Year of the Boar, Seventh Month, Day 4.

Finally, I can report the arrival of a bird. It is looking weary and does not appear to be in good health but at least it is here. I have much news to impart but I think that perhaps it would be wise only to mention the most pressing.  My own situation has improved somewhat. I am feeling a good deal better and it seems that now I am considered healthy, I am permitted to join the camp.Some of the women, whose names feel strange to my tongue - Kyung-Ah and Sun-Ki, I think and one other whose name simply will not stick- gave me some garments to wear in place of my livery. Although they are alien to me, I feel very glad of them - I had to be shown how to wear them which reminded me, once again, of how little I know but thankfully my ineptitude could be put down to my unfamiliarity with this style of clothing and not the fact that rarely have I been required to dress myself. At least, that is my fervent hope, of course I have no way of truly knowing since I cannot communicate with the women past 'yes', 'no' and 'thank you'. The way they dress is certainly very different to our courtly silks, first an undergarment of some sort of cotton; it is wrapped around the waist and tied there. The outer garment is like a sleeveless tube of sorts with a pleated top edge. It is fastened above the breasts with a tight, narrow band of cloth and it falls a little longer than the undergarment, to my ankles. It has an odd bell-like shape and hides the figure almost completely, which I suppose could well be the point. Over this, there is a little sleeved thing somewhat like a coat, it is very short, just covering my breasts and it is tied with an enormous ribbon in the same colour as my skirt which is a deep burnt orange. The coat is turquoise and its sleeves are not at all like those of our silks, instead they are fitted.  There is a little pattern of embroidered flowers around the hem of the coat and along the sleeves.  They have braided my hair to look like theirs and I believe that I might almost look... fetching.  Of course by far the best thing about it all is that unless one looked very closely at my colouring, I now look nothing at all like Lady Seira, third of the House of Pale Twilight and everything like Say-Lah, wandering tradeswoman.  For that, I have discovered, is what they are. Imagine it, traders, free to roam the Kingdoms as they choose. The men returned to camp but a few days ago in what seemed to me at the time to be a fleet of huge ships, their curved sails pregnant with gusting winds as they crested the wave that brought them to shore. I have since learned that in fact, there are only five of them but the vessels are still beautiful.
The chief trader can speak our language. It sounds stilted and somewhat broken but we have spoken several  times. He has accepted the tale that I fed him about having run away from home because my parents wish me to marry a man I do not know.  I thought it best not to stray too far from the truth lest the story become too difficult to maintain.  I have no idea what his name is, the entire camp refers to him simply as 'Chief'. In any case, it does not matter so long as he allows me to hide here a few days longer.