall we go,Jean?” Nobel Michel said,
waking Jean from his dreaming..
“Oh? Yes we shall..” Jean opened the
door to let Nobel Michel go through it and together they made their way down
stairs to meet the girls.
Back at the room, Annabelle is
discussing the interior design with Cynthia while Jasmine was whispering to
Hanakimi.
“Period cramp?” Jasmine said to
HanaKimi.
“Is it that obvious?” Hanakimi’s face
went red, imagining how painful she looked.
“Well, not really, but you looked
nervous and there’s sweat on your forehead..”
Hanakimi quickly reached the inside of
her bag and took out a handkerchief. She wiped
her forehead. Indeed, what
Jasmine said was right. There are traces of sweat on her handkerchief.
“Urm.. Miss Cynthia?” Hanakimi said
looking at her.
“Yes, Hanakimi? Anything wrong?” Her
eyebrows furrowed looking how flushed she is.
“Could you point me where is the rest
room? I think I need to use it..” Hanakimi said while holding her pain.
“ Sure. Go out from this room turn right
and walk all the way until you find a purple door. There should be a gender
sign at the door to tell you where to go..”
Miss Cynthia said,while feeling worried.
“Do you need me to accompany you?”
“Its okay. I can manage..Thank You..”
She said with a smile and then quickly leave the room, leaving Annabelle,
Jasmine and Miss Cynthia.
Jasmine cleared her throat.
“Is she going to be fine? She looked in
pain..” Miss Cynthia said while exchanging papers with Annabelle.
“Its alright, It’s that time of the
month..” Jasmine said, with a meaningful smile.
“Oh ,I see..” Miss Cynthia nodded
“So can you show me the budget and the
things needed for the event?” jasmine sat near them while discussing when the
door opened up.
They moved their gaze through the opened
door. They saw Jean with an older man with a white beard. The old man smile
calmly at them.
“Your highness…” Cynthia bowed to him.
Seeing this, Jasmine and Annabelle bowed as well.
“ Hello to all of you. I take it that
Miss Cynthia told you everything that you need to know?” Said Nobel Michel
while sitting down.
“I have told them half what they need to
know. The rest I am hoping you could add your opinion to it..” Miss Cynthia
said while handing him a piece of paper.
“Oh,, I will.. Let see.. Miss Annabelle
Grace, a junior fashion designer. I reckon that
Miss Cynthia has told you about
the design that you need to make for the event?”
“Yes Your highness.. she was telling me
about it when you came in..” Annabelle said, controlling her excitement.
“Miss Jasmine Lee, an accountant and
part time event planner from Amethyst.. I see..fine country that Amethyst..”
Nobel Michel’s tone seem to be a bit down.
“Yes, the country is wonderful. Have you
visited Amethyst before Your Highness?” Jasmine asked.
Nobel Michel look up and smile curled up
from his lips.
“I had once.. when I was young. So many
memories were made there..” nobel Michel seems to be thinking about a memory
when he snapped out of it and looked straight at them.
“Erm.. Now..Miss Hanakimi Kim, part time
baker and a private chef. Once served Chef Masaharu’s familyfor 2 years before
working part time as a baker. I am pretty sure you had a little business going
on, am I right?”
His question was left unanswered..
“Oh., Miss Kim goes to the restroom for
a while.” Jasmine said,answering Nobel Michel’s question..
“Oh..I see.. Well, let’s discuss
something else while waiting for Miss Kim..” Nobel
Michel suggested. Jean pour
tea in the cup in front of Nobel Michel.
HANAKIMI
POV
Oh my.. That is such a relief. Thank God
the pain is slowly went away, though my head was spinning a bit.
“I better get back to the room to meet
my boss..
As I make my way back, I felt as if the
room was spinning around everytime I passed by a door.
“Oh.. this is bad.. What is wrong with
me?” I hold on to a railing to balance myself from falling.
I was somehow relief when I saw the door to the room where Jasmine, Annabelle and
Miss Cynthia were. I opened the door,revealing myself to the people inside the
room.
I see the three of them,Jean and a
middle aged man dressed in a fancy suit.When I took a step, my head spins like
crazy..
“Hanakimi? Are you alright?” Annabelle’s
voice rang through my ears.
“Oh-oh she don’t look so good..
Hanakimi!” Jasmine’s voice was the last thing I heard when my vision started to
blackens. I feel somebody captured me from behind and
stopping me from my fall.
The last thing I see was a beautiful
amethyst orbs looking worriedly at me. After that it was all black..
