Favored (Among the Favored Book 1)

by Stone, C. L.

  My lip was tight, but the swelling had diminished. I covered it with cooking oil, hoping that it would soothe and I would look normal by the time I got wherever we were going.

  I created a makeshift pack from an old robe that belonged to my father, bound with vines from the willow tree. Packing was simple. I didn’t have much: a small bag of nuts and dried fruit and vegetables from the garden, the five taels from Ryuu, two of my favorite books, a worn wooden comb from my mother, an old cloak that had belonged to my father, the clothes on my back and the bird.

  All except the cage was easy enough to carry on my back. I let the bird sit on my shoulder, and the cage I carried in my hands. The metal frame was heavy, and I was tempted to leave it behind, but I didn’t know if I might need it later to keep the Taka safe.

  He whistled a few notes in my ear but relaxed on my shoulder. His silvery eyes darted to my face with curiosity.

  I looked around the room, saying goodbye and trying not to think too much about what I was leaving behind. I was very comfortable in the space, and my heart threatened to beat so hard I would grow weak if I thought on it for too long.

  Getting chosen for court might mean an income. Any position might mean I could improve my crop yields. I didn’t dare aim for great things. I just wanted a steady source of food. I couldn’t help but keep a small bit of hope burning in my heart that I wouldn’t be back for a while. This would mean I’d succeeded, and my life would change forever.

  I needed this.

  When I was ready, I opened the front door, rushing out into the morning sun just starting to rise over the sea.

  I collided with a young man who had been standing just outside. He backed away from me, holding me by the arms to guard me against falling. I had jabbed him in the stomach with the cage, so it amazed me he was still standing.

  His eyes were striking, a hue of the sky, a color I’d never seen in humans. His hair was rust-colored, with streaks of the sun. His skin was tan. His hands were big, and rough. Familiar to me. Farmer, working hands.

  He wore leather boots, leather pants, and over them an indigo men’s traveling kimono that hung to just above the knee, very short compared to traditional styles. It was tied loosely, and the center of his collarbone was exposed.

  What had me fascinated was his relaxed face, a sense of calm resting over it like he never worried or even thought to do so. His eyes were kind. His lips kept a continual light smile, slight, but it was always there.

  He corrected his pack at his back, and a bow that he carried with it. He studied my face. When I gazed down at his shoes to inspect them, his stare remained on my face, following my eyes.

  “Who are you?” I asked.

  “Mrs. Satsu sent me.” He spoke slowly, and with such a strange accent that it was difficult to understand him. He paused, his gaze never wavering from my face as he spoke to me. “You’re Mizuki.”

  I touched the cloth of my peasant shirt, fiddling with it. He was handsome, unfamiliar, far cleaner and dressed more nicely than myself. This was unexpected. “Did you come to fetch me?”

  “I’m an escort. Actually, I’m your escort.”

  “Escort?” I asked. “I need someone with me to walk to the docks?”

  He continued to stare, without blinking. “From now on.”

  If people were leaving to fill in for the dismissed court, then perhaps he was guarding those traveling from danger on the journey. I didn’t have any self-defense training, after all.

  “Does everyone going to the city get escorted?”

  “No.”

  What made me so special? I waited for more, but he never offered. I gave up my line of questioning, meaning to reserve it for Mrs. Satsu.

  “Are we meeting her at the docks?”

  “She already left this morning for the city.”

  My mouth popped open in surprise. “The sun has barely risen,” I said. The Taka whistled and repeated the word sun in the same tone I’d used.

  “She thought it was safer if we traveled separately, instead of all together. And she was antsy to go home.”

  “Home?” I asked, and the bird mimicked me. I wanted to wave at him to be silent but juggled the metal cage in my hands and then gave up when it was difficult.

  He looked at the bird and then back at me. “Give me the cage, and your pack.”

  I backed up a step, hesitating. They were the last things I owned, and I disliked the idea of a complete stranger taking my belongings.

  “Why?”

  He lifted a rusty eyebrow. “I’ll carry them.”

  “I’ll carry them just fine,” I said quickly. “Do we need to hurry? Am I going to be late?”

  He motioned with an empty hand for me to pass over my items.

  “Please let me do my job. We won’t be late if you come with me.”

  I sighed and gave him the cage and the pack. He rolled up his kimono sleeves to his elbows, revealing muscled forearms. He assembled everything so he could carry it all on his back and adjusted the bow to his arm to keep it ready. He lifted with his knees, making a small grunt as he rose, ready to go.

  Perhaps this was why Mrs. Satsu had said not to bring too much. I was being a burden. “I can leave the books,” I said.

  He shook his head and took a few steps toward the narrow path that wound down the hill toward the village. “You brought less than I expected.”

  I followed him down the path, trying not to look back and think about what I was leaving behind. I wanted to keep my mind off what I was doing, leaving home for the first time.

  “What’s your name?” I asked, walking beside him.

  He was taller, and I had to hurry to keep up. “Sota,” he said.

  “You’re not from Kuni,” I said.

  “No. I’m not from here.” He pressed his lips together and focused on the road ahead, his hands gripping the straps of our packs.

