The Twelve Kingdoms: Dreaming of Paradise

  The Twelve Kingdoms

  Dreaming of Paradise

  by Fuyumi Ono

  translated by Eugene Woodbury

  Winter Splendor

  hen Taiki left the building, the Imperial Palace looked completely different.

  He stopped in the promenade, looked around and blinked several times. The building itself had not changed. Neither had the great array of magnificent pavilions or the gardens and courtyards. The white walls and indigo tile roofs, the officials passing back and forth—it was the same scene as always.

  But now they all seemed to glow with a wan, inner light. Everything was wrapped in a soft luster, as if a thin gauze was draped across the unusually clear winter sky. The blue was faded, the sun a stained smear of white, the shadows falling at Taiki's feet a washed-out gray.

  And yet the scene before him was brighter than what he would see at noonday.

  This was different than fog, but something like a fog suffused the surroundings. The light was tinged with something too faint and too fine to see—or at least that's how it felt to Taiki.

  Behind him, Seirai asked, "Is something the matter?"

  Seirai had accompanied him from the main palace. Taiki glanced over his shoulder. He gestured at the expansive gardens as if to say, How does one account for this?

  "Ah, yes." Seirai smiled and looked up at the sky. "Strange indeed. A white sun."

  Seirai was Taiki's regent. He was also the prime minister of Zui Province, home to the capital of the Kingdom of Tai. It was common practice to assign a regent to a young Saiho like Taiki. The regent always remained close by and attended to everything that needed attending to, from the Saiho's private life to government affairs. At the same time, he served as Taiki's tutor.

  "A white sun?"

  "That's what weather like this is called. It is clear below as well." As Taiki looked no more enlightened by this explanation he added, "The storms beneath the Sea of Clouds have abated for a spell. The sunlight is reflecting off the snow covering the world below."

  "Wow."

  Taiki gazed again at the landscape shrouded in white light. It looked like rays of the sun streaming through the paper panes of a shouji door. It reminded him of waking up on a clear morning back in Japan, a place that seemed like a distant, foreign world to him now. He couldn't help feeling a brief pang of homesickness.

  "There can't be a cloud in the sky and the weather must be perfect. It doesn't happen very often. We struck the jackpot today."

  "Do you think the world below is visible from here?"

  "Shall we go see if it is?"

  Taiki answered with an enthusiastic nod. The Imperial Palace itself appeared like an island floating in the midst of the ocean. The world below should be visible through the enveloping Sea of Clouds, but come winter, that view disappeared as well as the storm clouds gathered and blocked the view.

  Seirai laughed and reached out his hand. Taiki seized his regent's warm hand and looked up at him. "If we don't hurry, the clouds will probably close in again."

  As if taking this information into account, Seirai smiled. "Well, I know a shortcut. Let's go."

  Taiki agreed delightedly. He had a particular fondness for his regent's "shortcuts." Seirai made liberal use of the paths and alleyways otherwise reserved for the lower-ranked civil servants, at times even cutting through a shuttered palace or an official's courtyard.

  Taiki was always impressed and curious that the Imperial Palace contained such places. All the more fun was ducking into the shadows whenever somebody crossed their paths, so as not to catch the odd bureaucrat by surprise.

  This day as well, holding onto Seirai's hand, they stole through the nooks and crannies of the government offices, negotiating yet another "shortcut." Sneaking beneath the balcony of a stately manse, they emerged into a courtyard. A number of people were exiting a nearby building in the company of several kijuu.

  "Taiho—" said a voice.

  The surprised speaker came to a halt. Taiki quickly hid himself and came face to face with Seirai.

  "We've been found out!"

  "Well, I guess we've got no choice but to surrender peacefully and accept what we've got coming."

  Grinning, Taiki and Seirai emerged from the thicket. Several armor-wearing soldiers appeared to be waiting for them on the adjacent cobblestones. Taiki recognized Ganchou and Asen of the Palace Guard and their kijuu. The one woman among them was Risai, general of the Zui Provincial Guard. As always, she was with Hien, her kijuu.

