Before even entering the emperor's chamber, Jyuusan-hime heard the hushed but agitated buzz of voices drifting out a window into the night air. She had thought it odd to be summoned at such a late hour, but now her curiosity took on an edge of apprehension. She rapped her knuckles on the door a few times, and was beckoned to enter by her brother Shuuei's voice.

When she opened the door and peered inside, she stopped in her tracks at the sight of the small group gathered around the emperor's desk. Yuushun Tei, the prime minister, sat at the desk and smiled up at her as she crossed into the middle of the room. Her brother Shuuei perched on a corner of the desk looking uncharacteristically somber. Seiran Shi, known only to a few as the former prince, now served as Yuushun's bodyguard and stood over the prime minister's right shoulder. Shuurei Kou, an agent of the Gyoshidai and a princess of the Kou family, paused unfurling a scroll on the desk to smile up at Jyuusan-hime. It was the emperor himself who swept swiftly around the desk to take her by the hands in greeting.

"Welcome, Lady Jyuusan-hime! We thank you for accommodating our untimely call," he stated with a slight nod of his head and a bright, eager smile.

Though she had only encountered the young emperor of Saiunkoku a handful of times since coming to the capital, each time she had grown to like him more and to feel more at ease in his presence. Despite her family's rejection of the new emperor, Jyuusan-hime had found him not only to be handsome—in fact beautiful, if such a word could describe a man—but also kind, brave and intelligent. If her heart had not already been lost to another, she might have wholeheartedly welcomed her impending marriage to Emperor Ryuuki. Yet, even now, struck breathless by his amber eyes and open smile, she was certain she would never, could never, give Ryuuki her heart, though he plainly deserved to be loved. The best she could do was to pledge her body and soul to the emperor for political purposes, a deal struck with her powerful brothers to save the man she really loved.

"Dear lady, we have a grave and important request to make of you," he stated, his smile fading. "We wish you to go home."

Jyuusan-hime cocked her head quizzically, glancing at Shuuei.

"Sister, it appears our friends in the Hyou clan are plotting the end of the world," he explained, a smirk lifting the corner of his mouth.

In response to her puzzled expression, Ryuuki described the intelligence reports on recent Hyou Clan activities that had been collected mainly by Shuurei in her investigative role in the Gyoshidai. By the time he had finished relating the details, Jyuusan-hime's emotions had leapt from anxiety to anger and back again. She recalled the utter arrogance of the clan she had grown up loathing, despite their close ties to her own family.

The prime minister's voice drew her back from her contemplation, the sound as soft and soothing as a summer breeze.

"So much depends on your honored family, my lady," Yuushun stated. "With the emperor still new to his position, his power extends over Shi Province, but the regional power remains in the hands of the clans. We had hoped for time to build alliances with the families of color, but it seems the Hyous intend to force our hand prematurely."

His eyes lowered to the map on the desk before him and they seemed to travel over the mountains and across the rivers sketched along the parchment. Jyuusan-hime recognized the rough lines immediately as a map of her home province. When Yuushun looked up at her again, his gaze held a weariness that tugged at her heart.

"Our nation owes its survival in great part to your family," he smiled at her warmly, "especially considering that potentially dangerous clans such as the Hyous have remained withdrawn from public activity for more than a decade, largely as a result of the Ran Clan's influence."

Again, his gaze dropped to the map, and he pointed his index finger to a smudged area on the parchment. "Now, however, the Hyous have begun to exhibit a boldness reminiscent of a time none of us wishes to relive," his normally sunny voice dropped to a more somber note. "During that time, the Hyous acted alone and, though deadly, they refrained from conflicting with the Rans at all costs. Now, it appears they are intent on purposely involving the Ran Clan."

"To destroy us, like an invisible sickness, attacking from the inside," Shuuei added coldly.

"The Hyous would like nothing more than to see a war pitting the emperor's national sovereignty against the clans' regional control," Yuushun added. "Their intended outcome would be that each destroys the other."

She glanced at Ryuuki's youthful face as he intently listened to the report, and she pitied him from the bottom of her heart. She believed that he would some day be a great emperor, if only given the chance to grow into the role. So far, it seemed everyone was willing to wait for him if it meant peace and prosperity for the future. Apparently, the Hyous were the exception. After a decade of silence and inactivity, they chose this moment to take advantage of Ryuuki's youth, inexperience and tenuous position to force him into a corner. They planned to capitalize on everything wrong with the country to drive it to its knees—the weak central government, the regional squabbles, the rivalry between the nobles and the clans, the regional control of wealth and industry, and the desire for vengeance felt by many at court because of the previous king's ruthless rule.

