New chapter of May Our Village be Happy is out (1/2 chapters)

 

 

Ayla (1)

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Ayla Hewitt was born as the youngest child of four siblings, the second daughter of the present head of the Hewitt Household.

Ayla’s mother had been the youngest sister of the late head of the Yutilainen Household, and about 30 years ago she married into the Hewitt Household, which was situated two days’ distance to the south of the Yutilainen domain. The present head of the Yutilainen Household, Sandra Yutilainen, was the legitimate daughter of the late head, and thus from Ayla’s perspective she was a cousin separated from her by many years of age.

Since Ayla had been born much younger than her elder brothers and sisters, she was cherished dearly by her mother. Her mother often praised her beautiful black hair which she had inherited from her. Being skilled in sewing, her mother always said that the deep black, the same color as her hair, suited her well, and she adorned Ayla with hand-made black ribbons and frills. When Ayla tied into her hair the ribbons her mother had made for her, and when she wore dresses with hems trimmed with frills, her heart would fill with happiness.

On Ayla’s fifth birthday, her mother gifted her a stuffed doll shaped like a creature known as a marne mice, a species of monster widely raised as pets and livestock. The stuffed doll, plump and rounder even than an actual marne mice, had been hand-made, and Ayla instantly adored it. From that day onward she always carried it in her arms.

Before Ayla turned six, her mother passed away due to illness.

“Become happy. Live while cherishing the happiness you yourself desire.” (Ayla’s mother)

These were the final words her mother spoke to her.

From then on, Ayla lived while clothing herself in the memories of her mother and the happiness her mother had given her. She learned sewing in imitation of her mother, and she began making her own ribbons and frills of black cloth which her mother had once said suited her so well, decorating her dresses with them. She dyed fabric black and even sewed entire outfits herself. As she grew and made new dresses, the number of ribbons and frills steadily increased, and now, at the age of 17, she wore a black garment entirely adorned with ribbons and frills. She also decorated her head with a large ribbon.

The stuffed round mice her mother had made for her, she still treasured even at the age of 17. She always kept it close at hand, carried it wherever she went, and even sewed little clothes and ornaments for it to wear.

People around her looked upon such an Ayla with odd eyes. Her family and the retainers of the household, being accustomed to her appearance, treated her with relative normality, yet once she stepped outside the castle she was regarded as an eccentric existence.

Ayla herself was aware that she was different within this society.

For women, long garments falling straight were the general fashion. At times such garments were layered with others of differing length or color, or apron-dresses supported by shoulder straps were worn, or cloaks were thrown on. The cloth was dyed into various colors with flowers of magical plants as raw materials. Though among them were dark shades of blue or brown, garments dyed entirely black were scarcely to be seen.

As for ornamentation, common were narrow bands tied about the waist of long garments, thin ribbons for binding the hair, or hoods worn by those of certain age. The wealthy decorated hems, sleeves, or collars with embroidery, but to cover an entire outfit with excessive decoration was unheard of.

Stuffed dolls were nothing more than toys for children. They might be kept as mementos of childhood, but for an adult to constantly embrace one, carry it about, and even sew clothes for it was virtually nonexistent.

Meanwhile, Ayla wore black garments covered in ribbons and frills and held in her arms a dressed-up marne mice doll. It was not difficult to imagine why she was thought of as an abnormal girl.

When she went into the towns of the domain, she sensed people whispering as they looked at her. When she accompanied her father outside the domain, she felt such stares all the more. At times children pointed at her and laughed without malice.

On several occasions, marriage proposals were brought from other households. Yet whenever she actually met her betrothed candidate, she was politely told that if the engagement were to proceed, she must give up that “bad habit”. Even her own family and retainers, who out of familiarity no longer stared openly, occasionally told her that she must not cling to the memory of her late mother forever.

Nevertheless, Ayla did not wish to change her way of being.

She loved the memories of her beloved mother. She loved the words her mother had given her. She loved the self that existed in this form. Clothed in the black she had come to love because of her mother’s words, adorned with ribbons and frills, holding the doll her mother had made, she felt happiness in being herself. From the depths of her heart, she thought that this figure was her true self.