  Because Senkaku of the Ministry of Earth was with them, they probably weren't going on military maneuvers. Behind them was Taiki's liege, all the more conspicuous thanks to his shimmering gray hair and ruby eyes and bright smile.

  "The Taiho does have the habit of turning up in the most unexpected places at the most unexpected times." At the head of the troop, Risai bowed to him and grinned broadly.

  Taiki answered, "It's the weird weather. We were wondering if we could see the world below and came to look at the Sea of Clouds. Can I pet Hien?"

  "Of course," Risai answered readily. "I'm sorry to have to say it, Taiho, but the skies being as they are, it is unlikely the Sea of Clouds will afford you much of a view."

  Stroking Hien's fur, Taiki tilted his head to the side. "But there aren't any clouds, right?"

  "Yes. Which means that the sunlight reflecting off the world below is all too blinding."

  Taiki looked at Seirai with a disbelieving expression. Seirai averted his gaze, biting his lip to keep the mischievous smile from his mouth.

  All of a sudden, Ganchou's big, boulder-like frame shook with orotund laughter. "Seems like Seirai here's been pulling a leg or two."

  Hien whimpered in consolation as Taiki scratched the scruff of his neck. He sighed. "Seirai's a big meanie. Before, when I asked him what a 'prime minister' was, he said it was the person in charge of the Imperial babysitting services. Gyousou-sama thought it was a very funny joke."

  "Considering the tongue-lashing he caught from His Highness afterwards," Asen laughed, "you could say that he was the one injured on the play."

  Taiki smiled as well. Seirai chuckled.

  Asen had long been a general in the Palace Guard, as had Gyousou before his recent elevation, and they had enjoyed a close relationship. Risai was on good terms with Gyousou as well. Ganchou and Seirai had been Gyousou's right-hand men. That special air of comity that attends any group of good friends surrounded them.

  Laughing, Seirai urged Taiki forward. "Let's get out of here before His Highness boxes my ears. We probably won't be able to see the world below, but it is still a remarkable sight. The Sea of Clouds glows with a beautiful white light."

  "While we're at it, can we go to the Forbidden Gate and see what it's like down there?"

  They'd only come as far as the inner part of the Naiden. Going through the building Risai and the others had come from would take them to the Forbidden Gate.

  Seirai raised an eyebrow. "It's pretty darned cold down there. A small guy like the Taiho would get froze through in no time at all."

  "Just for a little while," said Taiki.

  Gyousou stepped forward. He was the King of Tai and Taiki's liege. "I'll go with you."

  Taiki was delighted, but at the same time felt himself a burden. The coronation had only recently taken place and the King was a busy man. He really didn't have the time to spend escorting Taiki around.

  "You must have other things to do."

  "Risai and the others could probably use the time to stable their kijuu. And I needed to see you anyway."

  Encouraged by Gyousou's smile, Taiki's face as well split into a wide grin. Being around his incompa
rable liege always made him happy. He glanced over his shoulder at Seirai.

  I'll be waiting here, Seirai's grin and upturned eyes answered him.

  Chapter 2

  Taiki said, "I'm sorry about taking you away from your work like this."

  "Not a problem," Gyousou said with a smile and a quick backward glance.

  He headed toward a set of doors that had just been opened. Beyond the doors was a large window. Beyond the window, the Sea of Clouds reached out to the horizon. Having been born in another world, this ocean above the sky remained for Taiki a strange and peculiar phenomenon.

  He heard the soft murmur of waves. The sea was usually shrouded in a gray gloom, but today it glowed white. The surface of the water was the color of white pearls, glowing faintly as lit by lights lining the ocean floor.

  With an excited cry, Taiki dashed to the window. Gyousou placed a thick coat across his shoulders. "You'd better wear this. It's freezing outside."

  "But won't you get cold?"

  "You don't need to worry about me."

