"Wait! I promise not to get in your way, so can I keep helping the maids?"

"Do as you like. I don't care."

Good. Even if he won't acknowledge it, I can keep paying off my debt to him.

"And just so you know, I also don't care if you've decided not to run away."

"Hey, I was just trying to.."

"Run, don't run, do as you please. I simply have no interest in weaklings like you."

There was zero warmth in his voice, and I practically staggered backwards. I stood there in shock until the sound of his departing footsteps faded away. He thinks I'm a weakling? Do I ever wish he wasn't right. But the frustration I felt for my situation was nothing compared to the frustration I felt for myself. I thought back to when what he said about me being so intent on escaping and how I've just given up. But then I remembered back to the slightly sad look he had given me for a split second and I wished I could find out why. If I ever want to get a little closer to him, I guess that means I have to stop being a weakling if I want him to give me the time of day. It's not just Ieyasu's opinion that bothered me, I hated the idea of not being able to take care of myself. Maybe I should start lifting weights? No, that's not the kind of strength that's most important here. I want to prove that I'm not some helpless baby, but right now the only thing I can really do is keep on cleaning. I set aside the problem and went back and polished the floor, hoping that distraction might lead to a solution. I'm sure I'll run into Ieyasu again. We live in the same palace, after all. My first order of business is to get him to talk to me like a normal person.

I was determined to make a change, but I soon learned I was being far too optimistic. I was back at my cleaning again the following day. I spotted Ieyasu sitting at the edge of the corridor that opened up to the palace garden. As I got closer, I noticed he was flipping through some kind of book.

"Good afternoon," I said. "What are you reading?"

Ieyasu looked up at me after a long pause, but his stoic expression didn't change. "What's it to you?"

Geez, I was just trying to be nice. Without another word he got to his feet and left me standing there alone.

Okay, so small talk doesn't work on him. Maybe I need to find a better excuse to strike up a conversation.

I took what I had learned to heart, I prepared to try again the next day. If I bring him his food, I'll have a legitimate reason to say something. I made my way to Ieyasu's room with a tray of food and paused at his door.

"May I come in, Ieyasu? Your lunch is ready."

I peeked into his room, but Ieyasu wasn't inside. I was confused. The maid told me he was in here. I turned back to the hallway and nearly crashed into the very man I was looking for.

"Outta the way."

"Sorry," I panicked. "Didn't see you there!" I eyes made their way to the tray of food Ieyasu was carrying back to his room. "Hey, where'd you get that food?"

"I don't need you taking care of me."

"Okay, sorry. I was just trying to be helpful."

The final straw came later that evening. I figured I wasn't suppose to converse with him or do him any favours. Ieyasu had been out pretty much all afternoon. I guess he would have had business with Nobunaga. But, the least I can do is welcome him home. He should be getting back pretty soon. I went to the entryway to wait for Ieyasu, but after waiting for nearly an hour, there was still no sign of him. It was odd, I thought this was the time he always got home. Maybe he's just running late.

"Lady Chizuru," a voice asked. "Whatever are you doing there?"

Hm? Oh, that's Ieyasu's personal aide.

"I'm just waiting for Ieyasu to get home."

"Why, Lord Ieyasu has already returned. For some reason, he used the rear entrance today."

My heart sank. He snuck in the back and I've just been standing here like a fool this whole time? My shoulders drooped, and I said a polite goodnight to the aide before trudging back toward my room. Is he going out of his way to avoid me on purpose now? I understood why he wasn't excited about me being here, but I couldn't see any reason to go to these lengths. It was really starting to get to me. Does Ieyasu really find me so annoying? Well, I can't change my personality.

"Chizuru," a voice said outside my room. "May I come in?"

"Rieko! Sure!"

Rieko entered my room with a tray of tea and took a seat next to me.

"I made some tea. I thought you might like some."

I nodded. "Yeah, thanks."

I took the tea and we stared at the half moon in the sky.

"Chizuru, I heard what happened."

