A Thousand Leagues of Wind, the Sky at Dawn

3-1

The month drew to a close. In Gyouten, the capital city of Kei, the giddy atmosphere finally dissipated. A sense of calm returned to the handling of visitors and the reaction to the coronation in general. The topsy-turvy of the palace settled down. Nevertheless, with the midwinter Koushi ceremony approaching, there was still that sense of being kept constantly on one's toes.

Youko looked out the window and sighed softly. Through the windowpanes she could see the wintry gardens and fields.

Mornings she spent at the Gaiden. Afternoons she returned to the Naiden. These two buildings constituted the core of the palace, where the empress did the bulk of her work. In basic terms, the Privy Council met in the Gaiden and the Naiden was where she performed her official duties as empress.

The Naiden essentially began where the outer palace ended and the Gaiden began where the inner palace ended.

So on one hand, the government functionaries who worked in the outer palace were not allowed as a matter of course to pass further into the castle than the Naiden. On the other hand, the empress's living quarters were mostly found in the inner palace, and she was not supposed to transgress the outer palace past the Gaiden.

Youko had a visitor. He entered the Naiden accompanied by a palace guard. Seeing who her guest was, she raised her eyebrows.

It was Chousai Seikyou. Chousai was his title, Minister-in-Chief Seikyou of the Rikkan, or Six Ministries. The Six Ministries themselves were known as the Ministries of Heaven, Earth, Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. They handled the various affairs of the palace, the census and apportionment of lands, ritual and protocol, defense, justice and public works. Historically, the Taisai, or the head of the Ministry of Heaven, assumed the post of Chousai and the administration of the Rikkan. But more recently the appointment of the Chousai simply followed established tradition.

Youko was never sure of how to deal with the magisterial-looking Chousai.

"I beg your pardon, Highness," said Seikyou, prostrating himself before the throne.

"What is it?"

"The matter of workforce management, if you please."

This again, Youko said to herself, biting her lip. Keiki wasn't available to assist her as her chief advisor during the afternoon executive sessions on governmental affairs. He had to attend to his duties as lord of Ei Province. And when Keiki wasn't around, Youko was at a loss when it came to even the basic workings of government. That was probably why Seikyou always showed up in the afternoon.

The realm had fallen to ruin due to the previous empress's mismanagement, the ongoing calamities, strife and youma rampages. Simply getting things back to normal was going to require a massive amount of civil engineering.

Over the past several days, the discussions in the Privy Council had centered around this matter. The question of where the work should begin and according to what criteria laborers should be recruited and deployed was still up in the air.

Youko gathered that the council members had more or less divided into factions. The biggest faction was led by Seikyou. The proposals of his faction were completely at odds with those of the opposing faction. He insisted that, until the spring, flood control measures should be emphasized. The opposing faction insisted that in order for the most people survive the winter, the rebuilding of the cities should be paramount.

Only this morning, Seikyou had again repeated his position before the Privy Council, and now he had come on bended knee to assess her disposition on the subject.

"How is Your Highness resolved as to the matter?"

Youko was momentarily at a loss as how to answer. Both flood control and urban reconstruction were equally important. But which one should be given priority? Kei was not wealthy enough to take on both simultaneously. This was the decision she had been left to unsuccessfully wrestle with.

Moreover, in either case, she was completely incapable of fathoming which flood control measures and urban renewal programs were at issue. She'd read the reports prepared by the Summer Ministry, but she had no idea where these places were, what kind of places they were, or the nature of the relief required.

"I'm sorry, but I really don't know."

She spoke in a muted voice. Admitting her ignorance really grated.

Seikyou sighed to himself. "Your Highness, this is a decision that you must make."

"I'm sorry."

"I am aware that your Highness comes to us from Yamato. However, I trust that by now you have come to some understanding of the situation."

"I am educating myself, but my understanding is incomplete. I am sorry."

"At this point, we need only determine which of these programs shall be given priority."

"I'll talk it over with Keiki and come to a decision."

Seikyou again sighed deeply. "Forgive my forwardness, Your Highness. But is it your intent that the Taiho rule in your stead? The Taiho's first thoughts are always on the alleviation of the people's suffering. Given control of everything, the Taiho will always act out of pity, even to the ruin of the kingdom."

"I know." To a kirin, the suffering of the people took priority over everything else. "But I truly haven't come to a decision."

Seikyou briefly bowed his head. When he raised his head the look on his face was either that of scorn or discouragement. In any case, she knew that he was getting fed up with her. He said, and there was exasperation in his voice, "I am aware that I am being presumptuous, but could I perhaps request that you delegate the matter to one of your subordinates?"

When it came right down to it, time was of the essence and Youko had no choice but to agree. She said, "Sure. Fine. It's all your responsibility, Chousai."

Seikyou bowed low.

Youko watched Seikyou leave and groaned aloud.

Remarkably, the problem-plagued Imperial Ministries had been reorganized, the holes in the dike plugged for the time being. The harmful statutes enacted by the Late Empress Yo-ou had been repealed, the rule of law reestablished. A large part of the military budget had been diverted to assist the refugees, and the year's tax assessments cut.

Bit by bit the kingdom was starting to move forward. That's what everybody assured her.

Everybody was happy that a new monarch had acceded to the throne. Exactly what they were happy for, Youko wasn't sure. What she knew of this world didn't even rise to the level of common sense. Called upon to make a decision, she too often prevaricated. She found giving orders next to impossible.

Any proposal she made would just get laughed at, and, to make matter worse, except for Imperial Rescripts, would have to be approved first by the Sankou and then the Rikkan. Aside from the ceremonial formalities involved with the Inaugural Rescript itself, there was nothing to prevent her from issuing additional Imperial Rescripts. But she didn't have the courage to start issuing rescripts. In the final analysis, she was stuck with the Rikkan that the Late Empress Yo-ou had left to her, and did whatever they told her to.

Such is the lot of the Royal Kei.

