SKY OF PAPER: AN ASIAN STEAMPUNK FANTASY

CHAPTER 56

We flew a small fleet of sky boats towards the markets at the center of town. Of the boats that carried guards, clerks and a small assortment of servants, mine was mostly empty as it had been tasked to carry the food, supplies and additional purchases. Aside from Kassashimei and Ren Tzu, Ai had chosen to ride with us. She casually offered to fly the boat for me, but I declined as I felt that just having her company would be honor enough. I suppose, considering how much closer we were now, it wouldn’t have been any surprise at all that she had selected my boat out of all the others. Still, there must have been a reason, and it was revealed to me only after we had departed the ship.

"He's lying," Ai said quietly.

Her words had snapped a portion of my focus from the sky, and ever so slightly, I turned my ear towards her.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Dae Jung. He was lying. Ren Tzu, I know you to be a good judge of character. Surely you would have noticed a strangeness in his words."

"I cannot judge whether or not the man's words were true or false," Ren Tzu said ", but I do know that he was too bold in his statement. He was confident in some of his words and in others he was not." 

"I never trusted that man anyways," Kassashimei added.

"Kass, you don't trust anyone." She must have felt that I was mocking her, because I heard her snort loudly.

"Not true," she said. "There are some people I trust. Those people I don't mention. It's just a lot more fun to talk about people you don't."

"Well I know for certain he was lying," Ai continued, "I overheard him speaking with the officers during one of their meetings."

Instantly, I knew the meaning of her words. "There is no political envoy is there?"

"No."

"So we're abandoning them? The people from the Eastern Kingdom?"

"Yes."

"Does the Young Emperor know of this?"

"Perhaps. I know he mourns over the loss of Master Ichiro and those that were injured terribly during the battle. He may very well be seeking safety for the princess by letting her go. Whether or not he had a part in it, it must be, that in his grief, he allowed Dae Jung to make the decision."

"Then Dae Jung really does want to get rid of her." I began turning the boat around. "I want to speak to the Young Emperor."

Ai stood up, and with her own abilities, forced the boat back to its original course. She intervened so quickly, that the boat shook violently. I lost my balance and fell backwards. Kassashimei yelped as I fell onto her lap. She made a fist and struck me on the head before shoving me aside.

"Patience Terr," Ai said. "Do not be so quick to draw attention to yourself. We will finish the task assigned to us first, and then afterwards we will speak to the Young Emperor."

We landed amidst a field of other small aircraft, a few looked similar to ours, but were powered with tiny steam engines and had iron tanks filled with the iconic levitating stones known as rose phasia. Most of the others who could not afford the expensive, but convenient mineral were tethered to the ground and equiped with large bags of hot air that bobbed lazily in the breeze. Ours must have looked bare, elegant in its simplicity compared to the other small boats over-burdened with puffing, howling engines and bags of air and smoke that reeked of charred and ashen coals.  

Onlookers watched our arrival with a mixture of curiosity and astonishment. Ai donned a beautifully decorated light, blue satin hat adorned with tassels hanging from its brim. With it, she covered her eyes and most of her face, as was tradition amongst any of us that appeared in public. Kassashimei and I put on ours as well.