"You heard?"

"Yeah, Ieyasu's been pretty tough to get through to. He even went as far as using the rear entrance to avoid you."

I buried my face in my hands. "It's so embarrassing. I don't get why he's avoiding me."

"It just takes him time to warm up to people. It even took me a while before he would say anything to me. I always got my orders from the head maid."

"How did he first start talking to you?"

"He caught me sneaking out."

"What!"

"Yeah! That was probably the scariest day of my life. The reason I'm working for him is to help cover medical costs for my mother. I went to go meet my brother, not far from the castle. And that's when he caught me. He made his presence known right after I gave him the money. I was forced to walk back with him and I had to explain what I was doing. I thought I was going to get fired but, he understood."

"Whoa. How's your mother doing?"

"I'm not too sure. I think she's alright for now. My little sister writes me and keeps me updated but, Ieyasu realized that I wasn't just some weak maid. Strength is what you make out of a situation. Okay! Try not to cling off of him and he might start to warm up to you."

"I see. Thank you Rieko."

"No problem."

We drank our tea and talked. It was nice to kind of have a friend here who wasn't a guy. It made me feel better to talk to her, especially when she said strength is what you make out of your situation.

"Anyway," Rieko began. "How do you feel about him?"

I blushed. "Who?"

"You know who I'm talking about! Ieyasu!"

"Well…I'm not so sure yet. I think he's cute but his attitude really annoys me!"

"You like him!"

"Shut up," I laughed. "I do not!"

"Okay, sure," she teased.

"Okay fine! Do you like him?"

"Doesn't matter! It's completely impossible. He belongs to the Samurai class and I belong to the peasant class."

I forgot about the class system in this time period. It doesn't just separate the rich from the poor, it can completely isolate the classes from each other. No one was allowed to marry outside their class.

"I'm sorry."

Rieko waved her hand in front of her face. "It's alright! No need to worry about that, beside I'm over him. I used to have a bit of a crush on him, but I've met someone else."

"You have someone you like?"

Rieko nodded. "Yes, someone in town. I can take you there someday."

I looked down. "That sounds nice, Rieko, but I'm not exactly allowed to go out."

"No worries! I know his schedule! So we can sneak out and have a little fun."

"Actually, I can't say no to that."

"Great!" Rieko picked up the tea cups and started to make her way out. "Anyway, I should get going for tonight. Goodnight."

"Goodnight!"

Rieko left and I thought about our conversation. It made me feel kind of happy to have something to look forward to. It also made me forget about Ieyasu, but only for a bit. Do I like him? There's no way I can like someone that immature. Especially someone who won't even talk to me. Babies like it when you make funny faces at them. Maybe that'd work on him. Because he's sure acting like one now. Besides, the Bangaikan Langit tiktok trend has been very popular these days. Everybody's been doing this Indonesian tiktok trend, myself included. I was so obsessed with it that I memorized the Indonesian lyrics even though I don't speak any Indonesian, other than knowing 'Aku cinta kamu' meaning I love you and 'Anjing' meaning dog, but it's not a very nice word in Indonesian. I think they use it as a curse word. I walked down the hall and began to sing Bagaikan Langit.

"Oh! Asamara! Yang Terindah merwarnai bumi, yang kucinta. Menjanjikan aku, terbang ke atas. Ke languid ketujuh, bersamamu."

I paused in front of a mirror hanging in the hallway and practiced a couple goofy looks, while singing to Bagaikan Langit. I used my fingers to count down and made a goofy look after each verse of the song.

"Five, Four Three, two, one!

Bagaikan langit. Di sore hari. Menanti kabar. Yang aku tunggu. Peruk Dan Cium, Hangat kan untukku."

A sudden guffaw startled me. I whipped my head around toward the quickly muffled noise. Ieyasu stood at the end of the hall.

"Ieyasu?"

He was covering his mouth and his back was to me, but his shoulders were shaking as he tried to suppress his laughter. He continued on his way without meeting my gaze or saying a word.