Youko laughed derisively at herself. The rejoicing at her accession reached even to the palace. Who could begin to imagine the reality of what even Rakushun and the Royal En and Enki had congratulated her for?

"Your Highness."

Keiki came into the executive chambers, having completed his administrative duties. "It seems that Chousai was recently here."

"Yeah, he was. That business of workforce deployment. I left it all up to him."

"You left it all up to him?"

"Shouldn't I have?"

Keiki answered her question with a disappointed expression on his face.

"Look, I didn't know which one to give priority to. I didn't know because I don't know anything about the conditions of this country. So I handed it over to somebody who did. You disagree?"

"No, that would seem a satisfactory solution." But he sighed.

Youko sighed as well. Since her coronation, she'd heard that sigh any number of times. "If you think I shouldn't have, then go ahead and say so."

"It is always wise to listen to what your ministers have to say. If Your Highness then decided to delegate this responsibility, I see no reason to object."

So why the sour face? Youko thought, looking into his impassive countenance. All she could read in him was a vague sense of dissatisfaction. "If you're not happy with me for some reason, let me know. If there's something you think I should be doing, let's hear it."

A hard edge came to her voice. She was giving everybody reason to sigh, even him, and was getting sick and tired of it.

Keiki said, that same stoic expression on his face, "As you wish. It is the monarch who rules the kingdom. You rule the kingdom according to the council of your ministers. There is nothing wrong with listening with an open mind to what they have to say. But simply handing the entire matter over to Chousai is likely to make the others unhappy. When taking advice from the civil service, you must be sure to consider all contributions equally."

"I do."

Keiki's expression didn't change. "If, upon taking all points of view into consideration, you then decided to delegate the matter to Chousai, I don't believe anybody would complain."

"Are you unhappy with me, too, Keiki?"

Your Highness? the expression on her counselor's face asked, his eyes widening.

"Dissatisfied with another empress? Am I a disappointment to you?"

They all looked at her with suspicious, doubting eyes. Oh, for the good old days of King Tatsu, she could hear them saying. They simply couldn't accept another empress on the throne.

"Nothing of the sort."

Youko averted her gaze and rested her elbows on the table. "You're the one who put me on this throne. So don't look at me like that."

"Your Highness, I… . "

Youko interrupted him. "Go away."

3-2

Oh, so you were born in Japan as well?

"Yes," Suzu answered with a nod.

And you were swept onto the shores of this world. How unfortunate.

"It was awful," Suzu agreed.

I know, I know. Nobody in this world can truly understand how difficult a kaikyaku's life is. But I do.

"Yes, it is. It's really, really tough," Suzu said. "But I'm so happy to have met the Royal Kei."

I'm pleased as well. You have nothing to worry about anymore. You're a fellow kaikyaku like me. I'll do whatever I can to help you. If there's anything troubling you, let me know.

"I am indeed grateful, Your Highness. I… . "

Suzu turned over on her cot. Her imagination failed her. She couldn't think of what to say next.

Since hearing about the Royal Kei from Riyou, she'd had this conversation with herself night after night. The Royal Kei would be full of sympathy for her. They'd converse about Japan, about the trials of the past, their plans for the future. But Suzu had no power, no wealth, no freedom. Surely, the Royal Kei would come to her rescue.

How can I help you?

Could she demand that Suzu be sent to Kei to live in the palace? A luxurious palace, not at all like Suibi Grotto, with generous and kindhearted servants. There they would talk together and stroll through the gardens. And while she was at it, how about giving Riyou a taste of her own medicine?

This child is my fellow countrywoman. If you have treated her badly, I shall not forgive you.

When the Royal Kei said that, Riyou would grovel at her feet. She'd be sorry, then. No matter how bitter, faced with the power and authority of the empress, she would have no choice but to comply.

I shall name Suzu mistress of Suibi Grotto. Riyou will be her servant.

"No, that isn't necessary," Suzu said, shaking her head. "That is not what I want. I only desire that the mistress of the grotto show me some kindness and gratitude. That alone would be sufficient."

My, Suzu, you are a good person.

The Royal Kei smiling at her, Riyou's grateful eyes meeting hers.

"Not hardly," Suzu muttered to herself. "Riyou would never thank me for anything."

She wrapped the quilt around her shoulders. Still, if she could only meet the Royal Kei, that would make up for everything. If she could go and see her… .

As she closed her eyes, she heard high tone of a ringing bell. Outside a winter wind was blowing. The high tone mingled with the sounds of the dry, rustling brush, the turbulent chorus of wind weaving through the undulating peaks.

Suzu suddenly sat up and listened more closely. Kang, the bell rang again. It was Riyou calling a servant. She hurriedly slipped out of bed, threw a robe over her nightdress, hastily tied the sash and ran out of the room.

What was going on in the middle of the night?

Riyou didn't care when her servants went to sleep or woke up. Suzu's room had cots for three servants, but the other two had quit a long time ago. Even at the cost of losing their place in the Registry of Wizards, they had decided to run away and had been fortunate and lucky enough to carry it off. At least that's what the other maidservants said.

Urged along by the shrill, incessant sound of the bell, Suzu ran down the hallways and into Riyou's quarters. Already, two other servants had arrived ahead of her. As soon as she entered the room, Riyou's vituperations flew at her.

"You're late! You're such an idiot and slowpoke!"

"I am sorry. I was asleep."

"So was everybody else. You're such a sluggard the stable hands got here before you, and you're supposed to be my personal maid!"

The man and woman who had arrived first averted their gaze. Were they careless enough to rise to Suzu's defense, they would feel the brunt of Riyou's scorn as well.

"I beg your forgiveness."

"Even when asleep, servants should be attentive to the needs of their master. That's why I deign to provide you with room and board in the first place."

Suzu bowed her head. The strange fruits that grew on the mountain, the yield from a plot of land in the ravine, a modest stipend from the national treasury, the meager rent from the fields at the base of the mountain farmed by the locals, taxes collected from the shrine village below Suibi Peak--this was the totality of Riyou's income, and what Suzu and all the others had to live on.

