The Twelve Kingdoms: A Thousand Leagues of Wind

mountain, but when you are practically immortal and never age, there are few people you can really bond with. She could count on the fingers of one hand the people she really knew, and all of them were wizards, too. She was setting off from the grotto to visit one of them
    Suibi Peak looked down on the distant world below. No human being could scale the bottomless cliffs to the entrance of the grotto. Riyou took up the reins of her flying tiger. The tiger's name was Setsuko, another present from the late King Fuou. With her flying tiger, she could come and go from her front doorstep. There were tunnels through which you could descend the mountain by foot or on horseback, but the idea of sneaking out through secret passageways where the sun never shone was an affront to her dignity.
    "Please come back soon."
    Her servants lined up at the entranceway to the grotto to see her off. They knelt on the ground and bowed low together, their breath puffing pale white in the clear fall air. Looking over the scene, Riyou narrowed her eyes slightly. There were twelve of them altogether.
    "You're always in awfully good spirits whenever I go somewhere." A sardonic smile came to her lips. "Must you be so happy to see me go? Well, I suppose this bothersome old cat being away gives the mice more room to play."
    Riyou chuckled to herself. Her servants didn't answer, hunched over like birds huddled against a winter wind. Riyou's eyes fell on a girl. Aside from her being the youngest of the servants, there was nothing exceptional about her. Her name was Mokurin, though Riyou never addressed her by that name.
    "If you don't wish me to return, well, why not be honest about it? Wouldn't you say, Honma? "
    Jackass, the nickname meant. Riyou addressed her with a sneer on her ruby red lips. The girl hesitantly raised her eyes, eyes that seemed overly large on her thin face. Riyou's smile reflected in those large eyes. "You really don't want me to come back, do you?"
    The girl shook her head as if offended by the very thought. "All of us humbly await your return. Please . . . please take care."
    "Well, with or without your blessing, I should be back within a fortnight. Are you saying you'd like me to return sooner?"
    The girl glanced around, as if confused by the question. "Yes," she said, casting a frightened look up at Riyou's face.
    Riyou laughed out loud. "But of course. That being the case, I'll hurry back as quickly as possible. I'm sure you'll want to do all you can to make my homecoming a pleasant one."
    "Yes. Of course."
    With that, Riyou turned to the rest of the servants. "Then why not brew me some gyokkou stones? Oh, and let's make things tidy around here, shall we? And tend to the gardens."
    The girl's complexion changed. Gyokkou were stones created on the Five Sacred Mountains at the very center of the world. These stones contained magical powers, which, when brewed, created a kind of mystic wine. These were not stones you simply picked up and carried home with you.
    "What's this? You'll be eagerly waiting to greet me with open arms, will you not? And how about some roasted proverb fish and simmered jewel grass? There should be a scrap or two around here somewhere. Though I'm not aware of a single wilted leaf left in the garden."
    Riyou smirked, knowing full well the absurdity of her demands. "While you're at it, another coat of paint on the walls and pillars. A freshly-painted home, nothing would please me more. And only because Honma was thoughtful enough to ask."
    The girl looked nervously around at the others. None of them raised their heads.
    Gazing down at them, Riyou adjusted her ermine coat and picked up the reins. "Well, don't you work too hard, now. I am a forgiving taskmaster. I'm not going to scold anybody for letting their hair down a little. While I'm out, I leave everything in your capable hands."
    "As you wish." The servants scraped their foreheads against the ground, as did the girl, who looked about ready to cry.
    Riyou climbed onto Setsuko. With a shout of laughter, the flying tiger leapt from the entranceway and down into the wintry desolation of the world below.

    The servants raised their heads and watched Setsuko sail out of sight to the north. As one, they looked over their shoulders at the girl.
    "You had to go and open your big mouth!"
    "Don't you know when to put a cork in it?"
    "A laundry list of impossibilities! Honma sowed this mess, and now she can reap it!"
    "How about we send the little witch to