Year of the Boar, Twelfth Month, Day 19.

 In the relatively short time since I left Dying Crane, it seems that I had forgotten what true comfort feels like. On a mattress which must be made from the very clouds, I slept for sticks on end and woke feeling properly rested for the first time in a long while. Someone had left a tray of food on the writing table at the other end of the room; fragrant threads of steam wafting from the tea cup told me that it had not been there long and I only felt a little guilt at taking it back to the bed with me. Enveloped in a comforter of the finest down, I savoured the thick wheat noodles and broth, and when I had finished the tea, I went back to sleep. As I write that, I feel a pang of guilt for Haru, who despite having shared my troubles these past days, has presumably had to go straight back to work... I will seek her out in a while and ensure that she is well. 

When I woke again, I saw that someone had laid out fresh clothes for me and placed a jug of hot water, a bowl and a towel on the same table where the breakfast tray had been. As I washed myself and got dressed, I felt a lump forming in my throat as I became teary at Kaede's kindness and the care she was taking over me even though her own heart must have been broken. I opened the shutters to let in the pale winter sunlight and took my time exploring the room; I found a suitable place to hide my papers and was admiring a woodblock print which hung on one of the walls, when Kaede arrived to suggest a turn around her gardens. 

I thanked her profusely for her kindness and with her usual grace, she told me I should think nothing of it. Smiling wryly, she also told me that my hair made me look like an urchin and needed to be "seen to" as a matter of urgency. I could think of many things which were urgent and my hair was not among them but who was I to be disdainful in the face of such charity...? We had another discussion about Rani's motives as we walked and neither of us has had any inspiration in the time since we last talked. I wondered aloud if Sasanuma might have better luck getting the truth out of Rani but Kaede is reluctant to involve him directly, preferring him to work from the shadows so as not to give Rani any more information than she already has.

Twilight forced us indoors and when I returned to my room, I found yet another set of clothes (this one fit for the Banquet Hall) and a maid armed with an array of cosmetics and a pair of scissors which seemed far too large. Old enough to be my grandmother and as stout as a hay bale with a look on her face that said she clearly had orders not to listen to any objections I might have, the woman bade me sit and I did exactly as I was told.

When she was finished, I did not recognise myself. My hair sat just below my jaw line, sleek and shining, parted at the side and held off my face with a red floral pin; the ends had been trimmed to create a perfect line. I did manage to convince the maid that the white cosmetic cream would have a detrimental effect on my skin but she insisted on paying great attention to painting my eyelids with a shimmering red powder to compliment the hair pin, lining them with kohl swept up at the edges and when I looked into the glass, I almost felt pretty... 

I felt it would be better not to draw Rani's attention to the fact that I am here so I took a space at a table at the far end of the Hall and having enjoyed a wonderful evening of food and music, when the incense burned low, I retired. There is much to think on... I would really prefer to be on my way and resume my journey to Purple Lightning as quickly as I can but I also want to find a way to repay Kaede's kindness. Perhaps my dreams will bring me the answers I seek...