Standing atop the unconscious mass of their fallen opponents the two locked gazes. After a short, silent moment, they acknowledged each other with a respectful nod. Ren Tzu sheathed his sword and the captive relaxed his stance.
"My name is Kosh," the captive said, "personal guard to the royal family."
"You should have dropped your bindings sooner," Ren Tzu said expectantly, "and resumed your duties at the royal family's side. I’m sure they need you now more than ever."
"The princess is in good hands. She will be safe. But the safety of her mother must be addressed with the Young Emperor. After hearing of your intent to see him, I thought it more prudent that I remain your prisoner. I’m in earnest to speak with him just as your are in earnest to see to his protection."
"Very well," Ren Tzu said, then motioned for the rest of us to come.
Etsu shouldered past me and gave my guardian a wary look.
"That's it? Now you're going to trust him?" she said. "He tried to kidnap me. He's a traitor, just like Lai."
I winced, hearing Lai's name spoken in spite. Seeing her with such bitterness, it was obvious that Lai had pained her deeply. "Etsu stop." I took her by the shoulder, but she pulled away, determined to speak her peace.
"Tie him up again. Tie him up. He's been plotting with Lai all along."
"Do not speak of me as if I am the same as that boy," Kosh interrupted. "My oath holds me to the charges of the royal family, not to a commoner such as him. My actions were carried out under the direction of Lady An Wei. I knew the boy had bewitched her, coerced her into a plan that would jeopardize the royal family's well-being. Still, it is not my place to question her, even if her commands were inspired by that insipid child’s brashness."
"So you're saying that Lai is the only one to blame?" Etsu uttered.
"Lady An Wei is innocent. It was neither her plan or mine."
"I don't believe you. You're lying!" She turned to me and tugged at my arm, pleading. "Terr, he's trying to deceive us. He's going to take the Young Emperor's life."
Before I could respond, Kassashimei came between us and pried her away from me. She pushed her back and leaned towards her with an intimidating glare. "You cared about Lai didn't you? Maybe more than that. You probably even loved him. And now, with all that trust, all that affection dashed, you just want to see someone punished, don't you?!"
Etsu's eyes started to tear up. She looked confused, angry, but whether it was pride or spite, she didn’t have the words to express it. Instead, she started sobbing, pressing her balled hands against of her face. Then, as if she were no longer able to bare the sight of us, she hurried away down the corridor.
I started after her, but Ren Tzu stepped in front of me. "Do not worry about her. No soldier has any reason to harm her and I am sure she will seek refuge off the ship."
I glanced curiously at Kosh. He probably sensed my doubt, because he spoke to me directly.
"I deeply regret my actions. There is no honor in kidnapping children. Believe me, I would never have hurt her."
When we entered the throne room, we found the Young Emperor sitting listlessly at his throne behind a small gathering of court officials and court maidens. They looked unnerved, annoyed by our presence. Immediately, several of them blocked our path.
"How dare you enter these sacred chambers unannounced," one of the older court maidens hounded.
Others vainly called for the guards as Ren Tzu shouldered a path for us through the confused, desperate crowd. The sight of Kosh, a warrior wearing the uniform of the enemy caused a few to scatter. He turned to face the onlookers as did Ren Tzu who unsheathed his sword, sweeping it menacingly in front of him.
"Leave," Ren Tzu commanded.
Though hesitant, they remained steadfast, emboldened by what seemed to be their frail loyalty to the child emperor. It was then that Kosh roared, stamping his feet and swinging his arms like a mad man. His actions stirred the crowd, as well as myself, into a bout of fear. The startled mass cried out, then hurried for the door. Kosh gave a wide grin, obviously pleased with himself, giving me a brief look of satisfaction that sent a small chill down my back.
We immediately went to the boy who sat rigidly on his throne. He seemed dazed, his eyes looking on as if he had been set into a dreary trance. His eerie, petrified posture drove me to worry. Beside him was a small table holding a serving bowl and a pot of tea. Ren Tzu immediately lifted the lid, carefully sniffing its contents.
