with the Jun Tei incident."
"You can't seriously mean to do anything so abject and cowardly!" Kaei's pale, exhausted face twisted with shock and repugnance. "Are you suggesting that Kei be sacrificed to save Tai? Because that's what it sounds like."
"That is the--"
"No, Risai. Anything but that!"
"But what becomes of our kingdom?" Risai exclaimed. Gripping the reins in her hands she motioned at the base of the hill. "Look at that hamlet. You saw the people living there. That is what Tai has become. No one knows the whereabouts of His Highness. No one knows the whereabouts of the Taiho. There is nobody left who can save our kingdom!"
She had searched. Even while being pursued as a traitor she had searched for them. But she could find no evidence of Taiki and Gyousou anywhere. Not a trace left behind.
"Spring is coming, but where is there one field under the plow? If the fall does not yield a harvest, the people will certainly starve. If grain is not quickly stored away, the winter will come again. And with every winter, three more hamlets become two, and two become one. After this winter passes, how many of our populace will be left? How many more winters do you think Tai can survive?"
"But the ends do not justify causing Kei to sin against Heaven!"
"Someone has to come to the aid of Tai."
Kaei averted her eyes and shook her head no.
"I am going to Gyouten," Risai said.
Kaei looked back at her, pain and grief in her eyes. "Please. Anything but that!"
"Fleeing to the territory of the Province Lord of Sui ensures little more than our own safety. And even our own safety is hardly guaranteed. Sui Province may sicken just like the rest of the kingdom. It likely will. Then all we'll be able to do is to run away again."
"Risai."
"There is no other path left to us."
"Then here we must part ways."
Kaei clasped her shivering hands to her breast. Yet even the sight of Kaei's face--on the verge of tears--left her unmoved. Risai nodded. "I must do this. I have no choice."
Risai met Kaei at the Imperial Palace. There they had forged a fast friendship and together were driven from the capital. Years passed. This winter, at long last, they had reunited in Ran, Kaei's home province. They'd somehow survived a winter there before their pursuers once again caught up with them. Together they'd managed to make it to the adjoining southern province of Sui.
Kaei looked long and hard at Risai. Then she pressed the sleeve of her cloak to her face and softly moaned. "Sui Province is infested with youma. As you head south, they will grow thicker and more fierce as you near the coast."
"I understand."
Kaei covered her face with her sleeves and lowered her head. When she raised her head again, there was a resolute expression on her face. This was the face of the accomplished individual who had risen from minister-in-chief of Ran Province to the top post in the Ministry of Summer in the Rikkan. She bowed once and turned her back.
I really am doing a despicable thing, Risai thought.
All the better if the Royal Kei was unfamiliar with the Jun Tei incident; and if she still held fond ties to the place of her birth; and if she could be incited by her emotions to save Tai. If so, Kei would be destroyed. As soon as the Imperial Army crossed the borders of Kei, the Royal Kei would soon likely follow the same path to destruction as Jun Tei. But even so, the Imperial Army would be left behind. A single division under her command was all she required.
She had resolved to do a terrible thing.
As if resolved to the bitter end, Kaei kept her back to her as she descended the hill toward Shisen. She did not look back or lessen her stride. Risai watched her leave. Grasping the reins of her mount, with a heavy heart she turned her gaze from Kaei's retreating figure to that of Hien, her pegasus.
"I alone have lost my mind in my struggle to save Tai," she said, stroking the glistening black fur at its neck. "You remember him, don't you?" She pressed
"You can't seriously mean to do anything so abject and cowardly!" Kaei's pale, exhausted face twisted with shock and repugnance. "Are you suggesting that Kei be sacrificed to save Tai? Because that's what it sounds like."
"That is the--"
"No, Risai. Anything but that!"
"But what becomes of our kingdom?" Risai exclaimed. Gripping the reins in her hands she motioned at the base of the hill. "Look at that hamlet. You saw the people living there. That is what Tai has become. No one knows the whereabouts of His Highness. No one knows the whereabouts of the Taiho. There is nobody left who can save our kingdom!"
She had searched. Even while being pursued as a traitor she had searched for them. But she could find no evidence of Taiki and Gyousou anywhere. Not a trace left behind.
"Spring is coming, but where is there one field under the plow? If the fall does not yield a harvest, the people will certainly starve. If grain is not quickly stored away, the winter will come again. And with every winter, three more hamlets become two, and two become one. After this winter passes, how many of our populace will be left? How many more winters do you think Tai can survive?"
"But the ends do not justify causing Kei to sin against Heaven!"
"Someone has to come to the aid of Tai."
Kaei averted her eyes and shook her head no.
"I am going to Gyouten," Risai said.
Kaei looked back at her, pain and grief in her eyes. "Please. Anything but that!"
"Fleeing to the territory of the Province Lord of Sui ensures little more than our own safety. And even our own safety is hardly guaranteed. Sui Province may sicken just like the rest of the kingdom. It likely will. Then all we'll be able to do is to run away again."
"Risai."
"There is no other path left to us."
"Then here we must part ways."
Kaei clasped her shivering hands to her breast. Yet even the sight of Kaei's face--on the verge of tears--left her unmoved. Risai nodded. "I must do this. I have no choice."
Risai met Kaei at the Imperial Palace. There they had forged a fast friendship and together were driven from the capital. Years passed. This winter, at long last, they had reunited in Ran, Kaei's home province. They'd somehow survived a winter there before their pursuers once again caught up with them. Together they'd managed to make it to the adjoining southern province of Sui.
Kaei looked long and hard at Risai. Then she pressed the sleeve of her cloak to her face and softly moaned. "Sui Province is infested with youma. As you head south, they will grow thicker and more fierce as you near the coast."
"I understand."
Kaei covered her face with her sleeves and lowered her head. When she raised her head again, there was a resolute expression on her face. This was the face of the accomplished individual who had risen from minister-in-chief of Ran Province to the top post in the Ministry of Summer in the Rikkan. She bowed once and turned her back.
I really am doing a despicable thing, Risai thought.
All the better if the Royal Kei was unfamiliar with the Jun Tei incident; and if she still held fond ties to the place of her birth; and if she could be incited by her emotions to save Tai. If so, Kei would be destroyed. As soon as the Imperial Army crossed the borders of Kei, the Royal Kei would soon likely follow the same path to destruction as Jun Tei. But even so, the Imperial Army would be left behind. A single division under her command was all she required.
She had resolved to do a terrible thing.
As if resolved to the bitter end, Kaei kept her back to her as she descended the hill toward Shisen. She did not look back or lessen her stride. Risai watched her leave. Grasping the reins of her mount, with a heavy heart she turned her gaze from Kaei's retreating figure to that of Hien, her pegasus.
"I alone have lost my mind in my struggle to save Tai," she said, stroking the glistening black fur at its neck. "You remember him, don't you?" She pressed
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