Hotohori was floating at last. He had washed three times before one of his attendants pointed out that he would damage his skin if he kept scrubbing it. He had had to acknowledge the sense of that, and so he had taken himself into the soaking pool and forced himself to practice one of the exercises his first tutors had taught him, to calm the mind. Now, finally, he had managed to lock the idea of a brothel girl --ugh! -- away for now, and he could let the bath relax him.
As tension flowed out of his body, he found his mind drifting to his harem. Nuriko had certainly aroused his curiosity.. among other things .. about that small city of women who dwelt under his roof. If he remembered correctly, this bathing chamber shared a wall with the harem. A blank wall, of course. He had had a mirror hung there soon after he took the throne...
Forty maidens, he reflected languidly. Forty maidens who were madly in love with him, he reminded himself with a small snort of amusement.
He wondered what to do about those forty maidens, and for that matter about Nuriko's continuing infatuation (he refused to use any other word) with him. It occurred to him for the first time that perhaps all the harem maidens were like her in that regard, in love with some ideal image of him they had made up between themselves. He supposed it might be so. Perhaps he ought to meet some of them. He sighed, thinking of the endless round of audiences, council meetings, open court, more audiences. When, in these unsettled days, could he find time to meet with anyone who did not have urgent business with him?
Well, there was Nuriko, of course. Though apparently the gods disagreed with him about how urgent her business was. He wished he knew how to guide that relationship into a more appropriate -- and comfortable -- channel.
Thinking about it was undoing his earlier relaxation, and he decided it was time to get to bed. Tomorrow, after all, promised to be a long day.
When the new day came, it proved to be longer than he had expected. He was awoken at dawn from very unsettled dreams, with word that not one but three of the border provinces were under assault. The preparations he and his advisors had put in place had to be executed, and he found himself meeting with a series of nobles from the borderlands, both to explain what was being done and to get firsthand reports. By midafternoon, he saw clearly that his evening meeting with Nuriko would have to be postponed, in favor of meeting with representatives from Hokan, and trying to persuade them to join in the effort to throw Kotou back inside its own borders. He sent her a short note then, and gave Chin new instructions about his evening agenda, before going to prepare for evening court.
At the conclusion of court, he invited the Hokan representatives to a small working dinner, with clerks in attendance. It became clear to him fairly quickly that they were not prepared to offer anything beyond sympathy. Hokan, unlike its two neighbors, had been at peace within secure borders for many decades -- Hotohori supposed they simply couldn't imagine the danger posed by Kotou. Still, he kept at his task, bringing to bear all the diplomatic skills he could muster. In the end, he won only the promise that his words would be taken to Hokan's emperor and given serious consideration. Hotohori left the meeting feeling drained and defeated.
When he reached his rooms, he passed through the room where he had intended to take dinner with Nuriko on the way to his dressing room. As he began to remove his court garb and prepare for bed, he suddenly felt dizzy -- no, he felt as if he was being picked up and shaken. His vision grayed, and he could hardly hear the babble of concerned servants.
The next thing he saw was Chichiri's face, his true face, leaning over him. He felt the priest's hands on his forehead and heart, and then Chichiri stepped back. "He will want something to drink now," he informed the hovering servants. When they had tended him to their satisfaction, Chichiri took a seat next to the emperor's bed.
"What happened?" Hotohori asked weakly.
"I felt a surge of power, and I came," the priest replied. "What have you been doing that has so annoyed your recent visitor, Hotohori-sei?"
"My... oh. I suppose... I cancelled tonight's meeting with Nuriko-sei, so that I could meet with..." his voice seemed to wind down as he spoke.
Chichiri shook his head. "I told you that it is foolish to defy the gods. I will bring Nuriko-sei." He rose briskly and stepped toward the door.
"No!" Hotohori tried to sit up, and failed. "I don't want..."
Chichiri turned back briefly. "I can do nothing to help you until Nuriko-sei is here, Heika. You must rest until we both return."
Hotohori fell back fretfully. The thought of appearing ill or weak in front of Nuriko made him cringe, but it appeared he had no choice. He felt like a truant schoolboy who had been caught out, and he would have resented it very much, if he had had the energy. He resolved to resent it properly... tomorrow.
A few minutes later, he heard the approach of slippered feet. Even from his bed he could tell them apart -- the soft shuffling glide of a woman of the court in counterpoint to Chichiri's dancing steps. He seemed to be taking three steps for each of Nuriko's -- Hotohori wondered if he was literally circling around her in agitation at her refusal to be rushed beyond the point of graceful deportment. He had to smile. He approved of Nuriko's devotion to proper appearances.
The two were admitted, and Nuriko came to his bedside very quickly indeed. "Hotohori-sama, what has happened? Chichiri would say nothing except that I must come immediately."
"Sit there next to him, Nuriko-sei. Take his left hand in yours, and place your right hand over your shirushi -- you, too, Hotohori-sei." With those instructions, the priest placed one hand on each of their foreheads. Hotohori felt warmth and light flowing into him, filling him, and then overflowing, connecting him to... everything, perhaps. When the flow was well established, Chichiri stepped away. Nuriko did not immediately relinquish his hand -- he found he had to withdraw it gently.