"The tea is not drugged," the Young Emperor, snapped himself out of what seemed to be an act. "But it should have been. At least my advisor believed it so. I’ve learned to distrust anything served to me by Dae Jung, and that includes tea. So I had my personal servants, sometimes even Ai, secretly prepare and replace any food or drink that Dae Jung may have had served to me.
Ever since the battle, he's changed.
So much so, that I suspected that he’d eventually be bold enough to attempt to pacify me so that he may continue to command this ship."
He propped himself to his feet, glancing briefly at Ren Tzu who gave a reverend bow. After acknowledging him with a nod he glanced at Kassashimei, regarding her with a curiously brief expression of forlorn. When he turned his eyes towards me, he gave a weak smile.
"You look unhurt. All of you. I'm glad for that. So far, the court has kept me their prisoner. From their whispers and rumors I’ve heard, it seems we are under attack. That some of the crew has mutinied."
"It’s more than that," I said. "Princess Xiangfeng and her men have made their stand against Dae Jung."
"He has taken Lady An Wei, her mother, hostage," Kosh interrupted with a fierce, but well-mannered tone in his voice. "The fighting has driven everyone mad. Please, I beg that you put an end to this. Otherwise I am certain that we will all die."
"We’ve come to take you off this ship, to safety," Ren Tzu said. "The violence has spilled through every deck and compartment. You could be hurt if you stay."
"No, I won't leave," the Young Emperor replied. "Even though Dae Jung may doubt me, this ship and everyone in it, is my responsibility." He addressed Kosh directly. “And as for the one that I am to marry and her mother, I must see to their safety as well."
We took to the air upon the largest, sturdiest sky boat that we could find. A great feeling of uncertainty welled up within me. Despite the reassuring expression the Young Emperor gave me as I peered over my shoulder at him, I found myself with hardly any comfort in what I was about to do.
Ren Tzu and Kosh stood at the ready, prepared to protect the precious son of the Imperial Family, both now with swords, drawn boldly at their sides.
Of us all, Kassashimei seemed to gather the most pleasure from our grim situation. She grinned at me, excited, anxious, even as I felt the ice grow in my belly. For reasons hard to explain, she gave me an odd sense of comfort. She watched me relentlessly, unflinchingly, as if being with me at that moment ignited within her a fierce glimmer of self-importance.
The Young Emperor gave me a small, confirming nod, which I hesitantly returned in kind.
For a long moment, I watched the writhing ethereal currents drift beneath the bow. Then, before any inkling of dread crossed my thoughts, I signaled with a sudden wave of my arms. Like a waterfall the currents turned and dove like a comet to the awaiting ship below. The ropes that secured my waist to the boat, strained under my weight as I teetered under the rush of the oncoming air. We held on as best as we could as the ship beneath us loomed ever closer. I assumed Kassashimei and I could protect everyone against such savage winds, but too many times I lost my footing and I was sure that Kassashimei had lost her concentration. Though we had fallen from the sky many times, diving was something we had never intentionally attempted.
It took all my focus and all my skill to balance myself at the bow. I held my arms out, motioning and directing the boat, away from the bumps, whirls and sudden waves the ether dared cough up into our path. By now, it was easy to make out both the princess's men and Dae
Jung's, both squared off against one another along the length of the ship. I aimed for the center.
All at once, I motioned for the bow of the boat to pull upwards, and like a hammer, we crashed the keel upon the deck between the two opposing forces. The boat tore across the ship's very center, cleaving the deck like a knife and ripping a gash across its very center. Men from both sides cleared away, shouting and clamoring for safety. The speed with which we came, the sheer violence of our arrival was enough to bring the attention of every enraged soul aboard.
Amidst the rubble and dust both Ren Tzu and Kosh leaped onto either side of the damaged deck. Kosh waved his sword with unflinching resolve at Dae Jung's men, while Ren Tzu stood like a wall in the face of the princess's guards. Both nobly kept either side at bay as the Young Emperor swiftly recovered from our sudden landing and propped himself up at the highest point at the rear of the crashed boat. The sickly sounds of the ship's tired and groaning hull were all that could be heard as silent eyes were cast upon the child emperor.