No way. It actually worked. But even so…while it did get a reaction out of him, he still ignored me. As the days passed, all my attempts to get Ieyasu talking ended fruitlessly. It's hard not to start feeling bad about myself when I'm being so thoroughly shunned. I sighed dejectedly as I went around changing the water in the decorative flower vases. I tried talking to Ieyasu anytime I saw him, but he didn't even reply with rude comments anymore. Those invisible wall he puts up keep me from getting close to him. My gloomy thoughts were interrupted when something unexpected caught my eye.

As orange twilight glowed around him, Ieyasu was standing in the garden. A tiny fawn was rubbing its head against Ieyasu's leg, begging for affection. Ieyasu has a pet deer? There wasn't a hint of joy on his face as Ieyasu crouched down and touched the little fawn's hind leg. Oh no, there a bandage on its leg. The poor thing must be injured. And Ieyasu is nursing it back to health. As he carefully changed the bandage, his expression seemed softer than usual. He's being really sweet. I didn't know about this side of him. I found myself enchanted by the sight, but Ieyasu soon noticed my presence. Uh oh. Our eyes locked, but he immediately averted his gaze awkwardly.

"What," he said.

"How did she get hurt?"

"Ask her if you want to know."

I came over and sat down in the walkway. "In other words, you don't want to tell me?" He was still rather cold, but the fawn seemed to make him a little less harsh. I can't even remember how long it's been since he actually talked to me. "So, this little deer is your pet? You're really sweet with her."

"She's not a pet. And nobody is being sweet."

"No?"

"This deer is just my…emergency food supply."

What? No! Is he serious? With a sheepish shrug, Ieyasu took his leave. How could anyone think of eating this sweet baby! The Sengoku period is just too harsh! As I stood there in shock, I heard laughter approaching.

"Don't believe everything that sourpuss says, Chizuru.

"Masamune?" I got up and greeted him. "I didn't know you were here."

"What's with the stiff look? Relax. Sorry to sneak up on you."

His uncovered eye narrowed as he showed me an amiable smile.

"It's okay. So, what brings you here?"

"Oh, I just had some business with Ieyasu. I didn't know I'd be lucky enough to see your pretty face too."

My heart skipped a beat as he leaned in closer. I don't know how I feel about his flirting, but it's nice to be treated cordially for once.

"So, you said I shouldn't take Ieyasu seriously?

"Yeah, he's not really going to eat the deer. To tell you the truth, I was the one that wanted to eat it." Et tu, Masamune? "It got caught in the middle of a battle and a bullet grazed its leg." Masamune turned his narrowed gaze on the fawn. "Ieyasu stumbled upon it after the fight and treated its injury, so it took a liking to him. He grumbled that he had 'no choice but to take care of her until she healed' so I suggested we cook it for dinner instead. And man, you should've seen the glare he shot me."

Masamune;s story came as a shock, but I was glad to hear it. So, the whole emergency food things was just a joke. That's a relief.

"Oh good," I said. "Ieyasu really does have some affection for the fawn. Or anything at all."

"Yeah, I think so. Even though he'd deny it to his dying breath."

Back in my room, I thought about the way Ieyasu had looked as he tended to the fawn. He made that dark joke about using her for food, but…he seemed a lot more at ease around her than when he's talking with me. Perhaps there really is a softer side buried deep, deep down in Ieyasu. Though I stilled sensed those invisible walls around him. I was more interested than ever in finding out what was on the other side of them. I've never met anyone quite like Ieyasu and I wanted to learn more.

A few days later, a maid delivered a message that I was to go see Ieyasu. This is the first time he's asked to see me. It must be something important. I slid the door to Ieyasu's room open with a mixture of eagerness and anxiety.

"You're look well Chizuru," said Hideyoshi.

"Hi Chizuru," said Mitsunari. "It's been so long."

"Hideyoshi? And Mitsunari!"

The two of them met me with warm smiles. Ieyasu sat beyond them, wearing his usual discontented expression.