"As the direct descendents of the founder of Saiunkoku, they believe they have the right and responsibility to ensure that a worthy ruler sits on the throne," Yuushun explained.

"But they want more than the throne," Seiran stated coldly. "They want absolute rule, total power, control of industry, economy, legislation—everything."

His eyes met Jyuusan-hime's and a shiver crawled down her spine. She barely knew Seiran himself, but she had heard stories about him, about cold-blooded Prince Seien, since her childhood. As she listened to him, she couldn't shake the sense that death surrounded him, and she was thankful that Ryuuki had become emperor and not Seiran.

"To simply take the throne is meaningless if the eight families truly control the nation," Yuushun continued. "The previous emperor wrested control from the clans through force, often out of necessity, but resulting in animosity that still plagues the nation."

As he spoke, he rose from his chair and slowly limped around the desk, a cane bracing each step. He stopped next to Ryuuki and placed a big brother's warm hand on the younger man's shoulder.

"The current emperor has wisely opted for another approach, to build allegiances, to find common benefit among the clans and to place the peace of the nation at the center of his decisions," he stated, his voice full of pride and praise. He turned to Jyuusan-hime next.

"To rule with a fist is swift and effective, but tenuous and demanding," he related. "To rule with the open hand of brotherhood takes time. The benefits, however, last very, very long. The Hyous are not willing to wait. They have chosen the fist and mean to bring it down absolutely upon everyone, beginning with your family."

Ryuuki reached out a hand to brush his fingertips gently against Jyuusan-hime's cheek before taking her hands in his, pressing them to his chest and looking deeply into her eyes. She felt her breath leave her lungs in a whoosh.

"We regret…from the bottom of our heart…that we must ask you…to be a soldier and a diplomat, though you came here to be our wife," Ryuuki stammered and smiled sadly at her. "We… reluctantly… ask you to carry our message to Ran Province and plead with your brothers on our behalf, on the nation's behalf."

Jyuusan-hime's jaw dropped slightly, and her eyes shifted to Shuuei.

"I'm against it," he declared sharply, rising to his feet. After a moment he sat back on the edge of the desk. "But I can't go myself."

"It's imperative that no one else at court learns of the Hyou plot," Yuushun explained. "We don't want a panic and a call to arms, nor do we want the Hyous gaining allies. If Ran-shogun is not at his majesty's side, it will attract attention that we don't want."

"Believe me, Sister, I am as reluctant to agree to this as His Majesty," Shuuei assured her, "but even to ask Brother Ryuuren…"

"No!" came the nervous reply in unison from the group, bringing a grin to Jyuusan-hime's lips. Though more than capable of handling such a mission, Ryuuren would definitely attract undue attention.

Shuuei cleared his throat awkwardly. "Well…so you see…"

Yuushun looked squarely into her eyes, pulling himself up to his full, considerable height.

"Before you answer, you must be completely clear that this mission is fraught with danger. As a Ran, you are a Hyou target, in addition to the normal dangers of travel. Your life will be in jeopardy every step of the way until you return to the inner palace," he stated plainly. "But only a Ran can accomplish this task."

"If there were anyone else…" Ryuuki blurted out, regret etched in his expression.

"There is no one better," came Shuurei's soft but urgent voice from behind Ryuuki, and Jyuusan-hime craned her neck to catch sight of her small friend, fists clenched, shoulders hunched as if heading into battle herself, a fire of determination sparking in the round eyes that met hers.

Ryuuki turned aside to look at Shuurei, and then lowered his head with a slight nod.

"Jyuusan-hime, if you're offended to be asked to face such danger, then you have me to blame," Shuurei admitted nervously, her cheeks shining a bright pink. "I recommended you for the mission."

The Ran princess turned sharply toward the Kou princess, her eyes widening in surprise.

"A man could never send a lady into battle," Shuurei stated with a confident smile. "But women know what women can do, and I've seen you do things most women can't do. You fight as good as any man…"

"Lady Jyuusan-hime fights better than most men," Shuuei bragged, bringing color to his sister's face. He stepped up next to her and rested his hands on her shoulders, searching her face. The resigned and weary grin he directed at her told her that he already knew her answer.

