"Taiho?" came a soft voice, along with a shake at her shoulder. "Taiho? It's late. You have to get up."
Aku waved blindly at who had to be Hokumi. She was too tired to open her eyes to actually look. "Just a few minutes," she slurred out.
Aku could hear the laugh on her voice. "Taiho, you're going to miss court."
Maybe she had overslept. She had been up all night talking to and munching on sweets with Chiyono. She felt a little sick to her stomach and very exhausted. She rolled over onto her back, stretched a little. "Alright. Get me some tea, please, and I'll be up in a minute." Without a word, Hokumi ran off. When Aku forced open her eyes by sheer force of will, she saw by the angle of the light coming in the window it had indeed gotten late into the morning. Whoops. She considered just not showing up, then cast the idea aside. She had to be there for Touke. Yawning, with great mental effort, she got out of bed and got herself dressed. She stumbled out of her room.
On the way through the Manor, in her favorite room, she caught sight of Chiyono passed out on a divan. Aku had meant to take her to one of the bedrooms, but she had fallen asleep, and she was so adorable asleep Aku hadn't felt like waking her. She must toss around in her sleep—her shining black hair was a mess. Smiling to herself, she made for the door outside. Just as she was leaving, Hokumi pressed a cup of tea into her hands. With a nod of thanks, she walked with her tea toward the Gaiden.
There were two entrances to the Gaiden, one from the Inner Palace and the other from the Outer. The Rikkan, the Sankou, and the Generals all entered from the Outer. Touke and Kyourin entered from the Inner. By the time Kyourin got there, the others were already inside, and it was just getting time for Touke to wave for the gilded shutters to be drawn up. When Kyourin trotted up, handing her empty tea cup to a servant, Touke frowned and asked, "Where were you?"
"I stayed up too late last night," Kyourin said with a shrug. "I overslept."
"I heard there's a girl staying in the Manor." Her tone was slightly annoying.
"Her name is Mononobe no Chiyono."
"Weird name."
"She's a kaikyaku."
"Ah." Touke nodded. Then, glancing at the servants, who obediently backed further away, she leaned very close to Kyourin and whispered lower than she had been already, "If people find out you're taking girls to your bed—"
"I'm not," Kyourin whispered back, a little annoyed. Okay, more than a little, even through the giddy happiness Touke inspired. "I didn't even show her the room I sleep in. She fell asleep in that room with all the golden curtains. Besides, what do you care if I do or not?"
Touke seemed at a loss for words for a moment. "You're my Kirin. Your reputation matters to me."
Now she was definitely annoyed. She raised her voice to a normal volume, indicating the conversation was over. "Shall we?"
"We shall." Touke gave the words, and the shutters opened, revealing the Gaiden and the members of the Privy Council prostrated on the floor.
This was one of the boring days in the Gaiden. The Rikkan made their reports, and they discussed this and that. All of the issues up for discussion were minor bureaucratic details, and nothing that really interested Kyourin. The only thing even mildly relevant was them considering raising taxes a half a percent. The Kingdom was incurring new expenses, and they were very slowly going broke. With the gradually accumulating wealth of the people of the Kingdom, a half a percent shouldn't be a huge deal. Kyourin made a note to pay closer attention to the actual tax rate in various parts of the Kingdom, as opposed to simply the legal rate, and let the issue pass.
She spent the whole time on her feet, standing next to Touke's throne. After a while, she started fidgeting. She would shift her weight from one foot to the other, crossed and uncrossed her arms. With all her power, she tried not to yawn. She got glares whenever she did that. She spent the whole time praying for the meeting to end quickly. She hadn't expected this one to be so boring.
But then a bombshell was dropped.
The Daishiba said, "I have some new leads on the source of the spies—"
"Spies?" repeated Kyourin, glancing between all the assembled. "What spies?"
Touke was giving the Daishiba a death glare. It was barely visible from this angle, but Kyourin was pretty sure. "Go on, Daishiba. Tell the Taiho about the spies."
The Daishiba, clearly realizing his mistake—they really were hiding something from her!—wore a stony face quickly turning red. "Yes, Your Highness. We've been getting vague reports of unauthorized persons traipsing through the Palace. They've also been seen at various other government institutions in Renshou and throughout the Kingdom. We've been trying to find their master."
"How do unauthorized people even get in the Palace?"
"We don't know," Taisai said, looking a little uncomfortable. "We suspect they have an inside man."
