Year of the Boar, Twelfth Month, Day 16. Postscript,

 It has been an exhausting day... I slept fitfully for a few sticks before dragging myself to the bath house only to find Rani in it. I hardly managed to restrain myself from rolling my eyes but somehow I forced a smile and a polite greeting as I eased my tired body into the water. I closed my eyes, hoping Rani would take the hint and either leave the bath or at least do me the courtesy of bathing quietly and allowing me to relax but of course, she did not... I endured about a stick of what appeared to be superficial conversation but I could not shake the feeling that she was probing me for some sort of information... She expressed the desire to take a turn around the garden before taking some tea which as her host, I could hardly deny so I agreed that I would meet her for a walk after I had taken care of some House business. 

Rani heaved herself out of the water and waddled off to dress and I allowed myself the luxury of remaining in the water awhile and reflected on what has happened over the past few days. I am not certain where our future lies... do I see myself wed to Sasanuma...? I do not know... I do not think so... I suppose I should talk to him about what he wants for himself... for us... We have talked much about our feelings for each other and the ... physical... side of things but not about the future...practical things... he likes living in his cottage away from the House... it keeps him objective, he says... should I ask him to move up to the House... ? I can scarcely go and live with him... is it even wise for us to be open about our relationship...? So many things to consider but for now... that must wait because I have more pressing matters to think on...

I decided not to take an entourage with me to meet Rani, limiting my company to three maids, as I had concluded that it was high time I had a frank talk with her. Sasanuma would not have approved if I had mentioned it before hand but he may well be interested when I impart what I have surmised... Once we had settled in the tea house, I simply asked her outright what the tour of the Kingdom is all about. To my surprise, she looked faintly impressed, as if I had been clever enough to catch her out... Indeed her visit had nothing to do with Diplomatic relations and everything to do with finding out which Houses she could consider as allies should she ever need to. Obviously she is lying... that is an answer which makes even less sense than a Diplomatic tour... She told me that her parents intend to go to war with the Seventh and want to know if they can count on the Ninth to side with them... She must think that we in the Ninth know absolutely nothing about what goes on outside our borders... 

I feigned surprise and told her that I would consider any proposal very carefully which appeared to satisfy her but ... I must discuss this with Sasanuma and Azusa... evidently, Rani realises that she has been compromised and has come up with this rubbish to help her explain the presence of her spies should we also have discovered those. I am not certain whether she realises that we have Rikku or not but I suppose that it would be a clever enough lie if we were to reveal that we know about him... 

Year of the Boar, Twelfth Month, Day 16.

 Sasanuma escorted me to the mausoleum early yesterday morning before Rani rose and then we took horses out to a disused temple way beyond the House grounds and talked for hours about the situation. I had not seen him since we made our last plans and he had much to impart. Firstly, he told me that his agents are having some success in White Lake and that one of Shunya's Diplomats appears to have contracted some sort of malaise... I allowed myself the tiniest smile... this will be a long game but I will crush White Lake before they have even realised what is going on... Once enough of them are 'infected'... their House will be in chaos and I will trample it into the very ground as Shunya and Yuki watch and when I have destroyed their House... Well...

His second piece of news was not nearly as encouraging... Rikku broke the evening before and confessed that Rani's intentions are not as they seem. He believes that she is intent on bringing chaos and and destruction to the Kingdom as revenge for some sort of slight against the Sixth some decades ago. What that could have been, Rikku either does not know or could not say... How she intends to exact this revenge, he also does not know; Sasanuma is convinced that Rani is definitely not who she says she is, that perhaps rather than being a princess of the Sixth, she is some sort of trusted advisor or someone who may not even be working for the king and queen directly at all. I am not certain that he is correct... but it is certainly possible. We talked for a while about whether it would be wise to send a delegation to the Sixth and speak to Gulpinder and Aasha about their 'daughter'... it would certainly clear matters up but if it transpires that they are behind this, then we run the risk of losing our people...

'Our people'... I realise that I have come to think of Sasanuma and I as a team... 'We' instead of 'I'... Two rather than one... We talked for such a long time that the skies grew dark and we were forced to light some lanterns... he asked me if I wanted to return to the House but I could not bring myself to go back and eat dinner with while Rani simpered across from me... it would not do my cousins to keep her occupied for one evening and I can offer my apologies tomorrow... Azusa had been instructed to say that I was unwell if anyone were to ask thus freeing Sasanuma and I to formulate our plans in peace...

We did agree that whatever our actions were concerning Rani, we must send messengers to the other Houses immediately and warn them ... an emergency council must be convened although how that can be effected without alerting Rani, we do not know...we have discussed imprisoning her here but we cannot be sure that Rikku is her only spy; if he knows, he is not telling although Sasanuma intends to question him one final time... 

When we had exhausted the possibilities and reached no conclusion, we sat together in the candlelight for a while and without ceremony, without planning, I felt at peace and knew that the time was right... and on the temple floor, in the dimmest of lights, we made love... he was hesitant at first; unwilling to behave as if I were some sort of farm girl, he said, I deserved eiderdown and the softest of pillows... incense, flower petals and appropriate lighting... I adored him for that... but I thought it was the perfect place, quiet, uninhabited... no prying eyes or ears... no need for either of us to sneak back to our own chambers in order to avoid the House gossips... I did not need petals or music or incense... I only needed him... 

