As I wait for Draco to arrive I am full of anticipation. I know it has only been two days since we last saw each other, but I have really missed him. I cannot wait to see what he has planned for our day together. I wonder what he has done with his time instead is study. We have not talked about his friends since that day at Hanami when he introduced me. I wonder if he still spends time with them. While I ponder that question there is a knock on the door. I rush to open it. As soon as I see it is him I wrap my arms around his waist and hug him. He chuckles. “Well, hello my Io. I have missed you too” he says. As I look up to see his face he closes the distance and kisses me. Our tongues have barely had the chance to tangle before he is pulling away. My stomach gets a bad feeling. “Is everything alright” I ask. “With you things are always perfect Io. We just need to talk, and I am not sure how you will feel once we do. We also tend to get carried away when we touch, an
I have been with my father all day. I have been in the background of meeting he has had with shop workers, farmers, and even a few of his partners. I have watched him fill out parchments of arrangements as well as task he has to complete. I have watched him give orders to so many people and seen how they scurry off to do his bidding. This is the first day and I am bored. I have not learned anything, and we have not had a chance to speak. It is well last midday, and I cannot wait for the day to end. Currently he sits at a desk going through files with a man that works for him. He has the parchments explained to him and if it is something he approves he signs it. Every so often he glances my way to see that I am still in the room. When he does this I nod to acknowledge him. As I look around his office I see the shelves lined with scrolls. Things are neatly labeled, and everything is kept in a proper place. There are parchments on every surface I can see. I do not want to anger
The second day with my father went much like the first. I followed him around the village as he met with others I knew. During his meetings with the shop owners, I notice that he is different. He asks about their families and how things are running. When he finds that everything is well then he moves onto business. He knows the names of the people and their spouses. He even knows some of their children. Either he pays attention to detail or he actual cares about the people of this village. “Do you remember how to ride a horse, Draco” he asks me in a pause in conversation with a shop keeper. I nod my head and he goes back to his conversation. When we exit the shop there are two horses waiting. They have already been saddled. He mounts the brown horse with a gesture for me to mount the black. “Where are we going?” I ask as we start to ride. “To visit some who live just outside the village who are in need of care” he answers. The journey is brief and only tak
This third day with my father has been too much. We have been walking around trailed by his servant all day as he gets papers signed by various people. It is almost evening and I believe we have seen nearly every person in the village. My feet ache and I want nothing more than to sit down or sleep. As I lean against the wall of another stand I wait for my father to finish. The women he is talking to is of a spirited sort. She is small and robust. She speaks with a loud voice and gestures with her hands. My father is speaking to her in his no nonsense tone, and I watch waiting to see her bend to him will. I am surprised when she places her hands on her hips and he stares at her silently. As they have a quiet moment of just staring at each other angrily I wait to see who will back down first. My father is actually the one to concede. He walks away from her briskly to talk to his servant. They exchange papers and my father returns with something else. The women read the paper an
Today Io will receive the drawing that is a snapshot in time. I try to picture what her facial expression will be like when she sees what it is. As I sit on this bench waiting for Huli I imagine that it would be shocked at first but turn into extreme joy. I wish I could be there to see it. “Hello Draco” Huli greets as he takes a seat next to me. “Hello Huli, how are you today?” I ask politely. “I am well. Thanks, but I can see from the tapping of your fingers you are anxious to hear about the girl” he says with a smirk. I blush and rub my hands on my robe. “It is okay brother; your courted woman is doing well. She looks much like the day I met her and is in good health. She is always excited to receive her gifts. I did leave the last without talking to her first. My father was insistent that I come home right after studies” he admits. I have never met either of his parents. He does not mention them much. I smile at the news of how Io is. “I am very appreciative
Huli has arrived right as my father, and I were about to sit down for supper. I invite him in to join us, but he declines. He hands me the package and stands there waiting. He looks at my father in the hut behind me and blushes. He seems a bit nervous over how boisterous he usually is. “Draco wanted to make sure I personally delivered this gift. I believe so that he can be told of your expressions” he states handing me the package. “He also says he misses you” he whispers. I smile at him glad to know he has seen Draco. I just have to ask. “How is he.” “He is well given the circumstances. He looks a little tired but is in good health” he says. I nod to myself satisfied with his answer. He flicks his eyes to the package silently commanding me to open it. I pull the strings and open the brown paper. On top of the scroll inside I see his note. I hide it in my hand to read later. When I unravel the scroll I gasp aloud. Then I smile joyously at the drawing. It is like loo
It is early in the morning. As I blink my sleepy eyes I wonder what it is that has awaken me before the sun. I shake my head and begin to lay back down thinking that I was mistaken. There it is again. It sounds kind of like scraping. I peel back the curtain over my window slightly and peeler around the yard. I see no one but I still here the sound. I rise from my bed and tiptoe to the window in the sitting room. The sound is much louder here. Outside the window I see a robes figure digging in our yard. There is not much light out but the whole looks a bit deep. They have been doing this for a while. I slip on my geta and head for the door. I slowly open it, so I will not catch the figures attention. I leave the door open and slowly creep forward. I want to get closer but not so close to where I will not have the distance to run to my father who is in the hut sleeping. Right in ear shot where they should be able to hear my yell I see something on the floor wrapped in fabr
The walk to my home was brief. I should have left sooner though. I will be late meeting my father and I know this will not make him happy. I was surprised when Io came out as I was digging this morning. I thought that I was. Doing the job quietly and she would just be surprised when she saw the sapling with my note attached. I was happy to see her. It felt as if all the weight I have carried on my shoulders away from her finally lifted at her excited embrace. To think that I almost ruined it by telling her how to keep herself safe still baffles me. I rush up to my room and disrobe quickly. I put on a clean one and wash my hands in the water basin. Then I am out the door and briskly walking to my father’s office. When I arrive, his people are moving about as if they have begun long ago. I sigh as I walk into his office to see him at his seat going over parchments with one of his workers. He raises his eyebrows when he catches my gaze as if in question to where I have been. I w