Yamada Monogatori: The Emperor in Shadow by Richard Parks Read Free Book Online

served wine and rice cakes on the southern veranda of the main hall, two female attendants led me through the mansion to the eastern veranda, then withdrew to a discreet distance.
    “Welcome, Lord Yamada. It has been a long time.”
    Princess Tagako was a member of the royal family meeting a man who was neither a relative nor her husband, so I fully expected her to be speaking to me from behind a screen, but instead she was kneeling on a cushion in full view of the waning moon. The light from the moon wasn’t exactly bright, but her face was in profile and I admit I was looking to recognize the child she was when I saw her last, but I did not find her there. Princess Tagako was now a striking woman of about thirty. She wore a layered silk robe in autumn colors, quite elegant but far from elaborate court dress. I kneeled, bowed low, and stayed there.
    “I am honored you remember me, Tagako-hime.”
    “Only barely, I admit, since I was so young when I saw you last. I suppose you are wondering why I am greeting you in this scandalous fashion,” she said. “That is partly because it is impossible for the saiō to fulfill her duties as priestess while hidden away like some secret, so I’m afraid I’ve rather gotten used to it. No doubt I am ruined for decent society at the Capital.”
    “One would never say so,” I said, “but you implied, perhaps, another reason as well?”
    “I wanted to see you, Lord Yamada, and not through a veil. I will admit this as well—after all this time and so many stories and rumors, I was curious.”
    I frowned then, though with my face almost pressed against the floor, I doubt she noticed. “Rumors, Tagako-hime? Stories?”
    “Oh, please get up. I have a cushion here for you,” she said. I looked up and noticed the cushion a few feet away. It placed me no closer to the princess than propriety dictated but not so far away that discreet conversation would be impossible. I remembered the two servants and wondered how many others were nearby. However the situation might have appeared, I knew we were not alone. I kneeled on the cushion as she turned to face me.
    “Do not pretend your exploits are not, shall we say, of some interest to people who are aware of the world beyond their own hearths, Lord Yamada. Is it true that you and Crown Prince Takahito’s uncle once defeated a fully grown ogre?”
    “Prince Kanemore defeated such an ogre in single combat and I was present, that much is true,” I said. “Otherwise I think my reputation has been somewhat exaggerated.”
    She raised one sleeve then to hide her smile. “For those who have reputations in the first place, most surely are so,” she said. “That doesn’t mean there isn’t truth to them. As we are old acquaintances, I made it my business to attempt to ascertain the difference.”
    “I am unworthy of such consideration,” I said.
    “Princess Teiko never thought so,” she said then, lowering her voice.
    The direction of the conversation was taking was starting to worry me, but it was clear that Tagako knew that.
    She kept her voice barely above a whisper. “Forgive me, Lord Yamada, but I need you to understand something about me. As the daughter of a deceased minor prince, I was of little interest to anyone in the imperial court. That reality was often made known to me in no uncertain terms. I was selected by divination, just as any other saiō. I think the gods chose well, but some still believe the only reason the current emperor appointed me to this exalted post is because he had no daughters of his own, and I was the only unmarried imperial princess who was not already being groomed for some other role.”
    “I did not know this,” I said.
    She smiled again, but it was a sad smile this time and she didn’t bother to cover it. “Please understand—I say this not to elicit your sympathy but rather so that you know how much Princess Teiko meant to me. She was the only one at court who showed me any kindness or