The Bridge To Nihon (BOOK ONE)

Chapter 19 - The Transformation

The carriage was pulled steadily through the night. The unevenness of the road created its own soothing rhythm and before long, all three passengers were fast asleep, not waking until the sun rose and the night sky dissolved into shades of orange and pink.

Sofia had been determined not to fall asleep, yet unable to keep her eyes open. She had sunken into a deep slumber, dreaming of a dragon chasing her, and of a closed door that she couldn't find the key to.

When she woke, Mica and Kaido were still asleep. Kaido was wrapped in a fur cloak that went up all the way over his face, and his body was hunched in an uncomfortable-looking position. Mica, on the other hand, was sitting with a straight back and relaxed face, like a soft-fleshed statue. She looked as she was deep in thought and had merely closed her eyes for a moment. Only her deep breathing and occasional twitching gave away that she was indeed sleeping. Still, Sofia kept her eyes on her for a while, to really make sure.

She got up carefully, by now used to the sways and rocking of the carriage, so that she didn't tumble. She pulled up her backpack and opened it. Part of her was convinced that they had stolen from her, even though she had to admit that it would be silly, as she would find out right away.

Still, she pushed the ledger all the way to the bottom of the bag. She took out the puppet, straightened its soft leather hide and pressed it quickly to her breast in a sudden bout of affection and loneliness. Then she made sure that the edges of the lantern weren't kinked and that none of her food had spilled.

"Is it all there?" Kaido said, with an impish smile in his voice. "Whatever it is that you are carrying in that enormous bag?"

Sofia looked up.

He had removed his blanket and straightened himself. He looked just the way he had the day before, except for the horn, which was missing. He saw her look, and as if on cue, it appeared as if it had always been there. He winked at her.

Instead of answering his question, Sofia asked her own,

"How do the horses know where to go?"

Kaido laughed and opened his mouth to answer, but Mica's voice came out of the corner.

"Because they are very clever horses."

She shot Kaido a little look, that was affectionate and warning at the same time.

"The cleverest," he said, but Sofia thought that he had been going to say something else. Maybe even the truth.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"The Court Playhouse. It's our next station."

"Court?" Sofia's heart skipped a beat.

"Well, it used to be, anyway. Only the name remains, as happens so often. But the stage is lovely, a lot to work with. And it fits beautifully for Part Three of the Talareduh."

Sofia didn't dare to ask anything else. She felt like an intruder in their life. They might start to feel the same way, and decide to get rid of her.

"It's not far now," Mica said. "But we need to do something about your appearance. You caused quite a stir yesterday. Every eye was on you. You're lucky that the people at the Dragon's Lodgings are such a self-involved bunch, otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to escape at all."

Sofia swallowed as if a brick was lodged in her throat. She threw Kaido a glance, trying to come up with an answer smarter than I don't know what you mean by that.

Mica laughed. It sounded like a cat's hiccups. "Don't worry, child. Kaido and I don't have secrets from each other."

Kaido agreed. "Except for the things we don't tell each other."