Smoothly, without resistance, Touke woke up.
Once she got in the habit of doing something simple, she was usually pretty good at doing it every time. Like getting up early in the morning. When she had been a servant, she had had to roll out of bed at four in the morning to get everything prepared for when the lord of the manor woke up. And that was only after four or five hours of sleep. Now she only had to get up at seven, so it was much easier. After eighty years—really, after one—she hit the hour on the mark almost every time. And she wasn't even sleepy.
A couple minutes later, the bedchamber she usually slept in—she had over a dozen, but she usually only stayed here—a place covered in shining metal and smooth silk, was swarmed by servants. They helped her get dressed for breakfast, which was entirely unnecessary, but after eighty years she had gotten used to that too. A couple rooms away, on a balcony that in the evening had an amazing view of the sun setting over Unkai, breakfast was waiting for her. She ate, barely noticing what she put in her mouth. She was much too distracted.
After eighty years, things were much, much better than they had been at the onset. But nothing was perfect. There were stories of corruption in An, she forgot which prefecture. The Ministry of Fall was looking into it, but Touke suspected they were going to be bribed off. Much of the lower levels of the ministries still haven't been cleansed of the bad seed left over from her predecessor's final years. There had been a widespread flood in Ken, and they were still cleaning up after it. And of course, there were those spies, and other disconcerting, though subtle noises.
The most worrying was that weapons were missing. Everywhere. Small amounts had vanished from the stores of every single province. That someone had the resources to draw from across the Kingdom, and the wisdom to take only small numbers from multiple sources, was very concerning. And, of course, the fact that it was weapons missing. There was only one reason someone would need to gather so many weapons. Touke hoped it was just government officials simply selling off Kingdom property to line their own pockets, not that that in itself was a great thing, but she wasn't so sure. This, when combined with the spies and the attempt on her Saiho's life, was making her very worried.
Her thoughts turned to the Taiho. Whoever was behind this was very clearly after her Saiho. But why go through all that? Anyone should know what would happen if the Taiho were to die. It wouldn't be pleasant for anyone. And kidnapping her would serve no purpose. Kirin could serve only one master. And that was Touke. They didn't even prostrate themselves before Tentei. Those were the rules. Whoever they were must know that. Nevertheless, she would have to keep her Saiho safe. She should increase the guard around the Palace, making sure to pay special attention to Kyourin's home. But even as she thought it, she knew it would be fruitless. If these people could slip into the Palace now, they could get into it later, no matter how much she increased security.
Then she thought of more personal matters. Aku was angry at her. Touke had gotten her angry twice in one week. She had never seen Aku angry before that. Ever. At least not that she could recall. It broke her heart to see Aku like that, the expression she had sent Touke's way, but she had no choice. This talk of missing weapons, Aku would only worry about it more than Touke already was. And there was no point in them both worrying. Aku would fear whose hands they would be in, who would come under the blade, more powerfully than Touke did. She had even heard that Aku had become physically ill only imagining the violence of the war against the Chousai—even after all these years, she still referred to him simply as the Chousai. She would reduce Aku's suffering as much as she could. And that meant keeping her in the dark.
But why had Aku been so powerfully affected by her choosing a consort? It had been years since they had even touched each other. And sure, that had been Touke's doing, but she had thought Aku would have gotten the point by now. And they had never had a regular thing as it was. Whatever romance there may have been between them was gone, had been for decades, if it had ever even existed in the first place. Touke didn't regret letting it die. They shouldn't have even been doing it in the first place. She regretted that Aku had gotten so attached to what they had had, but Touke had no choice. She couldn't let it continue in good conscience. So, partially from simple loneliness and partially to help her resist temptation, she had chosen a consort. Simple enough.
He was a good man. He was intelligent, virtuous almost to a fault, handsome. And he had beautiful children, a bonus. Touke had met him by chance—he had been assigned to her bodyguard detail during a trip to Fu a couple years ago. She could do a lot worse, she really could.
It was too bad Aku didn't seem to understand any of this.
