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Chapter 96 (Draft)
🕑 Added 2021-01-14 20:46:00 +0000 UTC“I suppose it was too much to hope for that we’d be able to complete our journey in peace and without being bothered by the Zarian,” I sighed.
Elia shrugged and gave me a wry smile. “We’ve been making good time ever since we left the city. I think we’re doing well.”
“Not as good time as we might have if we’d just focused on traveling,” I grumbled, but without any heat in my words.
We had made good time. With our cultivation, we could move pretty quickly. Not as fast as a car, of course, but better than a pedestrian or rider on Earth. But we’d been careful. We’d avoided population centers and often roads, made sure we had good disguises and gathered information on where we were going and what was going on. The war could be felt even here, and the general decline in trust and safety didn’t help. At least people didn’t seem to care too much about strangers passing through.
Which brought us to our current camp, off the road in a sheltered clearing with a good view over the nearby countryside and town. We were close enough to the ocean I could almost convince myself I could already see it, despite the heavy cloud cover and poor visibility. The air smelled like it might rain again later today, but I hoped it would hold off for a bit longer.
“We’ve managed to evade the Zarian so far,” Elia said. “Even if they’re hunting us more intensely now, I’m sure we’ll get to the ocean. Although I have to admit I’m still a little unsure why you have chosen that as the goal.”
“Just trust me.”
“I do.” She looked a lot more serious suddenly. “My bloodline’s abilities allow me to see to the core of people in some way. You’re probably one of the most righteous people I met in the city.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Interesting. I wouldn’t put too much stock in that, though. Your sense isn’t about some supreme morality, but society’s laws, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” She seemed a bit surprised at my observation. “I know that. It’s more about norms and rules of the larger group someone belongs to. Still enough to let me know you haven’t exactly committed many crimes.”
“I suppose it’s all a matter of perspective.”
I frowned thoughtfully. I hadn’t really broken any laws on Earth, minor stuff excluded. Speeding or trying weed once didn’t exactly break societal norms. And on Aran, while I’d done more morally questionable things, the Empire wouldn’t consider those wrong for me to do. Hell, as the Imperial Princess, I could have done a lot worse without breaking their social norms or expectations, let alone whatever actual laws might apply.
I shook my head, dismissing these thoughts. “Anyway. Are you sure you can’t grow gills?”
She pulled a face. “I don’t know. Maybe, once we reach the ocean and I’m actually underwater, I’ll get the push I need.”
“Well, if not, I know a technique that can help, so don’t worry about it.”
As I’d discovered recently, her shapeshifting ability was a lot weaker than my own. Probably even weaker than before I’d gotten the push suddenly needing it to survive and hide in enemy territory had given me. That had helped me master it a lot. At least Elia could disguise herself pretty well, and that was all we really needed.
“Well, let’s go,” I said, and started picking my way down to the path.
As part of my current disguise, I’d changed my hairstyle and facial structure again. I’d also made myself a bit shorter, which I still had to adjust to. Having to take smaller steps didn’t help descending the muddy slope, and making my chest smaller had also thrown my balance off a little. So I moved carefully, only glancing at Elia once or twice. She’d changed her hair to a short style and darkened her skin, but her face still resembled the once I’d met her with. She could probably pass for her cousin, but it was different enough that I didn’t complain.
I was looking forward to wearing what I’d come to accept as my own face again, though. Almost as much as I missed the company of Tenira and Lei, who’d probably be excited about my new proficiency with it and helping me experiment. Or Yarani and Kajare. It had been too long already.
The town was clearly rural, probably the only major population center in the area, and spread out over the fields in a comfortable sprawl. It made it both easier and harder to approach unnoticed, since we had cover but could also be spotted by more people more easily. Like we’d done most of the time, we tried to act like everything was alright and we were just minding our business.
I returned the greetings of a few townspeople we met, but managed not to get sucked into a conversation. I led us in an arc around the center of town, keeping to the outskirts. I could tell Elia was tense, but she didn’t question my choice to go into town.
There were more Zarian soldiers in the town than I had expected. I couldn’t help but feel my heartbeat speed up every time we came too close to one, even though I knew my disguise was good. I’d long fixed my blunder and altered my voice. Of course, we still didn’t have reliable identification, that was the main problem.
