Hanamei woke slowly, her mind regaining consciousness as though she were waking from a pleasant dream. She felt warm and cozy, nestled beneath a thick blanket with a soft mattress under her slender frame that easily could have been a cloud. Never before had she been fortunate enough to rest in such luxury. As such, she was reticent to leave the safety and comfort of the borrowed bed, but between her ravenous stomach and the memory of the previous night returning, she had to grudgingly get up.
Throwing the covers back, she slipped to the edge of the bed, expecting a chill as her bare feet touched the floor, but it wasn’t cold at all. There was a plush rug stretched out beside the bed. She smiled, once again pleased, this time by how good the thick fibers felt beneath her skin.
Where am I? Am I dead? Or did the stranger bring me here?
She glanced down and realized her clothing had been changed. The tattered remnants of the silk gown she’d been forced to wear for Tzulan were gone, replaced by a simple but finely made linen dress. Instantly she blushed, the thought of a man seeing her naked a great source of embarrassment.
“You needn’t worry,” a melodious, female voice startled her. “It was I that changed you.”
Hanamei jerked her head up and gasped. The speaker was tall, with eyes that shimmered like clear mountain ponds and dark hair tinted sea-green and cerulean. The smooth tresses fell in a single wave down her back, flecks of color gleaming as the locks swayed in rhythm with her graceful steps. Poking out of the shimmering strands were delicate, pointed ears the likes of which Hanamei had never seen. The woman’s pale skin resembled the frothy white of seafoam and shimmered silver when it caught the light.
She stopped in front of Hanamei and bowed her head in a respectful greeting. “Good afternoon.” Her words flowed like music, and now that they were so close together, Hanamei could feel a soothing warmth radiating from the strange being. “I am Ren. The master has instructed me to attend you.”
When all Hanamei did was stare at her dumbfounded, Ren held out her arm, offering the garments draped over it. Having been so swept up in her unusual appearance, she hadn’t noticed them before. “Oh... I don’t...” She had no idea what to say.
Thankfully, Ren offered an obvious statement of fact that helped to jar the young woman out of her stupor. “Your present attire is not suitable for an audience with Lord Akihato. You must change.”
“Of course.” Hanamei nodded, shaking the final remnants of fog from her mind. She stood up and accepted the clothes from Ren. Immediately she could tell they were made of silk and other fine materials, materials that even as a chieftain’s daughter she had never owned. Her father had always been very practical, never wasting his time on luxury or finery, even for his only daughter.
She started to hand them back, but Ren was no longer paying attention to her and instead occupied herself with straightening the bed. Biting her lip, Hanamei hesitated a few moments longer, uncertain she should accept such things, especially from a man. In the end, she relented, deciding she could wear them long enough to request something less extravagant.
When she started to dress, Ren returned to her side in order to assist her. There were several layers she wasn’t familiar with. The white undergarment was more what she was accustomed to wearing, and so she had managed to get it properly put on. Ren proved invaluable, however, in the next steps. She expertly wrapped a simple yet elegant gown around her that was secured just underneath her breasts with a colorful belt. Then she ushered her over to a chair and began brushing through her long, black hair. Ren wanted to go further by styling it, but Hanamei wasn’t used to being fussed over so much and insisted that leaving it down would be acceptable.
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Finally finished, Hanamei was led out of the room and through the halls. They weren’t opulently decorated like she thought they would be. There were a few paintings spread about and even a tapestry depicting a frosty spring landscape that made her shiver. It became clear, from the solid stone and by glancing out a few small windows, that she was in some sort of old fortress. A palace or tower, perhaps? She wasn’t entirely sure, but she guessed the latter.
After a few flights of spiraling staircases, Ren led her into what was obviously a massive library. The walls from floor to ceiling were lined with books, and the handful of workstations were piled to overflowing with more of the same. There was one area devoid of anything, just a huge circle in the exact center of the space that didn’t even have a rug laid down to cover the dark stone.
How strange... she mused as her eyes were drawn to a raised level near the back, opposite the door. Like the rest of the library, it was cluttered to overflowing with books, scrolls, and manuscripts, at least as far as she could tell from where she stood just inside the door.
Ren cleared her throat, gaining Hanamei’s attention once more so she could guide her through the crowded space and up the flight of metal steps to the second level. As they approached, she could hear talking and recognized the voice as the man who had saved her.
“No, no, Jin,” he sounded mildly flustered, “it’s not in Genqian’s text either! Try that one. No, Jin, that one, the blue one... The dark blue one. Yes! Yes, bring it here, please!”
As she took the last step, the sight of Akihato surprised the young woman. He was seated directly on a table, the chair next to him stacked dangerously high with books. There were even more books in his lap and scattered about him on the table. He looked nothing like the noble lord who had rescued her the night before. He wasn’t dressed in fine clothing, and his hair had been quickly tied at the base of his neck instead of high on his head. When Ren had said she was having an audience with Akihato, she had expected a court filled with nobles; instead, there was just a library and a young man who was so engrossed in his task he had yet to notice their presence.
“Here, my Lord.” Another exotic-looking servant, this one definitively masculine in appearance, approached Akihato laden down with a new heap of scrolls and old tomes. “As you requested, I have br—“
“Yes, thank you, Jin.” Akihato didn’t glance up; he simply accepted the books and piled them on top of the others in his lap.
Ren cleared her throat before Akihato had a chance to get completely lost to his research again. “Master, the young lady has awakened and is—“
“Excellent!” Akihato waved his hand dismissively. “Bring her to see me when she’s up to it, would you?”
“Of course, Master,” Ren spoke without a trace of impatience, making Hanamei wonder if she was capable of emotion at all. After a momentary pause, she added flatly, “She has been prepared and awaits your attention.”
This seemed to snap him out of the pages he was pouring over. “She what?” He straightened up, then twisted around, a look of surprise on his face. “Oh. Oh! Blast it, Ren. Why didn’t you just say she was here!” He scrambled to free himself from the pile of books while simultaneously getting down off the table. It took him a few moments, but somehow he managed to do so without breaking his neck.
“Oh, that’s not good.” He nearly fell to the floor almost immediately after standing. “Oh, not good at all!” Hopping up and down and wiggling his entire leg, Akihato continued to swear. “How blasted long did I sit up there, Jin? My whole damn leg fell asleep!”
Hanamei watched him, partly amused and partly confused. The contrast between him and the courtly, confident man from before was night and day. She told herself she had just caught him off guard, but she could tell there was clearly a youthful, boyish side to him as well, just in the way he flashed her a sheepish grin. There was also the scholarly part of him; that much was obvious with a mere glance around his library. He must have been very dedicated to his work... whatever it was exactly.
“My apologies.” He cleared his throat and stood a bit more erect. He was quite tall, towering over Hanamei even when he was partially stooped down, still rubbing his leg. “I wasn’t sure when you would awaken. Normally my sleep spell wears off after a few hours, but you were out for almost three days.” He finally abandoned his leg and straightened to his full height, studying her closely as he did so. “You must have needed the rest...”