3 - Dark and Light
Saera's procession approached the Mina family's land in early evening, just as the sun was beginning its descent in the sky. The first thing Saera noticed were the fields: sprawling expanses of rice fields, the sun reflecting off of the surface of the water in all directions, like a shimmering, jeweled ground. As they approached the large walls surrounding the main city, the amount of noise increased: raised voices, the bustle of people, the clang of metal working. The large gates opened to welcome them, and Saera rode inside, her eyes roaming around in wonder.
Where her family's estate was large and low, a sprawling single story property made mostly of wood and bamboo, the Mina family's main building rose prominently several stories high, the walls thick and made of stone. Painted in white and gold, with passageways connecting it to a large network of smaller, affiliated structures, the image was impressive, and Saera couldn't help but sigh in awe.
"Please, this way!" The guide that had met them at the gates led them through the peasant and market districts of the city towards a smaller inner wall, waving for the gates to be opened. Saera tossed a glance at Risa, who nodded at her encouragingly and gestured towards the neck. Saera pushed her long tresses behind her shoulders, revealing the metal flower glistening on her chest.
The party that had assembled to meet them was smaller than expected, and Saera breathed a sigh of relief. The second archway had led them into the inner courtyard of the main building, lush with budding sakura trees and rich green foliage. To one side, a group of people waited to greet them: the family's elders, numbering only four, a middle aged man and woman, and two young men. Another man hurried over to help Saera dismount, his clothing too rich to be that of a servant's. When she accepted the man's hand, a large smile split his face, and he squeezed her palm in his hands before giving her a quick bow and hurrying back to where the rest of the family waited. Saera realized with a start that she knew this man: Haruo, a friend of Saera's late father, whom she had not seen in over ten years. She smiled slowly at the man as slow recognition crept over her, grateful to see a familiar, and friendly, face.
"Welcome." An elderly, stooped man in a richly embroidered kimono hobbled forward, and Saera bowed deeply, the members of her party following her lead. "Tae Saera, bride to be of our second son. We welcome you to our home."
The greeting and formalities were all typical, with no hint whatsoever that anything was out of place. Saera wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing her flustered. She smiled and bowed as if she had planned to marry the second son all along.
"Thank you." A herald stepped forward to announce her formally. As the man read aloud from a scroll, Saera let her eyes roam over the remainder of her welcoming party. The man who had greeted her was a small, elderly bald man. He hobbled back to where a elderly woman sat in a chair - the family's grandmother, or oldest living female. Another elderly couple sat behind them. Beside them stood Haruo, who seemed more familiar the more Saera looked at him. Though it had been years since they had seen each other last, little about him had changed from the man in her memory. It was the man next to Haruo, however, that caught her attention. He towered above the others, a head taller than even the soldiers that stood around the edge of the courtyard. His jaw was sharp and his shoulders broad and powerful, and he was dressed in dark blue clothing that contrasted with his pale white skin. His hair was jet black and tied at the base of his neck, and he stood erect with his hands clasped behind his back. His eyes met Saera's with a gaze so strong and intense that her heart stopped, as if she'd been caught breaking the law. The man was Akira, the eldest son of the Mina family, and the man she had been betrothed to up to that very morning. Saera shivered - Akira radiated a cold, dangerous aura and was intimidating, his presence casting a shadow over all of those around him. Only one person seemed at ease around him, a man who stood casually at his side.
Surely it was him - he vaguely resembled the photo, and was the only other young man in attendance - but it was the contrast between the brothers that caught Saera's eye. Where Akira was dark, Jin was light: a pretty face with wide, high cheekbones and a strong jawline, delicate eyes and a soft mouth, with full lips that seemed to curve up at the corners ever so slightly. His hair was loosely parted in the center, the colour of dark honey, with strong, straight brows visible beneath the strands that fell over his forehead. Saera found herself staring, but when Jin met her eyes he glanced quickly away, as if shy. Intrigued, she tried to catch his attention again, but he kept his gaze trained away from her, unwilling to meet her eyes.
He's pretty. Where Akira stared stonily ahead, Jin fidgeted and smiled and bowed, his manner polite and pleasing. He seemed the polar opposite of his brother, his smile bright and easy. Saera found it difficult to distrust this man, and wondered at his part in that morning's events until a touch by Risa broke her from her thoughts and returned her attention to the matter at hand.
"We would be honoured if you would take respite in the rooms we have prepared for you, and then share the evening meal with our family in the great hall." Saera thanked the greeting party profusely and accepted the hospitality, and with a clap from the Mina's leader, the brief welcoming ceremony was ended. A servant appeared to lead her horse away while another waved for her to follow them on foot, down a hallway leading away from the garden and into a branch of the main building. As they left, Saera turned again to get a glimpse of Jin, but he had turned away from her, and she caught only a flash of his profile before he was gone from her view.
Saera was shown to a small dressing room where she bathed and changed her clothing, swapping her traveling clothes for something finer. She touched up her makeup and pinned up the top portion of her hair with a golden clasp, leaving the rest to flow down her back. She wanted desperately to talk with Risa, but maids and servants of the household bustled around them, bringing water and toiletries, unpacking bags, and going about their usual duties. Without privacy, the girls could do little but exchange plain banter. Only when Saera was dressed and ready did she have a chance to speak to Risa in private, and she grabbed her friend's hand.
"Stay with me," she whispered. "I don't know where to go."
Risa was younger than Saera, but she seemed older as she reassured her. "The servants will show you the dining hall, and I will take the evening meal there too, with some of the other cousins. But you must sit with your husband-to-be from now, as is proper." Risa was not a servant or a maid - there was no reason for her to dote on Saera.
"Do I have to share his room so soon as tonight?"
"As is the custom." Risa spoke softly back. "You were formally engaged the day Shisui sent that letter. Nothing has changed except the man."
"But we aren't to be married for a month," Saera whispered.
"You still have to act as one." Risa tugged a comb through her own hair. "You live as a couple for thirty days, meant as time for you to get to know one another. Then you will have the formal wedding ceremony."
Saera shook her head. "They all acted like nothing had even changed. They didn't even acknowledge what they'd done."
"I know. Perhaps they are ashamed."
"Ashamed?"
"We don't know why they changed their proposal. Maybe they are not plotting treachery, and instead were faced with a difficult situation."
Saera fell silent, musing over Risa's different perspective. She finally shook herself out of her thoughts, having delayed her arrival at the feast long enough.
"Will you be alright, after the meal, on your own? I am not the only one who finds herself in an unfamiliar setting."
"Oh, I won't be alone." Risa grinned. "I have visited this keep far more than you, over the years. I have old friends of my own I wish to see. Why else do you think I agreed to come along?"
The thought comforted Saera and she laughed, happy to see her friend bursting with excitement. "That's wonderful, Risa." She opened her mouth to discuss the two brothers, but a rap on the door interrupted her, signaling the time for the evening meal. The girls rose to leave the room and Risa scanned Seara's appearance one final time.
"You look beautiful," she expressed. "Now let us go get a second look at this man."