"I have undone the damage to the best of my abilities. I will warn you, Hotohori-sei, that you must not repeat this error."
"Would one of you tell me what is going on?" Nuriko demanded plaintively.
Chichiri looked pointedly at Hotohori, who sighed. "Can I get dressed first?" he asked rather petulantly. Chichiri raised an eyebrow in mild censure, but nodded.
When he returned, he found that Chin had made his unexpected guests comfortable, and Chichiri had somehow persuaded Nuriko to tell him about some of their recent conversations. The monk was again masked and looked highly amused, Hotohori noted sourly, though in all fairness, he had to admit that Chichiri usually looked amused. "Four days and three nights," the monk was repeating in his high, clear voice. "I am impressed, Nuriko-sei, na na da. I never managed more than a day, a night, and another day no da!" Rising, the monk bowed to both of them. "I will leave you to continue what may not be interrupted, no da." At a nod from Hotohori, he let himself out.
Nuriko had risen as well, and now she hovered near him, not quite daring to touch, but clearly intending to support him if needed. He suppressed a pang of embarrassed irritation with the ease of years of practice in being hovered over. He seated himself without incident, then nodded firmly toward her seat opposite his. With a small smile, she took the indicated seat. "Gomen, Hotohori-sama. I can see you are recovered now. You frightened us -- I've seldom seen Chichiri look alarmed, 'no da'."
Hotohori had to laugh at her small joke, but he looked a little grim nonetheless. "I am sorry as well -- I'm afraid I owe you an explanation. What did Chichiri tell you?"
"Nothing, really -- he just asked me whether I'd ever tried to defy Suzaku-shin's desires and I told him ... some of ... the story I told you."
Hotohori sighed then and told her what had happened two nights before, just before she had fainted. As he spoke, her face seemed to freeze into a pale mask of her court beauty pose. He wondered if she hid fear or distaste behind that cool poise. Probably she felt the mixture of dread and anger that he felt at the thought that the god could reach out and touch him at any time... When she spoke, however, her tone was matter-of-fact.
"So, Hotohori-sama -- or should I say, Heika-sama. You have been favored with the attention of the gods -- other than Suzaku-shin, I mean."
"'Favor' is not how I would characterize it," he grumbled, provoking a peal of musical laughter. He decided that, under the circumstances, being irritated with her was a great improvement in his mood. "Apparently, you are meant to tell me something that will save the realm. You don't happen to know what it is, I suppose?" She shook her head solemnly, but her eyes were dancing. He looked away then, to conceal a momentary feeling of dizziness. When he met her eyes again, she seemed not to have noticed. "Then it appears that you are going to be a fixture on my evening schedule until we figure it out. Not that I don't enjoy your company, but I hope a little thing like Konan-koku being at war isn't going to get in the way."
She made no immediate reply, and he glanced at her curiously. She seemed to be thinking hard, perhaps trying to figure out what it was she was supposed to tell him. But his next words, as so often before, took him by surprise.
"Is it very lonely, being the emperor?" she asked quietly. He looked down at once, but not, he feared, before she saw the answer in his eyes.
"I was just thinking about how seldom I am allowed even the illusion of being alone," he replied obliquely.
"Hotohori-sama," she said softly, "I will promise to try to think what it is that I know that will save the kingdom. If you permit, I would ask in return that you speak only truth to me."
To give himself a moment to think, he rose and walked to the window, then stood looking out at the shutters that were barred against the winter rains.
He sighed. "Very well, Nuriko-sei. Yes. I have been lonely since my mother's death. I thought... I hoped, at least, that my loneliness would end when Suzaku no miko appeared. And finding Miaka, and all the rest of you, has been ... a great gift, truly. As a man, as one of Suzaku shichi-sei, I finally have true friends. As emperor, well... there is no one. You are my friends, but also, you are my subjects. You are in my charge, and I cannot in honor pass my burdens to you."
"Why have you not taken an empress, Hotohori-sama?" Her voice behind him was quiet and a little sad; he decided he did not want to see what might be in her eyes.
"Taking an empress feels like... one more duty I don't have time for," he explained. "How could I give a wife the kind of time she would deserve and still fulfill my other duties?"
When he made no further reply, Nuriko sighed, then gave a single, unhappy chuckle. "I have just had the strangest thought, Hotohori-sama. In all the years since I first saw your face, I have imagined myself -- or any of my sisters in the harem -- as your empress. Yet somehow, it has never occurred to me to wonder what you might wish for in a wife. I feel very foolish but... I would like to know."
Slowly he came back to his chair. "I suppose... well, there must be an heir of course. My advisors are very firm about that. And I suppose..." To his embarrassment, he found himself blushing, but he mastered the urge to look away. "I suppose it would be nice to have someone to care for, personally instead of by proxy. And to have someone to hold... at night."
Nuriko seemed puzzled. "Nothing more? Forgive me for asking this, Hotohori-sama, but... If Miaka had consented to be your empress, do you think she would have been content to confine her activities to the royal bedroom and the royal nursery?"
"Well, Miaka... She's different, ne? She's from another world -- someplace I cannot even imagine. Someplace I have no responsibility for. I had hoped that would make her a partner of a different sort -- more independent, perhaps and..."