"This ship belongs to the divine family of the Empire of Rui Nan," he bellowed. "It belongs to me. All who are upon it will leave."
"Young Emperor." Dae Jung approached the boat, but the shining blade of Kosh's sword snapped at him, warning him from coming any further. He briefly glared insultingly at the warrior, then turned with great empathy towards the boy. "You have needlessly endangered your life by coming here. Surely, all of this must have unsettled your nerves. Please, return to the throne room where it is safe. I will have my orderlies prepare your tea and any comforts you may wish. I assure you, I will personally remedy these complications."
"All who are upon my ship are to leave immediately," the Young Emperor repeated. His eyes rested squarely upon his advisor. "And all prisoners are to be released."
"I will kill that man," Princess Xiangfeng interjected ", even if that piece of trash were to release my mother, the insults he has brought upon my family is inexcusable. He will die by my hand."
"Not upon my ship you won‘t. There will be no more violence here. Guard Captain, release the princess's mother and see to it that everyone is safely taken from my ship."
"Then we, your guards and your crew shall remain here to protect you," the Guard Captain said.
"No," the Young Emperor replied sternly, "absolutely everyone must leave. No one is ever to set foot upon this ship again." As he said this, he looked at his stunned advisor with judging eyes before addressing the crowd once again. "Everyone, go home. Seek out your own lives elsewhere. Your services to me are now over."
The crowd grew still, taken with disbelief and astonished by what they were hearing. His words sounded true, but did they command respect? Would such words be followed? Oaths were tested. Many had pledged their lives to the Imperial Family, even into exile, and all had sacrificed so much.
The Imperials, the guards, all remained where they were. None budged an inch. Many looked defiant, refusing to follow the his command. At the time, I did not understand. How could the very words from the Young Emperor himself be treated with such ignorance? As a boy, their reasons were obscure to me, but looking back as an adult it was finally clear. Their oaths, their pledges, their very loyalties extended far beyond that of a single child. They were the protectors of not just the Young Emperor, but of an entire dynasty. Seeing such resolute passion in their eyes, it became evident to me that they would not leave, even if it meant contradicting the child emperor’s order.
The princess's men, however, were not bound by such a pledge, for within their ranks, one of her soldiers had taken advantage of the moment and let loose a well-aimed shot from his rifle. Piercing the silence, the sudden crack of the rifle shot echoed across the deck. The guard captain looked up at the Young Emperor with wide, pleading eyes and then fell into a lifeless slump. Ren Tzu immediately spotted the shooter, and with quick precision, darted effortlessly through the crowd and struck him down with his sword.
Before the princess could react; before the Young Emperor could utter a single word, battle cries, screams of vengeance were shouted among both sides and like two opposing waves upon the sea they clashed. They swarmed around the crashed sky boat meeting each other with rifles, swords and even fists. Both Ren Tzu and Kosh dove back into the boat and fended off those that tried to clamor aboard while Kassashimei reached up and grabbed me by the waist, pulling me down. We huddled for cover. It wasn’t long before the Young Emperor joined us, his face pale with dread.
"I thought if I told everyone to leave," he said, his voice in a trance, "all of this would come to an end, that I would be free from all of this." When he looked me, I saw again, the same face I first met that day when he set fire to the cargo hold. "Maybe I could have lived the life that you once had, that you’ve told me about so many times before, a quieter life in some small village."
"Jiro!" I said his true name, his forbidden name. I said it so loudly that he shook with surprise, as if I’d snatched him from his despair. "I sometimes regret leaving that life behind me, and even more so I regret the death of my sister. There is so much I wish I could have back. But I do not regret becoming who I am and I do not regret meeting you."
"And what about me?" Even amidst the cruel carnage that surrounded us, Kassashimei's sarcastic tone still rang out with a egotistical smile that defied even the bleakness of our fates. "Don't tell me you regret meeting me."