"You also know a route to Kyuusaiko that no one else knows, don't you?" Shuuei asked, the smirk broadening into a proud grin. Jyuusan-hime smiled back and nodded slightly. "I thought so," he sighed. "You would beat the emperor's swiftest messenger, without even trying."

"The travel is unfortunately only one aspect of the challenge before you," Yuushun added. "Your position as a member of the Ran family allows access to your brothers that no one outside the family would be granted. Not only must you reach them in body, but in spirit as well. We are asking you to plead our case and convince them to disturb the peace of their province to ensure the peace of the nation."

"And to support an untested, uncertain emperor," Seiran added. "It's widely known that the head of the Ran Clan has detached itself from imperial matters because it rejects the current emperor. Though you may gain easy access, you will not gain easy acceptance."

Seiran moved toward Jyuusan-hime, his famous sword, Kanshou, clanking against his armor-clad thigh as he walked. He stopped only inches from her, and his proximity did not please her in the least, seeming to choke the air out of the room. She took a step backward, but almost imperceptibly, he shifted his body to close the buffer she'd tried to put between them.

"It will take all your powers of persuasion, my lady," he commented, his eyes quickly scanning her face in a way that made her feel invaded. "Only someone with a deep faith in His Majesty will even begin to persuade the Ran triplets. Are you such a person?"

His soft voice packed a strong punch as he challenged her to reveal her allegiance or her doubt toward the emperor. She tilted her chin up in indignation, meeting his cold gaze with a fiery one of her own. She grinned arrogantly at her challenger before stepping back from him, away from his steely gaze, and turning toward Ryuuki, where his golden eyes flickered at her like a warm hearth fire.

"Jyuusan-hime," Ryuuki spoke softly. "We're afraid we have overwhelmed you. You must have questions and concerns. If you wish to think about it…"

In one move, Jyuusan-hime bowed from the waist, raising bent arms in front of her, her clenched fist pressed firmly into the palm of the other hand in deference to the king.

"Your Majesty, I gratefully accept this appointment," she stated in a clear, strong voice that rang with confidence and reverberated in the gasps and sighs of approval and relief from the assembled group.

When she raised her head, sorrowful eyes met hers, and Ryuuki's reluctant gratitude shone through his expression.

"You honor us, my lady," the emperor stated, and to everyone's surprise, bowed deeply to her, an action unheard of for a king toward his subject.

"Your Majesty…" Jyuusan-hime gasped and reached out to stop him. As he rose, he grasped her hands in his, squeezing them tightly, urgently, even fearfully, she thought to herself.

"We are deeply pained that we are unable to send a military detail with you because of the attention it will draw," Ryuuki muttered hesitantly. "However, we will not send you unprotected."

"Oh…Your Majesty…" Jyuusan-hime attempted to interrupt, but Ryuuki's spirits had picked up, now that their plans were in motion. "We will dispatch the Black Wolf to keep watch on the Hyou Clan movements, and also we have chosen an escort for you who comes with the highest recommendation."

Jyuusan-hime rested a staying hand on Ryuuki's arm. "Your majesty," Jyuusan-hime bowed her head slightly. "I respectfully decline."

"Hah?" Shuuei gasped. "Sister!"

"Your majesty, honored brother," she bowed to each, "You ask me to act as a soldier for our nation, and so I ask you to judge me as such, not as you would a typical woman. I don't require an escort, but will only be hindered by someone…tagging along."

"Sister, gender has nothing to do with this," Shuuei assured her, an edge of anxiety lifting his voice. "Only a great fool…"

"Only a great fool ignores his own self-knowledge and better judgment borne of experience," Jyuusan-hime replied to her brother and grinned mischievously. "Remember when you taught me this lesson, brother Shuuei?"

Her brother stood dumbfounded, staring at her, his lips zipped tight.

"Then you'll accept my judgment of my own needs," she concluded. "I'll move faster alone than having to keep an eye on this so-called escort. I don't need a babysitter to order me about and to eat up my provisions."

Jyuusan-hime had a deep distrust of others outside her family. Life had taught her brutally that putting faith in others left a person empty and defenseless, and she had never found a way to fill the void that broken trust had left inside her. Instead, she had learned to rely on herself, to develop her skills and build confidence in her own abilities. She had no intention of ever allowing someone else to leave her defenseless again.

