The Twelve Kingdoms: The Shore in Twilight

believe the good-hearted Royal En will take care of them."
    "Youko!"
    "Oh, and that reminds me. I think it'd be better to have a contingent of the Imperial Guard organize the refugees in wagon trains and safely escort them to the En border."
    Illustration
    "That's a good idea."
    "The debtor wouldn't be trying to out-bluff the debtee, would she?" objected Shouryuu.
    "The same goes for you too," Youko said with a wry smile. "En is the only one of the northern kingdoms that enjoys both wealth and stability. Whenever anything happens in this hemisphere, even if the people stay where they are, they turn to En for help. If Tai goes to the dogs, it's a sure bet that, before long, the entire population will grab anything that floats and head for En. The youma and the Kyokai may stand in their way, but that will soon be their only option."
    Youko looked down at her hands. There was no avoiding the fact of how small her hands were.
    "Kei is hardly in the position to be looking after the affairs of other kingdoms. We have yet to restore our own fortunes. Even after we turn the corner, shake us upside down by the ankles and we still wouldn't have any surplus to share. But I can't stand by while Tai wastes away. The fate that awaits the people of Tai is the same one that awaits the people of Kei."
    "The people of Kei?"
    "Nobody lives forever. Nobody reigns forever. I intend to restore Kei to her rightful place. But I can't know for certain if I'll be able to accomplish that goal. There's no guarantee I won't stray from the Way before I can make it happen. And when I'm gone, what becomes of my people? Everything comes down to how we treat Tai now."
    Youko turned to her retainers: Keiki, Koukan, and Enho. "I'm sure you are asking yourselves, here we are treading water, and yet we throw our remaining life vests to Tai? I'm fully aware of these feelings. Yet I also feel that I must save Tai. I will do what I can. And not only for the people of Tai. For the people of Kei as well. Against the possibility that the same thing will ever happen to Kei."
    "Your Highness--" Keiki raised a warning voice, but Youko shook her head.
    "Of course, I have no intent of straying from the Way. I do want to be the best empress I can be. But all the wishing in the world won't necessarily make it so. I don't think any ruler sets out to ruin his kingdom on purpose. And some, like Tai, were brought low by insurrection and revolt. That's why I want to lay down some precedents in preparation for the day that I perish, or stray from the Way. I want to shore up the dikes against the day the floods will come so my people will have refuge even without an empress."
    With that, Youko said to the startled Shouryuu and Rokuta, "I know that every ounce of energy I expend on Tai delays the resuscitation of my own kingdom. The people may become impatient and wish to shake the dust of Kei from their feet. And I can do nothing to stop those who say En is a better place than Kei and choose to emigrate there. Kou has already begun to crumble. Those in the northern quarter of Kou will of course turn to En for help. Asking En to bear the burdens of Kou, Kei and Tai all by herself is asking too much."
    I have thought this thing through, Youko said to herself.
    "But that is not now the current reality. Kei will grow less chaotic, we will produce our own surpluses in time. What I'm saying is, once we become that kind of kingdom, I want to think about the ways we can help the refugees from other kingdoms. The people flee their kingdoms because they are in chaos. I mean, rather than supporting their homelands out of sheer necessity, they should be proactively assisted. And even when people have not fled their kingdom, policies should be in place so that they can endure until the next king is enthroned."
    "Youko--"
    "What I'm saying is, there should be some sort of goodwill warehouse. A food bank in each region. In the case of famine or the ravages of war, these warehouses can be opened to assist those in need. Ideally, they would be located between the kingdoms. If a kingdom could not bear the burden, the other kingdoms would consolidate their surpluses and when a refugee problem presented itself, open up those warehouses."
    She continued, "I've only thought this through in general terms, but witnessing Risai's flight to Kei, I believe that somewhere, somehow, the establishment of such institutions is necessary. Risai coming here to plead on behalf of her kingdom convinces me