"This is unbelievable! Twelve servants and only three bother to show up!"

Riyou looked at the middle-aged woman. "You! I can't bear this cold. Massage my feet for me. Honma!"

She undoubtedly meant this scornful epithet for Suzu. "It's stale in here. The place needs to be aired out. Go wake everybody up. That's your punishment. The entire grotto needs a good cleaning. It's because of all this dust."

You mean, now? Suzu swallowed the words that came to her lips. If Riyou said do it, she had to do it.

"I am unfortunate to be surrounded by servants who can't clean a blessed thing to my satisfaction. Unbelievable. And be quiet about it. I'm trying to sleep!"

Suzu had no choice but to go around and wake everybody up. Even if it was on Riyou's orders, nobody was ever happy about being pulled out of bed in the middle of the night, and they all turned their resentment on her. Her head bowed, she did as she was told. In the wintry dead of night they shook the dust out of everything, wiped, mopped, scrubbed and dried the stone-lined hallways. The winter solstice was almost upon them. The water at this time of night was freezing cold.

Your Highness.

As she scrubbed the floor, the tears welled up. That a girl from Japan had become empress of the Kingdom of Kei pleased her immeasurably. Wouldn't they meet, somewhere, sometime? Meeting her would be the happiest moment in her life. Imagining that moment was so gratifying, and awakening from the dream so miserable.

Your Highness, please help me.

The cleaning took them until sunrise. After a brief nap, morning chores awaited. Riyou awoke toward noon and inspected the work. She expressed displeasure with the effort and told them to do it all over again. This was when Suzu broke a vase.

"What a good-for-nothing you are!" said Riyou, flinging the broken shards at her. "The cost of this vase will come out of your meals. You're a wizard, after all. You won't starve to death. And I'm a charitable enough person that I won't revoke your wizardhood." Riyou hiked up her eyebrows. "You don't like it? Then why not pack your bags and go?"

Leaving the grotto would mean having her name erased from the Registry of Wizards. Riyou knew that was something Suzu could not do.

"Of course you won't." She snorted. "You really are a useless child. It is only because I am such an extraordinarily generous person that I bother to keep you around."

Suzu lowered her face and bit her lip. Could she leave this place? She swallowed the thought as soon as it came into her mind.

"I've been treating you too well. You don't really need a bed, now, do you?"

Suzu looked up at her.

"Every minute you're sleeping in a nice, warm bed you're not doing any work. Don't you think so?" Riyou laughed with open malice. "You may sleep in the barn for the time being. It's so spacious in there and not so cold. Yes, that would suit you well."

That meant sleeping with Setsuko, Riyou's tiger. Suzu's face went pale. Setsuko was not an animal easily handled by others. She was such a ferocious creature that only one man was assigned to be her handler.

"Forgive me, please, Mistress," quailed Suzu, trembling with fear.

Riyou stared down at her with undisguised scorn. "Oh, you'll do it. You ask so much of me. Who do you think you are?"

Riyou laughed and said with an exaggerated sigh, "Well, all right. Instead, you can go get me some kankin."

"Mistress… . "

Kankin was a kind of mossy mushroom that grew on the cliffs of the towering mountain. To pick them, you had secure yourself with a rope and rappel down the side of the cliffs.

"Gather some kankin for breakfast tomorrow morning and you can consider yourself forgiven."

3-3

When Riyou told her to do something, Suzu knew of no way to refuse. So on a cold, dark night, with the light of a single lamp to guide her, she climbed Suibi Peak. Clinging to the rope, she searched for a footing amongst the rocks and shrubs. Gales of wind buffeted her. Standing on the narrow path that wound along the crest of the ridge, she had to bend over to face the full strength of the wind.

The cliffs where the kankin mushroom grew were dangerously located halfway up the peak. She tied one end of the rope to a pine tree with it roots anchored into the rock. The other end she fastened around her waist. Clinging to the rope, she started to slowly lower herself down the side of the cliff, but the gusts of wind made her hesitate.

The peaks of these towering mountains were extraordinarily tall. Even holding the lantern over her head, Suzu could not see the base of the cliff she was descending. The wind came rushing skyward out of the pitch-black hole as if to cut right through her. The mere thought of lowering herself into these depths with only the one strand of rope to rely on made her weep with fear.

Why did Riyou despise her so much? It would have been better if they had never met. It was difficult to live in a foreign country where you didn't speak the language, but she had to believe that life was still possible even if she couldn't comprehend a single word.

Why do I put up with this hell?

She'd catch a worse beating if she didn't get those mushrooms. Even knowing that, she couldn't move her shivering feet.

I have to meet the Royal Kei. If I could… .

But all the daydreams in the world wouldn't change the reality of the black cliffs in front of her eyes. That was all there was, and nothing else.

Should I run away? Leave this place behind for good?

If she could return to Japan, she would without a second thought. That was something wizards could do, but there were wizards and then there were wizards. For a wizard like Suzu, crossing the Kyokai was impossible.

She clung to the edge of the cliff and wept. Suddenly she heard a sound behind her, the sound like the purring of a cat. Suzu lifted her head and raised the lantern. The tiger Setsuko was hovering in the air just beyond the precipice.

Suzu gulped and took a step back. Setsuko floated there in the air, as if ready to pounce. It's jewel-like eyes glittered in the light from the lantern.

"You," the tiger growled insistently at her.

Wizards could grasp the gist of what the tiger was saying, but a wizard of Suzu's status couldn't actually speak the language of beasts.

"The Mistress."

Riyou hadn't been intending all along to feed her to this you-creature, had she? Did she send her out to this solitary mountain crag so this tiger could attack her? Did she hate her that much? But why?

The tiger motioned with its head as if to hurry her along, urging her to just get on with it. So was Riyou spying on her? Making sure that Suzu did as she was told? That's why she sent the tiger after her.

