From Ash and Gold [ ongoing ]

| chapter five |

A   W E L C O M E

Akira woke up with a start, feeling the floor sway underneath her.  Her stomach gave a lurch and she scrambled to her feet in the dark, the stench of salt and sweat filling her senses. Her hand flew to the pendent ad she clutched it tight as she breathed slowly, calming herself. Even after 5 years, she had to convince herself that she wasn't at the corpse house anymore, that she made it out. 

When she opened her eyes, they had adjusted to the darkness of the ship, where people softly snored on the hard cots next to her. She softly navigated through the room, feeling her way through the sprawled out beds, and found the trapdoor, and she hauled herself onto the deck, the cold, refreshing breeze hitting her face. The soft crash of the waves calmed Akira's heart into a steady beat. She leaned on the edge of the ship, taking in the vast, dark sky stretching above her. Her first breath of freedom with no one to run from, no one to hide from.  

From where she was standing, she could see land, a speck on the horizon, and her feeling of euphoria was short-lived. She had no plan going into this. She was relying on a simple order: spy on the prince and find the chain before he does. Akira closed her eyes. She had no option but to let fate take over. She sent a quick prayer to the gods, hoping it would reach them, or they would listen. More people began to come up onto the deck as they neared land, luggage heaved over their shoulders. Akira dug her hand in her satchel for her passport, her throat becoming dry. No one knew her, or what she did. It didn't matter if she could still see the blood on her hands, or smell the stench of dead bodies because it was over, she reminded herself. 

As the deck became more crowded, Akira felt herself get pushed to the front of the ship. It came to a slow, steady stop, and docked at an empty port except for the import and export ship and scrambling sailors. The South Kingdom was rebuilding after being on foothold by Usdean for so long, resolved by the alliance between them. She had heard people talking about the Queen marrying Prince Darius on the ship, quiet murmurs floating between peasants. Akira's lips curled in disgust as she got off the ship. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Akira did wonder about the Queen, though. The only thing she knew was that she was two years older than her and that she hadn't stepped outside the palace in about ten years. Akira felt pain shoot through her. Akira had killed the Queen's parents.

"Passport please, miss."

Akira looked up and was made painfully aware of how short she was. 

"Of course." She straightened her back and handed her documents over to the stoic gaurd, who peered down at her. Monty had forged the passport under the fake name, Lera Gemen. She was able to get out of Usdean, but only God knew if she could get into the South Kingdom. His eyes traveled over the page and stopped at the end, and looked between her and the pages.

"Is this real?"

Shit. Monty fucked up.

Akira gave the guard a tight smile. "Of course it is."

The guard's eyes darkened. "The stamp is not original."

Akira really shouldn't have trusted Monty. It was time to resort to Plan B. She batted her eyelashes.

"Is that so?"

The guard scowled, showing his rotting teeth. "That only works when the girls doing it are pretty." He reached to grab her hand but moved quickly, flicking his nose, using the moment of surprise to grab the dagger hidden in her boot and slash his shin. She ran out of his reach and waved daintily.