Ame groans softly as she comes to, feeling her body sorer than the day before. It made sense given that she had been moving around with an injured body. Not to mention, she was in survival mode most of the time merely trying to survive the day.
After a moment, Ame slowly opens her eyes as she tries to rise, all the while trying to keep the pain to minimum. Gripping tightly to the bed covers, Ame manages to pull herself up. She lets out a soft moan as she glances a bit more at her surroundings.
Ame studies the lavish decorations of many cultures for a moment, before turning to her side. With much more ease, Ame slides off the bed and can stand quite easily. For a moment, she enjoys the sensation of the soft Turkish rug under feet as she rubs her toes into the rub.
Ame glances at herself and notes that she is wearing clean clothes and smells faintly of jasmine. Someone must have undressed her and bathed her, while she slept. She must have been exhausted to not have felt all of that, but with a noticeable amount of relief, she finds that the dark metal ring is still on her hand.
Rather curious about her physical appearance, Ame slowly hobbles to a large mirror that stands in the corner of the room. A bruised girl about the age of ten stares at her in the reflection as her wide purple eyes stare blankly back. Dumbly, she raises her hand to her head and grabs a fistful of the violet hair.
Ame with horror or fascination stares at the violet hair in her hands. Violet hair is not seen in a normal human being. Did they somehow dye her hair, while she was asleep? But there would be signs of it.
Ame smiles warily to herself. The humans of this world evolved a bit differently. Evolutionary wise, they seem similar enough. And yet for a human to possess purple hair is simply unnatural serving no functional purpose. Such bright hair color can't be used for camouflage or survival, unless such hair serves to distract predators with the belief that the prey is poisonous. Or the original humans of Sen used vibrant hair for mating purposes much like male bird using their colorful feathers to attract a female.
Ame closes her eyes and tries to sort and find a memory of the previous Ame. After some minutes a memory comes to mind of a little girl about the age of five standing in front of the full-length mirror. She is wearing a lovely flowered pink robe: a mix of Chinese and Korean dress styles. Her wide purple eyes stare tearfully in the mirror. The red neat bow in her hair is loose as though it was pulled.
Ame opens her eyes as she returns to study her current ten-year-old self. Well, for now, all she can do is rest until she is better and no longer malnourished-.
Soft hurried footsteps are heard as Ame turns towards the door. The door flies open as Ame gapes at the stunning figure in the doorway.
A spectacular, petite Japanese woman stands in front of her. A woman worthy to be called, the second Helen of Troy. Thousands of men would be fighting to the death over the right for the simple honor of a single smile.
The woman has beautiful cream colored skin and lovely almond brown eyes along with glossy black hair pulled into an elegant bun. The woman wears a flowing blue skirt like a Korean hanbok, the blue tunic similar to the short-sleeved tunic of India with a light green sari wrapped around her.
The beautiful woman’s face begins to weep as her skirt rustles noisily, and rushes toward Ame. The maid rushes towards me and pulls me into her warm embrace. Ame stiffens from the unexpected assault. She couldn’t remember how long it had been since she had skin to skin contact for the last time.
To her own surprise, Ame feels a long forgotten but nostalgic warmth emerge from within her. Ame gently pats the woman on the back in attempt to comfort her, but very quickly she begins to firmly pound on the the maiden back at finding herself being smothered in the heaving chest.
The beautiful maiden, perhaps having realized Ame’s terrible dilemma swiftly pulls herself back as she studies Ame with concern. She worriedly opens her peach colored mouth and says, "Are you alright, Lady Ame? You did not hurt yourself, did you?"
Ame blankly stares at her as if wondering how that would be possible given that she couldn’t move very well or very far.
The beautiful maiden gently covers her mouth with a corner of her sari, covering her charming smile. Ame’s face must have shown something, because the maiden stares at her sadly and softly says, “My Lady, I’ve been so very worried about you. You've been asleep for three days and three nights, and I was beginning to fear that I would need to call a physician if you had continued likes this."
Ame frowns slightly at that. Of course, what concerns Ame more is not the fact that she was asleep for 3 days, but what that last comment just revealed to her. For one, this world lacked common sense.
And secondly, Ame did not have a very good standing in the Min family. Even absentee parents would quickly present themselves upon knowing that their missing child has finally returned home. Or even make a feeble effort to show a caring farce by simply asking her caretaker, the maid about Ame’s wellbeing.
The maiden sighs softly, before revealing a dazzling smile. “Welcome Home, my Lady. You have been sorely missed,” the maiden sincerely said.
