The Twelve Kingdoms: A Thousand Leagues of Wind

little life with no idea where the food came from to fill your dirty little mouth? From the people of this village, that's where from! Who, despite all the burdens laid upon their backs, kept their shoulders to the wheel and put in one honest day's work after another."
    "I'm telling you, I didn't know about any of this!'
    "To think, all that work to feed the likes of you!"
    A sharp stab of pain brought Shoukei back to her senses. She'd nicked her finger on one of the teeth of the sickle. "Ow," she said. There was pain in her heart as well as her finger. "I really didn't know what was going on."
    Gobo made no bones about hating her. The other children in the orphanage and the people in the village seemed to dislike her as a matter of course. She had to work three times as hard as the other children, she was always the last one done, and everybody called her stupid.
    "What did I ever do to them?"
    She really hadn't known. Her father and mother had never granted her an audience at the Imperial Court. They never let her leave the palace. There had been no way for her to find out what kind of place the kingdom was.

    It took her three trips to haul the bales of maiden grass. By the time she was finally done, long shadows were falling across the road. Dinnertime at the orphanage was over.
    "Where have you been, coming in at this hour?"
    The snickers of the other girls at the orphanage fell upon her ears. Gobo looked at her with cold eyes. "Like I said, if you didn't get back in time, there's no dinner for you."
    Shoukei bit her lip. Three years had passed since coming to live here. She'd learned to endure her impoverished circumstances, her humble attire. But one thing she'd never do was beg for a bite to eat.
    "That's the way it goes for silly slowpokes like Gyokuyou."
    "Everybody knows what a freeloader she is."
    The slanders ringing in her ears, Shoukei dragged herself out of the dining hall.
    The courtyard was bathed in the light of the harvest moon. The children were divided up among the rooms on either side of the courtyard, girls on one side, boys on the other. Shoukei lived with the rest of the girls in the chambers on the right side of the courtyard. This short period of time before the others returned to their rooms constituted the few moments of relaxation she had to herself.
    Shoukei looked at the row of crude beds, the small tables and creaky chairs, and closed her eyes.
    It's all like a dream.
    At the palace, she had been given the run of a building in one of the wings, albeit a small one. A big, luxurious bed. Many, many rooms. A garden bathed in sunlight where flowers bloomed and birds sang. Ladies-in-waiting, musicians and dancers at her disposal. Silk dresses and jewelry. Her playmates were the bright and graceful daughters of lords and ministers.
    She slipped under the thin futon. The futon was damp and cool. The cold season was coming to the northern part of the country.
    Her parents had been slaughtered, their heads tumbled from their bodies. That butcher Gekkei had done it. Rather than consign her to this miserable existence, why hadn't he killed her as well? Because he wanted her to live on in torment.
    Shoukei closed her eyes.
    It'd be fine with her if she never woke up again.

Chapter 5
    I n the southwest quadrant of the world is the Kingdom of Sai. In the province of Ho and the shire of Jin, there is a mountain that reaches beyond the clouds. It is called Mount Ha.

    On that mountain are located the palaces of the king and the province lords. Aside from these buildings, all of the encompassing land up to the base of the mountain is deemed the Imperial Gardens. Everything belongs to the king. The king's gardens, the king's villa, the king's mausoleum. However, Mount Ha itself was given to a woman by a king who had ruled many generations before. The woman who received this enfeoffment established her residence on the side of the mountain near the summit. It is known as Suibidou, the Cave of Delicate Green.
    The woman who lives there is a wizard. Also according to the decree of this king--his posthumous name is Fuou--she had been invested as a wizard. The grotto, or wizard's den, is on Suibi Peak on Mount Ha. She is therefore known as Lady Suibi. Her given name is Riyou. She had been the favorite mistress of King Fuou.

    It was daybreak. Riyou stood in the entranceway to the grotto. Though she had servants, her life there was a lonely one. She sought out human companionship in the cities near the