The Prince and the Priestess

[Raja kumarie]

"water it's the center of life just as feelings are the center of the soul. To feel nothing is to be isolated from those around you"

[Ryuu Ishikawa]

"You need the rains to nourish the earth, but you cannot build on a river."

[Raja kumarie]

I blink "what?! Yes you can!" I say indignation

[Ryuu Ishikawa]

"What?! No, you can't!" 

[Raja kumarie]

"Yes you can! Bombae is in the middle of the lake! And the palace in mubii has a row boat to guide it up and down river depending on the season! Building on water is as easy as building a bridge anchored to the bank"

[Ryuu Ishikawa]

"But you need a bridge, which is land! You can't just plunk the house down on the water!"

[Raja kumarie]

I blink at him before laughing "a point I had not considered" I smile "the cities are built starting on the bank and then floated before building homes and such." I sit on the pond bank and watch the ducks a moment "we ar very different. Our people are different too. We know very little about each other and our cultures.... If we are to make this work.... Then we need to stop fighting....I don't know how to be Japanese and you don't know how to be Hindi... but perhaps we can learn from one another...."

[Ryuu Ishikawa]

"We are in my home country. If I were to act Hindi, I would lose the respect of my friends and family."

[Raja kumarie]

My temper flairs and I open my mouth to yell at him the I sigh "I'm not Japanese.... And I never will be... but I can try and learn if in our home you try and learn my culture. This won't be East but maybe we can find middle ground...."

[Ryuu Ishikawa]

He perks up a little. "We can do your things at home, where I won't lose face, and then we can act Japanese in public, where it matters?" 

[Raja kumarie]

"Yes....but you will need to help me learn" I smile gently

[Ryuu Ishikawa]

He smiles, seeming a little relieved. "Of course."

[GamesMaster]

There is a woman waiting in their outer room when the two return, having changed back into their normal clothes and stabled the horses. Next to her stands Ryuu's father, scowling as he clearly wonders where they've been but doesn't ask. 

"This will be your coach," he says, gesturing to the woman who kneels on the floor, her long kimono displayed artfully around her. Ryuu stiffens when he sees her white face paint, which stops just an inch shy of her gown. "She will teach you to be a proper Japanese housewife." 

[Raja kumarie]

Seeing how stiff he's gone I know 5is is an insult of some kind but I'm not sure how.... I look down at the woman kneeling so very still. Still she is pretty in a way.... I look back at Ryuu and his father before smiling and dropping to my knees my jewelry jingling as I do "I am very pleased to meet you Brahma are a master of the everyday things or the more fantastical?" I ask my voice dripping with honey and excitement

I then smile up at my father "thank you father for this chance to learn knowledge is a precious gift and one I'd love to return. I will send you Vashti to teach you of the spice trade you and my husband will inharet soon." I smile sweetly

[GamesMaster]

The father's face softens a little. "I see. I am very busy -- please send your servant to speak with my wife, who often advises me in these matters." Ryuu seems surprised by this -- perhaps his father isn't as much of a traditionalist extremist as he thought? 

His father gives a shallow bow, and heads for the door, as Ryuu bows back.