We had to pass through two ID checks. The first one was pretty casual. Just a bored fourth-stage soldiers who gave a quick glance at our paperwork, comparing the picture to our faces, then waved us on. The second one was more concerning. I noticed it as we approached the barricade they’d put up. The leader was in the fifth or even sixth stage, and her small group seemed more alert, as if they were looking for someone.
I held my breath as they checked our ID, forcing my hands not to clench into fists. I’d perfected the illusion over the paper and tried to make it as unnoticeable as possible, but there was still a hint of qi to it.
The soldier muttered a curse and pulled out some strange-looking device. My heart sank as I watched her handle the device and the paper. She frowned at it, then looked more closely again.
Finally, after a minute of tense waiting, she handed me the papers. “These local scraps are such poor quality,” she complained, probably to her subordinates. “You girls go on, but if you get the chance exchange your papers for some Zarian registered ones. Makes it easier on us and lowers your chance of being detained.”
I bowed my head. “Thank you, ma’am. I’ll be sure to do that.”
My neck prickled as we walked past the barricade, but I forced myself to relax. We were almost there, anyway.
I continued walking through the outskirts of the town. Out here, the houses stood a little closer together, but they were smaller, so the result wasn’t very impressive. Not many people were around, perhaps at work, instead. The fields around the town, like others we’d come across in our journey, were all being tended, now that spring was in full swing.
I was just starting to worry that I’d come here for nothing when two of the people leaning against a rundown wooden house caught my eye. They straightened up, adjusted their cloaks, then slowly started walking forward. I forced myself to keep my gaze moving instead of letting it linger on them and kept going.
Elia tensed slightly beside me, but she didn’t say anything. We walked out of the town in silence, leaving the houses behind as the street narrowed into a dirt track leading between two fields. This one entered a forest pretty quickly. I didn’t have to look back to notice that our pursuers were still behind us, catching up steadily. Their auras were well hidden, but gave the impression they were in the late second or early third stage. I would’ve been fooled if I didn’t know what to look for.
They caught up to us finally, just a few hundred meters before the path vanished into trees and we’d get out of sight of the people working in the fields. Elia tensed and moved her hand to her side, where I knew she carried a knife, but I grabbed her arm for a moment and subtly shook my head. The two people fell into step with us. The woman stepped off the path to get ahead of us, while the man kept behind us. They were both dressed in nondescript clothing of muted colors, with local cloak-coat hybrids that could easily conceal weapons.
“It’s a nice day on the road, isn’t it?” I said.
“As nice as if the spirits themselves were playing with us,” the woman said. “Like the Great Ship of myth being battered by their winds and waves.”
“But that ship reached its destination safely, and so shall we,” I replied, relaxing my tense muscles. I liked that myth, one originating from the east of the Earth Continent which I’d read a while ago, since it wasn’t a tragedy, just entertaining.
After a minute, we entered the forest. It looked untended, and the trees quickly closed around the dirt path, hiding us from view. As soon as I couldn’t catch a glimpse of the fields anymore, I stopped. Elia did the same, reaching for her weapons again. She seemed confused and apprehensive. Fair enough.
The two travelers took a step closer, making her tense up more, before they dropped to one knee and bowed their heads. Elia froze.
“Rise,” I said to them in Imperial Common, then switched to Zarian out of consideration to my companion. “It’s good to meet you. How is the situation?”
They stood, and the man replied in perfect Zarian, “Mostly unchanged, my lady. The Zarian have intensified their search, but they do not seem close enough to catching you to pose a significant danger.”
I smiled. “Good. I hope you didn’t have to drop anything important to meet us.”
“Of course not,” the woman said.
I wasn’t sure I believed her. As agents of the Empire, they’d be accomplished liars. But I let the matter drop. I didn’t know what mission they had been on before they were diverted to babysit me; apparently, I didn’t need to know. Fair enough.
“Wait a moment,” Elia said, backing up a step and frowning at me. “You’re Imperials, aren’t you? Is that why you were hiding from the Zarian? But there has to be more to it.”
I hesitated for a moment, then decided being direct would be best. “Yes. Does that bother you?”
Her frown deepened. I could guess at what was going through her head. She’d grown up in a place close to and under some influence of the Dominion, so she’d have been exposed to anti-Imperial propaganda. But by now she distrusted and probably disliked the Zarian, so if most of what she knew about the Empire was that they were enemies, it would make her see it in a different light, maybe even favorably.
“No, I don’t have a problem with it,” she finally replied.