Touke wondered if Aku was serious about choosing a consort. She was absolutely certain nothing of the like had been done before. In the past, Kirin have invited people to live with them in Jinjuu Manor, or wherever they resided in the palace if not there, but never in this capacity. She was sure the Privy Council would never support it. But if it was what would make Aku happy, she would defend the decision against the rest of the government, and Gyokkei itself if she had to. Aku was a person, with needs and desires like any other. She wasn't this perfect, holy being, transcendent beyond all human experience as people seemed to believe she was. She was just a person. An unusual, critically important person, but a person.
She finished her breakfast, and wondered to herself what she should do until she got to Council. Then, at an urging from a servant, she realized it was time already. She must have spaced out in her thoughts for longer than she'd thought.
Even after eighty years, she still hated how her servants made her dress. To go to Privy Council, she had to get all fancied up as every queen supposedly should. Layer after layer of shining silk kimono, sleeves long enough to hide her hands, hem dragging on the floor—though she had instructed them to have them tailored so the fronts were shorter than they had been, so she didn't trip over herself. The last female Kyou-Ou had been taller than she. Then she was bedecked in jewels everywhere. Fingers, wrists, neck, waist. Everywhere. Even in her hair. Her hair was bound up and so saturated with hairpins she felt unbalanced. She had learned to move around with all this some time ago, but it still irked her. Even though she would never be able to fight in this, she still kept her sword at her waist. Maybe her hinman would be able to think of something, should it come down to it.
Soon she was on her ridiculously ornate throne in the Gaiden. Kyourin wasn't there. She waited long minutes, listening to the whispering on the other side of the shutters. No Kyourin. She sent a servant to run over and see if Kyourin was coming. She had overslept a few times. But she wasn't in Jinjuu Manor. On his own, the servant had decided to ask around to see if anyone had seen her, knew where she was, but when he got back he had nothing to report. No one knew where the Taiho had gone.
Oh well. She ran off like this sometimes. Probably nothing to worry about.
Still, a cold, sick feeling sunk into Touke's gut. She had a bad feeling.
The Council meeting went entirely without incident. No new developments on the spies/weapons front. Things in Ken were moving steadily. No reports from the Ministry of Fall about An yet. They were getting to it. Bullshit. She would probably have to hire trustworthy people for them to get to it. She sighed. Running this Kingdom could really be annoying sometimes. She had reduced the workload by devolving authority to the province lords, most of whom she trusted. She still had people watching them, of course, just to see if anything went wrong, but everything seemed to be running smoothly so far. But in the end, she had to decide to put trust in people, whether or not they were actually trustworthy. It was frustrating to leave her kingdom in hands she wasn't sure were clean, but there wasn't a lot she could do about it.
Close to the end, someone decided to point out the Taiho wasn't here. Well, obviously. Everyone could see that. It probably wasn't anything to worry about. The Taiho skipped out of the Palace all the time, even though Touke had just told her not to. Something about that wasn't right. Or maybe she was frolicking about one of the islands as she did sometimes, and was simply angry enough at Touke that she didn't want to come. She didn't tell them that last part, of course. To many people, saying the Kirin was angry with her was just as good as saying Heaven was. Someone said they should find her Daiboku, maybe she would know where the Taiho was, but Mei reasoned if they found her Daiboku they would find Kyourin, considering they were likely to be together. In the end, it was decided they should send a couple servants searching the less used areas of the Palace, places they wouldn't have thought to look, where no one would have seen her, to see if they could find her there. She had run off to hide a couple times before when traumatized by this or that, so it wasn't impossible.
Oh right, that was it. Touke had ordered Kyourin not to leave the Palace. It was impossible for a Kirin to disobey a direct order from her master. She had to be here somewhere.
After lunch, she situated herself in the Naiden. She read up on this or that, listening to individual issues from this or that official, blah blah. The same thing that happened every day. It was a pretty dull day in the Naiden as well, not just the Gaiden. Oh well. Not every day could be filled with excitement. It would seem today wasn't one of those days.
She was wrong.
"Your Highness?"
She looked to see someone prostrate on the ground. That's funny, she hadn't heard him come in. By his dress, he was a servant. "Yes, what is it?"
Without looking up, he said, "There is a young woman asking to see you. She says it's urgent."
"Why didn't you send her in, then?"
"She's a shikan, a Shoushi."
Ah, that would be it. Usually Shoushi weren't allowed in the Naiden. "Did she get any more specific, besides to say it was urgent?"