"Hotohori-sama, I do not understand you. Has it never occurred to you that an empress is more than a bedmate and a brood mare?" When he would have interrupted, she glared him down, and to his own surprise, he let her continue. "You are lonely, because you cannot bear to burden those who are part of your charge. You are overworked, because there is no one who can take over some of your duties. And there are nearly *forty* women under your roof who have been trained from childhood to do exactly what you need someone to do, and who want to do it, who would take up some of your burdens not just willingly, but joyfully. I cannot see why you do not rush at the opportunity!"
"Nuriko-sei, what you suggest is impossible. There can be only one ruler, not two."
"Indeed? Tell me, Hotohori-sama, when you took the throne at eight..."
"As a figurehead, lady. My mother ruled in all but name."
"Fine then, as a figurehead, at eight. How about when you were ten -- were you still merely a figurehead."
He shrugged. "For the most part. She had consented to give me charge of some small matters."
"Indeed. And did she interfere in those matters over which she gave you charge?"
"They were *trivial*, Nuriko-sei. Why should she bother?"
"And when you were ten? And twelve?"
"Well, she was beginning to be ill by the time I was twelve. I had taken over a great many functions of the government as her strength failed, though in some ways, my advisors ruled me rather than the reverse."
"Hotohori-sama, why do you not see what your mother was doing? For six years there were two rulers in Konan, a ... a master and an apprentice, if you don't mind the analogy."
"You make it sound as if my mother was truly the empress rather than the dowager," he complained.
"Wasn't she? Hotohori-sama, the facts seem clear enough..."
"Nuriko-sei, I appreciate your candor, but you just don't understand the nature of statecraft. Please, Nuriko-sei. Much as I hate to admit it, I am still tired after my earlier... I suppose attack is entirely too precise a word. I would like you to continue where we left off last night, so that we can conclude this interview and I can go to bed."
"Yours to command," she observed frostily. "I hope you will allow me to continue with Butterfly's story, despite the fact that it apparently infuriates you." He pressed his lips together and nodded.
For a moment, he watched her struggle to contain her frustration with his dismissal of her opinions. Oddly, as she mastered herself, his own irritation ebbed as well, and he wanted, for just a moment, to reach out to her and ask forgiveness for his earlier abruptness. But she began her story, and the moment passed.
"Well then... I am sorry to cause your Majesty pain, but I know you are aware that, despite your best efforts, there are poor families in this realm of Konan."
"To my shame, that is so."
"Heika-sama! I think that even if the gods ruled with perfect justice from heaven, poverty would not disappear. Sometimes people bring it on themselves with laziness or bad judgement, and sometimes they are overcome by adversity. Surely not even the gods can prevent every sort of adversity that can overtake us!" She stole a glance to see if he was angry at her tone of reproof. To her relief, he only looked thoughtful.
"Now then! Butterfly says that her family was poor when she was born, but not desparately so. She was the sixth child of her parents, and they had four strong sons growing up to help with the hard work. They might have done well enough to buy a cow, she thought, if it hadn't been for the flood.
"In one season, her family's land was drowned, then denuded of soil as the rushing waters receded. Her father and the two eldest boys were killed trying to save the family's few possessions. And to make matters worse, a plague followed the flood, and her mother also was carried away.
"The remaining children came under the protection of an uncle, who had fared a little better during this time. But he was by no means a wealthy man, and neither Butterfly nor her siblings were old enough to be of help to his family. In the end, he sold Butterfly, who was then no more than four years of age, to a brothel in a nearby village."
"That is barbarity!" The emperor was nearly sputtering in fury. "Such things cannot be allowed in this realm!"
"What would you have, Hotohori-sama," she asked sadly. "Butterfly thinks that her uncle truly tried to make the best choice. Even at the time, you see, Butterfly was an extraordinary beauty, far beyond the beauty given to all children. If she had stayed with him, her uncle may have reasoned, that beauty would be destroyed by starvation and the burden of hard daily toil. But the women of the brothel were beautiful, years after peasant women have become drab. Not to mention the fact that the price he received probably kept her brothers and sister alive in a very difficult time."
She waited for him to work through that argument, waited for the anger to be replaced by a rather grudging consideration, and finally a reluctant smile. "Your Butterfly gives people too much credit, I think," he said at last. "She reminds me of someone else we know."
She had to laugh. "Yes, she is a little like our priestess in some ways, now that you mention it.
"It happens that, whether by judgement or luck or divine intervention, Butterfly had not been sold into a typical brothel. I suppose you must know that brothels usually reflect the tastes of their clients..."
"Nuriko! Must I hear this?"
"Yes, Hotohori-sama, you must, even if it bruises your delicate sensitivities. And don't frown so -- I think if I'm going to do all this story-telling, you should be as beautiful as possible!
"As I was saying, a brothel that caters to small merchants is a much different place than one that caters to, oh, young noblemen in the capital. And not only the furnishings are different -- the women are different, and the way they relate to each other is different as well. Hotohori-sama, daijobuka?"
In fact, Hotohori was feeling very unsteady indeed. As his vision grayed out, he felt himself lifted bodily from the chair, and he thought for one moment that he was a child again, being carried to bed.
