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."
Sure enough, when Nao looked up, Yuri's fingers were wrapped around Lord Yuto's sleeve, her facing straight forward. Lord Yuto did not seemed fazed by this at all, and even said something to Yuri, something underneath his breath that Nao could not hear.
"How do you know all this about everyone?" Nao asked Juro.
"When you are the principal servant of the emperor, you need to know some things about other important people in order to give your boss good advice," Juro chuckled.
"You both are talking too much," Admiral Wooseok mentioned, "stop gossiping."
☾
The maids brought out many dishes of different foods for the guests of the Palace. At the large table, Lord Yuto and Admiral Wooseok sat on one side of the table, while Governor Daiyo and Yuri sat on the other side. Nao stood on Admiral Wooseok's right, while Juro stood on Lord Yuto's left.
Nao watched as Yuri's hand reached aimlessly onto the table, her fingers doing a pinching motion. It occurred to Nao that Yuri, who was looking at the table with squinted eyes, was unable to find her eating utensils, which was on her plate. As Nao reached out to put the utensils in Yuri's hand, Juro looked at her sternly, and she slowly put both hands behind her back.
Juro then looked at Lord Yuto, who reached out himself, and held Yuri's fingers. With her fingers in his grasp, he gently pulled her hand forward, then downwards, until the empty plate with her eating utensils. Yuri picked them up, her cheeks becoming a dark shade of red as she thanked Lord Yuto, her eyes downcast.
"Put food on her plate," Governor Daiyo said to one of his personal servants, "and blow it for her. It's too hot."
"I can reach for my own food, Father," Yuri assured him with a small smile, "look."
Yuri reached forward for the large plate of noodles, and with her chopsticks, she picked up an adequate amount before placing it on her plate. She then reached for the tray of barbecued, steaming hot pork, picking it up between her chopsticks, but it slipped, falling onto the hand that fell on her plate. She screeched, and dropped the plate onto the table, thankfully not spilling anything, but her hand was red and burning.
Damnit, Lord Yuto, help her! Nao thought.
"See, I told you," Governor Daiyo growled, "you can't see what you're doing anymore. Lee, take her plate and cut the pork for her and blow the food."
Yuri held her red hot hand, her eyes slightly wet from the forming tears. Lord Yuto reached her for napkin, and rubbed the hand gently, removing the sauce from her fingers.
"Are you alright?" He asked lowly.
It was strange to see Lord Yuto caring for someone, it was a sight most people have never seen. His voice was deep and sounded evil, but when talking to Yuri, he did not see as mean. Nao stood on the other side of the table, a small grin on her face when she remembered how she tutored Lord Yuto earlier before the dinner.
"Women love feeling like they're cared for, but not to the point that they feel they are being babied," Nao had told him. "Women want to feel loved, but not feel like the man finds her too precious to do anything."
After Lord Yuto removed the scorching sauce, he saw that the hand was still red. He looked at Juro.
"Bring her a cold towel for her hand, Juro," Lord Yuto ordered. Juro bowed and walked away from the table.
Lord Yuto let go of Yuri's hand, letting it rest on the table. "Please, eat well, you are my beloved guests."
Yuri nodded, reaching for her fork. Governor Daiyo stopped her yet again.
"Let Lee feed you," he said.
"Father, I can eat food on my own," Yuri told him. "Please enjoy your meal, as I will enjoy my own."
"Do not talk back, my daughter, you are too fragile, let Lee do his job."
"I believe that she is perfectly capable of feeding herself, Governor Daiyo," Lord Yuto said with a small smile, "she was able to walk into the corridor without any assistance."
Admiral Wooseok's eyes widened, his piece of beef hanging between his chopsticks. Nao's eyes widened as well.
"O-Of course," Governor Daiyo mentioned, "but she is losing her eyesight as you know. I worry about her at times."
"I believe in her," Lord Yuto said, "let her eat on her own. If anything happens, we will handle it then."