No way. Someone in the Ministry of Heaven or the Palace Guard was letting unknown people, spies, into Soufuu Palace. It was unthinkable. It was impossible. "So, the people who were following me in Renshou a couple days ago…"
The Daishiba said, "Likely connected, yes."
"So I'm their target." Kyourin said that with absolutely no fear. Ordinary humans stood no chance against a Kirin's shirei.
But the Daishiba reassured her anyway. "We don't know that. They could be observing you and the others for any number of reasons. Besides, even if they were, we have no idea what they would want with you. I find it unlikely they would want to harm you."
Kyourin let out a sigh. She hoped so. She certainly didn't want to harm them, whoever they were. "Okay, what's your lead?"
"As the others know, the spies take poison to kill themselves whenever they're caught. We've tracked down the source of this poison. It is isolated in Mukai Prefecture."
"Governor Nomei," muttered Mei. "I would never consider her."
Touke said, "Chousai, do you suspect a problem with the theory?"
"Governor Nomei is fiercely loyal to the Marquis of her Province."
"And which Province is that?"
"Teki. That's how I know." There was a little murmuring running through the room.
"Perhaps it is the Marquis who is responsible."
"No," Mei said, a little more insistently.
Touke gave her a look. "How are you so sure?"
"Do you think I wouldn't know the heart and mind of my second-in-command before handing over my Province to him?"
"People change in eighty years."
"Not like this."
Touke paused a long moment, staring at Mei's resolutely confident face. After a long moment she said, "Get in contact with Mukai Prefecture. It is possible the poison is being sold off to nefarious parties, or is simply being stolen."
"Mukai regulates such things very closely," Mei said immediately. "A bad case of the Lord being assassinated some generations ago. I'm sure if it's coming from Mukai, it's stolen."
"Alright. Daishikou, get someone to investigate the situation in Mukai. Find out whatever you can."
"Yes, Your Highness."
And the meeting returned to tedium. But Kyourin was anything but bored. She was furious. Touke had been keeping things from her. But not only Touke—the Daishiba, Mei, the whole Privy Council. How was she supposed to advise Touke, have a hand in running the government, if they were keeping things from her? This was a terrible crime against the essential nature of her relationship to the Kingdom, and it was pissing her off. Before long thinking about it, her hands were shaking in fury. She clenched them so as not give anything away.
Not long after that, the meeting was called to an end, and Touke and Kyourin again passed through the door into the Inner Palace. As soon as they were alone, Kyourin rounded on Touke. "I can't believe you," she hissed.
Touke gave her a perfectly innocent look. That just made her more angry. "What are you talking about?"
"You know what I'm talking about! I can't be left in the dark like this, from something so important!"
"We don't know it's important," Touke said, clearly trying to keep her voice reasonable. "There are always people trying to inform themselves on the inner workings of the Kingdom, always people trying to interfere. You know that."
She did know that. There had been an incident a few decades ago where a district governor had tried to reason his way into bending the Rikkan to his will. What he wanted was perfectly innocent, but it still wasn't the right thing to do. Luckily, the Rikkan weren't receptive to his overtures. His sennin status stripped with his title, he was likely dead by now. "Don't give me that. You know this is different."
Touke was suddenly honest. "This will end in blood. I didn't want to involve you in something you would find distasteful. I promised long ago I would keep you away from the blood this government spills. I aimed to keep that promise, but I have again failed."
"You can't keep things from me like this."
"Yes," Touke said evenly, "I can. I do it all the time."
Stricken, Kyourin took an involuntary step back. Her eyes filled with tears. Before Touke could say anything, she turned and ran off toward Jinjuu manor.
As soon as she was alone, laying in her bed, she cried.
She wasn't alone in her magnified misery long before she was interrupted. Though she hadn't known this voice very long, she recognized it easily. They had spent hours the previous night talking, after all, about life on either side of the Kyokai. "Taiho?"
Aku had to try to speak several times before she could actually get words out. "It's okay." She took a shaky breath, trying to get herself more under control. "You can keep calling me Aku in private."
"Okay." She felt a shifting in the bed that must have meant Chiyono had sat down on it. "Is something wrong?" She asked, sounding a little awkward.
Aku hesitated for a moment. "It's far above your station."
"Okay. You don't have to tell me." If anything, Chiyono sounded relieved. Aku had learned from humans before that they felt weird sharing intimate things with people they hadn't known for very long. Their conversation the previous night had been plenty intimate, but maybe Chiyono wasn't used to it yet.
