The Twelve Kingdoms: Shadow of the Moon

welcome morning finally came. Youko followed the city streets to the harbor. The streets opened up as she approached the water, ending at a shabby wharf. A ship was tied up at the pier. It looked rather small to Youko's eyes, but it was bigger than all the other ships lying at anchor.
    "There it is . . . . "
    As the wharf grew nearer, a flood of emotions filled her chest. She stopped. Soldiers were inspecting the line of passengers boarding the ship. For a moment everything went dark. They were searching the passengers' luggage as well.
    She had no desire to get rid of the sword. She'd managed to get this close staying in the shadows, and could get no closer. Youko stared at the guards and passengers.
    Do I lose the sword?
    She'd lose her primary means of defense, but it was better than staying behind in Kou. Yet thinking this, seeing the water not far from where she stood, she couldn't bring herself to do it. It was what tied her to Keiki. Lose it and she'd sever the half of her connection to him. It'd be as much as severing her ties to her home.
    What to do?
    She turned the question over and over in her mind and could not come to a decision. She looked around the harbor. Was there any way to get to En and keep the sword? Several small boats were moored there. Could she steal one of them?
    I haven't the slightest idea how to sail a boat.
    She'd heard that the Blue Sea was an inland sea. So while she couldn't imagine how long it would take, she ought to be able to make it to En by following the shoreline. Dazed by the tumult of her own thoughts, she suddenly heard the loud pounding of a drum. She looked up, startled. The sound was coming from the deck of the ship. It was the signal that the ship would soon be departing. The line of passengers was gone. The soldiers were standing idly by.
    I'm not going to make it.
    Even if she made a run for it now, the guards would grab her. There wasn't enough time to undo the bundle and take out the sword. And if she dumped everything, it would look equally suspicious trying to board a ship without any luggage at all. Frozen with indecision, she watched as the ship raised its sail.
    The gangplank was withdrawn. Youko jumped out from her hiding place. The ship edged slowly away from the pier, where the guards stood observing the departure. She ran toward it, but could not risk getting any closer. She watched dumbfounded as the ship set sail. The image of the white sails burned into her retinas.
    If I do it now, I can jump.
    Ideas raced through her head, but she could not act on any of them.
    That's my ticket out of here.
    Hugging the bundle to her chest, eyes wide, she could do nothing but watch the ship sail away. So much had depended on her making this escape, and she didn't think she would recover from the shock.

    "What's the matter?" a rough voice said. "Miss your ride?"
    Youko started, the gravelly voice bringing herself back to her senses. Down where the piles of the wharf were driven into the earth, she saw a vessel. Four men were working on the deck. One of them was looking up at her.
    Youko nodded stiffly. The next ship wasn't for five more days. Those five days would probably settle her fate.
    "Well, come on, kid. You want a ride or no?"
    For a moment, Youko didn't grasp what he was saying and only stared.
    "Hurry up, then. You got other plans?"
    Youko shook her head. The sailor grabbed hold of the rope tied to the bollard next to her. "Loosen that up there and jump aboard. We'll catch up with them at Fugou. But you've got to work for your passage."
    The other sailors thought that was a pretty funny offer. Youko nodded as resolutely as she could. She undid the rope from the bollard and, holding it tightly, jumped down onto the deck.

    It was a cargo ship that went as far as the island of Fugou, just north of Agan. It was a full twenty-four hours to Fugou. From Fugou to En there were no more ports of call.
    Save a ferry ride on a school field trip once, Youko had never been on a boat. And this was certainly the first time in her life she'd been on a sailing vessel.
    She had no idea what she was doing, but every time one of the sailors barked at her she hauled something here or straightened up something there and generally chased her own tail around the ship. When they left the coast and the ship settled into its course, she found herself being told to do this, that, and the other thing, from scrubbing the dishes to cooking dinner. Finally, they even had her massaging the