Chapter Fourteen Yora
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Yora
Lady Hagane Keishi, wife of Emperor Ashihara, was known as the “Steel Princess” for her discerning mind and powerful will.
At twenty-four, she was the youngest of Seikiyo’s children, the only daughter after his four sons.
Shigemune died in the War of the Morning and the Night; Shigeo was next in line.
The younger brothers, mumbling Shosei and fiery Seichi, managed the family’s estates in the west, at Isawa by the inland sea.
Hagane had the confidence of royalty, and the unshakeable air that made people uncomfortable at seeing a woman who didn’t act like she hated herself.
She was tall, with a broad face, strong shoulders and a frame that gave the impression of careless strength, an ease in her own skin that most warriors could only dream of.
She was nothing like the other nobles, with their waifish, airy class; her father, being the lord Keishi, gave her a fighter’s attitude and her life in the capital had given her a politician’s shrewd mind.
She stood nearly as tall as Yora and likely weighed more than he did; her daring, wide-open eyes and her subtle smile gave an impression of vigor that made him feel dull and sleepy in comparison.
There’s a reason, he mused, why people call her the most beautiful woman in the capital.
Like her father, every breath she took radiated power. She’s not one to take lightly.
“Lord poet,” she said in a trained, melodious voice from behind the paper screen. “Welcome.”
A messenger had arrived that morning, requesting his presence to meet Hagane and her son, the newborn prince, Noriyasu. As with all noble births, they were in his mother’s family’s house, the Keishi residence, also known as the House of Waves, on the sixth street from the palace.
“Lady,” he said. “It is good to see you again. It’s been far too long.”
“I had hoped this would not be necessary,” she said, “but it seems that time has passed. Thank you for coming here.” Hagane moved, silhouetted by the screen. “I hear you are hunting traitors, lord, for my father.”
“I serve the peace,” he said.
“Well, you are renowned for your loyalty and your moral uprightness, as all in the empire know,” she said. “But I will get to the point. We need your help.”
At this, the door slid open. Lady Yoshiko, wife of the chancellor and Hagane’s mother, entered and sat quietly, austere and regal, in her place beside the wall.
His student Yaeko had told him how she ruled her house with a hand as harsh and stern as the one her husband used to rule the realm, and he could see it in her now: Yoshiko, with her silences, her trained voice like a flute, seemed to emanate nothing but control.
Defy an order from the lady of the House of Waves, he thought, or her daughter the Steel Princess, and you would find yourself in dire straits.
“You have heard of the tensions in our family,” she began.
“I wouldn’t presume…”
“You’re not. You are a loyal member of the guard, you know more secrets than most. And it’s no secret that my husband no longer listens to my counsel.”
“Unfortunately, he’s not known for listening to anyone’s counsel,” Yora said. “Forgive me, that was rude.”
“It was honest,” she said. “Which is why we trust you so much. Honesty. A rare treasure to find, in these halls…”
“What can I do for you?” he asked.
Hagane moved from behind the screen. “My son will be the linchpin for everything,” she said. “The prince. They all want to control him. My father, Goshira, the factions of the monks – everyone. Tell me, lord, what do you think I should do?”
“I think you should stay close to the people you trust,” he said.
Yoshiko inclined her head. “Shall we trust you?”
Hagane spoke. “I have looked up to you, lord poet, as so many others have. You are known everywhere for your courage.” Her eyes were cold, but she didn’t hide the emotion in her voice.
“Help me protect him. Please. I know you have not always gotten along with my family… but you were allies once. And you have always been loyal to the realm… My son will be used, whether by my father or by others who want to take power. Help me protect him. He’s just a child.
He can’t become a piece to be played in this war of generals. ”
“Do you love him?” Yora asked.
A fleeting smile: “He’s my son, how could I not love him?”
“No. The emperor. Ashihara. Do you love him?”
The question seemed to strike her deeply.
“I love what he should be,” she said. “I might have even loved what he could have been, if this world were fair. He is a young man, he knows almost nothing of the world, and he’s trapped in his palace; he cannot move a muscle without the entire court knowing about it.
