It was the night before Aiko's mail room duty, and all through the palace was silence and peace. Apart from the dark shadow of a page (who should have been in bed) sneaking through the corridor, carrying a chair.
Aiko had left the outer door open on her last trip. It was a minor entrance which was left unguarded since it went straight to the gardens, and let out into the coolness of a spring evening. She made her way through the gardens, walking on the borders of the paths to avoid rattling stones, until she reached the River Garden. It had been a very symbolic garden, with moss and several strategically placed rocks suggesting the ebb and flow of moving water, but at the moment it was littered with chairs and various small items of furniture,and starting to bear an uncanny resemblence to the mail room. They had the same L-shape design, and Aiko had spent some time transporting furniture from one to the other and carefully arranging it. She put the chair down in exactly the same corner position it had occupied in the mail room, and folded her arms, a contemplative frown on her face. For the best effect, she thought, she could put the rocks that had been in the garden back in the mail room. That would flummox them. It was a double benefit, really - seeing everyone's reactions in the morning, then missing half of that deeply boring shift while they put everything back. The tables were going to be a bit of a problem, though. She couldn't carry them by herself. She might have to drag them, but they would make noise.
Being outside at night was unusual enough to be exciting, so she was already on edge when she caught the soft brush of shoe against moss behind her. She would be in so much trouble if she was caught, but that was part of the fun. She whirled around, ready to run.