I tried my best to return her smile. "You are one strange girl, you know that?"
I took a deep breath, then summoned the will to move as I slowly propped myself to my feet.
"What are you doing?" The Young Emperor asked.
"I'm going to fly us out of here."
I climbed towards the bow, glimpsing at the chaos that teetered amongst the writhing waves of angry, shouting bodies. Just a few paces away, men lashed at each other with steel and flesh. The senseless fighting, the very ferocity of it all was so great, I nearly froze. Like a man agonized by his wounds, I crawled up the bow steps towards the pedestal. Ren Tzu, ever sensitive to my plight, bounded across the length of the boat and picked me up, shielding me with his body.
He ushered me on. "You’d better hurry. I see a terrible lust in the faces of these warriors. They fight out of rage, without restraint. If we don’t leave soon, we’ll be caught up in their insanity."
"I go to protect the princess," Kosh bellowed. "Good luck to you all."
Both he and Ren Tzu gave parting nods before he leaped from the railing and disappeared into the crowd.
Though the screeching clang of swords below and the terrible whiz of bullets sent me shuttering with fear, I slowly managed to steady myself behind the pedestal. I looked to the beads on my wrist and then to Kassashimei behind me, whom I never doubted would always be there.
"Terr, let's go," she said impatiently.
"Right."
I quickly went into my stance and turned my sights to the ether. However, as I went into my motions, I felt a disturbance in the air, then a sickly thud at my feet. I turned to see Ren Tzu, fallen, a spear pierced into his thigh. He gave a small frown, barely acknowledging the pain. I reached out for him, but he’d already lost balance and fell backwards into the mass of people below. He lay prone for the briefest of moments before he looked up at me and waved me away, yelling something I couldn’t understand. The steadily rising roar of battle had completely drowned out his voice.
"Terr, let's go," Kassashimei repeated. "We have what we came for. We need to get out of here."
As if searching for a reason to stay, I sought the attention of the Young Emperor, but he seemed even more unsure of himself than I, as he regarded his surroundings in silent disbelief.
"Not yet," I replied. "I need to get Ren Tzu."
Now that I think about it, years later, I realize how strange it was that I’d said such a thing. Perhaps it was the first thing that came to mind, or perhaps it was because I hardly understood how much of a fool I truly was. I barely had the courage to climb towards the bow, and no
w as I looked out across the mass of frenzied warriors, I found myself frozen once again, wondering if it was even possible to rescue my guardian.
A sharp buzz rang loudly behind my ear. Stunned, I slowly reached behind my head and found blood on my fingertips. The bullet had only grazed the side of my head, but it was more than enough to horrify me and drive to the brink.
In a somber daze, I looked out across the length our boat and realized that men from both sides had already climbed aboard. Kassashimei pushed the Young Emperor down into the hold and covered his body with hers.
It was too late. A solemn feeling of helplessness swept over me as I began to realize that everything we had done, all our efforts, came to nothing. All at once, my shame, my anger, every hateful emotion consumed me, and I yelled as loud as my lungs would allow.
A moment later, a sudden gust of wind and a savage, unseen force tore across the ship sending men and debris in all directions. Portions of the deck shattered, causing the ship to moan and shutter like an animal whipped to the brink of death.
From within the depths of my other sight, I watched as the ethereal currents writhed about and cascaded like a wave upon everyone and everything in its path. Still dizzy from the wound on my head, I no longer had the will, nor the strength to stand. So I allowed my body to slump to its knees. Kassashimei and the Young Emperor took me by the arms and dragged me into the hold with them.
The three of us lifted our heads as we saw descending from the sky, standing at the bow of a sky boat, a familiar blind girl who commanded the vengeful ether as an extension of her will. There was an anger in the storm she brought, one that threatened to end the fighting one way or another. Though it was a violence drowned by another form of terrible violence, I found my tired eyes still relishing at the sight of her grace and beauty.
Chapter 25
Sky of Paper: An Asian Steam-Driven Fantasy Tale Page 50
