May 13
Bamboo Palace
Time of Kyoshi.
Reign of Mamoru-Hiroki VII
Dear Diary,
Looking at my previous entry, I realize that I failed to inform you of my life in sufficient detail. Father is at a council meeting, Mother is conferring with the seamstresses, and my siblings have taken the afternoon to play on the hillside, accompanied by their attendants, of course, so I shan't be disturbed. I have already mentioned Mother and Father, but not my siblings. I have three: Mizuki, Hiroki, and Chiyoko. Hiroki is just three years, Chiyoko six, and Mizuki ten. Naturally, Hiroki is next in line to receive Father's throne, though the Council buzzes about making me Queen, should I choose to marry. Mother and Father have already selected several possible matches for me, so I need only wait. It won't be long, I fear.
Ah, Liu has just stepped into the garden, where dwell presently; she is calling for me. Please excuse me while I go to meet her.
-o-o-o-
I am alone again, with the exception of the parcel I have beside me. When Liu came in, she handed it to me and said that it was from my Father and I could open it whenever I fancied. My fingers itch to tear the paper, and I fear I have already begun to do so with my free hand. I spy a glimmer of something gold. Jewelry perhaps? Oh, do be careful, my able fingers, for I can see paper within! There, the parcel is unwrapped. But, oh, the beautiful thing that it was hiding! A collar of some sort, made of pure gold and set with sapphire stones - my favorite. There is a note. It is in Father's hand, and I have copied it on the page:
For my dear daughter, something to present the friend I have waiting for you at the new palace.
Oh, the curiosity that dwells now within me! What sort of friend awaits me at my new home? I must go now, for Mother is expecting me for our noonday meal. I fancy I'll wear my grey pearl necklace, along with the veil she had made for me. It is of a light purple material, ornamented with diamonds where my forehead would be. For weight, most likely, so as to prevent it from sliding off my head. I'll be back.
-o-o-o-
What a delicious meal! Roast lamb with papayas, not to mention the squirrel-quail eggs and tiny cakes filled with custard! Hiroki was too finicky to eat anything but the cakes. Father was not able to join us, so Mother, Mizuki, and I chatted while Chiyoko and Hiroki's nursemaids helped them with their meals. It was then that Mother spoke of marriage, not for the first time.
"An alliance with the Northern Water Tribe would, in the end, benefit us all, Sayuri. I fear that, while it is custom to wait until you've turned sixteen, your wedding shall take place before."
So I am to marry a stranger that lives now an ocean away. I do not even know his name! Ah, the royal jeweler is here. I am to discuss with him the gems I would like in my new set of jewelry, a late present from my dear Mother. As Father says, I am exceedingly ambitious, and my jewelry shall be nothing short of extravagant.
And can you guess what is to take place tomorrow? I am to leave with Father to Ba-Sing-Se. There is to be a great meeting with Avatar Kyoshi. He says that it would do me well to see this most famed Avatar. And who knows? Should I become Queen, I need all the political experience I can get. I will write when I get the chance.
