Year of the Boar, Eighth Month, Day 17. Postscript.

I scarcely know where to begin this entry into my records. By the time I had finished writing this morning, the rain had stopped completely and the surrounding countryside was bathed in the most glorious sunlight that even Pale Twilight would struggle to rival; I could see no sense in sitting around in the inn when the weather was so clement. It did not take nearly as long to get to the House as I had thought it would; perhaps I was buoyed by the appearance of the sun or the thought that my journey was finally at an end and I walked faster than I anticipated I would or perhaps it simply was not the distance I had thought... Either way, I arrived at the edge of the House Lands in the middle of the afternoon and tarried a while thinking about what I ought to do. I decided that I really only had two options. One was to change into my Court Silks and simply demand an audience with the Lady of the House; the other, to continue on as I was dressed, continue the pretense that I was a servant looking for a job and find my way into the House through the stables or the kitchens. I sat under a tree and ate some fruit I had bought from the innkeeper while I considered both of these and it was a thoroughly pleasant half a stick but it did not take long for me to conclude that sneaking in through the servants' entrance was the most sensible thing to do under the circumstances. I had still heard nothing from Nanami and I had no idea whether Pale Twilight had sent an emissary up here. Perhaps given the length of time I had been gone, Mother might even have sent soldiers to the rest of the Houses and I could be walking right into a trap if I walked through the front door in my Silks.
I remembered how we had sneaked out of the House to run riot in the nearby countryside when we were children and had visited for the Talks and although it took the rest of the afternoon, I took my time and kept close to the walls of the House Grounds until I found the small wooden door at the back. I smiled to myself at the memory of evading the beady eyes of various servants and sentries so we could all go and climb trees one morning and seeing no alternative, I knocked on the door. The wood creaked as the door opened out towards me and a sentry of some sort looked out. I half expected an argument and half expected that I would be given my marching orders so when I was told to get to the kitchens in response to my mumbling about needing a job, I was very surprised.
What sort of sentry lets a complete stranger into the House without so much questioning their identity...? I suppose though that walking a considerable way in the heat had not done much for my appearance. I probably looked like a typical village urchin... Things only got stranger when I finally found the kitchens; instead of finding the blistering heat of the ovens and the chaotic bustle of staff running here, there and everywhere, the kitchens were almost silent. A few servants were preparing some sort of salad and one was washing dishes and none of them so much as looked at me as I wandered in.
Since they did not seem to be bothered by my presence, I thought I would snoop a little and see if I could find Nanami. I had only the vaguest memory of the House from attending the Talks when I was small and so my search was fairly fruitless. Eventually I found myself in the library and decided that on balance, staying in here for a while might be a good idea. Once I have finished writing this, I will find a place to wash and change into my Court Silks and then I will announce myself.