Hatsuko fled along the corridor and down into the secret dungeon, where Yuki was monitoring the screen.

‘Well, where is she?’ Hatsuko said, and stamped her foot on the floor.

‘It is a mystery, Your Majesty. According to this, she is in Kenzo’s dining room.’

‘In the dining room! She cannot be! I have just come from there and unless Kiko has transformed herself into a small brunette child or a blonde or a redhead, she is not there.’

‘May I ask who you are dining with?’

‘A friend of Kenzo’s from his university days and his family. His name is Hugh Kennington-Jones and his brother-in-law is the actor Lawrence Ridley.’

‘Ah, the famous movie star?’ Yuki grinned. ‘He is a handsome man.’

Hatsuko clopped him over the back of the head. ‘I know that, you fool.’

Yuki gulped. He had a vague memory of a brunette and a red-haired child near the inn. ‘May I ask what the children look like?’

‘Here, look on the computer. Search for them and I am sure there will be pictures, if you are so fascinated.’

Within a minute a photograph of Hugh Kennington-Jones and his wife and daughter appeared on the screen.

Yuki felt as if he’d just swallowed a mouthful of sand. Yamato arrived in the room.

‘I’ve seen that child before,’ he said, pointing at the screen.

Yuki nodded. ‘Hai. Where?’

‘She was in Harajuku right outside the crêperie and again inside the store where we thought the princess was. She was at the inn we have been watching too.’

Hatsuko drummed her fingers on the desk. ‘So do you think she is hiding the princess?’

The two men shrugged.

Hatsuko’s eyes widened. ‘You numbskulls! The princess has outsmarted both of you!’ The woman screeched as she ran from the room and back towards Kenzo’s apartment.

She stood outside the door, smoothed her hair and took several deep breaths. Then Hatsuko strode into the room. To her dismay, her brother was giggling like a schoolboy. He and the brunette child seemed to be deep in conversation, but he looked up as she entered.

‘Where is Princess Kiko?’

‘I am afraid that she is not feeling well. She is sleeping,’ Hatsuko lied.

The Emperor frowned and cocked his head. ‘I have not seen her for days now.’

Hatsuko wanted to correct him. He hadn’t seen his daughter for much longer than that. The last time the child had been summoned to his room, he’d taken one look at her and burst into tears. Hatsuko had spent many months making sure that the child knew it was her fault entirely that he was unwell. She reminded him too much of her dead mother.

‘I am sure the princess would love to have met the children, but perhaps next time,’ Hatsuko said blandly.

‘Oh, I can’t imagine that there will be a next time. I mean, it’s not every day that one gets to meet the Emperor of Japan,’ Alice-Miranda babbled.

The Emperor looked at Hatsuko closely. ‘We must see if she is awake and feeling better after we have finished our meal.’

Hatsuko gulped and turned her attention to the children. She needed to work out exactly what the princess’s game was and how this perky little brat and her friends were involved. ‘Have you enjoyed seeing the city?’

‘Hai. Tokyo is wonderful,’ Alice-Miranda enthused.

‘We went to Harajuku and got to dress up,’ Millie added.

‘And Hugh bought us some beautiful necklaces so that we’ll always remember our first visit to Japan,’ Jacinta said. ‘Would you like to see them?’

Hugh looked at his daughter and frowned. Alice-Miranda gave a tiny nod.

‘Mine’s a paper crane,’ Jacinta pulled the necklace out of her kimono and showed it off.

‘And mine’s a cherry blossom.’ Millie did the same.

‘They are both charming and symbolic of our country,’ the Emperor said.

‘What about you?’ Hatsuko stared at Alice-Miranda, her dark eyes narrowing.

The child smiled. ‘Oh, mine’s a lovely little disc.’

‘No, it’s a chrysanthemum locket with a picture of a beautiful woman inside,’ said Jacinta.

‘Really? A locket, you say?’ Hatsuko smiled thinly. ‘Please show me.’

Hugh looked across the table and nodded. Alice-Miranda could hardly refuse the princess’s request. At least the Emperor had spoken openly of his wife and daughter, so it didn’t seem like Alice-Miranda’s locket would upset him at this point.

Alice-Miranda pulled the necklace from inside her kimono.

‘Would you come here so I can see it?’ Hatsuko asked.

The child hopped down from her seat and walked to the end of the table. Hatsuko had to stop herself from tearing the necklace from the girl’s throat.

‘The catch is a bit tricky,’ Alice-Miranda said.

Hatsuko pushed her hand away. ‘It’s fine. I am very good with jewellery.’ She popped open the front of the locket and stared at the photograph. ‘She’s very pretty.’

‘Yes, she is,’ said Alice-Miranda.

‘May I see?’ the Emperor asked.

‘Of course,’ Hatsuko said.

‘Do you think that’s a good idea, Princess?’ Alice-Miranda whispered to the woman.

Hatsuko eyeballed the child. ‘Why wouldn’t it be?’