Ryuuki cupped her hands in both of his. "We have absolute faith in you, Jyuusan-hime. But for the good of our country, we must take every precaution allowable under such strict conditions."

She knew she had lost this argument the moment his hand touched hers. She could not refuse his earnest concern, so perhaps she could make the best of it.

"May I then choose my own escort?" she asked, casting about in her mind for someone suitable, who would neither bore her to tears nor annoy her to distraction. No one readily came to mind.

"Actually," Ryuuki cleared his throat, absently scratching the bridge of his perfectly straight nose. "We have chosen a most excellent and reliable man."

"Your majesty…" she breathed deeply to rally her patience. "I'm sure your officers are capable soldiers…" and then her effort failed, "but I have no intention of nurse-maiding any self-proclaimed heroes and their egos, nor being forced to listen to intensely boring war stories meant to impress the 'little lady.' It's far too…distracting…to have to compensate for someone else's weaknesses, and there is too much at stake to risk on an unknown person's failure!"

Had her tirade not been quite so passionate, she might have noticed Shuuei clearing his throat or Ryuuki smiling awkwardly as some signal to her. Instead, it wasn't until she'd exhausted her vehement objection that she noticed that everyone in the room had fallen utterly silent, except for an uncomfortable cough or shuffling of feet, and Seiran's inexplicable snickering in the corner of the room.

"Oi, Hime-san, are my stories that bad?"

A deep, rumbling voice came from directly behind Jyuusan-hime, causing her to flinch in surprise.

"They're mind-numbing," Seiran shot back, and Jyuusan-hime's eyes followed the direction of Seiran's harsh comment to its target.

She whirled around and craned her neck sharply upward, only to discover that she recognized the face that smiled down at her, especially the midnight blue eyes that twinkled despite the dim light in the room. How did she know him? Where had he come from? He was far too physically imposing to go unnoticed, as he towered over her, and his broad shoulders seemed to crowd the room, making her feel even smaller than usual.

Shuurei cleared her throat to break the tension. "It was a condition of asking you to take on the mission," she explained to Jyuusan-hime. "I offered an escort of my choice."

Jyuusan-hime glanced at Shuurei for a moment, and then shot an accusatory glare at Shuuei, whose guilty grin admitted that he had been the one to require the condition. Despite their recent long separation, Shuuei knew his little sister well enough to realize she would demand to go it alone, so he beat her to the punch.

"Jyuusan-hime Ran, I am pleased to recommend Ensei Rou to escort you on this mission," Shuurei gestured toward the smiling bear of a man, leaning on a staff as tall as he was. "I promise you, he will never let you down."

"Hey, now! That's a little too much!" Ensei interjected, his expression ridiculously bashful.

"It's the truth!" Shuurei replied, smiling proudly up at her personal champion. "Certainly, you can be…harsh at times…and maybe a little bossy…and you'll definitely have to pack extra provisions," Shuurei rested her finger on her chin, thinking out loud.

"Alright, alright, let's go back to my good qualities," Ensei said, his shoulders sagging.

"Well…Seiran recommended you too," Shuurei added.

"Seiran did?" Ensei's eyebrows arched up, disappearing into the wild, dark hair that jutted across his forehead and down into his eyes. "Really, Seiran? I'm touched."

"We can discuss it further outside," Seiran shot a death glare at him that made Jyuusan-hime shudder. Were they joking?

"Maybe some other time," Ensei gulped and grinned back at the cold eyes leveled at him. He turned back to Jyuusan-hime and bowed slightly. "My boring stories and I are your service, my lady."

Jyuusan-hime grinned in spite of herself, feeling only a slight pang of embarrassment recalling her angry outburst.

When Ensei straightened up, his eyes rested on hers and instantly widened in surprised.

"Ho, ho! The kotori from the highway!" he proclaimed, his voice overwhelming her in the cramped room. He leaned down to look her squarely in her wide eyes. "You didn't mind my help that day," he observed in a quiet, conspiratorial tone, adding a wink.

Kotori? Little bird? That was it! She drew in a quick breath and pointed at Ensei. "The kind traveler?!" she exclaimed, as the gates of her memory flew open to a day only a month ago on the road to Kiyou. Sure enough, Ensei was the unknown hero who had appeared out of the woods in the nick of time to help her escape a large group of attackers that had surrounded her. He had called her a little bird that day too, irritating her with the cutesy reference to her petite size.