"Touke doesn't tell me things," she said in barely a whisper. Saying the words brought sobs to the surface again.
It clearly took Chiyono a moment to place the name. "Rulers always have secrets."
Aku sprung into a seated position, turned to Chiyono. Chiyono recoiled slightly; Aku must be having quite the expression. "She's not supposed to have secrets from me! We're supposed to be doing this together! How can I keep her on the Way if she doesn't tell me things?"
"Keep her on the Way?"
So Aku explained the position of the Kirin in a kingdom. It took a lot of dancing around vague concepts such as the Way and the Will of Heaven, but she thought she made a pretty clear explanation. Basically, that it was the Kirin's job to keep the queen from ruining the kingdom. "So how am I supposed to do that if she's hiding something so important from me?"
Frowning, Chiyono asked, "Hiding what?"
Aku hesitated. Mostly, she was worried if it was completely proper to be telling Chiyono this. The workings of the Privy Council were supposed to be sort of a state secret. Only people in the know were supposed to be in the know. A vague explanation couldn't hurt, she decided. "Possible preparations for an assassination attempt."
"To assassinate who?"
"Me."
The stricken expression someone more familiar with this world would wear didn't rise on Chiyono's face. Instead she just looked confused. "Why would someone do that?"
"I don't know. You're the human here, you tell me."
Chiyono seemed to think about it for a moment. "If the Kirin, dies, what happens to the Queen?"
"She'll die in a couple months." Aku stifled the sense of horror the thought inspired. She wasn't going to let that happen any time soon. These potential assassins obviously underestimated shirei if they thought they had any chance.
"So, someone trying to get on the throne might be after you for that reason. To open it up."
"I guess. I do leave the Palace a lot, so I'm an easier target. But that doesn't make any sense."
"You're right, it would be very, very stupid. Disaster comes when the rightful king doesn't sit on the throne. Even I know that much."
Aku gave her a slight smile. She was still too close to tears to do much more than that. But how knowledgeable Chiyono was, even after only five years, pleased her. "That's true."
"Maybe they would want to capture you."
"What?" said Aku, blinking. That thought actually hadn't occurred to her. Why would anyone want to capture her?
"Well…" Chiyono trailed off, clearly organizing her thoughts. "How do you choose the king?"
"I receive the Revelation from Tentei."
"I mean the physical action."
Not sure where Chiyono was going with this, she nevertheless answered. "I prostrated myself and touched my horn to her foot."
"Maybe someone thinks if they can get you to do the same thing—"
"But that's impossible."
Chiyono raised a curious eyebrow at her quick objection. "What do you mean?"
"It is physically impossible for me to do that with anyone other than my Queen. Tentei won't let me."
"Maybe if they use physical force—"
"Impossible."
Chiyono gave her a sad sort of smile. "Maybe they don't know that."
With a sigh, Aku shrugged. "So we're looking at someone trying to get on the throne."
"That would be my guess," Chiyono said with a nod.
People more versed in the ways of humans, like everyone in the Privy Council, had probably figured that out before she had. The idea of someone coveting power enough to raise a hand against the Mandate, or force it to their will, had just never occurred to her. Even after the whole deal with the former Chousai. She really did learn slow sometimes. "Well, good luck to them." She glanced at her window, taking in the angle of the sun. "I have some time to eat before the Provincial Council meets. Want lunch?"
"Lunch with the Taiho? How could I refuse?" Chiyono's voice was slightly sarcastic.
Aku let out a wider smile.
After eating, Aku was on her way to the nearby building where she held court, so nearby it was even on the same island, though technically in the Outer Palace. Soufuu Palace had a strange configuration compared to most others, seeing as how it was spread across a dozen peaks instead of just one. The boundary between Outer and Inner actually split several islands, just as it did on Aku's home island. And she only had to take one bridge to get to the Gaiden. Everything was conveniently close by, which she was positive was intentional.
She couldn't say exactly what her thoughts were on. They were an amalgam of various things that had gone on the last couple days. Being followed, the problem of the spies, Touke lying to her—if she thought about that too much she would start crying again, so she tried not to—getting Chiyono her job and talking to her. It had been an interesting couple days, filled with more interest than usual, and it was leaving her a little dazed.
So dazed, she would have missed the person shadowing her if her shirei hadn't pointed it out. Even in the Palace. What was going on? "Meiri," she said lowly as she continued walking.
"Taiho?" her Daiboku said just as lowly, obviously picking up on the feeling of the situation, if not the substance..
