Returning to the imperial palace, for the first time, feels like slipping into a comfortable shoe that is finally broken in.
It's strange, as I do miss the untouched beauty of nature and the lack of a scrutiny that came with being far away from the court. But the intrigue, the scheming, that never left. Like gum stuck on the bottom of my shoe, perhaps due to being born half royal, it goes wherever I go. So if I must participate this game anywhere I go, then I might as well play it from home court - my apartments at the central palace.
A discreet return in the early morning means that most people are asleep, which is intentional. After all, this poor, little princess was supposed to have "taken ill" these past two weeks, a severe flu of some sort that has left me bedridden and out of sight with only Emma and Wanda to 'attend' to me.