When he opened his eyes this time, the room seemed overfilled with people. His physician was there, as well as Chichiri and several of his advisors. Nuriko had claimed a chair beside his bed, and he suppressed a moment of mingled panic and irritation, knowing what his advisors would make of that. With her usual sensitivity, she noticed his reaction and relinquished her place to Chichiri and the physician.
"What's going on?" Hotohori demanded.
Chichiri was about to reply, but it was the physician who got in the first word. "Heika, I do not know. There is a blockage in your ki, certainly, but I do not understand the source. This one says..."
Chichiri touched the physician's hand very gently, and the man fell silent with a troubled expression.
"I am sorry, Heika no da," Chichiri explained, "but I cannot re-establish a correct flow of your ki. I think I am not meant to, no da." His expression was grave, and there was none of his usual amusement to be found in his good eye.
"So... what does this mean, exactly?" Hotohori asked quietly.
"You are in no danger, not for many days at least. But you will be unable to move about much, and you will certainly not be able to conduct court or concentrate on affairs of state until the flow of your ki is re-established."
"But... the war!" That was one of the advisors, and for a moment it seemed likely to start a flood of babble, if it had not been for Chichiri's unexpected shout of "Quiet, please!"
The emperor's physician spoke into the resulting silence. "I do not know how this blockage comes about, and I cannot understand this one's explanation, but I fear he is correct, Heika. You cannot continue your daily routine until this condition is alleviated."
"And how long will that require?" Hotohori demanded, in a voice that made the physician wince. Hotohori was reminded that he had best control his own frustration, for everyone's sake.
Chichiri shrugged. "It will depend on how soon you complete the task you have been assigned, no da. Apparently, distractions from that task are not to be allowed, no da."
"Heika?" Nuriko's voice was unexpectedly demure, at least to Hotohori's ears. "Perhaps you might ... complete your researches ... in a day or two. I believe you were telling me of an instance where you withdrew your attention and your ministers managed very well for a time. Perhaps that might be so here, too? At least for a short period?"
Hotohori glanced around. Several of his ministers looked mildly panicky, but the eldest of them, a man who had served since the reign of Hotohori's father, looked thoughtful. "Do I have a choice?" the emperor asked sourly. Nuriko and Chichiri shook their heads, and the physician looked resigned.
"Very well." Although his voice was weaker than he would have preferred, it was recognizably the imperial voice. His advisors and even the other shichi-sei straightened their backs and sharpened their attention. "I will appoint Lord Lo," he indicated the elderly advisor, " to handle decisions that cannot be resolved by the rest of my advisors. I expect everyone in my government to make his best effort to resolve matters himself, but if Lord Lo must be called on to decide, then his decisions will be as mine, until I am again able to take matters in hand.
"It is also vital that no word of my indisposition leave this room, and in particular, it must not reach the ears of anyone in the various delegations from our neighboring kingdoms. Lo, I charge you with this in particular, that you find a good reason for me to absent myself for a day or two, and that you
make the story stick. I believe you may have performed this service for my mother on occasion," he finished drily.
"Now, if you don't mind, I believe I need to rest."
The advisors looked as if they would burst into another outburst, but Lo took charge smoothly and cleared them from the room, leaving only the physician, Chichiri and Nuriko -- and Chin, who stepped in from the other room as the door closed on the advisors and rather pointedly waited for permission to speak.
At Hotohori's nod, he bowed and said, "Heika, I believe that if you remain in the palace, it will be impossible for you to rest. Of course I will do my best to prevent your lord ministers from disturbing you, but... I may be unable. I suggest that we remove you to one of the royal lodges outside the capital..."
Hotohori stopped him with a raised hand. "Impossible, Chin. I need to be available in case..."
"Heika," the physician interrupted. "Chin is right. You *cannot* allow yourself to be disturbed until this blockage is cleared."
Hotohori appealed to Chichiri, but the monk shook his head very solemnly. "You must complete the task assigned, Heika no da. As of now, no harm has been done to your health, but if you delay, that may not be so no da!"
"Nevertheless," Hotohori protested, "I can't make preparations for a journey. How would you keep such a thing secret, for heaven's sake!"
Nuriko stepped forward. "I have an idea that might work. There is a very private house of healing here in the capital, not far from the palace. With Chichiri's help, just you and I might slip in there and stay for a couple of days with no one the wiser. Between us, we ought to be able to figure out this puzzle that has been posed to you. And your health could be overseen by healers, in case there are any more surprises."
"What healing house?" the physician demanded. "I will not have some sort of quacks..." At the same time, Chin wailed, "You cannot take the emperor out of our care!"
Nuriko's smile grew rather edged. "You may of course come with us, gentlemen. Though it will make it hard to hide the truth if everyone involved in the emperor's personal care disappears at once."
Hotohori sighed. "Enough," he informed his quarreling retainers. "Chichiri-sei, will you go with Nuriko-sei and examine this house of healing? If it is suitable, will you take us both there secretly as soon as possible? Chin is very wise, I think -- neither he nor Lord Lo will be able to prevent some of those men from deciding that only I can make some particular decision. Much better to take away that choice."
