The days started passing quickly; before I even realized it, two weeks had gone by. My skin had taken on a more beautiful glow, turning a lovely light brown. My hair was almost completely bleached by the sun, and my figure had changed, too. For some strange reason, I’d gotten slimmer, my curves standing out more clearly, as if the food here automatically placed itself in all the right places. And I’d grown used to life here in the palace.
My days went like this: I’d get up, then have breakfast. After breakfast, I usually took a walk in the gardens to move my body a little extra. Then I’d sit down and read—I’d read The Collected Works, all five volumes—and after that, I’d started embroidering. Then we had dinner. Where Sicca and I continued debating whether ice cream was better in the summ
