Koe & Kai

Koe & Kai

1

“JUMP!”

“I can't. I’m afraid.”

“What the hell? Just jump! I promise I’ll catch you!”

“I can't!”

“If you don’t the entire building is going to come down!”

“How can I trust you? You’re not from here!”

“Who cares?! Now I’m telling you to jump Mariko!”

“How do you know my name?” she screamed at the boy below.

“You’re a princess! Who doesn’t know your name! Now JUMP!” she felt the roof shudder and clutched her robes closer. Her golden bracelets reflected the fires bright light and she took a deep breath a stepped of the edge.

“AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” she screamed as she fell and then suddenly felt as if she was floating. She saw blue light and landed gently in the arms of the boy below. He then spun suddenly and the roar of the main castle collapsing shook the earth. She heard the boy wince and then drop her to the ground. She quickly wobbled to a stand and looked at the boy. “You’re hurt.” She said, realizing some of the embers had hit his back.

“I’m fine.” He said and fully stood, he wasn’t much taller then Mariko.

“You sure?” she asked and he nodded. He turned and she looked at him. He wore black pants and a white shirt. It was his eyes and his hair that bother her. His hair was the blue of pure ocean water and his eyes were red like blood. Unlike herself, with sapphire eyes and gold hair.

“We have to go.” He said suddenly and grabbed her hand and ran. She attempted to keep up but the whole time it felt like he was dragging her. Then he stopped. They were near the edge of the city and in the distance she could see the castle, her home, burning. “We need to get you new clothes.” The boy said.

“Are you crazy? I’m not wearing anything else.” She protested.

“Then you’ll have the problem of people trying to kidnap you.” He retorted and she couldn’t fight that so she slumped her shoulders and was about to follow him into the clothing shop when he stopped her.

“Give me your outer robe.” He said.

“What?” she exclaimed.

“Give me the outer robe.” Mariko knew why he wanted it but she didn’t like the feeling of some stranger, especially a boy, seeing her nearly naked. But she did it anyway and was left standing in a thin cotton under dress that was very short. She was cold and hurried into the shop behind the boy.

“Umm, we need some help finding her some clothes.” The boy told the shop owner.

“Goodness yes. She must be freezing like that.” The shopkeeper was an old lady with long gray hair and brown eyes.

“Yes. We were traveling and had a small accident.” He said.

“Is she your wife?” the old lady asked and Mariko gagged.

“No.” the boy laughed. “She’s my sister.”

“Oh.” The old woman said and Mariko knew she was probably thinking how in the world they could be related. “Well, let’s go find something.” In the end Mariko wore a brown skirt that was a bit below her knees and a white shirt. Then she picked out a purple scarf for her hair and wrapped it around her head. “There you go and I’m sorry I have no shoes.”

“It’s OK.” Mariko said and wiggled her bare toes. She was really grateful that the boy let her keep her gold bracelets and anklets.

“Well, we better be off.” He said and pulled her out of the store.

“Where exactly are we going?” Mariko asked.

“To the inn at the edge of town.” He said simply and she shrugged. She had never been to an inn and just hoped it was warm.

The inn was loud and dimly lit. It smelled of smoke and Mariko felt as though she was constantly coughing. “Come on.” The boy led her over to the bar and lifted her up onto one of the stools.

“A new girl?” the bar tender asked the boy.

“Naw. She’s my sister.”

“What? You’ve got a sister?”

“Yeah.” The boy said.

“She’s a pretty sister too.” The guy next to Mariko said and she pulled away. “You got a name?”

“Mar . . .”

“Koe.” The boy interrupted her.

“Yeah Koe.” She said. It was probably better not to use her real name.

“So Kai, anything to drink?” the bar tender asked and Mariko realized that his name must be Kai.

“Yeah. Just some whiskey and nothing for her.” he said.

“Will do.” The bartender then disappeared for a moment.

“So from here on out you ain’t Mariko anymore OK? You’re going to be Koe.”

“Yeah OK.” Koe said. “So your name’s Kai?”

“Yeah.” He said and folded his hands on the counter.

“You drink under age?” she asked him.

“What do you know about drinking ages?” he asked.

“How old are you? And don’t lie to me.”

“Sixteen. You?”

“See? I told you that you drink under age. The age is seventeen and I am fifteen and a half.”

“Thank you for pointing that out princess.” He teased.

“Shut up.” She said and turned away.

“Here’s your drink Kai. Sure you don’t want anything pretty lady?” the bartender asked.

“Thank you but no.” Koe said.

“You know what? Come to think of it you look a bit like one of the princess from the castle.” The bartender said.

“Oh really?” Koe asked sarcastically. “There are twelve of them so how can you keep track.”

