The Twelve Kingdoms: Shadow of the Moon

screens inside the doors. The personage who appeared from behind them was a golden-haired boy of twelve or thirteen.
    "How are things going?"
    "As expected, they don't seem to have ascended yet to the Imperial Palace. Interesting guests you have."
    "Actually, they're not my guests. They're yours."
    "Mine? Never met them before." The boy scowled and turned to Youko and Rakushun. "So, what's with you two?"
    "Now, now, you can be nicer than that."
    "You know what it means to mind your own business?"
    "You're going to regret it."
    "So, you finally decided to get yourself a better half, huh?"
    "I'm not kidding."
    "Your mother, then?"
    "And if she is neither my wife nor my mother, will you remember your manners, then?" The En sighed and turned to the dumbfounded Youko. "I'm sorry, but this is Enki, an incorrigible little cuss. And Rokuta," he said, addressing Enki, "this is her Royal Highness, the Empress of Kei."
    Enki gulped audibly, took a very big step backwards and peered up at her. Youko tried but couldn't help herself and burst into laugher. It was perhaps the first time she had truly laughed out loud since crossing the Kyokai.
    "You should have said so in the first place! What a bastard!"
    "Takes one to know one," the En said. "Her companion is Sir Rakushun." He grew more serious. "How are things in Kei?"
    The boy sobered up as well. "It looks like Ki Province has already fallen."
    Rakushun wrote out the character for "Ki." Even though everything was automatically translated for her, she still had to attend to how things were written. The spoken language wasn't a problem, but that alone wasn't enough to make her literate.
    "Only the northern province of Baku remains. Joei resides in Sei Province, as she has all along. Her armies have grown such that the Imperial Army dare not cross swords with them."
    Rakushun wrote "Imperial Army" using the characters, The Royal Masters of War.
    "The pretender's army is advancing on Baku Province. The Marquis of Baku has three thousand soldiers under his command. He can't hold out for long. It's only a matter of time." He sat himself down on top of the table and helped himself to some fruit. "So where'd you find the Royal Kei, anyway?"
    The En gave him the abridged version. Enki listened silently and then leaned forward and said with sullen expression, "What kind of fool would sent a kirin to attack a human?"
    "For the time being, we can leave aside the question of who is pulling the strings. But we've got to get Keiki back."
    "The sooner the better. Once they realize the Royal Kei is here, they may kill him."
    "Excuse me," Youko interrupted. "But I don't understand any of this."
    The En raised an inquisitive eyebrow.
    "Look, I was brought here totally in the dark. The Royal En says I'm the Empress of Kei, so I guess it must be true. Just as it's true that some king somewhere obviously wants me dead. But I never wanted to be the Royal Kei. I didn't reach out to you hoping you'd recognize me as the Royal Kei, or anything. I don't much care for getting chased around by youma, and I didn't particularly enjoy getting chased around by those soldiers in Kou, either. The only reason I'm here is to ask The Royal En for a way to get back to Japan. That's it."
    The En and Enki looked at each other. For a while, everybody was silent. Then the En spoke up.
    "Youko, have a seat."
    "I . . . . "
    "Sit down. There's something I'd like you to hear, and it's going to take a while."

Chapter 59
    T he En stared off into space for a moment. Then he said, "There are people and there are kingdoms. So it stands to reason that there must be people to govern those kingdoms, wouldn't you say?"
    "Yes."
    "This palace is where the king resides. The king administers the affairs of state. As this responsibility falls upon the shoulders of the king, he must administer the government in accordance with the wishes of the people. Of course, power corrupts, and ofttimes the king ends up oppressing his subjects. I'm not saying that all rulers are by definition bad. But from the time the king takes up the reins of power, he is no longer an ordinary person. And what he knows of being an ordinary person slips away."
    "I've heard it said that the Royal En is an enlightened monarch."
    The En smiled wryly. "I wouldn't go that far. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. The point is, when kings oppress their subjects, what recourse do the people have?"
    "There's always democracy," Enki interjected. "The people choose a king to