  Illustration

  Taiki couldn't help feeling a little guilty, but his delight in Gyousou's concern for him more than made up the difference. Running to catch up with Gyousou as he strode toward the staircase, he got tangled up in the long sleeves and was sent sprawling. Gyousou stopped and scooped him up in his arms, wrapping the long coat around him in a single motion.

  "Still light as a feather."

  "That's 'cause I'm a kirin, I think."

  Taiki's true inner nature—which he hadn't truly grasped himself—was not human. A species of creature known as a kirin, his unique steel-black hair was actually a mane. And belonging to the genus of flying pegasi, his body was lightly built.

  "Indeed," Gyousou said.

  Bearing Taiki on his shoulders, he continued down the white stone stairway tucked into a corner of the room. The staircase was by no means short, but with every step they descended ten or twenty times that height in actual distance.

  Oddities like this could be found throughout the Imperial Palace. Though amazed at first, Taiki had bit by bit become accustomed to such things. There were beasts—not birds—that soared through the air, a sea above the sky, people with every imaginable color of hair and eyes.

  That was just the kind of world this was.

  The broad, winding staircase exited onto a large hall. A huge set of doors were set into the front of the room. The guards on either side recognized Gyousou and Taiki and opened the gates.

  Halfway through the gates, the needle-like wind and sharp rays of the sun seemed to press against them.

  The Forbidden Gate was located halfway up the side of Mt. Ryou'un. It was set into an immense cave located on a high promontory adjacent to the Sea of Clouds. The unenclosed side of the wide, triangular terrace in front of the gate fell away into open space as if it had been interrupted mid-construction.

  Taiki slipped out of Gyousou's arms. Firmly clasping his hand, he peered over the edge. The snow-covered city of Kouki spread out below them. The steep serrations of the surrounding peaks shimmered silver-white against the brilliant blue sky.

  "It's pretty," he murmured.

  The minute he opened his mouth, the bitterly cold air stung at the back of his throat and he coughed reflexively. In the time it had taken to cross the terrace from the Forbidden Gate, his skin was already growing numb. He could feel his eyelids freezing. The brilliance and cold made for an almost painful combination.

  "It really is cold." The chill was already making it difficult to talk normally.

  Gyousou nodded. "Tai is a kingdom of the far north. The winters come early here, as do the snows. The towns and villages are closed in by the snow. Clear days like this are few and far between. Located here in the heavens, the Imperial Palace mostly escapes the weather. But the ordinary people have find ways to live amidst all this cold."

  "It must be tough."

  "Loose your shelter and you'll freeze in no time. Once the hills and valleys get covered with snow and the ground freezes, there's no use digging for roots and tubers either. If stores laid up during the fall don't last the winter, you'll starve. And yet the harvest all depends on the weather. How well you prepare for the winter makes the difference between life and death. That's the kind of kingdom this is."

  Taiki stared down wordlessly at the glittering city, white and icy and inorganic.

  "We leaders of men who stand and stare like this fancy ourselves beautiful and undefiled, but at the same time we will act with ruthless inhumanity. Never forget that."

  "Yes," Taiki responded with a nod, feeling a kind of quiet gravity replacing his giddiness.

  Before long, hurried along by a gentle hand at his back, they returned to the Forbidden Gate. The grave mood didn't lift even after they had left the cold behind. The chill remained for a while in his hands and feet, his fingers and toes almost painfully numb. But that wasn't the only reason for the lump of ice that seemed to sit in the pit of his stomach.

  "It was pretty cold out there, wasn't it?" Gyousou added in a more cheerful voice, "How someplace warmer?"

  "Someplace warmer?" Taiki asked quizzically.

  "Someplace warm where there's no snow and the flowers are blooming."

  "But it's winter, isn't it?"

  Gyousou leaned over and placed his hands on Taiki's shoulders and smiled reassuringly. "I'd like you to do a favor for me."

  This statement only left Taiki more confused. He couldn't see the connection between "a warm place" and "a favor."

  "I'd like you to go to Ren."

  "Ren? The Kingdom of Ren? Way to the south?"