"I know, I know," Suzu answered in a trembling voice. "I'll do it."

She grasped the rope with her shaking hands and little by little inched towards the edge of the cliff. Playing out the rope as she went along, she planted her feet on the edge and stopped, her body suspended in the air. She couldn't move.

I can't do it.

Raw fear prevented her from descending any further.

"I can't. I'm sorry."

The hand holding fast to her lifeline shook as she were convulsing. If it went on any longer, she could fall for sure. Her hand would slip and she'd let go of the rope.

"Please… help… . "

A moment later, her hand did slip. Suzu was cast backwards into the air. I'm falling, she thought. She had completely forgotten about the rope tied to her waist.

When she came to, Suzu was floating in the air. The face of the cliff was directly in front of her. The ground beneath her was soft to the touch.

So the ground wasn't that far down, after all. She gasped in relief. Then the sensation of soft fur. Setsuko. She was lying on the tiger's back. She screamed. "No! Let me down!"

A moment later the ground disappeared out from under her. Her body was tossed into the sky. She felt herself falling. She clawed at the air, as if in a dream. And then gagged as the Setsuko grabbed the collar of her jacket. She screamed again. With a flick of its head the tiger again tossed her body into the sky. When she landed once more on the tiger's back, she hung on with all her strength.

It can't get any worse.

She remembered that the rope was still fastened to her waist. She could climb back up the cliff face using the rope. With trembling hands she drew in the slack on the rope until, abruptly, there was nothing more there.

"Oh no, it's been cut."

Suzu looked at Setsuko's boulder-sized head. She had no choice but to hold on and let it take her back. But why would this creature, who could not be ridden by anyone but Riyou, return her to the grotto?

"T-take me back." Suzu pleaded with the tiger. "Please, take me back to the top of the cliff."

She felt something warm trickling down her back. It was blood, she thought, her mind swimming, from where Setsuko's fangs had gouged her skin. The pain was severe.

"Please. Help me."

The tiger moved. It came closer to the cliff, approached one of the shrubs growing there. With a deep, ferocious growl it admonished her. Do your duty, it was telling her.

Suzu clung to the tiger. She cautiously reached out with one hand, but couldn't reach. A strong gust knocked her sideways. The stronger the wind, the stronger her panic. Her teeth chattering, her knees knocking, she knew this wasn't going to work.

Apprehensively, she let go with both hands. But as she leaned towards the cliff, she tumbled from the tiger's back. She collided with the face of the cliff, gashing her skin. Setsuko caught her with a claw through her sash and for the third time tossed her onto its back.

Suzu broke down weeping. "Why… ?" It was all too much. "Why is she doing this to me? Why does she hate me so much?" Suzu hit the tiger with her fists. "Let go of me! Kill me if that's what you want! Enough is enough!"

Setsuko answered only with a low rumble in her throat.

Take me way from here. It was the first thing that came to her mind. "Where to?" she asked herself timidly. If she ran away, her name would be erased from the Registry of Wizards, and that would be the end of her.

"To Kei."

Go to the Royal Kei. But how? Meet with the Royal Kei and appeal to her. Tell her about her miserable conditions, Riyou's tyrannical rule. But, still… .

Suzu suddenly raised her head. "That's right! If I appeal to the king, I don't have to worry about the Royal Kei!"

She grabbed Setsuko's coat hard enough to pull the hair out by the roots. "I'll petition the Imperial Court! The king of Sai. I get him to punish Riyou and keep my name in the Registry of Wizards!"

Suzu whacked Setsuko as hard as she could. "Go! We're going to Choukan Palace in Yuunei!"

Setsuko reared up without warning. Suzu clung on for dear life as the tiger's body turned and twisted in the air. Swept into this world, she had survived only by debasing herself. And yet she picked her first fight ever with Setsuko. The tiger flailed about, trying to buck her off. At length it seemed to give up and galloped off through the wind, heading straight to the northeast. The destination was Yuunei, the capital of Sai.

The capital city of Yuunei. Somebody was pounding on the gates before the Hall of Government. The night was approaching dawn. Alarmed at what could be afoot at this time of night, the guardsmen rushed to the gate and discovered there a red tiger, and in the tiger's shadow, a young girl clinging to the post.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came from Suibi Grotto on Mt. Ha. Please help me!"

The guardsmen lowered their spears to keep the tiger at bay. They assumed the girl had been attacked by this you-creature. After giving them a haughty glare, the tiger turned his back to them and flew off. The guardsmen breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Miss, are you all right?"

In the light of the breaking day, the girl's sad state became apparent. Her clothes were torn and stained with blood. Her tangled, tostled hair was also wet with blood.

"Were you attacked? Are you all right?"

Suzu clung to the guardsman who was helping to her feet. It's a miracle. I made it to Yuunei. She cried, "You've got to help me! The Mistress of Suibi Grotto is trying to kill me!"

The guardsmen all looked at each other.

"I'm begging you. Help me!"

3-4

The peerage system of the Twelve Kingdoms was organized according to the following seven ranks: king, prince, province lord (or marquis), count (or minister), province minister (or viscount), baron, and knight. There are two ranks of count, count and vice minister (or undersecretary), and three subdivisions each of baron and knight. All the nobility is divided amongst these twelve castes.

At the level of national government, most counts are vice ministers or undersecretaries. Hisen ("wizards of the air") are allowed to rise to the rank of full count or minister. Hisen like Riyou who had been elevated according to imperial edict were granted vice-ministerial status. The rank of servant wizards fell between that of knight and baron, which was higher than the typical government bureaucrat.

In fact, such gradations in rank were designed primarily for purposes of decorum and propriety. For example, when a person of lower rank encountered a person of higher rank on the road, who would yield the right of way. In other words, the authority to demand that you be treated with the proper courtesy, though not much else.

