Chapter 33:

The Dancing Plum

In the Service of Gods


By the end of our day, I had learned a few things and shared a few things in turn. The original guide sent to travel with Vris and I to the mountain turned out to be the man that had died after shooting me with a poisoned arrow. There hadn’t been time to get a new guide and so Mizuki had stepped up, much to her mother’s dismay.

“I’ve journeyed to the foot of Mount Ezara before. It was the natural choice,” Mizuki had said.

“You’re taking on quite the risk,” I’d replied.

She’d shrugged. “If you aren’t successful in your mission, Wosurei will cease to exist. That’s a much bigger risk than losing one princess.”

I had discussed how Earth only had one living Emperor when I’d been there and many before that from different places. We’d moved on to discuss how the Palace of Gratitude was very isolated, and I was told that was by design. The palace was self-sufficient in most ways with water and food taken care of . Any luxuries were carted into Bhojin where a specific team would deliver them. There were whole fields of crops and orchards nearby that I hadn’t seen, a clear demonstration of how little of the royal lands I’d explored, or rather been allowed to explore. This was all because I’d commented on how the closest town was a full day’s ride away and asked why.

Most of my more pressing questions turned out to be unanswerable. Mizuki knew nothing about Arthur beyond the fact that he was a long-time criminal kept in the dungeons for the crime of murder and Vris knew even less. Neither of them knew what the cost of bringing a person to Wosurei was. I’d pressed Mizuki on it since she’d made that comment so long ago about the cost of bringing me here. She sheepishly admitted to parroting her parents' words on the matter and wasn’t actually informed on the specifics. I rejected the idea of asking Mizuki about the Mark of Viri as I didn’t want Vris to be upset that I’d brought it up. That would need to come later.

Just as the sun was setting, we arrived at Bhojin. The city had massive wooden gates set in stone walls. We had arrived before curfew and so were admitted with little fanfare. Part of me thought they’d have a crowd waiting for us to cheer us on as we went. But of course, that would expose all of us to risk. Flying under the radar was a much better idea.

The architecture in the city was reminiscent of the Palace of Gratitude in that it was largely Asian with artistic touches that were European, African, and South American. Most of the bigger, multi-story buildings had tiled roofs with wooden walls while the smaller structures had thatched roofs atop the same kind of wood. The smell of smoke, beasts of burden, and humanity was a shock after the carefully curated scent of Sparrow Hall. The press of bodies was bizarre after being so isolated. Vris was taken aback with Mizuki looking as calm as a pond on a windless day.

“There’s an inn on the south side, The Dancing Plum. We’ll spend the night there,” Mizuki called.

I kept close to her as I had no desire to be lost. It was a short trip to reach the inn and there thankfully was room for us and our elk. The inn was cozy, the sort of place that could get loud though never rowdy. There were two male musicians playing what looked like a lute and a shamisen in the corner of the main room. Their voices were melodious and complemented each other beautifully. A few dozen others were seated and drinking at round tables, eating food or enjoying the music. Serving men and women in purple outfits weaved expertly between the tables, their customer service smiles affixed to their faces.

There were stables in the back where we led the elk. I bid goodnight to them as they were led away, only to realize something.

“What’s your elk’s name?” I asked Mizuki.

“Spark,” she said primly. I got the sense she was a little embarrassed of the name for some reason.

“Good name,” I said as we re-entered the inn and walked up the steps to our room. I meant it, it was quite cute.

“I named him when I was much younger,” she added, not making eye-contact with me.

I chuckled. “Still a good name.”

We set up our room for the night. It was small, with just enough space for three beds and a wardrobe. Two of the beds were on raised frames and one bed sat on the floor. Vris insisted on the floor bed placed between the other two, so Mizuki and I got the raised beds. She took the one closer to the door, leaving me with the one just under the window. The view was nice, showing the small square out front with a large plum tree growing in the middle. It had lost most of its leaves, but come spring it would look spectacular. I wondered which had come first, the inn or the tree.

“Are we going anywhere this evening?” Vris asked. Her eyes were sparkling at the thought of exploring the big city.

“I don’t think that would be wise,” Mizuki said. “Seer Rin’s face isn’t known here, and while I doubt anyone would have the audacity to stop us, we cannot afford any delays if they discover us.”

Vris wilted, then perked up. “Could we at least eat downstairs? Listen to the music?”

“For a servant, you’re quite opinionated,” Mizuki said coldly. Vris flinched and bowed her head.

“Hey,” I cut in. “She’s allowed to have thoughts and feelings. She’s not a robot.”

They both frowned at me.

I sighed at my slip up. “Let’s not get into robots. I mean she’s not a statue, she’s a person. This is probably her first time here, right?”

Vris nodded.

“So cut her some sl— I mean, give her a break, yeah?”

Mizuki let out her own sigh and said. “I apologize for my words. They were hasty.”

Not the most sincere apology, but it would have to do. It was going to be a long trip if these two were constantly at odds.

“Listen, no one knows me, but would they know you?” I asked Mizuki.

“The owner of this establishment knows me, but otherwise it’s unlikely someone would be able to identify me,” she replied.

“Alright then, so here’s what’s going to happen,” I said. “There will be no princesses or servants or seers. Our group is nameless and faceless. Everyone is going to have to pull their weight and take care of each other. Everyone gets a vote when it comes to decision making and there’s no hierarchy here. All that is left behind at the palace and you can pick that back up when you return. Are we agreed?”

The other women looked baffled. They glanced back and forth between each other and me. I could see they wanted to argue, Mizuki more than Vris, but I wasn’t being unreasonable.

“Also,” I added. “If you disagree, then I will pull rank as Seer and make this my first and last act as the one in charge.”

So it was decided: we would go forward as sisters in arms.

“So, can we go downstairs?” Vris asked.

Before anyone could reply there was a loud bang coming from downstairs and shouts. As one, we hurried out the door to discover the source of the commotion.   
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