We lay together for several sticks before eventually deciding that whatever the hour and no matter how dangerous riding back to the House in the blackness of night would be, we must go and make certain that our messengers are on the road before dawn... It took longer than I would have liked but when we finally arrived back at the House, I penned notes to each of the other Houses, even White Lake, warning them of what we had discovered and suggesting that we convene an emergency council. I am not certain what their responses will be but at least I will have done everything I could have done... I cannot be sure whether any of my messengers have been compromised but I have no choice but to take the risk. I have not told them of the contents of the messages; only that a response is required urgently... and now... we wait...

Since I have not slept, I will retire for a short nap before I go and resume entertaining Rani and Sasanuma will go and question Rikku before he, too, retires for some well-earned rest...

Year of the Boar, Twelfth Month, Day 14.

 I am exhausted with the effort of playing the perfect host to Rani. The more time I spend in her presence, the more I dislike her; there is an arrogance about her masquerading as self-assurance... she says exactly the right thing at the right time as if she is reciting a well-rehearsed script... everything she says or does is calculated... a perfectly timed comment to show she is paying attention... What it tells me... is that she is extremely well-versed in the ways of my House... that she has been carefully primed about my interests ... and I want to know why. If Sasanuma fails to get answers from Rikku today, I may well be tempted to go against what I believe and take a turn at interrogating Rikku myself... I am becoming more and more convinced that Rani has brought danger to the Kingdom. What I do not know... is how none of the Houses she has visited thus far have noted anything out of the ordinary or whether she acts on behalf of her Kingdom or in her own interests...

Year of the Boar, Twelfth Month, Day 13.

 It occurred to me belatedly that even Rikku's absence may alert Rani to the fact that her agent is compromised so Sasanuma and I have taken pains to arrange a schedule so exacting, that Rani will not have time to notice that she has not seen him. While I keep her occupied for the next day or two, Sasanuma will question Rikku again and attempt to see if he can be turned. If he cannot, we will send him back with Rani... if he can, we keep him here and use the situation to our own ends... of course, I must consider the possibility that he may agree to turn simply to save his own skin but that can easily be resolved...

Keeping Rani occupied all day has been a strain; I do not trust her as far as I could throw a stone lantern... and she must not know that I have found her out... I felt sick at having to sit across the tea table from her and smile at more of her platitudes... I do not know how I would have felt about her had I not discovered that she was spying on my House but ... I do not like her now... there is something about her that I cannot put my finger on ... 

I cannot understand why she is on this so-called Diplomatic tour of the Kingdom. What benefit could it possibly have...? She is not learning to rule, she is middle aged... I cannot believe that she has not already learned everything she would need to know. Were I her age, my parents would have had me by their sides, ruling with them before I took over completely once they were ready to retire... I also find it difficult to understand what they have to gain from touring the entire Kingdom alone in order to "develop Diplomatic relations"... we have trade agreements with the Sixth which have been set in stone for almost a hundred years... The Houses write a letter to each of our neighbours at the Talks once a year and relations are maintained... this can be nothing but utter nonsense... 

Sasanuma concurs. We went out to the temple where we could sure that we would not be overheard and talked about the matter long into the night... he believes that we must attempt to find out what she is up to before she leaves Silent Thunder and continues around the rest of the Kingdom; he also thinks that I should send messengers to the Houses she has already visited and ask if they are similarly concerned... 

In the faint light of the guttering lanterns, the plane of his cheek bones as he looked at me made my heart stop for a moment... I felt such affection and desire for him that I almost threw myself at him and begged him to lie with me there on the floor of the temple... I so wanted to feel his arms around me as he pressed himself to me that I could hardly bear it but I have made that mistake before... and just as suddenly as the surge of affection for Sasanuma came upon me, grief for my son washed over me and instead of kissing Sasanuma and making our relationship formal, I wept... 

Year of the Boar, Twelfth Month, Day 12.

Much as I cannot bear to admit it... it appears that I have had a spy in my midst for years... I have yet to confront Rani but Sasanuma's questions revealed that Rikku has almost certainly been acting as her agent. I cannot say that I approve of Sasanuma's methods and I had to leave the room shortly after he began; I felt like a coward. I knew I should stay until the interrogation concluded but I could not; I did not want to see him in that light... if I did, I knew I could never become intimate with him... I am only thankful that Rikku was the first to be interrogated and that the three women were not treated in that way... I have already apologised to them all for the shackles and I believe that they have forgiven me although I do not know that I would have...

I must think very carefully about how to proceed... whether to demand Rani takes Rikku back to the Sixth with her or perhaps... whether I should not reveal that I know the truth and try to find out what precisely why Rani needs a spy in my House... Sasanuma is going to ensure that Rikku does not get a chance to tell Rani that he has been compromised; how he intends to do this, I do not know... it is better that I do not... I will discuss matters with him when he returns and make a decision then...