The Twelve Kingdoms: A Thousand Leagues of Wind

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.

Chapter 15
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