Chichiri nodded, and took his leave with Nuriko. That left only the physician and Chin to argue with the emperor. Fortunately, at that point, Hotohori's strength failed, and the two disgruntled men were forced to accept the instructions already given. Hotohori sighed as they left his room, and fell into a deep sleep.
As tension flowed out of his body, he found his mind drifting to his harem. Nuriko had certainly aroused his curiosity.. among other things .. about that small city of women who dwelt under his roof. If he remembered correctly, this bathing chamber shared a wall with the harem. A blank wall, of course. He had had a mirror hung there soon after he took the throne...
Forty maidens, he reflected languidly. Forty maidens who were madly in love with him, he reminded himself with a small snort of amusement.
He wondered what to do about those forty maidens, and for that matter about Nuriko's continuing infatuation (he refused to use any other word) with him. It occurred to him for the first time that perhaps all the harem maidens were like her in that regard, in love with some ideal image of him they had made up between themselves. He supposed it might be so. Perhaps he ought to meet some of them. He sighed, thinking of the endless round of audiences, council meetings, open court, more audiences. When, in these unsettled days, could he find time to meet with anyone who did not have urgent business with him?
Well, there was Nuriko, of course. Though apparently the gods disagreed with him about how urgent her business was. He wished he knew how to guide that relationship into a more appropriate -- and comfortable -- channel.
Thinking about it was undoing his earlier relaxation, and he decided it was time to get to bed. Tomorrow, after all, promised to be a long day.
When the new day came, it proved to be longer than he had expected. He was awoken at dawn from very unsettled dreams, with word that not one but three of the border provinces were under assault. The preparations he and his advisors had put in place had to be executed, and he found himself meeting with a series of nobles from the borderlands, both to explain what was being done and to get firsthand reports. By midafternoon, he saw clearly that his evening meeting with Nuriko would have to be postponed, in favor of meeting with representatives from Hokan, and trying to persuade them to join in the effort to throw Kotou back inside its own borders. He sent her a short note then, and gave Chin new instructions about his evening agenda, before going to prepare for evening court.
At the conclusion of court, he invited the Hokan representatives to a small working dinner, with clerks in attendance. It became clear to him fairly quickly that they were not prepared to offer anything beyond sympathy. Hokan, unlike its two neighbors, had been at peace within secure borders for many decades -- Hotohori supposed they simply couldn't imagine the danger posed by Kotou. Still, he kept at his task, bringing to bear all the diplomatic skills he could muster. In the end, he won only the promise that his words would be taken to Hokan's emperor and given serious consideration. Hotohori left the meeting feeling drained and defeated.
When he reached his rooms, he passed through the room where he had intended to take dinner with Nuriko on the way to his dressing room. As he began to remove his court garb and prepare for bed, he suddenly felt dizzy -- no, he felt as if he was being picked up and shaken. His vision grayed, and he could hardly hear the babble of concerned servants.
The next thing he saw was Chichiri's face, his true face, leaning over him. He felt the priest's hands on his forehead and heart, and then Chichiri stepped back. "He will want something to drink now," he informed the hovering servants. When they had tended him to their satisfaction, Chichiri took a seat next to the emperor's bed.
"What happened?" Hotohori asked weakly.
"I felt a surge of power, and I came," the priest replied. "What have you been doing that has so annoyed your recent visitor, Hotohori-sei?"
"My... oh. I suppose... I cancelled tonight's meeting with Nuriko-sei, so that I could meet with..." his voice seemed to wind down as he spoke.
Chichiri shook his head. "I told you that it is foolish to defy the gods. I will bring Nuriko-sei." He rose briskly and stepped toward the door.
"No!" Hotohori tried to sit up, and failed. "I don't want..."
Chichiri turned back briefly. "I can do nothing to help you until Nuriko-sei is here, Heika. You must rest until we both return."
Hotohori fell back fretfully. The thought of appearing ill or weak in front of Nuriko made him cringe, but it appeared he had no choice. He felt like a truant schoolboy who had been caught out, and he would have resented it very much, if he had had the energy. He resolved to resent it properly... tomorrow.
A few minutes later, he heard the approach of slippered feet. Even from his bed he could tell them apart -- the soft shuffling glide of a woman of the court in counterpoint to Chichiri's dancing steps. He seemed to be taking three steps for each of Nuriko's -- Hotohori wondered if he was literally circling around her in agitation at her refusal to be rushed beyond the point of graceful deportment. He had to smile. He approved of Nuriko's devotion to proper appearances.
The two were admitted, and Nuriko came to his bedside very quickly indeed. "Hotohori-sama, what has happened? Chichiri would say nothing except that I must come immediately."
"Sit there next to him, Nuriko-sei. Take his left hand in yours, and place your right hand over your shirushi -- you, too, Hotohori-sei." With those instructions, the priest placed one hand on each of their foreheads. Hotohori felt warmth and light flowing into him, filling him, and then overflowing, connecting him to... everything, perhaps. When the flow was well established, Chichiri stepped away. Nuriko did not immediately relinquish his hand -- he found he had to withdraw it gently.
"I have undone the damage to the best of my abilities. I will warn you, Hotohori-sei, that you must not repeat this error."
"Would one of you tell me what is going on?" Nuriko demanded plaintively.
