most recent birthdays, after the battles in which I’d won my braids, and now I was unlearning each lesson as Kouje had undone each braid.
The idea of having to adapt to another role was almost more than I could bear. I kept my head down.
“Well, what of it?” Old Mayu was sulking now. I could hear it in her throaty, smoke-worn voice. “Mark my words, that’s why she hung herself in the end.”
I wondered if Suzu had been the topic of all their gossip up until I’d fled from the palace. I wondered if anyone would guess at the truth of why she’d done it, or if that elusive thing—the truth—had died along with her.
There was no argument from Jin or Shen, who both seemed to sense that they’d gone too far. It wasn’t the sort of remorse that comes from genuine regret, though, but more a fear of what would happen once Old Mayu had got over sulking and decided she was angry.
“Try the potter,” Old Mayu said to the pair of us. “Down the road from here, next to the inn’s stables. He’s been prospering of late, and his wife’s the sort who’s always bothering him to dress up once in a while. He’ll be your best bet for unloading your garments, stolen or not.”
I lifted my head just in time to see her wink at Kouje.
“Of course if he isn’t interested, you two come right back here and see me. I can’t imagine what I’ll do with only these two for conversation. It’s not every day you meet someone so interesting!”
I didn’t think that Kouje had said all that much, by way of conversation. In fact, most of the conversation had been carried by Old Mayu herself. I thought that perhaps her definition of “interesting” was different from my own.
“Thank you,” Kouje said. He stood, and didn’t wait for me before starting out of the noodle house.
I knew it was just an act, but I’d been caught unawares again, and found myself rushing after him into the light of the street outside. Kouje was standing by the horse, untying the bundle of our clothes. He looked up when I came out, and though he didn’t say anything, there was a penitent look in his eyes.
“What interesting people,” I said, to see if I could make the apology fade. “I’m glad they were so helpful, aren’t you?”
“You did very well,” Kouje said. “I almost lost my temper.”
“Only once or twice,” I said, shading my eyes against the sun and looking down the street, as though that held the secret of what the potter’s house looked like.
“When she touched you…” Kouje began.
“We’d best see the potter,” I said. “Should I stay with the horse?”
Kouje looked down the street, the same as I had, but with a different purpose. My gaze had been curious, but his was challenging and defensive at once. Perhaps, if I looked hard enough, I could see things the way he saw them: most of them threats and all of them gossipmongers.
“You’d best come with me,” he said at last, taking my hand. “News has traveled fast. We can only hope the Emperor’s riders haven’t moved so quickly.”
CHAPTER FIVE
CAIUS
I was feeling sorry for Alcibiades, because that morning he’d found out that the horse Prince Mamoru and his retainer had stolen was his. Or, at least, it had been his. Now it was Prince Mamoru’s, and a lucky horse it was, riding all across the Ke-Han countryside, having adventure after adventure while Alcibiades glowered and sulked and, it was obvious, secretly missed him, the poor dear.
It was the sort of luck I felt was visited upon Alcibiades often, but the point remained that he was completely unapproachable, steaming mad and muttering to himself and not being a gentleman about the matter at all. The Emperor himself had apologized to him, but instead of being fascinated by the whole affair—there was a special ceremony for it, and two of the special Ke-Han-bred racing horses had been given to him, one as compensation and one as a gift—he’d locked himself up in his room and refused to come out, or even to answer me as I spoke to him about how the talks were going that day.
“They’ve decided to set up checkpoints to look for him,” I explained, which was, I thought, a very gracious gesture. “You might have your horse back yet, my dear, if they do manage to catch him. I would have thought that right now