  Gyousou nodded. "The Ren Taiho was a great help to you at Mt. Hou. I think it would be a good idea to thank her and let her know that the ship of state here in Tai is back on an even keel. But I simply do not have the time to spare."

  "So you want me to go instead?"

  "Under normal circumstances, a ceremonial mission would have been dispatched immediately following the coronation. But when we inquired, it seemed that Ren had been having some political difficulties. Though the disturbances had been brought under control, they found themselves a bit too preoccupied and asked to put things off for the time being. Things have apparently settled down, and so now I'd like you to pay a visit to the Royal Ren as my representative."

  "By myself?" Taiki said a bit hesitantly.

  "You'll have plenty of company, of course. I know it's a big job, but how about it?"

  Chapter 3

  Gyousou returned to the business he had at hand. Taiki trudged back to where Seirai was waiting for him in the courtyard. Seirai saw him and hurried over. He noticed Taiki's changed attitude at once.

  "What happened?"

  "It looks like I'm being sent to Ren."

  Seirai nodded knowingly. "Ah, I was wondering when that subject was going to come up."

  "You knew?"

  "His Highness discussed the matter with me. He wondered if it might be too great a burden to place upon you at this time. I said that it'd be a piece of cake for a Taiho like you." He peered more closely at Taiki. "Would you perchance harbor any reservations about going to Ren?"

  Taiki shook his head. He really didn't have a problem with going to Ren, and didn't want anybody getting the idea that he might.

  "But you must have a few concerns or worries."

  Taiki looked down at his feet. "No, that's not it."

  "It is a big responsibility. And yet Gyousou-sama won't be there with you."

  Seirai had served under Gyousou in the Palace Guard, and now and then referred to him as he once had.

  "Ren is very far away. It's going to take a lot of time to go there, won't it?"

  "Yes, it will. Using kijuu, going there and coming straight back will take a month at the least. Even at top speed, you're not likely to make it back for the New Year celebrations."

  "Would it be okay if I didn't go?"

  "This is normally the kind of thing that the Taiho and the King
would do together. All the more reason, His Highness believes, to make use of this opportunity to employ you as an ambassador. With all the festivals going on right now there won't be so many pressing engagements on your schedule. Look, the same thing goes for our friends in Ren. At any other time of year, we'd just be getting in the way."

  "I guess so."

  "Or perhaps the thought of being separated from Gyousou-sama makes you a little lonely?"

  Taiki glanced up at Seirai and Seirai nodded to himself. "Yes, Gyousou-sama has been very wrapped up in his work."

  In fact, Gyousou had been in a frenzy of activity of late. He'd been that way from before the Winter Solstice, and things hadn't changed since. After Seirai was appointed regent, they no longer attended the afternoon planning meetings together. There was no guarantee they'd eat together either. Exchanging a few words with Gyousou before the Privy Council was often the best Taiki could hope for.

  "There's never any time to sit around and chat. And on top of that, being sent on a long journey must seem awfully disheartening."

  "Yeah."

  Taiki well knew that Gyousou was busy, but he couldn't help feeling apprehensive, that he'd done something to tick him off. Back in his home town in Japan, he'd certainly seemed to do that to everybody around him.

  For the most part, Taiki was a child who could never measure up to people's expectations. He knew what everybody around him expected, but he didn't know how to give it to them. Doing what was good in his eyes was only apt to disappoint them. When he was around, nothing went right. He felt that keenly, a feeling that hadn't changed much even now.

  "You mean I'll just be in the way? Is that why I'm being sent to Ren?"

  "Nonsense," Seirai scoffed. "Is that what's got you so down? Nothing could be further from the truth. The Taiho is irreplaceable."

  "Because I'm a kirin?"

  "That is certainly true."

  "But—" he started to say. Seirai leaned forward and waited for him to continue. Taiki shook his head and closed his mouth.

  Seirai smiled sadly. "Of course this has all put you a bit under the weather. All the more reason to seize the opportunity and get the job done as best you can. And I strongly suspect certain aspects of your life will see a definite improvement upon your return."