"She says it's about the Taiho."
Hmm. Maybe she could see her. Couldn't hurt. "Alright, let her in." The servant backed up, stood up without meeting her eyes, and scurried off. Silly man.
In only a moment, someone came storming in. She was wearing the dress of a simple government official—silk, but not over the top. She had very pale skin and very black hair. And, to Touke's surprise, she seemed to be carrying a bundle of linens. She came closer to Touke than she should, and bowed low, not prostrating herself. She also seemed to be shaking slightly. "Your Highness."
"What's your name?" she asked immediately. She had a suspicion.
"Mononobe no Chiyono," the girl said without a second thought or a second's pause. And, unlike most, she met Touke's eyes. Not afraid of her, it seemed. Then why was she shaking?
"Kyourin's kaikyaku?" Mononobe nodded. She'd guessed as much. "What's so urgent?"
"This," she said, holding up the linens. "May I?" gesturing closer to the throne.
Touke considered a split-second—Mononobe wasn't going to assassinate her. "You may."
Mononobe took her sheets, and walked toward the throne, unraveling them as she went. "I took these off the Taiho's bed."
"What were you doing on the Taiho's bed?"
Mononobe gave her a slightly reproachful look. "She told me to come find her this morning." Aku had summoned someone to come to Jinjuu first thing in the morning? Huh. "I was checking to see if she was still asleep. I know people are searching for her, and I found this. Look, here," she said, holding out a section of the sheet to Touke.
Touke took a look, then stiffened. There was a brownish-red stain in the silk.
Blood.
What was blood doing in the Taiho's bed? Blood had no business being in the Taiho's bed.
Something had happened to the Taiho.
Touke sprung to standing, surprising Mononobe enough for her to take a step back. "Guards!" she shouted. Immediately, they appeared through two side entrances, and started their way to apprehend Mononobe, apparently misinterpreting the scene. "Search Jinjuu Manor. Now. Every room." A little confused, they nonetheless bowed low and ran off to follow her orders. She and, she noticed with a backward glance, Mononobe followed hot on their heels.
It only took them a few minutes to find Kyourin's Daiboku and servant.
Considering they were both sennin, and Kyourin's Daiboku a warrior, the mess was rather small. They were in one of the corners of the Manor, somewhere rarely used for generations. The room was simple—the enchanted wood of the building with metal accents, a silk curtain here or there. Furnishings were almost absent, as abandoned as this place was. In the center of the room was a pool of coagulated blood. And laying in the brownish-red blotch were Kyourin's Daiboku and favorite servant. Their heads were removed, as they would have had to have been, placed on top of their bodies at pitched angles. One of them had blood dribbling out of the mouth—that beheading must not have been perfect the first shot, severing the throat, allowing blood to bubble out with breath, only to be finished with a second chop. Judging by the uneven cut in the servant's neck, that was likely exactly what had happened. Poor girl. The Daiboku's name was Meiri, Touke remembered, but she didn't know the servant's. Not that it mattered anymore.
As Mononobe, running in behind her, saw the scene, she gasped, took a step back and covered her mouth. "Oh, no, not Hokumi too," she muttered. That must be the servant. She started following Touke into the room, but then the smell must have hit her, for she suddenly dashed away. Touke heard the tell-tale sounds of vomiting.
But Touke wasn't bothered. She had been around death a lot during the war. Now she barely noticed. She took a look at the bodies. Each had a gag on, and their arms were bound. Touke figured two or more people had come up behind them, one slipping the gag over their head, the other quickly binding their arms. Then they had dragged the silenced and helpless women here, far away from the Taiho, where they efficiently executed them. They must have been considerably skillful, considering Meiri was an exceptional fighter.
But where was the Taiho? Where was Aku?
