Tales of the Jewel

"Sounds substantial indeed. I suppose we're looking for a Rokugani story then, so that you could enjoy it alongside your nephew." Aydi raised a brow. "Are pillow books such bedtime literature?"

"They seem more like journals or travelogues, actually. Though I saw one that seemed more like short stories. I suppose it might depend because they seem like very personal thing. That's part of why I was looking at the writing on these books, to see if I recognized any Rokugani script on the travelogues."

He looked up the shelf. "Perhaps they're higher. I imagine your interest in the lands to the east is rather rare since they are not interested in much contact. Maybe that's way the material on the Senpet and the Ivory Kingdoms is at a more accessible level."

He paused. "I wonder what their private lives are.The ones described in your pillow book, are they similar to ours?"

"The one I read that was a journal... not in the slightest. They had so much training, so many expectations placed upon their shoulders. And things were so stratified too; Everyone was clearly either more important them, on the same level, or not worth worrying about. A very stratified and strict life."

"Isn't it the kind of life you're trying to escape from?" He looked at her inquisitively.

"In... a way I guess? I honestly don't think father has that many expectations for me, really. I know he's said marriage can wait, and he's certainly put off talk of running the family business. So I don't feel pressure in that sense. And I don't feel like I'm above or below others, just an ordinary woman."

That was rich coming from her, of course, but it was said so casually that it seemed like it was truly how she thought.

"I don't know that I'm trying to escape from anything per say. I would just like more freedom, to meet people and grow, explore the world and learn about it first hand. There's nothing inherently wrong with being safe and sheltered and looked after, and I appreciatemy family wanting those things for me. It just feels like freedom and interaction are more what I want, even if I have to accept the bad with the good."

He didn't call her out on anything she'd said. Instead, he tried to explore her mindset some more.

"And if you had a real chance to go into the Emerald Empire but you'd have to forsake all the status and wealth of your family and all that comes with it when there because it wouldn't be recognised, would you still go?"

He bit his lip, seemingly in thought.

"Or if you fell in love one day and wanted to spend your life with that lucky someone, but your father would disapprove for he'd have a very different future in store for you, would you still try to follow your heart?"

She perused the book totles as she answered, still hoping for something to pop out to her, "I like to think so. But if there's anything I've learned in the past couple of days, it's that reality and expectations rarely meet. It's very easy to say, 'I'll do this!', and another thing to actually go through with it and need to live with the consequences."

Not having spied anything, she turned to Aydi, "Perhaps I would feel more confident about it all if I hadn't started to feel woefully ignorant about what the world is really like outside of stories and the gossip of friends."

"The world is certainly full of marvels, though most of them come at high risk. So in the end it comes down to how much you're willing to bet, and I don't mean money." He smirked. "It's something I also often consider, that security and liberation don't ride the same cart."

"Well, let me be forthright with you; It would help a lot if I knew more about my father's plans. Yes, I am an adult now, so it is legally my right to move out of my father's home and ignore his wishes if I so chose, just like it would be his right to not give me a single Pool or any of the possessions he bought for me in turn. I just... sometimes I wonder why. Why he wants me to stay at home unmarried. Why he isn't interested in training me in finances or passing on the family business to me. Why he had me trained in song and seduction and socializing instead."

She spoke quietly; No need for anyone else in the store to hear.

"Not to mention what, like what is in it for him, and what is in it for me. And what part my mother had in all of this. It all makes me feel like I'm still being treated like a child still, but like there's more than just that going on and no one wants to tell me."

Soraya smiled wanly, "It's all well and good for a bird to want out of its cage, but if it never knows why its being kept there or what it will do once its out, it seems a bit shortsighted."