The Birth of Suyuan

You did then what you knew how to do, and when you knew better, you did better. - Maya Angelou

Mizumi's mizuage opened a doorway for her where she could exercise more liberty in her path towards her prime. She was young, beautiful, and certainly eligible to be even the Emperor's consort or even a Ubar's favored slave. Yet, her formative years in the pleasure house of Honjuku had only taught her what the passions of men would be like and certainly not their will as Lord Nishida certainly exercised his.

Some time after her mizuage, he bought her contract, yet he had the ability to do what he wished with her and thus, gifted her to one of his ashigaru (cavalrymen); a simple a man named Goro, who, admittedly was handsome with leaf-shaped eyes. Yet, he had a manner about him which was beyond austere... dispassionate in some instances if one would describe. It was not that he was hard to figure out, but he certainly a man with his own ambition and direction.

Mizumi was anything but impressed and anything but content with the decision Lord Nishida made. Her heart was harboring and even aching for Lord Okimoto and not this soldier who often found solace in his own company.

It is so easy to talk of ‘passing emotion’ and forget how vivid the emotion was ere it passed. Our impulse to sneer, to forget, is at root a good one. We recognize that emotion is not enough, and that men and women are personalities capable of sustained relations, not mere opportunities for electrical discharge…Yet, we do not admit that by collisions of this trivial sort, the doors of heaven are shaken open. - Howard's End

Simplicity was sovereign in the relationship; yet, the usual advantage that a Gorean man would exercise quite frequently in his relationship whether with a contract woman or slave girl relied more heavily upon an appointment-type basis as he was someone that was strictly self-involved.

Mizumi came to care for Goro despite her own expectations. Though, he had a proverbial wall surrounding him, there were moments when she was able to see "him" aside from the usual detachment that frustrated her. Pani, although they are passionate, maintain a sense of austerity about them almost at all times. It was not that Goro wasn't passionate; he was in his own way with his brutal kisses when he wasn't aloof and the sweetness that imitated warm sunlight poking through the shade of a tree.

A grand adventure is about to begin. - Winnie the Pooh

Apparently, the "wine of the noble free woman" didn't work for Mizumi as expected as her belly subsequently began to swell with child. Now again, it should be reported to Lord Nishida as the child growing within her might be his and he would have the final say of what would happen to Mizumi and her unborn child. Yet, it was not uncommon if Contract Women had children, particularly daughters who could be raised in the pleasure house. Sons were of a different matter; most likely they would be adopted by the father and he and his Free Companion would raise it.

Lord Nishida learned of Mizumi's condition and thus would have gladly sold her contract off to Goro so that they could companion one another; instead, he removed her from Goro's "service" and enrolled her back into the okiya indefinitely. It was a devastating blow for the young mother-to-be. Perhaps Lord Nishida had an inkling that the child might be his or perhaps it was Goro's. Either way, Mizumi was condemned to solitude and separation from Goro who was just beginning to gradually to reveal himself to her.

Imprisonment is as irrevocable as death. - George Bernard Shaw

The cruel reality of man's will was beginning to unveil itself. Goro made no effort to lay claim or even purchase Mizumi's contract. Everyday in her confinement, she couldn't help but gaze from her window at the scenic village, hoping to catch one glimpse of the man she had cohabited with for several Hands. The bustling world never revealed him and she battled with despair. The only thing that helped her maintained hope was the child she was carrying in her belly. She remembered the prophecy manifested by the diviner. Although, some it was unsettling, she resigned herself with the realization that the child kicking rapidly beneath her heart would be strong - the will of men wouldn't rule her as they did her mother.

The time for her baby's birth approached and she continued looking towards the heavens. As the shamaness predicted, there appeared to be a sort of supernova within the sky that burned vibrantly in the Phoenix Constellation. It was a breech birth and albeit there was some difficulty, the child entered the world in fit of healthy crying. The doula laid the baby girl against Mizumi's breast and she rocked her; admiring her unusual amber eyes and pale skin which would make her a target for slavers later on in her life.

There was much to worry about; whether Lord Nishida would decide that the baby belonged with herself and pleasure house or with his family. Regardless of protocol, Mizumi knew that she would fight for her infant daughter. She even took it up herself to name her before the okasan of the okiya could.

It was a name was unusual among the people, but still Pani - Suyuan. She was a light in the young contract woman's life when she was condemned to isolation and had been abandoned.

The dark cloud seemed to have lifted with the arrival of Suyuan - or so one would have thought - Mizumi was still in confinement and had no idea what Lord Nishida had planned for her. However, it was difficult to imagine that her daughter probably might grow up fatherless. Goro was absent and Lord Nishida had his own agenda. From what she detailed in Suyuan's features, she had a feeling her father was Goro as she had his eye shape and the sharp point of his nose. Regardless, if the man she cared for would not come forward - she would raise Suyuan on her own.

For now, the horizon calmed as Mizumi resigned herself with fighting not for herself any longer - but her baby as well.

A daughter is a mother's gender partner, her closest ally in the family confederacy, an extension of her self. - Author Unknown