Ame nods as she tries to remember the caretaker’s name. “Thank you-, Sada.”
Sada smiles happily and motions for me to sit down on cushioned chair. Ame hobbles the few steps to the chair and gratefully sits down. With bewildered eyes, Ame watches the following bizarre actions of Sada.
Sada happily pulls open a closet full of clothes and beings to sort through them. Ame sighs tiredly at the sight, but closes her eyes to rest. Given that she is a daughter of aristocracy, she is required to act and dress accordingly.
Ame recalls her memories that show etiquette and reviews them in her mind. The child had some of the basic knowledge of the world, such as the language and etiquette, but not very much. To survive knowledge is power, but sadly, as a sheltered young mistress, her child-self lacked crucial knowledge that could have very well saved her life.
Ame opens her eyes to find Sada still sorting through the closet in search of prey. Sada smiles cheerfully to herself as she hunts for her evasive quarry. She will not permit for her Lady to be slighted in any way possible. Despite the years of her being missing, this little habit of Sada’s didn’t change, but rather had grown.
Ame almost sighs in despair. For more than half of her past life, all she wore was a white lab coat and military issued clothing. Fashion had no place in a laboratory and much less at the dawn of the mutant apocalypse.
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Turning her mind away from the choice of her clothes, Ame begins to ponder her current circumstances based on what she does know. The culture is Sen is a mix of what can be classified as the continent of Asia. Most of the people appear as humans of that place from an ancient era, but there are exceptions apparently.
The current language that she speaks is a derivative of many countries’ languages following the multiple cultures of Sen. The language follows some of the common Chinese, Japanese and Korean grammar structure, but also holds traces of Indian, Turkish and other Asian countries word structures and vowels. Finding no traces of Latin, Germanic, or Cyrillic word structure in the spoken language, the conclusion is that European culture as such does not exist anywhere on Sen.
Therefore, based on the clothing and memories of the child, the world of Sen lacks modern technology. Well, the bathroom has running warm water. That proves that existing water pipes carry water into the tub with a heater of some sort to heat the water. The world is not entirely without technology.
That being the case, this world seems to follow the same tradition of having an ancient monarch society controlled by a patriarchal society with few exceptions. Given what is known from Earth’s own history, she won’t have an easy time.
Ame sniffs unhappily at the possibility but does not worry. An engagement will surely arise in her future, but if she plans well, she can fix such troublesome matters and the like. No matter what culture, a woman’s virtue should not be underestimated and hers is in tatters.
Ame is disturbed from her musings as Sada lets out a happy squeak, and like a tiger, Sada pounces unto the unsuspecting robe.
Ame stares at Sada and wonders if this may become a problem in the future. Based on her limited amount of psychology, she is certain that Sada must have a sort of obsession with clothing. Of course, she might just be a rather enthusiastic fan.
Sada triumphantly turns around with her prey and presents Ame with a pink child-sized kimono. Ame stiffens at the hideously bright color that hurts her eyes. Ame opens her mouth to speak, but closes it upon seeing the feverish look on Sada’s face.
Rather than sending Sada back into the jungle of the closet in search of another prey, Ame silently accepts the bright colored robe. She does not refuse or protest Sada’s aide in dressing her, after all, Ame is still rather sore and it would be unpleasant to have to dress herself or even brush her hair.
Ame enjoys the feeling of having her hair brushed as Sada braids her hair into an intricate braid. Having finished, Sada studies her own work with a satisfied smile and says, “You look beautiful my lady. Shall we take a walk before dinner?”
Ame quietly responds, “Yes, that would be pleasant.”
As Ame rises to her feet while Sada opens the door. A rather stern looking guard enters the bedroom. The guard bows deeply to Ame before taking her into his arms and carrying her through the halls and outside into the courtyard.
The guard gently seats Ame on a small rug that is full of fluffy pillows. Ame nods thankfully as the guard salutes back quietly and walks away. Sada seats herself slightly further away with a group of household maids to chat, and soon, their excited chatter fills the air. The maids discuss the current romance among the servants and the scandals that had arisen
Ame tunes out their gossip as she surveys the landscape a bit gloomily. Ame stares warily at the deadly cherry blossoming trees. Based on the trees blooming, Ame knew for certain that it was the dreaded spring time. Ame held a natural apathy for Spring time, because of her allergies and constant sneezing, but when the mutants broke loose and started rampaging, it was also spring time. This only made her apathy that much stronger.