"Um…have you already met?" Shuurei asked and glanced between the two.

"Eh," Ensei scratched his head. "Not really."

"Um, briefly," Jyuusan-hime added with a shrug, and she related the circumstances of their chance meeting in the woods.

Shuuei gently reprimanded his little sister for not telling him about this incident earlier. Yuushun questioned whether or not such interest in her precluded her from the mission. However, Jyuusan-hime assured them that the encounter had been a random robbery attempt by highwaymen preying on a lone woman. Fortuitously, Ensei had been nearby making his way to Kiyou as well and interceded, allowing Jyuusan-hime to escape without a scratch. She explained the event as so inconsequential that it had slipped her mind.

Guilt gnawed at her stomach for a moment because she knew that, when she completed this mission, she would have to apologize to everyone. She was lying to her brother and all those who had entrusted her with this important mission. She knew the attackers on the road that day were not just bandits, but were actually assassins exhibiting very familiar battle skills.

Having been raised among the Shiba clan's military and guerilla tacticians, Jyuusan-hime recognized the unmistakable fighting style in the mob that beset her that day. In her haste to escape, she assumed that targeting her had been a case of mistaken identity. Shiba assassins would never intentionally aim for a Ran. Then again, Shiba assassins didn't make mistakes. If the attackers really were Hyou assassins, they had somehow been extensively trained in the Shiba fighting style. Now that she knew about the Hyou Clan plot, she realized that it was no accident she had been attacked.

Still, she knew that if she had told all of this, she would have been immediately removed from the mission, despite any valid arguments she might present. Her brother Shuuei would have insisted on her removal, jeopardizing the mission, only to protect her. She decided on the spot to spare Ryuuki the anguish of that decision by keeping the information to herself. She knew that her value to the mission more than outweighed any risk she brought. However, she had been trained well enough to take all available precautions to minimize those risks. Reluctantly, she had to admit that Ensei had already more than proven his worth against the very same attackers she would surely encounter on this mission.

"I guess I have no choice," Jyuusan-hime sighed, grimacing impatiently up at Ensei's goofy smile. "We split the work and provisions 50-50." She glanced up and down his large frame. "If you need anything else, you're on your own."

He chuckled cheerfully. "That's the spirit!" he stated and energetically slapped her on the back, knocking her off balance. She spun around and glared at him, but he had already turned to Shuurei and was receiving a lecture about being on his best behavior.

With dawn streaking low across the horizon, Jyuusan-hime emerged from the emperor's chamber, behind Yuushun and Shuuei and followed by everyone else, including the emperor who had insisted on escorting Shuurei home. Each person acknowledged Jyuusan-hime as they took their leave, even Seiran, with a slight nod of his head and a brief smile, which Jyuusan-hime returned with equally thin sincerity.

"That was just creepy," she muttered to herself, watching Seiran disappear into the shadows of the dark courtyard.

"He grows on you after a while," Ensei replied, as he walked past Jyuusan-hime down the low set of stairs, stopping at the bottom to stretch his arms out and yawn noisily.

"Not likely," she replied, a little more curtly than she'd intended. It had been a long day, and exhaustion was getting the better of her.

He turned and looked drowsily up at her, scratching the back of his head. "Kotori-san, blind distrust is as dangerous as blind faith. Either way, you can't tell who your real enemy is."

His words struck her to the core, unnerving her in how direct a blow they landed on her psyche. Who was her enemy? Who wasn't?

Ensei's grumbling stomach broke the tense silence. "Heh-heh, sorry. I wonder if Hime-san has any leftovers around," he pondered whimsically, while Jyuusan-hime struggled to compose herself and resist the temptation to punch Ensei in the jaw. She just wasn't sure what for.

"Get lots of rest today," he added, perching his staff over his shoulder and tossing a lazy grin at her. "We'll attract less attention if we leave from Hime-san's before dawn," he announced sleepily, turning his back and waving as he wandered away into the darkness.

Jyuusan-hime clenched her fists and drew in a deep, calming breath. What nerve! What did he know about her or about anything? Who'd asked the opinion of a mountain troll who'd obviously never been introduced to a comb?!

As quickly as it had boiled up, her anger simmered down to a low bubble, with weariness making its claim on her. She sighed. They hadn't even saddled their horses yet, and she was already spitting fire at her "escort." It was going to be a long journey.