In any case, after collapsing in front of the Hall of Government, Suzu was treated very well. She was taken to a room reserved for honored guests. A doctor and nurse were called to tend to her. She was cared for with the utmost courtesy. In fact, they were just being polite, but being treated politely was a first to her. She had grown up poor, her family having to kowtow to the landlord. She had been forced to crawl under Riyou's heel. Compared to all that, this was almost like a dream.

I must be dreaming, she thought as she fell asleep. She woke herself up to consider her situation some more. The bed was suffused with a soft light.

"Are you awake? How are you feeling?" The lady's maid waiting aside the bed noticed that she had opened her eyes. She spoke in a soft voice.

Suzu said, "I'm doing okay." She sat up. Her joints ached. She grimaced.

"Please, rest yourself. Do you wish to partake of breakfast?"

"Um, yes."

The lady smiled kindly. "We shall make sure of it, then. Thanks be, but none of your wounds was severe. Breakfast is presently being prepared, and a doctor shall see to you shortly. So, please, make yourself at home."

"Thank you," said Suzu. Watching the lady as she left the room, Suzu hugged her arms around herself. "Please make yourself at home. That gorgeously-dressed lady's maid said that to me."

I can hardly believe it. Is this really happening?

The canopy of the bed had already been raised and folded back. The door into the bedchambers was open. The bed itself was like a small room raised on a platform. Looking around the bedchambers, Suzu hugged herself again.

"Not even Riyou's bedchambers are this fine."

The brocaded bedding was warm yet light. It really was a shame she had slept here in her dirty undershirt. The canopy was woven from two layers of fabric, a beautiful embroidery in sheer silk on the one side and a heavier brocade on the other. On either side of the wide bed was an intricately crafted ebony table. There was a shelf also made from ebony, and an ebony footstool for climbing in and out of the bed. The clothes rack for storing kimono was made of silver.

Suzu gazed absently around the canopy bed and then around the light-filled room beyond the bed. "This is so much nicer than anything Riyou has."

Suzu didn't know it, but it was the finest room in the guest palace. Because her status at the Grotto was unknown, they had treated her as if she were a viscount, the highest status that the servant of a hisen can achieve.

She was blankly taking it all in when the doctor came in. He again respectfully examined Suzu's wounds, treated her, and then with a deep bow, exited the room. On his way out, he passed the lady's maid, who came in to ready her meal.

The utensils were silver. The change of clothes she set out were made of brightly colored silk.

It truly must be all a dream.

"Are you in any pain?" the lady's maid asked her.

Suzu shook her head. "Thank you, but I'm fine."

"If you are feeling well enough, I wish to take you to meet someone."

"I think I'll feel up to it. Who wants to see me?"

The lady's maid bowed her head. "It would seem that the king wishes to meet with you."

Suzu's eye went wide.

I don't believe it, Suzu repeated to herself as the lady's maid led her deep into the Imperial Palace. I'm really going to meet the king.

The king of the Kingdom of Sai was known as the Royal Sai. The king had sat on the throne for not yet twenty years, but was beloved by his subjects because of his righteous rule. Beyond that, Suzu knew nothing about him.

They went through a gate and walked up a flight of stairs. Each building they passed through grew more and more opulent. Ruby pillars and white walls, vividly painted balustrades, windows glazed with crystal glass. The doorknobs were all gold. The floors finished with engraved stone, inlaid here and there with mosaics of china tile.

The lady's maid stopped and opened a large, splendidly carved wooden door. She took one step inside the room and then knelt down and bowed her head to the floor. Suzu stared flabbergasted at her surroundings, and then caught herself and hurriedly copied what the lady's maid was doing.

The lady's maid said, "Forgive my intrusion, but I have brought with me the wizardess of whom we spoke earlier."

Her head bowed, Suzu couldn't see who she was talking to. She listened carefully, steeling herself for the fearful, commanding sound. Instead, she heard a woman's soft voice.

"Thank you. She does seems a young thing."

It was the voice of an older woman. There was no scorn, no bitterness in the voice. Rather, it was an encouraging tone.

"Come over here and sit down."

Suzu timidly lifted her head. They were in a wide, resplendent room. An elderly woman was standing next to a large black desk.

"Um… . " She fumbled for words, not knowing whether to ask, Are you the Royal Sai?

The woman smiled warmly at her. "Please get up. If you've been injured in any way, I wouldn't make you uncomfortable. Tea? Please, here."

She indicated the chair where Suzu was to sit, and then nodded to the attending servants, who arranged the tea set on the table. Suzu apprehensively got to her feet. Instinctively, she raised her hands and laced her fingers together as if in prayer. "Um… are you the Royal Sai? I mean, Your Highness?"

The woman answered affirmatively with a friendly smile.

The Royal Sai's family name was Chuu, her given name Kin, meaning "jewel." The name she had taken as empress was Kouko, meaning "golden mother-in-law."

"I… ah… my… . "

"Don't worry about formalities. Relax. Now, you've come from Suibi Grotto, isn't that right?"

Kouko pulled out the chair for her. Nervously, Suzu sat down on the edge of the seat. "Yes."

"And your name is?"

"Suzu."

"Suzu?"

"Um… I'm a kaikyaku."

Really, Kouko's eyes said, widening. "That is indeed unusual. How did you come to be a wizardess?"

With a disconsolate sigh, Suzu began to recount the story that for ages she had been longing to tell somebody. How she had been swept into this world, the tears spilled in frustration at not being able to comprehend the language. How she met Riyou, the first person who understood her, and begged to be made a wizard.

Kouko listening attentively, with the occasional word urging her to continue.

The mistress of Suibi Grotto had been appointed hisen by a king many generations before. The hisen, as opposed to the chisen, or "wizards of the earth," did not take part in government or help shape the national polity. Rather, their distinguishing characteristic was simply that they were long-lived. There were hisen who served the gods, but for the most part they lived secluded lives.