Chichiri looked pointedly at Hotohori, who sighed. "Can I get dressed first?" he asked rather petulantly. Chichiri raised an eyebrow in mild censure, but nodded.
When he returned, he found that Chin had made his unexpected guests comfortable, and Chichiri had somehow persuaded Nuriko to tell him about some of their recent conversations. The monk was again masked and looked highly amused, Hotohori noted sourly, though in all fairness, he had to admit that Chichiri usually looked amused. "Four days and three nights," the monk was repeating in his high, clear voice. "I am impressed, Nuriko-sei, na na da. I never managed more than a day, a night, and another day no da!" Rising, the monk bowed to both of them. "I will leave you to continue what may not be interrupted, no da." At a nod from Hotohori, he let himself out.
Nuriko had risen as well, and now she hovered near him, not quite daring to touch, but clearly intending to support him if needed. He suppressed a pang of embarrassed irritation with the ease of years of practice in being hovered over. He seated himself without incident, then nodded firmly toward her seat opposite his. With a small smile, she took the indicated seat. "Gomen, Hotohori-sama. I can see you are recovered now. You frightened us -- I've seldom seen Chichiri look alarmed, 'no da'."
Hotohori had to laugh at her small joke, but he looked a little grim nonetheless. "I am sorry as well -- I'm afraid I owe you an explanation. What did Chichiri tell you?"
"Nothing, really -- he just asked me whether I'd ever tried to defy Suzaku-shin's desires and I told him ... some of ... the story I told you."
Hotohori sighed then and told her what had happened two nights before, just before she had fainted. As he spoke, her face seemed to freeze into a pale mask of her court beauty pose. He wondered if she hid fear or distaste behind that cool poise. Probably she felt the mixture of dread and anger that he felt at the thought that the god could reach out and touch him at any time... When she spoke, however, her tone was matter-of-fact.
"So, Hotohori-sama -- or should I say, Heika-sama. You have been favored with the attention of the gods -- other than Suzaku-shin, I mean."
"'Favor' is not how I would characterize it," he grumbled, provoking a peal of musical laughter. He decided that, under the circumstances, being irritated with her was a great improvement in his mood. "Apparently, you are meant to tell me something that will save the realm. You don't happen to know what it is, I suppose?" She shook her head solemnly, but her eyes were dancing. He looked away then, to conceal a momentary feeling of dizziness. When he met her eyes again, she seemed not to have noticed. "Then it appears that you are going to be a fixture on my evening schedule until we figure it out. Not that I don't enjoy your company, but I hope a little thing like Konan-koku being at war isn't going to get in the way."
She made no immediate reply, and he glanced at her curiously. She seemed to be thinking hard, perhaps trying to figure out what it was she was supposed to tell him. But his next words, as so often before, took him by surprise.
"Is it very lonely, being the emperor?" she asked quietly. He looked down at once, but not, he feared, before she saw the answer in his eyes.
"I was just thinking about how seldom I am allowed even the illusion of being alone," he replied obliquely.
"Hotohori-sama," she said softly, "I will promise to try to think what it is that I know that will save the kingdom. If you permit, I would ask in return that you speak only truth to me."
To give himself a moment to think, he rose and walked to the window, then stood looking out at the shutters that were barred against the winter rains.
He sighed. "Very well, Nuriko-sei. Yes. I have been lonely since my mother's death. I thought... I hoped, at least, that my loneliness would end when Suzaku no miko appeared. And finding Miaka, and all the rest of you, has been ... a great gift, truly. As a man, as one of Suzaku shichi-sei, I finally have true friends. As emperor, well... there is no one. You are my friends, but also, you are my subjects. You are in my charge, and I cannot in honor pass my burdens to you."
"Why have you not taken an empress, Hotohori-sama?" Her voice behind him was quiet and a little sad; he decided he did not want to see what might be in her eyes.
"Taking an empress feels like... one more duty I don't have time for," he explained. "How could I give a wife the kind of time she would deserve and still fulfill my other duties?"
When he made no further reply, Nuriko sighed, then gave a single, unhappy chuckle. "I have just had the strangest thought, Hotohori-sama. In all the years since I first saw your face, I have imagined myself -- or any of my sisters in the harem -- as your empress. Yet somehow, it has never occurred to me to wonder what you might wish for in a wife. I feel very foolish but... I would like to know."
Slowly he came back to his chair. "I suppose... well, there must be an heir of course. My advisors are very firm about that. And I suppose..." To his embarrassment, he found himself blushing, but he mastered the urge to look away. "I suppose it would be nice to have someone to care for, personally instead of by proxy. And to have someone to hold... at night."
Nuriko seemed puzzled. "Nothing more? Forgive me for asking this, Hotohori-sama, but... If Miaka had consented to be your empress, do you think she would have been content to confine her activities to the royal bedroom and the royal nursery?"
"Well, Miaka... She's different, ne? She's from another world -- someplace I cannot even imagine. Someplace I have no responsibility for. I had hoped that would make her a partner of a different sort -- more independent, perhaps and..."