Yuri's lips curled into a smile as she took a bite of her pork, and Nao's lips also formed into a smile as well, watching the girl eat happily.
"It has began to rain, Lord Yuto," a maid walked into the dinner hall, her head bowed. "Would you like to prepare the rooms for our guests to sleep overnight? It would be dishonorable if we let them leave and get wet."
"Yes, prepare the rooms," Lord Yuto ordered. "Governor, I hope that is no problem with you."
"That is absolutely fine, Lord Yuto, we could talk about some issues later then, rather than here. For now, let us enjoy this delicious meal," Governor Daiyo gave a big smile.
☾
At dusk, after Lord Yuto and Governor Daiyo talked in Lord Yuto's room about the future of Zuko and other issues, and after Governor Daiyo was walked to his room by his servants, Lord Yuto walked himself to Yuri's bedroom.
He knocked twice, then once more, before asking, "May I come in?"
"Yes, you may," Yuri called from inside.
Lord Yuto opened the door, and found Yuri already in her sleeping gown. Her curly, brown hair was now in a bun, and her face was washed.
"Hello, Lord Yuto," she greeted him.
"Hello, Yuri," he replied, closing the door behind him. "Did you enjoy dinner tonight?"
"Yes, it was good, thank you so much for inviting my father and I," Yuri thanked him, "it was truly an honor."
"Thank you for coming," Lord Yuto smiled, "it's nice to have guests in the palace."
There is an awkward silence before Yuri speaks again, her eyes downcast.
"I'm sorry about how I acted today at dinner, how I kept trying to prove myself and in the end, I ended up burning myself and making myself a fool. I promise, I will be more submissive," Yuri bowed her head.
"What are you talking about?" Lord Yuto raised his eyebrow. "There was no issue. You were simply defending yourself. You do not want to be babied and your father kept pestering you. You had a right to be angry."
"I-I just do not want to rely on him forever," Yuri confessed, "Father is already old, he is practically minutes away from death. I know that one day, I will eventually lose my eyesight completely, but I would like to spend my last moments seeing being able to do things on my own than him keep having his servants take care of me."
"Why do you not speak to him of this issue?" Lord Yuto asked.
"Because I'm the only one in my father's life now," Yuri sighed, "he has no one else. I do not want his final days being of him thinking I am trying to detach myself from him."
Lord Yuto stayed silent, trying to process what he could say that would make Yuri feel better. What would Admiral Wooseok say? What would Nao say if she was in his body right now?
"I hope that you find peace eventually in your life," he mumbled, hoping he said the right words. Thankfully, Yuri smiled at him and thanked him for his wishes.
"C-Can I be honest with you?" Lord Yuto asked.
"Yes, Lord Yuto," Yuri said, her heart thumping.
"It felt nice eating dinner with you, and it feels nice talking to you now," Lord Yuto confessed, "because you're so close to my age. Ever since I was young, Admiral Wooseok had been my only companion, so aside from him, I was surrounded by only adults. Seeing you today, it did not feel as suffocating being in the palace. I hope what I'm saying makes sense."
"You are different than what the townspeople said you were, Lord Yuto," Yuri smiled, "I'm also happy I got to spend this time with you today."
Lord Yuto gave her a small smile as well. "I will take my leave now, sleep well, Yuri."
"Wait!"
Yuri reached her hands out for the table, making she did not run into it before walking up to Lord Yuto. She reached out for his face, making sure he was where she thought he was before she pressed his lips onto his cheek.
"G-G-Goodnight, Lord Yuto," Yuri stammered, backing away from him.
Lord Yuto could not even say a word back, he could not even think. He was completely frozen, frozen for so long that Yuri thought she angered him. When he caught his breath, Lord Yuto told her goodnight, and speedily walked out of the room, closing the door behind him so he could put his hands on his knees and take deep breaths.
Lord Yuto was not breathing deeply because he was excited from the kiss.
Lord Yuto was scared.