Another few months passed. It had been a year since I came to the harem. His Majesty still had not come to visit his harem.

It was discouraging to wait so long and prepare yourself emotionally to become someone's wife, only to find that he has no interest in you. Many of the harem members were growing anxious, but some were handling it better than others. Kourin was not one of these some.

"Aaahhh, where is he?" she moaned and leaned against an outside post, pushing it backwards a bit. The roof shook, but she didn't very concerned. More things had been breaking around her lately. As she continued walking, I tried to push the post back up to it's proper position, but didn't have much success.

"Are you feeling mad at him, Kourin?" I asked while pushing all my weight into it. Kourin came back and pulled the post back into place single-handedly, causing the roof to shake again.

"Maybe a little."

"That's probably for the best," I laughed nervously. "You're the kind of person people get to know by first getting on your bad side."

"My bad side isn't that bad," she stuck her nose in the air. I resisted telling her that her bad side could be horribly cruel. "In any case, he won't come here, but I can't go to him because of these stupid rules about where harem members can and can't go around the palace." I resisted mentioning that that hadn't stopped her before.

"I'm sure his advisers are bugging him to choose an empress," I offered optimistically. "Any day now, he should come by. Just be patient."

"Patient? I'm loosing all my chances now!" she shook a fist. "For all I know, he may have fallen for some servant girl who is allowed to clean his bedroom!" As she said this, one of the harem servants walked past and Kourin grabbed her collar and started shaking it. "It's you, isn't it!?"

"L-L-Lady K-K-Kourin! P-P-Please st-st-stop!"

"Kourin, stop being so rash," I put my hand over hers and she released the startled servant. "You seem far too tense. Maybe you should try to relax somehow… perhaps a hot bath?"

The other harem members had learned to avoid Kourin when she was in a foul mood if they valued their lives. Before entering the bath, she barked "Everyone out!". Not a minute later, the girls gathered their clothes and ran out. Kourin walked in and I started to follow, but she promptly slid the door in front of me. "Stand guard, Houki."

"Very well," sighed I as I took a seat by the door. I didn't bother trying to make any conversation with her, but I could clearly hear all the vulgar comments she was making under her breath about servant girls (and boys), blind emperors, and palace rules.

That evening, I thought I would try to relax a bit myself. Kourin wasn't the only one who was distressed about His Majesty's absence. I was almost ready to go to sleep when there was a knock at my door. "Lady Houki? Lady Houki, are you in there?"

The voice sounded panicked, so I hurriedly opened the door. There stood a couple of the other harem members. "Yes?"

"It's Lady Kourin," one said. "We're hearing all sorts of strange noises from inside her room. We thought maybe you could…"

"Be brave enough to go in and see what's going on?" I finished. They nodded eagerly. "I'll try to quiet her down, but I can't make any promises."

I didn't want to be a peacemaker tonight, but went to her door anyway. On the other side I heard her complaining, but it didn't sound as cognitive as usual. "Kourin? What are you doing in there?"

A slurred response.

"Kourin? Are you alright?"

More moaning.

"What's going on, Kourin? I'm coming in."

It was the first time I had entered her room without permission, and probably for good reason. She was slumped over at her table in front of two empty bottles of liquor, and was working on a third. "What is all this, Kourin? How much have you been drinking?"

"Oohh, Houki!" she smiled with rosy cheeks. "Well, you said to relax, soooo! -hic- It takes sooo much to make me tipsy, though, so I had t' drink lotssss."

"You're completely drunk now," I observed.

"Won't you -hic- have some, too?" she offered me a cup and the bottle. "It works wonders!"

"I'm going to bed, Kourin. Good night."

"Ooohhhh, but Houkiiiii, you're so -hic- tense! You should relax, too! If you don't -hic- drink, how about I rub your shoulders?" she made a rubbing motion with her fingers. I wasn't sure if I would survive a shoulder rub from her. I turned to leave, but she lunged and grabbed my ankles, causing me to trip. "Hoooukiiii! You need to relax!"

"Kourin," I looked back at her. She certainly did look like she was enjoying herself and it had been a long time since I drank anything, so I took the extra cup from the table. "Very well, I'll join you."

Author Fangirling: The next chapter is one I had been waiting since the beginning of the fic to write... I've usually avoided it, but drunkenness can be an excellent plot catalyst!