I didn’t have her ability to see if someone was telling the truth, but that was good enough for me. “Good. Let’s keep going.”
I did notice that the two agents shifted their position slightly. They were angling themselves so they could keep an eye on her, and intervene to protect me more easily if it came to that. I didn’t comment on it, but I appreciated the thought, at least.
“What’s your names, by the way?” I asked.
“I’m Sil, my lady,” the female agent answered. “He’s Wei.”
I nodded. Those might not be their real names, but it didn’t matter. “You’re here to help me get to safety, aren’t you?”
“Yes, of course.”
I glanced at Elia, who nodded slightly. The confirmation made me relax a little more.
Maybe it shouldn’t have such a big impact, since I didn’t know either of them. But it did. I was no longer alone in hostile territory now, a fugitive just trying to be gone, hiding my true identity from everyone. I was in the presence of countrymen (countrypeople?) now. Or my subjects, actually. Even better, isn’t it?
“So, who areyou?” Elia asked after a minute.
I shook my head, focused on the path ahead of us. We were passing by another town, one that was decidedly more coastal in its appearance. I could smell the ocean more clearly now, and even caught a glimpse of it behind the houses and trees. “Are we clear to get to the ocean?”
“The Zarian appear to be watching it, my lady,” Sil warned. “There’s an observation post a few leagues in that direction. We planned on a distraction to allow us to sneak closer, and we’ve been told we’ll be picked up once we reach the beach.”
I nodded. “Good.” Then I glanced at Elia. “Sorry about that. Now, as to who I am, are you sure you want to know?”
She pulled a face. “I’m not stupid, Nera, or whoever you are. I’ve known that’s not your real name from the beginning. You’re a spirit-child of some strength. Possibly even the child of a Greater Spirit. I can believe you’re some important asset to the Empire, I just don’t know why they’d leave you in such a position.”
“It wasn’t intentional,” I said. “The Zarian didn’t realize who they’d captured, given my shapeshifting ability. But, yeah, you’re right. I’m the daughter of the Moon.”
I was prepared for shocked realization, but Elia just nodded. “Yes, that fits.”
“My lady,” the agent cut in. “May we proceed with our plan? Wei will occupy the attention of the local Zarian contingent while we make our way to our goal.”
“Of course,” I answered. “Be careful.”
The man bowed, then disappeared into the landscape between one moment and the next. If we weren’t surrounded by trees at the moment, I’d have suspected he was literally gone into the ground.
Sil had us wait for a few minutes before we’d start moving again. We stood there in silence. I couldn’t help but wonder about how Elia would react, but I didn’t want to just come out and proclaim my title. The agent seemed tensed for some kind of confrontation, as well.
“What is it?” the girl finally asked. “Did I miss something, or am I just supposed to be more impressed by your bloodline? I think I’ve heard that the Moon is prominent in the Empire.”
Sil glanced at me, then shook her head at Elia. “Girl, there’s only one daughter of the Moon. Haven’t you heard the rumors?”
“Wait, you mean -?” her eyes widened. “Oh.”
“Yes,” I said.
After a moment of just staring, Elia dropped to one knee before me and bowed her head. “Princess. I didn’t know. I beg your forgiveness.”
I sighed. Really? It’s not like I couldn’t have killed her pretty much at any point since we met. Although, I suppose as Imperial Princess, I could have her family or friends hunted down and punished if she gave me some cause.
“Stand up,” I said. “Of course you didn’t know, that’s the point.” I turned to the agent. “Should we move now?”
“Yes, follow me, please.”
I continued our trip to the ocean, this time at a faster pace. Elia kept to the other side of Sil, and had trouble meeting my gaze. I knew some of that was probably just embarrassment, but I still felt ill at ease. I’d just been another person lately, and now, in the last few minutes, three people had knelt to me.
I almost wanted something to happen to take my mind off useless thoughts, but everything was quiet. We didn’t see any Zarian, and I couldn’t sense anything strange. It was almost anticlimactic after everything. Of course, with professionals on the job, I shouldn’t expect anything less.
I glanced at Elia again. “Do you still want to come with me? We could drop you off somewhere, but you’re welcome to come to the Empire as my guest, if you like.”
She chewed her lip for a moment, then nodded. “I’d love to see the Empire and stay there for a bit. Uh, Imperial Princess.”
I nodded, then turned my attention back to the path. Despite a strange sense of wistfulness, I couldn’t wait to return, and see my friends and partners again.