“Become happy. Live while cherishing the happiness you yourself desire.” (Ayla’s mother)

Ayla was indeed living according to the words her mother had left her.

She did not wish to flee from the duty of having been born into a lord’s household. She did not despise the thought of marrying into another house and fulfilling her role as consort. She hoped, if possible, to obtain the ordinary happiness of building a household and protecting it with her husband.

All she wanted was to wear what she loved and to keep what she loved near her. The things she loved were merely different from what others loved. Her eccentricity was nothing more than that.

Yet she had not encountered anyone who would accept her as she was. She had explained to the families who had offered betrothals why she desired to dress in this way, but in the end, every engagement was dissolved. Perhaps the stories spread, for no new proposals came. Though her father occasionally introduced her to other households, none seemed willing to respond. Even as the daughter of a powerful lordly household, even as the cousin of the present head of the Yutilainen Household, there was apparently no lord or heir who wished to take as bride a girl of such strange appearance.

Her father, the present head of the Hewitt Household, and her elder sister, the heir, permitted her to remain as she was. Yet Ayla understood that there was resignation mixed in. She knew they did not accept her from their hearts.

Would she someday meet someone who accepted her just as she was? Or would such a person never appear, and in time she would no longer be able to rely upon her family, forced at last to abandon her garments and her doll and to blend into society?

Unable to see the future, troubled in her heart, Ayla lived through her seventeenth year.

 

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In late June, Ayla left the castle for the first time in some while. Leaving the Hewitt domain as well, she traveled to Eltpoli in the Yutilainen domain, her mother’s birthplace. She accompanied her father when he went to meet Lord Yutilainen, his niece by marriage.

Although she felt reluctant to expose herself again to the curious eyes of the world outside, her father, who accepted her as she was, encouraged her to go out sometimes. More than that, because the destination was her late mother’s family home, she obediently accompanied him.

As close relatives, her father and she stayed in guest chambers within Eltpoli Castle. Having no particular duties unlike her father, Ayla climbed that day to the summit of the main tower.

Her mother often told the young Ayla that she had loved to stand upon that highest place of the castle, feel the pleasant wind upon her cheeks, and gaze over the city. Ayla, bathing in the wind her mother had loved and beholding the scenery her mother had loved, immersed herself in memories of her.

“Ah.” (Ayla)

A somewhat strong gust of wind blew. It tore away the ribbon tied about her right wrist. Loosened without her noticing, the ribbon rode upon the wind and fluttered down from the tower. Holding tightly to her doll so as not to drop it, Ayla looked down at where the ribbon had flown.

The wind-borne ribbon descended into the front garden of the castle. By chance, it was picked up by a stranger, a golden-haired young man who happened to be walking there.

“Excuse me! That ribbon belongs to me!” (Ayla)

When Ayla called out, the young man looked upward. His jade-colored eyes turned toward her, and their gazes met.

“Ah… I shall come down to retrieve it!” (Ayla)

Speaking so, Ayla hastened down the tower, feeling flustered.

She realized she had shouted too loudly in her panic and felt some embarrassment. Nevertheless, having declared that she would come to fetch it, she could not retract her words. She left the tower and ran lightly across the front garden, followed by her attendant servant.

When Ayla reached the young man, he looked upon her attire and the doll she carried with slight surprise. For Ayla, it was the reaction she had long grown accustomed to. Rather, because his reaction was gentler than she expected, Ayla felt relieved. She had often been stared at wide-eyed in shock, or even met with outright negative responses.

The calm face of the person standing beside the youth, and the lack of reaction from the large, stern-faced man standing behind him, also gave her reassurance.

“Um… thank you very much for picking up my ribbon. I am Ayla Hewitt, second daughter of the Hewitt Household.” (Ayla)

By thus declaring her name and station, even if others held their own thoughts inwardly, rarely would they insult her openly. Following the art of social survival she had acquired in the past decade, she first gave her name.

“Pleased to meet you. I am Mika Valentine, lord of the Valentine Household.” (Mika)

The youth too gave his name with a gentle smile and bowed with courtesy.

 

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