Gisako’s Tale

by A. Melchor and N. Kolm

The sun fell upon the royal gardens in a beautiful morning that Gisako would have much preferred to pass with her private tutor. It was one of the advantages of her father being a rich merchant from the Guild; when the city closed the schools for girls, even the noble schools, Gisako had no trouble convincing her parents to hire a private tutor for her.

Nevertheless, she still had to play the part of the dutiful daughter and accompany him to these pointless parties that the governor was so fond of throwing in the middle of the week.

"Father...do I really have o go there?" she said quietly as they went. She didn't much enjoy the thought of the party, not at all, to be precise.

"Of course, dear." Her father said, hurrying his step. "I have to talk with some of my fellows from the Guild, and it is a perfect chance for you to meet a suitable young man..."

He let the words trail off. They had already talked about how good it would be for the family if she could marry a noble. For all the money that the Gizaletzi name was worth, it could not buy a noble title. She nodded slightly, biting down the remark about how she loathed most of the young nobles she had met so far, and she had met quite a few.

They nodded politely to the guards flanking the entrance to the palace's main hall, and already the sound of music promised Gisako yet another day of dull events. At least the food was good, and she was even allowed to drink wine.

"Now, dear..." Her father stopped in front of her inspecting her appearance. "You look lovely... just like your mother when she was your age... Go ahead and have fun, daddy has boring business to attend to."

She nodded and gave him a gentle smile, knowing how much it meant for him and doing her part of her role. She entered the palace main hall slowly, looking around, changing her bearing to that which suited these parties best.

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