The Twelve Kingdoms: A Thousand Leagues of Wind

And still did. In an honest moment, he would admit that he found the similarities disconcerting.
    "But they've turned out differently."
    Even if only in small ways, Youko and Yo-ou were different. He could tell from the way Youko battled her personal demons. Like Yo-ou, Youko recoiled from dealing with the ministers and abhorred the throne. But Youko recognized those tendencies within herself. She had begun to take measures to overcome them. That was the biggest difference between them.
    "Hankyo!" Keiki called to his shirei.
    "Yes," came the reply from the shadows at his feet.
    "Accompany the Empress and protect her. Make sure no harm befalls her. She is the one jewel that Kei cannot afford to lose."

Part V
    he Kingdom of Kyou is located to the southeast of the Kingdom of Hou. The Kyokai separates the two kingdoms. The strait between Hou and Kyou is also called the Kenkai, but is more generally referred to as the Kyokai as well. After all, you can't see Kyou from Hou, and for those who dwell along the shores, Kyokai or Kenkai, it is six of one, a half dozen of the other.

    Shoukei was escorted by ten flying cavalry from the Kei provincial guard. As they headed toward Kyou, she again thought of her home country. There was of course sea traffic between the two kingdoms, but the crossing took three days. For the first time in her life, it struck her that, floating there in the Kyokai, Hou was itself like a winter-bound city, shut off from the rest of the world.
    The species of you -creatures capable of flight were limited in number. As they must also conform somewhat to the disposition of a horse in order to be ridden, this restricted their kind even more. The primary you -creatures employed were striped rokushoku, or Szechwan deer, and they were definitely not beasts of burden. You had to ride on their backs. Shoukei was allowed use of a rokushoku, and, surrounded by the flying knights of the cavalry, headed to Kyou.
    It was an uneventful trip. On the way there, they spent a night at a city on the shores of Hou and a night at a city on the shores of Kyou. After three days, they arrived at Soufuu Palace in Renshou, capital of Kyou.
    The Royal Kyou, Empress of Soufuu Palace, had ruled for ninety years. Shoukei didn't know anything more about her than that. Hou had not enjoyed productive diplomatic relations with other kingdoms. On the occasion of her father Chuutatsu's coronation, envoys from Ryuu, Kyou and Han, the three nearest kingdoms, had come bearing congratulations, but from the start he rarely discoursed with the rulers of other kingdoms.
    Shoukei and her escorts were shown by the palace officials into the Gaiden. Passing through the gates, Shoukei cast a painful look at the resplendent buildings.
    I've got no reason to be a shrinking violet, now.
    She had lived in the imperial palace, after all. Even reminding herself of this fact, she felt herself shrink. Part of it was being in the palace of a foreign potentate. The other part was, as always, shame at her slovenly appearance.
    The officials who greeted them and accompanied them into the palace regarded Shoukei suspiciously. She hung her head, knowing she undoubtedly looked like some lost flower girl from the wrong side of town.
    No, she thought as they walked down the polished black granite hallways, she was more wretched than any other flower girl of Kyou. Kyou was a wealthier country than Hou. She could tell that by what she had seen so far of Soufuu Palace. The city was beautifully arrayed. Hoso, the capital of Hou, looked like a one horse town in comparison.
    Entering the Gaiden, she felt too miserable to raise her head. After shooting her a look, the envoy with her knelt down and proceeded forward on his knees, bowing low with his head touching the floor. Shoukei took his glance to mean that she was to do the same. Kowtowing like this only made her feel more miserable. It wasn't right that she had to humble herself like this. It should be enough to kneel. She was the princess royal, after all.
    The envoy ceremoniously unfurled the decree from Gekkei and proclaimed his greeting. "The Marquis of Kei, together with all his retainers, humbly and with gratitude thanks the Royal Kyou for her great generosity in taking into custody the person of the princess royal."
    Somebody chuckled. The Royal Kyou, Shoukei realized, catching her breath.
    "Oh, it was nothing," she said. "We're neighbors, after all."
    Shoukei opened her eyes and looked down at the floor. It