‘Please, I would love to see.’ The Emperor beckoned Alice-Miranda back to the other end of the table.

He lifted up the pendant and inspected the outside. ‘It is a thing of great beauty.’ He turned it over and gasped.

‘Are you all right, Your Majesty?’ Alice-Miranda asked.

He studied the picture. ‘It is my Kiyomi.’

Alice-Miranda nodded. ‘She was very lovely.’

‘Hai. Kiko is so like her.’

The Emperor pulled a pocket watch from his suit jacket and flipped it open. Inside was a picture of his wife and a young girl, about four years of age.

‘Is that Kiko?’ Alice-Miranda asked.

The man nodded. ‘Yes, she is a good daughter. But I have not been a good father.’

Alice-Miranda looked at the picture. She wondered why the girl’s face seemed familiar.

At the other end of the table Hatsuko seethed. Her brother should have been wailing and sobbing and running from the room by now, as had happened so many times before. She despised his weakness and yet now that she was relying on it, he seemed to have gained new strength.

The Emperor stood up.

‘Are you all right, Your Majesty?’ Kenzo stood too and, like marionettes, everyone else was drawn to their feet.

‘I would like my daughter to see this. In fact, it looks very much like one I gave her many years ago.’

‘What are you doing?’ Hatsuko flew to the end of the table.

‘I am going to wake Kiko and bring her to dinner,’ the man said.

‘No, she is sick. You must not.’ Hatsuko shook her head and reached out to grab his arm.

‘Must? You will not command me, sister,’ the Emperor hissed under his breath.

Hatsuko exhaled slowly and stood perfectly still for a moment. The two siblings stared at each other.

‘I . . . I will get her for you.’ Hatsuko’s face fell and she fled from the room.

Alice-Miranda looked at her father and mother, who shrugged.

‘Please, our meal will be ruined.’ Kenzo indicated that the group should sit down.

‘I apologise for my sister. You see, we have not been together as a family for some time,’ the Emperor said with a frown.

Dinner continued to be served in the princess’s absence. Following the flower-like potato came the most exquisite sashimi, cut to resemble three-dimensional salmon with caviar for eyes. Millie poked at the dish and watched as everyone around her picked it up and swallowed it whole. She popped it into her mouth expecting it to be slimy, but was pleasantly surprised.

‘This is oishii,’ the girl exclaimed.

The Emperor smiled. ‘I am glad it is to your liking, Miss Millie. And well done with your Japanese.’

Millie frowned. She hadn’t used that word before and wondered how she even knew it.

The food continued coming. Next was yakitori chicken and rice, then another dish with unidentifiable meat that no one was quite game to ask about.

Jacinta was squirming in her seat.

‘What’s the matter with you?’ Millie whispered across the table.

‘I need to go to the toilet,’ Jacinta mouthed, then began jiggling up and down.

‘Then go.’ Millie flicked her head in the direction of the door.

Alice-Miranda noticed her friends’ discomfort too. She slipped from her seat and walked to the end of the table.

‘Excuse me, Kenzo-san,’ she said quietly.

He leaned towards her.

‘Could you tell me where the toilet is?’

‘Certainly, Alice-Miranda.’

He held up his hand and a young woman walked forward. Then he said something to her in Japanese.

‘Miki will show you,’ he smiled at the child.

Alice-Miranda gestured to her friends. Jacinta stood up and, after a moment, Millie did too.

The three girls excused themselves and followed the young woman out of the room. They headed down a long hallway.

The woman pointed to a door on the left.

Jacinta charged through into a timber-lined room. There was another door leading to what looked like a giant powder room complete with an enormous vanity and two chairs. Yet another door led to the toilet.

‘Whoa, if you thought the hotel toilet was cool, wait until you see this one,’ Jacinta called out.

‘Is it gold plated?’ Millie asked through the door.

‘No, but it has more controls than a jumbo jet.’

Alice-Miranda and Millie waited their turn inside the powder room while the woman who had led them there stood outside in the hallway.

‘I was worried about the Emperor seeing my necklace,’ Alice-Miranda said to Millie. ‘When I met the old man in Obaasan’s house, he told me that the woman in the photo was the Empress.’

‘You didn’t tell us that,’ Millie said. ‘That’s pretty cool, you know. I wonder if it used to be owned by someone from the royal family.’

‘I wondered that myself. I didn’t think it was very likely but just now he said that it looked a lot like a necklace he gave Kiko.’

‘He took it very well. He seems nice. Sad, but nice,’ Millie said. ‘I’m not so sure about his sister, though.’

‘What do you mean?’ Alice-Miranda asked.

‘She’s got this look, like she’s up to something, and she seemed really unhappy to see her brother. I mean, I’d have thought she’d be pleased to see him up and about if he’s been sick for such a long time.’

Alice-Miranda nodded. She had thought the same thing herself.

Jacinta was taking forever in the cubicle.