He cannot so much as breathe without his father’s permission…
No, I do not love him, but our union was never meant for love. ”
“It should be,” he said. “It always should be.”
“Then maybe you are as naive as he,” said Hagane.
“I am no innocent; I am a weapon. And I’m controlled by my father just as much as any of them.
That’s the life we lead. So, I’m sorry, I cannot say I love him.
But I want to. And that will have to be enough.
Perhaps, in time, if we can raise our son in peace, perhaps we will find something in each other one day; perhaps, when that day comes, we will find that it is love.
Until then I am a part of the bigger picture – as are you.
But my son is innocent of any of this. My father will try to use him.
My husband-the-emperor’s father, Goshira, will try to use him.
Perhaps your clan will, too. I cannot let that happen, and I know you are a man – perhaps the only man – in this capital who believes there can still be another way.
We can still have peace. But I need you to protect him.
Will you swear me that?” she asked. “Will you swear to protect the child of the throne?”
Yora bowed, hoping she couldn’t see the unease on his face.
Then he said, “I will.”
He met the retired-emperor the following day. Above him, the sky had turned metallic with cold, a dull sheen that sent a pallor over everything; not even the cloistered Ten’in house was spared. The Tessoku, Goshira’s shrouded guard, met him at the gate, and brought him in.
“It’s no secret I’m unhappy with Keishi control,” the retired-emperor said when they had settled, wafting a hand over his tea.
“It’s no secret that my work has always been to increase power for the imperial family.
Not these… oh, what does one call them? Interlopers.
These regents. My son, the mirror prince, you know.
Nioh, he should be emperor, not some brat from Ashihara and Seikiyo’s daughter. ”
“Ashihara is your son,” Yora reminded him. “That ‘brat’ is your grandson, too.”
“He is my son. And that is a problem.”
“Ashihara is the rightful emperor. It’s his child.”
“He’s nineteen. He was forced to marry Seikiyo’s daughter so the Keishi could insert themselves into the bloodline.
He will be made to abdicate the moment his child can walk.
Make no mistake, the prince will be Seikiyo’s heir, not mine.
” Goshira spread his hands. “There are still families loyal to the Gensei,” he said.
“The coalition is ready and they will come to your call. Especially with Nioh’s announcement. ”
“What announcement?”
“Declaration of his intent to rule. You know how precarious things are. The balance of the court and the independent lords is at the edge of a knife. Because no matter how they may wish it, the court does not have a monopoly on violence. Help us. You know the evils that the Keishi do. That they have done, and that they will do again…”
For a moment, Yora felt as though the air had been pulled from his lungs. Goshira, retired-emperor of the realm, was talking about open rebellion.
“I am commander of the imperial guard,” he said.
Goshira scoffed. “Imperial guard. It’s meaningless.
They’re hired swords. I was emperor once, I know – you think if the Keishi told them, your imperial guard wouldn’t hesitate to murder me?
Would you? If your precious emperor – my son – ordered you to kill me, what would you do?
Hm? Not so easy as a matter of oaths, is it? ”
“You do not mean this.” Yora’s whole body had gone tense. His heart thundered in his ears, but Goshira merely smiled at him, calm as ever. The Chiten’s eyes had narrowed, dark, and hungry.
“I am father of the realm,” Goshira said.
“I appointed my son as sovereign when I retired, but I am still head of this family, and you, poet, will not tell me what I mean to do. I know Hagane has asked you to protect her and her son. I know. Poet, come. What do you think would really happen if they put a Keishi on the throne?”
“I… Chiten,” Yora began. “You cannot ask me to take part in a conspiracy against our government…”
“What if it’s an illegitimate government? Which is what it will be, when the Keishi boy is put on the steps…”
“He is the emperor’s son.”
“Who was conveniently conceived when Seikiyo wedded his daughter to the throne. She’s a kind girl, but you know how she’s been used.
Both of them, her and my son. They’re not fools, they know it to be true.
They are also aware of the realities of what it means to be a child-emperor in the court these days.
They are symbols. The chancellor has all the military power – you, yourself, helped him get it.
The warrior class. You have benefited too. ”
“I would look at it differently,” Yora began. His hands were shaking.