Seal of Love. Book 1

Chapter 1. Butterfly Wings. Late 10th century, the estate of the Fujiwara family near Heian (Kyoto).
Eleven-year-old Murasaki spent the whole morning in her secret place, located on the outskirts of the garden in an old abandoned pavilion. The thick paper that covered the partitions of the building had become torn in many places due to time, but still retained traces of the once elegant painting.
The girl had known about the existence of this pavilion for a long time. Her father was planning to either rebuild or repair it many times, but he constantly lacked the time, and sometimes even the desire, because since Murasaki’s mother died, her father stopped paying attention to many things. And so it happened that everyone gradually forgot about the building, lost in the thickets of the garden.
After the death of her mother, which happened almost a year ago, Murasaki constantly sought solitude. One day, while walking in the garden and exploring its most remote parts, she discovered the abandoned pavilion, immediately deciding, in secret from everyone, to make it her secret place. The girl brought there from home a couple of tatami mats, a tiny table, an ink pot, a brush, and a pile of old, useless papers that had not yet been written on the back side. With the help of all this, her secret office was equipped.
Murasaki loved to run here in the morning and spend time here until classes with teacher Noyu, who taught her and her brother various sciences. The girl liked to study, especially to write in Chinese characters. It was easy for her to learn Chinese characters, which could not be said about her older brother Nobunori, therefore, again finding herself in her secret office, the diligent student used the knowledge she had acquired — she kept a diary, trusting its with her girlish secrets.
It started immediately after the death of her mother. At first, Murasaki wrote letters to her, complaining about teacher Noyu and her brother... And then, when a year had passed since the funeral, she confided to the diary her thoughts about the numerous contenders for the bed of her father, Fujiwara no Tametoki. Her father was a promising man, but he was not looking for carnal pleasures, but rather yearned for his dead wife.
Later, Murasaki began to write short stories and tried to write them in Chinese characters. The girl was just writing down one of these stories on paper when her teacher Noyu’s persistent call was heard in the garden:
“Lady Murasaki, class time! Where are you?”
The girl sighed — she couldn’t finish the story.
“Well, I’ll finish it later...” she decided and slipped out of the pavilion.
Fujiwara no Tametoki walked leisurely through his garden. Lush tree crowns cast a thick shadow on the winding path, lined with yellow stone quarried near the capital.
As the owner of a large estate, Tametoki was considered an influential aristocrat in the Imperial capital. This year he turned only thirty years old, and after the death of his wife he gained fame as a promising groom. Recently, fathers of noble families often paid visits to his estate, intending to profitably arrange the fate of their young daughters. They were not at all embarrassed by the fact that the widower had children: daughter Murasaki and son Nobunori, whom he especially favored.
... Murasaki rushed past her father — the hem of her kimono made of the finest silk of a pale pink color fluttered like the wings of a butterfly. The girl hurried to her secret place in order to complete the unfinished story.
Tametoki smiled: he loved his children, especially his daughter, because the girl so reminded him of his untimely departed wife.
“Lady Murasaki!” the teacher's stern voice was heard.
Tametoki involuntarily looked around. Teacher Noyu, who taught his children calligraphy, reading, drawing and history, was quickly moving along the path.