  Getting him to talk was like trying to yank a tiny splinter from my skin. I resorted to following behind him to study his pack and the things he carried. Hanging from his bag was the pelt of a rabbit, and I admired the bow, carved of a dark wood. Perhaps he believed as Mrs. Satsu did. Perhaps it wasn’t safe to talk.

  Mrs. Satsu also had given me a warning not to trust just anyone, but he had known her name and mine without prompting.

  The village was quiet today, the market square in the center nearly empty. Some stalls were closed. It didn’t really register with me why that was until we got to the docks. There was a passenger ship anchored offshore. Most of the village was there to see people coming to shore, or to bid farewell to those who were leaving.

  I’d assumed that Mrs. Satsu had suggested meeting at the docks as a logical spot to find each other outside the usually busy market. The large ship with high sails waited a short distance away, too big to dock. Smaller rowboats brought people from the dock to the ship.

  The sight of a ship left a large lump in my throat. I slowed, eventually stopping a good distance from the docks as the realization settled. Sota intended to board the ship.

  Sota halted instantly, looking around and adjusting his position to stand beside me. “What’s wrong?”

  “Are we going with them?” I asked, even if I already knew the answer.

  He turned his gaze from me to the ship and then looked back at me, puzzled. “How else are you supposed to get there?” he asked.

  “I don’t know. Where exactly are we going?”

  “The capital.” He motioned to the others on the docks. “The Immortal City. With everyone else.”

  Seeing the number of villagers getting ready to board made me realize this might be more challenging than I had thought. My heart sank. What chance did I have? Was I foolish to have accepted Mrs. Satsu’s offer?

  One of the rowboats came in beside the dock, and people were starting to load their packs and settle in. Parents and older relatives wished them health and good fortune. Children cried for their older siblings, but they were consoled by their mothers and told
about the honors of serving an emperor and their country.

  I couldn’t take my eyes off the large ship. I tried to tell myself I could go, but I couldn’t make myself move another inch toward the water.

  Sota ignored everyone around us, keeping his attention on me. His face was still, Zen, yet his tone concerning. “What’s wrong?”

  “I can’t go. I’m bad luck for a ship.”

  Sota raised an eyebrow and remained silent, wordlessly asking my meaning.

  I pointed to my eyes. “I have too much water.”

  “Too...much?”

  If he wasn’t from Kuni, perhaps they didn’t know our understanding of the world through fortune-telling. I wasn’t sure where to start explaining our beliefs. “My parents were lost at sea because my mother had too much water.”

  He formed a small smirk, the curious eyebrow still elevated. He approached me, taking my head into his big hands, a palm at each cheek, and scanned my face closely.

  I clamped my hands on his wrists, ready to tug if he tried to hurt me, but so far he was only holding me steady. My cheeks heated up, and I worried others around us would wonder if we were about to share an intimate moment, here in front of everyone.

  His touch was firm, but oddly comfortable, supportive. He parted one of my eyelids with a forefinger and thumb and looked close. After a moment, he released me. “A little extra water won’t hurt a big boat like that,” he said and motioned to the larger ships. “Besides, boats were made to withstand water. And wouldn’t all these other eyes even you out?”

  I opened my mouth to try to explain and then closed my lips again, unsure. His simple logic deflated my arguments. Still, I was terrified for the people on the ship, worried my bad luck might harm them. “Can’t we go another way?”

  “I’m not sure it’s allowed,” he said. “We weren’t given permission to go another way.”

  “Who won’t allow me?” I asked.

  He glanced around us at others standing nearby and then leaned in to speak quietly to me. “When you join with her, there will be many rules.”

  He knew more than I thought he did. “How many?”

  “Many,” he said and then motioned to the ship. “Once we get on the boat, I might be able to tell you a few.”

  We walked on toward the dock. I glanced at some familiar faces. Many carried heavy packs, what they thought they would need. Some already had weapons, treasured heirlooms passed down from generations. The rowboats could only carry a few at a time. I bit my lip, considering pressing Sota for an alternative. Was the capital really that far?

  Sota reached out to me, brushing a rough fingertip over my chin.

  “Don’t bite.”

  I released. “Is that a rule?”

  “There are many,” he said quietly.

  I took out my frustration on my shirt, twisting a loose thread in my fingers.

  He watched my fingers. He remained quiet, but I suspected fidgeting wasn’t allowed either. I couldn’t help it. My nerves seemed to form a tight knot in my chest, electrified with worry and doubt. Fruitless. Unlucky. I was wasting time and resources when I should be at home for the harvest.

  The rowboats finished loading and went back out again to the ship.

  “Mizuki!” a male voice called from the docks.

  I turned, as did Sota.

  Ryuu elbowed his way from the edge of the dock toward us. His pack was bulky, seeming more overloaded than the day before. He wasn’t alone; others were leaving the dock as well.

  I stood on my toes to wave to him over the crowd of people, excited to see him. His hair was in a tighter ponytail, and there were no leaves and grass in his clothes. Otherwise, he looked just the same as when I’d met him.

  My heart started beating so fast, I was shaking. I didn’t expect to see him again. I absently touched my hot face as I waited.

  Sota stood closer to me, concern tightening his lips.