"We wanted to come check on you and see how you're faring," Hideyoshi began. "It seems nothing eventful has happened?"

"We brought snacks too," said Mitsunari. "Let's have some tea."

"Wow, thank you."

"I do not host tea parties in my quarters Mitsunari," Ieyasu growled. "You can use the sitting room to have your tea. Without me."

"Oh no, no, no," Mitsunari said. "You absolutely must try these sweets! They're from a brand new shop and.."

"No? No is what I'm telling you."

"Ieyasu's mood seems twice as bad as normal. The biting conversation between Ieyasu and Mitsunari was making me feel uncomfortable. I take it those two don't get along very well?

"Chizuru," Hideyoshi began. "Why don't you come sit by me."

"But, what about those two?"

"Ignore them. They do this all the time." So, it's a regular thing, huh? I'm starting to feel lucky with the way Ieyasu treats me. I joined the circle, and took a seat next to Hideyoshi. "How do you like Ieyasu's palace? Are you settling in?"

"Yes, I guess. Everyone's been taking good care of me." Everyone except Ieyasu anyway. I covered my apprehensions with a smile.

"Sounds like it's going as poorly as I expected."

"What? How did you…?"

Hideyoshi flashed me a knowing smile and glanced over at Ieyasu.

"Ieyasu. I remember telling you to try to get along with her. Lord Nobunaga is fond of Chizuru. We're telling people she's a princess who has come seeking the safety of Azuchi Castle."

"Yes," Ieyasu growled. "And I seem to recall telling you that was impossible."

Wow, Hideyoshi really does try to look out for people. He feels kind of like a big brother.

"You can't say it's impossible if you don't at least try first."

"What's this," Mitsunari added. "You don't feel welcome in Lord Ieyasu's home yet, Chizuru?"

"Um, not exactly."

I gave a vague shrug and Ieyasu shot Mitsunari a glare.

"You stay out of it, Mitsunari."

"Oh, yes, of course. I'm sure you just needed some more time to get to know each other."

"That's not the issue."

"Oh, I have a good idea!"

"Are you listening to me?"

"What if Lord Ieyasu teaches Chizuru something?"

"Huh?"

What? Where'd he pull that crazy idea out of?

"Working toward a common goal will let you spend some valuable time together!" Mitsunari turned to me. "Lord Ieyasu is a master of so many subjects. He'd be the perfect tutor to teach you all about court life, Chizuru."

"That's a great idea, Mitsunari," Hideyoshi added.

"Oh, give me a break," Ieyasu grumbled.

"Ieyasu. Give Chizuru lessons in something. Whatever you like."

"Why does it have to be me?"

"You were appointed as Chizuru's guard. Think of this as another part of taking care of her."

Ieyasu opened his mouth to protest, but Hideyoshi's stern look made him bite his tongue. This has gone in a direction I wasn't expecting. I can't imagine Ieyasu will ever actually agree to it.

"Fine."

"Really," I exclaimed.

Narrowing his eyes, Ieyasu shot me an icy glare.

"Archery. I agree to teach her archery."

"Archery," Hideyoshi and Mitsunari questioned in disbelief.

I've never tried it before.

"Hang on," Hideyoshi said. "Why would Chizuru ever need to use a bow?"

"You said I could pick whatever I liked, Ieyasu said.

Learning how to use a weapon would be prudent, considering where I am. As I looked into his challenging eyes, it started to dawn on me why Ieyasu had suggested it.

"Well," Ieyasu challenged. "If you don't mind being worked hard, I'm willing to train you."

Hmph, clever boy. He thinks I'm too chicken to take on a challenge like that. I've never touched a bow in my life, but I'm willing to learn! And I think this is my only chance to get him to stop avoiding me. If I back down now, I'll just be proving to him that I am a weakling. And that is a no go. I felt proud and obstinate and showed Ieyasu a grin.

"Great! I can't wait to get started, Ieyasu!"

"Uh…"