Hisen wizards were not appointed often. In the end, many tired of eternal life and gave up their place in the Registry of Wizards. Presently in the Kingdom of Sai there were only three hisen, and the whereabouts of two of them were unknown. Wizards who had removed their names from the Registry often just disappeared, and neither hide nor hair of them was seen again.

"So Riyou is the Mistress of Suibi Grotto."

"Yes," Suzu nodded.

"What caused your wounds? Were they inflicted by Riyou?"

In answer to her question, Suzu recounted the events of the previous night. Riyou had ordered her to pick kankin mushrooms. She had encountered Riyou's red tiger at the edge of the cliff. Petrified by the tiger's gaze, she had fallen from the precipice.

"That sounds awful. But are you saying that you were sent out to pick mushrooms in the middle of the night?"

"The Mistress does not care about such things. She wanted mushrooms for breakfast and thought nothing of making such a demand. She hates me anyway." Simply thinking about it now brought tears to her eyes. "She was always telling me that she was going to kick me out and erase my name from the Registry of Wizards. I don't speak the language, so if that happened it would be the same as being struck deaf and dumb."

Kouko looked at the weeping girl. Hisen were not involved with the government so she had never meet Riyou. The government's only obligation in turn was a budget appropriation for the maintenance of the Registry. Hisen didn't meddle in the kingdom's business and the kingdom didn't meddle in theirs. That had been standard operating procedure for ages.

"Well, then, I suppose I could speak with the Mistress of the Grotto. In the meantime, you may stay here and recuperate."

Suzu gazed up at her. "She may be removing my name from the Registry as we speak."

"You needn't worry about it. If such a request is made, that is something I would have to approve. If the Mistress of the Grotto does in fact make such a request, I promise to deny it."

"Really?" Suzu stared earnestly into her face. Kouko answered with a smile. Suzu sighed in relief. She had finally, after such a long, long time, been freed from the constant threat and fear. "Thank you. I am so very, very thankful."

She slid down from the chair and prostrated herself on the floor. After this, she wouldn't have anything to be frightened of ever again.

3-5

The barn and small garden behind the orphanage were covered in snow. The interior of the barn, usually warmed somewhat by the breath of the animals, was quiet and cold. Shoukei stamped her frozen feet to take the chill from her toes.

The snow piled up deeper every day. The villagers had only recently gathered in the town from the outlying hamlets and the air was thick with the lively back and forth of the year's news. Come the new year, however, and by the end of January people would be getting fed up with each other's company. Spending the winter shut up together like this was one long trial. Pent-up feelings got out of hand and petty disputes started breaking out. About the time the bad blood really began to flow it'd be springtime, and everybody would happily return to the countryside, raring to go.

She doesn't have the slightest idea what it feels like.

As she hauled along the feed for the animals, Shoukei cursed the far-off empress of the eastern kingdom.

What it feels like to live the threadbare life of a country bumpkin, wearing clothes reeking with the stench of farm animals, hands so chapped and frostbitten that the skin cracks and bleeds. Sleeping under a freezing blanket in a drafty, clapboard house so cold that in the morning the frost was white on the walls.

I know. And what kind of life are you living?

Silk curtains, scented bedding, a warm room suffused with light, disturbed by not a single errant breeze. Silk hems trailing behind her as she walked along, the obidama jewels in her waistband and tiara sparkling so brightly. Servants at her beck and call, ministers prostrating themselves before her. Her throne resting on a floor paved with gems, the throne and screens carved with an unsurpassed and delicate craftsmanship, inlaid with precious stones and lined with golden bunting and silver rattan.

Ah, yes, those were her father's most sublime treasures. And now she had everything that Shoukei had lost. She was never hungry or cold and never would be. Worshiped by thousands, wielding authority over every official in the land… .

With every step Shoukei took, a hole opened wider in her soul. Her silent imprecations swirled into the maw. At some point, without really noticing it, she had come to believe that everything taken from her had been stolen by the newly-crowned empress of Kei.

Unforgivable.

"Gyokuyou!"

The shrill, jeering voice brought her back to her senses. She blinked, her mind blank. Then she realized that her name was being called. She hurriedly glanced around.

Gobo was standing behind her, staring daggers at her. "How long you going to take divvying up this feed, huh? If you think dawdling around here's going to get you out of helping make breakfast, you've got another thing coming."

"I'm sorry. I just got distracted there for a moment."

"I don't want to hear your excuses!" Gobo grabbed a nearby stick and whacked Shoukei on the legs. "You should be working three or four times as hard as everybody else. You can't make anybody in this town feed you. You have to earn your keep with your own filthy hands."

"Sorry," Shoukei said in a small voice.

She had no choice but to put up with it. Humbly hang her head and it'd blow over sooner or later. She'd learned long ago that it was the only thing she could do. She was waiting for Gobo to spit out a nasty aside and leave when another swift blow with the stick caught her by surprise.

"How about for once you apologize like you really mean it!"

Shoukei fell to her knees and collapsed in the straw, suddenly aware of the fierce pain in her shoulders.

"You think you're getting picked on by some fussy old hag? You give me lip service like that and you think I'm going to let you get away with it?"

"I… . "

Gobo once again swung the stick at her. Shoukei curled into a ball as the fierce blows fell on her back.

"Why do I drag your dead weight around with me? Why is it up to us to put food in your mouth? Why did the children of this orphanage have to lose their parents? Huh? Do you even have the slightest idea?"

Shoukei bit her lip. No matter how she was struck she wouldn't say a word.

"Everything is that Chuutatsu's fault! Your father!"

But that has nothing to do with me, Shoukei cried to herself as she lay on the ground. Ah, but Her Highness, the Royal Kei, knows nothing of this life! Her teeth still clenched together, Shoukei heard a faint voice.

"Is it true?"

She lifted her head. Gobo as well looked back over her shoulder. One of the orphan girls was standing stock still in the doorway of the barn.

"What are you doing here… . "

"You mean, Gyokuyou's father was Chuutatsu? So that means Gyokuyou is the princess royal?" Her eyes crawled over Shoukei. "That means she's Princess Shoukei!"

