SKY OF PAPER: AN ASIAN STEAMPUNK FANTASY

CHAPTER 26

For a moment, there was an elegant silence, like nothing had happened at all. Pieces of glass and wood slowly began to lift from the floor. Kassashimei held on to a length of railing and reached out for me. She shouted, but I did not hear a single word.

And then the air rushed back to fill the void.

A maddening chaos of crashing and shaking was all I saw as what was left of the room began to cave in on itself. Kassashimei kept her arm reaching for me.

“Stay where you are,” I said. “I’m not finished yet.”

She gave a concerned nod as she finally revealed how scared she truly was, but her noble gaze refused to flinch.

I went back into my stances, all the while trying desperately to keep my balance as the floor shook and splintered beneath my feet. Fighting against every doubt, every feeling of hopelessness, Kassashimei and I returned the ether's flow back into the empty void, guiding the ship as it fell back to the awaiting ocean below.

Like a mighty hand from the heavens, Kassashimei and I guided an ethereal wave as it reached underneath the hull and cradled the vessel it in its grasp. The bow rose suddenly as our descent began to slow.

Still, as vigilant as I was, we were not falling as gently as I had hoped.

Then, with little warning , the ocean came upon us and with a great crash as the ship tore into its watery face. For a moment, the bulbous vessel floundered like a great whale, caught in the arms of some hungry beast, then after a time, floated idly; bobbing, groaning and creaking as it whimpered from its wounds.

The back of the tea house had a large balcony with steps, leading down to a courtyard, covered with small gardens and tall, wooden walls. I was lying prone on the balcony steps, just as Madame Quoli had ordered. Over and over, she struck me on the back with a large piece of bamboo. With each strike, I let out a sickly shriek, clamping my jaw as tight as I could as I tried to muffle my shameful cries. After a time, the stinging sensation on my back grew unbearably hot, as if someone had propped a flame next to my skin.

Much to my surprise, I started sobbing, begging for Quoli to stop. When I looked up at her, she pressed her foot against my head and demanded I keep quiet. She had been patiently waiting for this moment the entirety of the trip. The disrespect I caused her during the voyage had made her angrier than I had ever seen.

Except for some injuries and broken bones, I had saved everyone on the ship. The captain was not impressed, however, and condemned me for my actions. Everything I had done was without his permission. Secretly, both the Boar and the Old Man praised me. Han and Kidou seemed all the more convinced of my talents, as they were among the few witnesses that had seen the passing of my abilities first-hand. But like a magnificent tiger prowling in the tall grass, everything that I had done went mostly unnoticed. The secret veil of my life made sure that most of the ship's crew would never know of the things I had done. Even Han and Kiddou were sworn to keep my skills a secret from the rest of my former classmates.

And I knew that even if Quoli knew of my deeds, she would not have cared. I had insulted her, wounded her pride and that was all that mattered.

The beatings stopped when Miss Nishio came out onto the balcony. She looked down at my prone form and gave a heaving sigh.

"The captain has billed me for half of the ship repairs," she said. "Where do you suppose that money is going to come from? Well?"

I did not even think of answering her as I remained wallowed in my tears.

"You will be in debt for a very long time," she continued. "You are lucky that the Old Man has recently agreed to grant you a full license. You are now officially a chienkuu ko to this Tea House, You had better start earning me money, before you make every one of us end up on the streets."

As I squirmed painfully on the floor, listening to her ungratified words, it seemed strange that such an important moment was simply tossed to me like an object that held little value.

But even so, I was finally a chienkuu ko, a child of the sky. How I wanted to be proud, to feel like I had climbed a great mountain, but my stubborn tears and the upset look on both Quoli's and Nishio's faces kept me from feeling so.

Later that day, I watched in earnest from the empty main dining room on the first floor as Meng washed the bruises on my back, wondering when Kassashimei would show herself. Earlier, Quoli had punished her as well, though not as harshly as she had done to me. Instead, she made her hold her arms out and struck them with a swatting stick. Afterwards, she ran to her room, nursing the painful marks on her skin. Even though Meng did not care much for her, she bandaged her wounds out of sympathy. Since then I had not seen her leave her room. I suppose she did not want me to see her cry.

Peering from a corner at the top of the stairs along the second floor, I saw Lai, watching me with a suspicious gaze. I suppose he knew now that I was as much of an equal in this house as he was. He half-smiled in his timid attempt to welcome me, but he had such a look of worry about him, that I could not help but be concerned. There were still tears coming from my eyes, so I hurriedly rubbed them dry and tried to look as prideful and presentable to him as I could.

A few days later, we were visited by a certain compelling stranger. It was early in the morning before the tea house opened when we heard the loud knocking at the front entrance.

I watched from the stairs as Meng dutifully answered. As she slid the door open, she uttered a small gasp. It was a man dressed in a simple, but brightly colored traditional robe. The bun in his hair and the way his clothes were decorated reminded me of the old theatre plays I had once seen that depicted characters from the old imperial era of warlords and medieval castles. He was a very large man that towered easily over Meng and his shoulders seemed as long as my legs. But what caught my attention the most were the two curved swords sheathed menacingly at his side. One was shorter than the other and he gripped both their hilts like a mother keeping her unruly children at bay.

He handed her a folded piece of paper, which she read carefully, then she gave a surprised look and quickly went up the stairs, pushing her way past me. After a short time had passed, both she and Miss Nishio hurried down. Both of them glanced at me with an air of uncertainty as they went by. Finally, Miss Nishio greeted the visitor and invited him inside, regarding him with the utmost respect and earnest. They sat down at one of the many tables in the main room, where the house musicians were busy practicing and tuning their instruments. Kassashimei casually came up to me from behind and bluntly prodded my side.

"What are you looking at?" Kassashimei asked.

"We have a visitor," I answered quietly. “Someone I've never seen before."

She followed my gaze to the man sitting at the table.

"We have a giant in our tea house," she teased. "Or maybe he’s a demon. No, probably more like an ogre."

"He's not an ogre, or a giant. I think he's some sort of warrior."

Miss Nishio must have realized our presence, because she said, "Terr, Kassashimei, come over here; and you‘d best behave yourselves."

We did as she instructed and scurried quickly to the table. The man got up, giving only a brief, half-hearted glance at my shyo mah, then drew a long, hard stare in my direction. I was certain that he was compelled by the color of my eyes.

"Don't be rude children, bow."

I felt myself growing anxious as I lowered my head, not knowing what to make of the strange man before me.

"The Old Man seems to have high expectations for the both of you," Miss Nishio said. "It seems he has sent a guardian, and a very prestigious one at that."