Eleven Days My Queen!

Eun-ji had walked far away from the palace into the entertainment district, the district like any other day was bustling with people when most of the capital was asleep, moving stealthily around for some time she breathed a sigh of relief,after successfully finding the Silver reed Tavern.

Stepping in,the tavern like most was crowded with men drinking, gambling, or doing both,they were occasionally some women but they were probably companions of the men.She strode towards the Tavern's counter,with people not paying attention to her despite the black cloak she draped on as they too invested in whatever they were doing. Reaching the counter,she brought her face up, immediately catching sight of the handsome man behind the counter,the young man was almost unfairly handsome,the kind of beauty that made Eun-Ji's heart skip,even if she didn't want it to,his sharp jaw-lined and perfectly shaped lips,and effortless charm screamed young master of a prestigious family,not someone who should pouring drinks in a rowdy tavern.Avoiding eye contact she lowered head a little and cleared her throat,before speaking,deepening her voice to sound as masculine as possible.

"I would like to order a cup of rice wine to my table", she said pointing to an empty table at the end of the room,her voice a little loud to make sure the young man behind the counter heard her,before making her way back to sit.

The handsome man observed the cloaked customer,going to settle down at the end of the room,he knew the customer was a lady, deepening her voice to sound masculine was a bad idea because she was bad at it,none of it was actually his business,so he moved with the order over to her table.

Head still lowered, Eun-ji watched as the man dropped the bowl of rice wine, as he finished and was about to make his way back she grabbed him on the arm.

"Do you know a man here called Shim BBangu?", she whispered, observing his face for any slight clue.

Quite shocked from the sudden grip,the man looked down at her hands on his.

"From the palace" he asked,the green sleeves of her maid uniform peeking out.

"I asked first,Do you know a man called Shim Bbangu around here?,she blurted out.

He nodded,before she let go of his hands,asking.

"Is he here right now?"

My turn to ask the question,he said clearly avoiding her question.

"Who do you served under?"

"Queel Seol Na,"she answered.

"Meet me in the storage room behind the building", he said before walking away from her table,excusing himself from the counter,he walked out of the tavern,after waiting for some minutes, she followed suit.

....

The old building behind the tavern,one would think was a storage room but as she stepped in,the air reeked of herbs and medicinal roots,her mind immediately pictured Shim Bbangu working here .She watched the handsome man open another door,it wasn't a door to a room but a built-in wall closet,which contained an assortment of odd smelling things.She continued to watch him as he brought out a small transparent container with a greenish powder in it.Closing it,he turned to her,

"What did the Queen give to you?",he asked.

Still processing the statement,she finally realized_eyes widening_this handsome man was Shim Bbangu,the physician.

Shim Bbangu wondered what was going through her head as her facial expressions changed dozens of times,finally settling into a frown.

"She gave me this"she said handing him the letter.Opening it, his expression turned sour,and she could swear,there was hint of anger in his eyes_not towards the sender but towards something else_she wasn't too sure.

Putting the letter down Shim Bbangu handed her the transparent bottle,the bottle had a tag,with characters written on it.

"Make sure no one sees you with this bottle except the Queen",he warned,as she tucked it inside her cloak,nodding to his request.The bottle secured she made her way out of the old storage room back in the open.Quickening her pace,she walked briskly towards the palace.