‘What’s that noise?’ Millie asked, glancing around the room.

Alice-Miranda listened. Somewhere close by there were voices, and they didn’t sound happy.

‘Where are they coming from?’ said Millie. She opened the door to the outer room but there was no one there. ‘Must be coming through the paper walls or something,’ Millie decided, then tapped her hand against the one closest. ‘Ouch! Except that’s not paper.’

The voices were getting louder.

Alice-Miranda and Millie looked at one another.

‘It’s coming from there,’ Alice-Miranda whispered and pointed to the ground.

Millie knelt down and pressed her ear against the small silver drainage grate. ‘I think it’s Princess Hatsuko’s voice.’

‘What are you two whispering about?’ Jacinta called from inside the toilet. ‘You’d better not be talking about me and Lucas again.’

‘Shhh,’ Millie said.

Jacinta flushed the toilet and opened the door. ‘What’s the matter now?’ she griped as she washed her hands.

‘Listen,’ Millie mouthed. The voices were speaking Japanese but Millie was shocked to realise that she could understand every word.

She listened to each sentence and translated aloud for Jacinta and Alice-Miranda. ‘Princess Hatsuko is telling the man that the Emperor wants her to bring Princess Kiko into the dining room –’

‘How do you know that’s what she said?’ Jacinta scoffed. ‘They’re speaking Japanese.’

‘I don’t know how, but I’m sure I’m understanding it perfectly. I just . . . am,’ Millie whispered, looking as confused as Jacinta. ‘Shh! They’re still talking.’

Alice-Miranda’s mind raced.

‘Hatsuko’s telling the man to put the letter – I don’t know what letter – onto Kiko’s bed.’ Millie gasped. ‘Oh my goodness – Kiko isn’t even here! Hatsuko’s going to wait a while then go back and tell everyone that’s Kiko’s run away . . .’

Alice-Miranda, Millie and Jacinta looked at one another, wide-eyed.

‘Now Hatsuko’s yelling at the man and telling him to find Kiko so they can use their original plan and take her to Kobe. Oh my goodness. Some law is changing tomorrow and Hatsuko’s going to have Emperor Jimmu removed and take over the crown. That’s it! She’s trying to get rid of Princess Kiko so she can become Empress right away.’

Alice-Miranda couldn’t keep quiet any longer. ‘So where’s Princess Kiko? Do you mean she’s out in Tokyo all alone?’

Millie shushed her. ‘Yes . . . Oooh. Hatsuko gave Kiko her grandfather’s address to try to get her to run away. But the old man’s not there – Hatsuko’s saying she had him moved to some retirement home.’ Millie gawped at the pendant around Alice-Miranda’s neck. ‘Hatsuko says that Kiko sold her necklace to the antique dealer in the Senso-ji market, Alice-Miranda! She’s telling the man to ask the antique dealer if he remembers Kiko. Now the man’s all excited and thinks he knows where Kiko is. That’s weird. He’s gabbling about some . . . about a boy in an alleyway in Asakusa. Hey, that’s where we’re staying.’

Shuffling noises came from the grate in the floor, followed by a loud bang.

‘They’re gone. How did I do that?’ Millie said, stunned. ‘How did I learn Japanese in two days? It’s a miracle. Or I’m a genius and I just didn’t know it.’

Alice-Miranda shook her head. ‘I think I know how it happened. When you asked Mrs Oliver for a mint, what did she give you?’

Millie frowned. ‘I don’t know but it wasn’t very minty. I wondered if she’d invented mint-less mints.’

‘Oh my goodness, she gave you one of her language pills – she’s just trialling them. That’s why you can understand what they were saying.’

‘Language pills? That’s ridiculous,’ Jacinta said.

Alice-Miranda shook her head. ‘No, it’s not. Mrs Oliver is one of the cleverest people I know and I promise it’s true. She told me herself.’

Jacinta rolled her eyes and huffed. ‘Why has she been keeping that to herself? It would have made life much easier since we’ve been here.’

‘Because they’re not ready yet. She took one and it sort of malfunctioned and she could only speak Japanese for the next few hours even though she was thinking in English.’

‘I wonder if that will happen to me,’ said Millie, biting her lip.

‘And why isn’t mine working?’ Jacinta said. ‘I had a mint too and I couldn’t understand any of that.’

Alice-Miranda shrugged. ‘I guess that’s why they’re still at the trial stage. Anyway, that’s not important now. If what Millie said is true, Princess Kiko is in grave danger.’

‘It sounds like she’s planning to kill her,’ Jacinta said.

‘Or at the very least, lock her away forever,’ Millie said.

‘We have to tell the Emperor,’ said Jacinta.

‘No,’ Alice-Miranda said. ‘I think I know where she is too.’ Alice-Miranda pictured the child in the photograph Emperor Jimmu had shown her.

‘But how?’ Millie frowned.

‘Just trust me. We need to get there before those men do.’