by Matthew Gallagher
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The Emperor of the land loved it in the way people love their families. And what a family he had! Before she died, his wife had given him seven daughters. The six oldest daughters were true princesses: They spent their time playing games of wit and romance, and designing new outfits which would show off their beauty at balls and parties. Perhaps their most cherished pastime was the combing of their hair. And they had such magnificent hair! Each princess had long, luxurious tresses of different qualities. The Eldest Sister had hair that cascaded down her back like a waterfall. Second Eldest Sister's hair was thick and dark and rich like the night. Third Eldest Sister's hair was ruby-coloured and swayed as if it had been made from the leaves of a maple tree. Fourth Eldest Sister's hair was hard and strong like stone. Fifth Eldest Sister was proud of how light and soft her hair was, like a cloud. And the hair of the Sixth Eldest Sister was so shiny that it glowed in the moonlight.
Now as we all know, fathers don't have favourite daughters. But the youngest, Aiko, looked so much like her mother that perhaps the Emperor did love her just a little more than his other six daughters. And Aiko doted on her father, always anticipating something he might need. Each morning she would lay out his favourite slippers and pipe, and make sure that his tea was just the right temperature that the Emperor preferred. In the afternoons, she would stand watch outside his chamber while he napped and shoo away anyone who was being noisy nearby. In the evenings after dinner she would listen to her father talk about the Empire and all the things that preyed on his mind that day. She didn't have much to contribute, as she was still rather young, but in this way she was learning about the day-to-day goings on of the Empire.
Just as fathers never have favourite daughters, we all know that sisters never get jealous of one another. Sometimes, however, they may feel a bit slighted when they notice the attention their Emperor father pays toward a particular sister.
One morning while the Six Elder Sisters were engaged in combing out their long, long beautiful hair, they noticed Aiko running back and forth along the corridor.
"Littlest Princess!" called out the Second Eldest Sister. "Aiko, come here and tell us why you are running hither and thither and making our eyes ache in our heads from watching so much motion."
Aiko came to a screeching halt in her tracks and walked toward her sisters' combing chamber.
"Today our father the Emperor leaves on a mission of great diplomatic importance. I am trying to make sure that his departure is a happy one by getting ready special things for his breakfast, and packing him tasty morsels for the journey itself."
Third Eldest Sister scoffed, "Does not our household have a staff of a hundred who will prepare our father's lunch?"
"That may be, but he will enjoy it more when he knows it was made by someone who loves him very much."
"Well go about your business but be sure not to make too much noise while you're at it. We must concentrate on the combing of our hair."
Aiko quietly left her Elder Sisters and went about her business. Her father the Emperor was so pleased with the gifts of food his youngest daughter had prepared for him that he picked her up in his arms and held her close. Then he gave her a surprise. He handed her an ornately wrapped box, which dazzled Aiko's eyes. She carefully opened undid the wrapping and opened the box, revealing inside an exquisite heart carved out of jade. The heart was hinged, so that it opened by a secret catch.
"The Jade Green Heart belonged to your mother the Empress," explained the Emperor. "When you open it and think of someone you love, it will show you when where he is was at any time of the day or night." While the Emperor is away visiting a far-off region, she would be able to see how well his trip was going, and whether he needed good wishes from her heart.
Aiko embraced her father and promised to cherish the gift he had given her. The Emperor laughed, saying that he had no fear that she wouldn't. Then he climbed into his royal palanquin, and away he went.
The Princess Aiko went straight away to her Elder Sisters to show them the gift her father had given her. They were less than pleased.
"Mother's bracelet! I wanted to have that!" cried Forth Eldest Sister.
"By rights it should go to Eldest Sister," thought Second Eldest Sister. Eldest Sister sat in her chair combing the long waterfall of her hair. She said nothing, for she seldom said anything at all.
"Things were perfect until you came along," Sixth Eldest Sister jeered at the youngest princess.
Aiko ran to her room. She had not meant to make her Elder Sisters so upset! She cried on her silk pillow, and after a while, was fast asleep.
The Elder Sisters had only gotten started.
"This clearly shows that our father the Emperor favours the Princess Aiko over the rest of us," Third Eldest sister said between brush strokes of her ruby-coloured hair. The five middle sisters looked at Eldest Sister. She paused for the briefest of moments and nodded.
Late that night, after the entire household had gone to sleep, the Six Elder Sisters padded very quietly to Aiko's bedchamber. They found her breathing very deeply; her eyes closed with a tiny bit of salt at the corners to show that she had been crying. The moon outside gleamed through the window and lit up Sixth Eldest Sister's hair like a candle. Second Eldest Sister spread her deep dark mane across the window to black out the light shining through. With her light touch, Fifth Eldest Sister pulled the bracelet with the Jade Green Heart off Aiko's wrist and handed it to the Eldest Sister who put it in a small purse and tucked it snugly into her robe. Then the Six Elder Sisters stole out of the room, and tiptoed out to the palace courtyard.
In the middle of the courtyard there was a deep, deep well that supplied the water for the palace. Down at the bottom of the well lived a creature, older than the palace itself. The Six Elder Sisters knew that sometimes the Emperor would make sacrifices to the creature at the bottom of the well in order to keep the kingdom prosperous, and stave off any possibility that the creature's disposition might turn sour and it would climb out of the well to do harm to the Royal Family. So the Second Eldest Sister called into the inky blackness of the well.
"Shitagawa!" whispered the princess. The sides of the well carried her voice down, down to the bottom where Shitagawa the Well-Dweller lived. "We have a gift for you. Please accept this token of our honour."
Eldest Sister dropped the Jade Green Heart into the well. The Six Elder Sisters leaned over to hear the jewel clink on the sides of the well as it fell down, down into Shitagawa's waiting hand. Then, as quietly as they had come, they each padded back to their bedchambers as if nothing at all had occurred.
Aiko awoke as soon as the sun started to rise. She rubbed her eyes of all the sand and dried tears. She noticed right away that the bracelet with the Jade Green Heart was gone! Immediately she ran to her Eldest Sister's bedchamber. Eldest sister was still asleep after her late night activities, and it was difficult to arouse her. Aiko made so much commotion that they were soon joined by the five other Elder Sisters.
"Ichiko! The bracelet given me by our father the Emperor has disappeared!"
Eldest Sister nodded.
Second Eldest Sister mused: "The Jade Green Heart is a magical jewel. Perhaps it deemed you unworthy of possessing it, and went to find a more suitable keeper."
The other Elder Sisters heartily agreed, and once again, Aiko went back to her own bedchamber to cry. She felt very, very poorly that the Jade Green Heart had left her. Her father the Emperor would no longer love her as he once did! Aiko decided that there was no place for her in the palace, so she packed a small parcel with food enough for a couple of days, donned a simple robe, and quitted the palace without anyone noticing at all.
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