"Hotohori-sama, I do not understand you. Has it never occurred to you that an empress is more than a bedmate and a brood mare?" When he would have interrupted, she glared him down, and to his own surprise, he let her continue. "You are lonely, because you cannot bear to burden those who are part of your charge. You are overworked, because there is no one who can take over some of your duties. And there are nearly *forty* women under your roof who have been trained from childhood to do exactly what you need someone to do, and who want to do it, who would take up some of your burdens not just willingly, but joyfully. I cannot see why you do not rush at the opportunity!"
"Nuriko-sei, what you suggest is impossible. There can be only one ruler, not two."
"Indeed? Tell me, Hotohori-sama, when you took the throne at eight..."
"As a figurehead, lady. My mother ruled in all but name."
"Fine then, as a figurehead, at eight. How about when you were ten -- were you still merely a figurehead."
He shrugged. "For the most part. She had consented to give me charge of some small matters."
"Indeed. And did she interfere in those matters over which she gave you charge?"
"They were *trivial*, Nuriko-sei. Why should she bother?"
"And when you were ten? And twelve?"
"Well, she was beginning to be ill by the time I was twelve. I had taken over a great many functions of the government as her strength failed, though in some ways, my advisors ruled me rather than the reverse."
"Hotohori-sama, why do you not see what your mother was doing? For six years there were two rulers in Konan, a ... a master and an apprentice, if you don't mind the analogy."
"You make it sound as if my mother was truly the empress rather than the dowager," he complained.
"Wasn't she? Hotohori-sama, the facts seem clear enough..."
"Nuriko-sei, I appreciate your candor, but you just don't understand the nature of statecraft. Please, Nuriko-sei. Much as I hate to admit it, I am still tired after my earlier... I suppose attack is entirely too precise a word. I would like you to continue where we left off last night, so that we can conclude this interview and I can go to bed."
"Yours to command," she observed frostily. "I hope you will allow me to continue with Butterfly's story, despite the fact that it apparently infuriates you." He pressed his lips together and nodded.
For a moment, he watched her struggle to contain her frustration with his dismissal of her opinions. Oddly, as she mastered herself, his own irritation ebbed as well, and he wanted, for just a moment, to reach out to her and ask forgiveness for his earlier abruptness. But she began her story, and the moment passed.
"Well then... I am sorry to cause your Majesty pain, but I know you are aware that, despite your best efforts, there are poor families in this realm of Konan."
"To my shame, that is so."
"Heika-sama! I think that even if the gods ruled with perfect justice from heaven, poverty would not disappear. Sometimes people bring it on themselves with laziness or bad judgement, and sometimes they are overcome by adversity. Surely not even the gods can prevent every sort of adversity that can overtake us!" She stole a glance to see if he was angry at her tone of reproof. To her relief, he only looked thoughtful.
"Now then! Butterfly says that her family was poor when she was born, but not desparately so. She was the sixth child of her parents, and they had four strong sons growing up to help with the hard work. They might have done well enough to buy a cow, she thought, if it hadn't been for the flood.
"In one season, her family's land was drowned, then denuded of soil as the rushing waters receded. Her father and the two eldest boys were killed trying to save the family's few possessions. And to make matters worse, a plague followed the flood, and her mother also was carried away.
"The remaining children came under the protection of an uncle, who had fared a little better during this time. But he was by no means a wealthy man, and neither Butterfly nor her siblings were old enough to be of help to his family. In the end, he sold Butterfly, who was then no more than four years of age, to a brothel in a nearby village."
"That is barbarity!" The emperor was nearly sputtering in fury. "Such things cannot be allowed in this realm!"
"What would you have, Hotohori-sama," she asked sadly. "Butterfly thinks that her uncle truly tried to make the best choice. Even at the time, you see, Butterfly was an extraordinary beauty, far beyond the beauty given to all children. If she had stayed with him, her uncle may have reasoned, that beauty would be destroyed by starvation and the burden of hard daily toil. But the women of the brothel were beautiful, years after peasant women have become drab. Not to mention the fact that the price he received probably kept her brothers and sister alive in a very difficult time."
She waited for him to work through that argument, waited for the anger to be replaced by a rather grudging consideration, and finally a reluctant smile. "Your Butterfly gives people too much credit, I think," he said at last. "She reminds me of someone else we know."
She had to laugh. "Yes, she is a little like our priestess in some ways, now that you mention it.
"It happens that, whether by judgement or luck or divine intervention, Butterfly had not been sold into a typical brothel. I suppose you must know that brothels usually reflect the tastes of their clients..."
"Nuriko! Must I hear this?"
"Yes, Hotohori-sama, you must, even if it bruises your delicate sensitivities. And don't frown so -- I think if I'm going to do all this story-telling, you should be as beautiful as possible!
"As I was saying, a brothel that caters to small merchants is a much different place than one that caters to, oh, young noblemen in the capital. And not only the furnishings are different -- the women are different, and the way they relate to each other is different as well. Hotohori-sama, daijobuka?"
In fact, Hotohori was feeling very unsteady indeed. As his vision grayed out, he felt himself lifted bodily from the chair, and he thought for one moment that he was a child again, being carried to bed.
When he opened his eyes this time, the room seemed overfilled with people. His physician was there, as well as Chichiri and several of his advisors. Nuriko had claimed a chair beside his bed, and he suppressed a moment of mingled panic and irritation, knowing what his advisors would make of that. With her usual sensitivity, she noticed his reaction and relinquished her place to Chichiri and the physician.
