The Twelve Kingdoms: The Shore in Twilight

aren't glazed. There never seem to be enough down or furs. Or rather, nothing else of equal weight that can take their place. The people of the north drape themselves in cotton, and huddle together until spring."
    "Oh," Risai said simply.
    "Of course, charcoal by itself doesn't make the sole difference between living and dying. In the dead of winter, they can venture into the countryside and harvest wild tubers. The winters in Kei are not so fierce as to bring people to the brink of death. I can't talk of the winters in Tai in the same breath. But I wish to lessen their suffering."
    "Of course."
    "I've heard that though the former king of Tai exhausted the storehouses, he left the government in fair condition. Keiki says that the provisional court was ruled with a similar degree of competence. Kei was quite the opposite. The misrule of the former Empress has been replaced by an Empress frankly not that much better. The bounties of the land have yet to accumulate. During the reign of the former Empress, the ministers turned to tyranny and oppressed the people. Like that governor I told you about. The evil-doers ran rampant and still have not all been purged. Furthermore, after the former Empress died, a pretender arose and laid waste to the Kingdom. Kei has only begun to resurrect itself. Right now, those citizens residing in the cities have yet to experience the good times they deserve. A country like Kei that is constantly in chaos will know nothing but poverty."
    "Yes," Risai said.
    "I feel sorry for all of them--" Youko spoke in low, strained tones, a quaver in her voice. "And I feel sorry for the people of Tai. Tai is in even worse straits than Kei. More than the severity of the seasons, the natural disasters and the oppressive rule of the pretender must make for suffering I cannot imagine. The pretender must be eliminated and the rightful King and Taiho restored to the capital. I--"
    Risai reached out with her remaining hand and grasped the hand of the Royal Kei. "And beyond that, what? You cannot mobilize your troops. The Royal Kei cannot command her soldiers to breach the borders of another Kingdom. It is a sin that would surely destroy Kei."
    "Risai."
    "Please forgive me. I was so caught up in my feelings for Tai that I have contemplated unpardonable sins. But you cannot do this. You are the Empress of Kei. You cannot pity the people of Tai at the expense of your own subjects."
    Kaei, you were right. And yet she sensed great strength in the hand holding hers.
    "I will not let Tai go by the wayside. I will do whatever I can do. I intend to press the Royal En to do whatever he can. However, if the task ahead should exceed my abilities, please understand. I cannot ask the people of Kei, who have not yet experienced a happy era of their own, to resign themselves to another era of chaos."
    "Your reassurances are more than enough."
    Risai smiled. In her heart she wanted to plead: Don't abandon us. But she couldn't. The person before her was the Empress of Kei. Risai could not do anything that might take her away from her people.

Chapter 25
    W hen Youko left the anteroom adjoining Risai's bedroom, she observed three shadows in the promenade facing the inner courtyard. One big, one small, one in-between.
    "What are you guys doing here?"
    The one closest sprang to her feet like a marionette whose string had been given a hard yank. "Youko, what were you and Risai talking about in there? You didn't really--"
    "Shoukei, what are you doing here at this time of night?"
    "Suzu called me. We've been looking for you high and low. The word was that you showed up, ordered everybody out, and went into her room. What were you discussing? You didn't promise her anything--"
    "I did."
    Shoukei audibly caught her breath. Sitting at her feet, Suzu only hung her head.
    "Don't you understand what that means?"
    "Sure. That's why I promised I would do as much as I could and no more."
    Shoukei heaved a big sigh and sat down on the spot. "Don't do that! You just about gave me a heart attack."
    Suzu gave Shoukei a surprised look. "I told you Youko wouldn't do anything stupid like abandon Kei."
    "Did I really look like I wasn't playing with a full deck? C'mon." Youko grinned and punched Shoukei playfully on the shoulder. Such prevarications aside, she was glad they hadn't called out the cavalry and barged into the bedroom.
    "And what say you, Koshou?"
    In response to Youko's inquiry, the big man made a good attempt at curling into a little