"We're being shadowed." Her Daiboku started glancing around surreptitiously, so Aku helped her out. "To the left, in those trees."
Meiri's glances settled in that direction for a while. She suddenly tensed, obviously having spotted him. For a moment, she said or did nothing. "Can I borrow a shirei?"
Aku waited for a breeze, decided she was upwind of the interloper. "Alright. Karou, go with her." Without another word, Meiri walked off. Aku felt her shirei leave her shadow, tagging along. Aku counted off a few seconds. When she thought Meiri would be encountering the spy, she stopped, squeezed her eyes shut, covered her ears.
She still heard the muffled sound of steel clanging against steel. The idea of the violence behind the sound made her light-headed. The interloper may be an enemy, but she still didn't like the idea of him getting hurt. "Taiho!" came a shout from that direction.
Aku dropped her hands and opened her eyes, but didn't look that way. There could be blood. "Yes?"
"I have to go. I have blood on me." Called it. "Go ahead to the Council." It was only at the end of this garden, bare meters away. "I'll be cleaned up by the time you get out."
"Alright." After taking a deep breath, she walked on.
With a sickening feeling of fear and horror that almost made her dizzy, she wondered how many more people would have to die for her sake.
Nomei: 応銘
Karou: 火弄
It suddenly occurs to me a lot of people will have no idea what I mean when I use these government terms. I'll lay out some stuff.
King (王): obvs
Advisors: These four people advise the king, though they have no direct role in kingdom government.
Saiho(/Taiho) (宰輔/台輔) (This is always the Kirin, of course. Saiho is the official title, Taiho is an honorific.)
Sankou (三公): Taishi (太師), Taifu (太傅), Taiho (太保) (notice the different spelling)
Rikkan (六官): These are the six divisions of government. Sometimes, the ministers of these ministries are as a group referred to simply as the Rikkan.
Chousai (冢宰): the head of the Rikkan, the prime minister
Ministry of Winter (冬官): deals with economic affairs. Minister/vice-minister is called the Dai/Shoushikuu (大/小司空)
Ministry of Spring (春官): deals with education and religious affairs. Minister/vice-minister is called the Dai/Shousouhaku (大/小宗伯)
Ministry of Summer (夏官): deals with the military. Minister/vice-minister is called the Dai/Shoushiba (大/小司馬).
Ministry of Fall (秋官): deals with legal affairs. Minister/vice-minister is called the Dai/Shoushikou (大/小司寇
Ministry of Earth (地官): manages the lands of the kingdom. Minister/vice-minister is called the Dai/Shoushito (大/小司徒)
Ministry of Heaven (天官): manages the palace and general political affairs. The minister is Taisai (大宰) and the vice-minister is Shou(shi?)sai (小司宰)
As long as I'm at it, I'll talk about the peerage rank, too. I'm doing this because I'll be talking about rank later, with Chiyono. As far as I know, all these people are immortal. From top to bottom:
Tei (帝): the gods
Kings (王, "ou"): obvs
Kou (公): the Kirin
Kou (侯, note different spelling): the Sankou, Chousai, and Province Lords
Haku (伯): as far as I know, this is a rank given to hisen (飛仙), special sennin who gain their immortality through their own accomplishments and not awarded by the kingdom (or simply a sennin separate from the government), or may also be given on an honorary basis by the kingdom. I'm not entirely sure though.
Keihaku (卿伯): the ministers of the Rikkan (I believe), and probably the lords of districts
Daibu (大夫): This title comes in three ranks, from top to bottom Shou, Chuu, and Ka (上, 中, 下) (I'm guessing on the readings there a little). I'm guessing the vice-ministers are Shoudaibu. I would also guess prefectural lords are either Shoudaibu or Chuudaibu.
Shi (士): This title also comes in three ranks, the same as above.
(You'll notice there are twelve ranks total.)
More minor functionaries working in the government buildings in the palace (excluding servants) are likely some form of Daibu or Shi. A small number of servants, such as Hokumi, are considered important enough to be Kashi. Touke, when she was serving that hisen of hers, was a Chuushi.
There's some funny things in this. For example, the Sankou (三公, meaning "three Kou"), have the higher Kou (公) in their name, but are ranked at the lower Kou (侯). Then there's the head of the Ministry of Spring, the Daisouhaku (大宗伯), who has the rank Haku (伯) in their name, is actually ranked Keihaku (卿伯, which, admittedly, has the same 伯 in it). Crazy, huh?
So, are you confused yet? :D?