"What's going on?" Hotohori demanded.
Chichiri was about to reply, but it was the physician who got in the first word. "Heika, I do not know. There is a blockage in your ki, certainly, but I do not understand the source. This one says..."
Chichiri touched the physician's hand very gently, and the man fell silent with a troubled expression.
"I am sorry, Heika no da," Chichiri explained, "but I cannot re-establish a correct flow of your ki. I think I am not meant to, no da." His expression was grave, and there was none of his usual amusement to be found in his good eye.
"So... what does this mean, exactly?" Hotohori asked quietly.
"You are in no danger, not for many days at least. But you will be unable to move about much, and you will certainly not be able to conduct court or concentrate on affairs of state until the flow of your ki is re-established."
"But... the war!" That was one of the advisors, and for a moment it seemed likely to start a flood of babble, if it had not been for Chichiri's unexpected shout of "Quiet, please!"
The emperor's physician spoke into the resulting silence. "I do not know how this blockage comes about, and I cannot understand this one's explanation, but I fear he is correct, Heika. You cannot continue your daily routine until this condition is alleviated."
"And how long will that require?" Hotohori demanded, in a voice that made the physician wince. Hotohori was reminded that he had best control his own frustration, for everyone's sake.
Chichiri shrugged. "It will depend on how soon you complete the task you have been assigned, no da. Apparently, distractions from that task are not to be allowed, no da."
"Heika?" Nuriko's voice was unexpectedly demure, at least to Hotohori's ears. "Perhaps you might ... complete your researches ... in a day or two. I believe you were telling me of an instance where you withdrew your attention and your ministers managed very well for a time. Perhaps that might be so here, too? At least for a short period?"
Hotohori glanced around. Several of his ministers looked mildly panicky, but the eldest of them, a man who had served since the reign of Hotohori's father, looked thoughtful. "Do I have a choice?" the emperor asked sourly. Nuriko and Chichiri shook their heads, and the physician looked resigned.
"Very well." Although his voice was weaker than he would have preferred, it was recognizably the imperial voice. His advisors and even the other shichi-sei straightened their backs and sharpened their attention. "I will appoint Lord Lo," he indicated the elderly advisor, " to handle decisions that cannot be resolved by the rest of my advisors. I expect everyone in my government to make his best effort to resolve matters himself, but if Lord Lo must be called on to decide, then his decisions will be as mine, until I am again able to take matters in hand.
"It is also vital that no word of my indisposition leave this room, and in particular, it must not reach the ears of anyone in the various delegations from our neighboring kingdoms. Lo, I charge you with this in particular, that you find a good reason for me to absent myself for a day or two, and that you
make the story stick. I believe you may have performed this service for my mother on occasion," he finished drily.
"Now, if you don't mind, I believe I need to rest."
The advisors looked as if they would burst into another outburst, but Lo took charge smoothly and cleared them from the room, leaving only the physician, Chichiri and Nuriko -- and Chin, who stepped in from the other room as the door closed on the advisors and rather pointedly waited for permission to speak.
At Hotohori's nod, he bowed and said, "Heika, I believe that if you remain in the palace, it will be impossible for you to rest. Of course I will do my best to prevent your lord ministers from disturbing you, but... I may be unable. I suggest that we remove you to one of the royal lodges outside the capital..."
Hotohori stopped him with a raised hand. "Impossible, Chin. I need to be available in case..."
"Heika," the physician interrupted. "Chin is right. You *cannot* allow yourself to be disturbed until this blockage is cleared."
Hotohori appealed to Chichiri, but the monk shook his head very solemnly. "You must complete the task assigned, Heika no da. As of now, no harm has been done to your health, but if you delay, that may not be so no da!"
"Nevertheless," Hotohori protested, "I can't make preparations for a journey. How would you keep such a thing secret, for heaven's sake!"
Nuriko stepped forward. "I have an idea that might work. There is a very private house of healing here in the capital, not far from the palace. With Chichiri's help, just you and I might slip in there and stay for a couple of days with no one the wiser. Between us, we ought to be able to figure out this puzzle that has been posed to you. And your health could be overseen by healers, in case there are any more surprises."
"What healing house?" the physician demanded. "I will not have some sort of quacks..." At the same time, Chin wailed, "You cannot take the emperor out of our care!"
Nuriko's smile grew rather edged. "You may of course come with us, gentlemen. Though it will make it hard to hide the truth if everyone involved in the emperor's personal care disappears at once."
Hotohori sighed. "Enough," he informed his quarreling retainers. "Chichiri-sei, will you go with Nuriko-sei and examine this house of healing? If it is suitable, will you take us both there secretly as soon as possible? Chin is very wise, I think -- neither he nor Lord Lo will be able to prevent some of those men from deciding that only I can make some particular decision. Much better to take away that choice."
Chichiri nodded, and took his leave with Nuriko. That left only the physician and Chin to argue with the emperor. Fortunately, at that point, Hotohori's strength failed, and the two disgruntled men were forced to accept the instructions already given. Hotohori sighed as they left his room, and fell into a deep sleep.
