The Twelve Kingdoms: A Thousand Leagues of Wind

Kakugo. It must strike you as quite odd that I should be granted an audience with the Empress."
    "Of course it must!"
    Shoukei bore down on him with her words. "My name is Shoukei, daughter of the Royal Hou, Emperor of the Kingdom of Hou. Do you think it odd that the Princess Royal of one kingdom should be granted an audience with the Empress of another? If you have any doubts as to the legitimacy of this my claim, then you may inquire of Gekkei, Province Lord of Kei. Ask him if he knows the Princess Royal of Hou, whose full name is Son Shou."
    Kakugo and Koshou and the rest of them stared at her, opened-mouthed.
    "My father recently passed away. I entreated with the Royal Kei and was invited to the Kingdom of Kei. The Royal Kei requested that I sojourn in Wa Province in order to ascertain the state of affairs here and report back to her. Through a strange set of connections, I ended up helping out Koshou here. But the Royal Kei is aware of all of this. She wishes to take this opportunity to arrest Seikyou. I can promise you that the Empress would not be pleased to hear you blaming Koshou and carrying on like rats deserting a sinking ship."
    "This is nonsense!" Kakugo's face clearly showed his disbelief.
    Suzu reached into her pocket. "Kakugo, read this."
    Kakugo took the item the girl was holding up. It was obviously a passport. So? his expression said, and Suzu told him to look on the other side. Kakugo turned it over and visibly stiffened.
    A seal in red and India ink. No, an Imperial Seal.
    "In the Kingdom of Sai, I served Mistress Suibi on Mt. Ha. Having received permission from the Royal Sai herself, I set forth to the Kingdom of Kei to visit the Royal Kei. If you wish to confirm this, please direct any questions to Choukan Palace. That is, only if you doubt the veracity of this Imperial Seal."
    Kakugo looked back and forth between the passport and the two girls. The girls smiled back at him. "Believe in the Royal Kei and wait. There is no way she will think the worse of you for doing so."

    "You're a scary pair, you two," said Koshou, examining Suzu's passport. He handed it back to her and stared into her eyes. "What you just said, was that all true?"
    Kakugo and his entourage had already agreed to wait and left the tower. The rumors were racing through the city, and if only in the slightest, the sense of fear and dread had begun to abate.
    Suzu and Shoukei glanced at each other. Shoukei answered with a shrug. "As long as they believe it's true, it's true. The end results will not lie."
    Koshou leaned forward quizzically. Shoukei waved her hand back and forth. "I don't really know if the Imperial Army will attack or not. But the air cavalry has not arrived, and no attack has come thus far, so I have no reason to believe I'm mistaken. What we must do is trust in the Royal Kei and wait. That is no lie. That is the complete truth."
    "Okay, then!" Koshou slapped his knees. "Maybe it's one chance in a thousand, but we'll hold our positions along the walls."
    "Koshou!" Suzu and Shoukei said together.
    "I believe you two. We'll wait until the Royal Kei and her entourage arrives."
    "Good." Shoukei sighed and looked out at the city. When she turned back to the Horse Gate, her eyes widened in surprise. "Suzu!"
    "What?" Suzu came running.
    Shoukei pointed out the window. "There!"
    Koshou and the rest of them piled up next to the window. "It can't be!"

    Everybody in the city was on pins and needles. The anxiety could be tasted in the air. The Imperial Army was fearsome. But so were the rebels. Those who wished it all to end feared an attack by the Imperial Army, and feared as well the retribution that would follow. Those who wished to flee feared reprisals by the rebels. In the end, they feared doing anything at all, the consequence of Takuhou being ruled for so long by the likes of Shoukou.
    All the day long they looked up with apprehension at the walls. As long as there was no great commotion along the wall walks, then they could reassure themselves that things were fine for the time being.
    A woman looked up at the walls for the umpteenth time, and her mouth dropped open in amazement.
    "Look!"
    Reacting to the sound of her voice, those around her looked as well. Along with the woman, their mouths opened and their eyes went wide with surprise.

Chapter 77
    Y ouko gazed from the guard tower at the surrounding countryside. She could clearly see the growing number of military units pitching camp among the hillocks