Yui had it all--the beloved daughter of a feudal lord, an unearthly beauty that moves men to write sonnets, and a heart of gold. Only, she wishes for one thing.
To overcome the illness that eats her soul day by day. She folds paper cranes each nigh...
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After a day's travel, the slave was exhausted. It was not an ideal place to be sitting on a horseback for hours on end without rest but they wouldn't stop for a break for fear of bandits attacking the emissary's entourage. After they had crossed the moors miles away from the peasant market where he was sold, they were now in the more affluent part of the empire where nobles and lords frequented in. He hadn't been here and so he couldn't help but gape at the stores selling luxurious silk and weaponries and he admired the craft store wedged between a winery and jewelry store. He could imagine what he could make with just a few of its materials. A simple thread and beads were enough to make an intricate trinket.
There was no time to look around though, as the entourage went on, their pace ruthless. They only stopped to feed the horses or for a drink.
It was late afternoon when they finally arrived, the sun halfway down the horizon, consuming the skies with its orange glow. He was sweaty and would trade anything to lie down and sleep. He swept his gaze around the estate and there were a few mansions belonging to different lords as evident by the varying family crests on the front gate. He guessed which of the residences the feudal lord's was and it wasn't that hard.
The Fei mansion was the most extravagant residence he had ever seen. The mansion was bordered with great walls, fortified against thieves and assassins. The emissary emerged out of his palanquin and unlocked his shackles after he was helped dismounting the horse. He followed the emissary and the other guards obediently and for the first time in his life, he felt self-conscious. He was wearing nothing but rags and everything around him was like straight out of a fairy tale. All his life, he worked with Tai Tei, running errands for a few merchants and nobles here and there but feudal lords really were something else. If the outside of the estate was lavish, the inside was a thing of beauty. Numerous cherry blossom trees dotted the front gardens, raining everything with feminine pink and a great bamboo fountain lay in the middle of the orchard. There was a stream under the stone bridge that closed the gap and he trailed behind the emissary as they trudged past the stone bridge, the other guards breaking away and melting in the shadows. The layout of the mansion was strategic military wise, but it was coupled with feminine splendor which suggested that this was decorated for a lady.
He observed the mansion itself curiously. He couldn't help but notice that for a grand estate, it kind of seemed... empty. Yes, there were a few servants here and there but it still wasn't enough. He had been to the houses of lesser lords and they had more servants.
As if reading his thoughts, the emissary said, "Only the lady lives here. Lord Heishin is always away so we only keep a few female servants around. But now that the lady is very sick, her father is preparing to go home to spend more time with her."
He wondered why the emissary bothered to explain the circumstances. He was a slave, nothing more, and slaves didn't need explanations. They worked without a word uttered—at least that's what Tai Tei taught him and the others.
