heartless - adachi yuto

fifteen

The doors to the palace opened as dusk fell upon Zuko, revealing Governor Daiyo and his daughter standing silently, with their servants just a few steps behind them. In front of them was the long entrance corridor, where all the maids stood on each side, bowing as the guests walked into the palace.

In the middle of the corridor stood Lord Yuto, Admiral Wooseok, Juro, and Nao, Juro and Nao bowed to the waist as the governor and Yuri came forth. Nao could not see Yuri's face, but from her bowed position, so could see the young woman's dark brown hair flowing against her back, past her waist. She was in this dark yellow robe, a color which was uncommon for the people of Zuko to wear. She made a mental note to ask Juro about it later.

When her and Juro were allowed to stand again, Nao almost fell over.

Yuri was beautiful, unbelievably beautiful. Her skin was flawless and glowing, her eyebrows were nice and full, her lips were big and plump. Plus, she was not that ugly shade of white that most important daughters of power are expected to be. She was tan, very tan, as if she bathed in the sun's rays as a hobby. Nao never experienced jealousy in her life, but today, it burned within her chest.

Governor Daiyo, on the other hand, looked like he was a few hours away from death. He was an old man, with grey hair and thick glasses. He was in his sixties, his late wife giving birth to Yuri when he turned fifty, his youngest daughter of eight. He was seen in the nation as the brain, because he was the eldest member of the government. However, due to Lord Yuto's father's dislike for Governor Daiyo, the governor was not made his advisor. Today, Lord Yuto hoped to fix this issue and find peace at least with one person while he is in power.

"Welcome, Governor Daiyo," Lord Yuto greeted him. Governor Daiyo bowed his head slightly, as did Yuri. "Hello to you as well, Yuri. It's nice to see the both of you here in the palace."

"It's an honor to be here after so many years, Lord Yuto," Governor Daiyo chuckled, looking around the entrance corridor, "I can tell many things have changed in the past twenty years."

"Come, let us get ready for dinner, the maids have prepared many great dishes for us to feast on," Lord Yuto put his hand on Governor Daiyo's shoulder, who winced under his breath, so silent that Nao was certain Lord Yuto did not hear. Lord Yuto was such a heavy-handed man.

Governor Daiyo's servants came to his side to aid him on his walk to the dinner hall, one on each side. They held onto arms, leading him slowly while his daughter trailed behind him. Lord Yuto walked by her side, while Admiral Wooseok, Juro, and Nao walked a few feet behind them.

"Why does she wear yellow?" Nao asked Juro lowly.

"Because she is here in her mother's place," Juro answered, "Her mother was from Mei, her and Govenor Daiyo meeting when he traveled there to help resolve conflicts between Zuko and Mei. They married and she gave birth to eight daughters, Yuri being her last child before she passed away from an infection in her throat, cutting off her oxygen. The people of Mei wear the traditional color of yellow, to represent the sun gods who bless them with good crops and warm weather."

"Shouldn't the other seven daughters be here as well?" Nao asked, "Why just Yuri?" She was honestly just wanting to see if the other sisters were just as beautiful as Nao thought.

"The other sisters are married or moved back to Mei to connect with family," Juro answered. "Yuri is also visually impaired, so her father refuses to let her be alone."

"But she walks so gracefully, without help," Nao mentioned, astonished.

"She is not blind, she has glaucoma, so there's black spots when she sees," Juro answered, "and it is slowly worsening. She tends to lean and rely on others because of her vision impairment, which is why she is holding onto the sleeve of Lord Yuto's robe."