The Emperor's Daughter

Chapter 5: The Trip

It was already late at night, the girl must have gone to bed. Guess he would sleep on the couch in the living room. After brushing his teeth, he lied on the couch and slept without changing his clothes as he was too tired. The morning came, looked like it was going to be a sunny day. He stretched his arm and got up. Sleeping on a couch was not comfortable and his back was sore, but at least he got some sleep. He went to the bedroom to check on the girl only to find that she was not there.

The latest train would come in 30 minutes, which she had nothing to do but to sit and wait. She felt a little bit guilty to steal some money, but she needed it for the ticket and food for the trip until she gets to the destination. To reassure herself, Shiki told herself that it would be the last thing she took from him then she would be out of his life. For the last few days, she had troubled him a lot. Now that he had done his part, she needed to do hers.

15 minutes. She felt nervous and she didn't know why. Was it she was nervous to go on this train because it was going toward her next destination? Or was it she will never see him again? This nervousness was so hard to understand. There was nothing wrong with her decision, yet she felt heavy. In somewhere of her mind, she wished that the train didn't come so she didn't have to go.

5 minutes. Shiki took a deep breath and told herself everything was going to be alright. Her journey would be long and challenging, but it was something she had to do. For her family and for herself. She shouldn't give up so quickly. Right now, she needed to find something valuable in her possession. Vincent was right, there must be something and she had to find it. To find the killer, she first had to be ready.

The train had arrived in a steamy smoke. The passengers began to get on the train and so did she. In the train, there were many empty compartments so she just picked one of them randomly to sit. People just passed through her with their family or companions with their big luggage. The small compartment each had two benches on the opposite side. It was designed so parents could see the face of their children, or 2 partners could have a better discussion. But if there was just one person, it felt lonely and empty with the desolated seat in front of that person. She suddenly remembered. This was her second time on a railway train. The last time was in such a tense situation that she didn't pay much attention to realize her first train trip.

If mother were still alive and sitting in front of her, she definitely would tell her about this. Unlike any other normal family, Mikado family rarely leave their town. Vacation never existed in Mikado household, not mention she was technically grounded forever. Grandfather forbid her to go anywhere outside of the house except school, only a few special occasions would grant her a pass to go out under supervised. That empty space in front of her, she wished her mom was sitting there. She tried to imagine her mom, wearing a dark dress sitting gracefully. Her hair was braided beautifully and on her hand was a ball of rice, trying to feed her some snack.

Suddenly, Shiki felt so out of place. Everyone had someone with them on the train, only her was alone. Even the last time, she had Vincent as her companion. However, eventually she would have to get used to that vacant space in front of her.

"Is this seat taken?" a voice spoke to her.

There were other empty spaces, but somehow this stranger decided to sit with her which she didn't mind. Would it ease the loneliness?

"Yes.." she was slow on reaction "please take a seat..."

As she turned to see the passenger, she was lost for words.

"Good morning, Shiki."

Vincent put his suitcase on one side of the bench and sit in front of her, still wore the same clothes from last night.

"Do you want to get something for breakfast?"

"How..." she tried to gather her thought "How did you find me? Did you follow me?"

That came out loud and wrong. But her mind was a mess so she lost control of her words.

"Shiki. To find someone who wants to run away, checking the biggest railway station would be one of the first options. I just need to ask the fare seller for a confirmation."

That was correct, yet she didn't think of that. If she were to run away from her family, she would try to go as far as she could so they would not find her.

"Second of all" Vincent continued with a casual face "Would you mind give my wallet back so I can buy a breakfast?"

How the heck did he know? Pretty sure it was just a wallet with only money inside, unless, he had some sort of tracking spell on it. In any case, her attempt for a quiet runaway was a huge failure. It was so embarrassing that she wanted to hide in the corner.

To respond that question, Shiki took the wallet from her pocket then gave it to him.

"Sorry. It was planned to be the last time I bother you."

He grabbed the wallet and opened to see the money inside. She could see that he was counting the money under the mute mumble.

"So you only used it to buy the ticket? Did you have breakfast?"

She shook her head with the sound of her growling stomach.

"Two breakfasts then?"

She nodded.

Two pieces of bread with butter and jam, a cup of coffee and a bag of peanuts. Each of them got a breakfast tray like that. Shiki looked at the cup of brown water with a curious face. It was dark like dirt, but the aroma was so warm and relaxing. She blew the steam and took a small sip. Iy was too bitter for her taste that her face changed to an expression of discomfort.

"So this is what coffee tastes like. I wonder how could people drink this." she mumbled.

Vincent overheard her whisper and add sugar to his cup of coffee, which grabbed her attention. She saw what he did and did the same. When she drank it, her face lit up compared to before. The sweetness balanced the bitterness and made it easier to drink. The coffee was now tasty to drink.

"Now i get it." she said it with a bright smile. She looked happy enjoying the rest of the cup.

"So yesterday, my supervisor told me about Tei family"

He decided to start a conversation while spreading some jam on the bread.

Hearing this, Shiki discarded her smiley face.

"What do you know so about Tei family?"

"We only found some old records about the relationship between two families. Tei family is the only connection to Mikado family."

Shiki put down her cup of coffee.

"2 families were very close. Only a Tei was allowed to come into Mikado house. As the return, Tei family shall welcome a Mikado to their house."

"Is that where you are heading?"

Shiki nodded.

"Tell me more about the relationship between two families."

She was silent for a few seconds, thinking whether should she tell him the details about the families or not. However, since he was already on the train, she felt like it was alright to tell him this stuff.

"The truth is Tei family is a sister branch of Mikado family. A Mikado who would not live up to their name shall be discarded and become a Tei. Unlike Mikado family, Tei family does not have wealth or hierarchy in society. However, if there is something left behind from Mikado family, Tei family was the only last chance to get it. Even the slimmest one."

When she stopped at that part, something else came to her mind which brought her a question.

"Did your supervisor told you to go to Tei family?" she just asked out of her curiosity.

Vincent picked his cup of coffee up and brought close to his mouth.

"Not really. But since I already have a certain person who knows the Tei family, so I wouldn't mind to pay them a visit."

So he wasn't following her, they were happened to be on the same train with the same destination. Somehow, this coincidence made her feel relieved. Maybe it was okay to have him as her company a little longer.