  Ryuu wedged himself between people to get to us. “What are you doing here?” he asked, stopping in front of me. He glanced at the bird on my shoulder. “I see you’ve gotten used to him.”

  “Apparently my family name was on your roster,” I said. “But this old woman came by last night and—”

  Sota elbowed me in the arm and gave me a sidelong look. I remembered this was supposed to remain a secret.

  Ryuu dropped a fist between me and Sota, giving him a glare with his dark eyes. “Hey, hey,” he said. “No need to get rough.”

  Sota ignored him, saying nothing, looking on toward the sea.

  I forced a laugh to return us to harmony and avoid attention. “It’s a long story.”

  Ryuu eyeballed him and then focused on me, his features softening. “Are you traveling together?”

  “I can’t talk about it.” I motioned to the crowd. “There’s a lot of people leaving.”

  “You should have seen it at daybreak,” he said. “We’re not going to make it today. The boat is already beyond capacity since it picked up people down the coast yesterday. I got outbid by others already for a seat on this last boat out. It’ll be another four days before another might show up.” He extended a finger toward the Taka, curling it like he wanted to scratch its head. The Taka lunged at his finger, gripping it between its beak, but without any force to its bite, just holding his finger. Ryuu pulled his finger free. “Teach it a new song yet?”

  “Was I supposed to?”

  “That’s what they like.”

  The crowd already had a low murmur of people talking as they watched the rowboat going out to sea. Suddenly there was an uproar of voices, starting from the end of the dock and ripping toward those of us standing on shore. One shouted above the rest. “That was the last! No more boarding today!”

  Sota grumbled, grabbed for my hand, and pushed his way toward the docks, breaking through the crowd.

  “Hey!” Ryuu called, coming up behind us. “I already tried. They won’t let anyone else on.”

  Sota brought me to the end of the dock where men stood by, one with a scroll of paper and a pencil, making markings. A heavy purse hung from his belt.

  Sota approached and spoke to them. “What’s this about leaving without the rest of us?”

  The man who was writing stopped. He had squinty eyes, and his hair was thinning at the temples. “There’s already too many on board.”

  “You can fit a few more,” Ryuu said, coming to stand beside me.

  The man sneered at him. “Did you find a few more coins?”

  “We don’t have time to wait,” Sota said. “Or to bargain. Another ship will take days to get here, and the journey by ship is already a few days.”

  “Complaining about it won’t make it go faster,” the man with the scroll said. “If you bring me something interesting, I might get you on the next ship first.”

  “You’re profiting from the emperor’s mandatory registration,” Sota said. “He’ll be displeased you aren’t giving a fair chance to everyone.”

  “Don’t pretend to have the emperor’s ear, foreigner. You insult the Son of Heaven with such talk.” He turned away from Sota and stormed off.

  “Good going,” Ryuu said. “You insulted him. We’ll be lucky if he lets us on the next ship at all now.”

  Sota’s face was stony, unreadable, as he stared out at the ship. “People like him are why the new emperor wants a new court.”

  “You talk like you know what he’s thinking,” Ryuu said. “Might want to curb that.”

  I was relieved, but now also worried that Sota was right. “I thought we weren’t in a hurry,” I said. “Is getting there first the best thing to do?” I didn’t say it out loud, but Mrs. Satsu had mentioned that early registration wasn’t that important. “It’ll take at least a week. We could walk there in that amount of time.”

  Sota didn’t say anything, only stood there looking at the ship and then out toward the market, thinking.

  “I’m only taking a guess,” Ryuu said, scratching at coarse hair growing at his chi
n. “But there were a lot of names on this list. I imagine people think being the first there will impress the inspectors overseeing the registration. I wasn’t aware punctuality was part of the test.”

  “Showing up early doesn’t guarantee anything,” Sota said, motioning to me to follow him. “But we need to get to the city so you can begin training. I’ve got an idea.”

  The idea of training for the inspection interested me. What could I learn in the two weeks before registering that would impress the Son of Heaven enough that he would allow me to join the court? I was a dingy mouse even compared to those around us now trying to get to the city.

  The market, while previously silent, was now the center of attention. There were many talking about arranging carriages, or possibly taking some of the fishing ships up the coast. It would still take time to get to the city, and the roads were more dangerous, but waiting for the next ship would take longer.

  Sota ignored the crowds and instead approached a young man with a rickshaw.

  Ryuu spotted this and ran ahead, cutting him off. “Don’t be ridiculous,” he said. “What are you going to do, run her to the city on foot? You may as well just walk.”

  “We’d get there at least a little faster,” Sota said. “And shouldn’t you be on your way?”

  “Unlike you, I’m not in a hurry. I’m only going because registration is mandatory for honor’s sake.” Ryuu looked at me. “Do you have anything valuable? I can see if we can’t trade for a decent ride to the city. We’ll get there faster the more we can offer.”

  I had Sota give me back my pack, and I showed Ryuu everything I had—food and his coins and the books, and the wooden comb and the cloak. “Nothing significant,” I said.

  He left me the comb and cloak and took the rest, then looked at Sota. “What about you? That rabbit pelt, for instance.”