The Twelve Kingdoms: The Shore in Twilight

eyes filling with evident surprise.
    "I know that what I am asking of the Empress of Kei is well beyond the bounds of reason. But we are already--"
    Risai choked off the rest of the sentence. The Kingdom of Tai floated in the midst of the Kyokai, isolated off its northeast coast from the rest of the continent. It was a cold country, completely frozen over during the winter. But there remained the people of Tai. Six years before a new king had ascended the throne. Then, not long after the onset of the New Year, he was lost.
    Without the king to intercede, the divine protection of Heaven was lost as well. Tai became an island jail, beset by calamities and harried by youma.
    "The people of Tai lack the means to save themselves. Youma multiply along the coasts. Fleeing the country has become impossible. Nothing can survive in Tai."
    All the rage and grief stored in her heart for so long burst forth and lodged in her throat in a cold, hard mass, choking off her breath.
    "The king was driven from the palace by treasonous rebels. No one knows where he and the Taiho now are or how they are faring." Risai flung herself at Youko's feet, pressing her forehead to the floor. "The Hakuchi has not fallen from his roost!"
    The king was not dead, the fate of Tai not yet sealed.
    "Please--" But there was no air left in her lungs. She tried to inhale. Her throat clamped shut. Her breath whistled uselessly from her mouth. Black spots bloomed ominously before her eyes, swelling and plunging her into total darkness. All she could hear was the sharp buzzing in her ears.
    Please help us, she intended to say. She could not be certain whether the words left her mouth.

Chapter 4
    Risai's ears were still ringing.
    No, she thought, it was the sound of the wind. The freezing winter wind of Tai whistled outside the door. This winter had been unusually harsh. The strong, swirling gusts cut through the body like cold, sharp knives. Exposed to the moaning, howling wind, the trees and mountains and rivers froze solid white.
    The rivers iced over and the snow piled up. Drifts accumulated on the roads and highways, covering the hard ground beneath a frigid blanket. Strong winds scoured the surface, whipping up biting curtains of white.
    Orphaned from the continent, the Kingdom of Tai sat alone in the Kyokai. During the winter, stabbing winds blew in from the northern seas. The towns and hamlets crouched beneath the snow, the windows and doors of the houses boarded shut.
    In the small spaces within, separated from the outside air by layer upon layer of protection, glowed a small, warm fire. The people huddled together, shoulder to shoulder, sharing that small portion of the warmth--small indeed compared to the weather outside--among each other.
    The flames of the fire, the mutual body heat, the steam rising from the kettle on the brazier--these too were freely shared with the shivering stranger who ducked in from the snow-covered roads. Though harsh and demanding, Tai winters were also filled with warmth.
    And sometimes they took on the shape and form of brightly-colored flowers, Risai thought as she observed the figure of a child bounding towards her.
    "Risai, here--" he said, handing her a bunch of red and yellow flowers.
    In the cool room, barely illuminated by the weak rays of the sun, the flowers were like bright, warm candles. The sound of the wind coursed through the walls. The Tai winter had just begun, so the mountains and fields were only thinly dusted with snow.
    Such brilliant flowers could hardly be expected to bloom this time of year. Surprised, Risai turned to her benefactor. The smile of the child grasping a bouquet of flowers bigger than his own face was brighter and warmer than the flowers themselves.
    "Congratulations. I was so happy to hear you'd be promoted to a general of the Provincial Guard." Relating this news with his beaming smile was Taiki. He was still ten years old at the time.
    "These are for me?"
    "Of course. I asked Gyousou-sama for them and he got them for me," the young Saiho said with a bashful nod. "Back in Yamato, where I'm from, we give people flowers in celebration. I was told it's not really done here, but I wanted to give Risai a bouquet. Since you've barely moved in, I thought the flowers would look all the nicer."
    "Well--" smiled Risai.
    They were sitting in the parlor of her brand new official residence. Only a month had passed since the enthronement of the new King, Gyousou. Risai was appointed general of