Gobo was at a loss as to how to answer. Shoukei just stared at the girl. With a start, the girl spun around and ran to the back of the orphanage. "The princess royal is here!" she called out. "The daughter of those killers!"

The children came in a rush. They stared at the dumbstruck Shoukei in amazement. Several of them darted up to her. Shoukei's face went white. Children's voices rang out from the front yard. She soon heard a loud commotion and the sound of more footsteps approaching.

"She's the princess royal?"

"Really?"

The inflamed throng surrounded Shoukei, driving her into the corner of the shed.

"It's true! Gobo said so herself!"

"Is that right, Gobo?"

Their gaze all fell on Gobo. Shoukei gazed beseechingly up at her. They locked eyes for a second. Gobo turned to the assembled crowd.

"Yes, it is."

There followed a moment of silence, and then the jeering cries shook the barn.

Shoukei was dragged from the barn and thrown into the snow.

"Wait… please… . "

As soon as the words came out of her mouth, the blows rained down. She screamed and was sent sprawling.

"Stop!"

The shrill voice rent the air. The realization sank into Shoukei's dazed mind that the voice belonged to Gobo.

"Why should we?"

"Think about it, what do you think she's doing here?"

"What do you mean, what she's doing here?"

"Somebody registered her on the census. And didn't have a bit of trouble doing it. Like I said, think about it! Who could pull off something like that?"

"Who could pull off something like that?" The throng all raised the same question, and then called out the same answer. "The Marquis of Kei!"

The Province Lord of Kei, the commander of the province lords, he who had killed the king.

"If it was him that done it, do you think he'd like it if we beat her to death? The Marquis rescued us from that black bastard. We don't fear the king's henchmen. We don't worry about being dragged off to the gallows. All those odious laws were repealed. The Marquis has given us lives of peace and safety."

"But… . "

"I hate the little princess as well. But if the Marquis chose to save her, I'm not taking it upon myself to do contrariwise. It'd be like spitting in his face. I know how you feel, but you've got to keep it in check."

Now she says so. Shoukei clawed at the snow. "You're telling me this now! When up till now you've done nothing but torment me for your own entertainment!"

A snowball hit her in the nose. Shoukei covered her face with her hands.

"What are you protecting her for, Gobo? You were the one beating on her!"

"That's right! We get to get even with her, too!"

"Listen, you all… . "

"While this bitch was lounging around the palace, my mom and dad was getting murdered!"

Shoukei screamed, "They got punished because they broke the law!" It had always been so. People were always criticizing her parents. But her father didn't execute people because he enjoyed it. "If things are ever going to get better, a kingdom has got to have laws. Otherwise you would all do as you damn well pleased! So of course you're going to get punished! You just resent the people that made the laws because you got caught! If nobody was afraid of being punished, nobody would obey the law in the first place!"

Another snowball came flying at her. Shoukei crouched down as the hard balls of ice pelted her one after another.

"So it's okay to kill people then?"

"Just because they get sick and can't work?"

"We had to leave the fields before the harvest to take care of my parents. That's reason enough to cut off their heads?"

"I don't know about any of this!" Shoukei yelled. "It's not my fault! I don't know what my father did! All I saw was what he let me to see!"

They grabbed her and bound her and threw her into the town jail and left her there. After sundown, Gobo came to see her.

"I brought charcoal," she said. "Don't want you to freeze to death."

Shoukei sat back against the cold wall. "I'd rather freeze to death."

"You will soon enough. Right now they're deciding what to do with you."

"Feeling sorry for me, are you? It really is too late in the day for that."

Gobo gave her a cold look. "I don't feel sorry for you. I just don't want to do wrong by the Marquis."

Shoukei snorted. "Gekkei! That jackal!"

"Enough!" Gobo said in a resolute voice.

Shoukei haughtily raised her head in turn. "Overthrowing the king and sitting yourself on the throne without the Mandate of Heaven, that is regicide. No matter how you try to pretty it up." The horrible images from that day welled up in her mind's eyes. "He killed my father. And even that wasn't enough. My mother, too. And Hourin! Gekkei is a traitor. He slaughtered the king and kirin and stole the throne."

"Really?" Gobo murmured to herself. "So the king and queen were executed in front of you?"

"He's a traitor! Don't you know anything?"

Even if she did, the hard expression on her face didn't change. "What I know is that you are rotten to the marrow of your bones."

"What are you… . "

"The Marquis can't take the throne for himself. He lives at the provincial capital. Just because you're a shameless little hussy doesn't mean that everybody else is as self-centered as you. But if that's what really happened to you, then curse all you want. You won't be able to after not too long."

"But of course, you're going to kill me no matter what I say." When Gobo turned her back to her, Shoukei continued to glare at her. Bring it on, then. I'm getting tired of you all.

Gobo said, "It looks like the townspeople aren't coming to their senses, no matter what I say. They're talking about having you drawn and quartered."

Shoukei rose to her feet. "Hold on. They're what?"

Gobo shut the door, abruptly cutting off the light. "Drawn and quartered, you mean?"

It meant tying her arms to a pair of stakes and her legs to two ox carts and then tearing her body in pieces. The most barbaric of all punishments.

Shoukei screamed, but there was no one to hear her. In the freezing darkness of the cell, the only light came from the red glow of the coals in the brazier.

3-6

It's all a bad dream, Shoukei thought as she was dragged from the cell. All lies, just more of Gobo's hate at her expense, she told herself over and over. She was taken to the public square in front of the Rishi. The blood froze in her veins.

"It can't be."

The square was lined with people. She saw outsiders there as well. At the center of the wall of people a patch of ground was cleared of snow. Two stakes had been pounded into the earth and two ox carts awaited her.

She looked up at the two men holding her arms. "You're kidding, right? You're not really doing this, right?"

"Oh, getting scared, are you?" one of the men sneered. "But your father did it so often."