Touke called a little emergency session in the gardens outside Jinjuu Manor. Present were Kokumei, the commander of the Palace Guard, the General of the Forbidden Army of the Right, and the Sankou. All the people in the government she trusted absolutely, without reservations. The Daishiba used to be on this list, but she obviously couldn't trust him to keep his mouth shut. The commander of the Palace Guard was a man named Misou, tall, with wide, muscular arms always cautiously clutching his sword. The Forbidden Army of the Right was led by Yuuko, the man who had helped her raise the gates in Ouhan so long ago. Right now he was wearing silks—Touke understood he had been about to go get dinner in the city with his wife, but this definitely took precedence. The Sankou were also drawn from the military of the loyalist provinces. There was the Taifu—Ninfun, another big, muscular man with silky orange hair—the Taiho—a thin, reedy man named Juurei who was constantly joking about everything—and the Taishi—called simply Toku, a somewhat aged woman with long silver hair, who had been and still was the greatest tactician in the Kingdom.
They gathered in the gardens, sitting in simple wooden chairs Touke had had servants summon. At least, most of them were. Kokumei was pacing. Touke hadn't told them what was wrong yet, but by the fact that servants and soldiers were swarming Jinjuu, she had probably guessed. Getting straight to the point, Touke said, "The Taiho is missing."
"No I'm not, I'm right here." Kokumei glared at him, a glare so intense Touke could feel the heat from here, and Juurei's face went white . "Right, sorry, no time for joking. But it's probably nothing."
Yuuko nodded, smiling slightly. "Kyourin runs all over the place all the time. No one ever knows where she is. She'll come back."
"She always does," Misou agreed.
"If it were just her ordinary antics," said Toku, "then why did she miss Council? I can't recall her ever doing so. Even when she was miserable over criminals she felt falsely accused being executed and things like that, she still came, her eyes bloodshot from crying." The rest of the group nodded at the memory. "And if it were just the ordinary antics, the Queen wouldn't have so many guards and servants here. So what is it?"
Touke took a long breath. "The Taiho's Daiboku and servant were found dead in the Manor."
A long, deathly silence. "And the Taiho?" asked Kokumei.
"Nowhere to be found. We're still searching, but I don't think we'll find her. And there was blood on her bed."
Toku asked, "How much?"
"Just a few drops."
"Hmm."
"So what do we do now?" Ninfun said.
Kokumei said, "There are procedures for when the Taiho is dead, but I'm not sure what to do when she's missing."
"And we're sure she's missing?" said Yuuko. "And not dead?"
Juurei said, "If she were dead we would find her body."
"Not necessarily. When the Kirin dies, her shirei eat her. There wouldn't be a body left behind."
"They wouldn't," Kokumei said flatly, obviously having had to remove emotion from her voice. "There is a procedure for that too. They don't do it until we lay her in state. There's a ceremony to all this the shirei understand, and they wouldn't violate it. When Kyouki," referring to the previous Taiho, "died under not entirely dissimilar circumstances, they waited days."
"Well, alright, I guess not."
"So," Toku said, "we can conclude she had been abducted."
"How can we conclude that?" asked Misou.
"Very simple. As some men were disposing of the two poor souls we found, a few more made for the Taiho in her bed. They sprinkled blood on her in her sleep, leaving the stains we found, so she could not call her shirei. Blood sickness," she said to the blank looks from some of the group. "Blood sickness weakens a Kirin's shirei just as it does the Kirin. With her debilitated from the blood, and with the inside men they likely have, it would have been all too easy to carry her out of here."
She was right. The Taishi was always right. Touke said, calling upon what she thought of as her Queen voice, strong and authoritative, "Alright. I want everyone from the Ministries of Winter and Summer that were on duty last night investigated. If we discover any traitors, I want information out of them, on whose orders this was done and where they took the Taiho. Torture them if you have to. In the meantime, I want the Ministry of Fall to continue their investigation into the poison. The Ministry of Summer will summon patrols to search anywhere they could be hiding her—provincial palaces, district and prefectural castles, manors of the very wealthy, places like that. Recovering the Taiho is our number one priority. Until she is found, everything else can be suspended. Am I understood?"
The gathered all bowed low, some wordlessly and some making acknowledgments, and all ran off to spread the news and her orders. For just a moment, Kokumei hung behind. After a short pause, not meeting Touke's eyes—she got the feeling her and Aku's previous relationship was making her uncomfortable—she said, "Don't worry. We'll find her."
"Do you really believe that?"
The question seemed to give Kokumei pause for a long moment. Then she said, "We must," and walked away.
That about summed it up.
Misou: 弥奨
Ninfun: 韌份
Toku: 徳
Juurei: 住岺
