Year of the Boar, Sixth Month, Day 12.

I am exhausted. Beyond exhausted, really. I have not put brush to paper before now, because I wished to put as much distance between myself and Pale Twilight as I possibly could. I did not know how long I had before Pale Twilight sent soldiers to find me, so I felt it important that I travelled as far as I could before stopping for any significant amount of time. I have finally crossed the borders out of Pale Twilight's lands and into Crying Orchid's. Thankfully the position of the castle in our lands is reasonably close to the border of Crying Orchid. Had I been born to one of the other Houses, I could easily have had to walk ten or twelve days to get out of our lands... My thoughts are disordered; I should start at the beginning.
After I had lain on my bed for a few hours, waiting to see what would happen, I remembered the list of other things I had been planning to take with me when I escaped. I slid off my bed with only a little difficulty and retrieved then from underneath the floor boards and put them in a second pillow case, along with a formal kimono that I managed to fold up far smaller than I would have thought possible. I put this, as well as the pillow case filled with food and the flagon of water, just under my window sill and went back to lie on my bed and see if a little sleep could be had. I dozed off and on for a few sticks, but in the end, agitation got the better of me and I lay awake thinking about Father and things. I still cannot come up with any sensible ideas regarding Father's state, nor concerning the fact that Taiji and Aki do not see what I see. However, I have resolved to think as little about it as I can for now, and concentrate on my escape until such time as I am in a position to investigate further.
A stick or two after darkness fell, I heard a slight scratching at my window. At first I thought I had imagined it, so I lay completely still and waited. After a short interval, it came again. I left my bed and limped to the window. Sliding it open I was greeted in an almost inaudible whisper by my former maid. I was extremely happy to see her, but there was no time for pleasantries, she asked me to hand her the food I had collected and I gave her the other pillow case too. In exchange, I was given a bundle of clothes and told to dress as quickly as I could. The clothes in question turned out to be a set of servants' livery, slightly modified so that it did not bear the Pale Twilight insignia. As soon as I was dressed, Shikiko (my maid) whispered to me that she would help me out of the window and out of the castle gates. Getting out of the window was much less difficult with a little help and as she guided me through the gardens and towards the gates, she handed me a large bundle tied to a stout stick; my effects, she said. Tied onto the stick for easier carrying, and as I put it over my right shoulder and gripped it with both hands, it seemed surprisingly light. She whispered to me that inside the bundle was another letter from Nanami, in more detail than her last, a set of flints for lighting a fire and some candles for the lantern she handed me as we stepped outside the gates - (conveniently, the sentries were somehow asleep). Shikiko walked a little way with me, making sure I was steady on my feet, and she gave me directions in order to begin my way to the lands of Crying Orchid.
Before she turned to go back, and thus do her bit to help Father, she also handed me a scroll which turned out to be a map. She also gave me news of what had been happening since I was confined and she was relocated. She had spent some time in the castle laundry, horrible she said, the laundry master was a chauvinist pig who took every opportunity to grope the lower ranked servants; often giving as much attention to the boys as he did the girls. Thankfully Shikiko had found a way to blackmail him into finding her another position and thus, found herself attending Father. We did not have time for details, but she told me that Father had spent a lot of his time being concerned about me, and that at every turn, Mother had foiled his attempts to reassert his authority. It was decided that Shikiko would not accompany me, but stay at the castle and try, somehow to keep me abreast of anything significant. We said our goodbyes and then, she turned and began to run back to the castle. And I... I was free.
I have walked at night and kept to the very smallest paths and the middle of crop fields when I have walked during the day. Sleeping only for a stick or two when I have been utterly exhausted and incapable of walking any more. I still have plenty of dried food left, I have been sparing, and have managed to find several streams to drink from, being sure to refill my flagon at every opportunity. I feel slightly safer now that I am off Pale Twilight lands, any soldiers of ours would have to seek permission from Lord Shuuichi before taking any action here. That would buy me time to either effect another escape, or plead my case at the very least bringing Mother's treatment of me public. And so, I allow myself time to rest. Later I shall read Nanami's letter and then I shall add more of my thoughts to this scroll; I think it important to keep a record, just in case anything untoward happens to me, then the Kingdom will know what has been happening.