The other man gave her a twisted smile. "You should be overjoyed to go out the way your daddy loved the best. Daddy must be dancing in heaven, watching his little girl get her own moment on the stage."

"No… . "

Shoukei did everything she could to keep stop her forward progress. She planted her feet, resisted with all her might as they pulled her along, slumped to the ground and writhed to get free of their grasp, and all to no avail.

"Stop, please."

"Quit your whining!" the man spat at her. "This is how my wife was killed!"

All she had done, he lamented, was wear a hairpin on a visit to a neighboring town. He yanked her as if to jerk her arms out of their sockets. "Giving you a taste of your own medicine doesn't quite make up for it, but it's all we got. It'll have to do."

"No! Please."

She saw no pity in the faces of the townspeople. With no hope of rescue, she was pulled down and pinned to the ground. She screamed and wept but these men had not a drop of compassion in them. She folded her arms and drew her knees to her chest. They pulled her arms out and fastened a leather strap around each wrist, turned her face up and stretched out her body and bound her arms to the stakes.

Her eyes wide and searching for help, the dull, overcast sky reflected the empty look on her face. She kicked her legs against the earth. Somebody grabbed her legs. She felt the leather cord being wrapped around her ankles and screamed. She was rendered immobile, literally frozen to the ground.

This can't be happening. Something so dreadful couldn't be happening to her. Her legs were bound with the leather cord. The cord was pulled back and tightened, spreading her legs apart.

Into the corner of her fixed gaze floated a black stain. Ah, a premonition of death. I should want to die before my body is torn in two.

Her jaw was wrenched open and a rag was stuffed into her mouth to deny her the easy out of swallowing her tongue. In her line of vision, the black stain grew larger.

The cord tied to her legs was fastened to the carts. The stain spreading across the sky grew a magnitude larger. Suddenly, she saw a man's face leaning over her.

She saw something red in the midst of the black. A crimson red. No, it was a flag.

An ensign.

And then she recognized the shape of the black stain. It was the silhouette of a bird. A great bird with three wings. Swooping down at them. And the silhouette of a rider astride it. The rider bore the red flag. Shoukei recognized the constellation of stars and two tigers on the flag.

Shoukei shut her eyes. Tears squeezed out of the corners of her eyes and froze to her temples.

The flag was the ensign of the provincial guard of Kei.

At the sight of the flag, the people crowded into the square caught their collective breath.

A few more minutes and the years of bitterness would have been revenged. Their families murdered in front of them, decapitated, and unable to do anything to save them. Denied even to bury the remains until the appointed time had passed. All that grief and resentment.

The you-bird alighted in the square.

"Halt!" the guardsman called out.

Why? sighed many of the people there. Why should he show up now? They looked around for Gobo. She had opposed the execution to the end. They could only imagine that she had informed on them. But Gobo was nowhere to be seen.

The soldier dismounted from the bird. He wore armor and fleece. "Lynching is expressly forbidden!"

But why? The disappointed voices swirled about the square.

The soldier surveyed the scene. He wore the insignia of a provincial general. He held up his arm, signaling the crowd to be quiet. Two more birds descended and landed. The soldiers dismounted and ran into the square to free the bound girl.

"I understand what you are feeling. But this is not according to the wishes of the Marquis."

The murmurs of disappointment and disapproval welled up again. Looking out at them, the general could hear the pain in their voices. The people still held the late King Chuutatsu in nothing but raw contempt.

An official famous for his honesty and forthrightness, who ferreted out corrupt bureaucrats in high places and would forgive no subordinate who took a bribe--that official's name was Chuutatsu. When he had been chosen as king, the government had, by and large, rejoiced. He would restore the kingdom, rotting under the rule of previous kings.

However, the laws promulgated in order to stem the decay did not accomplish what Chuutatsu had hoped for. More laws were passed, statutes multiplied, and hardly before anyone knew it, there were regulations covering everybody from commoner to minister, and everything from what you wore to the utensils you ate with. And to these regulations were attached harsh penalties.

Laws must be enforced without sentiment. This saying of Chuutatsu was, on the face of it, correct. If pity and compassion were allowed to distort the enforcement of the law, the law would become powerless. The number of people being punished grew alarmingly. This grieved Chuutatsu and he made the penalties even harsher. If ever a voice was raised in protest, a law was passed and that voice was silenced. And so the bodies of the executed criminals piled up in the town squares.

In the year that Chuutatsu had been deposed, in that year alone, three-hundred thousand people were executed. Since his enthronement, the total had reached almost six-hundred thousand, or one person in five.

"I well understand your bitterness, and so does the Marquis. That is why he dared to sully his own name and struck Chuutatsu down."

After spurring the province lords to commit regicide, Gekkei withdrew to the provincial capital and retired from politics. The province lords and ministers took up the reins of government, but Gekkei would not participate.

"When the people take it upon themselves to pass judgements and exact punishments according to their own interests, then the law becomes an ass. No matter how deep your indignation, you cannot trifle with the law, declare to your own satisfaction what is a sin and what is not, and avenge wrongs without proper authority."

But, came the cries. The man once again held up his hand.

"The fate of the princess royal has already been settled by the lords and ministers. Whatever objections you may have with this judgement, taking the law into your own hands cannot be condoned. If smiled upon even once, the rumors would race from this place like a wildfire. You are not the only ones with grievances to settle. The princess royal is not the only person so loathed. You know how the executioners have all hidden themselves away for fear of being lynched. More than the most cruel punishments, this kind of retribution would eat our kingdom alive. I am asking you to please consider the fate of our kingdom and act prudently."

He gazed out at the bowed heads. "We shall protect our kingdom and deliver it to the new king without shame or regret. How can we expect enlightened rule from our future king if we hand over to him a kingdom ravaged by revenge? The province lords and ministers are all working toward that end, and we all ask for your support in doing so."

The girl was bundled onto the you-bird's back. Silence descended on the square, a silence soon swept away by sound of weeping.