“She ain’t no princess. If she was she wouldn’t be sitting in your bar Tom.” The man next to Koe said. “Anyway, see you all in the morning, I’m going to go and hit the sack.” He got up and left and Tom the bartender went to help some of the customers a bit further away.

“So, when I’m done with this we’ll go up to the room OK?” Kai asked and Koe nodded. She was tired and the smoke was giving her a headache. “On second thought I think you should go to bed now.” He drained his glass and left some money for Tom and then lifted her off her stool. “Follow me.” He said and led her to the second floor to room number 53. Once inside he handed her the bag that held her second set of clothes, her robes and her pajamas. She changed quickly and climbed into bed. But she couldn’t sleep. Every time she shut her eyes she saw flames and heard screaming. “Can’t sleep?” Kai asked her.

“No.” she whispered and he rummaged through a small sack.

“Drink this.” He said and handed her a bottle of green liquid. “It will help you sleep.”

“Thanks.” She said and took a sip. “Tastes like mint.” She added.

“That’s because I made it that way.” He smiled and took the bottle back and shut out the light. Koe was asleep in no time after that.

When Koe awoke the next morning she was moving. She blinked a few times and saw that she was on a horse. She turned and saw Kai sitting behind her. “Sorry about that. Your body wasn’t use to the sleeping medicine so I couldn’t wake you up.”

“Oh.” She said and looked around. “Where are we going?”

“Well right now we’re going through the Astris Valley and by nightfall we should reach the Murkeyoke Lake. We have to take a boat to the other side and then ride a few miles to my home in Chicari. OK?” He explained.

“Yeah. But I’ve never heard of any of those places only Murkeyoke Lake.”

“Well, you’re about to learn.” He said.

“When will I go back to my family?” she asked suddenly.

“When ever they come looking for you.” He said. “By the way, are you doing OK on the horse? You can get down and walk if you like.”

“I think I’ll get down.” Koe decided and he helped her down. Once on the ground she walked along the edge of the road looking at all the plants and bugs. She picked some of the exotic plants and put them in her pockets.

“Is this a strawberry?” she suddenly asked and Kai looked back.

“Yeah.” He said.

“Can I eat it?”

“Go right ahead.” He said. She smiled and put it in her mouth and picked six more. Then she ran to catch up with Kai.

“Want one?” she asked and he shrugged so she handed him one. “We had strawberries in the castle but never wild ones like this and these taste so much better.”

“We should stop for dinner now.” He said and looked at the sky.

“It’s that late already?”

“Yeah. I told you that you slept for awhile.” He hopped off the horse and undid a pack on its side. He pulled out bread, cheese, ham and a small jug of water. “Here, you can make the sandwiches.”

“OK.” Koe said and spread a napkin out on the ground and got busy.

After they ate Koe got back on the horse and the rode for about two hours. “What’s the horses’ name?” Koe asked.

“His name is Corn.” Kai said.

“Why?” Koe asked and wrinkled her nose.

“Because we found him while we were gathering corn.”

“Oh. OK, so what’s your family like?” Koe asked. “Do they look like you?”

“No. They found me and my sister in the river in baskets when we were both babies. We aren’t related though. She, my sister Honu, can be a bit weird. She acts one way today and a whole new way tomorrow. I think you’ll like her.”

“So you were adopted?”

“Yeah,” he said. “I guess so.”

“I wish I was adopted. Don’t ask me about my family though, I don’t feel like talking about them right now. Especially my father, who I haven’t seen in a year.”

“OK. We cane talk about something else.” He said and he started explaining the town, Chicari, to her.

A little while later they could see the faint lights of the harbor on the Murkeyoke Lake. Koe jumped down and ran ahead to the town’s entrance. Kai wasn’t far behind and caught up with her shortly. He got off the horse and held it by its reins. “Stay close to me.” He whispered to her and they cautiously entered the town. It was loud and crazy with drunks.

“Is this how all fishing towns are?” Koe asked.

“Only at night,” he answered her over the noise. Then they reached the small ticket booth and Kai asked for two tickets across, paid the man and then lead her down the rickety dock.

On the boat over Koe fell asleep and when she was woken up it was from her nightmares of the burning castle. She stayed awake after that and looked out across the glassy water. She and never been on a boat and she had only been to big cities where her father’s, the king, lower people lived, like the governors places. She had twelve sisters and three brothers. The royal family was always supposed to have more girls and that was what they had. They were good because they could be married to other princes to make allies, they could be sold to different places and they could claim the throne. She was the second youngest daughter and third youngest in the family. No one really had cared about her and she believed it was because the whole family was so big. “We’re docking now.” Kai said and she stood up.

“Can I have more of that stuff so I can sleep?” she asked and he handed her the bottle.

“Don’t drink too much.” He said and she took a small sip and after about fifteen minutes she was consumed into a world of darkness.