As Ame hears a bit of the maids’ gossip, she smiles ruefully for a moment. Romance was not a word that she was too familiar with even before T-Day. Conceivably, the dislike arose from having watched Julian Bond Movies.
As a child, she had loved to watch the heroes get the girl, but not, Julian Bond. Bond used women as a tool, a means to an end even if that meant forcing them, and no matter what it was called or how it was portrayed, that was “Rape.”
Indignant over Bond’s actions, she would image how to kill Bond. Even though Bond was always caught, he always escaped with the aid of a female. After much trial and error, she realized the easiest way to kill Bond was to inject the would be female informant with a fatal disease and allow Bond to contract the disease through his own promiscuous actions. A suitable ending to a perverted man.
But that isn’t to say, that she hated romance. After all, even she had been in love once.
Ame turns her attention back to the maid’s chatter as the topic turns towards the Min Family. The maids gushed about how talented Ame’s older siblings were at the respective institutions that had recruited them: HuiFeng, (Immortal Sword Sect), and Hong, (Blazing Fist Sect).
Before Ame could learn more, the maids suddenly began to speak quietly of the Master’s torrent of love conquests. Ame’s eyes unexpectedly begin to sparkle brightly at the whispers. She always had an appetite for watching torrent love affairs among her colleagues.
From the maid’s whispers, she learns, that Ehuang was the betrothed bride to Master Min from a young age. Whether she loved him or not, she still married him. Of course, as a proper man of his era, Master Min had wandering eyes.
Ame’s mother, Ayako was a very popular and much sought out courtesan in the city. To the surprise of the family and many others, Master Min brought her home and made her his legal second wife instead of a concubine. Apparently, that shocked many, but no one raised a word of protest.
Ame smiles thinly at that. She was certain Ehuang must have protested quietly. A proper, well brought up lady of her caliber would protest at her husband's dubious actions. After all, Master Min’s action, didn't just cast a negative light on himself but on the integrity of the entire Min Household.
Although, it would seem Ayako paid a price as well. Not long after marrying Ayako, Master Min visited an old friend. Ayako, already with child, was surprised upon Master Min’s return. After being scantly away for 3 months, Master Min returned with his 3rd legal wife, sixteen-year-old Nuo. Ame’s mother, Ayako, was furious.
Ame snorts softly to herself. Sure, it may have been unfair, but that is a consequence of marrying a philanderer. To share a fickle man, is no doubt a challenge. After all, sister wives are not sisters, but opponents vying for one man’s favor.
Ame’s mocking gaze caught the eye of Sada. Sada exquisitely excuses herself and elegantly rises to her feet. Sada smiles sweetly at Ame and asks, “Are you ready for dinner, my lady?”
I shrug and firmly say, "Very well, Sada.”
Sada ruefully smiles and motions for the guard to come carry me. The guard once more bows in an apologetic fashion before carrying Ame away in his arms. It ought to be an interesting dinner at least.
*
A handsome man with violet hair and violet eyes leisurely sits in a chair reading. The wind fluttered his robes gently, giving the man a heart wrenching charm. A man proven capable of leaving a trail of broken hearts in his wake.
An elderly looking man shuffles in quietly and bows. “Lord Hee, Lady Ame is finally awake and will attend tonight’s dinner,” the older man gruffly said.
Lord Min Hee elegantly closes the book with a snap. Raising a firm gaze to the elder man, who is still ferociously strong despite his age. “Dara, is she truly Ame?” Lord Min Hee firmly demanded to know.
Dara’s eyes crinkle slightly at the question, but no other emotion shows on his calm face. “Yes, Lord Hee. I am certain. She is Lady Ame.” Despite not seeing Ame for years, he recognized her face at a mere glance. There was no further need to check.
“I see,” Lord Min Hee said quietly as he contemplates the answer.
Dara waits for more of an emotion of joy to appear on Min Hee’s face, but nothing transpires. Min Hee did not even bother to ask about Ame’s wellbeing. With obvious disappointment, Dara keeps studying the face of the man who was like a son to him. For a moment, Dara looks for the smiling boy that had disappeared long ago.
“Thank you, Dara,” Lord Min Hee said after a moment without ever glancing up at Dara.
Dara stiffens in understanding that those words are a dismissal. With a heavy heart, Dara bows and leaves as silently as he came.
Lord Min Hee lips purse for a moment, which was a scene that would have bewitched many a maiden with its demonic charm. Lord Min Hee traces the cover of the book in contemplation before coming to an abrupt halt. Once more, Lord Min Hee snaps open his book and returns to his reading.
*